Resumption of mandatory random COVID-19 testing for international travellers & earn 2x points for stays at Sonesta Hotels locations in Toronto

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

The Canadian Government announced the resumption of COVID-19 mandatory random testing for those entering Canada by air. As of July 19 the random tests will return for fully vaccinated travellers arriving into Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Click here to learn more.

Mandatory vaccination will no longer be required for domestic travel, 2x points + Free Night Award for private home stays & Neo boosts interest rate to 1.6%

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

One more step was taken by the Federal Government yesterday to returning travel to normal. The feds announced an end to the vaccine requirement for domestic air and rail travel. As of June 20th travellers flying or riding the rails within Canada will no longer have to show proof of vaccination. The rule also holds true for passengers departing from Canada on international flights or rail journeys however there may be separate rules in place for the foreign airlines and/or the country you are travelling to so be sure to know those beforehand. All other requirements still remain in place such as masking on planes and trains and the return to Canada requirements such as vaccination and testing. Click here to learn more about this news

U.S. to end COVID-19 testing requirement as of Sunday & earn 25,000 Be Well points this weekend at Rexall

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

Great news for Canadians travelling to the U.S.! As of midnight Sunday June 12 they will be dropping the requirement to have a negative Covid-19 test prior to arriving via air. CNN is reporting that this will be officially announced by the Biden administration sometime today. (Source CNN)

March 23 Update: Canada dropping pre arrival testing for fully vaccinated travellers and new Amex Offers for Hugo Boss

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

Today we are mostly playing catch up on some items from last week!

January 4 Update: Ontario Staycation Tax Credit of up to $400, earn 2,000 miles for joining Emirates Skywards & up to 10,000 points for joining and staying with Radisson

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 100,000 bonus points worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

There is a new 2022 Ontario Staycation Tax Credit that can be claimed on your 2022 taxes. This is a great incentive for those looking to travel but want to stay a little closer to home. Here are the details as set out by the Ontario Government:

December 17 Update: Aeroplan extends flight reward change policy, Canada reintroducing negative PCR test requirements on all travel & Scene+ issues to be resolved by Dec 19

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 100,000 bonus points worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

Aeroplan has once again extended their flexible change policy for Aeroplan flight rewards. As COVID-19 cases increase again and recommendations in place not to travel internationally Aeroplan has adjusted the rules around changing flight rewards. The extension now sees Aeroplan waiving change fees on reward tickets until January 31, 2022 and the amount of changes you can make are unlimited. For bookings made by January 31 but changed on or after February 1, 2022 you will have the first change fee waived but any others after that will incur a fee. Applicable change fees will apply to any new bookings that are made on our after February 1. The program does seem to be adjusting these frequently so it is entirely possible they will be extended again in the near future if the pandemic situation doesn't improve over the next month.

Fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer require a PCR test for trips of 72 hours or less

 
Some good news this week from the Canadian government for those people who make trips outside of Canada. As of November 30 fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer require to have a pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test when travelling by land or air. This is the part of the current regulations where you need to have or provide a negative test result prior to returning to Canada. Now those short weekend  cross border shopping trips will become more appealing. Do note you still have to present a negative if you are flying to the U.S. for any period of time.

Air Canada partners with Switch Health to offer portable self-administered COVID-19 tests

 

Air Canada has announced a new partnership with Canadian healthcare company Switch Health to offer comprehensive travel testing options including self administered COVID-19 tests. The various test options are portable and can be taken by travelers to anywhere they are traveling to. As part of the partnership between the airline and Switch, Aeroplan members receive discounted pricing and and can earn points on the kit purchases.

A standardized Canadian COVID-19 Proof of Vaccination (Vaccine Passport) is now here

 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that a Canadian Vaccine Passport that can be used for international travel will be available soon. The Government of Canada has worked with the provinces and territories to create a standardized proof of vaccination.

October 14 Update: U.S. land border to reopen to vaccinated Canadians and World of Hyatt Peak/Off Peak pricing coming very soon so book your stays now

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 100,000 bonus points worth $500 towards any travel and no annual fee in the first year! 

The U.S. Government announced this week that they will be reopening the land border to fully vaccinated Canadians starting in November. I know most of our readers tend to fly to the U.S. but this is great news for those of you who utilize U.S. border cities for flights like Bellingham, Seattle, Detroit, Buffalo and Burlington to name a few! (Source CTV News)

October 6 Update: Mandatory COVID vaccination for Air & Rail travellers will start October 30, receive a 50% bonus when converting Marriott Points to Etihad & more

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 100,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year! 

 
Back in August the Federal Government stated that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for air, rail and cruise ship travel. At the time they didn't put dates in place that this new rule would become effective. We now know from Justin Trudeau's announcement that it will be mandatory for "air travellers departing from Canadian airports, and travellers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains" to be vaccinated by October 30 however there will be a one month transition period "during which travellers not yet fully vaccinated will be able to travel if they can show a negative COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours of travel. This transition period will end on November 30, 2021." (Source Government of Canada)

Canadian Government to make COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for air, rail and cruise ship travel

 

Our federal government announced today that they intend to make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for air, interprovincial rail and cruise ship travel. On top of this all federal public service employees will be mandated to get the vaccine. 

Canada will reopen border to fully vaccinated travellers from the U.S. in August, rest of world in September

 
Canada's travel and tourism industry can hopefully breathe a sigh of relief as the Canadian Government today announced an easing of the border restrictions that have been in place since March 2020. Barring any changes to the current COVID-19 situation in Canada our borders will open up on August 9 for fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and on September 7 for the rest of the world.

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

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! 

 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. 

Fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival as of July 5

 

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. 

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

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 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)

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

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! 

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)

May 20 Update: Flexibility in Amex Aeroplan statement credits, Canada-US border closure extended & IHG Rewards extends points expiration

 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! 

 
As a follow up to our post last week detailing the new statement credits that are being awarded to Aeroplan co-brand credit cards for booking Air Canada flights we wanted to provide further details on the Amex statement credits. The American Express offers provide more flexibilty than those seen with the TD or CIBC cards.That is, Amex Cardmembers can earn the statement credit for every $400 spent, regardless of the number of tickets or bookings made. For example, if an American Express Reserve Cardmember was to book a $2,000 fare with Air Canada, they would receive $250 back outright. The same applies for American Express Aeroplan Cardmembers, who would receive a $125 credit outright for a $2,000 booking thought Air Canada.With the TD and CIBC offers if you bought that $2,000 fare you would only receive a $25 or $50 statement credit depending on which card you have. Just some food for thought if you are booking Air Canada flights and hold Aeroplan co-brand cards from Amex and TD or CIBC. Learn more about the statement credit promotion here

Marriott Bonvoy further extending free night award expiry to January 2022 and points expiration to March 2022

 

 

Once again excellent news coming out from Marriott today - they are providing further extensions to free night awards and points expiration! These changes will be effective as of May 6, 2021:

Free Night Award (FNA): Members who currently have a Free Night Award (FNA) that had an original expiration date in 2020, or which will expire before January 2, 2022, as part of their Cobrand Credit Card Benefit, Annual Choice Benefit, promotions or travel package will be able to redeem it through January 3, 2022. Please note that FNAs with an original expiration date before 2020 will not be eligible for the additional extension. Members do not need to take any action because the system will automatically update their account with these extensions on May 6, 2021.

Air Canada will provide refunds for all flights affected by COVID-19

 

Yesterday Air Canada concluded an agreement with the federal government to receive a financial support package of up to $5.89 billion. To receive the financing from the government Air Canada had to agree to refund tickets to consumers who had flights cancelled by Air Canada or had themselves proactively cancel flights due to the pandemic.