TD Platinum Travel Visa* Review

We all want to go places, just not to the same places. A unique travel card like the TD Platinum Travel Visa*  can be used for so much more than your next tropical escape. The flexible TD Points program caters to Expedia lovers but can also help save on your next Amazon purchase, score free Starbucks lattes, and even level up your education!  The TD Platinum Travel Visa* turns both your essential spending and splurges into points you can use on what matters most. It might even be one of the best credit cards for students because of a little-known feature. Here’s what you should know about the incredibly versatile TD Platinum Travel Visa* card.   

TD Platinum Travel Visa* Welcome Offer

How does $400 worth of free stuff sound? I thought so. New TD Platinum Travel Visa* cardholders can earn up to 50,000 bonus TD Rewards points. That alone is worth about $250 in travel benefits when redeemed through the exclusive Expedia portal for TD Points collectors. Then, the annual fee is rebated for the first year for you and one additional cardholder. There’s another $89-$124 kept where it belongs – in your pocket! And for good measure, you also get a free 6-month† Uber One membership worth $60.

So, how do you score these bonus points and extra savings? You have to apply and be approved by September 3, 2024. Then you have to meet some spending requirements to snag those bonus TD Points.

First, you’ll get 15,000 bonus TD Rewards Points once you make a first purchase with your card in the first 3 months. Once you do that, the annual fee will be rebated for the year too. To earn another 35,000 TD Points you need to spend $1,000 on the card in the first 90 days of opening your account. Thanks to inflation, you’ll have no problem hitting that minimum $1,000 spend threshold. We’re looking at you, grocery stores!

The Highlight Reel: TD Platinum Travel Visa* Perks

• $400 worth of welcome offers
• Annual fee rebated in the first year
• 6 points per $1 spent on eligible travel bookings through Expedia For TD
• 4.5 points per $1 spent on groceries and restaurants
• 3 points per $1 spent on recurring bill payments 
• 1.5 points per $1 spent on everything else
• No limit to the number of points you can accumulate
• Points never expire
• Bonus TD Points & Starbucks Stars on Starbucks purchases
• Redeem points for travel through any provider, merchandise, or statement credit
• No travel blackouts or seat restrictions
• Redeem points for Starbucks purchases
• Redeem points for Amazon.ca purchases
• Redeem points for tuition costs or student loan payments
• Purchase protection 
• Extended warranty 
• Travel insurance coverage 
• Discounted car rentals 
• No minimum income required to be eligible

Earning TD Points with your Platinum Travel Visa*

The TD Points program is quickly growing in popularity and for good reason. It’s an incredibly flexible points program that lets you earn rewards on your daily purchases and redeem them for things like travel, merchandise, a credit on your account, and a few other crazy things that will blow your mind. The TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card offers you 3 accelerated points categories to help you bank even more points on the essentials, such as: 

Up to 6 points per $1 on travel purchases 

Travel purchases made with your card earn the most rewards with 6 TD Points per $1 spent online through the exclusive Expedia for TD portal, or if you book through the portal by telephone. Also, there is no annual spending cap on Expedia for TD purchases.

Up to 4 points per $1 on groceries and restaurants

You’ll earn 4.5 TD Points per $1 spent when you use your TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card to buy groceries at eligible grocery stores and restaurants. Be careful though, not all stores that sell groceries qualify as a grocery store. To get 4.5 points, the store must have a Merchant Category Code (MCC) that classifies them as a grocery store or restaurant in the Visa network.

To know for sure if your favourite grocery retailer qualifies, you can always call TD at 1-800-983-8472. The accelerated earn rate applies to all eligible grocery and restaurant purchases up to a total annual spend of $15,000 a year combined for groceries, restaurants, and bill payments. Once you hit the annual spending limit, the earn rate drops to 1.5 TD Points per $1.

Up to 3 points per $1 on recurring bill payments

Do you have recurring monthly bills? That’s a rhetorical question, of course you do. To earn 3 TD Points per $1 on your monthly recurring bills, set them to automatically charge your TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card each month. Eligible recurring bill payments include online streaming subscriptions, insurance premiums, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, cell phone bills, membership fees, etc.

As long as the merchant accepts pre-authorized payments and is classified as “recurring payments” through the Visa network, then you’re good to go. However, there is a $15,000 annual spending cap on this too. Once your combined total recurring bill payments, grocery, and restaurant charges hit $15,000 in a year, the earn rate drops down to 1.5 TD points per $1 spent.

Get 1.5 points on everything else! 

All other purchases on your  TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card, outside the accelerated rewards category, earn 1.5 TD points per $1. You also earn 1.5 TD points per $1 once you exceed the $15,000 annual spending limit on groceries, restaurants, and recurring bill payments set up on your card.

Bonus points at Starbucks!

TD and Starbucks have teamed up to help coffee lovers score more points on their guilty pleasures. You can earn bonus TD Points when you link your TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card to your Starbucks Rewards account. You’ll earn 50% more TD Rewards Points and 50% more Starbucks Stars. From there, you’ll double dip both your TD Points and your Starbucks Stars when you make eligible purchases through the Starbucks app.

Beware of spending caps & the impact on earning points!

We love getting max points on the essentials, but it’s not a free-for-all. There is an annual spending cap of $15,000 combined across groceries, restaurants, and recurring bill payments. Once you exceed the maximum spend, your earn rate drops to 1.5 points per $1 until it reset the following year.

Having said that, there is no limit on the actual number of points you can earn. Even though the rate at which you earn points might drop if you hit the spending limit, you don’t stop earning points on any of your card purchases. That means you can earn limitless points with your TD Platinum Travel Visa* Card. Cha-ching! Oh, and your TD Points never expire either. 

Redeeming your TD Points

TD credit cards are catching the eye of savvy points collectors and growing in popularity. That little green logo offers something for everyone. The TD Points program is flexible enough to make globetrotters and home-bodies equally happy. Here’s how to redeem your TD Rewards Points: 

Best value when you redeem for travel

The TD Platinum Travel Visa* is a travel card, hence the name, so you’ll get the best redemption value on travel and travel-related purchases through the Expedia for TD portal. If Expedia for TD doesn’t have what you’re looking for, you’ll get the next best redemption value on travel purchases through any other travel provider of your choice.

Better yet, your points can be applied to travel-related charges on your card like taxes, fees, and even excursions booked through your vacation resort! And there are no blackout dates or seat restrictions to worry about either. Your TD Points must be redeemed in 200-point increments on travel purchases.

Redeem for a credit on your account

If cash is king for you, then you can redeem your TD Points for a credit on your credit card bill to help pay down the balance. However, you need to have a minimum points balance of at least 10,000 TD Points in order to redeem for a statement credit. Then, every increment of 400 points over the minimum is worth $1 which can be redeemed as a credit to the account. 

Attention Amazon shoppers! 

You can redeem your TD Points for purchases on Amazon.ca. It’s super easy. Just add your TD Platinum Travel Visa* to your Amazon account and Amazon will automatically enroll your card, unless you opted out of automatic enrollment. When you’re ready to purchase the items in your cart, select your TD Platinum Travel Visa* as the method of payment and choose how many TD Points you’d like to redeem. Their value will be deducted from your total to cover all or a portion of your purchase. 

Free stuff from TD

You can also redeem your TD points to get free stuff from the TDRewards.com online catalogue. You can score free name-brand merchandise across every possible category as well as gift cards to stores, restaurants, and gas stations. Keep in mind, redeeming for merchandise and gift cards yields the lowest redemption value for your points.

Free lattes? Yes please! 

Not only can you double-dip your Starbucks Stars and TD Points, you can also redeem your points for free Starbucks purchases too! If you’re having a hard time kicking that pricey caffeine addiction, the TD Platinum Travel Visa* can save your budget. Just swap your TD Points for Starbucks Stars. Then, redeem your Starbucks Stars for free coffee, handcrafted drinks, food, and eligible merchandise. You need to redeem at least 700 TD Points for Starbucks Stars.

Attention students! Is this the best redemption feature EVER?

Are student loans killing your vibe? What if I told you the TD Platinum Travel Visa* could slash your tuition bill? The TD Points program is the first I’ve come across that lets you redeem points towards your student loan balance and other education costs. TD Points can be used to purchase education credits on HigherEdPoints.com to pay off or pay down student loans or put directly towards your tuition. 

And the best part? They don’t have to be your own TD Points either. Anyone can use their eligible TD Points to purchase education credits for you too. Thanks, Nana! Credits can be purchased in $250 increments (62,500 points) and transferred to your HigherEdPoints account.

From there, you have 2 years to redeem your education credits for payment on federal/provincial student loans or directly towards tuition at participating post-secondary schools. And for what it’s worth, education credits are the second-highest redemption value after travel. I can’t even! 

Travel insurance benefits on your TD Platinum Travel Visa*

As a travel card, TD Platinum Travel Visa* isn’t the best on the market, but it does not disappoint either. Not only do you get the best redemption value on your points when used to book travel through Expedia for TD, you also get a host of other perks too. TD even provides a nifty Credit Card Travel Insurance Verification Tool to help you see what travel benefits are available on your TD credit card. That’s an incredibly handy feature I haven’t seen from other credit card providers.  Here’s a rundown of the complimentary travel insurance benefits you get: 

Other travel perks & discounts

Travel insurance isn’t the only perk you get. Your TD Platinum Travel Visa* also gives you special privileges at airports, on-demand access to help when you need it, other travel discounts, and a smarter way to spend. Here’s how: 

Travel assistance

In the event you experience a personal emergency while travelling, you can access Emergency Travel Assistance Services toll-free at  1-800-871-8334. Knock on wood!

When you need a rental 

If you like to sight-see on your own terms while travelling, or you got rear-ended on your way to a tourist attraction, you can save money with car rental discounts. TD Platinum Travel Visa* holders get at least 10% off car rentals through participating Avis Rent-A-Car and Budget Rent-A-Car locations in Canada and the U.S., and at least 5% off participating international locations.

For the road trippers

Do you love to road-trip? Your TD Platinum Travel Visa* gives you the option to purchase a membership to TD Auto Club. You’ll get access to emergency roadside assistance 24 hours a day. Now you can hit the open road with confidence.

For the smart shoppers 

Savvy shoppers don’t just bargain hunt, they protect their purchases from loss and damage. When you make a purchase with your TD Platinum Travel Visa*, you automatically get Purchase Security and Extended Warranty protection on most new items. If something is stolen or damaged within 90 days from the date of purchase, you’re covered. You also get Mobile Device Insurance on eligible mobile devices purchased with your card.

Rates & fees on the TD Platinum Travel Visa*

Rewards cards typically come with an annual fee, and the TD Platinum Travel Visa* is no exception. At $89 per year, you get quite a bit back in complimentary perks. It’s not a terrible fee compared to other cards on the market, and it’s rebated for the first year too. You can add additional cardholders to your account. The first one will cost $35, also rebated for the first year, and the next ones are free.

The interest rate is pretty standard on this card. There’s really nothing to write home about here, especially if you know how to use a rewards card properly. Ideally, you want to pay your balance off in full every month, which makes the interest rate on this card irrelevant. If you rack up a balance and don’t pay it off in full by the due date, interest charges start to cancel out the benefit of your points – so don’t do that!

Are you eligible for the TD Platinum Travel Visa* card? 

Despite the word “platinum” in the title, the TD Platinum Travel Visa* is a rewards card that is fairly easy to get. There is no minimum income required to qualify, which is great news for students, homemakers, those with lower or non-traditional incomes, as well as retirees. To qualify for this card, you must be at least the age of majority in the province where you live and be a permanent resident of Canada. 

Sometimes, a credit card will explicitly require post-bankrupt applicants to be discharged from bankruptcy for at least 7 years in order to be eligible. However, the TD Platinum Travel Visa* does not have any explicit requirements for post-bankrupts, leading us to believe you may be able to get this card if you have a bankruptcy or consumer proposal on your credit file.

However, we are only speculating based on the eligibility requirements of other cards. Approval is never guaranteed and your application is subject to a hard credit check. Applicants with a good credit score are more likely to be approved. 

Who is the TD Platinum Travel Visa* card for?

At first glance, the TD Platinum Travel Visa* looks like a great card for wanderlusters who want to convert their daily purchases into fabulous adventures. But upon closer inspection, it’s actually a fantastic card for anyone who wants a flexible rewards program to save money on major budget-busters.

Specifically, three kinds of people come to mind; students, Starbucks lovers, and die-hard Amazon shoppers. Heck, it’s a great card for parents who want to help their kids with the cost of post-secondary education.  

Travel might not be top of mind now that the cost of living just hit cruising altitude. As a Starbucks addict and devout Amazon shopper myself, I was already flexing my digits to hit that Apply button. It’s not often that a travel card can help you bank some serious savings on stuff other than travel; like what you need, what you want, and the simple joys that make life worth living.

Luckily, you don’t have to choose between a white and green cuppa-joy or diapers for the tiny humans who make you want to inject that coffee directly into your bloodstream. With the TD Platinum Travel Visa* you can do both! 

Lattes earn points, and points can cover those Amazon diaper purchases. Or your kid’s undergrad program. The HigherEdPoints program is a complete game-changer and I’d like more credit cards to hop on board with this.

And now that you can bank bonus points when the green siren calls, your guilty pleasures can actually bankroll your way to a cap and gown. Don’t worry, when you’re ready to travel again you’ll still score sweet deals on Expedia for TD. Until then, you might as well save money on simple joys.

The TD Platinum Travel Visa* Rating