For travel rewards guru Patrick Sojka, it is the question he hears the most: \\\\\\\"What\\\\\\\'s the best travel reward card out there?\\\\\\\"

The answer, unfortunately, is that there isn\\\\\\\'t one. Or, more accurately, there is isn\\\\\\\'t one single card that\\\\\\\'s right for everyone out of the 35 travel rewards cards available to Canadians.

Sojka is the Calgary-based founder of travel rewards websites rewardscanada.ca and frequentflyerbonuses.com. His main rewardscanada site has become a favourite destination of frequent travellers – those \\\\\\\"highly educated, medium- to high-income people who are either looking for new credit cards or bonus offers\\\\\\\" and tips on how to redeem miles.

Because cards have been designed to attract certain segments of the Canadian population, the best Sojka could do was create five card categories and pick the best two in each category for his first Top 10 list. \\\\\\\"In my opinion, they are the best cards for what they offer,\\\\\\\" he says. \\\\\\\"For the majority of consumers, these would be the best picks.\\\\\\\"

The five categories he came up with are: best airline credit card, top hybrid travel credit card, best (annual fee) travel points card, best (no fee) travel points card and top hotel points card.

Best airline card: CIBC AeroGold Visa/Aerogold Visa Infinite.

This card won out because it allows holders to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on grocery, drug store and gas station spending, \\\\\\\"decent\\\\\\\" redemption rates and Air Canada\\\\\\\'s vast domestic and international coverage. \\\\\\\"People love to hate Air Canada but there is no airline within Canada that has the coverage it has so there is no better choice for an airline card,\\\\\\\" he says.

Also making the list was the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum charge card. A favourite with \\\\\\\"really frequent flyers\\\\\\\" because of its \\\\\\\"slew of benefits\\\\\\\" and ability to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on all purchases. But its annual fee and lower merchant acceptance kept it out of the top spot.

Sojka says competition in the category will be tougher next year with the rollout of a WestJet-affiliated credit card.

Best hybrid travel card. Winner: Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard.

A hybrid card collects points/miles per dollar spent that can be used either at a travel agency or converted to a frequent flyer program.

Sojka, who has watched travel rewards trends for eight years, picked the Diners Club Rewards MasterCard because of the ability to book with any provider, low annual fees and \\\\\\\"a nice suite of benefits.\\\\\\\" The RBC Visa Platinum Avion/Visa Infinite Avion ranked second. \\\\\\\"That was a real tough category because Diners Club is not issuing new cards to individual members, only companies,\\\\\\\" says Sojka. He concluded, however, there were enough card holders to warrant including Diners Club for consideration.

Best travel points card (annual fee). Capital One Miles Plus Platinum MasterCard.

A relative newcomer to Canada, it offers a 2 per cent return on all purchases that can be used toward travel through any provider and a \\\\\\\"low\\\\\\\" annual fee of $99. Second place went to the BMO Air Miles Gold MasterCard. \\\\\\\"This category is really growing, that is why I split it into fee and no fee cards,\\\\\\\" says Sojka.

Best travel points card (no fee). American Express Blue Sky.

Just over a year old, the card gets high marks for travel booking flexibility and a 1.25 per cent earn rate on purchases. \\\\\\\"I got (a Blue Sky card) just over a year ago and I have already used quite a few points off of it for car rentals, you name it because you can use it for any sort of travel.\\\\\\\"

Honourable mention went to the Capital One Miles Platinum MasterCard. Sojka liked the 1 per cent earn rate and no-fee Mastercard platinum benefits.

Best hotel points card. MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard.

It has no annual fee, bonuses up to $30,000 of spending and ability to transfer points to more than 30 airlines. \\\\\\\"Honestly, if this card gave out bonuses beyond the $30,000 mark, it would be the best card in Canada, period,\\\\\\\" Sojka says.

So what\\\\\\\'s in the travel rewards expert\\\\\\\'s wallet?

\\\\\\\"I carry one of each. One MasterCard, one Visa, one Amex. If people can, I tell them, `Carry one of each.\\\\\\\' The reason is you can have different promotions going on. With Air Canada right now, you can save 15 per cent on flights in Canada by using a Visa card.\\\\\\\"

For travel rewards guru Patrick Sojka, it is the question he hears the most: \\\"What\\\'s the best travel reward card out there?\\\"

The answer, unfortunately, is that there isn\\\'t one. Or, more accurately, there is isn\\\'t one single card that\\\'s right for everyone out of the 35 travel rewards cards available to Canadians.

Sojka is the Calgary-based founder of travel rewards websites rewardscanada.ca and frequentflyerbonuses.com. His main rewardscanada site has become a favourite destination of frequent travellers – those \\\"highly educated, medium- to high-income people who are either looking for new credit cards or bonus offers\\\" and tips on how to redeem miles.

Because cards have been designed to attract certain segments of the Canadian population, the best Sojka could do was create five card categories and pick the best two in each category for his first Top 10 list. \\\"In my opinion, they are the best cards for what they offer,\\\" he says. \\\"For the majority of consumers, these would be the best picks.\\\"

The five categories he came up with are: best airline credit card, top hybrid travel credit card, best (annual fee) travel points card, best (no fee) travel points card and top hotel points card.

Best airline card: CIBC AeroGold Visa/Aerogold Visa Infinite.

This card won out because it allows holders to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on grocery, drug store and gas station spending, \\\"decent\\\" redemption rates and Air Canada\\\'s vast domestic and international coverage. \\\"People love to hate Air Canada but there is no airline within Canada that has the coverage it has so there is no better choice for an airline card,\\\" he says.

Also making the list was the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum charge card. A favourite with \\\"really frequent flyers\\\" because of its \\\"slew of benefits\\\" and ability to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on all purchases. But its annual fee and lower merchant acceptance kept it out of the top spot.

Sojka says competition in the category will be tougher next year with the rollout of a WestJet-affiliated credit card.

Best hybrid travel card. Winner: Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard.

A hybrid card collects points/miles per dollar spent that can be used either at a travel agency or converted to a frequent flyer program.

Sojka, who has watched travel rewards trends for eight years, picked the Diners Club Rewards MasterCard because of the ability to book with any provider, low annual fees and \\\"a nice suite of benefits.\\\" The RBC Visa Platinum Avion/Visa Infinite Avion ranked second. \\\"That was a real tough category because Diners Club is not issuing new cards to individual members, only companies,\\\" says Sojka. He concluded, however, there were enough card holders to warrant including Diners Club for consideration.

Best travel points card (annual fee). Capital One Miles Plus Platinum MasterCard.

A relative newcomer to Canada, it offers a 2 per cent return on all purchases that can be used toward travel through any provider and a \\\"low\\\" annual fee of $99. Second place went to the BMO Air Miles Gold MasterCard. \\\"This category is really growing, that is why I split it into fee and no fee cards,\\\" says Sojka.

Best travel points card (no fee). American Express Blue Sky.

Just over a year old, the card gets high marks for travel booking flexibility and a 1.25 per cent earn rate on purchases. \\\"I got (a Blue Sky card) just over a year ago and I have already used quite a few points off of it for car rentals, you name it because you can use it for any sort of travel.\\\"

Honourable mention went to the Capital One Miles Platinum MasterCard. Sojka liked the 1 per cent earn rate and no-fee Mastercard platinum benefits.

Best hotel points card. MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard.

It has no annual fee, bonuses up to $30,000 of spending and ability to transfer points to more than 30 airlines. \\\"Honestly, if this card gave out bonuses beyond the $30,000 mark, it would be the best card in Canada, period,\\\" Sojka says.

So what\\\'s in the travel rewards expert\\\'s wallet?

\\\"I carry one of each. One MasterCard, one Visa, one Amex. If people can, I tell them, `Carry one of each.\\\' The reason is you can have different promotions going on. With Air Canada right now, you can save 15 per cent on flights in Canada by using a Visa card.\\\"

For travel rewards guru Patrick Sojka, it is the question he hears the most: \\\"What\\\'s the best travel reward card out there?\\\"

The answer, unfortunately, is that there isn\\\'t one. Or, more accurately, there is isn\\\'t one single card that\\\'s right for everyone out of the 35 travel rewards cards available to Canadians.

Sojka is the Calgary-based founder of travel rewards websites rewardscanada.ca and frequentflyerbonuses.com. His main rewardscanada site has become a favourite destination of frequent travellers – those \\\"highly educated, medium- to high-income people who are either looking for new credit cards or bonus offers\\\" and tips on how to redeem miles.

Because cards have been designed to attract certain segments of the Canadian population, the best Sojka could do was create five card categories and pick the best two in each category for his first Top 10 list. \\\"In my opinion, they are the best cards for what they offer,\\\" he says. \\\"For the majority of consumers, these would be the best picks.\\\"

The five categories he came up with are: best airline credit card, top hybrid travel credit card, best (annual fee) travel points card, best (no fee) travel points card and top hotel points card.

Best airline card: CIBC AeroGold Visa/Aerogold Visa Infinite.

This card won out because it allows holders to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on grocery, drug store and gas station spending, \\\"decent\\\" redemption rates and Air Canada\\\'s vast domestic and international coverage. \\\"People love to hate Air Canada but there is no airline within Canada that has the coverage it has so there is no better choice for an airline card,\\\" he says.

Also making the list was the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum charge card. A favourite with \\\"really frequent flyers\\\" because of its \\\"slew of benefits\\\" and ability to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on all purchases. But its annual fee and lower merchant acceptance kept it out of the top spot.

Sojka says competition in the category will be tougher next year with the rollout of a WestJet-affiliated credit card.

Best hybrid travel card. Winner: Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard.

A hybrid card collects points/miles per dollar spent that can be used either at a travel agency or converted to a frequent flyer program.

Sojka, who has watched travel rewards trends for eight years, picked the Diners Club Rewards MasterCard because of the ability to book with any provider, low annual fees and \\\"a nice suite of benefits.\\\" The RBC Visa Platinum Avion/Visa Infinite Avion ranked second. \\\"That was a real tough category because Diners Club is not issuing new cards to individual members, only companies,\\\" says Sojka. He concluded, however, there were enough card holders to warrant including Diners Club for consideration.

Best travel points card (annual fee). Capital One Miles Plus Platinum MasterCard.

A relative newcomer to Canada, it offers a 2 per cent return on all purchases that can be used toward travel through any provider and a \\\"low\\\" annual fee of $99. Second place went to the BMO Air Miles Gold MasterCard. \\\"This category is really growing, that is why I split it into fee and no fee cards,\\\" says Sojka.

Best travel points card (no fee). American Express Blue Sky.

Just over a year old, the card gets high marks for travel booking flexibility and a 1.25 per cent earn rate on purchases. \\\"I got (a Blue Sky card) just over a year ago and I have already used quite a few points off of it for car rentals, you name it because you can use it for any sort of travel.\\\"

Honourable mention went to the Capital One Miles Platinum MasterCard. Sojka liked the 1 per cent earn rate and no-fee Mastercard platinum benefits.

Best hotel points card. MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard.

It has no annual fee, bonuses up to $30,000 of spending and ability to transfer points to more than 30 airlines. \\\"Honestly, if this card gave out bonuses beyond the $30,000 mark, it would be the best card in Canada, period,\\\" Sojka says.

So what\\\'s in the travel rewards expert\\\'s wallet?

\\\"I carry one of each. One MasterCard, one Visa, one Amex. If people can, I tell them, `Carry one of each.\\\' The reason is you can have different promotions going on. With Air Canada right now, you can save 15 per cent on flights in Canada by using a Visa card.\\\"

For travel rewards guru Patrick Sojka, it is the question he hears the most: \"What\'s the best travel reward card out there?\"

The answer, unfortunately, is that there isn\'t one. Or, more accurately, there is isn\'t one single card that\'s right for everyone out of the 35 travel rewards cards available to Canadians.

Sojka is the Calgary-based founder of travel rewards websites rewardscanada.ca and frequentflyerbonuses.com. His main rewardscanada site has become a favourite destination of frequent travellers – those \"highly educated, medium- to high-income people who are either looking for new credit cards or bonus offers\" and tips on how to redeem miles.

Because cards have been designed to attract certain segments of the Canadian population, the best Sojka could do was create five card categories and pick the best two in each category for his first Top 10 list. \"In my opinion, they are the best cards for what they offer,\" he says. \"For the majority of consumers, these would be the best picks.\"

The five categories he came up with are: best airline credit card, top hybrid travel credit card, best (annual fee) travel points card, best (no fee) travel points card and top hotel points card.

Best airline card: CIBC AeroGold Visa/Aerogold Visa Infinite.

This card won out because it allows holders to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on grocery, drug store and gas station spending, \"decent\" redemption rates and Air Canada\'s vast domestic and international coverage. \"People love to hate Air Canada but there is no airline within Canada that has the coverage it has so there is no better choice for an airline card,\" he says.

Also making the list was the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum charge card. A favourite with \"really frequent flyers\" because of its \"slew of benefits\" and ability to earn 1.5 Aeroplan miles on all purchases. But its annual fee and lower merchant acceptance kept it out of the top spot.

Sojka says competition in the category will be tougher next year with the rollout of a WestJet-affiliated credit card.

Best hybrid travel card. Winner: Diners Club Club Rewards Mastercard.

A hybrid card collects points/miles per dollar spent that can be used either at a travel agency or converted to a frequent flyer program.

Sojka, who has watched travel rewards trends for eight years, picked the Diners Club Rewards MasterCard because of the ability to book with any provider, low annual fees and \"a nice suite of benefits.\" The RBC Visa Platinum Avion/Visa Infinite Avion ranked second. \"That was a real tough category because Diners Club is not issuing new cards to individual members, only companies,\" says Sojka. He concluded, however, there were enough card holders to warrant including Diners Club for consideration.

Best travel points card (annual fee). Capital One Miles Plus Platinum MasterCard.

A relative newcomer to Canada, it offers a 2 per cent return on all purchases that can be used toward travel through any provider and a \"low\" annual fee of $99. Second place went to the BMO Air Miles Gold MasterCard. \"This category is really growing, that is why I split it into fee and no fee cards,\" says Sojka.

Best travel points card (no fee). American Express Blue Sky.

Just over a year old, the card gets high marks for travel booking flexibility and a 1.25 per cent earn rate on purchases. \"I got (a Blue Sky card) just over a year ago and I have already used quite a few points off of it for car rentals, you name it because you can use it for any sort of travel.\"

Honourable mention went to the Capital One Miles Platinum MasterCard. Sojka liked the 1 per cent earn rate and no-fee Mastercard platinum benefits.

Best hotel points card. MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard.

It has no annual fee, bonuses up to $30,000 of spending and ability to transfer points to more than 30 airlines. \"Honestly, if this card gave out bonuses beyond the $30,000 mark, it would be the best card in Canada, period,\" Sojka says.

So what\'s in the travel rewards expert\'s wallet?

\"I carry one of each. One MasterCard, one Visa, one Amex. If people can, I tell them, `Carry one of each.\' The reason is you can have different promotions going on. With Air Canada right now, you can save 15 per cent on flights in Canada by using a Visa card.\"

No July Bank of Canada Interest Rate Increase

RateSupermarket.ca's panel of financial experts believes that variable mortgage rates will stay level while fixed mortgage rates could fluctuate slightly during July

TORONTO, July 7 /CNW/ - RateSupermarket.ca, Canada's independent mortgage rates comparison website, has announced the results of their Mortgage Rate Outlook Panel for July 2010.

Global economic uncertainty may dampen consumer confidence and cause Canadians additional stress during the summer holidays, but it also means that the Bank of Canada will not increase mortgage rates on July 20th resulting in unchanged variable mortgage rates in the short term.

Fixed mortgage rates: Unchanged

As the five year bond yield sags due to uncertainly about growth prospects in Canada and around the world, our Panel believes fixed mortgage rates could fluctuate by +/-0.10% in July but will effectively stay where they are for the time being.

The Bank of Canada's next Monetary Policy Report is due on July 22nd, and this should give a better indication of the level of uncertainly in the market. A strong demand for residential mortgages by lenders is also stated as a key driver for keeping fixed rates level.

Variable mortgage rates: Unchanged

There's a saying that when a storm is brewing it's best to sit tight, and that's just what our experts think the Bank of Canada will do at their next interest rate meeting at the end of July. Given an expected dip in Canadian consumer spending, widespread unemployment in the US and Europe, global fears of deflation, and debt levels that are threatening to put whole countries out of business - there's just too much going on right now to justify a rate increase.

In this environment, the Bank of Canada is unlikely to increase interest rates in July, so variable mortgage rates will remain unchanged.