Last Updated: September 20, 2026
Every Canadian credit card blog will tell you a welcome bonus is “elevated” or “the best it’s ever been.” Almost none of them show you the actual dated history behind that claim. This page does: a sourced, month-by-month record of how the welcome bonus has moved on 14 of the most-searched Canadian travel and cash-back credit cards, so you can judge for yourself whether now is genuinely a good time to apply, or whether you’d be better off waiting.
We update this page as offers change, and every figure below is dated and sourced from public tracking sites, official issuer pages, or our own published reviews. Where the data is thin or sources disagree, we say so directly rather than smoothing it over.
At a Glance
🟢 At or near an all-time high | 🟡 Stable or neutral | 🔴 Below a recent peak
| Card | Current Offer | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt Card | 15,000 MR points | 🟡 Flat for years — no urgency signal either way |
| American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card | 85,000 Aeroplan points | 🔴 Well below its recent peak — consider waiting if you’re not in a rush |
| The Platinum Card® | 100,000 MR points | 🔴 Below its recent peak of 170,000 |
| American Express Gold Rewards Card | 60,000 MR points | 🔴 Below its recent peak of 110,000 |
| TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* | 160,000 TD Rewards points | 🟢 At an all-time high in our tracked data — a strong time to apply |
| Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite | 35,000 Scene+ points | 🟡 Roughly typical, though data is thin |
| CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite* | 60,000 Aventura points | 🟢 At its highest confirmed level, and has held there since January 2026 |
| CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card | 80,000 Aventura points | 🟡 Stable — no confirmed change in the last 15 months |
| CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card | 50,000 Aeroplan points | 🟡 Roughly stable around 45,000-50,000 |
| RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card | 70,000 Avion points | 🟢 Recently increased from 55,000 — a good time to apply |
| WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard | 70,000 WestJet dollars | 🟢 Sources call this the card’s all-time high |
| RBC ION+ Visa | 28,000 Avion points | 🟢 At an all-time high after a June 2026 increase |
| National Bank World Elite Mastercard | No points bonus — a first-year annual fee waiver only | 🔴 Currently in one of its weaker windows — consider waiting |
| Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card | 110,000 Marriott Bonvoy points | 🟢 Matches its all-time high, but this specific offer is stated to end September 22, 2026 |
The Full History, Card by Card
American Express Cobalt Card
🟡 Flat for years — no urgency signal either way
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Nov 2023 | 15,000 |
| May 2025 | 15,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 15,000 |
This offer has held flat for roughly three years across every source we tracked, with no evidence of a spike coming. If you’ve been waiting for a jump, there’s no sign one’s imminent — but there’s also no reason to rush before a specific deadline.
Read the full American Express Cobalt Card review →
American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
🔴 Well below its recent peak — consider waiting if you’re not in a rush
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| May 2025 | 130,000 |
| Aug 2025 | 85,000 |
| Jun 2026 | 150,000 (peak) |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 85,000 |
This card hit 150,000 points as recently as June 2026, nearly double the current offer. It has bounced between roughly 85,000 and 150,000 over the past 18 months, so today’s offer sits at the low end of its own recent range.
Read the full American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card review →
The Platinum Card®
🔴 Below its recent peak of 170,000
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | ~180,000 (peak) |
| Aug 2025 | 100,000 |
| Jun 2026 | 170,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 100,000 |
Sources show some minor disagreement on the exact size of the mid-2025 peak, but all agree the offer has swung as high as 170,000-180,000 points within the past year — well above today’s 100,000.
Read the full The Platinum Card® review →
American Express Gold Rewards Card
🔴 Below its recent peak of 110,000
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | 110,000 (historical high) |
| Aug 2025 | 60,000 |
| Jun 2026 | 90,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 60,000 |
This card has ranged from 60,000 to 110,000 points over the past year. The current 60,000-point offer is at the low end of that range.
Read the full American Express Gold Rewards Card review →
TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite*
🟢 At an all-time high in our tracked data — a strong time to apply
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | 115,000 |
| Feb 2024 | 135,000 |
| May 2025 | 85,000 (low) |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 160,000 (highest tracked) |
The current offer is the highest we’ve found in this card’s history, well above both the 2023-2024 levels and the May 2025 low point.
Read the full TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* review →
Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite
🟡 Roughly typical, though data is thin
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | 40,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 35,000 |
We could only confirm two dated data points for this card, spaced about two and a half years apart, so treat the trend line here as a rough guide rather than a tight month-to-month chart.
Read the full Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite review →
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite*
🟢 At its highest confirmed level, and has held there since January 2026
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | 45,000 |
| Jan 2026 | 60,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 60,000 |
The offer jumped by 25,000 points in January 2026 and has stayed there since — the longest it’s held at a single level in our data.
Read the full CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite* review →
CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card
🟡 Stable — no confirmed change in the last 15 months
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | 80,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 80,000 |
Prince of Travel maintains a members-gated historical chart for this card that we couldn’t access, so our confirmed history here is thinner than we’d like — but every source agrees the offer hasn’t moved since mid-2025.
Read the full CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege Card review →
CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
🟡 Roughly stable around 45,000-50,000
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 50,000 |
| Feb 2026 | 45,000 |
| Apr 2026 | 50,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 50,000 |
Two sources briefly disagreed on the exact figure in early 2026, but the offer has settled back at 50,000 and stayed there.
Read the full CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card review →
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card
🟢 Recently increased from 55,000 — a good time to apply
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | 55,000 |
| Aug 2026 | 70,000 (increase) |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 70,000 |
This offer moved up from 55,000 to 70,000 points in August 2026 and has held at the new, higher level since.
Read the full RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card review →
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
🟢 Sources call this the card’s all-time high
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| May 2025 | 70,000 |
| Feb 2026 | 70,000 |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 70,000 (all-time high) |
Two independent trackers describe the current offer as this card’s all-time high, and it’s held steady at that level since at least mid-2025.
Read the full WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard review →
RBC ION+ Visa
🟢 At an all-time high after a June 2026 increase
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | 21,000 |
| Feb 2026 | 21,000 |
| Jun 2026 | 28,000 (increase) |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 28,000 |
The offer jumped from 21,000 to 28,000 points in June 2026, which trackers flagged as another all-time high for this card.
Read the full RBC ION+ Visa review →
National Bank World Elite Mastercard
🔴 Currently in one of its weaker windows — consider waiting
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| Apr 2025 | No points bonus |
| Feb-Jun 2026 | Up to 35,000 points |
| Sep 2026 (current) | No points bonus, fee waiver only |
This card had a points-based welcome bonus of up to 35,000 points as recently as June 2026. Right now it’s back to offering only a first-year fee waiver, which is one of its weaker configurations historically.
Read the full National Bank World Elite Mastercard review →
Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
🟢 Matches its all-time high, but this specific offer is stated to end September 22, 2026
| Date | Welcome Bonus |
|---|---|
| May-Aug 2025 | 110,000 |
| Aug 2025 | 50,000 (drop) |
| Feb-Apr 2026 | 110,000 |
| Apr 2026 | 70,000 (drop) |
| Sep 2026 (current) | 110,000 (matches all-time high) |
This is our best-sourced card: a single consistent changelog cross-checked against a second independent tracker. It has swung between 50,000 and 110,000 points repeatedly over the past 16 months, and the current 110,000-point offer is stated to end September 22, 2026.
Read the full Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card review →
Frequently Asked Questions
How often do welcome bonuses on Canadian credit cards change?
It varies by card, but most of the cards we track here have changed at least once every 6-12 months, and some have swung significantly within a single year. A handful, like the Amex Cobalt, have stayed flat for years.
Does a higher welcome bonus always mean a better time to apply?
Usually, but not always. A bigger bonus is only worth more if you can meet the spend requirement comfortably and would use the points. Check the individual card review linked from each section for the full picture before applying.
How do you verify these historical figures?
We cross-reference public offer-tracking sites, official issuer pages, and our own previously published reviews. Where sources disagree or data is thin, we say so explicitly in that card’s notes rather than presenting a single number as certain.
How often is this page updated?
We revisit it whenever we notice a tracked offer change. If you spot a card whose bonus has moved and isn’t reflected here yet, feel free to let us know.
For the bigger picture on choosing between these cards, read how we score every card to see the full methodology behind our reviews.