You can easily travel to Lisbon from Canada on points. Lisbon is considered one of the most charming and vibrant cities in Europe and is often praised as a great travel destination. It is the capital city of Portugal and offers a wonderful mix of history, culture, architecture, and a vibrant nightlife.

Lisbon has a long and fascinating history, with numerous historical landmarks, museums, and cultural sites to explore. The city’s architecture combines both ancient and modern elements, offering a unique blend of old-world charm and contemporary design.

Lisbon is built on a series of hills, which provides visitors with stunning panoramic views of the city and the Tagus River. The viewpoints, known as “miradouros,” offer some of the most picturesque and Instagram-worthy spots in the city. Lisbon enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and hot summers, making it an attractive destination for those seeking sunshine and pleasant weather.

Lisbon comes alive at night, offering a diverse range of bars, restaurants, live music venues, and clubs. The Bairro Alto neighbourhood is particularly famous for its vibrant nightlife scene. It’s a travel destination that should be on everyone’s list.

Unfortunately, traveling to Lisbon is expensive, and many Canadians view a vacation to this beautiful Portuguese city as out of their price range.

Fortunately, here in Canada, we have access to travel programs that can reduce the cost of your Portuguese vacation by upwards of 80%, leaving more money in your pocket, and more freedom to experience some of the world-class excursions that Lisbon has to offer. 

In this post, we’ll show you how you can travel to Lisbon from Canada on points, and the different ways to earn and use your travel points to ensure you’re getting MAXIMUM value on your redemption.

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Our Theoretical Vacation

For this exercise, we’ll be booking a 5-night, 6-day vacation focusing on a stay in downtown Lisbon

Our theoretical stay will be 5 nights at the Moxy Hotel in Lisbon, a 4 Star hotel operated by Marriott.

We’ll show an itinerary for 1 individual. If you are traveling with someone, your traveling companion can use the same credit cards suggested below to earn even more points.

FLIGHT CASH VALUE

Below, we can see the cash value of an Air Canada economy, and business class ticket to Lisbon from Canada’s 3 major hubs (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal).

Note: prices are subject to change

HOW TO TRAVEL TO Lisbon FROM CANADA ON POINTS

FLIGHT OPTION #1: FLY TO Lisbon FROM CANADA ON POINTS WITH AIR CANADA USING AEROPLAN

Your Complete Guide to Aeroplan

Aeroplan (and Air Canada) is the most popular travel currency in Canada, so it only makes sense that we determine the amount of Aeroplan points required for our flight to Lisbon

Aeroplan leverages dynamic pricing, meaning redemptions show a range of points for Air Canada flights. More popular flights cost more.

Note: redemptions are subject to change

FLIGHT OPTION #1.B: USING AEROPLAN PARTNER AIRLINES TO FLY TO Lisbon FROM CANADA ON POINTS

While dynamic pricing can be terrible, the good news is that Aeroplan has several partner airlines that only require a fixed number of points.

All Aeroplan partner flights to Europe are subject to this award chart:

While this seems like an easy way to redeem your points, there are a limited number of award seats made available by partner airlines, and certain airlines only release economy-class award space.

THERE ARE A FEW PARTNER AIRLINES YOU CAN LEVERAGE FOR YOUR TRIP TO Lisbon

TAP Airlines or Lufthansa Airlines

TAP Airlines offers direct flights from Montreal and Toronto to Lisbon. TAP releases award space roughly a year in advance, however, the frequency of this can be unpredictable.

Lufthansa Airlines has flights from Vancouver, Toronto, & Montreal which connect through Germany en route to Lisbon.

Unfortunately, Lufthansa only releases award space for business class flights 14-20 days in advance of the flight. While waiting for award space to open up may be difficult when planning a vacation, it usually provides the best use of your points in terms of value

Both TAP & Lufthansa leverage the award chart above, so redemptions will vary from 30,000 – 40,000 Aeroplan points for Economy, and 60,000 – 80,000 Aeroplan points for business class.

Lufthansa also flies out of several US Cities:

• Boston (TAP as well)
• New York (TAP as well)
• Philadelphia
• Washington
• Detroit
• Chicago (TAP as well)
• Atlanta
• Dallas
• Austin
• Houston
• Denver
• Los Angeles
• San Fransisco (TAP as well)
• Seattle

TAP also flies out of Miami

Other Aeroplan Partners You Can Take to Lisbon

• Swiss flies out of Montreal to Zurich and on to Lisbon
• United Airlines flies out of Toronto to the Eastern United States, and on to Lisbon
• Brussels Airlines flies out of Toronto, to Brussels and on to Lisbon

WHICH CREDIT CARDS DO YOU NEED TO FLY TO Lisbon FROM CANADA ON POINTS

Regardless of whether you’re flying economy or business class, you’ll need to focus on collecting Membership Rewards and/or Aeroplan points. There are 2 credit cards that we’ll be focusing on to get you to Lisbon

Note: credit card signup bonuses vary over the year. Please check for the latest signup offer

1. The American Express Platinum Card

The American Express Platinum Card is a great way to earn Membership Rewards, which can be transferred to Aeroplan 

The $699 annual fee (which comes with a $150 rebate through GreatCanadianRebates) is offset by the following perks & benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 90,000 MR points upon spending $7,500 in the first three months
• Earn Rate: 
  • 3 MR points per dollar spent at grocery stores & restaurants 
  • 2 MR points per dollar spent on travel and 
  • 1 MR point everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency Medical Travel Insurance – up to $5,000,000
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Trip Cancellation Insurance- up to $3,000
  • Hotel Burglary insurance – up to $1,000
  • Baggage delay insurance – up to $1,000
  • Lost or stolen baggage insurance – up to $1,000
• Perks
  • $200 Annual Travel Credit
  • $100 Nexus credit
  • Gold Status at Marriott Bonvoy & Hilton Honours
  • Complimentary valet service at the Express Park and Daily Park at Pearson Airport
• Lounge Access
  • Priority Pass (+1 guest)
  • Plaza Premium Lounges (+1 guest)
  • Delta Sky Club
  • Airspace Lounges (+2 guests)
  • Centurion Lounges
  • SwissPort Lounges (+1 guest)

While the $699 annual fee seems daunting initially, the 90,000 Membership Rewards will get you to Lisbon with one of Aeroplan’s partner airlines. Canadians will have to make a personal decision as to whether or not the $699 (minus the $200 travel credit) annual fee is worth spending after year two. The lounge access you receive from this card can go a long way to improving your travel experience.

2. TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite. 

You can earn Aeroplan points with co-branded credit cards. The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card is a great way to earn FREE Aeroplan points.

The Cost for the Card is $0 for the first year, and then $139 annually, & comes with the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 10,000 Aeroplan points upon first purchase
  • 40,000 Aeroplan points upon spending $5,000 in the first three months
  • 20,000 Aeroplan points on renewal after spending $7,500 in the first year
    • Total of 70,000 Aeroplan points
• Earn Rate: 
  • 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on food, beverage, gas & travel
  • 1 Aeroplan point everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency Medical Travel Insurance – up to $1,000,000
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Trip Cancellation Insurance- up to $5,000
  • Baggage delay insurance – up to $1,000
  • Lost or stolen baggage insurance – up to $1,000
• Perks
  • First bag free on Air Canada flights
  • Preferred pricing when redeeming Aeroplan points on Air Canada flights
  • $100 NEXUS credit
  • Earn 1,000 Status Qualifying Miles and 1 Status Qualifying Segment for every $10,000 you spend on the card

While this card isn’t as strong as some of American Express’ top cards, we live in a world where AMEX isn’t accepted at many retail locations in Canada. As a result, it’s good to have a solid visa in your wallet as well. The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite provides a great, FREE way to earn a large amount of Aeroplan points, and it can be a great backup to the high annual fee cards in the market. the 50,000 Aeroplan points will get you a free economy ticket with Air Canada.

You can read which other cards offer Aeroplan points here

FLYING TO Lisbon WITH AEROPLAN – FINANCIAL SUMMARY

The average value of 1 Aeroplan point is 2.1 cents per point. We will hope to receive a higher value when redeeming Aeroplan points.

	Economy	Redemption Value	Business	Redemption Value
Cash Fare	$938		$7,995
Aeroplan Points with Air Canada	37,800	2.48 cents/point	212,300	3.76 cents/point
Aeroplan Points with Partner Airlines	55,000	1.70 cents/point	90,000	8.83 cents/point

	Economy	Redemption Value	Business	Redemption Value
Cash Fare	$740		$7,924
Aeroplan Points with Air Canada	31,800	2.32 cents/point	151,600	5.22 cents/point
Aeroplan Points with Partner Airlines	35,000	2.11 cents/point	60,000	13.20 cents/point

	Economy	Redemption Value	Business	Redemption Value
Cash Fare	$715		$7,350
Aeroplan Points with Air Canada	31,700	2.25 cents/pont	139,900	5.25 cents/point
Aeroplan Points with Partner Airlines	35,000	2.04 cents/point	60,000	12.25 cents/point

As you can see, the best option to fly to Lisbon from Canada on points is to leverage Air Canada’s partner airlines, especially if you can source a business-class ticket (which will take some travel flexibility on your end).

FLIGHT OPTION #2 – FLY USING AIR FRANCE FLYING BLUE MILES

Read: our complete guide to Flying Blue

In the world of points redemptions, you need a certain level of flexibility. Sometimes, you’ll be planning a vacation only to find out that there is no award availability on a particular flight, or that the number of points needed has increased drastically (especially in the case of Air Canada’s dynamic pricing).

That’s why it’s great to have another option. 

We mentioned above the value of transferring your American Express Membership Rewards to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio. Thankfully, Membership Rewards can also be transferred to Air France/Flying Blue miles at a 1:0.75 ratio. 

KLM & Air France have flights to Lisbon out of Vancouver Toronto and Montreal which connect through Amsterdam & Paris respectfully.

Note: Air France also flies out of Ottawa & Quebec City

Note: KLM also flies out of Calgary & Edmonton

WHICH CREDIT CARDS DO YOU NEED TO FLY TO Lisbon FROM CANADA ON POINTS USING AIR FRANCE/KLM

1. The American Express Platinum Card

The American Express Platinum Card is a great way to earn Membership Rewards, which can be transferred to KLM/Flying Blue

The $699 annual fee (which comes with a $150 rebate through GreatCanadianRebates) is offset by the following perks & benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 90,000 MR points upon spending $7,500 in the first three months
• Earn Rate: 
  • 3 MR points per dollar spent at grocery stores & at restaurants 
  • 2 MR points per dollar spent on travel and 
  • 1 MR point everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency Medical Travel Insurance – up to $5,000,000
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • Trip Cancellation Insurance- up to $3,000
  • Hotel Burglary insurance – up to $1,000
  • Baggage delay insurance – up to $1,000
  • Lost or stolen baggage insurance – up to $1,000
• Perks
  • $200 Annual Travel Credit
  • Access to Pearson Priority Security Lane during peak operating times
  • Complimentary valet service at the Express Park and Daily Park at Pearson Airport
  • $100 Nexus credit
  • Gold Status at Marriott Bonvoy & Hilton Honours
• Lounge Access
  • Priority Pass (+1 guest)
  • Plaza Premium Lounges (+1 guest)
  • Delta Sky Club
  • Airspace Lounges (+2 guests)
  • Centurion Lounges
  • SwissPort Lounges (+1 guest)

While the $699 annual fee seems daunting initially, the 90,000 Membership Rewards will get you to Lisbon in either Economy or Business Class

HOTEL OPTION #1 = MARRIOTT BONVOY POINTS

Marriott Bonvoy points are the easiest hotel currency to collect in Canada. They also have the benefit of being a transfer partner of American Express. If you want to use points for your hotel stay, this is the easiest way to do it

If you’re traveling on points for an extended period, it’s you should leverage Marriott’s “Fifth Night Free” promotion, which can go a long way in enhancing the value of your vacation. 

4 nights paid for with points = 5th night free.

If your goal is to use Bonvoy points for the entire duration of your hotel stay, staying 5 nights enhances your redemption by 20%. It’s something you should seriously consider if you’re going the points route

Below we can see the cash & points value of a 5-night stay at the Moxy Hotel

The Moxy brand, part of the Marriott portfolio, is known for its trendy, budget-friendly hotels with a focus on a lively atmosphere and modern design. Here are some factors to consider:

Pros of staying at the Moxy Hotel in Lisbon:

• Modern and Stylish: Moxy Hotels are designed to be stylish and modern, often appealing to a younger and more design-conscious demographic.
• Affordable: Moxy Hotels are typically more budget-friendly compared to some other hotel options, making them suitable for travelers looking for a cost-effective stay.
• Social Atmosphere: Moxy hotels often have communal spaces, bars, and a lively atmosphere, making them a good choice for socializing and meeting other travelers.
• Marriott Bonvoy Rewards: If you’re a member of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, staying at a Moxy Hotel can earn you points and provide other benefits.

WHAT CREDIT CARDS DO YOU NEED TO STAY 5 NIGHTS IN Lisbon ON POINTS

1. The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Card

The American Express Marriott Bonvoy Card is Marriott’s sponsored card in Canada. 

Sign up here

The annual fee of $120 (reduced to $60 if you sign up through Great Canadian Rebates) is offset by the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 65,000 Bonvoy points upon spending $3,000 in the first 3 months
• Earning Rate: 
  • 5 Bonvoy Points per dollar spent on Marriott Bonvoy properties
  • 2 Bonvoy Points per dollar spent everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Emergency Medical Travel Insurance – up to $500,000
  • Car Rental Damage Insurance 
  • Baggage Delay Insurance – up to $1,000
• Perks
  • 15 Elite qualifying nights & instant Silver status within Marriott’s loyalty program
  • Annual free night, up to 35,000 points

2. American Express Business Edge

The American Express Business Edge card offers a strong signup bonus, along with strong everyday earnings.

The cost for the card is $99 ($24 with a $75 rebate through Great Canadian Rebates), & comes with the following benefits:

• Sign-up Bonus:
  • 45,500 Membership Rewards upon spending $5,000 in the first 3 months
  • 1,000 Membership Rewards each month in which you spend $3,000
  • 10 Membership Rewards on office supplies & electronics, rides & gas, eats & drinks within 6 months of cardmembership (up to 10,000 points)
    • Total of 67,000 Membership Rewards
• Earn Rate: 
  • 3 Membership Rewards per dollar spent on eligible food & drink (groceries not included), office supplies, electronics & gas
  • 1 Membership Reward for everywhere else
• Insurance:
  • Car rental damage insurance 
  • You can be insured for eligible items charged to your American Express Business Edge Card for 90 days from the date of purchase in the event of accidental physical damage or theft
  • Automatically extend the manufacturer’s original warranty up to one additional year 
• Perks
  • Occasional discounts on select products

Here are a few considerations you should make for your trip:

1. One of the best (and cheapest) ways to fly business class to Lisbon is with TAP or Lufthansa Airlines (or Aeroplan’s other partner airlines). Unfortunately, Lufthansa only releases award availability for business class seats 14-28 days before departure. TAP’s award availability can also vary depending on the time of year. It can be stressful/difficult for people to wait until the last minute to book a flight. If you’re one of these people, you can always book a refundable economy ticket (either with cash or points), see if any business class seats open up on a Lufthansa flight, and then subsequently cancel your refundable ticket. 

2. If you have Aeroplan elite status, this would be a great opportunity to leverage your e-upgrade credits for an Air Canada flight (if you can’t get on a partner airline), as the cost of business class Air Canada tickets can be extremely high given Aeroplan’s dynamic pricing. 

3. If you’re focused on solely flying business class, you can book an Air France/KLM award flight up to a year in advance. As you can see from the Air France /KLM table, it is in your best interest to book the discounted (55,000,000 points) award flight. This will require some flexibility, as these discounted award flights are not offered daily

4. If are satisfied with economy bookings, the American Express Platinum and the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite will be all that you need to fly to (and from) Lisbon

FINANCIAL SUMMARY TABLE 

Credit Cards	Sign up Bonus	1st Year Annual Fee (with GCR rebate)
TD (or CIBC) Aeroplan Visa Infinite	55,000 Aeroplan Points	$0
American Express Marriott Bonvoy	65,000 Bonvoy Points	$60
American Express Business Edge	57,000 Membership Rewards (68,400 Bonvoy Points)	$24
Total		$84

Flying economy, you can fly to and from Lisbon from Canada on Points, and stay 5 nights at the Moxy Hotel all for $84 + taxes & fees.

Credit Cards	Sign up Bonus	1st Year Annual Fee (with GCR rebate)
American Express Platinum	90,000 Membership Rewards (transferred out to Aeroplan)	$549
TD (or CIBC) Aeroplan Visa Infinite	55,000 Aeroplan Points	$0
American Express Marriott Bonvoy	65,000 Bonvoy Points	$60
American Express Business Edge	57,000 Membership Rewards (68,400 Bonvoy Points)	$24
Total		$633

Flying business, you can fly to Lisbon from Canada on Points, and stay 5 nights at the Moxy Hotel all for $633 + taxes & fees.

Here is a video of what to do in Lisbon by Youtuber Hungry Passport

What Should I Do on My Trip to Lisbon

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is a vibrant city with a rich history, stunning architecture, and a lively cultural scene. Here are some things to do in Lisbon:

1. Explore Alfama: This historic district is known for its narrow streets, colorful houses, and Fado music. Wander through its labyrinthine alleys, visit the São Jorge Castle, and enjoy the traditional atmosphere.
2. Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery: These iconic landmarks are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Belém Tower is a medieval fortress, and the Jerónimos Monastery is a stunning example of Manueline architecture. Both are located in the Belém district.
3. Visit the Pastéis de Belém: Try the famous Portuguese custard tart called Pastel de Nata at the historic Pastéis de Belém bakery near the Jerónimos Monastery.
4. Lisbon Oceanarium: Located in the Parque das Nações area, the Lisbon Oceanarium is one of the largest indoor aquariums in the world. It features a diverse range of marine life and ecosystems.
5. Tram 28: Take a ride on the historic Tram 28, which winds its way through many of Lisbon’s most iconic neighborhoods, including Graça, Alfama, Baixa, and Estrela.
6. Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa): This Romanesque cathedral is the oldest church in the city and offers panoramic views of Lisbon from its towers.
7. Bairro Alto and Chiado: These neighborhoods are known for their vibrant nightlife, eclectic shops, and charming cafes. During the day, explore the Chiado district for its cultural attractions and shopping.
8. ** LX Factory:** A creative hub located in a former industrial complex, LX Factory is home to shops, restaurants, galleries, and cultural spaces. It’s a unique place to explore contemporary Portuguese creativity.
9. Miradouros (Viewpoints): Lisbon is a city of hills, and there are several miradouros (viewpoints) that offer panoramic views of the city. Miradouro da Senhora do Monte and Miradouro da Graça are popular choices.
10. Day trip to Sintra: Take a short train ride to Sintra, a picturesque town with fairytale-like castles and palaces. The colorful Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle are must-visit attractions.

For more tourism options in Lisbon, please refer to this link

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