January 24 Update: Looking for our Lounge Pass winner, earn and redeem AIR MILES with Redtag.ca & Swoop adds Kelowna, London & Oakland flights

Michael Warren - if you are reading this, your name was selected as the winner of Maple Leaf Lounge pass giveaway. Please contact us at info@rewardscanada.ca with your mailing address! If we don't hear back from by Sunday we'll have to pick another entry.

 AIR MILES has expanded their relationship with Canadian online travel agency Redtag.ca to include earning and redemption options! You can earn 1 AIR MILES Reward Mile for every $20 spend with Redtag but even more interesting is the new redemption option for vacation packages. You can redeem 909 miles for a $100 credit towards your booking or about 11 cents per mile. This isn't too bad of rate. Yes you can get more value out of your miles (we typically value AIR MILES at 11 to 15 cents each when redeeming for travel) but it is better than the Cash Miles redemption rate of 10.5 cents per mile. Overall it is always great to have more options to redeem your miles and seeing that this one works as simply a credit towards your booking you can book any package you want and not be bound by availability. They also state to watch for cruises later in 2019. When you log in they will show you what your miles are worth if you were to use as many of them as you can. You'll see the screenshot below I could redeem for a $1,500 credit. To celebrate the partnership they are also offering a limited time bonus of up to 250 AIR MILES on vacation package bookings Find out more about this new partnership here!

Swoop, WestJet's ULCC announced their summer schedule which includes three new cities. London, ON, Kelowna and Oakland California. Find out more here

The new domestic markets include service between London and Halifax six times per week and daily service from London to/from Abbotsford and Edmonton. Service between Kelowna and Winnipeg will be offered three times a week. The schedule also sees the return of the seasonal route between Abbotsford and Winnipeg four times per week.

Edmonton will enjoy increased transborder capacity with thrice-weekly flights to/from Oakland and a weekly flight to/from Orlando.

Internationally, Swoop will continue its Hamilton service to Montego Bay and Cancun, with a weekly return flight throughout the summer.

Amongst the routes that will end for the summer are Hamilton to Puerto Vallarta and Tampa Bay, and Abbotsford to Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán. Edmonton to Mesa will take a short hiatus and suspend service at the end of May before resuming October 5, 2019.

Here is Swoop's updated route map:

Posts since our last update:

• There is a rewards card out there for everyone - including the Walmart Rewards Mastercard
  On Rewards Canada we do our best to cover the 150+ rewards-based credit cards that are available to Canadians.…
• WestJet Rewards Platinum & Gold Elites now receive unlimited lounge access for themselves and up to 5 family members
  One new benefit that we have alluded to in past posts and in our podcast about WestJet Rewards Platinum…
• Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express to become Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
  Marriott revealed today the details of the new name and look for their co-branded credit cards in the U.S.,…

Travel Deals
Cathay Pacific's New Year's sale sees them offering flights out of Vancouver to Southeast Asia for as little as $895 round trip. Book by Jan 31. Find out more here.

Royal Air Maroc has dropped prices on their Montreal-Casablanca route. You can fly round trip for as little as $750 all in. Book by Jan 25. Find out more here.

Marriott is offering 20% off best available rates when you stay 2+ nights Thursday-Sunday at 6 great locations in Toronto and Edmonton. Valid for stays until Feb 28, 19 . Full Details and online Booking

Avis: Save up to 20% with their New Year Worldwide sale. Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Dec 15, 19. Find out more here.

Hilton APAC Year End sale - Save up to 25% when you book by Feb 2 for stays until Sep 30, 2019!

Hilton Winter Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa

Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus Asia Miles when you rent for 3+ days with Hertz in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. More.. Until Feb, 28, 19

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to Triple Skywards Miles for stays at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Oct 31, 19

JAL Mileage Bank
- Triple Mileage Bank Miles for stays at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort, Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort or Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger. More... Until Mar 31, 20

Saudia Alfursan
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays at participating Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 19

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