Rewards Canada: Your premier points, miles & credit cards resource: June 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

June 30 Update: Amex's Eats & Drinks bonus points posting fast, Alaska Airlines extends their EQM bonus on flights & which Canadian credit card issuer will be the first to drop Priority Pass?

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your daily dose (or near daily dose) of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. This update is brought to you by the HSBC World Elite Mastercard which is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 70,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year!

The accelerated earn rates from American Express that launched last week for existing cardmembers are posting super fast! And contrary to what we were told the bonus points are over and above the regular earn rates! For example the screenshots below from some purchases made on my Platinum Card are working out as 11 points per dollar for purchases that only earn 1 point per dollar normally (SkipTheDishes & Sobeys) and 13 points per dollar for dining purchases that normally earn 3 points per dollar (Flores & Pine in this case). Previous communication with Amex stated these would simply be 10 points per dollar. I'm not going to complain however as earning 11 to 13 points per dollar spent is simply amazing.

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Saskatoon Centre

Another Bill W review for you! Bill is a true road warrior, his work has him driving and flying across Western and Central Canada every week while staying in a variety hotels from a variety of chains. Bill is a regular contributor to Rewards Canada and has been reading, following giving tips and providing updates for a very long time so let's welcome him back with this latest review!

This Holiday Inn Express Hotel underwent extensive renovations that were completed in late 2019. The renovations transformed the hotel into a very modern and upscale place to lay your head.

A follow up here to the several posts we've already had on this topic as we wanted to remind our readers that as of tomorrow you will no longer be able to access the 13 Plaza Premium lounges in Canada with your Priority Pass or LoungeKey memberships. The lounges remain accessible by paying for access online withe Plaza Premium, at the lounge entrance, or by using another lounge access program such as Dragon Pass or American Express.

The Top 5 Mastercard Cards to use at Costco Canada (updated again)

We had to update our feature on the Top Mastercard cards to use at Costco again due to the recent changes to the MBNA World Elite Mastercard. Overall that card got better for lots of spending on it except at Costco. The MBNA card saw its earn rate at Costco drop from 2 points per dollar to 1 point which meant it dropped off this list of the best five cards to use at Costco Canada stores. That card used to hold top spot but that now goes to the Brim World Elite Mastercard and the entire list shifts up meaning that the RBC Preferred Cash Back World Elite Mastercard now cracks the list in fifth position.

A friendly reminder that American Express' bonus for transferring Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy ends tomorrow (June 30)! For this past month you have been able convert Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy and receive 30% more Marriott points. The regular conversion ratio is 1 Membership Rewards Point = 1.2 Marriott Bonvoy points but with the bonus it is 1.56 Marriott Bonvoy points. This has been the best ever bonus seen for converting Membership Rewards points to Marriott points!

ALL Accor Live Limitless members can earn 1,000 bonus points when they book and stay on a Fairmont Golf Package at participating Fairmont Hotels in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. This offer is available for stays right through to December 31 – obviously not going to work at the Canadian locations that late in the year but still good for this summer and fall!

Another IHG Rewards Club’s buy points bonus Flash Sale is upon us. Once again the promotion is a 100% bonus when you purchase 11,000 or more points at a time. You can buy a maximum of 150,000 points with the promotion which runs until June 30. Then on July 1 and 2 the bonus will be 90% followed by 75% from July 3 to August 13.

June 28 Update: Hilton Honors adds daily F&B credit instead of complimentary breakfast in the U.S. and Air Canada is testing a COVID-19 results option in their app

Hilton Honors will be doing away with the complimentary continental breakfast MyWay benefit for Gold and Diamond members that stay in the U.S. They will be replacing it with a daily food and beverage credit that can be used for any F&B purchases any time of day. The credit will range from $10 to $25 depending on the Hilton brand and location and is good for the Gold or Diamond member plus one additional guest meaning you could get up to a $50 daily food and beverage credit. This new MyWay benefit will start at the beginning of July and run through to December 31, 2021 at more than 1,500 locations in the U.S. Learn more here.

What a great time it is to be an American Express cardmember! They launched some of their best ever bonuses last week. They are providing some of the best accelerated earn offers for existing cardmembers and now American Express Canada's awesome Shop Small offer is back for the summer as well! The great news with Shop Small is that you can still get in on it if you get yourself an American Express right now as this offer runs until August 23 and it is open to all cardmembers - new or existing.

AIR MILES Shops - Earn 5x miles site wide for your online shopping until July 1

If you haven't had enough of online shopping just yet then this week is another good one to get some done and rack up some bonus miles. AIR MILES is offering 5x miles site wide on AIR MILES Shops purchases made by July 1.

June 25 Update: WestJet adding 10+ new routes within Canada, Amex Shop Small returns soon & Air Canada's amazing new safety video

WestJet announced the return of many of their flights within Canada today - so much so that it's too much to list here. On top of so many domestic flights restarting they have also announced a slew of new routes within Canada seeing that most Canadians will still only be traveling domestically this summer. Here are the new routes that will be starting up:

File this one into the category of "nobody saw this one coming"- well until we were notified about two weeks ago and then when the details were leaked onto Red Flag Deals a few days ago. The next bank to be making some major changes this week is TD's subsidiary MBNA. Today they are officially announcing changes to their premium proprietary rewards card product the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®. There are also some slight changes happening to this card's entry level partner the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard® which I'll touch upon towards the end of the article.

The new Radisson Reward Americas program will be awarding double elite stays/nights to all members for all of 2021. Although just announced they will be crediting it for stays right from the beginning of January to the end of December. All stays worldwide that were made up to June 16th will count and then due to the splitting of the programs and the launch of Radisson Rewards Americas on June 17th only stays in the Americas count from that day to the end of 2021.

Earn Double Flying Blue Miles on all Air France & KLM flights out of Canada (Targeted offer)

Here is a targeted offer I received in my email earlier in the week that is for double Flying Blue Miles across the entire Air France KLM network. The link to register only works from the email, the link below is only for informational purposes. You’ll have to check your in box (be sure to check your spam folder) to see if you have received this offer as well.

June 23 Update: Airline & Hotel loyalty programs that you can earn miles or points with credit cards updated, WestJet everywhere sale & save at 99 Marriott Hotels in Canada

We have updated due to the changes in the Hilton Honors program we let you know about a few weeks ago (Read about that here). Gone completely off the list are Finnair Plus, Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles and Philippine Airlines Mabuhay. There a no Canadian credit cards that will now provide an avenue to earning points or miles with those three programs. There are still well over 60 airline and hotel programs that you can earn with though! See the feature here.

Earn 2x points for stays at Radisson Hotels in Canada and the rest of the Americas

The first promotion for the recently split Radisson Rewards program launched this week. This offer is for the Radisson Hotels Americas programs and offers double points on all stays in the U.S., Canada, Latin America & Caribbean. The offer runs until September 12 and does require registration (See link below) and doubles the base earn rate from 20 points per dollar spent to 40 points. Although it seem like countries are opening up to vaccinated Canadians every day I would believe for most Canadians these points will be earned domestically for stays at one of the chains 26 locations from coast to coast.

June 22 Update: New Ivanhoe gift card Amex Offer and the Centurion Lounge opens up at New York La Guardia

Another gift card Amex Offer came out this week and it is the return of the statement credit offer for buying gift cards to use at malls operated by Ivanhoe. I received the offer on my n Platinum Card but be sure to check all your cards to see if you received it as well.

Aeroplan extends the expiry date on Buddy Passes earned from co-brand credit cards

Great news for those of you who are holding on to Buddy Passes or have been considering applying for an Aeroplan co-brand card that offers a Buddy Pass. Those booking window for passes have been extended by Aeroplan to December 31, 2022 for travel into December 2023. Rewards Canada reader Josef H. alerted us to this news this past Friday afternoon and are happy to pass it along to all of our readers.

Great news today from the Government of Canada that sees the current travel restrictions for returning to Canada being eased. As of July 6th (well 11:59pm ET on July 5) Canadians who are fully vaccinated will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival and this includes the stay at a government authorized hotel. All other re-entry requirements do remain in place which means you'll need to have a negative COVID test prior to returning and you'll have to test upon arrival as well.

Welcome to Rewards Canada's fifth annual Top Cash back Credit Card rankings!

June 2021 Update

We have crowned a new champion for the Top Cash Back Credit Card in Canada! While technically not known as a cash back card the top card's cash back component places it ahead of even the best of the best cash back cards in Canada! That card that now sits atop the throne is none other than the American Express Cobalt Card. This card has been Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card since 2018 and now thanks to American Express adjusting the redemption rate for using points towards any purchases on the card (not just travel) to 1,000 points = $10 the Cobalt Card jumps ahead in the cash back market now as well. The card itself earns 1 to 5 points per dollar spent which translates to a 1% to 5% cash back return when utilzing Use Points for Purchases. Based on our calculations the card earns more cash back per year than any other cards (utilizing our spend breakdown, as listed below) which makes it the number one cash back card in Canada.

June 18 Update: Canada-US border to remain closed until July 21, Amex Centurion Lounge updates & four more Canadian hotel stay bonuses

The border between Canada and the U.S will remain closed for at least one more month. News came out today from the federal minister of pubic safety that the federal government will keep the border restrictions on non-essential travel in place until July 21, 21. (Source Global News)

One thing we here at the Rewards Canada family have done for quite a few years - well at least until COVID hit was to book multiple hotel rooms for our trips. As our kids got older and we started travelling with more luggage we found a single room often didn't give us enough space and comfort. So we started booking two rooms at a time and then calling the hotel to put notes in the reservation that we would like connecting rooms. The only issue with this is that those connecting rooms weren't ever guaranteed. We were lucky though as we have always received our request for connecting rooms but I know for some other families this hasn't been the case. That all changes now - well at least if you are planning on staying with Hilton as they have introduced confirmed connecting rooms by Hilton.

AIR MILES Bonus Boom is now live - earn bonus miles with participating partners + 95 bonus miles with three different Bonus Boom offers

The latest AIR MILES Bonus Boom event kicked off today with your usual bunch of bonus miles offers for shopping or completing actions with various AIR MILES partners. Most of the bonuses are available between today and June 30 and once again if you use three different Bonus Boom offers you'll get 95 bonus AIR MILES. Just like the past few Bonus Boom events you have the ability to get the 95 bonus miles all from one retailer so long as they have multiple offers. For example Sobeys has three different offers available so if you meet the criteria for those three offers you'll get the 95 bonus miles.

Back on April 15 we brought you the news that Plaza Premium announced they were leaving the Priority Pass and LoungeKey airport access programs. What we didn't know then was how many of Plaza Premium's 120+ lounges from around the world were going to leave as there were some ongoing negotiations going on between Collinson Group (the operator of Priority Pass and LoungeKey) and Plaza Premium to keep some lounges as part the access programs. We now know that there will be 57 Plaza Premium lounges in total leaving Priority Pass and LoungeKey and us Canadian's are some of the worst hit. All Plaza Premium lounges in Canada will no longer be available via Priority Pass and LoungeKey as of July 1.

Continuing on with our series on credit cards in Canada that need an overhaul, today we'll look at two cash back cards that need some tweaking. This 'overhaul' series started earlier in the year when we posted an article about how the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card was due for a major overhaul. That post was initially planned as five credit cards that need an overhaul but we ended up writing so much about the Avion card that it ended up being a post just on that card. We then followed up with the second card a few weeks ago - the American Express Gold Rewards Card and the changes we think that card needs and in this post we'll cover cards three and four. The fifth card in the list will have its own post in the near future.

Here are the previous posts in the our 2021 Overhaul/Tweaking series:

Some surprising news in the world of gas station loyalty programs today! Esso announced today they will be ending the Esso Extra program as they move to join the PC Optimum program full time. There are giving members a lot of extra notice which is great as the Esso Extra program won't end until January 17, 2022.

You can use your American Express card this weekend and feel good about doing so! Well, that is, feeling even better than you should thanks to the great rewards you are already receiving. From June 18th to 20th American Express will donate $1 to the United Way for each $1 spent at their Shop Small merchants. They will donate up to $100,000 so I think that number could be easily be reached on the first day alone!

We see two more cards join the world of 10% cash back limited time welcome bonus offers today. Both the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card and the Tangerine World Mastercard are now in the league of cards like Amex's Simply Cash Preferred, CIBC's Dividend Visa Infinite and Scotia's Momentum Visa Infinite cards. From today through to August 16th when you apply for and are approved for either of these Tangerine cards you'll be able to earn 10% cash back on all purchases in the first 2 months. The 10% is capped on $1,000 of purchases for a total cash back reward of $100. After that 10% cap is hit or after 2 months the regular earn rate of up to 2% cash back kicks in.

June 16 Update: Two new great Amex Offers, 3,000 bonus points at the Four Points Sherwood Park & more confirmed Cobalt multiplier locations

There are two new awesome Amex Offers to let you know about! The first sees the return of a statement credit for buying gift cards to use at Oxford Properties (they operate shopping malls in various Canadian cities). I am aware of this offer on the personal Platinum Card. The other offer provides an amazing 10 bonus points per dollar spent on all eligible spending on the Business Platinum Card! Log in to your accounts to see if you are eligible for either offer and register right away for them. You can find our complete list of Amex offers here.

Air Canada is offering a pretty big incentive for booking downtown Vancouver hotels via the aircanada.com website! Right now if you book an eligible stay by July 7 for completion between June 21 and December 15 you can earn up to 20,000 bonus Aeroplan points for that stay!

Eagle eyed Loyalty Lobby caught a change from Hilton Honors that saw the loyalty program drop 11 of their partners as of June 15. This change was made quietly by Hilton with no advance notice to members who may have been contemplating converting some of their Honors points to one of these programs.

How to convert American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy (and take advantage of the 30% bonus!)

Now that we are in the middle of the best ever bonus of converting American Express Membership Rewards points to their hotel partners I thought it best to update and re-post this how to guide for converting your points. In this post we look at converting to Marriott Bonvoy as that provides the best value but this will also work for transfers to Hilton Honors. We focus on the American Express Cobalt Card for this post due to it's 5x points earning (which is 7.8 Marriott points with the bonus) and that's the card we transferred from)

June 15 Update: Credit cards that help you avoid those dreaded airline fees and Aeroplan providing some elites with status boosts next year

With travel slowly making a rebound and returning to many Canadian's radars to happen in the next 3-12 months you are going to have to start thinking about those dreaded airline fees again! With that we have updated our feature on Credit cards that help you avoid those dreaded airline fees. In this piece we look at cards that save you those baggage fees, seat selection fees and other fees that just seem to add up all the time. Check it out here.

Hyatt Hotels revealed today that they are extending their pause on points and expiry and will further postpone Off-Peak and Peak award night pricing. They also gives us a glimpse at the next iteration of their Bonus Journeys systemwide promotion.

We see a new flight bonus offer from Air Canada today that awards up to 5,000 Aeroplan points on select flights to sun destinations in the U.S., Caribbean, and Mexico. The offer is good for travel through to December 15 with the registration and booking window being from June 15 to June 28.

June 14 Update: Save 25% when you redeem TD Rewards points for gift cards or merchandise & Travel Hacking 101 earn up to 147,000 Aeroplan points updated

TD is offering a 25% discount when you redeem TD Rewards points earned on cards like the TD First Class Travel Visa card for gift cards and merchandise. This offer runs until July 30, 2021. There is an additional offer of an extra $10 back if you redeem for Home Depot gift card by June 18. Learn more here.

If there was a new European flight to be expected to be announced from WestJet this was it. The Calgary based airline announced today that they will be starting direct non-stop flights to Amsterdam on August 5, 2021. The reason why it was expected was WestJet's ties with Amsterdam based KLM. WestJet has been partners with KLM (and Air France) for many years now and while KLM already flies between Calgary and Amsterdam, their schedules have been reduced due to the pandemic. It appears that WestJet may be filling the gap now and the two airlines will serve the route together for the summer season.

Up to a 50% bonus when you buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

Alaska Airlines has launched a new buy miles offer that runs until June 25th. This time the bonus once again ranges from 40% to 50% depending on how many miles you buy. Ideally you want to buy so you get that 50% bonus which means you’d have to buy 15,000 or more miles. We see the 50% bonus quite frequently now from Alaska but have even seen 60% (some lucky members got 70%) as part of a targeted mystery bonus over the past year.

WestJet expanding service to Hawaii including new direct flights from Calgary to Kona and Lihue

WestJet is banking on Hawaii for the upcoming winter season with an announced expansion of flights to the islands in the Pacific! With an increase of flights by over 25% WestJet will offer 57 weekly flights out of Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to four Hawaiian destinations. While flights from Vancouver have already resumed we see the return of Calgary and Edmonton in November and December respectively. On top of the usual routes the airline has flown we see new direct non-stop flights out of Calgary to Kona and Lihue! This is exciting news as Calgarians will no longer have to connect in Vancouver to get to the Big Island or Kauai.

American Express is planning something for their travel cards but we don't know what it is!

You may have seen some ads from American Express that started showing up on our site over the past few days. Those ads state "Your future is about to get a whole lot more rewarding" and shows five of American Express' travel cards. When you click on the ad (or the link below) all that is revealed is a form to complete to "get information on American Express^® products, offers and more". The form asks for your first name, email address, which benefit (reward) appeals to you the most and how much you plan to spend on your card annually. That's it. Nothing else.

June 10 Update: American Airlines extending pause on AAdvantage miles expiry & save 20% on Shangri-La Hotel stays in Toronto and Vancouver

American Airlines has further extended their pause for expiring AAdvantage miles. Miles will now be current until December 31, 2021. Learn more here.

"If your miles are scheduled to expire on or before December 31, 2021, they will now expire in January 2022, if there’s no additional activity in your account before then. You can find the expiration date of your miles in the Wallet section of your AAdvantage® account."

Similar to an offer seen for the last half of 2020 we now see a great offer from Air France KLM's Flying Blue program for the last half of 2021! While travel isn't really in the cards for most of us just yet, it is looking more like reality in the coming months so if your travels will take to you Europe or beyond by connecting in Europe you could consider utilizing Air France and KLM. From July 1 to December 31 all Flying Blue members will earn Double XP elite status credits on all Air France and KLM marketed flights which means you may be able to reach that next level of Flying Blue elite status sooner. Both airlines have been serving most of their Canadian cities with limited frequencies but you could expect that to be increased as more European countries open up to vaccinated travelers and if Canada does go ahead with changing the requirements for those returning to Canada.

June 9 Update: Mandatory hotel stay and quarantine requirement to be dropped for fully vaccinated Canadians & 35,000 bonus points on more Avion cards

News emerged today from our federal government that we can expect to have the mandatory hotel stay and 14 day quarantine requirements when returning to Canada to be dropped for Canadians and permanent residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Travellers who meet the criteria will still be required to have a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding a flight back to Canada and will have to take one more test upon return and quarantine until those test results are received and are negative. It is hoped that these new rules will be in place by the beginning of July so long as our COVID-19 numbers continue to drop. (Source Canadian Travel News)

This week sees the return of a not so often talked about topic in the points and miles world and that is "What happens to your points and miles after a person passes away?" Global BC's Consumer Matters reached out to me for an interview (see the piece here) as one of their viewers contacted them when her husband passed away and all his Canadian Tire Money was lost. In the end it was good news for her as they provided her with a gift certificate worth more than the points that were lost but it still stands to bring forth the details and to discuss this subject.

Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available. One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of these systemwide bonuses that come from many of the big chain programs and also from the lesser known programs. In fact, right now it should be rare for you NOT to earn a bonus. Unless you are staying at a boutique hotel or perhaps an independent hotel most other hotels out there have a bonus. So take advantage of it! These systemwide bonuses simply require you to register beforehand and they do not affect hotel pricing as long as you book a point eligible rate which are most rates out there. Of course booking through a third party site like Expedia or Rocketmiles does not count as most chains only award points on bookings that are made directly with them. Here are all the current promotions that are available to everyone this month:

The Ultimate No Fee Cash Back Credit Card Portfolio

In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for earning cash back without paying annual fees on any of the cards. We have always recommended that you should carry a Visa, a Mastercard and an American Express card in your wallet and that's what these portfolios encompass. The reason why is that there are benefits, promotions and earning potential unique to each brand of credit card. We won't go into detail here as you can read all about it in our feature on how to Maximize your Miles and Points but in this feature we outline one card from each brand that will help you build up those cash back returns faster than ever all the while not taking a dime out of your pocket for annual fees. Ultimately there are various options that could be utilized for a no fee cash back portfolio but we look at one card from each issuing family that provide the strongest cash back earning along with some added benefits.

June 8 Update: CIBC AC Conversion Visa offering 1% cash back until Oct 31, up to 5x points via the Aeroplan eStore & 50% bonus points for Esso purchases

CIBC's AC Conversion Visa - the prepaid credit card option offered by CIBC and Air Canada has introduced a limited time 1% cash back offer for all spending on the card until October 31st. Learn more about this card here.

Right now there are two RBC credit card welcome bonus offers that provide the potential to come out with at least 700 WestJet dollars for as little as $240 in annual fees and purchases. The two cards are the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard and the RBC Avion Visa Infinite card.

Best ever welcome bonuses on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Cards - 60,000 points + statement credits

After spending most of 2020 supporting existing customers we can say 2021 is the year American Express is back in the game for acquiring new customers! We've seen increased welcome offers on the American Express Cobalt™ Card (now gone) The Platinum Card®, the Choice Card from American Express™ (now gone) as well as offers on the SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express and the SimplyCash™ Card from American Express. Of course we also saw increased welcome bonuses for the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card, the Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card come out earlier this year to which this post is a reminder of the amazing offers on these two Marriott cards!

In this episode we look at all the steps is takes to earn those coveted bonus miles and points from promotions being offered from airlines, hotels, car rental companies and credit cards. From how to find the offers, to registering and how to chase after them if they don't post. This How To episode guides you in your quest to earning the most points and miles on all your travels, shopping and credit cards!

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

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

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Monday, June 28, 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Monday, June 21, 2021

Welcome to Rewards Canada's fifth annual Top Cash back Credit Card rankings!

June 2021 Update

Friday, June 18, 2021

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Monday, June 14, 2021

Saturday, June 12, 2021

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Monday, June 7, 2021

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