If you follow American Express Canada on any of their social media channels there is a good chance you may have seen some or all of these videos. If you haven't we are pleased to pass them along to you since Rewards Canada was involved in two of them! We filmed these back in April in Toronto to provide tips and tricks to maximizing your reward programs and how to travel better using credit cards and their associated loyalty points. You can use these videos to in conjunction with our “Guide to choosing a travel rewards credit card”. Of course these videos center around American Express' mainstay card the American Express Gold Rewards Card and I had no problem filming them or talking about the card since it is one of the main cards I keep in my wallet and use everyday.
Related: The First Steps in Choosing a Travel Rewards Card
You can view all these videos on Amex Canada's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanExpressCAD
Card Confidential: Choosing the Right Card
Card Confidential: Tips from an Industry Insider
Card Confidential: Travel Like a Pro with Curtis Joseph
Card Confidential: Travel Further on Points
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
July 31 Update: Link your Club Sobeys to Air Miles for a chance to win 5,000 Miles, new low cost carrier Jetlines hopes to break into the market
Wow a day where the news almost outnumbers the bonuses offers!
News, Tips & Tricks
Just in case you missed this email, Club Sobeys sent out a notice for linking your Air Miles account to your Club Sobeys account. The main reason you would want to do this is for the chance to win 5,000 Air Miles for doing so and also for a few days of auto conversion of Club Sobeys points to Air Miles. The points convert at a rate of 14 Club Sobeys Points to 1 Air Mile which means without bonuses your earning 1 Air Mile for every $14 spent. This auto conversion will start on September 12th and I assume will run until Club Sobeys is wound down at which point you'll just provide your Air Miles card when you shop at Sobeys. Find out more here
Jet Airways is making some slight changes to the earning structure for flights in their JetPrivilege program. They will now award a minimum amount of miles for flights under 500 actual flights miles. In most cases this should work out better for members as the previous earning schedule was strictly a percentage of the miles based on the fare paid. For example a flight between Chennai and Bangalore will now earn 500 miles on Jet Airways or 375 miles fon JetKonnect whereas under the old earning structure you could earn no more than 168 miles. Find out more here.
Jetlines has been quiet since November of last year (see our post here) but the new ultra low cost carrier has it sights on flights within Western Canada when it plans to launch next spring. Chances are it won't have a reward program initially (or ever) but if they do launch the good news for those of us who do like our Frequent Flyer programs we should see some heavy discounting from Air Canada and WestJet to compete with this new airline. (Source Global News)
Two more new Air Canada routes to let you know about: Montreal - San Salvador, Bahamas and Ottawa-Samana. Both are winter seasonal routes. (Source Airlineroute.net YUL | YOW)
Today is the last day to register for Marriott's Getaway Bonus where you can earn up to 45,000 bonus points or free nights for your Marriott stays. See more on our Marriott page
And finally a reminder of our Redemption Stories post from yesterday on how we got 4 flights on WestJet totally for free.
Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 500 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you make a purchase of $150 at Mileage Plan Shopping. More... Until Aug 6, 14
JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 400 TrueBlue Points when you join Points for Surveys and complete your first survey. More... Until ?
United MileagePlus
- Double Premier Qualifying Miles on all qualifying roundtrips on United. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Sep 30, 14
Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Elevate Points on qualifying rentals of 2 days or more at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Triple Elevate Points on a qualifying rental of 2 or more consecutive days at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S. More... Until Dec 31, 14
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Earn up to Quadruple Flying Club Miles for stays at any Shangri-La hotels, Kerry hotels or Traders hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 14
- Double Flying Club Miles on all Sixt Car Rentals Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 14
- Triple Flying Club Miles on all Sixt Car Rentals of 5 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Sep 14, 14
- Double Flying Club Miles on all No.1 Traveller lounge bookings when you book their lounge in Edinburgh and one of their London lounges. More... Until Aug 16, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
News, Tips & Tricks
Just in case you missed this email, Club Sobeys sent out a notice for linking your Air Miles account to your Club Sobeys account. The main reason you would want to do this is for the chance to win 5,000 Air Miles for doing so and also for a few days of auto conversion of Club Sobeys points to Air Miles. The points convert at a rate of 14 Club Sobeys Points to 1 Air Mile which means without bonuses your earning 1 Air Mile for every $14 spent. This auto conversion will start on September 12th and I assume will run until Club Sobeys is wound down at which point you'll just provide your Air Miles card when you shop at Sobeys. Find out more here
Jet Airways is making some slight changes to the earning structure for flights in their JetPrivilege program. They will now award a minimum amount of miles for flights under 500 actual flights miles. In most cases this should work out better for members as the previous earning schedule was strictly a percentage of the miles based on the fare paid. For example a flight between Chennai and Bangalore will now earn 500 miles on Jet Airways or 375 miles fon JetKonnect whereas under the old earning structure you could earn no more than 168 miles. Find out more here.
Jetlines has been quiet since November of last year (see our post here) but the new ultra low cost carrier has it sights on flights within Western Canada when it plans to launch next spring. Chances are it won't have a reward program initially (or ever) but if they do launch the good news for those of us who do like our Frequent Flyer programs we should see some heavy discounting from Air Canada and WestJet to compete with this new airline. (Source Global News)
Two more new Air Canada routes to let you know about: Montreal - San Salvador, Bahamas and Ottawa-Samana. Both are winter seasonal routes. (Source Airlineroute.net YUL | YOW)
Today is the last day to register for Marriott's Getaway Bonus where you can earn up to 45,000 bonus points or free nights for your Marriott stays. See more on our Marriott page
And finally a reminder of our Redemption Stories post from yesterday on how we got 4 flights on WestJet totally for free.
Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 500 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you make a purchase of $150 at Mileage Plan Shopping. More... Until Aug 6, 14
JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 400 TrueBlue Points when you join Points for Surveys and complete your first survey. More... Until ?
United MileagePlus
- Double Premier Qualifying Miles on all qualifying roundtrips on United. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Sep 30, 14
Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Elevate Points on qualifying rentals of 2 days or more at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Triple Elevate Points on a qualifying rental of 2 or more consecutive days at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S. More... Until Dec 31, 14
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Earn up to Quadruple Flying Club Miles for stays at any Shangri-La hotels, Kerry hotels or Traders hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 14
- Double Flying Club Miles on all Sixt Car Rentals Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 14
- Triple Flying Club Miles on all Sixt Car Rentals of 5 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Sep 14, 14
- Double Flying Club Miles on all No.1 Traveller lounge bookings when you book their lounge in Edinburgh and one of their London lounges. More... Until Aug 16, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Redemption Stories: Using Diners Club Club Rewards Points for WestJet flights to get them absolutely free
If you follow Rewards Canada on Instagram (if you don't you should at instagram.com/rewardscanada) you'll have seen that our family flew with WestJet to Palm Springs last week.
The flights were purchased on our Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard from BMO. I have had this card since the late 90s and have held on to it for the benefits and the decent 'travel anywhere' redemption option. If you have this card, the American Express Gold Rewards Card or Platinum Card, TD First Visa Infinite Card or several other cards like the Diners Club MasterCard you'll know that they provide the most flexibility when it comes to that overused and overblown saying of Any Airline Any Time and are technically the only cards that should use that saying. Why? Because you can book with whomever you want not through the credit cards travel agency, pick the dates you want, not have to book 14 days out and don't lose point value when using the points for taxes and fees.
That is the beauty of these types of redemptions, my points redemption not only covered the flight cost, it also covered taxes and fees and also the preassigned seat fees! Unlike cards such as the RBC Avion or CIBC Aventura, those additional costs (taxes, fees, seat fees) were all redeemed at the same point rate not at a reduced amount. In the end the flights were as free as they get since there was no cash outlaid at all once the points provided a credit against the charge on the account.
Total Points Redeemed: 126,882
Rate of Return: 1.7%
Now you may say that there are cards that have a better return than the 1.7% that comes with the Diners Club Club Rewards and this is true, to a point. An example is the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard, it has a 2% return however the card costs more than the DC card in annual fees plus you have to have all your points up front. With the DC card I could have waited a few months after the charge to redeem points if I wanted to, however I had all the points in my account to do so right away. Plus with a card like the BMO card I would have had to book via their reward site versus doing the booking myself. The DC card is also a hybrid card meaning I could convert the points to various airline and hotel programs (see below for an example) which only a few cards in Canada provide. In fact I keep the Diners Club card in my wallet primarily for the lounge access and the points transfer options while forgoing the approximate 0.3% loss in value on points that could be earned from other cards.
Another great benefit of this type of redemption, that is not limited to only Diners Club but a lot of the travel points/hybrid cards is that you still earn frequent flyer miles on your flights and that was the case with these flights as all four of us earned WestJet Dollars on these flights.
Another redemption I could have done instead was to convert 125,000 of the Club Rewards Points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and redeem those for YYC-PSP flights. With this redemption though we would have had to pay an $82.40 per person in taxes and fees on the flights or $329.60 in total which I could then have put on my DC card and redeemed points against the charge and come out to roughly to same amount of points used for the WestJet flights. However the flights would not have been direct as they would require a connection in Seattle and rather than 3 hours of travel time we would have looked at nearly 7 hours of travel time! Not to mention, no miles would have been earned on the flights and we would have to pay baggage fees as well since Alaska does not offer the first bag free like WestJet does.
When we travel as a family we don't want tons of connections, we don't want to spend tons of time travelling as we value our time immensely so in the end I am very happy with the redemption as I feel it was a great value and who can complain when the entire flight was free! The customer service at Diners Club was great and the whole process of redeeming the points against the charge on my account was easy and painless. This was not the first time I redeemed my Club Rewards Points via their "Tailored Travel" option and definitely won't be the last!
The flights were purchased on our Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard from BMO. I have had this card since the late 90s and have held on to it for the benefits and the decent 'travel anywhere' redemption option. If you have this card, the American Express Gold Rewards Card or Platinum Card, TD First Visa Infinite Card or several other cards like the Diners Club MasterCard you'll know that they provide the most flexibility when it comes to that overused and overblown saying of Any Airline Any Time and are technically the only cards that should use that saying. Why? Because you can book with whomever you want not through the credit cards travel agency, pick the dates you want, not have to book 14 days out and don't lose point value when using the points for taxes and fees.
That is the beauty of these types of redemptions, my points redemption not only covered the flight cost, it also covered taxes and fees and also the preassigned seat fees! Unlike cards such as the RBC Avion or CIBC Aventura, those additional costs (taxes, fees, seat fees) were all redeemed at the same point rate not at a reduced amount. In the end the flights were as free as they get since there was no cash outlaid at all once the points provided a credit against the charge on the account.
Total Points Redeemed: 126,882
Rate of Return: 1.7%
Now you may say that there are cards that have a better return than the 1.7% that comes with the Diners Club Club Rewards and this is true, to a point. An example is the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard, it has a 2% return however the card costs more than the DC card in annual fees plus you have to have all your points up front. With the DC card I could have waited a few months after the charge to redeem points if I wanted to, however I had all the points in my account to do so right away. Plus with a card like the BMO card I would have had to book via their reward site versus doing the booking myself. The DC card is also a hybrid card meaning I could convert the points to various airline and hotel programs (see below for an example) which only a few cards in Canada provide. In fact I keep the Diners Club card in my wallet primarily for the lounge access and the points transfer options while forgoing the approximate 0.3% loss in value on points that could be earned from other cards.
Another great benefit of this type of redemption, that is not limited to only Diners Club but a lot of the travel points/hybrid cards is that you still earn frequent flyer miles on your flights and that was the case with these flights as all four of us earned WestJet Dollars on these flights.
Another redemption I could have done instead was to convert 125,000 of the Club Rewards Points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and redeem those for YYC-PSP flights. With this redemption though we would have had to pay an $82.40 per person in taxes and fees on the flights or $329.60 in total which I could then have put on my DC card and redeemed points against the charge and come out to roughly to same amount of points used for the WestJet flights. However the flights would not have been direct as they would require a connection in Seattle and rather than 3 hours of travel time we would have looked at nearly 7 hours of travel time! Not to mention, no miles would have been earned on the flights and we would have to pay baggage fees as well since Alaska does not offer the first bag free like WestJet does.
When we travel as a family we don't want tons of connections, we don't want to spend tons of time travelling as we value our time immensely so in the end I am very happy with the redemption as I feel it was a great value and who can complain when the entire flight was free! The customer service at Diners Club was great and the whole process of redeeming the points against the charge on my account was easy and painless. This was not the first time I redeemed my Club Rewards Points via their "Tailored Travel" option and definitely won't be the last!
July 30 Update: WestJet to add 767s in 2015, Thai Airways reverses Award Chart devaluations, Starwood targeted bonuses return
WestJet confirms the purchase of widebody aircraft and a program that listened to their members!
News, Tips & Tricks
Big news from the folks at WestJet! As we mentioned a few weeks ago, they were exploring adding widebody aircraft to their fleet and as of yesterday this has been confirmed! WestJet will be buying four 767-300ERW aircraft from Boeing (used planes that will be retrofitted) that will enter service in 2015. After flights within Canada and the U.S. the planes will be used on Alberta-Hawaii flights once they receive their ETOPS ratings and we can only assume that they will be used on Europe or other long haul International flights in the summer of 2016. (Source WestJet)
Sometime ago we brought you the news that Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus was going to have a major award chart devaluation. Well it appears they have listened to all the customer complaints and reversed their decision to do so! I am sure that many of you are like me and wish the North American programs that have had devaluations over the past few years would have done the same! (Source View from the Wing)
More Aeroplan or Star Alliance flight earning and redemption options keep coming up. The latest is Air Canada adding flights between Montreal and Curacaoin January 2015. (Source: Airlineroute.net)
In the bonus offer section we see the return of SPG's targeted free night or bonus Starpoints offers. You can follow the link and input your SPG number to see if you are eligible. For me I had the free night offer last year after one stay but this year no luck as I was not targeted.
Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you reserve on line and park at the Montreal-Trudeau International airport Multi-Level parking on stays of 5 days and more. More... Until Sep 30, 14
airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double PINS on all airBaltic flights to London, Milan and Munich. More... Book between Aug 1 - 31 for travel Aug 1 - Nov 30, 14
- Double PINS for stays on the Air Baltic PINS Summer Special Package at Doyle Collection Hotels in London. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Double PINS for stays at the Radisson Blu Hotel Milan. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Triple PINS on Budget car rentals in United Kingdom, Italy or Germany. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Triple PINS when you shop at The Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages in Europe. More...Until Sep 30, 14
- 50 Bonus PINS for each hotel review posted at HolidayCheck. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Double PINS when you use SmartTaxi. More... Until Aug 31, 14
PointsHound
- 1,000 bonus points or miles on bookings in New York, Hong Kong, or Istanbul of 3 nights or more. More... Book by Aug 8, 14
Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn a free night or up to 7,500 Bonus Starpoints for Starwood Hotel stays Worldwide. More... Register by Aug 31 for stays until Oct 15, 14 Targeted offer - May not work for everyone
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 20% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you convert Clubcard vouchers to Flying Club miles. More... Until Sep 5, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
News, Tips & Tricks
Big news from the folks at WestJet! As we mentioned a few weeks ago, they were exploring adding widebody aircraft to their fleet and as of yesterday this has been confirmed! WestJet will be buying four 767-300ERW aircraft from Boeing (used planes that will be retrofitted) that will enter service in 2015. After flights within Canada and the U.S. the planes will be used on Alberta-Hawaii flights once they receive their ETOPS ratings and we can only assume that they will be used on Europe or other long haul International flights in the summer of 2016. (Source WestJet)
Sometime ago we brought you the news that Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus was going to have a major award chart devaluation. Well it appears they have listened to all the customer complaints and reversed their decision to do so! I am sure that many of you are like me and wish the North American programs that have had devaluations over the past few years would have done the same! (Source View from the Wing)
More Aeroplan or Star Alliance flight earning and redemption options keep coming up. The latest is Air Canada adding flights between Montreal and Curacaoin January 2015. (Source: Airlineroute.net)
In the bonus offer section we see the return of SPG's targeted free night or bonus Starpoints offers. You can follow the link and input your SPG number to see if you are eligible. For me I had the free night offer last year after one stay but this year no luck as I was not targeted.
Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you reserve on line and park at the Montreal-Trudeau International airport Multi-Level parking on stays of 5 days and more. More... Until Sep 30, 14
airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double PINS on all airBaltic flights to London, Milan and Munich. More... Book between Aug 1 - 31 for travel Aug 1 - Nov 30, 14
- Double PINS for stays on the Air Baltic PINS Summer Special Package at Doyle Collection Hotels in London. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Double PINS for stays at the Radisson Blu Hotel Milan. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Triple PINS on Budget car rentals in United Kingdom, Italy or Germany. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Triple PINS when you shop at The Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages in Europe. More...Until Sep 30, 14
- 50 Bonus PINS for each hotel review posted at HolidayCheck. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Double PINS when you use SmartTaxi. More... Until Aug 31, 14
PointsHound
- 1,000 bonus points or miles on bookings in New York, Hong Kong, or Istanbul of 3 nights or more. More... Book by Aug 8, 14
Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn a free night or up to 7,500 Bonus Starpoints for Starwood Hotel stays Worldwide. More... Register by Aug 31 for stays until Oct 15, 14 Targeted offer - May not work for everyone
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 20% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you convert Clubcard vouchers to Flying Club miles. More... Until Sep 5, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
July 29 Update: Loyalty Points ban on Prescriptions in B.C. struck down and 8 new bonus mile/point offers
News, Tips & Tricks
Over the past year or so we have been bringing you updates in regards to the issue surrounding the ban of loyalty points on prescriptions in Alberta and B.C.. Currently the Alberta ban is on hold until an upcoming court date but that could all be affected by last Friday's court ruling in B.C.. That ruling came out and it is great news for us points collectors as:
Chief Justice Erik Hinkson found the only proven harm of the ban was on consumers, prevented from obtaining pharmacy services and prescriptions at the lowest price.Which means the ban has been struck down and should be lifted soon if it has not been already. (Source CBC)
Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 25,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you book an American Airlines Vacations to Hawaii. More... Book by Aug 10 for travel until Dec 20, 14
Hilton HHonors
- 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points PER NIGHT up to a maximum of 5,000 points per stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Double HHonors Points for Friday and Saturday night stays at the DoubleTree by Hilton Pleasanton at the Club. More... Until Jan 21, 15
Kimpton Karma Rewards
- Double Stay Credit on all Kimpton Hotel stays in the U.S. More... Book by Aug 4 for stays until Sep 30, 14
Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of three or more nights at Novotel Hotels in the US, Canada or Mexico. More... Until Aug 28, 14
PointsHound
- 1,000 Bonus Miles/Points on all bookings for stays Worldwide made in CAD. More... Book by Aug 1, 14
Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Receive up to a 40% GC Award Points Discount when you redeem for an award night at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 14
Starwood Preferred Guest
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints, up to 30% off and no resort fees when you stay on a AAA rate at participating Starwood Villa Resorts in the U.S. and Mexico. More... Book by Aug 1, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
Monday, July 28, 2014
July 28 Update: 50 Free Iberia Plus Avios, PointsHound bonus for C$ bookings, and lots of news & bonuses
We're back to a full week of travel rewards and loyalty program coverage here on Rewards Canada!
News, Tips & Tricks
Catching up on lots of news here!
Air Canada Rouge, looks to take on WestJet's stranglehold on flights to Palm Springs as they will be adding 3x weekly service to the desert oasis from Vancouver this December. (Source Airlineroute.net)
Aeroplan award flights for travel on EVA Air are once again bookable. They were unavailable for awhile. I recall a comment on one of our posts where a reader could not access their flights at all so hopefully you have not booked yet as now you'll be able to get those flights you want.
If you are booked or were planning to travel on Lufthansa's seasonal Vancouver-Munich service you should double check your email for flight changes as they are cutting short their service by two weeks. Originally flights were to run until Oct 25 but that has been changed to Oct 11. (Source Airlineroute.net)
WestJet Encore will launch a new Toronto to Fredrection service on April 15, 2015. The flights will operate twice daily. (Source Airlineroute.net)
WestJet also announced the details of their winter 2014/15 flight schedule which includes two new routes: Calgary-Loreto, Mexico and Winnipeg-Ft. Lauderdale. Their will also be increased frequency on 19 of their existing routes. (Source WestJet)
In the bonus offers section be sure to take advantage of the 50 Free Avios offer from Iberia. Always good to get some free miles! This will also make your account active if you haven't earned any Avios yet and let you eventually transfer Avios between British Airways and Iberia, with the latter being an option for avoiding fuel surcharges on certain routes.
And a further round up of news we already posted to the blog today:
Travel Deals
Up to $1000 Instant Air Credit Savings At Sandals Resorts
Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles on Japan Airlines flights between Tokyo and Indonesia. More... Until Sep 30, 14
China Eastern Eastern Miles
- Quadruple Eastern Miles Points for stays at the Tokyo Andaz or the Andaz Shanghai Xintiandi. More... Until Sep 30, 14
Delta SkyMiles
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles when you shop online via the SkyMiles Shopping portal. More... Join by Aug 31, 14
Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles on weekend flights (Fri-Sun) to/from Dusseldorf, Hamburg or Berlin-Tegel. More... Book by Jul 31 for travel until Mar 31, 15
- Double Boomerang Miles on flights to/from Paris. More... Book by Jul 31 for travel until Aug 31, 14
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple HawaiianMiles for stays of 4 ore more nights at the Coconut Waikiki Hotel or Shoreline Hotel Waikiki. More... Until Dec 25, 14
Hyatt Gold Passport
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points for stays on the Mall of America Package at the Hyatt Place Minneapolis Airport - South. More... Until Dec 31, 14
Iberia Plus
- 50 Free Avios when you enter Iberia's Summer Flights contest. More... Until Aug 31, 14
- 30% Bonus Avios when you buy, gift or transfer Avios via Iberia Plus. More... Until Aug 17, 14
IHG Rewards Club
- 5,000 points per award night - IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Redeem only 5,000 points for stays at select hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- 60% Bonus IHG Rewards Club points when you buy 10,000 or more points online. More... Until Sep 30, 14
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 25% Miles&Smiles Discount when redeeming for a MIles&Smiles award ticket on any new Turkish Airlines routes. More... Until Dec 31, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
News, Tips & Tricks
Catching up on lots of news here!
Air Canada Rouge, looks to take on WestJet's stranglehold on flights to Palm Springs as they will be adding 3x weekly service to the desert oasis from Vancouver this December. (Source Airlineroute.net)
Aeroplan award flights for travel on EVA Air are once again bookable. They were unavailable for awhile. I recall a comment on one of our posts where a reader could not access their flights at all so hopefully you have not booked yet as now you'll be able to get those flights you want.
If you are booked or were planning to travel on Lufthansa's seasonal Vancouver-Munich service you should double check your email for flight changes as they are cutting short their service by two weeks. Originally flights were to run until Oct 25 but that has been changed to Oct 11. (Source Airlineroute.net)
WestJet Encore will launch a new Toronto to Fredrection service on April 15, 2015. The flights will operate twice daily. (Source Airlineroute.net)
WestJet also announced the details of their winter 2014/15 flight schedule which includes two new routes: Calgary-Loreto, Mexico and Winnipeg-Ft. Lauderdale. Their will also be increased frequency on 19 of their existing routes. (Source WestJet)
In the bonus offers section be sure to take advantage of the 50 Free Avios offer from Iberia. Always good to get some free miles! This will also make your account active if you haven't earned any Avios yet and let you eventually transfer Avios between British Airways and Iberia, with the latter being an option for avoiding fuel surcharges on certain routes.
And a further round up of news we already posted to the blog today:
- Rewards Canada Offer: 1,000 Bonus Miles/Points on all PointsHound bookings made in CAD
- IHG PointBreaks now live - Award nights for only 5,000 points for stays until Sep 30
Travel Deals
Up to $1000 Instant Air Credit Savings At Sandals Resorts
Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles on Japan Airlines flights between Tokyo and Indonesia. More... Until Sep 30, 14
China Eastern Eastern Miles
- Quadruple Eastern Miles Points for stays at the Tokyo Andaz or the Andaz Shanghai Xintiandi. More... Until Sep 30, 14
Delta SkyMiles
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles when you shop online via the SkyMiles Shopping portal. More... Join by Aug 31, 14
Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles on weekend flights (Fri-Sun) to/from Dusseldorf, Hamburg or Berlin-Tegel. More... Book by Jul 31 for travel until Mar 31, 15
- Double Boomerang Miles on flights to/from Paris. More... Book by Jul 31 for travel until Aug 31, 14
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple HawaiianMiles for stays of 4 ore more nights at the Coconut Waikiki Hotel or Shoreline Hotel Waikiki. More... Until Dec 25, 14
Hyatt Gold Passport
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points for stays on the Mall of America Package at the Hyatt Place Minneapolis Airport - South. More... Until Dec 31, 14
Iberia Plus
- 50 Free Avios when you enter Iberia's Summer Flights contest. More... Until Aug 31, 14
- 30% Bonus Avios when you buy, gift or transfer Avios via Iberia Plus. More... Until Aug 17, 14
IHG Rewards Club
- 5,000 points per award night - IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Redeem only 5,000 points for stays at select hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- 60% Bonus IHG Rewards Club points when you buy 10,000 or more points online. More... Until Sep 30, 14
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 25% Miles&Smiles Discount when redeeming for a MIles&Smiles award ticket on any new Turkish Airlines routes. More... Until Dec 31, 14
Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by
IHG PointBreaks now live - Award nights for only 5,000 points for stays until Sep 30
Although it recently had some changes made to it, the best hotel redemption offer continues to be IHG Rewards Club's PointBreaks. Once again there are not that many Canadian properties participating with the Hotel Indigo Toronto Airport being the best bet. Internationally the best bets are at the five InterContinental Hotels participating but of course that does not draw away from any of the hotels on the list as this is a good deal for all of them.
The new PointBreaks list we mentioned last Friday are now open for booking for stays from July 28 to September 30, 2014 (subject to availability) Each Reward Night at these participating hotels will be only 5,000 IHG Rewards Club points during the above mentioned dates. Remember the new PointBreaks rules that a member can only book up to 2 reward reservations per hotel participating in the individual offer (ie 2 at Pointbreaks hotels and 2 at Last Minute Reward Night hotels). My tip to get around this would be to book 2 reservations with one IHG Rewards Club account and then have your spouse book 2 more etc. Of course this is dependent on both accounts having enough points to redeem for these awards. Also be sure to book these ASAP as once the allotted nights are booked at certain locations those hotels will fall off the list.
There are 6 hotels in Canada and 161 other hotels participating in this set of PointBreaks and they are as follows:
Canada
Holiday Inn Hinton
Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites Lloydminster
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Langley
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Barrie
Staybridge Suites Toronto Mississauga
Hotel Indigo Toronto Airport
United States
Alabama
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Gadsden W
Holiday Inn Express Pelham
Arkansas
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Bentonville
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Mountain Home
Arizona
Candlewood Suites Yuma
California
Holiday Inn Express and Suites El Centro
Holiday Inn Express San Diego- La Mesa
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lincoln
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Sacramento NE Cal Expo
Connecticut
Holiday Inn Danbury- Bethel
Delaware
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Harrington
Florida
Holiday Inn Express Niceville-Eglin
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Palm Coast
Georgia
Candlewood Suites Augusta
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Atlanta- Conyers
Holiday Inn Express Dillard
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Milledgeville
Staybridge Suites Savannah Airport
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Thomasville
Iowa
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Clinton
Illinois
Holiday Inn Chicago NW Crystal Lk Conv Ctr
Holiday Inn Express Chicago Downers Grove
Holiday Inn Express Rochelle
Staybridge Suites Rockford
Indiana
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Bedford
Staybridge Suites Elkhart North
Staybridge Suites Fort Wayne
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Bloomington N- Martinsville
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Tell City
Kansas
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Abilene
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Garden City
Holiday Inn Express Junction City
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lansing- Leavenworth
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lawrence
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Pittsburgh
Kentucky
Holiday Inn Express Henderson N Evansville South
Holiday Inn Louisville Airport South
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Pikeville
Louisiana
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Sulphur
Maryland
Holiday Inn Express Pocomoke City
Holiday Inn Express Price Frederick
Michigan
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Bad Axe
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Charlotte
Holiday Inn Express Gaylord
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Roseville
Holiday Inn Express and Suites South Haven
Candlewood Suites Detroit- Southfield
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Three Rivers
Holiday Inn Express Wixom
Minnesota
Holiday Inn Fairmont
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Worthington
Missouri
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Farmington
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Independence- Kansas City
Holiday Inn Express Jefferson City
Candlewood Suites Kansas City Airport
Mississippi
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Magee
Holiday Inn Express Mccomb
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Vicksburg
Holiday Inn Express West Point
North Carolina
Hotel Indigo Raleigh Durham Airport
Holiday Inn Express Clayton
Candlewood Suites Greenville NC
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Statesville
North Dakota
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Dickinson
Nebraska
Holiday Inn Express Alliance
Holiday Inn Express Ogallala
Staybridge Suites Omaha 80th and Dodge
Holiday Inn Express Woodbridge
New Jersey
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Meadowlands Area
Holiday Inn Clinton
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Tower Center New Brunswick
New Mexico
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Albuquerque N
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Grants- Milan
Staybridge Suites Las Cruces
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Las Vegas
Holiday Inn Express Silver City
New York
Holiday Inn Express and Suites East Greenbush
Holiday Inn Express Rochester
Holiday Inn Express and Suites West Coxsackie
Ohio
Holiday Inn and Suites Dayton- Centerville
Staybridge Suites Columbus- Dublin
Holiday Inn Express London I-70
Holiday Inn Express Oakwood Village
Oklahoma
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Ada
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Enid
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Muskogee
Oregon
Holiday Inn Express Grants Pass
Holiday Inn Express Portland West
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Klamath Falls Central
Pennsylvania
Staybridge Suites Allentown West
Holiday Inn Express Meadville
Crowne Plaza Reading
Rhode Island
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Providence- Woonsocket
South Carolina
Crowne Plaza Greenville- 1-385 Roper Mtn Rd
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lexington- Hwy 378
South Dakota
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Vermillion
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Watertown
Tennessee
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Cookeville
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Chattanooga- Hixson
Holiday Inn Express Knoxville- Strawberry Plains
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lenoir City
Texas
Holiday Inn Houston East- Channelview
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Falfurrias
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Kilgore North
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Uvalde
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Wharton
Utah
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Logan
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Vernal
Virginia
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Christiansburg
Candlewood Suites Washington- Fairfax
Holiday Inn Norton
Wisconsin
Holiday Inn Conference Ctr Marshfield
Holiday Inn Neenah
Staybridge Suites Milwaukee West- Oconomowoc
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Oshkosh- SR 41
Wyoming
Holiday Inn Riverton- Convention Center
Europe
Finland
Holiday Inn Tampere
France
Holiday Inn Express Amiens
Holiday Inn Express Grenoble- Bernin
Holiday Inn Express Lille Centre
Germany
Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt- Messe
Romania
Intercontinental Bucharest
Slovakia
Crowne Plaza Bratislava
Spain
Holiday Inn Valencia
United Kingdom
Holiday Inn Brentwood M25, Jct. 28
Holiday Inn Express Burton upon Trent
Holiday Inn Express Cambridge- Duxford M11
Holiday Inn Express Newcastle- Metro Centre
Holiday Inn Northampton
Holiday Inn Preston
Holiday Inn Slough- Windsor
Holiday Inn Woking
Asia and the Pacific
People’s Republic of China
Holiday Inn Express Changsu
Holiday Inn Jiuzhai Jarpo
Crowne Plaza Xiangyang
Crowne Plaza Zhongshan Xiaolan
Crowne Plaza Zhongshan Wing on City
India
Holiday Inn Pune Hinjewadi
Indonesia
Holiday Inn Resort Batam
Japan
Crowne Plaza- ANA Kanazawa
Africa and the Middle East
South Africa
Holiday Inn Johannesburg- Rosebank
Zimbabwe
Holiday Inn Harare
Egypt
Crowne Plaza Resort Sahara Sands Port Ghalib
Kuwait
Holiday Inn Kuwait- Downtown
Saudi Arabia
Holiday Inn Yanbu
Turkey
Crowne Plaza Antalya
Crowne Plaza Istanbul- Harbiye
Americas
Argentina
Holiday Inn Cordoba
Brazil
Crowne Plaza Belem
Holiday Inn Manaus
Columbia
Intercontinental Cali
Costa Rica
Intercontinental Costa Rica at Multiplaza Mall
Guatemala
Intercontinental Real Guatemala
Honduras
Crowne Plaza Pedro Sula
Panama
Intercontinental Miramar Panama
Mexico
Holiday Inn Express CD. Del Carmen
Crowne Plaza Toulca- Lancaster
Holiday Inn Express and Suites Toluca Zona Aeroperto
Holiday Inn Express Guadalajara Autonoma
Holiday Inn Express Villahermosa Tabasco 2000
Crowne Plaza Nuevo Laredo
Crowne Plaza Tuxpan
Holiday Inn Veracruz Centro Historico
Rewards Canada Offer: 1,000 Bonus Miles/Points on all PointsHound bookings made in CAD
Similar to last weeks offer on our global site, FrequentFlyerBonuses.com, we are excited to announce that Rewards Canada has teamed up with PointsHound.com for a 5 day Bonus Offer. Keep on reading for the details!
For over two years we have been providing coverage of PointsHound right here on Rewards Canada so our seasoned followers should know this site well. However for those of you who have not heard of or perhaps have forgotten about them, PointsHound.com is a third party hotel booking site that awards loyalty program miles and points for booking hotels via their site. The U.S. based site was recently acquired by Points (the Canadian company based in Toronto responsible for most program's buy/share/gift miles offers) and since that time they have added more partners with Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles being the latest and heftily increased the amount of miles/points you can earn on hotel bookings.
One of those changes has been the addition of their 'Big Earn Rate' hotels which earn you the most possible miles/points on your booking. These hotels can be identified on the PointsHound site with a tag "Big Earn Rate" on the hotel's picture. A quick search of hotels in Toronto showed these Hot Deals hotels offering between 8 and 14 times the regular amount of miles that PointsHound would award for a stay. These 'Big Earn Rates" are only available for bookings made in USD or CAD. This is great news for those of us here in Canada, by choosing CAD you get to avoid foreign transaction fees on your credit card and get a very competitive exchange rate that matches the actual markets (see the XE.com screenshot below)
Overall the site is a great way to earn more miles and points than you could regularly within an airline program for stays at many hotels or even from hotels that don't partner with an airline or hotel loyalty program. By booking a stay via PointsHound.com you are looking at a good way to boost the balance(s) in your favourite program that is a participating partner.
The RewardsCanada.ca Offer!
Now with this Bonus Offer with PointsHound.com when you purchase any hotel reservation on PointsHound in Canadian currency you’ll get a bonus of 1,000 points or miles — on top of your regular reservation earning! This offer is good not only for new members but also existing members who have already booked via PointsHound! Simply make your booking via our link by August 1st for any stay completed in 2014.
For over two years we have been providing coverage of PointsHound right here on Rewards Canada so our seasoned followers should know this site well. However for those of you who have not heard of or perhaps have forgotten about them, PointsHound.com is a third party hotel booking site that awards loyalty program miles and points for booking hotels via their site. The U.S. based site was recently acquired by Points (the Canadian company based in Toronto responsible for most program's buy/share/gift miles offers) and since that time they have added more partners with Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles being the latest and heftily increased the amount of miles/points you can earn on hotel bookings.
One of those changes has been the addition of their 'Big Earn Rate' hotels which earn you the most possible miles/points on your booking. These hotels can be identified on the PointsHound site with a tag "Big Earn Rate" on the hotel's picture. A quick search of hotels in Toronto showed these Hot Deals hotels offering between 8 and 14 times the regular amount of miles that PointsHound would award for a stay. These 'Big Earn Rates" are only available for bookings made in USD or CAD. This is great news for those of us here in Canada, by choosing CAD you get to avoid foreign transaction fees on your credit card and get a very competitive exchange rate that matches the actual markets (see the XE.com screenshot below)
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| PointsHound.com had the Sheraton Toronto Airport at US$150 or C$161 |
The RewardsCanada.ca Offer!
Now with this Bonus Offer with PointsHound.com when you purchase any hotel reservation on PointsHound in Canadian currency you’ll get a bonus of 1,000 points or miles — on top of your regular reservation earning! This offer is good not only for new members but also existing members who have already booked via PointsHound! Simply make your booking via our link by August 1st for any stay completed in 2014.