When we first moved to Canada, I hung up my travel hacking hat. Between COVID and our new immigration, there was enough going on. After a year or so, though, I got the itch. At first, I looked at Canadian credit cards, but their sign-up bonuses were much more modest. That’s why I started researching how to use US credit cards to travel hack in Canada.

The biggest challenge is physically getting the credit card. You’ll need to have a US mailing address you can use, and also a way to have that mail forwarded. To add a further wrinkle, mail forwarding services generally will not forward credit cards.

Travel hacking is not for everyone. Some people find the record keeping and customer service interactions to be stressful. As someone who enjoys finding loopholes and inefficiencies, though, it can be very rewarding. I don’t keep formal records, but we have definitely saved between a few hundred to a few thousand dollars every year for the past 20 or so years by travel hacking.

And since we’re talking credit cards here, let me be very clear — you should only be using credit cards if you always pay them in full every month. If you aren’t able to do this, no travel rewards are worth it. Auto pay is your best ally here.

Using US Credit Cards in Canada

If you’re a US citizen living in Canada, you have some really great options available to you. Travel hacking is all about sign-up bonuses, and the US sign-up bonuses are significantly better than their Canadian counterparts. You can travel hack a little with Canadian cards, but they tend not to waive first year annual fees and to have lower sign-up bonuses, so it’s a slower process.

Thus, with my Canadian cards, I typically focus on no-annual fee cards that give specific perks — for example a PC Financial card for groceries or a Canadian Tire card that comes with roadside assistance. For travel rewards, I primarily use US credit cards.

Since I’m a Canadian resident, I target US cards that have no foreign transaction fee. It’s worth checking whenever you sign up for a new card, but I have found that the exchange rate given by no foreign transaction fee cards is very fair. Thus, in addition to free travel, these cards also give me a way to take advantage of currency swings without exchanging money. I can use USD cards when the CAD is weak, and vice versa.

Basic Travel Hacking Tips

Chase’s 5/24 Rule

Chase will typically deny you if you have opened 5 or more new credit cards (from any US provider) in the previous 24 months. I don’t believe that this total includes Canadian credit cards, and I have heard that some non-Chase business cards may also be exempt. Chase has several of the best cards, though, so erring on the side of caution with this rule is a good idea.

If you’re married and you want to play this game, don’t add your spouse as an authorized user because that will count towards BOTH of you for Chase’s 5/24 rule. If my wife and I need to share a card, I’ll typically give my wife the physical card and put the virtual one on my phone.

Keep Accurate Records

This is definitely an area where keeping accurate records pays off. A couple of the key things to track are:

• the downgrade or cancel date – If there’s an annual fee, I put a reminder on my calendar about 11 months out from my application date. At that time, I’ll call the company and ask if there’s a no annual fee alternative that I can downgrade to. If not, I’ll cancel the card. Increasingly, I’m finding that some companies will only allow you to downgrade if you’ve held your card for a full year. If this is case, I’ll bump out the calendar reminder and call them the day I’m eligible. Downgrading is preferred (as having longer duration cards on your account will boost your credit score) but cancelling a few cards is no big deal.
• check spend date – I’ll also put a calendar reminder with the spend details (e.g. $3000 in the first three months) about a month before the deadline for the spend. That way, if I’m going to be short, I can plan some advance purchases like grocery gift cards.
• bonus received date – For most cards, you can get the bonus again after 2 years. Some (like Chase Ultimate Rewards) have a 4 year wait, so be sure to check the fine print. Also, make sure to close the card 30-60 days before you re-apply. If you close a card and immediately re-apply, you’ll typically get denied.

A Note on Business Cards

You can get business cards without a formal business (e.g. for selling things on Craigslist, a website, etc.). That said, I find most business cards have foreign transaction fees so I haven’t used these since we moved to Canada.

The Siren Song of Perfection

As in most things, I aim for the Pareto Principle rather than relentless optimization. Some people take this VERY seriously (check out r/churning) but a lot of value can be had for pretty minimal effort. I typically get 2 or 3 credit cards per year for both my wife and I. It takes a few minutes to apply (and update my spreadsheet and calendar), some minimal intention to make sure we hit the spend, and then a few minutes to cancel or downgrade. In exchange, we get a significant number of free flights and hotel rooms every year. And if it stresses you out to juggle credit cards in this way, let it go.

Best US Credit Cards for Travel Hacking in Canada

Here are some of my favorite US credit cards for to use for travel hacking in Canada:

Chase Sapphire Preferred – Ultimate Rewards are a great, flexible reward. You typically get the most bang for the buck with them by booking travel through their portal and paying with points. You can also transfer points to many airlines 1:1, which can be useful. There are other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards out there, but they typically have a bigger annual fee or a foreign transaction fee, so this is the only one I use as a Canadian resident.

Chase IHG – This is the only hotel card I really bother with. Traveling with a family, Holiday Inn Express is a good fit. They typically have pools and free hot breakfasts. Depending on the exact bonus available, I sometimes get the free one (aka Traveler) but I like these points so much that I’ll often pay for the Premier version for the additional bonus, and then downgrade to Traveler after my first year. You get every fourth night free when staying with points, so these can add up fast.

Amex Delta Skymiles – If Delta serves your local airport, this can be a good card to pick up.

Chase Aeroplan – The bonus for the US card is typically significantly higher than what you can get for a similar card in Canada. I don’t love Air Canada, but they’re often the best / only option. This card also gives you 25K status, which may or may not be useful.

Wrapping Up

We find using US travel cards in Canada to be a great way to accumulate some free trips, but it does require a bit of work and isn’t for everyone. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments. Also, please let me know if you have other tips to share.