Air Canada and Cathay Pacific to Introduce Codeshare Services and Reciprocal Frequent Flyer Benefits

Many in the airline industry are stating major airline alliances are a dying breed and if the past few weeks are any indication from Air Canada, maybe this is the case. Not that The Star Alliance or the other two major alliances will cease to exist, it does seem that airlines are finding value in partnering with airlines that make sense for connecting customers to places that were difficult prior to the partnership. The latest is this new tie up between rivals Air Canada and Cathay Pacific! Interesting enough is that we reached out to WestJet to see how it affects their relationship with Cathay Pacific and so far all is still good there. So as we speak both of Canada's major airlines have a relationship with Cathay Pacific!

MONTREAL, Dec. 22, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Cathay Pacific and Air Canada today announced they have finalized a strategic cooperation agreement that will enhance travel services for Cathay Pacific customers when travelling within Canada and for Air Canada customers travelling via Hong Kong to Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Cathay Pacific and Air Canada customers will be able to book travel to their final destination on a single ticket with through-checked bags as well as enjoy reciprocal mileage accrual and redemption benefits. Tickets will go on sale January 12, 2017 for travel beginning January 19, 2017.

Air Canada will offer codeshare services to an additional eight cities in Southeast Asia on flights operated by Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon connecting with Air Canada's double daily service to Hong Kong from Toronto and Vancouver. Air Canada will place its code on Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flights to Manila, Cebu, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai.

Cathay Pacific customers will be able to book travel on Air Canada flights connecting with Cathay Pacific's up to three daily flights to Vancouver and up to two daily services to Toronto from Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific will place its code on Air Canada flights to all major cities across Canada including Winnipeg, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Halifax and St. Johns.

When travelling on these services, members of Air Canada's loyalty program, Aeroplan, and Cathay Pacific's travel and lifestyle rewards program, Asia Miles, will be eligible to earn and redeem miles on the above mentioned codeshare routes.

December 21 Update: Podcast Episode 12 is out, IHG late check out for elites and Air France & Qatar Airways discount codes

News, Tips & Tricks
Rewards Canada Weekly Round Up Podcast Episode 12 is here! This is the final episode for 2016! We talk hotel bonuses, Air Canada flight bonuses, the Air Canada/Virgin Australia partnership & more. Download the podcast here.

British Airways will be flying a Boeing 787-9 aircraft between Calgary and London from April to July 2017. The significance of this new is that plane has First Class but BA will not be selling it as First Class. Instead it will be sold as business class. So you'll to fly First Class seats but the service will be on par with Business Class so you won't get access to the BA Concorde First Class lounge in London but this a great opportunity to at least experience First Class seats for the price of Business Class. (Source Routesonline)

IHG Rewards Club is finally offering late check out for their Elite Members. Members will be able to ask for 2pm late check out for their stays. (Source Loyalty Lobby)

The partnership between Starwood Preferred Guest and Caesers Entertainment is coming to an end at the end of this year . (Source View from the Wing)

Posts since our last update:

• 100 Free La Quinta Returns Points for downloading the La Quinta App
  La Quinta has apparently updated their app and made it better. To entice you to try it out they…
• Great changes to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan! Fly Western Canada to Seattle for only 5,000 miles
  Yesterday we received some great news from one of the better if not best frequent flyer programs out there. Alaska…

Travel Deals
You can save $75 off Air France flights from Canada by using promo code AFNEWS778. book online at airfrance.ca
• Booking made: between December 20, 2016 and January 31, 2017
• Travel dates: period of departure and return must be between December 20, 2016 and June 18, 2017 (last return date: June 30, 2017)

Fly Qatar Airways is offering up to 15% off all their fares when you use promo code ThankYou2016. Book your ticket from 13-26 December 2016 or from 21 December 2016 to 3 January 2017 (depending on your flight's country of origin*) for travel between 11 January and 14 June 2017. Qatar Airways flies out of Montreal to Doha and beyond! Find out more here!

  Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles when you book the “Double Bonus Package” at participating IHG Hotels in Hong Kong. More... Until Feb 28, 17

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to Quadruple Skywards Miles for stays at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. More... Book by Mar 30 for stays until Oct 31, 17

La Quinta Returns
- 100 FREE Returns Points when you download the La Quinta App and log in. More... Until Feb 28, 17

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Triple QMiles when you book the Linger Longer offer for stays at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Double Flying Club Miles when you book the Linger Longer offer for stays at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17
- 3,000 Bonus Flying Club Miles on your first hotel booking of 2 or more nights made via PointsHound. More... Book by Jan 31, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

100 Free La Quinta Returns Points for downloading the La Quinta App

La Quinta has apparently updated their app and made it better. To entice you to try it out they are offering 100 FREE La Quinta Returns points for simply downloading the app and logging into your account via the app. A nice little Christmas present from LQ!

Offer details
100 FREE Returns Points when you download the La Quinta App and log in. Full details. Until Feb 28, 17

Great changes to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan! Fly Western Canada to Seattle for only 5,000 miles

Yesterday we received some great news from one of the better if not best frequent flyer programs out there. Alaska Airlines revealed details around a new distance based award chart for travel on Alaska Airlines within Canada and the U.S., they revealed the exchange rate between Virgin America Elevate and Mileage Plan, increased earning on premium class fares and the dissolution of their partnership with Delta.

They have introduced a new distance based award chart
This is the best news out of all the news they revealed yesterday, primarily for those of us living in Alberta and British Columbia. Flights on Alaska Airlines between those provinces and Seattle just got significantly cheaper. From 12,500 miles one way to 5,000 miles one way!! In a time where most programs are starting to charge more miles for award flights Alaska is charging less.  For the longer haul flights for travel within the continental US and Canada will remain at 12,500 miles one way or 25,000 miles round trip.

Lets go back to the 5,000 mile options now. All 5 cities that Alaska Airlines serves in Canada should be within the 700 miles or fewer range:

We were hard pressed however to find many flights available at the 5,000 mile range, the most luck we had was Vancouver or Victoria to Seattle where we did find quite a 5,000 mile options. From Calgary we did find quite a few 7,500 mile options while Kelowna and Edmonton we couldn't find anything under 10,000 miles one way. So the key here is that you can now extra some great value on this short haul flights as long as you can find availability.

All of February is wide open for YVR-SEA (same with YYJ-SEA)

Or if you choose to drive to Seattle you can fly to San Francisco for only 5,000 miles!

If you can find or take advantage of these 5,000 mile flight options this just added some huge value to the mbna Alaska Airlines World Elite® MasterCard® credit card as it comes with a 25,000 mile sign up bonus with your first purchase.  You can do the math from here, 25,000 miles sign up bonus means 5 one way flights at the 5,000 mile award level!

Partnership with Delta Airlines is done
From the press release yesterday this love-hate relationship is now over. The two airlines have been partners for a long time but in recent years one could say Delta invaded Alaska's territory making Seattle somewhat of a hub by substantially increasing the number of routes they flew out of SEA to compete directly with Alaska Airlines.

Effective May 1, 2017, Delta and Alaska will no longer have a codeshare agreement, and sales of flights under DL- and AS-coded flight numbers flown on Alaska and Delta aircraft respectively will cease. Additionally, customers of each airline will no longer be able to earn and redeem Delta miles or Mileage Plan miles on flights operated by the other carrier. The carriers will retain an interline agreement, allowing them to continue offering customers ticketing and baggage connectivity. Delta and Alaska today codeshare on only a small number of flights as Delta's growth in Seattle has reduced the need for codeshare flying.

Virgin America Takeover
Virgin America - Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles will convert at a ratio of 1 Elevate Point to 1.3 Mileage Plan miles. If you follow our global site, FrequentFlyerBonuses.com, you'll have had the opportunity to find out about free points offers from Virgin America Elevate over the past several years. Not tons of points but a decent amount nonetheless, I know I have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3,000 Elevate points simply from their free points offers and wasn't sure if I could use them. Now I will for surely transfer them to Alaska and boost my Mileage Plan balance by about 3,900 miles. Also as many U.S. frequent flyer bloggers are pointing out, you can now earn extra Mileage Plan miles when you convert Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. Not directly but via Virgin America. As SPG transfers 1:1 to Alaska and Virgin America you can see that you'll want to transfer to Virgin America Elevate first in 20,000 Starpoint increments (as SPG will kick in an additional 5,000 miles) and then convert them to Alaska Airlines. Essentially you'll get 1.3 Mileage Plan miles per Starpoint instead of just 1 if you use this method. (excluding the bonus kicked in by SPG)

Increased Earning on Premium Class fares

Alaska Airlines will now award you with a lot more miles if you fly their partner airlines in Business or First Class! They stay up to 80% more miles which is a huge increase.

For example, two very popular airlines for Canadians are Cathay Pacific and British Airways. You can now earn up to 250% of the mileage flown if you fly British Airways business class, 400% if you fly first class and Cathay Pacific will see 250% for first class.

These are some great changes for the program and truly an enhancement if you don't count the end of the Delta Airlines partnership but we saw that coming anyways.

What are your thoughts on these changes to this already great program? Are they enough to have you switch from another program or move Mileage Plan up the ranks in your portfolio? Let us know in the comments below!

December 16 Update: SPG & China Eastern launch elite member partnership, Amex Invites offer for YYZ, $100 Spa Credit for Fairmont stays

News, Tips & Tricks
Starwood Preferred Guest has launched their third enhanced airline partnership. Similar to existing partnership with Delta Airlines and Emirates, now elite members of Starwood Preferred Guest and China Eastern Eastern Explorer programs will have reciprocal benefits between the two programs. You can find out more about the new partnership here.

American Express Invites has a great offer for those travelling from Toronto Pearson until March 31st. For $20 you can buy a Priority Security Lane voucher and a Plaza Premium Business Class lounge voucher.  Seeing that the lounge access alone is is US$32 if you walk up and buy it this is a great deal! You have until Dec 22 to buy these vouchers and have until March 31st to use them. Find out more here.

LATAM Airlines has begun codesharing on select WestJet routes within Canada and between Canada and the U.S.. Is a potential frequent flyer tie up in the works as well? We'll just have to wait and see! (Source Routesonline)

Posts since our last update:

• Earn thousands of bonus points on your hotel stays with our major promotion summary
  Taking a page from our global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com we thought it best that this topic is covered on Rewards Canada…
• Christmas shoppping with the American Express Gold Rewards Card
  With a little over a week left to the big day for gift giving, the push is on to start…
• Marriott Rewards, SPG and Ritz-Carlton Rewards all to offer Double Points for Q1-2017
  Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Ritz-Carlton Rewards have synchronized their systemwide global offerings for the first quarter of…
• Last Day to Register: Marriott Rewards MegaBonus - Up to 50,000 bonus points for Marriott stays Worldwide
  Today is the last day to register for this offer! Make sure you do so if you haven't done…
• Air Canada and Virgin Australia to Introduce Codeshare Services and Reciprocal Frequent Flyer Benefits in Strategic Cooperation
  Wow! Did not see this one coming! Nice code share agreement for flights down under as you'll be able…

Travel Deals
Book the Choose Your Spa Moment Package at participating Fairmont Hotels Spa destinations and receive a $100 Spa credit* on a minimum two-night stay. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn 50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles + up to 5,000 Bonus Altitude Qualifying miles on select Air Canada flights within Canada or between Canada and the U.S. or Sun Destinations. More... Register and book by Jan 22 for travel Jan 10 - Jun 10, 17
- 8x Aeroplan Miles for stays at over 5,500 Choice Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Other Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 150 Bonus Asia Miles per HKD500 spent when you book hotels via Agoda. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays until Apr 30, 17

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Jan 7, 16

Marriott Rewards
- Double Rewards Points when you stay at Marriott Hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Up to 100,000 Bonus Frequent Flyer Points when you apply for and receive the Qantas American Express Ultimate Credit Card. More.... Australia Residents Only Apply by Jan 30, 17

Ritz-Carlton Rewards
- Double Rewards Points when you stay at any Ritz-Carlton or Marriott Hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints + Additional Starpoints when you stay at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17

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Earn thousands of bonus points on your hotel stays with our major promotion summary

Taking a page from our global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com we thought it best that this topic is covered on Rewards Canada as well! Now that most of the major hotel chains have released the details of their first quarter 2017 stay promotions it is the perfect time to cover them in one summary post here on the RC blog. As always all the latest updates and newest promotions will be ideally found on each individual program's page on our site, this chart gives you the coverage you should need for most of your stays at the start of 2017! Remember most if not all the offers require you to register for them first so if you have the time go down the list and register for them all so you don't miss out on any potential bonuses for stays you have not planned yet.

Last Updated: December 16, 16

Provider	Offer	Validity Date
Best Western Rewards	Receive a $10 Best Western Gift Card with every stay at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)	Nov 28 - Jan 29, 17
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson	Earn Double Gold Points or Double Elite Night credit for stays at any participating Carlson hotels worldwide.  Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at at Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites, Radisson Blu or Park Inn	Until Dec 31, 16
	For a complete listing of all Carlson Hotels Club Carlson bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Carlson page
Choice Hotels Privileges	Double Privileges Points for all stays you complete at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Members must book trips via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Corporate travelers may book through a travel agent or corporate online booking system. Maximum of 30,000 points awarded. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Restrictions For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Dec 15 - Feb 9, 17
	For a complete listing of all Choice Privileges bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Choice page
Fairmont Presidents Club	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Fairmont bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's Fairmont page
Hilton	Earn up to Triple HHonors Points for all eligible stays at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Until Jan 31, 17
	For a complete listing of all Hilton HHonors bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hilton page
Hyatt	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Hyatt Gold Passport bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hyatt page
InterContinental Hotels Group	Earn at least 30,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide.  Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Jan 1 - Apr 15, 17
	For a complete listing of all IHG Priority Club bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's IHG page
Le Club accorhotels	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Marriott Rewards	Double Rewards Points when you stay at Marriott Hotels Worldwide. Awarded on your first 3 stays during the promotional period. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required)	Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17
	For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Marriott page
Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's iPrefer page
Ritz-Carlton Rewards	Double Rewards Points when you stay at any Ritz-Carlton or Marriott Hotels Worldwide. Awarded on your first 3 stays during the promotional period. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required)	Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17
	For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Ritz-Carlton Rewards page
Shangri-La Golden Circle	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Golden Circle page
Starwood Preferred Guest	Double Starpoints + Additional Starpoints when you stay at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. Awarded on your first 3 stays during the promotional period. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required) Additional bonus varies by member but here is an example: Starting on your fourth stay, you can earn up to 10,000 bonus Starpoints®: Achieve 10 nights and you'll earn 5,000 Starpoints. After 10 nights earn 500 Starpoints for each additional night, up to 5,000 Starpoints.	Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17
	For a complete listing of all Starwood Preferred Guest bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's SPG page
Voila Hotel Rewards	5,000 Bonus VHR Points per stay at any Voila Hotel Rewards hotel Worldwide. Maximum of 100,000 bonus points awarded. Register Online (Registration is required)	Until Mar 31, 17
	Double Elite Tier Credit when you stay two or more nights at a participating VOILÀ network hotel Worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required)	Until Dec 31, 16
	For a complete listing of all Voila Hotel Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's VHR page
World Hotels Peakpoints	Triple Peakpoints or Triple Airline Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels locations Worldwide. Full details	Until Mar 31, 17
	Double Peakpoints or Double Airline Miles for stays at participating World Hotels locations Worldwide that are booked at least 20 days in advance. Full details	Until Mar 31, 17
	For a complete listing of all Starwood Preferred Guest bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Peakpoints page
Wyndham Rewards	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page

Christmas shoppping with the American Express Gold Rewards Card

With a little over a week left to the big day for gift giving, the push is on to start your Christmas shopping for friends, family and maybe even yourself! Whether it is shopping for gifts or for food and drink to entertain, there are many ways to maximize the points you earn while holiday shopping when using your American Express Gold Rewards Card. Ultimately you can plan out and pay for your vacations in 2017 by following one or more of our tips during the holiday season.

Put all your purchases on your card
This is by far the easiest way to rack up points outside of actually travelling. Put everything that you buy on your American Express Gold Rewards Card right down to the chocolate bar from the corner store. Every point counts no matter where or how you earn it. The beauty of American Express and Membership Rewards is that if you have a purchase that ends in 0.50 - 0.99 they will round up your purchase so you'll actually get a Membership Rewards point. Other Card issuers have terms in place now that they will not award points or miles on those portions that are less an a dollar, so the Gold Rewards Card gives you more than many other Cards on the market in terms of point collection.

Maximizing the Membership Rewards Points you earn with Gift Card purchases

Are you a gift card giver at Christmas or you don’t know what presents to give this year so you’ve settled on a gift card? Gift cards have the added benefit of letting your loved ones choose exactly what they want, at one of their favourite retailers. While you can head to each retailer to purchase, in a pinch, most grocery and drug stores will offer a wide variety of gift cards, and you earn your points just the same along the way!


Use your points for purchases 
Now that American Express Membership Rewards has expanded their Use Points for Purchases program, you can literally use your points for almost any purchase. This can be a way to keep some money in your pocket as when a charge shows up on your account you can online or login via the American Express app and redeem points against any eligible charge. 

You can also choose to use your points to order merchandise via Membership Rewards. There are tons of items in the online catalog and many are on special with discounted Reward requirements.

Whenever you can, use your American Express Gold Rewards Card to pay for your purchases so that you can rack up as many points as possible for those future redemptions. As long as you are financially responsible there is no reason you should be using cash or debit for your purchases. It should always be on your Card so that you earn your coveted points. There is a reason why Rewards Canada ranks American Express Membership Rewards points as the number one travel currency in Canada.

Related: Top 5 Travel Rewards Currencies for Canadians

Marriott Rewards, SPG and Ritz-Carlton Rewards all to offer Double Points for Q1-2017

Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Ritz-Carlton Rewards have synchronized their systemwide global offerings for the first quarter of 2017. All three programs will offer Double Points on the first three stays at participating hotels in each program.

Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®), are each offering remarkable, new opportunities for members to earn double points as part of their coordinated promotions. For the first time, the three programs are offering the same promotional opportunity, giving members the chance to earn double points on their first three stays at participating hotels in each program. Points can be redeemed for free nights, flights, exclusive experiences on SPG Moments and Marriott Rewards Experiences Marketplace and much more.

Registration begins today and you have to register by March 15 for stays between January 16 and April 15, 2017.

Marriott Rewards members can register here

Starwood Preferred Guest members can register here

Be sure you register for both offers!

We are still waiting for registration links for SPG and Ritz-Carlton.

If you go to your SPG Dashboard, you can already register for the Starwood portion, which has additional bonuses targeted for each member. My wife and I each received this along with the double points:
Starting on your fourth stay, you can earn up to 10,000 bonus Starpoints^®:

• Achieve 10 nights and you'll earn 5,000 Starpoints.
• After 10 nights earn 500 Starpoints for each additional night, up to 5,000 Starpoints.

You can earn even more points on these stays by utilizing the Marriott Rewards Visa Premier Card or the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

Last Day to Register: Marriott Rewards MegaBonus - Up to 50,000 bonus points for Marriott stays Worldwide

Today is the last day to register for this offer! Make sure you do so if you haven't done so yet but may have Marriott stays until the middle of January!

Offer details:
Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay at Marriott Hotels Worldwide. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required) Register by Dec 15 for stays Sep 15 - Jan 15, 17
Option 1: Earn 10,000 bonus points for every 10 stays, up to 50,000 bonus points
Option 2: Earn 5,000 bonus points after the second stay (max 5,000 bonus points)

Find many more Marriott Rewards bonuses here!

Air Canada and Virgin Australia to Introduce Codeshare Services and Reciprocal Frequent Flyer Benefits in Strategic Cooperation

Wow! Did not see this one coming! Nice code share agreement for flights down under as you'll be able to earn Aeroplan miles on Virgin Australia flights (and vice versa for Velocity members) sometime in 2017 once the agreement is approved by the necessary authorities. Redemption will come at a later date but that will be another great option to redeem Aeroplan miles on Virgin Australia between the U.S. and Australia, especially in Business Class! (Source Air Canada)

Part of me thinks this could be a small reaction to WestJet's partnership with Qantas! Oh did I say that out loud?

MONTREAL, Dec. 14, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a strategic cooperation agreement with Virgin Australia, making it easier for Canadians to travel throughout Australia and New Zealand and providing Australians with more options to travel to Canada.

The first stage of the codeshare agreement is scheduled to be implemented in early 2017 when Air Canada customers will be able to book travel on a single ticket to an additional 10 cities throughout Australia and New Zealand on Virgin Australia-operated flights connecting with Air Canada's daily year-round service to Sydney and Brisbane. Subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, Air Canada will place its code on Virgin Australia flights to Adelaide, Canberra, Cairns, Melbourne and Perth as well as to Christchurch and Auckland, New Zealand. Customers will also be able to travel on Virgin Australia flights from Sydney to Brisbane, Sydney to the Gold Coast and Brisbane to Wellington, New Zealand. 

When travelling on these services, members of Air Canada's loyalty program, Aeroplan, will be eligible to earn Aeroplan Miles. Further details on the frequent flyer agreement will be released soon.

"This agreement with Virgin Australia lays the ground work for a mutually beneficial commercial cooperation that will offer Air Canada customers more travel options and frequent flyer benefits when travelling within Australia and New Zealand," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to introducing Air Canada codeshare service on Virgin Australia's flights and welcoming Virgin Australia's customers on our flights beginning in the near future."

Travellers arriving in Los Angeles on Virgin Australia's flights from Sydney and Brisbane will be able to travel on connecting Air Canada flights to Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. When travelling on these codeshare services, eligible Virgin Australia customers will earn Velocity Points.

In a subsequent stage, the carriers plan to offer eligible customers reciprocal frequent flyer redemption benefits on each other's flights, and Virgin Australia would place its code on Air Canada's flights between Vancouver-Sydney and Vancouver-Brisbane.

Air Canada operates daily non-stop flights year-round from Vancouver to both Sydney and Brisbane, Australia. Flights to Sydney are operated with Boeing 777-200LR aircraft and flights to Brisbane with Boeing 787 aircraft. Air Canada operates a total of up to 18 flights per day from Los Angeles to Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

December 14 Update: Aventura Cardholders can get a surprise at YYZ T3, Alaska completes takeover of Virgin America, Lufthansa seat sale

News, Tips & Tricks
CIBC Aventura Cardholders can receive a special surprise when flying out of Toronto Pearson's Terminal 3 just before Christmas! We don't know what the surprise is but if you are flying out December 21-23 be sure to go to the booth and show your card. If you do feel free to reach out to us on social media to let us and our readers know what the surprise is.

Alaska Airlines takeover of Virgin America was finalized today. This doesn't mean too much for us up North here other than you'll now be able to earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles if you do fly on Virgin America within the U.S. on or after December 19. (Source Alaska)

Starting Monday, December 19, Mileage Plan members will be able to earn miles on Virgin America flights, and Virgin America Elevate members will be able to earn points on Alaska Airlines flights. Both airlines' elite members will receive priority check-in and priority boarding on each other's flights.

Posts since our last update:

• 8x Aeroplan Miles for Choice Hotels stays Worldwide (Until Dec 31)
  Not a huge window of opportunity here with this offer but maybe you'll hit up a Choice Hotel location…
• Air Canada: 100% Bonus Aeroplan Miles + up to 5,000 Bonus Elite Qualifying Miles on select flights in Canada, to the U.S. & Sun Destinations
  We've been itching for a new Air Canada flight promotion as it has been almost a month since their…

Travel Deals
Fly Lufthansa to Europe from as little as $639 all in! Book by Dec 30 for travel Dec 24 to May 6. Find out more here!

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn 100% Bonus Aeroplan Miles for every round trip (or two one-way segments) on select Air Canada flights within Canada or between Canada and the U.S. or Sun Destinations. More... Register and book by Jan 22 for travel Jan 10 - Jun 10, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- 30% Miles&Bonus Discount on select award tickets within Greece and between Greece and Europe, the Middle East or Africa. More... Until Feb 28, 17

American AAdvantage
- OFFER EXTENDED Triple AAdvantage Miles when you stay at participating Hilton hotels in Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles when you book the Linger Longer offer for stays at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17
- Earn up to Quadrupe Asia Miles when you rent with Sixt Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Double Infinity MileageLands Miles when you book the Linger Longer offer for stays at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17
- Triple Infinity MileageLands Miles when you rent with Avis in the United States of America, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia More... Book by Jan 31, 17 for rentals until Mar 31, 17
- Earn up to 4x Infinity MileageLands Miles when you rent with Hertz in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. More... Until Jan 31, 17

Icelandair Saga Club
- 35% Bonus Saga Club Points when you purchase points online. More... Until Dec 31, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn at least 30,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Jan 1 - Apr 15, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 2 nights or more on the Winter Camp Package at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live. More... Until Jan 7, 17
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays Friday-Sunday nights at the Residence Inn Boston Watertown. More...  Until Feb 24, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints, $20 off and welcome drinks for stays at the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel.More... Until Jan 8, 17

United MileagePlus
- Up to 1,500 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you shop online via the MileagePlus Shopping Portal. More... Until Dec 20, 16

Follow Rewards Canada: