Aeroplan

The Aeroplan card is built around Air Canada loyalty, and the benefits carry more weight than the earn rate: a free first checked bag for you and up to eight companions, plus two years of Aeroplan 25K Elite Status for new cardmembers, on a $95 annual fee with no foreign transaction fees. Earning is 3x points on dining and groceries, which is genuinely useful, and 3x on Air Canada purchases made directly with the airline, with everything else at 1x. Chase recently cut the signup bonus from 75,000 points to 60,000 after $3,000 in three months, so this is a weaker moment to apply than it was in the spring. The monthly spend bonus is small but real, at 500 points for every $2,000 spent up to 1,500 points a month, and there is a 10% bonus when you transfer 50,000 or more Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan. If you do not fly Air Canada or plan to use Aeroplan awards, the 1x base rate leaves little reason to hold it.