This premium TD card lets travellers redeem flexible rewards through a partnership with Expedia.
Photo by Guilherme Stecanella from Unsplash
With a plethora of travel-focused credit cards on the market, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite may not be the obvious choice—especially considering how many Aeroplan cards TD currently has on its roster. That said, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card is worth considering. Why? It boasts a flexible redemption program and a partnership with Expedia. Cardholders get access to Expedia For TD online portal to redeem rewards for flights, hotels and car rentals on expediafortd.com.
If you’re planning a trip, the card’s current welcome offer could be the deciding factor. You can get up to 145,000 TD points (a value of up to $1,000, apply by May 28, 2023).
Add to that comprehensive insurance coverage and generous earn rates and the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card becomes a solid choice for avid travellers. It’s for these reasons it was also named best travel Visa in 2022.
| Annual fee | $139 (rebated for the first year). |
| Welcome offer | You can earn up to 100,000 TD Rewards points. Conditions apply. Must apply by September 5, 2023. Plus, get an annual birthday bonus of 10% of your previous year’s points (up to 10,000 points). |
| Earn rate | 8 TD points per $1 spent when you book travel through Expedia For TD; 6 Points per $1 on groceries & restaurants; 4 points per $1 spent on recurring bills; 2 points per $1 spent on everything else |
| Point value | 1 point = $0.005 when redeemed online for travel on ExpediaForTD.com |
| Income requirement | $60,000 (or $100,000 as a household) |
| Interest rates | 20.99% on purchases, 22.99% on cash advances, 22.99% on balance transfers |
| Best features | Strong earn rate on travel spending (4.5%); flexible travel program with access to everything Expedia has to offer |
| Who it’s good for | Frequent travellers who are not tied to a particular airline, book travel often and want flexible redemption options |
The TD points system is easier to understand than the point system for the bank’s Aeroplan credit cards. Your Point values stay the same no matter where you’re flying, so it’s easy to work out how much they’re worth. Plus, TD Points can be redeemed on any airline, not just Air Canada or Star Alliance Partners. While Aeroplan Miles are valuable, if you prefer simplicity the TD First Class card might be more up your alley.
If you already use Expedia to book your travel, this card is a savvy choice. When you book travel online through Expedia For TD, you earn 8 TD points per $1.
You can earn up to 100,000 TD Rewards points. Conditions apply. Must apply by September 5, 2023.. Plus, earn a birthday bonus of up to 10,000 rewards points (conditions apply). You can also receive a $100 TD travel credit when you spend at least $500 at Expedia for TD.
The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card comes with up to $2 million of travel medical insurance coverage for the first 21 days of a trip. Trip cancellation, trip interruption, common carrier travel accident insurance, travel assistance services, flight delay insurance, auto rental collision insurance, and delayed and lost baggage insurance round out the card’s benefits. For a premium rewards card, The TD First Class’s insurance is fairly standard, however; so, if you’re looking for more comprehensive credit card insurance, you could consider a card like the National Bank World Elite Mastercard,* which comes with up to $5 million in out-of-province-of-residence medical/hospital insurance for trips up to 60 days (if you’re under 54).
With the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card, you’ll get a 20% discount on a Priority Pass. If you are a regular traveller, this could be a game-changer for you, as you’ll get discounted access to over 1,200 VIP lounges across the globe. That means, you’ll be able to retreat from the busy terminal and enjoy complimentary refreshments, a calming atmosphere and phone, fax and Internet services. Plus, you can use your TD Points toward your membership.
You can redeem your TD Points for travel in two ways. The best—and most valuable—way is through the Expedia For TD online portal, where you can redeem 200 TD points per $1 in travel credit (0.5%) and pay the balance of the cost (if any) using your credit card (you’ll also earn Points on this spend).
Your other redemption choice is the “Book Any Way” option, which lets you book via other travel websites; however, your bookings can cost up to 25% more if you go this route. When using “Book Any Way” you’ll redeem at 250 TD points per $1 (0.4%) applied as a statement credit on your first $1,200 in travel purchases and 200 TD points per $1 (0.5%) for your travel purchases over $1,200. In comparison, with Expedia For TD, you’ll get a better and more consistent return of 0.5% on all your travel spending.
In both cases, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card allows you to redeem for any seat on any airline. Additionally, you can redeem points for rewards in small increments (minimum 200), so this means you don’t need to build up a large pool of points before you’re able to apply them towards travel.
Finally, through the TD Rewards site, you can shop for items such as a Vitamix blender, a Dyson vacuum or gift cards. However, you won’t get the same value as you would booking travel. For example, a $50 gift card at Best Buy will cost you 20,000 TD points, whereas you can use the same amount of points for $100 in travel on the Expedia For TD portal.
Ultimately, your best bet is to redeem points for travel from ExpediaForTD.com. Generally, prices on the website are similar to those on the main Expedia website, and you’ll be able to redeem at the rate of 200 points per $1. If you redeem points for travel outside of the TD portal, your points can lose up to 25% in value; however this could be a smarter route if you find a really good deal on another travel portal.
If you do find a better hotel or flight deal elsewhere, you have the option to price match, but there are some restrictions: you must have booked within the last 24 hours; your travel plans must be at least 48 hours away; and travel dates, and flight and hotel classes must all be the same to submit a claim.
There is a minimum personal income requirement of $60,000 or a household income of $100,000. However, this is a common requirement for many cards in the same category.
Other cards offer more incentive to spend in categories like groceries, dining and entertainment. The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card only offers three times the Points earn on travel booked through the Expedia For TD portal (4.5%)—everything else is at the base three TD points per $1 (1.5%) rate. To compare, the Scotiabank Gold American Express has a five-times Points accelerator on restaurants and groceries (5% per dollar).
Finally, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card doesn’t offer airport lounge access—only a 20% discount on a Priority Pass membership—and you’ll be charged foreign transaction fees. So, if you like to use airport lounges, or you often find yourself shopping in a foreign currency, you may want to consider a card that offers those perks.
TD’s unique partnership with Expedia, accelerated earn rates and incremental points redemption structure make the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite card a worthwhile consideration for those who travel frequently. However, the biggest boost in earning points you’ll get with this card is by booking with ExpediaForTD.com. If you don’t want to be locked into booking that way, you may want to explore other travel card options.
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One of the TD First Class Infinite VISA Benefits List include :
“ Earn 3 points per $1 on everything spent “
Could you clarify why on my recent
Bill Statement, showed $5 earned for 1,178 points
Wouldn’t 1,178 points translate into 1178 divided by 3 ?
I have this card, but rarely use except for buying something on a trip to get the insurance coverage. The issue I have is I like to book my travel through web sites like tripcentral.ca (better for packages), VRBO (for condo rentals) and booking.com (much better selection), so only end up rarely using Expedia for TD and end up getting 1.2% back on my purchases, unless I want to wait until I have over $1,200 of points and then buy a major trip, getting 1.5% on the part over $1,200.
So, its pretty good and the insurance is good, but its not as great for travel as they like to claim.
I have had this card for about 2 years now and I am so dessapointed with it. I will stop using it from now on and I will tell everybody I know NOT to get this card or anything related to TD Bank. I changed to this card because they assured me I have full trip coverage with it so I booked my last vacation with it and considering that I did not get what I wanted on my trip they will take some responsibilities and give me some refund after my claim was with them for 8 months. They kept asking me for documents that I provided every time they asked and at the end they kept asking for documents I already submitted three times before. TD is a disgrace for Canadians. I wish the government take actions and do a deep audit on these guys. I will slowly withdraw everything I have with TD to go to another bank. Anything is better than this. Please people, do not do anything with this bank and definitely nothing with this credit card. I am been having issues with this bank since 2008 and it’s time to move on to a better service.
This is the all lying I have issues with that I lost my luggage on my way back home and my flight cut and delayed for 5 months
they don’t cover anything’s this massage is for the Visa highly in-charge manager if you guys don’t find me solution I have to take legal step and say bye to TD my whole family since they denied my claim it’s really really broke my heart. I was really trust them never ever again.
I want to redeem my points from my business travel which I have accumulated
as I switched to the rewards cash card now .How do I do this June 15,2022
This card is excellent and works well if you are looking to use it for travel specifically. I find it comes in handy when even needing a car rental or a hotel stay on the fly.
We have this card and use it often, we had enough points to use it for 5 hotels on our roadtrip last spring (booked them through expedia). I guess it all depends on what you plan to do. We often go on little roadtrips to Canmore, Banff or Jasper and use it to stay there as well so it really saves us for accommodations. Also not having to get separate car insurance for rental cars is a big plus.
I just got back from Cuba. Unfortunately my flight from Ottawa to Cuba was delayed by 4 hours. And from Cuba to Ottawa for 14 hours. I want to be reimbursed because I bought a ride on my The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite. Please give me the contact information to whom to apply for compensation.
Thank you,