May 31 Update: Talking Unused Loyalty Programs, 25% off award tickets from Montreal to Europe, More Rewards not just for those out west

News, Tips & Tricks
Over the weekend Rewards Canada was featured on Corus Radio's Informed Traveler show talking about unused loyalty programs. This isn't about points and miles but about how many members are actually active in a loyalty program! It was prompted by a recent piece published on Skift. You can listen to the interview here

The latest Air France KLM Flying Blue Promo Awards came out today and the latest set brings a Canadian city back into the mix. You can save 25% off the regular amount of Flying Blue miles normally required for KLM's flights from Montreal to Europe. Not a great deal but if you were planning on redeeming for this flight anyways for travel between Aug 1 and Sep 30 now would be the time to do it so you can save some miles.

We received a comment on our Scotiabank More Rewards Visa post from yesterday and thought it would be good to post that comment along with our response here for all to read our recommendation!

I've never heard of "More Rewards" and in checking out the card on Scotiabank's website, I guess it's more of a regional thing. They advise that if you live outside of Western Canada, you may want to find a more suitable card.

More Rewards is the loyalty program for Overwaitea food group which is predominantly out west. That being said don't be swayed by Scotia saying it is more suited to only Western Canada. That's like saying the Alaska Airlines MasterCard should only be for those out west since Alaska only serves Alberta and B.C.. Even if you don't use the Scotia More Rewards card at More Rewards partners you'll get 4 More Rewards points per dollar spent anywhere or a 1.695% return when you redeem for travel. No other no fee travel points card can meet that rate, the closest is 1.25%.

Air France has expanded their code sharing on more WestJet flights in and out of Canada. (Source airlineroute.net)
Calgary – Winnipeg
Edmonton – Winnipeg
Toronto – Fredericton
Toronto – Gander
Toronto – London ON
Toronto – Myrtle Beach
Toronto – New York La Guardia
Toronto – Phoenix
Vancouver – Regina
Vancouver – Saskatoon

Posts since our last update:

• IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Flash Sale! 100% Bonus for four days only
  Just like the flash offer in February we see a four day flash sale of a 100% bonus when…

Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- June Promo Awards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Jun 30 for travel between Aug 1 - Sep 30, 16
- 2,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you fly KLM out of Astana. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Etihad Guest
- 500 Bonus Guest Miles and 3 nights for the price of 2 for stays at Marriott Hotels in the Gulf region. More... Until Jul 31, 16

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Helsinki and Doha. More... Oct 10 - Jan 10, 17
- Save up to 17,200 QMiles when you redeem for an award ticket to or from Helsinki. More... Book by Oct 31 for travel Oct 10 - Dec 10, 16
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Pisa and Doha. More... Aug 2 - Oct 31, 16
- Save up to 17,200 QMiles when you redeem for an award ticket to or from Pisa. More... Book by Aug 31 for travel Aug 2 - Sep 30, 16
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Marrakech and Doha. More... Jul 1 - Sep 30, 16
- Save up to 18,000 QMiles when you redeem for an award ticket to or from Marrakech. More... Book by Jul 31 for travel Jul 1 - Aug 31, 16

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Triple Flying Club Miles for stays at all Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels throughout the UK including The May Fair Hotel. More... Until Jul 31, 16
- 2,000 Flying Club Miles per night for stays at Red Carnation Hotels. More... U ntil Jul 31, 16
- 3,000 Bonus Flying Club on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Jul 31, 16
- Double Flying Club Miles and 4th night free for stays at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 16


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Today's Bonus Offer Highlight is brought to you by:

IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Flash Sale! 100% Bonus for four days only

Just like the flash offer in February we see a four day flash sale of a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Club Points until June 3rd!!

This offer brings the price of a point down to US 0.575 of a cent when you buy between 11,000 and 60,000 points! If you choose to buy the maximum number of points, 60,000, it will cost you US$690 but of course you'll end up getting 120,000 points. That's 24 nights at IHG hotels if redeeming via the PointBreaks option which works out to  only US$28.75 per night!

Offer Details
100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online.  Minimum purchase of 11,000 points. Full details. Until Jun 3, 16

May 30 Update: It is a credit card kind of day! Exclusive TD Aeroplan offer, Scotia More Rewards is here, BMO World Elite AIR MILES update

News, Tips & TricksTypically we see most credit card offerings change at the start of a month but since June 1st is mid week it seems like most banks wanted to bring out their new offers or updates on cards today. From our exclusive offer on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card to the release of the Scotiabank More Rewards Visa and more, it was a busy day in the world of rewards credit cards.

We have received notice that the current offer of up to 3,000 Bonus AIR MILES for the BMO AIR MILES World Elite MasterCard will end on June 9th so if you have had this card in your sights get in on it now as after the 9th the sign up bonus drops to 1,000 AIR MILES Reward Miles.

One of readers reached out to us to see if we could confirm if Scotiabank Amex cards included Front of the Line access as he spoke to a customer service rep and that rep said yes their cards do. We thought it was the opposite and have confirmed with Scotiabank management that FOTL access is NOT included on their Amex cards. Just wanted to double check to see if things had changed!

Posts since our last update:

• Rewards Canada Exclusive: Double Aeroplan Miles on select spending when you apply for and get the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card
  
  Rewards Canada is pleased to have teamed up with TD Canada Trust to give our readers this exclusive offer…
• The Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card is now available! Now the strongest earning no fee travel points card in Canada
  A little over a month ago we let you know about the upcoming Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card. Well the…
  

Travel Deals
ONLY 2 DAY S LEFT FOR THE AIR FRANCE FLASH SALE! Air France has a Flash Sale running for departures from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to France. Fares start as low as $679 for travel until the end of June. Simply book by May 31. Book online at airfrance.ca

• Montreal - Paris from $ 729

• Montreal - Marseille from $ 759

• Montreal - Nice from $ 765

• Toronto - Paris from $ 679

• Toronto - Nice from $ 825

• Toronto - Marseille from $ 839

• Vancouver - Paris from $ 815

• Vancouver - Nice from $ 845

• Vancouver - Marseille from $ 880

 

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles + Double Miles on select purchases when you apply for and receive the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card. More... Until Sep 2,16 For residents of Canada only

Air New Zealand Airpoints
- Double Airpoints Dollars for stays on the Linger Longer for Less offer at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 16
- 35 Bonus Airpoints Dollars for stays at the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows, Apia, Samoa. More... Book by Jun 30 for stays until Nov 30, 16

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to Triple MilleMiglia Miles when you fly with Alitalia, airberlin or Niki between Italy and Germany, Austria or Switzerland. More... Book by Jun 30 for travel until Jul 15, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Le Club accorhotels points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Germany, Austria or Sweden. More... Book by Jul 10 for stays Jun 10 - Jul 11, 16

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Triple Victoria Miles for stays at Ibis and Ibis Styles hotels in Spain and Portugal More... Book by Jul 12 for stays Jun 1 - Decn 30, 16


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Rewards Canada Exclusive: Double Aeroplan Miles on select spending when you apply for and get the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card

Rewards Canada is pleased to have teamed up with TD Canada Trust to give our readers this exclusive offer on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card!

The standard offer is 15,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on your first purchase with your first year annual fee on the primary card being waived as well as an additional 5,000 Aeroplan Miles is awarded if you add an authorized user to your account by September 2 (and have them call and activate their card by Feb. 28, 2017). We have that in our offer as well but on top of that we have the double Aeroplan miles offer.

For every $1 spent on eligible gas, grocery, drugstore and aircanada.com Purchases with your Card, earn double Aeroplan Miles for the first 90 days after Account approval – that’s 3 miles instead of 1.5 miles for every $1 spent on eligible Purchases. Bonus will be earned on a maximum of $5,000 in spend in those categories

Which means if you are able to spend $5,000 in those categories in the first 90 days you'll get 7,500 bonus miles.

Click here to find out more or to take advantage of this offer!

The Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card is now available! Now the strongest earning no fee travel points card in Canada

A little over a month ago we let you know about the upcoming Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card. Well the card is now officially available and becomes the top no fee travel points card out there!  Most of this post is a rehash of our post from April but with a few more details as we now know the full extent of what the card offers and isn't much different than what we knew back in April. We reached out to More Rewards first of all to see when you redeem points for travel if you need the full amount (see the WestJet offer below of 117,173 points) and the answer is no. You can redeem as little as 100 points and pay the rest with cash. Seeing that you can earn up to 6 times points on the card this means you would only have to spend a minimum of $16.67 to start redeeming. That's pretty low! What we also learn from today's release is that the card has no additional benefits or insurance offers. Not even purchase protection or extended warranty. Scotia reached out to us to let us know the card does come with purchase protection and extended warranty benefits. We guessed it would have had at least the those two but I guess to be able to offer up to 2.54% return on a no-fee card there needed to be sacrifices somewhere! Not a huge deal seeing that for many a no-fee card is typically their secondary or tertiary card in their wallet.

One big addition to program since April as well is Petro Canada! This means you'll earn the 6 points per dollar when you use this card at Petro Canada in addition to the normal More Rewards points earn (can't find that on the website yet)

The rest of this post is a copy of our April post as it covers this card well:

The card will earn 6 More Rewards points per dollar spent on the card at Save-On-Foods and other participating More Rewards partner locations, plus 4 More Rewards points on every dollar spent anywhere else with the card.
Now the earn listed above is strictly with spend on the card and does not include what you will earn when you swipe your More Rewards loyalty card along with it. So without the additional points earned from the More Rewards loyalty card what will the return be like for the points earned on the credit card only? Pretty darn good for a no fee card! We went onto the More Rewards website and tried out their travel bookings to see how many points would be required.

Here are WestJet flights between Calgary and Toronto

And a hotel in Banff:

Assuming you only use this new Visa card at only More Rewards partners, you'll earn all your points at the 6 points per dollar rate. If we look at the redemption amounts above you are effectively earning a 2.54% return on all your spending. That is huge compared to the competition! Most travel cards on the market that aren't tied into a frequent flyer or frequent guest program are between 1.5% and 2% with some pushing 2.33% on select redemptions and Scotia's Gold Amex earning 4% on select category purchases. Plus you have to remember this card has no annual fee!

More realistically however is the mix of spending on this card as when you shop at non More Rewards partners you'll earn 4 points per dollar. Still at 4 points per dollar you are getting a 1.695% return which places it in with the competition listed above. But when you look at its no-fee competitors that only offer 1.25% or less this card blows them out of the water! It looks like our 2017 Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards will have a new champion for the no-fee Travel Points credit card category! And we're not even including the extra points you can earn for swiping your More Rewards loyalty card at any of the program's partners.

The credit card itself will also act as your More Rewards Loyalty Card so you won't have to pull out two cards when shopping at More Rewards partners thus automating the double dip for you.

As we said in our April post, hats off to Scotiabank and More Rewards for breaking the mold in the no fee travel points credit card category! You've made an extremely strong earning credit card here! For more details on the card or to apply for it visit here.

May 27 Update: Exclusive offer coming Monday, Aeroplan adjusts mileage earning on SWISS, KLM Canada to Scandinavia Seat Sale

News, Tips & Tricks
We are super excited to announce that Rewards Canada will have another exclusive offer launching on Monday May 30th! Keep an eye out on the main site, right here on the blog or via our social media channels for that offer! Here is the only hint:

Aeroplan is adjusting the number of miles earned when you fly on SWISS as of June 1st.  Full fare economy in Europe to earn only 50%? Ouch! (Source Aeroplan)

Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 50% in booking class P on Intra-European flights. Earn 100% until May 31, 2016.

Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 50% in booking classes Y or B on Intra-European flights. Earn 125% until May 31, 2016.

Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 50% in booking classes M, U, H, Q or V on Intra-European flights. Earn 100% until May 31, 2016.

Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 50% in booking class G on Intra-European flights or The Rest of the World Flights. Earn 100% until May 31, 2016. 

Posts since our last update:

• IHG Rewards Club: Double Airline Miles on all IHG stays Worldwide (Jun 1 - Aug 31)
  IHG Rewards Club has already released offers for members who like to earn IHG Rewards Club points with the…
• Last Day to get up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
  Today is the last day to take advantage of this offer! Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles and…

Travel Deals
KLM has launched a seat sale for travel between Canada and Scandinavia. You can fly from as little $815 all in this fall. Book by May 31 for travel Sep 11-Dec 15. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Avios when you fly American, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia or OpenSkies between the U.S. or Canada and U.K. or Europe. More... Until Jul 31, 16 For residents of the U.S. and Canada only
- Earn up to 12,000 Bonus Avios Miles when you book hotel stays via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Aug 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16
- Earn up to 2,500 Avios when you join Heathrow Rewards (bonus awarded as 2500 Heathrow Rewards points) More... Until Dec 31, 16

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 3 Bonus Asia Milesper HKD2 spent with Hotels.com. More... Book by Jun 30 for stays until Jul 31, 16
- Double Asia Miles for stays at Lotte Hotels in Korea. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at Regal Hotels in Hong Kong. More... Until Aug 31, 16
- 1,500 Bonus Asia Miles when you book a car with Rentalcars.com at least 40 days ahead of pick-up. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Aug 31, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- Double Airline Miles for stays at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. Maximum of 10,000 bonus miles awarded during the promotional period. More... Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Double Mabuhay Miles when you fly on Philippine Airlines between Manila and Doha. More... Until Jul 28, 16
- Double Mabuhay Miles when you fly on Philippine Airlines between Cebu and Los Angeles. More... Until Jul 15, 16
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Mabuhay Miles when you refer new members to the program. More... Until Sep 30, 16

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Earn 25% Bonus Status Miles&Smiles Miles when you fly Turkish Airlines between Istanbul and Addis Ababa. More... Until Jul 31, 16


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Today's Bonus Offer Highlight is brought to you by:

IHG Rewards Club: Double Airline Miles on all IHG stays Worldwide (Jun 1 - Aug 31)

IHG Rewards Club has already released offers for members who like to earn IHG Rewards Club points with the new Share Forever and Accelerate proomtions.  But what happens though if you don't stay at IHG hotels very often and prefer to credit those stays to your favorite airline program? Double Up Miles happens! This is IHG's promotion for members who prefer to credit stays to airline programs rather than IHG Rewards Club and the bonus kicks in right with the first stay. You can earn Double Miles on all IHG stays up to a maximum of 10,000 miles (or 1,250 miles in the case of the Air Miles coalition program)

Offer details:
Double Airline Miles for stays at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. Maximum of 10,000 bonus miles awarded during the promotional period. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16

Participating airlines:

Last Day to get up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

Today is the last day to take advantage of this offer!

Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles and a 100% rebate off your first year annual fee when you apply for and receive the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card.  15,000 Bonus miles awarded on first purchase, 10,000 after 90 days and 5,000 for adding an authorized user. Full details Apply by May 27, 16

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
• Receive a Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan Miles with  your first Purchase
• You could receive another 10,000 Aeroplan Miles when you keep your Account open and active for 90 days after Account approval                                            
• In addition, you could receive 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you add an Authorized User to your Account by May 27 (Authorized User must call and activate their Card by July 15, 2016)                                                       
• Annual Fee Rebate for the first year(Primary Cardholder only) – that’s $120 in savings!
• Offer Valid until May 27, 2016
• Earn 1.5 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, grocery, drugstore and aircanada.com Purchases made with your Card.
• Earn 1 mile for every $1 you spend on all other Purchases on your Card.
• Earn miles twice when you pay with your TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card and present your Aeroplan Membership Card at over 150 Aeroplan partner brands and with 100 online retailers
• Your Aeroplan miles will not expire as long as you are a TD Aeroplan Credit Cardholder                                                                                                
• Enjoy an extensive suite of travel insurances8 for peace of mind on your next getaway.

May 26 Update: WestJet dollar earn rates for flying on Qantas, minimum spend increased for the Amex Gold Rewards Card, Air France Flash Sale!

News, Tips & Tricks
Earlier in the week we told you about the new WestJet and Qantas frequent flyer partnership. At the time WestJet did not have the earn details for flying on Qantas out yet. They have now been published and you can earn anywhere from 3 to 22 WestJet dollars on Qantas flights. 22 WestJet dollarsmay not seem like a lot for flying Qantas first class over 4,000 miles but if you are someone who doens't fly on Qantas frequently but do on WestJet then it probably makes sense to credit to WestJet Rewards. If you are frequent traveller on Qantas then you are better off crediting to QFF (including your WestJet flights). Simply frequent flyer program knowledge here. Here is the complete earn chart:

We hate seeing changes like this but American Express has changed the minimum spend requirement on the American Express Gold Rewards Card. The card which is ranked #1 overall by Rewards Canada now requires $1,500 in spending in the first three months versus the old $500 to earn the 25,000 Membership Rewards points. Not a good change but overall this card is still the strongest most flexible card in Canada. Most people shouldn't have a problem putting $500 per month on the card for those first three months to get the bonus and remember it has no annual fee in the first year.

As of June 1st the number of Aeroplan miles you earn for flying on Turkish Airlines is changing in select fare classes. (Source Aeroplan)

1. Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 125% in new booking class Z.
2. Effective for travel June 1, 2016, booking class U will no longer be eligible for accumulation. Earn 110% until May 31, 2016.
3. Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 100% in booking class A. Earn 110% until May 31, 2016.
4. Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 70% in booking class O. Earn 110% until May 31,  2016.
5. Effective for travel June 1, 2016, earn 25% in new booking class V. 

Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge memberships are on sale until June 9th. You can save 10% off the regular price if you buy or renew by that date. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• British Airways Executive Club: Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Avios for flights between Canada and the U.K. or Europe
  Hallelujah it is finally here. Just like their partners American Airlines, Finnair & Iberia, British Airways has now launched…

Travel Deals
Air France has a Flash Sale running for departures from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to France. Fares start as low as $679 for travel until the end of June. Simply book by May 31. Book online at airfrance.ca

Air Canada has teamed up with Travel Alberta to offer 25% off Tango fares for anyone wanting to fly to Alberta (Is our economy hurting that much here??) Book by May 28 for travel June 1 - September 6th. Great deal for summer travel! Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- 3,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you rent a vehicle for 5 or more days at participating Hertz locations in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. More... Until Aug 31, 16
- 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you rent a vehicle for 28 days or more at Hertz in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S.. More... Until Aug 31, 16

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 30,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you fly on American Airlines between Los Angeles and Auckland. More... Register by Oct 31 for travel Aug 15 - Oct 31, 16

Copa ConnectMiles
- Double ConnectMiles on all Copa Airlines flights if you complete flight to 2 out of 3 of their new cities: Holguin, Chiclayo, or Rosario.  More... Fly to 2 of cities until Aug 31, double miles on flights Sep 15 - Oct 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more nights at ibis hotels of Belgium, The Netherlands and the Luxembourg. More... Book by Jun 30 for stays Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at the Novotel New York Times Square or the Sofitel New York. More... Until Aug 31, 16

Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay two nights or more Friday - Monday at the Renaissance Chicago O'Hare Suites Hotel. More... Until Aug 5, 16



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