Why Most Travelers Waste Money on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite

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For many Canadian travelers, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is the default “travel credit card” recommended by banks, blogs and even family members. It promises generous welcome bonuses, free checked bags on Air Canada, built in travel insurance and a fast track to free flights. Yet when you look closely at how most cardholders actually use it, a different picture appears. Between annual fees, weak redemptions and foreign transaction charges, a large share of people are effectively overpaying for the privilege of earning Aeroplan points they never fully use. This card can be excellent in the right hands, but for many everyday travelers it quietly becomes a money pit.

The Card Looks Generous on Paper, But Costs Add Up Fast

The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is marketed as a premium travel card with a mid range annual fee. As of mid 2026, the regular fee is in the low hundreds of dollars per year, often rebated in the first year as part of a welcome offer. That opening deal can look extremely attractive when it includes tens of thousands of Aeroplan points and a first year fee rebate. For a couple planning a single big trip, that welcome bonus alone can easily cover a short haul return flight within North America or cut the cost of a transatlantic ticket. The upfront win is real.

The problem is what happens after that honeymoon year. Once the fee rebate expires, many people simply let the card renew because they assume they are “travel people now” and will surely use the benefits. If you pay, for example, around 140 to 160 Canadian dollars in annual fees and only earn or redeem a modest number of points, your real return can quickly fall below what a no fee or simple cashback card would deliver. If you redeem your Aeroplan points for poor value options like gift cards or low value flights, the effective return can drop even further.

Consider a typical casual traveler who charges 1,500 dollars per month to the card. Earning around 1 Aeroplan point per dollar on most purchases, that is roughly 18,000 points per year, plus a bit more from occasional travel spending at the accelerated rate on Air Canada purchases. If they redeem those points at roughly 1 to 1.3 cents of value per point, which various independent analyses suggest is a realistic average for simple economy flight bookings, those 18,000 points are worth maybe 180 to 230 dollars toward travel. That sounds solid, but once you subtract the annual fee and consider that a good no fee cashback card could earn 1 to 2 percent back on the same spending with no complexity, the gap narrows fast.

This gap becomes more painful if the cardholder rarely flies Air Canada, forgets to use the included NEXUS rebate or free checked bag benefit, or simply hoards points without redeeming. In that case, the card is essentially a paid membership to a points program that delivers less net value than a straightforward cashback setup.

Misunderstanding Aeroplan Point Value Leads to Poor Decisions

Another way travelers waste money with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is by misunderstanding what Aeroplan points are actually worth. Independent valuations in 2025 and 2026 from several Canadian rewards analysts commonly land around 1.2 to 1.8 cents per point as a reasonable range for typical economy and some premium economy redemptions, with the possibility of 2 cents or more in carefully chosen premium cabin scenarios. At the same time, analyses of non flight redemptions like merchandise or gift cards often show values closer to 0.5 to 1 cent per point, sometimes less. In other words, how you use your points has a much bigger impact on value than how quickly you earn them.

Many TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite holders focus on the earn side and ignore the redemption side. For example, a cardholder might proudly mention that they have built up 100,000 Aeroplan points over a few years of spending. That sounds like a substantial travel war chest. In practice, though, the difference between redeeming that balance at 0.8 cents per point versus 1.6 cents per point is the difference between 800 and 1,600 dollars of travel value. Whether the card is a great deal or a poor one hinges entirely on that spread.

Real world stories from Aeroplan users illustrate this tension. Some travelers report struggling to get more than about 1.1 to 1.3 cents per point on simple, inflexible itineraries, especially when booking popular routes at peak times. Others report 2 to 4 cents per point or more when they are able to book partner business class flights from Canadian cities to Europe or Asia on flexible dates. Both sets of outcomes can be true at the same time. The key difference is flexibility, planning and willingness to seek out sweet spot routes on partner airlines.

For the average TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite holder who flies once a year during school holidays, it is rarely realistic to plan trips purely around point value. They will often be constrained by work schedules and family commitments, and that typically means accepting lower cent per point values. If those values dip below what they could earn with a simple cashback card, then the Aeroplan focused strategy is costing them money, even if they feel like they are “travel hacking.”

Foreign Transaction Fees Quietly Eat Into Travel Savings

One of the biggest contradictions with many Canadian travel cards, including the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, is the presence of foreign transaction fees. While exact terms are spelled out in the cardholder agreement, the standard structure has historically included a surcharge on purchases made in foreign currencies. For a traveler who books hotels in euros, pays for restaurant meals in Mexican pesos, or shops in US dollars, this fee typically adds roughly 2.5 percent on top of the exchange rate. That can amount to an extra 25 dollars in hidden costs for every 1,000 dollars spent abroad.

In concrete terms, imagine a long weekend in New York City where you spend 1,200 Canadian dollars worth of US dollar transactions on hotels, dining and shopping. The foreign transaction surcharge adds roughly 30 dollars to your bill before considering any interest charges. If you earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar on some categories and maybe 1 point per dollar on others, you might end the trip with around 1,500 to 1,800 points. Valued at a reasonable 1.3 cents per point, that is perhaps 20 to 23 dollars of value. Even before considering the annual fee, you have likely paid more in foreign transaction charges than you earned back in points.

This math is even harsher for digital nomads or frequent cross border shoppers who routinely charge foreign currency transactions. Some Canadian card issuers now offer Aeroplan earning cards with no foreign transaction fees at higher annual fees, while other banks provide no fee or low fee cards that simply avoid foreign transaction charges altogether. A traveler who routinely spends abroad but keeps the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite as their primary card may be leaking hundreds of dollars per year in these surcharges, effectively negating the benefit of their Aeroplan earnings.

The most efficient strategy for many modern travelers is to pair a strong Aeroplan earner for domestic purchases and Air Canada flight bookings with a no foreign transaction fee card for international day to day spending. However, large numbers of TD customers never take this step because they assume their “travel card” should be the one to use abroad. That assumption quietly benefits the bank and undermines the value of the card for the cardholder.

Insurance Benefits Are Valuable, But Often Overestimated or Misused

One reason people keep the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite year after year is the idea that the card’s built in travel insurance could save them from having to buy separate coverage. The official insurance booklet for the card lists benefits such as emergency medical coverage for eligible out of province travel, trip cancellation and interruption, delayed and lost baggage, flight delay coverage, and rental car collision damage waiver coverage, among others. On paper, that looks like a comprehensive safety net for trips involving Air Canada and partner airlines.

These protections can indeed be valuable. For example, a traveler flying from Toronto to London who pays for their round trip ticket with the card and then experiences a major delay may be able to claim reimbursement for hotel and meal costs up to the policy limits. Someone renting a car in Vancouver for a week could decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and rely on the card’s coverage instead, potentially saving 20 to 30 dollars per day in extra fees. Over a series of trips, these avoided costs can outweigh the annual fee.

However, the gap between what cardholders assume is covered and what the policy actually covers is often wide. Coverage limits can be lower than what some travelers expect, pre existing medical conditions can be excluded, age limits may apply to emergency medical benefits, and many protections only kick in if the full cost of the trip or car rental is charged to the card. There are also strict timelines and documentation requirements for making claims, and coverage may be secondary to other sources like provincial health plans or separate travel insurance.

Real world discussions among Canadian travelers frequently include stories of confusion around whether a given strike, schedule change or weather disruption is covered under a card’s trip interruption or cancellation policy. Some cardholders only discover the limitations after a claim is denied or partially reimbursed. In those situations, the assumed value of “free travel insurance” suddenly shrinks, while the cardholder has still been paying the annual fee. For occasional travelers who would be better served by purchasing a tailored single trip policy when needed, maintaining a premium credit card primarily for insurance can be a poor trade.

Casual Travelers Rarely Unlock Premium Aeroplan Sweet Spots

In theory, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite shines when paired with Aeroplan’s highest value redemptions. Seasoned points enthusiasts regularly highlight examples where Aeroplan points redeemed for international premium cabin flights generate extraordinary value, sometimes exceeding 2.5 or even 4 cents per point. For instance, an off peak business class redemption from Montreal or Toronto to Europe on a Star Alliance partner might cost 70,000 to 90,000 points one way while the cash ticket price could be 3,000 to 4,000 dollars, producing outstanding value on paper.

Similarly, creative itineraries with stopovers in cities like Lisbon, Istanbul or Tokyo can stretch the value of a single award ticket. A traveler willing to depart from a secondary Canadian airport, connect through an overseas hub and accept non ideal flight times may be able to book complex trips that would cost many thousands of dollars in cash. For those specialized users, Aeroplan points earned from everyday spending can provide an outsized return that more than justifies annual card fees.

The problem is that the majority of TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite cardholders will never book these types of trips. They are not hunting for award space on partner airlines months in advance or reshaping their vacation plans to fit specialty award charts. Instead, they typically use their points for straightforward round trip economy flights from Canadian cities to common destinations like Vancouver, Calgary, Florida or Mexico during school holidays. When Aeroplan’s dynamic pricing pushes required points up during those peak periods, the cent per point value can drop closer to 1.0 to 1.3 cents or even less.

As a concrete example, imagine a family in Ottawa trying to redeem Aeroplan points for a March break trip to Cancun. If cash tickets are selling for around 800 dollars each and Aeroplan wants 70,000 points plus taxes and fees per person for the same flights, the effective value per point might be around 1.1 cents. That is not terrible, but if the family earned those points by paying annual fees for several years and absorbing foreign transaction charges along the way, they may not be truly ahead versus using a no fee cashback card and booking the best priced cash fare on any airline.

Bank Marketing Encourages “Set and Forget” Loyalty

Another reason people waste money on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is psychological rather than mathematical. Once a bank positions a card as a “travel lifestyle” product and pairs it with a well known loyalty program like Aeroplan, many customers emotionally align themselves with that ecosystem. They may feel that switching cards would mean giving up their identity as a savvy traveler, even if their actual behavior is not optimized. The allure of status, lounge access and priority boarding that higher tier Aeroplan credit cards and elite status provide only adds to that effect, even if the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite itself is a mid tier product.

In practice, this can lead to what could be called set and forget loyalty. The card sits at the top of the wallet for years while the owner rarely revisits whether it still fits their travel patterns. People who opened the card when Air Canada flew a certain route or when Aeroplan’s award chart was more generous may not realize how much the landscape has shifted. Periodic devaluations, dynamic pricing changes and added fees can erode point value over time, but the annual fee keeps posting each year unless the account holder takes action.

There is also a subtle opportunity cost. Every dollar charged to the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is a dollar not charged to an alternative card that might offer higher cashback or more flexible transferable points. Some Canadian cardholders, for instance, choose flexible travel rewards currencies that can be redeemed as statement credits at a fixed rate against any travel purchase, rather than being tied to a single airline program. For a traveler who values simplicity and low friction redemptions, that kind of flexibility may be more valuable than the theoretical upside of Aeroplan’s most exotic sweet spots.

The result is that many TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite cardholders persist with the card because of habit, brand familiarity and a desire to feel like a frequent flyer, even when their actual travel habits are modest and their redemption patterns are sub optimal. Over a decade, that inertia can easily cost thousands of dollars in forgone value.

The Takeaway

None of this means the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is a bad product. For travelers who fly Air Canada or Star Alliance partners multiple times per year, have flexible schedules, understand Aeroplan’s award pricing and are comfortable comparison shopping redemption options, the card’s combination of earn rates, welcome bonuses, Air Canada perks and built in insurance can absolutely deliver strong net value. In that context, the annual fee is simply a cost of doing business that is more than offset by a steady stream of high value award flights and trip protections.

The trouble is that this profile describes only a minority of cardholders. Most people who pick up the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite use it for everyday spending, take one or two trips a year on fixed dates, and rarely dig into the fine print of insurance or the nuances of Aeroplan’s dynamic pricing. They often hold the card for years after the initial welcome bonus, absorb foreign transaction fees on international trips and redeem points for mediocre value. From a purely financial perspective, many of those cardholders would be better off with a straightforward cashback card, a low fee no foreign transaction fee travel card, or a more flexible rewards program.

If you currently carry the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite, the most important step is to run your own numbers. Look at how much you pay in annual fees and foreign transaction charges each year, then estimate the dollar value of the Aeroplan points you actually redeem, not just the ones you earn. Compare that net value to what you could get from a simple cashback card with no annual fee. If the Aeroplan setup is truly ahead for you, then keep the card and lean fully into maximizing its strengths. If not, do not let the sunk cost of past fees or the appeal of airline branding stop you from switching to something that better fits your real travel life.

FAQ

Q1. Is the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite worth it if I only travel once a year?
For most people who take a single trip per year, the annual fee and foreign transaction charges will outweigh the value of the points and perks. A no fee cashback card or a lower cost travel card may provide better net value unless that one trip is a high value Aeroplan redemption, such as a long haul international flight booked at a good cent per point rate.

Q2. What is a reasonable value per Aeroplan point when using this card?
Many independent analyses in recent years suggest that a realistic target for ordinary economy bookings is around 1.2 to 1.6 cents per point, with higher values possible for premium cabin or partner airline redemptions. If you consistently redeem below about 1 cent per point, you are probably not using your Aeroplan points efficiently and may be better with simpler rewards.

Q3. How do foreign transaction fees affect the value of the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite?
Foreign transaction fees typically add roughly 2.5 percent to the cost of purchases made in non Canadian currencies. On a 1,000 dollar trip abroad, that is about 25 dollars in added cost. The points you earn on that spending often do not fully offset this surcharge, especially if you redeem points at modest values, which means your international purchases can effectively cost more than if you used a no foreign transaction fee card.

Q4. Are the travel insurance benefits enough reason to keep the card?
The included travel insurance can be valuable for some travelers, particularly those who regularly book flights and car rentals with the card and fit within the policy’s age and health requirements. However, coverage has limits and exclusions, and not every kind of disruption or medical situation is covered. If you travel infrequently or need specialized coverage, buying separate travel insurance for specific trips may be more cost effective than paying a recurring annual card fee.

Q5. Do I have to fly Air Canada often for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite to make sense?
You do not have to be a weekly Air Canada flyer, but the card makes far more sense if you choose Air Canada or Star Alliance partners for a good portion of your travel. Benefits like free checked bags on Air Canada flights, preferred pricing on some awards and bonus points on Air Canada purchases all assume that you are actually booking those flights. If you mostly fly low cost carriers or other alliances, the card’s advantages shrink.

Q6. What is a common mistake people make when redeeming Aeroplan points from this card?
A very common mistake is redeeming points for low value options such as merchandise, gift cards or poorly priced flights just to “use them up.” These redemptions can yield well under 1 cent per point in value. Another frequent issue is booking peak season flights without comparing the cash fare, which can lead to paying a high number of points for little real savings.

Q7. How can I check if keeping the card is still a good deal for me?
Start by adding up the annual fee plus an estimate of what you pay in foreign transaction fees and any interest. Then calculate the total value of Aeroplan points you actually redeemed over the same period, using a realistic point value. If your redeemed value is comfortably higher than your costs and you also used perks like free checked bags or NEXUS rebates, the card may be worthwhile. If not, consider switching.

Q8. Would a simple cashback card really beat a travel points card like this?
For many casual travelers, yes. A no fee card that offers 1 to 2 percent cash back on all purchases can be surprisingly powerful, because the rewards are straightforward, flexible and not tied to a single airline or dynamic pricing. Unless you regularly unlock higher value Aeroplan redemptions, the simplicity and reliability of cashback often wins over the long term.

Q9. What type of traveler actually gets strong value from the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite?
The card tends to shine for travelers who fly several times per year, are comfortable with booking Air Canada and Star Alliance partner flights, have flexible travel dates, and are willing to research award options. These users are more likely to secure high value redemptions and make full use of benefits like free checked bags, priority perks and insurance.

Q10. If I already have a big Aeroplan balance, should I cancel the card?
Having a large Aeroplan balance by itself is not a reason to keep or cancel the card. Aeroplan points are held in your Aeroplan account, not on the card, so you normally keep them even if you switch cards, provided your Aeroplan account remains active. A better approach is to plan how you will redeem those points at good value and then decide whether paying the annual fee for another year supports that plan or whether a different card would serve you better.