Changes Coming to TD Credit Cards in October 2022

TD has announced big changes to their entire lineup of TD Rewards credit cards. Earn rates, perks and benefits, and insurance are all getting a makeover, effective October 30, 2022.

The changes affect the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card, the TD Platinum Travel Visa Card, and the TD Rewards Visa Card. For the most part, we’ll see higher earning rates on categorized spending to offset lower base earn rates, and the introduction of travel credits to offset higher annual fees.

Some of the changes are quite major – but I actually think the net changes are positive. Let’s take a closer look.

TD Rewards Points: Rebranded but Unchanged

First things first, some good news: fortunately, points redemptions will remain at the same rate.

As always, you’ll be able to redeem TD Rewards points at a rate of 200 points = $1 for all travel bookings via Expedia For TD, or 0.5 cents per point. You can also continue to redeem 250 points = $1 for statement credit against any other travel expense, at a rate of 0.4 cents per point.

Meanwhile, TD is introducing a few cosmetic changes to its rewards cards. The name of the points earned is officially changing from TD Points to TD Rewards Points, to align with the name of the TD Rewards program.

Also, the credit cards’ graphic designs are getting a streamlined facelift which I find quite appealing, as you’ll see below.

TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card

Everyday Spending

The earning rates on the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card are seeing a major upheaval, with the introduction of a wide range of finely-tuned category accelerators.

The earning rate for restaurant (including take-out) and grocery spend will be increasing to 6 points per dollar spent, equal to a 3% return on spend. This is a doubling of the old rate, surely a welcome improvement.

Earnings on Expedia For TD purchases are being consolidated. Currently, you can earn 9 points per dollar spent on bookings made online, and 6 points per dollar spent on bookings made over the phone.

Going forward, you’ll earn 8 points per dollar spent (4% return) on all Expedia For TD bookings. In spite of the simplicity, it’s hard not to call this a downgrade, albeit a minor one.

Also, earnings on pre-authorized purchases are getting a slight category bonus over the base rate, at 4 points per dollar spent (2% return).

Finally, the base earn rate for everyday spending will decrease from 3 TD Rewards points per dollar spent to 2 points per dollar spent (1% return).

Here’s a recap of the current rates:

• 9 TD points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD online
• 6 TD points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD over the phone
• 3 TD points per dollar spent on all other purchases

And here’s a summary of the new rates, as of October 30, 2022:

• 8 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD
• 6 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries and dining
• 4 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on pre-authorized purchases
• 2 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on all other purchases

As we can expect with category accelerators, there will be a $25,000 annual cap for the total amount spent on all grocery, dining, and pre-authorized purchases. After that threshold, you’ll earn at the card’s base rate.

Assuming you won’t reach the spending cap, the net changes are overwhelmingly positive, as groceries and dining represent a majority of spending for Canadians. With similar spending patterns, you should be earning more than enough extra points to come out ahead.

New: TD Rewards Birthday Bonus

TD will grant a birthday bonus equal to 10% of the total number of TD Rewards points earned over the 12 months prior to the primary cardholder’s birthday, up to a maximum of 10,000 TD Rewards points.

Taking into account the birthday bonus, you can think of the actual earn rates as:

• 8.8 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD
• 6.6 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries and dining
• 4.4 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on pre-authorized purchases
• 2.2 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on all other spend

This makes quite a difference, supercharging the card’s strongest categories, while mitigating the damage of the reduced rates on Expedia For TD and uncategorized purchases.

To earn the full birthday bonus of 10,000 TD Rewards points, you’d have to earn 100,000 TD Rewards points in the preceding 12 months. Assuming you mostly spend on restaurants and dining, you’d have to spend $1,389 per month (or $16,667 annually), which isn’t out of reach.

Since the birthday bonus kicks in on October 30, 2022, you’ll receive a 10% bonus on all purchases made between October 30 and your next birthday. Following that, the 10% bonus will be calculated as usual, from one birthday to the next.

TD has borrowed this fun perk from their subsidiary MBNA. Strictly speaking, the maximum birthday bonus is stronger on the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, so I’d treat this as an added bonus, and not as a driving factor for getting the card, especially if you’re a high spender.

New: $100 Annual TD Travel Credit

Following in the footsteps of many other Canadian banks (including the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite Card, the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and the American Express Gold and Platinum cards), TD will be introducing a $100 annual TD Travel Credit to their flagship rewards card.

The only catch is that this is not a one-to-one travel credit, so you won’t get $100 credit upon spending $100. Rather, you’ll get a $100 credit upon spending $500 on lodging expenses booked with Expedia For TD. This includes hotels, motels, other lodging, and vacation rentals, or a vacation package which includes any of the above plus a transportation booking.

This will apply per calendar year, so cardholders should expect it to kick in as early as October 30, 2022. For those who already hold the card and won’t have an annual fee charged before the end of 2022, you may be able to double dip this new credit before your next annual fee hits. 😉

New: Mobile Device Insurance & Improved Travel Insurance

The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card will now offer up to $1,000 in mobile device insurance in the event of loss, theft, accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown. Depreciation will be calculated as 2% per month, and there will also be a deductible based on the total original cost of your device.

For phones over $600.01, the deductible is a flat $100. At least 75% of the total cost of the device or the monthly plan cost must be paid with the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card.

In addition to mobile device insurance, TD is adding hotel/motel burglary and flight/trip delay insurance. These are standard for comparable cards, so I’m not surprised to see them introduced in this refresh.

Hotel/motel burglary insurance will cover up to $2,500 per occurrence for eligible personal items for cardholders and family members on the same trip.

As for flight/trip delay insurance, there will now be $500 covered per insured person if the delay is over 4 hours long and at least 75% of the cost is charged to your TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card.

Lastly, travel medical insurance will increase to $2,000,000 per insured person per covered trip, up from the current $1,000,000.

To view the full list of all changes, you can check out the Changes to TD Rewards Program Terms and Conditions and the Certificate(s) of Insurance.

Annual Fee Increase

It’s not all good news, however: the annual fee will be increasing from $120 to $139.

This is hardly unprecedented. The modest increase brings the fee for TD’s flagship card in line with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card relaunched two years ago. It’s also on par with some of its in-house rewards competitors, the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card and CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card.

Given the new benefits for cardholders, I hardly think this is a punitive change. Besides, there are reliable ways to have your annual fee waived or reduced, whether with a frequently-offered first-year-free signup bonus, with the aforementioned travel credit, or with all-inclusive banking as a long-term cardholder.

TD Platinum Travel Visa Card

Everyday Spending

The earning rates on the TD Platinum Travel Visa Card are changing in line with the Visa Infinite variant, with the base earn rate decreasing, but categorized earning increasing substantially.

Currently, these are today’s earn rates:

• 5 TD points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD
• 3 TD points per dollar spent on pre-authorized purchases
• 2 TD points per dollar spent on all other purchases

Going forward on October 30, 2022, the earn rates will be changing as follows:

• 6 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD
• 4.5 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries and dining
• 3 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on pre-authorized purchases
• 1.5 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on all other purchases

To summarize the improvements, the ever-popular groceries and dining category is getting a big boost, and travel purchases via Expedia For TD are getting a slight bump. Pre-authorized purchases will continue to earn above the reduced base rate.

There is also now a $15,000 annual cap for the total amount spent on all grocery, dining, and pre-authorized purchases, before rewards on spending drop to the base rate.

New: Mobile Device Insurance & Improved Travel Insurance

The TD Platinum Travel Visa Card will offer the same new insurance policies as the Visa Infinite described above, including mobile device insurance and hotel/motel burglary insurance. The only difference is that flight/trip delay insurance will not be included.

To view the full list of all changes, you can check out the Insurance Updates.

Annual Fee Unchanged

The annual fee will remain at $89, and can be easily waived by the same methods outlined above for the Visa Infinite card.

TD Rewards Visa Card

Everyday Spending

The TD Rewards Visa Card is TD’s entry-level offering with no annual fee.

These are the old rates, as of today:

• 3 TD points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD
• 2 TD points per dollar spent on groceries, dining, and pre-authorized purchases
• 1 TD point per dollar spent on all other purchases

The earn rates will be changing on October 30, 2022:

• 4 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on Expedia For TD
• 3 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on groceries and dining
• 2 TD Rewards points per dollar spent on pre-authorized purchases
• 1 TD Rewards point per dollar spent on all other purchases

Like with the Platinum Travel card, Expedia For TD and food categories are getting a lift, and pre-authorized payments are holding steady. Uniquely on this basic card, the earn rate on uncategorized spending will not be decreasing – all of these changes are nothing but positive.

Notably on the TD Rewards Visa Card, there is no annual spending cap. This means that after you hit the spending cap on the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card and/or the TD Platinum Travel Visa Card, it’s optimal to move your grocery and dining spend to the TD Rewards Visa Card, as the no-fee card’s accelerated rewards are higher than the premium cards’ base earn rates.

Previously a rather languid product, TD’s most basic credit card is now an incredibly competitive option amongst its peers with no annual fee.

New: Mobile Device Insurance

The TD Rewards Visa Card will offer identical mobile device insurance to the Visa Infinite and the Platinum Visa variants described above. No other insurance will be added or changed.

To view the full list of all changes, you can check out the Insurance Updates.

Minor Changes to Other TD Visa Infinite Cards

The travel medical insurance coverage on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card will increase to $2,000,000 per person, up from $1,00,000 per person. This is consistent with the new insurance certificate for the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card.

Meanwhile, the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite Card will see its annual fee increase to $139 from $120, keeping it in line with the rest of TD’s Visa Infinite tier. Unfortunately, this comes without any other changes to the card, as TD is positioning its travel rewards cards as the cream of the crop.

TD Credit Card Comparison

With so many category bonuses changing, here’s a quick breakdown of the new earning rates across all TD Rewards credit cards.

The 10% birthday bonus is included for the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card. Note that you won’t receive the previous year’s bonus points until your next birthday, and your actual earn rates may differ if you exceed the birthday bonus cap.

For clarity, TD points are valued at 0.5 cents per point, so 2 points per $1 spent is equivalent to 1% back.

Conclusion

We always fear the worst when we hear about changes to a credit card or rewards program, but I don’t believe that to be the case this time with TD’s proprietary TD Rewards portfolio.

With the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card, the annual fee will be increasing from $120 to $139, and the earn rate on non-categorized spending is dropping from 3 to 2 TD Rewards points per $1 spent.

However, these negatives are more than offset by the grocery and restaurant earn rate doubling, a birthday bonus of 10% of all TD Rewards points you’ve earned in the past 12 months, a $100 annual travel credit, and a plethora of compelling insurance offerings.

The TD Platinum Travel Visa Card is undergoing a more minor reshuffling on category earn rates, along with improved insurance. On balance, I’d say these changes are a net positive as well.

Finally, the TD Rewards Visa Card has only seen positive changes, with many increases and no decreases to its everyday earn rates, and the addition of mobile device insurance. I’d say it’s now positioned as one of the better no-fee credit cards on the market.

For existing cardholders or prospective applicants, these changes won’t take effect until October 30, 2022, so you have a bit of time to optimize your TD Rewards strategy. With very strong signup bonuses currently, you may want to consider applying now, and reaping the benefits of these changes later.