Rewards Canada: Your premier points, miles & credit cards resource: September 2014

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Sep 30 Update: Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies, Rewards Canada is 13 years old, choose the next Hilton bonus

A fitting end to September with a brand new feature from Rewards Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
Today we released our first ever Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies for Canadians, a new feature for Rewards Canada! Check out our Top 5 rankings for Canadians

Also fitting that as of September, Rewards Canada is now 13 years old! Sometimes it is hard to believe that we have been at this for so long but all we can say is that Rewards Canada would not be where it is today without the help of our readers, subscribers, advertisers, partners and more! So thank you all for an amazing 13 years! We are looking forward to the next 13!

Hilton wants to you to choose what their next major promotion will be, so cast your vote for the next Hilton HHonors systemwide bonus by October 4th! See more here

The latest set of Air France KLM Flying Blue promo awards are out for travel in Dec & Jan, however once again no Canadian cities are included. See the link below in the bonus offers section for more details.

Travel Deals
Air France has launched a new economy class sale from Canada to Europe. Fares are from $665 for travel Oct 16-Dec 14 and Dec 25 - May 6. Tickets must be booked by Oct 8 at airfrance.ca

Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Save up to 50% with Promo Awards - Save 25% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Oct 31 for travel between Dec 1 and Jan 31, 15

airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double PINS for stays at any 1 of 5 Wellton Hotels in Riga. More... Until Oct 31, 14
- Double PINS for when you utilize the services of Wellton Spa. More... Until Oct 31, 14

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 30% Bonus Gold Points when you purchase points online. More... Until Oct 31, 14

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Double Victoria Miles for stays at HF Fenix Hotels in Lisbon and Oporto. More... Until Oct 22, 14
- Double Victoria Miles for stays of 3 to 5 nights at the Hotel do Chiado Lisbon. More... Nov 1 - Mar 30, 15

Wyndham Rewards
- 25% Bonus Wyndham Rewards Points when you buy or gift points. More... Until Oct 24, 14

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies for Canadians

Here are the details from our press release from today:

Not every travel reward program is created equal. With more than 125 travel reward programs available to Canadians, it is little wonder consumers are left scratching their head when trying to determine which is best. Picking the right program is combination of matching individual needs with value.

To help make it easier, Rewards Canada (rewardscanada.ca) best known for our annual ranking of credit card offerings, has determined the overall value of each travel reward program by evaluating Ease of Earning, Ease of Redeeming and Dollar Value. The full feature with complete rankings and background can be found online at www.rewardscanada.ca/top5trc

The top 5 travel reward currencies are:

America Express Membership Rewards Points. Program cannot be beat for its earn and redemption flexibility

Aeroplan Miles. Has something for everyone but really takes flight when converting miles into business or first class flights

RBC Rewards Points. Must have RBC’s Avion card product to get value but rewards can be up to 2.3% of spend

Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. Only frequent guest program to make top five but with redemptions values as high as 7% can you say “room service”?

AIR MILES Reward Miles. Canada’s largest frequent shopping program would have ranked higher but recent flight redemption increases knocked it down.

“It’s no secret Canadians rank among the world’s most active travel reward program participants,” said Patrick Sojka, of Rewards Canada. “But determining whether the effort is worth the prize is often an exercise in frustration and worn out calculator keys.”

“This year’s ranking of Canada’s top travel reward currencies attempts to simplify the evaluation process and make it easier to determine a program that’s best for you,” added Sojka.

About RewardsCanada.ca 
Launched in 2001, RewardsCanada.ca is regularly featured in the Canadian media and is considered to be Canada’s premier frequent flyer and travel rewards resource. Updated on a daily basis, the website features news, articles, program information and bonus offers for over 80 travel reward programs.

I'd love to hear your comments on the Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies for Canadians!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Sep 29 Update: New Aeroplan Marriott stay offer, Delta MQM offer for Hilton stays, is Diners Club returning soon?

Welcome to another week of travel and loyalty rewards here on Rewards Canada! Today may be a little quiet but that doesn't say much for the rest of this week! Stay tuned for some major items to be released over the next few days!

News, Tips & Tricks
Good news for SkyMiles and/or SkyTeam flyers in the Vancouver area, Delta Airlines will be flying the Vancoouver-Los Angeles route year round instead of the previously planned Christmas/New Years service only. Flights will operate twice daily. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Marriott Rewards has added Turkish Airlines as their newest airline mileage earning/points transfer partner. You can now earn Miles&Smiles for your stays or convert Marriott Rewards points into Miles&Smiles miles. Find out more here. (Source: LoyaltyLobby)

Gary Leff at View from the Wing points out that Diners Club cards are now available for applications in the U.S however there still isn't any word about the Canadian cards opening for new applications. We have been watching this closely for the past 5 or so years and eagerly await to see what happens for us Canadians as their current offering here with the 'Professional' consumer card would shake up the rankings in our Hybrid card category if they keep the card the way it is (or if they make it better then the shake up will be even more noticable!)

In the bonus offer section, three major promos of note are the Aeroplan Marriott stay offer, the latest set of IHG PointBreaks and the Delta MQM offer from Hilton. Be sure to look into both of these offers!

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 4,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you stay at Marriott Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 15

Delta SkyMiles
- 250 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and double miles when you complete a two-night stay at any hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio. More... Oct 6 - Dec 20, 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 Nov 30, 14

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Up to a 66% Mileage Bank Miles Discount for Mileage Bank Economy Class Award Tickets for select travel on S7 Airlines. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor hotels in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. More... Book by Oct 31 for stays until Dec 31, 14

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Double Frequent Flyer Points on select Qantas flights between Australia and North America, London, Johannesburg, or Santiago. More... Register and book by Oct 13 for between Feb 1 and Oct 31, 15

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Earn up to 6,000 Bonus QMiles for Qatar Airways flights between Doha and Djibouti. More... Oct 26, 14 - Jan 31, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

IHG PointBreaks now live - Award nights for only 5,000 points for stays until Nov 30

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Sep 25 Update: The easiest route to Star Alliance Gold comes to an end, Air Miles Jiffy Lube bonus

Big bad news from Aegean Airlines Miles&Bonus!

News, Tips & Tricks

We have touched upon this topic a few times here on Rewards Canada but never fully detailed it. What is it? The easiest way to Star Alliance Gold Status via Aegean Airlines Miles&Bonus. It is was quite simple earn 1,000 miles for joining, earn another 3,000 with 12 months and get their Silver Status (Star Alliance Gold) add another 16,000 on top of that within 12 months of reaching Silver and boom you have Gold Miles&Bonus status which equates to Star Alliance Gold and you could keep that status just with one flight credited to Aegean every 3 years.. Rumours had starting going around last week that this was all about to change and the email from Aegean Miles&Bonus yesterday confirmed it. This easy way to keeping Star Alliance Gold status for life has come to an end. Well not really yet, the changes go into effect on November 24th so you could still potentially take advantage of this with one long haul Business Class flight credited to Miles&Bonus.

I myself started this challenge earlier this year but took a harder way, crediting some Air Canada domestic flights to Miles&Bonus, I got Miles&Bonus Silver already but don't know if I'll make it to Gold by the time the changes take place. I'm not happy about neither are thousands of others who have used this surefire method as a fast track to Star Alliance status but that is also the reason why this great method is coming to an end. As with most fast tracks, tricks and other ways to work the frequent traveller system, many of them meet their end sooner or later. Now they have made the qualification requirements harder but they are still not that hard to achieve when you compare to some other programs and if you achieve that status it is relatively easy to retain (especially if flying on Aegean or Olympic, somewhat harder if only flying Star Alliance.) You can find out all about the changes here.

American Airlines and El Al are ending their frequent flyer partnership on November 1st of this year. Find out more here.

Tunisia's Syphax Airlines is converting their Montreal-Tunis service from year round to seasonal as of Oct 30. If you have travel booked with Syphax this fall/winter you should check with them to see how they will accomodate your planned flights. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Huge Aeroplan Bonus from Rexall this weekend - 1,100 Bonus Miles when you spend $50+

Bonus Offers
Air Miles
- Earn up to 25 Bonus Air Miles when you get an oil change for your car at participating Jiffy Lube stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories. More... Until Nov 30, 14

airberlin topbonus
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus topbonus Miles for stays at Best Western hotels in Germany or Luxembourg. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Triple topbonus Miles on all eligible Europcar rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Oct 19 for rentals until Dec 31, 14

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 10,000 Bonus Asia Miles when you subscribe to the Economist. More... Until Oct 31, 14
- Double Asia Miles on purchases of HKD/RMB500 or more on any regular-priced skincare products or services at MTM. More... Until Oct 12, 14

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double GarudaMiles when you fly Garuda Indonesia between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. More... Jan 1 - Mar 31, 15

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Double JetPrivilege Miles on all eligible Etihad Airways Worldwide. More... Register and book by Oct 6 for travel until Dec 15, 14

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- 50% Mabuhay Miles Discount on AwardTickets for travel on select Philippine Airlines flights Worldwide. More... Book by Oct 3, 14
- Earn up to Triple Mabuhay Miles on Avis rentals of a Group C car or higher for 3 or more days in Asia, US, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa or for 4 or more days in Australia. More... Oct 1 - Dec 31, 14

Southwest Rapid Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 35% Bonus Rapid Rewards Points when you buy Rapid Rewards points online. More... Until Oct 31, 14

Ukraine International Panorama Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 50% Bonus Panorama Club Miles when you fly UIA between Kiev, Odessa or Dnepropetrovsk and Tel Aviv. More... Until Oct 31, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Panorama Club Miles when you join Panorama Club and complete your first Ukraine International flight. More... Ongoing

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Huge Aeroplan Bonus from Rexall this weekend - 1,100 Bonus Miles when you spend $50+

Rexall is turning 110 years old and to celebrate this anniversary they are awarding 1,100 Aeroplan Miles on all eligible purchases of $50 or more! This is a huge bonus, you can earn as much as 22 Aeroplan Miles per dollar! It may not be 'Pudding Guy' or even Star Challenge worthy but this is still a great bonus that you should take advantage of if you can. Here's a tip: If you are planning on spending over $100 then split the purchases so that you can earn the bonus twice and so on. Also use a credit card that has a multiplier on drug store purchases likes the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite or American Express Gold Rewards cards!

The offer is only valid between Friday Sept 26 and Sunday Sept 28. Read more in the flyer here.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Sep 24 Update: American & BA bonuses to Europe, Lufthansa Voucher Code, more Air Canada 787 service

Middle of the week offerings for you!

News, Tips & Tricks
If you are keeping track of Air Canada's new and upcoming 787 services, Airlineroute.net points out the new plane will fly Toronto-Copenhagen for the month of April 2015

Travel Deals
Save $30 on your next Lufthansa booking for flights out of Canada

Bonus Offers
Aerolineas Argentinas (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 75 Bonus Plus Miles for Alamo rentals in Argentina of 3 or more days.. More... Ongoing

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 125,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you fly round-trip between the U.S., Canada or Mexico and Europe on First Class or Business Class fares on American Airlines, US Airways, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia or OpenSkies. More... Valid for residents of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. only Until Jan 10, 15

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 125,000 Bonus Avios when you fly on qualifying first or business class fares on British Airways, American Airlines, Finnair, Iberia, OpenSkies or US Airways operated and marketed non-stop flights between the U.S. or Canada and UK or Europe. More... Valid for residents of Canada and the U.S. only Until Jan 10, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 1,500 Gold Points PER DAY and save up to 25% on participating Alamo car rentals in the US and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 1,500 Gold Points PER DAY and save up to 25% on participating National car rentals in the US and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Jumeirah Sirius
- Double Sirius Points and 3 nights for the price of 2 for stays at the Pera Palace Hotel Istanbul. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Double Sirius Points for stays on the Signature Dream Experience at the Burj Al Arab. More... Until Dec 24, 14

United MileagePlus
- Earn 10,000 Bonus MileagePlus miles per adult when you book a vacation to any of RIU’s all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. More... Book by Dec 15 for travel until Dec 31, 14

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Save $30 on your next Lufthansa booking for flights out of Canada

Planning a trip to Europe? If Lufthansa was on your radar to fly you there here is a voucher offer to save you a little cash on that flight! Simply fill out this form and Lufthansa will send you an exclusive code to save $30 on your next LHflight purchase. You must redeem the voucher (read book your flight) by September 27.

30 CAD promo code only valid until 27^th September 2014
Travel must be between 01^st November 2014 and 12^th March 2015
Vouchers are only valid for itineraries where all flights are operated by Lufthansa and Lufthansa Regional Partners (incl. Lufthansa City Line and Eurowings)
Blackout period 16 DEC 2014-6 JAN 2015
The voucher is only valid for flights departing in Canada and can only be redeemed at www.lufthansa.com

British Airways: Up to 125,000 Bonus Avios between Canada and the U.K. or Europe in First or Business Class

We see the return of a very similar offer to those we have seen in the past from British Airways and their Transatlantic oneworld partners. As we see a few times per year this bonus is for flying in a premium fare class (no economy included here like the current United and Air Canada Transatlantic offers) between Canada and the U.K. or Europe.

Offer Details
Earn up to 125,000 Bonus Avios when you fly on qualifying first or business class fares on British Airways, American Airlines, Finnair, Iberia, OpenSkies or US Airways operated and marketed non-stop flights between the U.S. or Canada and UK or Europe. Earn 20,000 bonus Avios on your first round trip, 40,000 bonus Avios on your second round trip and 65,000 bonus Avios on your third round trip. Full details, registration and online booking (Registration is required) Until Jan 10, 15
Valid for residents of Canada and the U.S. only

Can't make use of this offer? Be sure to visit our Bonus Avios page for tons more bonus earning opportunities!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Sep 23 Update: Details of the Capital One Costco Card, Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Fairmont Hotel stays

Here are Tuesday's Travel Rewards and Loyalty offerings!

News, Tips & Tricks
Rewards Canada reader Noel K sent over the first details of the new Capital One® Platinum MasterCard for Costco members. See the scans of the brochure here and here. Similar offerings to the True Earnings Card from Costco and Amex. 3% back on restaurant purchases, 2% on Gas, up to 1% on all other spending.

You can earn 75 bonus Air Miles Reward Miles when you spend $75 or more as Safeway this weekend. Get the coupon here.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you stay at select Fairmont locations Worldwide. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 30, 14
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for a new Costco membership. More... Until Dec 31, 14

American AAdvantage
- 20 AAdvantage Miles per $1 spent with 1800Flowers.com. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards points for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Best Western hotels in Denmark. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Double Rewards points for stays at the BEST WESTERN Hotel Restaurant Aduard. More... Until Oct 31, 14

Delta SkyMiles
- Earn up to 17,500 Bonus SkyMiles when you book a Hawaii Vacation package through Delta Vacations. More... Book by Dec 31 for travel until Jan 31, 15

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Sindbad Miles for stays at the Swiss-Belresort Ghantoot. More... Until Oct 31, 14
- Double Sindbad Miles on all eligible Sixt car rental locations worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 14

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Sep 30 Update: Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies, Rewards Canada is 13 years old, choose the next Hilton bonus

Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies for Canadians

Monday, September 29, 2014

Sep 29 Update: New Aeroplan Marriott stay offer, Delta MQM offer for Hilton stays, is Diners Club returning soon?

IHG PointBreaks now live - Award nights for only 5,000 points for stays until Nov 30

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Sep 25 Update: The easiest route to Star Alliance Gold comes to an end, Air Miles Jiffy Lube bonus

Huge Aeroplan Bonus from Rexall this weekend - 1,100 Bonus Miles when you spend $50+

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Sep 24 Update: American & BA bonuses to Europe, Lufthansa Voucher Code, more Air Canada 787 service

Save $30 on your next Lufthansa booking for flights out of Canada

British Airways: Up to 125,000 Bonus Avios between Canada and the U.K. or Europe in First or Business Class

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Sep 23 Update: Details of the Capital One Costco Card, Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Fairmont Hotel stays

Top 5 Travel Cards in Canada

TRENDINGScene+ is not just for movies anymore - it's become a versatile powerhouse for all types of rewards

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Scene+ is not just for movies anymore - it's become a versatile powerhouse for all types of rewards