March 15 Update: Marriott elites can now select their annual choice benefits, Accor Hotels offering COVID-19 test kits at Canadian & US hotels, World of Hyatt peak & off peak pricing coming soon

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.

 
To all our Marriott Elite Status readers who have 50 nights or more in their accounts it's time ti select your annual choice benefits! From suite night awards to gifting status to additional elite night credits you can now log in via this page and make those selections. Remember once you make your selection you cannot change them.

March 10 Update: Accor Hotels 3 for 2 Sale, Up to 50,000 Bonus Avios with the RBC BA Visa and more!

News, Tips & Tricks
More Rewards is offering 25,000 Bonus More Rewards Points when you book an Amadeus River Cruise. Simply book by Apr 30. BTW those 25,000 points are worth about $105, maybe you could use them towards your flights to catch the cruise. You have to call More Rewards Travel at 1-844-320-3997 to book and earn the points.

Posts since our last update:

• Air Canada St. Patrick's Payout - minimum 500 bonus Aeroplan Miles on each booking made with promo code
  Air Canada has brought back their ever popular St. Patrick's Payout promotion where they will award a total 10…
• The Top 5 Flight Bonuses for Canadians
  These are Rewards Canada's Top 5 Flight Bonus Mile/Point Offers!  If you are planning on booking flights or flying soon…

Travel Deals
 

 Accor Hotels has brought back their 3 nights for the price 2 sale! You can enjoy your 3rd night free at over 4,100 hotels Worldwide including 7 in Canada. Book by Mar 28 for stays until May 28, 17 Find out more here.
Canadian Hotels that are available for this offer:

Canadian Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up 50,000 Bonus Avios when you apply for and receive the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card. More... Residents of Canada only Until May 31, 17 

Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Courtyard St. John's Newfoundland. More... Until Apr 28, 17


Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you shop online via the AAdvantage Shopping portal.. More... Until Mar 17, 17

Ethiopian Airlines Sheba Miles
- 3,000 Bonus Sheba Miles when you fly Ethiopian between Antananarivo and Addis Ababa. More... Until May 31, 17
- Earn up to 100% Bonus Sheba Miles when you fly Ethiopian between Antananarivo and Lubumbashi. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt Points on rentals of 3 or more days at participating Avis locations worldwide. More... Until May 31, 17

IHG Rewards Club
- Up to 80% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. More... Until Mar 28, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Domes Noruz Chania, Autograph Collection. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays Mar 31 - Jun 16, 17
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at participating Gaylord Hotels in the U.S. More...  Targeted Offer - May Not Work For Everyone Until May 31, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at the Magnolia Hotel St. Louis, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. More... Until Apr 30, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

March 17 Update: Diners Club Club Rewards Tailored Travel Credit devaluation, Accor Hotels Canada stay bonus and more

News, Tips & Tricks
Ouch, one of the cards that has been in my wallet the longest and one of my favourites is about to get devalued! The tailored travel credit for the Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard is getting cut back. This is the book any travel and redeem points against the charge feature of the card. Granted to start with the rate was a 1.7% return which is lower than other cards out there with 2% however the card comes with an awesome airline lounge programs, costs less then those other cards and has one of the best CDW insurance coverages of any card out there as they don't put a dollar limit on cars (just types of cars like all others) so when we were in Maui last month our free upgrade to fully loaded Infiniti QX80 didn't concern me as Diners doesn't max out at $65,000 like other cards.

So what is the new tailored travel credit value? 1.5%. Not bad, kind of like the old TD First Class rate but now its a full half percent lower than major competitors. I need to decide whether it is worth it to keep this card after the change. Chances are I will as I can covert Club Rewards points to Alaska Airlines or British Airways or any one of their large list of airline and hotel programs plus the Diners Airport Lounge program has lounges not found with The Platinum Card from American Express or Priority Pass. This change takes effect on April 6th. So if you hold this card (there are still tens of thousands of you out there according to BMO) and wanted to redeem points for a travel charge do so by April 6th to get full value. Even if the charge was long ago as Diners gives you up to 12 months prior to redeem against so you can get the better value out now. Sad to see this change, how about the rest of you DC cardholders? What are your thoughts and are you going to keep the card after this?

In the bonus offers section we added a new Le Club accorhotels offer for up to triple points for stays in Canada and the U.S.. Remember Accor is the French hotel chain that is buying Canada's Fairmont Hotels. That integration hasn't happened yet so you can't earn this bonus at Fairmont Hotels but you can at any Accor Hotels in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Find out more here

Remember as well today is the last day to earn bonus Aeroplan miles for online bookings at AirCanada.com. You'll earn your share of 10 million Aeroplan miles (min. 500 awarded)

Posts since our last update:

• Earn up to 5,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays at Carlson Rezidor hotels in Canada (Radisson, Country Inns, Park Inn)
  Offer Details Earn up to 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you stay three times  at participating Radisson, Country Inns &…
• The Ultimate 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.…
• Reminder - AIR MILES Reward Miles start expiring at the end of this year, here's how you can find out just how many you stand to lose
  Over the past couple of days I have completed several media interviews about the AIR MILES Expiry rule and…

Travel Deals
Air Canada St. Patrick's day sale is on! Book by 11:59pm tonight to save on flights throughout most of this year. Find out more here

 


Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Triple AAdvantage Miles for stays at La Quinta Inns and Suites in the U.S., Canada and Mexico More... Until Jun 30, 16

Emirates Skywards
- 50% Skywards Miles Discount on Economy Saver awards between select destinations Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 31 for flights Apr 13 - Jun 23, 16
- 25% Skywards Miles Discount on Business Class Saver awards from Europe and Dubai to selected destinations Worldwide More... Book by Mar 31 for flights Apr 13 - Jun 23, 16

Eurowings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles when you fly between to/from Stockholm. More... Book by Mar 31 for travel until Apr 30, 16

Hilton HHonors
- Quadruple HHonors Points when you shop at Chic Outlet Shopping Villages in Europe. More... Until Apr 30, 16

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple TrueBlue Points for stays at La Quinta Inns and Suites in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.More... Until Jun 30, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in the U.S. or Canada. More... Book by May 15 for stays until May 31, 16
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Le Club accorhotels points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in France. More... Book by Jun 9 for stays Jun 10 - Jul 10, 16

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- 50% GC Award Points Discount on all standard room award night redemptions for stays at Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays Apr 1 - May 31, 16

Follow Rewards Canada:

Nov 15 Update: Accor Hotel Sale up to 50% off, 5,000 Bonus Points for Park Plaza stays, 500 Bonus Mileage Plus Miles for online shopping

News, Tips & Tricks
For those of you traveling frequently between Toronto and Los Angeles on Air Canada you'll be pleased to know that they are reintroducing 767-300ER service on the route for two flights a day during the busy Christmas season and then once a day from February to April. This means if you are flying up front or get upgraded you'll get to enjoy the Executive First pods instead of the typical Domestic Executive class found on the rest of the LAX flights operated by a mixture of Airbus aircraft (Source: airlineroute.net)

In other Star Alliance news, Lufthansa is launching summer seasonal service between Vancouver and Munich on May 16, 2013. Another option for Star Alliance flyers out of YVR (or connecting via YVR) to earn miles on or to redeem miles for.

In case you missed them earlier today I had a post on Diners Club Canada removing the Priority Pass feature and I provided further detailed coverage on PointsPay, the technology that allows the conversion of loyalty points and miles into cash.

Once again in the Calgary area, Shell will be offering 50 Bonus Air Miles when you spend $50 or more ($20 of that has to be on fuel) This is valid Nov 17 and 18.

Travel Deals
Accor Hotels is running another great sale for stays at over 2,000 locations worldwide. If you are a member of their Le Club loyalty program you will get up to 50% and if you are not a member you can get up to 40% off. Worthwhile to join for free to get that extra 10%. Bookings must be made by Nov 22 for stays between Dec 15 and Feb 10. Visit Accor Hotels for more details.

Bonus Offers
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 5,000 Bonus Gold Points and 40% off for stays on the Bed & Breakfast Package at select Park Plaza Hotels and art'otels in Europe. More... Book by Feb 28,13 for stays until Mar 31, 13

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Priority Club Points for individual hotel stays in Japan and South Korea. More... Until Jan 31, 12
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Priority Club Points for individual hotel stays in Southeast Asia and India. More... Until Jan 31, 12

United Mileage Plus
- 500 Bonus Mileage Plus Miles for every $250 you spend via Mileage Plus Shopping up to a maximum of 2,500 bonus miles. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Sep 7 Update: New RBC Shoppers Optimum MasterCard, Jet Airways sale from YYZ and 4x SkyMiles for Accor stays

News, Tips & Tricks
RBC launched a new rewards credit card this week (this is not the card I mentioned earlier this week), albeit not a travel rewards one but nonetheless a rewards card! The card is the RBC Shoppers Optimum MasterCard which obviously is tied to the Shoppers Drug Mart loyalty program Shoppers Optimum. I had a quick look at the card and for the majority of Canadians I would say this card is not worth the time however if you are big time Shoppers Drug Mart shopper and/or a Shoppers Optimum fan than the card can be a very good option for you. The Shoppers optimum program in general awards 10 Points/$ spent at Shoppers Drug Mart which when redeemed can give you a return of 1.25% to ~1.79% on your Shoppers spending. The credit card earns 15 Points per dollar spent at Shoppers Drug Mart over and above the 10 Points/$ for swiping your Optimum card. That 15 points translates into a return of 1.88% to 2.7% on your spend at Shoppers Drug Mart. Not bad but you can do better with cards like the ATBPlatinum Cash Rewards Card that offers 3% on Drug Store Purchases or depending on how much you spend the fee version of the Scotiabank Momentum Visa's that offer a straight 2% (or a vast other number of cards that have returns around that amount) and with these cards you are not limited to redeeming at Shoppers Drug Mart. Where the new RBC Shoppers Optimum MasterCard really fails is for non-Shoppers Drug Mart purchases as it only award 5 Optimum points/$ spent or a 0.625% - 0.89% return on your spending! So like I said above, unless you are a big time spender at Shoppers Drug Mart then this card is not for you. You're better off with another cash back card like the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum MasterCard or any other host of cash back cards as seen on our comparision of Cash Back cards

Travel Deals
Jet Airways is having a weekend sale on flights out of Toronto to places likes Brussels, Milan, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. Flights start at C$702 and must be booked on September 8th or 9th. You can book online at JetAirways.com

Bonus Offers
Delta SkyMiles
- Quadruple SkyMiles on all qualifying Accor Hotels stays Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 12

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to Double Skywards Miles when you fly Emirates from Europe to Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Osaka, Tokyo - Narita, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Male, Seychelles, Colombo, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Lagos, Accra, Entebbe & Nairobi. More... Oct 1 - Nov 30, 12

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles on all Hertz rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Sep 30 for rentals until Dec 31, 12

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles for Germanwings flights to/from London. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Double Mileage Bank Miles for Japan Airlines flights between Tokyo and San Diego. More... Dec 2, 12 - Feb 28, 13

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 15% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you purchase or gift Flying Club miles. More... Until Oct 4, 12

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Double Elite Qualification Credit for every stay of 3 or more consecutive nights at participating VOILÁ hotels worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 12

500 Free Aeroplan Miles for joining Le Club accorhotels

Free miles are always nice and you may recall seeing this same offer for Delta SkyMiles a few weeks ago. Now it is Aeroplan's turn, you can earn 500 Aeroplan Miles for joining Le Club accorthotels or if you are an existing member for changing your earning preference to Aeroplan. Here is the offer as pulled from our Aeroplan page:

500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the Le Club Accorhotels program and in your Le Club Accorhotels membership profile, select "Aeroplan" as your preferred loyalty program and enter your Aeropla membership number. If you already are a member of Le Club Accorhotels, login to your account and follow steps 2 and 3 to earn your bonus miles. Full Details Until Aug 31, 12