Jan 8 Update: EVA Air adds more Canada flights (great option for Aeroplan members), Hyatt Points+Cash a great new option, tons of new bonuses

We are half way through the week and while the news portion in the loyalty world has slowed down, the bonus offers have not!

Thank you to those who responded to our interview request on a fuel surcharges, we have passed along your details to the journalist who asked to reach out to our readership on their behalf.

News, Tips & Tricks
EVA Air is increasing their service between Canada and Taiwan as of June 10. Both Vancouver and Toronto to Taipei service will move to 4x weekly service respectively from 3x weekly.This is great news for Aeroplan members looking for access to Taiwan (or beyond) as more flights means more potential award ticket space and (and this is a big and!) the fuel surcharges on EVA Air are a lot less than on Aeroplan. EVA Air also offers a great business class product that is a good alternative to Air Canada's. (Source: Airlineroute.net)

Which flight(s) to Taipei would you pick? 

Aeroplan Economy Class redemption on EVA Air - only $57.91 in fees

Aeroplan redemption that includes Air Canada flights - Fees are over $300 more than EVA Air

Hyatt's Gold Passport changes kicked in yesterday with the higher redemption rates for reward nights which of course isn't good news but the one change that is actually really good is the introduction of Hyatt's Points+Cash option. The option provides great redemption value, especially for stays at Category 2-6 hotels. The 'value' or cost/per point for Cat 2-6 range from 1.2 - 1.38 cents per night, which of course is well below the cost of points if your were to buy them directly from Hyatt. Cat 1 and 7 come in at 2 cents which is still decent. This is the current Points+Cash chart:

Now there are some caveats to the Points+Cash option: They are capacity controlled, they are only for standard rooms and they can only be booked via phone (no online option yet). They are however cancellable, they will earn Gold Passport points on the cash portion (essentially a further discount on the points used), count towards elite status, can be upgraded for Diamond members and are eligible for bonus promotions.


Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn 3,000 AAdvantage Miles per stay of two consecutive nights or more Hotel New Otani Tokyo Hotel New Otani Makuhari Hotel New Otani Osaka The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel, Honolulu Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong, Beijing. More... Until Mar 31, 14

Czech Airlines OK Plus
- Double OK Plus Miles for flights between Prague and Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, or Hamburg. More... Register and book by Jul 31 for travel Apr 1 - Aug 31, 14
- Double OK Plus Miles for flights between Prague and Tel Aviv. More... Register and book by Feb 28 for travel Feb 1 - Apr 30, 14
- Double OK Plus Miles for flights between Prague and Brussels, Bucharest or Warsaw. More... Register and book by Jul 31 for travel Feb 1 - Aug 31, 14
- Double OK Plus Miles when booking the Double Miles for Early Birds rate for stays of 2 nights or more at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus OK Plus Miles on Avis rentals Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 14

Delta SkyMiles
- Earn 3,000 SkyMiles per stay of two consecutive nights or more at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo, Hotel New Otani Makuhar,i Hotel New Otani Osaka, The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel Honolulu or Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong Beijing. More... Until Mar 31, 14
- 15,000 SkyMiles for stays of 2 or more nights at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo if you are a SkyMiles® Medallion Program member. More... Until Mar 31, 14

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia in any class bewteen Madrid and Quito or Santiago; in business class between Madrid and Guatemala, San Jose or San Salvador. More... Register by Jan 15 for travel until Feb 28, 14
- Double Avios when you fly on Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on the following route Madrid to Murcia, Madrid to Bordeaux, Strasburg, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse;  Seville to Toulouse. More... Register by Jan 15 for travel until Feb 28, 14
- Triple Avios on Derby Hotel stays in Barcelona or Madrid. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Avios on Derby Hotel stays in Paris. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Avios for stays at select Hace Hotels in Spain More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Earn Double/Triple or 3,000 bonus Avios on qualifying rates at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts across Europe, Africa & the Middle East. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Double Avios on all online prepaid rentals in Spain Mainland and Balearics. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Avios when you rent a commercial van in Spain Mainland and Balearics. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Avios on all Avis rentals Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Triple Avios on all Europcar rentals Worldwide More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Triple Avios on all Hertz rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 14,

SriLankan FlySmiles
- Earn up to Triple FlySmiles Miles when you rent a car with Hertz at participating locations in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.More.. Until Mar 31, 14

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Double Dividend Miles per stay at La Quinta properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. More... Until Jun 30, 14