The Ultimate Student Credit Card portfolio, a new Amex Offer for Travelpro & select Air Canada elites receive access to Virgin Australia lounges

Here's your Rewards Canada update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more.

We completed another Ultimate Portfolio update and this is one timely with everyone going back to University and College for it is The Ultimate Student Credit Card portfolio! This wallet is for those Canadian students looking to get into the credit card game and have a card or cards that can help this cash strapped segment of the market!  This update wasn't as substantial as some of the last few Ultimate portfolios as the three cards we've had in the portfolio since 2017 remain the same. A couple of them happen to have new bonus offers and upcoming earn rate changes that we have made note of. Check out the updated portfolio here!

Plaza Premium introduces a Canadian Lounge Pass offering up to 10 visits and up to 50% off walk up fees

Plaza Premium has introduced a new lounge access pass for their Canadian lounges in Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. The new PPL Pass Canada can be purchased with 5 or 10 visits that will save you up to 50% off the walk up rates for these lounges. 

Lounge Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - Vancouver International Airport Transborder

 
Today we are pleased to present the latest Rewards Canada Business Class Lounge Review! This review is provided by Dee who is now a regular contributor to Rewards Canada! This is his third lounge review for Rewards Canada and he has more travel reviews coming our way in the very future. 

Recently I was able to take an excellent vacation with my family to Honolulu, Hawaii. As part of the trip we got to check out the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in the US transborder terminal at Vancouver International Airport. The lounge is located between gates E85 and E86 which is less than a 10 minute walk after clearing customs and security.

Enter to win one of two DragonPass Classic Memberships with four free lounge visits. A Rewards Canada Exclusive!

 

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Rewards Canada has teamed up with the new leader for business class lounge access in Canada, DragonPass, to giveaway some annual memberships with lounge visits to two of our lucky readers! Over the past year DragonPass has made big in-roads in the Canadian market thanks to a global partnership with Plaza Premium and then by becoming the main lounge access membership provider for both Mastercard Canada and Visa Canada! 

Update: The contest is open to residents of Quebec!

New winery benefits for Visa Infinite Privilege cardholders, Alaska Airlines changes lounge access day passes & earn 100k Be Well points tomorrow

Here's your Rewards Canada update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more.

Visa Infinite Privilege cardholders have had new benefits added for Winerys in British Columbia and Ontario.Those benefits include complimentary tastings, tours and discounts on wine purchases. The benefit varies by winery. Click here to learn more

Enter the Dragon: DragonPass is now the dominant lounge access program in Canada

July is upon us and that means both Mastercard and Visa Canada are now officially utilizing DragonPass as their business class lounge access provider. Earlier this year Rewards Canada was first to break the news of this unexpected switch for both brands. Mastercard began making the switch throughout April and May while Visa officially launched with DragonPass on July 1st. Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with DragonPass' Andrew Harrison-Chinn about the programs for both issuers and what Canadians can expect from them in the near future.

Will we see Amex's Shop Small promotion soon, four U.S. British Airways lounges join Priority Pass & increased interest rates on select Scotia savings accounts

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more.

A question I am starting to see more of right now is: when is Amex's Shop Small promotion returning? We've seen the annual Shop Small promotion already launch this month in France, Germany and the U.K.. So will Canada be next? Hopefully it will be! Over the past few years here it has launched as early as June 24 but as late as July 17 as well. American Express Canada has not given us any indication yet as to if and when the Shop Small promotion will launch but our fingers are crossed we will see it over the coming weeks. In the meantime you can brush up on Shop Small by checking out Rewards Canada's step by step guide to the American Express Shop Small Program

First year free offer returns on the Brim World Elite Mastercard, new Plaza Premium 5 and 10 visit passes & four more confirmed Cobalt 5x multipliers

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. Today's update is brought to you by the HSBC High Rate Savings Account with which you can enjoy a total annual interest rate of up to 2.65% on new deposits± Click here to learn more about this offer

 
Brim Financial has brought back the first year free offer on their top end Brim World Elite Mastercard. This sees the first year annual fee of $199 being waived plus you can earn up to $500 worth of welcome bonuses from Brim partners. The card features a 2% cash back return on your first $25,000 spending each year and no foreign transaction fees. You can read our review of the card here or click here to apply for the card.

Lounge Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - Regina International Airport

Today we are pleased to present the latest Rewards Canada Business Class Lounge Review! This review is provided by Dee who has contributed to Rewards Canada in past with the articles  A look at the great value provided with the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass from Aeroplan's Ultra Premium Credit Cards and Earning Stories: An elite status boost and nearly 20,000 bonus points thanks to Aeroplan's credit card promos and more. This is his second lounge review for Rewards Canada and he has more travel reviews coming our way in the very future. 

I got the chance to visit one of the smallest Air Canada lounges in Canada, located in the Regina airport. Being one of the smallest lounges, there isn't too much you can write about it so please consider this more of photo review of the lounge!

Big news! Visa Canada switching lounge access from Priority Pass to DragonPass (which means access to Plaza Premium lounges!)

 

Two weeks ago Rewards Canada broke the news of Mastercard Canada switching their business class lounge access membership program from LoungeKey to DragonPass and now we have learned Visa Canada will be doing the same! This appears to be the case for various Visa cards in Canada that provide lounge access, which are some Gold and Visa Infinite Cards and all Visa Infinite Privilege Cards. As of July 1, 2022 Visa Canada's new airport lounge program will be called  Visa Airport Companion (powered by DragonPass).

March 29 Update: Further update to Mastercard switching to DragonPass and Marriott's switch to dynamic pricing will take place later today

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more.

 
Here is a further update to the news we broke yesterday on Mastercard Canada switching their lounge access membership from LoungeKey to DragonPass.

One of our Mastercard sources was able to provide further details as follows: 

Big News! Mastercard Canada switching lounge access from LoungeKey to DragonPass (which means access to Plaza Premium lounges!)

Big news in the world of credit card lounge access! I was visiting the Mastercard Canada website today and noticed a change to the lounge access section for the World and World Elite Mastercards. No longer does the website state Mastercard Airport Experiences by LoungeKey, instead it now has Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass.  

March 15 Update: Congratulations to our contest winners, new Visa Infinite Privilege stay and dining offers & an update to our Guide to Business Class Lounge access

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your 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 100,000 bonus points worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

Congratulations to René S. of Toronto, Ontario and Donna L. of North York for winning the two 5,000 Aeroplan Point prizes from our Aeroplan eStore contest last week! Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter! 

March 10 Update: American Express Centurion Lounge to open in Atlanta and earn up to 5x points for stays at Wyndham Hotels in Canada and beyond

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your 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 100,000 bonus points worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

American Express announced earlier this week they will be opening a new Centurion Lounge at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The lounge which is set to open in 2023 will be the largest lounge yet in the Centurion network at approximately 26,000 square feet. Canadian Platinum Card and Centurion Cardmembers can access all Centurion Lounge including this one when it opens and in fact access is better from Canadian cards in terms of guest allowance over the U.S. based Platinum cards.  Click here to learn more about this new lounge

New Plaza Premium Americas Pass saves you up to 50% on business class lounge entry

Plaza Premium has introduced a new lounge access pass for their lounges in the Americas which includes those here in Canada. Via View from the Wing we learned this new pass can be purchased for US$59 and includes two lounge visits of three hours each in length. This is perfect for those who don't have lounge access via their credit card and also don't need Plaza Premium's global 2 lounge visit or higher pass.

Canadian Lounge Access

This pass will provide you with access to Plaza Premium Lounges (going West to East here) in Vancouver (4 lounges),  Edmonton (1 lounge), Winnipeg (1 lounge), Toronto (6 lounges) and Montreal (1 lounge). These include the new T3 lounge in YYZ, the pre-security concept lounge at YYZ and YUL's Air France Lounge.

Recommended reading: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access

Rest of Americas Lounge Access: 

Outside of Canada the pass is accepted at any Plaza Premium Lounge, Avianca Lounge, Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse operated by Plaza Premium Group and MERA Business Lounge in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador and Colombia (excluding Argentina) 

Click here to see the entire list of lounges for this pass.

 

Costs, Savings & Points

The pass costs US$59 for two visits, which is $16 less than the global lounge two visit pass. However if you use promo code SPRING10​ you can save an additional 10% on the pass price making it only US$53.10. That works out to US$26.55 per visit or about C$34 per visit.  To book a 3 hour visit to any of these lounges on their own runs in the neighbourhood of C$60-$70 so you can see how this can be a worthwhile deal.

Even if you have a credit card with access you may want to look at this pass with the discount code for additional guest or family members as most lounge access programs charge US$32 per guest.

If you are a member of Plaza Premium's Smart Traveller program (it's free so you really should join) you will earn 150 Arrture points for each purchase of one of these passes.

The pass is valid for 12 months so do only buy it if you know you'll use up both visits in that time and it is also transferable/sharable. 

Click here for more details and/or to buy this pass. (and use promo code SPRING10​)

 

Images via Plaza Premium

Lounge Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - Vancouver International Airport Domestic Terminal

Today we are pleased to present the latest Rewards Canada Business Class Lounge Review! This review is provided by Dee who has contributed to Rewards Canada in past with the articles  A look at the great value provided with the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass from Aeroplan's Ultra Premium Credit Cards and Earning Stories: An elite status boost and nearly 20,000 bonus points thanks to Aeroplan's credit card promos and more. This is his first lounge review for Rewards Canada and he has more travel reviews coming our way in the very future. 

Recently, I had a flight to Toronto and decided to check-out the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in the Domestic Terminal at Vancouver International Airport. The lounge is located by gates C29 and C30, just a short distance after security in section C. Currently, there is a a Lululemon pop-up shop by the lounge and you might miss it if you don’t keep you eye out for it. It is located to your right as you head down and the entrance is between the rock walls with a glass door.  

February 10 Update: Could we see an update to the Marriott Amex card and Amex cards lose access to Quebec City's Jean Lesage VIP Lounge (could be temporary)

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your bear 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 100,000 bonus points worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

Down in the U.S. there were changes announced to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Visa Signature Credit Card including new accelerated earn rates on dining, gas and grocery plus elite status night with spend. According to an interview Gary Leff at View from the Wing had with Chase and Marriott these changes were not meant to attract new customers:

Rewards Canada Special Offer: Save $10 on your first successful lounge access bid with LoungePair

 

Earlier in January we updated the Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access for 2022 and one of the new additions to the piece were the details on LoungePair. LoungePair is the new startup that allows you to name your own price on single entry business class lounge access at hundreds of lounges around the world including 15+ in Canada. With LoungePair added to the guide we're happy to let you know that we have now partnered with them!

January 10 Update: The new Toronto Plaza Premium lounge has a dedicated area for British Airways, Guide to Business Class Lounge Access updated & one new Amex Offer

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.

Rewards Canada reader David posed a great question a few weeks back about the new Plaza Premium Landmark lounge at Toronto Pearson International:

BA has been using the PP T3 International Lounge since closing its own lounge, so is this still the case? If so, there was also a separate area for BA First passengers, is this also in the renovated lounge?

Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access - Updated for 2022

The next long running Rewards Canada feature to get its yearly update and also be moved to the new format on our site is our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access. There weren't a ton of changes to this 8+ year old feature which looks at all the ways Canadians can access business class lounges at airports without having elite status or flying in business or first class.