Apply for an ATB World Elite Mastercard during the month of March and receive it as a limited edition metal card

ATB (Alberta Treasury Branch) is now offering their World Elite Mastercard as a metal card! This is a limited time promotion for the month of March only and it is for new applicants only, existing customers are not eligible for the metal card. The allure of a metal card is still pretty fresh for Canadians - we haven't had them around as long as the U.S. and some people are really drawn in by them! So if you've been thinking of applying for the ATB World Elite Mastercard why not do it now to get this limited edition card?

May 13 Update: Amex lowers welcome bonuses on The Platinum Card & Business Platinum Card, a look back at the first 100K point credit card bonus in Canada, good Travelzoo deal for Brewster's Mountain Lodge in Banff

American Express has really shifted focus on keeping current Platinum cardmembers engaged and using their cards as much as possible with the amazing double points double value promotion. However as it is so lucrative for cardmembers and pricey for American Express to maintain they have dropped the welcome bonus significantly on both the personal and business versions of the Platinum Cards. The new welcome offers are as follows:

• The Platinum Card®
  New Platinum® Cardmembers, earn 25,000 Welcome Bonus Membership Rewards® points when you charge $2,000 in purchases to your Card in the first three months of Cardmembership
• Business Platinum Card® from American Express
  Earn a Welcome Bonus of 35,000 points when you charge $7,000 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership

Not sure why but the other day I was thinking back to a credit card promotion from 2013. That promotion held the title of the highest ever welcome bonus offered in Canada until late 2018. That is in terms of the number of points offered at 100,000. However in terms of value it wasn't even close to be anything good. It's a good reminder to everyone that every loyalty program and credit is about the earn AND THE burn. Read all about it here. 

(In case you are wondering the current record holder for the highest bonus in terms of just the number of points is the HSBC World Elite Mastercard which had a 105,000 points bonus for Quebec residents in late 2018.)

Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature for the foreseeable future in our daily update posts as we summarize Canadian operations based on data from RoutesOnline and other sources. Remember that many of these route plans are subject to change and right now they are changing frequently!

Yesterday we let you know that Pacific Coastal Airlines will resume operations on June 1st with a reduced flight schedule. Here are the routes planned
Kelowna – Cranbrook 3 weekly
Kelowna – Victoria 3 weekly
Vancouver – Bella Bella 3 weekly
Vancouver – Bella Coola 3 weekly
Vancouver – Campbell River – Comox – Vancouver 4 weekly
Vancouver – Port Hardy 3 weekly
Vancouver – Powell River 6 weekly
Vancouver – Tofino 3 weekly
Vancouver – Trail 3 weekly
Vancouver – Victoria 3 weekly
Vancouver – Williams Lake 3 weekly
(Source RoutesOnline)

TAP Air Portugal is looking to launch their Montreal to Lisbon flight on July 16 now while Toronto to Lisbon is set to relaunch on June 5. The new route between Toronto and Ponta Delgada has now been pushed back to July 2. (Source RoutesOnline)

Remember to visit and bookmark our COVID-19 resource page where we are keeping you up to date with all the latest airline, hotel, lounges and loyalty program news, policies, closures and more.

Posts since our last update:

• AIR MILES Bonus Boom returns May 21 through 27
  Back on March 17 AIR MILES decided to postpone their big Mega Miles promotion due to the COVID-19 Pandemic…
• May 12 Update: Avianca goes into bankruptcy protection, Pacific Coastal Airlines set to resume flights on June 1, Air Canada schedule update
  We updated the entire Canadian airline and loyalty program section on our COVID-19 resource page. We'll continue the big…

Deals:

Travelzoo and Brewster's Mountain Lodge in Banff are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers for starting at $179-$199 each for June, $199-$239 for July and $269-$319 for August & September. Based on these numbers looks like they are anticipating a decent return to travel in late Summer. We did a quick check for a mid-week stay in June and Brewster's wanted $339 for the same room and the cheapest 3rd party rate we could find was $209. Sot the $179 voucher definitely provides some savings. Find out more here.

Image via Travelzoo

Fairmont Chateau Whistler golf package offer - stay and play from $185pp per night in June. Find out more here.
 
Travelzoo and Huntingdon Manor Hotel in Victoria B.C. are selling discounted vouchers offering Breakfast & Parking, 35% Off for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers for stays starting at $95 per night each for stays between June and November. Find out more here. 

Missfresh: Simplify your life with 45% off your first 2 consecutive orders with code SIMPLIFY45. Find out more here.

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)

4Ocean Introducing the Sperm Whale Beaded Bracelet - $20 at 4ocean! Valid until 5/31. Shop Now!

Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

No new bonus offers added today

Other Bonus Offers

Choice Privileges
- Save 30% when you buy Choice Privileges points. More... Until Jun 12, 20

Hilton Honors
- Double Honors Points for weekend stays of 1 to 4 nights with Thursday, Friday or Saturday arrival at the LXR Susona Bodrum More... Jul 1 - ?

IHG Rewards Club
- 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays of 7+ nights at the Staybridge Suites Schererville More... Until Dec 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points, free breakfast & 1000THB daily hotel credit for stays at any one of 18 hotels in the Bangkok area. More... Book by Jun 30, 20



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ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard Review

(This post is a duplicate of the one found on our main Rewards Canada site)   Since we launched Rewards Canada in 2001 we have always stated that there aren't really any bad credit cards out there as each card is good for certain individuals. However there are cards that we would have considered being at the bottom of the list when comparing cards and the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard used to be one of them. Not the worst card but not far from taking that title. That was when the card had an annual fee but the card was revamped in the Fall of 2014 and now ATB touts it as the "Best no-fee coverage travel card". So with that statement we decided to give this 'small' issuing bank card the Rewards Canada review treatment! Overview The only for Alberta residents ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard is the only travel rewards card from Alberta Treasury Branch portfolio of cards that also includes Cashback and MyHusky rewards cards. It used to be a weak card when compared to others in Canada but with its recent especially since it had an $89 annual fee and lackluster rewards and insurance. Now that has changed and the card provides a decent no fee option for those living in Alberta. Sign up Features The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard does not have a sign bonus when you apply for the card although in the past in was known for having the largest sign up bonus on a credit card in Canada*. In place of a points based sign up bonus they are however providing a 0% interest rate on balance transfers to the card for the first six months. * Related: ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus - Classic case of "Remember people it's all about the EARN and the BURN" Costs The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard has no annual fee for the primary or secondary cards. The interest rate on the card is19.9% which is in line with most of the cards at this level. Earning The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard has a simple earning structure of 10 points per dollar spent on all eligible purchases made with the card. One thing to note with this card is that they round down earnings on non-whole dollar purchases. For example if a purchase is $47.79 you'll earn 470 points.

Advertisement Redeeming The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard redemption process is like many other cards that have proprietary rewards programs. The card allows for various travel redemptions made via the atbmyrewards.com contracted travel agency or via their website where you can redeem for hotel gift certificates (Fairmont, Delta, Brewsters), VIA Rail Gift Cards, itravel2000.com gift cards and several other travel experience options. There are also other non-travel redemptions available. This card falls into the book any travel anywhere sub-category of Travel Points cards which means you don't have to redeem via ATB MY Rewards. All you have to do is book your travel whether it be aircanada.com, westjet.com, expedia.com or anywhere else including your trusted travel agent and when that charge shows up on your statement you simply call up ATB My Rewards or go online and redeem points against the charge. With this card you'll want to go with the first option of booking via their travel agency or the latter option of redeeming for any travel as that will get you the best return on your spending. Points are redeemed at a rate of 1000 points for a $1 statement credit towards that travel charge. This means you receive a 1% return on your spending which for a no fee card is standard and equivalent to most of this card's competitors. Both the travel agency and self booking options have a minimum redemption of 50,000 points for $50 off your travel. That is the beauty of this card and many like it, you don't have to have the full amount of points to begin to enjoy the rewards! If you buy an airline ticket for $600 and have 30,000 points you can choose to redeem those points for a $300 credit which means your flight only cost $300. Another benefit of this' book travel on your own' is you can be on vacation and buy travel on the card (say a rail ticket) and then redeem points when you get home. It can't be done with cards that don't have this feature such as the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard or CIBC Aventura Visa since you need to redeem the points ahead of time. Essentially the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard falls into the category of most flexible travel rewards cards.

The other travel redemptions on their website are gift cards and gift certificates for several Canadian hotel operators, VIA Rail and itravel2000.com. These options do not provide the 1% return that you would get for redeeming for travel directly. Most of these options run 130,000 for a $100 Gift Card or Certificate. That equates to roughly a 0.77% return on your spending. The question is, unless you need to give a gift certificate as a gift why would you redeem for one of these? If you have a stay planned at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise you are better off booking it through ATB's agency or yourself and redeeming 130,000 points for a $130 credit rather than the $100 gift card. Features and Benefits The ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard comes with a really decent insurance and benefits suite for a no fee card. On the insurance side the card comes with wide range of coverage as including travel accident insurance, flight delay, baggage delay insurance, car rental CDW coverage, purchase protection and extended warranty. Save for about three other cards most no fee travel rewards cards do not include insurance coverage like this card does. The card also offers one other benefit that we typically don't see on a credit card but rather from vacation packagers: a weather guarantee! Called WeatherGuard, it offers up to a $300 discount towards future travel if precipitation is more than 0.5 inches in a 24-hour period on at least half of the total number of days on your affected trip. Trip must be a minimum of 4 days/3 nights within Canada, the United States, or Caribbean. You then have two years after you return from the affected vacation to apply the discount towards another vacation. What is good about this card The insurance package that comes with the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard is strong for a no fee rewards card and is the best thing about it. Also the fact that you can book travel on your own and then redeem points against the charge on your account is great as it provides the utmost in flexibility when it comes to travel rewards. The WeatherGuard benefit is another good point to the card, while it seems like a great benefit, the longer your trip the less likely it will work out that you would be able to claim this benefit. However since it does work for trips in Canada or to the U.S. and you fly to a location that is known for rain, say Vancouver, Victoria or Seattle for four days, you won't be sad if it rains as chances are you'll be prepared for it and there is a possibility you could qualify for this credit! What is not so good about this card The 1% return on the card, while standard for the majority of no fee travel rewards cards is lower than at least three other cards who provide 1.25% or a blend of 1 and 2% back makes the card a little weak in the earning department. No sign up bonus, many no fee cards don't carry a bonus but this card's major competitors do. The foreign transaction fee on this card is the highest in Canada. The majority of cards charge 2.5%, some are 0% and 2% while this card is 2.9%. If you travel out of Canada a lot that 0.4% could really add up to a lot of extra fees. The fact that this card is only available to Albertans makes it not good at all for the remainder of Canada! Conclusion For point and mile gamers in Alberta the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard won't even be on the radar. No sign up bonus, no ties to other loyalty programs and a mediocre return. However for those who aren't chasing down every mile and point but like to vacation once or twice a year this card could actually make sense. One percent return isn't huge but the fact that you can book travel how you want and when you want is a nice bonus and makes it much easier to redeem for travel rewards than programs like Aeroplan and AIR MILES. This is especially true if you don't earn a lot of miles in those two other programs from other methods. If you are happy with a few hundred dollars discount each time you take a vacation, these type of cards totally make sense. For others in Alberta the card may be attractive as secondary or tertiary card especially if you bank at ATB for convenience sake however if you don't bank at ATB you are probably better off with one of the no-fee travel rewards cards that offer 1.25% as one would assume that your primary credit card carries all the necessary insurances and benefits for your travels. If your travel rewards goals is flying like VIPs in first or business class this card is not for you. There are much better options out there that will get you those premium seats much faster and at a better return than this card would. What about the claim of being "Best no-fee coverage travel card". You'll notice then leave 'rewards' out as they know other no-fee travel rewards offer higher returns but the claim about coverage? The only coverage they have on this card that other no fee cards have is Flight Delay insurance but other cards in the no fee category have other insurances like Trip Interruption and Price Protection which this card does not have. It also has that WeatherGuard guarantee but we here don't feel that is a game changer as the majority of trips taken by cardholders will not qualify. That is why you see travel providers like itravel2000.com offering this type of benefit as well as the pay out for them is very little. So in our minds it is not the Best no-fee coverage travel card but its not bad either. If this card was available across Canada it would definitely make it into our Top 5 Travel Points Credit Cards (with no annual fee) in our annual rankings. Care to comment? Do you agree or disagree with us? Tell us what you think about the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard in the comments section below. Related Links: ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard on atb.com Rewards Canada's All Travel Rewards Credit Card Comparison including the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard Rewards Canada's Travel Points Only Credit Card Comparison including the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card: BMO Air Miles MasterCard Capital One® Aspire Travel™ Platinum MasterCard® CAA Rewards MasterCard

ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus - Classic case of "Remember people it's all about the EARN and the BURN"

The other day when I was driving home I heard an ad on the radio for the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard. What caught my attention was the offer of 100,000 bonus points if you spend $50 on the card by January 31st! Whoa I thought as no card in Canada has offered a 100,000 point sign up bonus before and it reminded me of the immensely popular British Airways 100,000 Avios card offer south of the border.

Now I'll admit it's been awhile since I last looked at all the details of this card and could not recall the value of those points. So I decided I would be like many radio listeners and take the approach that I don't know much about the ins and outs of rewards programs and think wow 100,000 points that must be amazing and also think that it is like most other programs in that 100,000 points will get you a big travel reward! I mean if it was equal to Aeroplan or British Airways that would be enough miles for a business class ticket to Europe or multiple economy class tickets within North America. Even other programs like Amex's Membership Rewards that 100,000 would be worth $1,000 in travel if you don't convert to their airline partners.

When I got home I looked up the details on the card to refresh my knowledge of it. Guess what I learned once again and I hope that most people will do the same before jumping on this offer? That 100,000 points is worth a whopping $100! That's right $100 of travel credit. This is a classic case of some sly marketing at work in the hope that you won't examine the burn side of the program and simply apply for the card thinking the 100,000 point bonus is huge. It's not. So just like our post earlier in the year trying to educate Canadians about looking at both sides of a program, I want to stress to you Remember People it's all about the Earn AND the Burn!