Rewards Canada: Your premier points, miles & credit cards resource: January 2017

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

January 31 Update: Video for Deals of the Week, targeted free Aeroplan miles offer & 2x Starpoints at select Alberta hotels

News, Tips & Tricks
There is a slight change in Aeroplan earning on United flights. As of February 1, 2017: "Aeroplan Miles earned in booking class N on all eligible United flights are not Altitude Qualifying Miles and will not count towards Air Canada Altitude™ status" (Source Aeroplan)

Been having some fun with iMovie and pulling sound bites from the Podcast to make videos for the Rewards Canada Youtube channel. In case you prefer to visualize then check out the Deals of the Week for January 30th!

Posts since our last update:

500 Free Aeroplan Miles for adding your email (select members only)
Be sure to check your Aeroplan account when you log in for a banner that states you can get…

Canadian Bonus Offers
Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays at the Element Calgary Airport. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- Double Starpoints for stays at the Four Points by Sheraton Sherwood Park. More... Apr 1 - Jul 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you fly Alitalia between Rome and Kiev. More... May 1 - Jul 1, 17
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles for stays at Marriott Hotels in Europe. More... Until Mar 26, 17

Finnair Plus
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Plus Points when you earn points from Finnair Plus partners. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at any of five Gaylord Hotels across the U.S. For Marriott Elite members only. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the AC Hotel Bloomington Mall of America. For Marriott Elite members only. More... Apr 1 - May 31, 17
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays of 3+ nights at the Residence Inn West Orange. For Marriott Elite members only. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer
- Earn up to 2,500 Bonus Safar Flyer Miles for referring friends and family to the Safar Flyer program. More... Ongoing

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. More... Feb 8 - May 31, 17
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin More... Until Feb 20, 17

Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass
- 50% Travel Pass Points discount when you redeem points for award night stays at participating Sonesta Hotels in the U.S. More... Book by Feb 6 for stays until Mar 5, 17
- 1,000 Bonus Travel Pass Points when you book the Sonesta Travel Pass Bonus Points package at participating Sonesta Hotels in the U.S. More...
- Double Travel Pass Points for stays at the Sonesta ES Suites Cleveland Westlake. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- Double Travel Pass Points for stays at the Sonesta ES Suites Cleveland Airport. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

500 Free Aeroplan Miles for adding your email (select members only)

Be sure to check your Aeroplan account when you log in for a banner that states you can get 500 Aeroplan miles for adding your email. I saw it when I logged in the other day so obviously I was targeted for it. You can check to see if you qualify by logging into your account on Aeroplan.com. You have until March 31st to do so!

Monday, January 30, 2017

January 30 Update: Podcast 15 is here and also available on Soundcloud, new Priority Pass lounge in YUL & IHG PointBreaks!

News, Tips & Tricks
Episode 15 of our Weekly Round Up Podcast is available now! We talk Cathay Pacific flight bonus, making the most of Hilton and Choice hotels promos, the new Scotia Rewards programs and maximizing the RBC Avion airline award chart. Visit our Podcast page or download from iTunes or Google Play

Speaking of our podcast, you can also listen to it via Soundcloud now! Visit the Rewards Canada Soundcloud page for more details!

Priority Pass has added another new Canadian business class lounge to their program! The Salon Odyssee Desjardins in Montreal is now accesible to all Priority Pass members. To learn more about Priority Pass and how you can get it read our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access. There are now 20 lounges in Canada that you can access with Priority Pass.

Spend $30 or more to get 50 Bonus AIR MILES at Rexall until Feb 2. Coupon is required and you can get it here.

IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks are here! These are the best hotel redemption specials in the market. Only 5,000 points per night for hotels that can normally cost 10,000 to 50,000 points. Check the link below.

Posts since our last update:

Now live! IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks - Only 5,000 Points per award night at 131 hotels including 5 in Canada
We gave you the previews last week and are happy to tell you that the latest IHG Rewards Club…
WestJet Summer Schedule released - includes new Calgary to Nashville route
WestJet released their summer flight schedule today with lots of additional frequencies on their popular routes but possibly the biggest…
Full list of 131 IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Hotels including 5 in Canada - available for booking on Monday
As we mentioned yesterday the full list of IHG Rewards Club Pointsbreaks hotels would be released today and here…
Preview of Hilton HHonor's next promotion - 2,000 bonus points per night Feb 1- Apr 30!
Hilton HHonors has sent out a preview of their next systemwide promotion and once again it is a true systemwide…

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 3,000 Aeroplan status bonus miles per eligible trip when you fly with Air Canada® and Air Canada Rouge® to any of the over 80+ destinations available by season in 2017. More... Valid for Aeroplan Elite Status members only Until Dec 31, 17

CAA Rewards
- 20 Bonus CAA Dollars for Hertz rentals of 5 or more days at participating locations in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles + a free day on Hertz rentals of 6 or more days at participating locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Jun 30, 17

ANA Mileage Club
- Double Mileage Club Miles when you book the Linger Longer offer for stays at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17

Copa ConnectMiles
- 1,000 Bonus ConnectMiles per night for up to 5 nights when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Apr 30, 17

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios on stays of 1 to 6 nights at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 17

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 Apr 30, 17
- Double IHG Rewards Club Points for IHG Business Rewards Program members for hotel and event bookings. More... Until Apr 15, 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels points for rentals with Europcar Worldwide except in the USA and Canada. More... Until Feb 28, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 3,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays in a Suite at pariticipating Starwood hotels in North & Latin America. More... Until Dec 31, 17
- SPG Pro Earn 500 bonus Starpoints for each eligible stay you book for your clients at any of more than 1,300 participating Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide. More... Until Apr 15, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

Now live! IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks - Only 5,000 Points per award night at 131 hotels including 5 in Canada

We gave you the previews last week and are happy to tell you that the latest IHG Rewards Club PointsBreaks hotel are now available for booking! This set has 131 hotels can now be booked for 5,000 points per award night for stays until April 30, 2017.

Remember the Pointbreaks rules are 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 soon as the list comes out as once the allotted nights are booked at certain locations those hotels will fall off the list.

Why are IHG Rewards Club Point Breaks such a great deal? Because they offer reward nights at participating IHG hotels Worldwide for only 5,000 Rewards Club points. For those of you not to familiar with IHG Rewards Club , normal redemption rates for Rewards Club reward nights run from as low as 10,000 points for some Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations to 50,000 points for ultra-luxurious InterContinental locations and even these locations can participate in Point Breaks. So as you can see you can receive a discount of 50 to 88% off the regular redemption rates. You may be thinking that the high end hotels won't participate but they do depending on the time of year! Please note that like most loyalty promotions these offers are capacity controlled so I advise to book sooner than later to ensure you get the PointBreaks rate. These offers are now bookable via the primary Pointsbreaks page or via each individual hotel link below.

10:10MST Update: Some hotels are now live - others are coming online every few minutes - Keep checking to see if the hotel you want comes up soon!

Hotels in Canada

Alberta

British Columbia

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Terrace

Newfoundland and Labrador

Holiday Inn St. John’s Conference Centre

Ontario

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites London

Hotels in Asia and Australia:

People’s Republic of China

India

Indonesia

Holiday Inn Express Jakarta Thamrin

Japan

ANA Crowne Plaza Ube

Thailand

Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom

Hotels in Africa:

South Africa

Zimbabwe

Holiday Inn Bulawayo

Hotels in South America:

Argentina

Holiday Inn Rosario

Brazil

Holiday Inn Belo Horizonte Savassi

Colombia

Venezuela

Intercontinental Maracaibo

Hotels in Latin America and Mexico:

Costa Rica

Crowne Plaza San Jose Corobici Conference Center

Dominican Republic

Intercontinental Real Santo Domingo

Honduras

Crowne Plaza San Pedro Sula

Panama

Holiday Inn Panama Canal

Mexico
Chihuahua

Staybridge Suites Chihuahua

Coahuila

Holiday Inn Express Saltillo Zona Aeropuerto

Chiapas

Holiday Inn Tuxtla Gutierrez

Guanajuato

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Irapuato

Tabasco

Crowne Plaza Villahermosa

Hotels in North America:

Canada
Alberta

British Columbia

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Terrace

Newfoundland and Labrador

Holiday Inn St. John’s Conference Centre

Ontario

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites London

United States
Alabama

Arkansas

Arizona

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Perry

Georgia

Candlewood Suites Macon

Idaho

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Boise Airport

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Candlewood Suites Waterloo- Cedar Falls

Kansas

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Garden City

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maryland

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lexington Park-California

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Mississippi

North Carolina

North Dakota

Nebraska

New Jersey

New Mexico

Nevada

Holiday Inn Express Fallon

New York

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Smithfield – Providence

South Carolina

Holiday Inn Anderson

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Holiday Inn South Jordan – Salt Lake City South

Virginia

Holiday Inn Norton

West Virginia

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Logan

Wisconsin

Holiday Inn Conference Ctr Marshfield

Wyoming

Candlewood Suites Sheridan

Hotels in Europe:

Belgium

Holiday Inn Express Gent

Czech Republic

Holiday Inn Prague Airport

France

Holiday Inn Calais – Coquelles

Germany

Italy

Holiday Inn Nola – Naples Vulcano Buono

Macedonia

Holiday Inn Skopje

Poland

Hotel Indigo Krakow – Old Town

Russia

Slovakia

Spain

Holiday Inn Express Madrid – Rivas

United Kingdom

WestJet Summer Schedule released - includes new Calgary to Nashville route

WestJet released their summer flight schedule today with lots of additional frequencies on their popular routes but possibly the biggest surprise is a new twice weekly route between Calgary and Nashville. Yes they are both country music hubs so there is similarity there but it still is a bit of a surprise. Our guess is that enough Western Canadians were connecting to the WestJet Toronto-Nashville flight to warrant this new direct flight.

Highlights of WestJet's 2017 summer schedule include:

New non-stop twice-weekly service from Calgary to Nashville, Tennessee
New non-stop daily service from Halifax to Gander, Newfoundland
Additional flights from Toronto to a number of Canadian and international destinations including Orlando, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Montreal and Moncton.
An increase of four new weekly flights between Vancouver and Hamilton, as well as the addition of a daily flight to San Francisco.
Service from Calgary will increase with six additional weekly flights to Toronto, and the addition of a once-daily flight to both Winnipeg and Regina.
Service from Edmonton to Kelowna will increase by 12 weekly flights and by one additional weekly flight to Las Vegas.
Service from Kelowna to Winnipeg will increase by one weekly flight for a total of four times weekly.
Extension of existing winter service increases through the summer, including six daily flights between Vancouver and Kelowna, and five daily flights from Vancouver to Prince George.

Summer route additions:

Summer frequency additions:

Friday, January 27, 2017

Full list of 131 IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Hotels including 5 in Canada - available for booking on Monday

As we mentioned yesterday the full list of IHG Rewards Club Pointsbreaks hotels would be released today and here they are. This set has 131 hotels included with he actual booking of the hotels at these rates opening on Monday January 30th for stays between that day and April 30, 2017.

Each Reward Night at these participating hotels will be only 5,000 IHG Rewards Club points during the above mentioned dates. Remember the Pointbreaks rules are 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 soon as the list comes out as once the allotted nights are booked at certain locations those hotels will fall off the list.

Why are IHG Rewards Club Point Breaks such a great deal? Because they offer reward nights at participating IHG hotels Worldwide for only 5,000 Rewards Club points. For those of you not to familiar with IHG Rewards Club , normal redemption rates for Rewards Club reward nights run from as low as 10,000 points for some Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations to 50,000 points for ultra-luxurious InterContinental locations and even these locations can participate in Point Breaks. So as you can see you can receive a discount of 50 to 88% off the regular redemption rates. You may be thinking that the high end hotels won't participate but they do depending on the time of year! Please note that like most loyalty promotions these offers are capacity controlled so I advise to book sooner than later to ensure you get the PointBreaks rate. These offers will be bookable via the primary Pointsbreaks page as of Jan 30.