Are the Visa Infinite Privilege Cards Worth It?

When we first examined the Visa Infinite Privilege tier back in 2020, it was a sleepy corner of the Canadian credit card market. Three banks offered near-identical products, and the $200,000 income requirement kept most applicants out.

Six years later, the tier looks completely different. Eight cards from seven issuers now compete for premium travellers, the income floor has dropped to $150,000 at most banks, and the benefits have grown well beyond a handful of lounge passes.

So the question deserves a fresh answer. Are the Visa Infinite Privilege cards worth it in 2026?

What Every Infinite Privilege Card Includes

Before comparing individual products, it helps to know what comes standard. Every card in the tier carries the network benefits that Visa attaches to the Infinite Privilege label, on top of the regular Visa Infinite perks.

• Airport lounge access: a Visa Airport Companion membership covering more than 1,200 lounges worldwide, with six complimentary annual visits on cards like the RBC and TD products
• Priority airport services: expedited security and priority services at Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto Billy Bishop
• Dining and hotel perks: the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, Relais & Châteaux benefits, OpenTable priority reservations, and the Dining Series events
• Visa Destinations: curated offers in nine destinations, including a complimentary fast-track arrival service in Bangkok and skip-the-line access at the Louvre, with Infinite Privilege cards named on the eligible tier lists
• Free eSIM data: up to seven days of unlimited GigSky data in five destinations through Visa Destinations, plus an enhanced global GigSky plan with 10 GB of free data over 15 days

We cover the portal offers in our guide to Visa Destinations, and the airport perks in detail in our look at Visa Infinite Privilege priority benefits at Canadian airports.

The eSIM perks are worth a special mention for anyone who crosses the border regularly. The unlimited GigSky offers cover the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, and Mexico, and each can be claimed once every 365 days, which handles the roaming bill on a couple of trips per year.

GigSky also loads a free Travel Essentials plan with unlimited data for a full 365 days, though it works only with messaging and navigation apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage, and Google Maps. It’s a clever safety net for staying reachable between trips without buying anything.

The real differences between the cards come down to the rewards currency, the earning rates, and each issuer’s own travel perks. We’ll take them one by one.

RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^†

The RBC® Avion Visa Infinite Privilege^† remains the points maximizer’s pick of the tier, for one reason above all. Holding the card unlocks Avion Elite status, which includes the ability to redeem Avion points at a flat 2 cents per point against business class and first class fares.

That flat rate applies to paid premium cabin fares with no award availability required. A mid-summer Toronto to Paris business class ticket priced around $3,100 (CAD) would run about 155,000 Avion points, with no additional taxes to pay.

The 2 cents per point rate only applies to business class and first class bookings. Economy and premium economy revert to 1 cent per point, so this card rewards those who fly at the front of the plane.

Earning is a flat 1.25 Avion points per dollar on everything, and the $399 annual fee is the lowest among the Big 5 entries in this tier. Avion points also transfer to British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, American Airlines AAdvantage, and WestJet Rewards.

TD® Aeroplan® and CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Cards

For Air Canada loyalists, the tier offers two nearly parallel picks. The TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card and CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card layer Maple Leaf Lounge access within North America, priority check-in and boarding, and a free first checked bag on Air Canada flights on top of the network benefits.

Earning runs at 2 Aeroplan points per dollar on Air Canada purchases, 1.5 points per dollar on groceries, gas, dining, and transit, and 1.25 points per dollar on everything else, with the same structure at both banks.

Big spenders on the TD card can also unlock an annual Worldwide Companion Pass after $25,000 in yearly spending, which can deliver outsized value on paid long-haul fares for two.

The choice between the two usually comes down to the current welcome offer and where you already bank.

The Aeroplan Cards’ Status Edge

Before moving on, it’s worth spelling out why the Aeroplan cards punch above the rest of the tier. They’re the only ones that actively build toward airline status.

Under Aeroplan’s SQC system, premium co-branded cards earn 1,000 SQC per $5,000 in spending, four times the rate of the core Aeroplan cards. That runs up to 25,000 SQC per year at $125,000 in spend, which is half of what you need for Aeroplan 50K status and Star Alliance Gold before you’ve boarded a single flight.

Holding a premium Aeroplan card also unlocks the Head Start benefit, which carries 10% of this year’s SQC into next year’s qualification.

Lounge coverage doubles up too. On top of the Visa Airport Companion membership every card in this tier shares, the TD and CIBC Aeroplan cards add Maple Leaf Lounge access within North America when flying Air Canada.

There’s a hotel angle as well, courtesy of the Aeroplan and World of Hyatt partnership launched in July 2026. Premium Aeroplan cardholders receive complimentary World of Hyatt Discoverist status and five tier-qualifying nights each year, plus access to a status challenge that can fast-track you to higher Hyatt tiers within 90 days.

CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card

CIBC is the only issuer with two cards in the tier, and its second entry serves a different audience. The CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card earns Aventura points instead, with 3 points per dollar on travel booked through CIBC and 2 points per dollar across gas, electric vehicle charging, transportation, dining, entertainment, and groceries.

Aventura points are less flexible than Aeroplan points, but the card’s $499 annual fee undercuts its sibling, and CIBC pairs it with travel credits that soften the cost further for existing CIBC banking clients.

Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card

Scotiabank finally entered the tier in March 2025, and the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card quickly became one of the more popular options thanks to a familiar formula. There are no foreign transaction fees, a benefit none of the other Big 5 entries can match.

The perks run deeper than the exchange rate savings. The card includes 10 Visa Airport Companion lounge visits per year, the most in the tier, along with a $250 annual travel credit that takes a healthy bite out of the $599 fee.

Earning lands at 3 Scene+ points per dollar on travel, 2 points per dollar on dining and entertainment, and up to 6 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals, and activities booked through Scene+ Travel.

For a deeper look, our full review of the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card breaks down the earning math.

BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card

BMO’s entry, the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Privilege* Card, is the category king for everyday earning, with 5 BMO Rewards points per dollar across travel, dining, groceries, gas, and drugstores.

BMO Rewards points are a fixed-value currency, so you won’t find outsized redemptions here. What you get instead is consistency, and for households that put heavy spending through those five categories, the raw earn rate does a lot of work against the $599 annual fee.

Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card

The newest arrival takes a completely different approach. Launched in 2026, the Wealthsimple Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card pairs 2% unlimited cash back with no foreign transaction fees and the tier’s network benefits, at an annual fee of $240 charged as $20 per month.

The fee disappears entirely with $100,000 or more in eligible Wealthsimple assets, or $4,000 or more in monthly direct deposits to Wealthsimple Chequing. For clients who already qualify, this is the cheapest path into the Infinite Privilege tier by a wide margin.

You won’t find much in the way of airline perks or travel credits here, and lounge access sits at six Visa Airport Companion visits per year. What you’re buying instead is the flat 2% earn, no foreign transaction fees, and the only annual fee in the tier that can disappear entirely.

The card’s GigSky benefit also runs at the tier’s enhanced level. In the GigSky app, the Wealthsimple card loads a free 10 GB global data plan valid for 15 days.

Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege

Rounding out the tier, the Desjardins Odyssey Visa Infinite Privilege earns up to 4% back on dining and transit, 3% on travel and groceries, and 1.75% on everything else, for a $395 annual fee.

Desjardins holds the tier’s original $200,000 personal income requirement, matching RBC, and its footprint skews heavily toward Quebec. For Desjardins members, it’s a legitimately strong earner that rarely gets national attention.

Comparing the Visa Infinite Privilege Cards

With welcome bonuses changing throughout the year, the live card boxes above always show the current offers. The structural differences between the cards are steadier, and they’re what should drive the decision.

Household income can also qualify you, at $200,000 for most issuers and $300,000 at RBC and Desjardins.

So, Are They Worth It?

For the right traveller, yes, and far more clearly than in 2020. The tier’s welcome bonuses now routinely rival or beat the mid-tier cards, and the ongoing perks have real teeth.

The decision framework we’d suggest looks like this.

• You redeem for business class: the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege’s 2 cents per point rate is the tier’s single most valuable feature
• You fly Air Canada often: the TD and CIBC Aeroplan cards pay for themselves through lounge access, free bags, and priority handling, and they’re the only cards in the tier that earn SQC toward Aeroplan Elite Status
• You spend abroad: the Scotiabank Passport and Wealthsimple cards eliminate foreign transaction fees
• You want simplicity: Wealthsimple’s flat 2% with a waivable fee is the lowest-commitment entry point the tier has ever had

The weakest case for the tier is holding one of these cards while flying twice a year in economy and redeeming for statement credits. At that usage level, a strong mid-tier Visa Infinite card delivers most of the value at a quarter of the fee.

Conclusion

The Visa Infinite Privilege tier has gone from three lookalike products to a competitive market, with Scotiabank, BMO, Wealthsimple, and Desjardins all forcing the original three issuers to sharpen their offers.

If you cleared the income bar but dismissed these cards years ago, the math has changed. Lower income requirements, stronger bonuses, and the arrival of a fee-waivable option mean the tier is worth a second look, especially if your travel patterns line up with one of the profiles above.

Our bet is that the competition keeps escalating. Wealthsimple’s aggressive pricing and Visa’s expanding network benefits both put pressure on the $599 incumbents, and the next round of refreshes will need more than a bigger welcome bonus to stand out.