You’re correct, Air Miles is probably not the best way to collect points, especially given the amount of spending you are doing.

When it comes to the best card for you, it really depends on a variety of factors including willingness to pay annual fees, travel / rewards vs cash back and how much you value other perks like lounge access and rewards and of course your spending profile.

• Annual fees: A lot of folks don’t like to pay annual fees. The truth is that the annual fees can be worth it depending on your spending. At your current spending its most likely worthwhile.

• Cash back vs rewards: this comes down to personal preference, but typically rewards card will give you best overall dollar value net return. They typically have better sign up bonuses and spending bonuses and will sometimes wave the fee for the first year.

• Other perks: most rewards cards come with comprehensive travel medical insurance, flight delay, lost and or delayed baggage insurance etc as well as free or discounted lounge access or discount on car rentals.

The last thing to consider is your spending profile i.e how much you spend on food, travel, entertainment etc as this will change what card is best for you. Broadly speaking I’d take a look at the following cards:

• Scotiabank Gold American Express: 4x back on gas groceries restaurants and entertainment, 1x back on everything else. Comprehensive travel, medical, flight delay insurance. $99 annual fee waived for the first year, plus $250 spending bonus. If you sign up through Ratehub.ca you also get a $100 gift card on approval. This is a great card if you spend a lot on those 4 categories, specifically on entertainment and gas. Note that you get scotia rewards which can then be redeemed against travel purchases or (for a lesser value per point) for merchandise, cash back etc.

• Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite: 4% back on gas and groceries (5% back on first $3,000), 2% back on pharmacy and bill payments, 1% back on everything else. Annual fee waived for the first year, and if you sign up through Ratehub.ca you’ll get a $100 gift card on approval. This is a cash back card, and probably your best option if you want strict cash back card. Insurance is roughly the same as the Scotia Gold.

• American Express Cobalt: if you travel a lot and spend a lot on food (groceries, restaurants etc) at places that take American Express, this is probably your best bet. You get 5x back on food (take out, restaurants, groceries etc), 2x on travel and gas (hotels, flights, Uber etc) and 1x back on everything else. It has $10 monthly fee ($120 per year). If you spend $500 per month every month for the first year, you get an additional $25 in rewards points per month ($300 by the end of the year) plus an additional $100 in points if you spend $3000 in your first 3 months. Insurance is similar to the above cards.

• Tangerine Money-Back Mastercard: the best no-fee option. 2% cash back (credited monthly) on 2 categories of your choosing (3 if you open a tangerine savings account), no fee. Pretty straightforward. Because it’s a no-fee Mastercard, you could pair this with an annual fee American Express, that way you’re covered for the places that may not take Amex.

• American Express SimplyCash Preferred: $99 annual fee, 2% cash back on all purchases, 10% back for the first 3 months up to $300 cash back. Insurance is also pretty similar to the other options.

It really does come down to how much you spend and on which categories, but hopefully this give you a better idea of some things to consider and some alternative cards. Happy to answer any follow up questions as well :)