We review the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, Air Canada Premium Cabin sale & last chance to convert Esso Extra Points to PC Optimum!

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

 
The next card to have an updated review completed on Rewards Canada is the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®. The card was first reviewed on Rewards Canada way back in 2016 and since then the card has undergone numerous changes. Most recently in 2021 it became the third true 5x points travel card in Canada. With that change and several others this review has basically been redone from top to bottom so be sure to check out it to see if this card is the right fit for your wallet and rewards goals! Read the review here!

PC Optimum now the official loyalty program for Esso as Esso Extra is retired

 
Yesterday marked the end of an era as a long running gas station loyalty program in Canada, Esso Extra was officially retired. The gas retailer has now implemented PC Optimum as its official loyalty program. First announced in June 2021 the switch to offering only loyalty program came as a bit of a surprise at that time but as Esso offered customers a choice of earning Esso Extra points or PC Optimum points on purchases the data must have shown more people choosing the latter. Now as of this week, that's your only choice for earning extra loyalty rewards at Esso stations!

July 14 Update: Beauty bonus points offers abound from Be Well & PC Optimum, Double points at Esso & Mobil stations this weekend + save 25% over 50 Canadian Marriott hotels

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.

 
I think this might be the biggest bonus yet that we've seen for Rexall's Beauty Thursday. You can earn 100,000 Be Well points if you spend $100 or more on beauty products on July 15. Those points are worth $40. Check the app to add this bonus to your account!

Esso Extra is being retired as the gas retailer moves to join PC Optimum full time in January 2022

 

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.

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

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! 

 
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.

October 23 Update: Double PC Optimum or Esso Extra points at Esso & Mobil this weekend, IHG extends the Ambassador free night offer, Air Transat winter flight schedule

This weekend you can earn double the PC Optimum or Esso Extra points at participating Esso and Mobil stations across Canada. The offer runs Oct 23-25. ` 

Image via Esso

IHG Rewards Club has extended the free night offer when you buy an IHG Ambassador membership. Originally it was set to end on November 15, now you have until December 31 to register, book and stay to get that free night. You do have four hotels in Canada to achieve this bonus! Learn more here

These are the four hotels:

• InterContinental Toronto Yorkville
  
• InterContinental Toronto Centre
  
• InterContinental Montreal
  
• Kimpton St. George Toronto

 Image via IHG

Airline Schedule Updates
A summary 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!

Air Transat has published their schedule for the winter season and the list is quite a bit bigger now so I won't post it here. Check out the list on RoutesOnline Remember Air Transat is a Rewards Canada partner and you can book their flights right here! (We earn a small commission on those bookings so we thank you in advance if do choose to book via our link!)

Image via Air Transat

I can't recall if I covered this before in this spot but for the Winter season KLM will be returning to Edmonton as part of the airline's Calgary service. 2 of 5 flights per week between Calgary and Amsterdam will have a stop in Edmonton. Meanwhile Toronto is being bumped up to 9 flights per week and Vancouver is being scaled back to 3. (Source RoutesOnline)

For the month of November British Airways will be increasing service between Toronto and London to 11 flights per week. (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:

• Reward night sale at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas – Stay for as little as 30,000 IHG Rewards Club points
    The following offer may only be of interest to a select few of you as I know a…
• Governments of Canada and Alberta to run COVID-19 rapid testing program at Calgary International Airport & Coutts land border crossing
  The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta announced a new 26 week pilot project for rapid COVID-19…
• WestJet expands refund policy - more tickets are now eligible for full refunds including domestic flights (leads to a Twitter fight with Air Canada!)
    The events of yesterday afternoon and evening played out quite interestingly for the airline industry in Canada, namely…
• An introduction to Neo Financial - one of Canada's newest credit card and savings reward programs
   About a year and a half ago one of the founders of SkipTheDishes reached out to me to discuss…
• October 21 Update: 50% discount on award nights at the Shangri-La Toronto and Save up to 25% on last minute stays at 50+ Marriott Hotels in Canada
  In the bonus offers section below you'll note a new redemption offer from Shangri-La Hotels that provides a 50%…

Deals:

Earn $300 cash when you open a new Scotiabank Ultimate Package! Plus earn Scotia Rewards or SCENE Rewards points. Find out more here.

Enterprise Rent A Car - Weekend Car Rental Special! Available now through 20/5/2021 at participating locations .Find out more here.

Fairmont's Stay Close offer of every 2nd night free returns with a vengeance and you can earn triple ALL Accor Live Limitless points on those stays

If you aren't using the Ampli Cash Back app yet you can get $5 when you download the app and join today with promo code AMPLI5 Find out more here

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. 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)

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

AIR MILES
- 5x AIR MILES Reward Miles when purchase a qualifying Pennzoil or Shell Rotella oil change at a participating Jiffy Lube locations in Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 20

Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- Earn up to 1,000 bonus ALL Rewards Points for stays at Accor Hotels in Europe. Bonus can be earned up to 5 times. More... Register and book by Nov 16 for stays until Dec 13, 20
- Earn up to Triple ALL Rewards Points plus a status match in Europcar's program when you rent a car for 1 or more days with Europcar in France, Germany, Australia, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Portugal or Belgium. More... Book by Dec 15 for rentals until Dec 31, 20

American AAdvantage
- Triple AAdvantage Miles for stays at participating Hyatt Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - may not work for everyone Register by Dec 1 for stays until Dec 31, 20

Hainan Fortune Wings
- Triple Fortune Wings Points for hotels booked via Booking .com More... Book by Oct 31 for stays until Dec 31, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- OFFER EXTENDED Receive a free night (worth up to 40,000 points) when you enroll in or renew an InterContinental Ambassador membership and stay once at an InterContinental, Kimpton or Regent Hotel. More...   Enroll/join/stay by Dec 31, 20

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles, 35% off and daily breakfast for stays at the Gili Lankanfushi Maldives. More... Until Nov 30, 20

World of Hyatt
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Grand WUJI Hotel, Hyatt Regency Lanzhou or the Andaz Xiamen More... Until Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Atlanta / Perimeter Center or the Hyatt Place Atlanta / Centennial Park More... Until Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt House Louisville - East More... Until Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place National Harbor More... Until Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Grand Hyatt Nashville More... Until Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Austin / Lake Travis / Four Points More... Until Dec 30, 20


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December 6 Update: Amex to Hilton transfers temporarily suspended, new Centurion Lounge to open at LHR, Double Esso Extra points for 3 days

Just in case you may have been wondering why Hilton Honors isn't showing as a transfer partner in American Express' Membership Rewards, it isn't because they aren't a partner anymore. They are still a Membership Rewards partner but due to some updates transfers are not available for the moment. Here is what Amex told us:

Hilton recently made changes to their loyalty program systems which impacted ours, so we’re making some updates on our end to align with those changes. We expect this to complete shortly, and transfers to Hilton will be available again within the coming days

More American Express Centurion Lounge news and I would say this one is more newsworthy to us Canadians than the Charlotte one earlier this week. News broke that Amex will open a Centurion lounge at London's Heathrow Airport in 2019. The 7,000 square foot lounge will be located in Terminal 3, which isn't the best option for most Canadians flying back to Canada unless you are flying via the U.S. on airlines like American, Delta or Virgin Atlantic. That being said you can still access the lounge even if you are departing from another terminal just make sure you make enough time to transit to whichever Terminal you are departing from! Access of course is granted to Centurion or Platinum Card holders. (Source VFTW)

Esso Extra will be offering double points when you swipe your cards as Esso stations from December 8 to 10. Might be the right time to buy some lotto or gift cards!

 It's the season of giving! Help support Rewards Canada's Flight Here campaign for Give A Mile. Help us reach 100,000 miles to provide up to 4 flights of compassion. Find out more here!
Posts since our last update:

• Flight Review: Air Canada Business Class AC578/579 Calgary - Los Angeles (YYC-LAX)
  Catching up on a flight review from the summer where the Rewards Canada family once again made our way…
• TD First Class Visa Infinite Card: Up to 40,000 Bonus TD Points and First Year Free
  Most of TD's offers on their credit cards were refreshed on Tuesday. One of those is on the TD…
• Air Canada opens Maple Leaf Lounge in New York-LaGuardia Airport’s New Terminal
  Yesterday Air Canada opened a new Maple Leaf Lounge in the new terminal at New York's La Guardia airport.…
• Hilton Winter Sale Refresher - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa
  A friendly reminder of Hilton's weekend sale where you can save up to 25% on stays in Europe, The…
• Choice Privileges: Double Points on all stays until February 15, 19
  With Choice Privileges you can expect two type of systemwide bonus offers. Either the Earn A Free Night/Gift Card…

Travel Deals
IHG - Receive a $100 hotel credit when you stay 2 or more nights at participating InterContinental Hotels in the Americas. Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 19 Find out more here.

Hilton Winter Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa

Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers

Cineplex SCENE
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus SCENE points when you open a chequing account with Tangerine. More... Until Jan 31, 19

TD Rewards
- Earn up to 40,000 Bonus TD Rewards Points and get the first year annual fee waived with TD First Class Visa Infinite card. Full details. Until Feb 28, 19

Other Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles+Bonus
- 2,000 Bonus Miles+Bonus Miles when you make your first hotel booking via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Mar 31, 19

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 1,500 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles on next Best Western Hotel stay in Italy. More... Until Jan 10, 19

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 120,000 Bonus AAdvanage Miles when you buy American AAdvantage Miles. More... Until Dec 15, 18

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 1,500 Asia Miles on all Sixt rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31, 19 for rentals until Feb, 28, 19

Choice Privileges
- Double Privileges Points when you stay at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. More... For Residents of the U.S. and Canada only Until Feb 15, 19

Copa ConnectMiles
- 30% Discount when you buy or gift 5,000 or more ConnectMiles. More... Until Dec 28, 18

Hyatt World of Hyatt
- Double World of Hyatt points on eligible spend when you stay at any participating MGM Resorts Destination in Las Vegas. More... Until Dec 29, 18

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Aeroplan and Esso to split as the latter joins forces with PC Optimum

Late on Monday night news came out that the relationship between Esso and Aeroplan was coming to end on May 31 (Thanks to Anshul at PointsMilesandBling for the heads up) Following that, yesterday morning further news came out that Esso was partnering with Loblaw's PC Optimum program. Of course for Aeroplan members this isn't good news while it is, of course, for PC Optimum points collectors. This change couldn't come at a worse time for Aeroplan - they have lost many big merchant partners over the years from Sobeys to Rexall to Uniprix to Hertz (although the last one was due to an exclusive offer with Avis Budget) and while the mileage earning at Esso wasn't extravagant, nor was the partnership a financial boon for Aeroplan, it was part of the bigger picture of a coalition program in that you earn a little here, a little there and it all adds up in the end thanks to having so many partners. Now add into the mix the break up from Air Canada and Star Alliance in a little over 2 years and what do you have left? Not much. So we here at Rewards Canada really hope Aeroplan has something up their sleeve that they haven't revealed yet. We have always stated that they have had great relationships with airlines like United, Lufthansa and other Star Alliance carriers so that there could be a likelihood some of them will become partners with Aeroplan post July-2020 but if you don't have many places to earn miles what does the program become? Well, effectively, it becomes a credit card reward program and if that's the case Aeroplan will really need to up their game to compete better with all the other proprietary credit card programs. Granted, this is two years down the road and pure speculation on our part but as we stand today, without any good news from Aeroplan, that's the way the program is heading and the space they are in just got more competitive.

How so you may ask?

Well with PC Optimum partnering with Esso, they have just put their feet into the coalition program waters. No longer is the program strictly Loblaw. With the recent amalgamation of the Shoppers Optimum program and the Loblaw PC Plus program you have a new giant to contend with and this giant has deep pockets. In fact, unlike Aeroplan and AIR MILES who are in the business of collecting data and selling miles, Loblaw has major businesses that can generate the revenues they need and they can use the PC Optimum program as a loss leader. That is they can sell PC Optimum points to potential partner merchants for a lot less than Aeroplan and AIR MILES are accustomed to. Think about it, Loblaw sells points cheap to Esso and PC Optimum members eat them up then redeem them at Loblaw or Shoppers Drug Mart locations - typically with purchases that are more than the points being redeemed so the company is still generating revenue. It is a great business move from the folks at Loblaw.

The new partnership between PC Optimum and Esso sees PC Optimum members earning 10 points per litre purchased at Esso, for most purchases that equates to less than a 1% return and they will also earn 10 points per dollar on eligible convenience store or car wash services at Esso stations. The latter of course equates to a 1% return. These earn rates are pretty much equivalent to what Esso Extra and Petro-Points offer albeit Petro-Points has accelerators for tying in cards like HBC, RBC as well as some others and you can also double dip if you link your More Rewards card to your Petro-Points cards. For me personally, the Petro-Points route is the most rewarding for gas, lotto and convenience store purchases. Prior to this announcement I would bounce between Esso and Petro but will most likely move all of my gas purchases to Petro-Canada.

Of course you don't have to go with PC Optimum points at Esso, you can still choose to earn Esso Extra points which are decent for those who frequent Esso. However if you shop even only so often at Shoppers Drug Mart and/or Loblaw stores you are probably better off choosing to earn PC Optimum points at Esso.

Overall though, for most Rewards Canada readers I would say this is not good news as I know many people used Esso as a place to boost their balances or keep their Aeroplan accounts active.  This was a good place for those infrequent Aeroplan users or people from out of the country traveling to Canada to keep Aeroplan miles alive.

Learn more about the Esso and Aeroplan split here.

What do you all think? Are you happy about the news? Upset? Indifferent as you don't use Esso?

June 23 Update: Official statement from RBC about Esso partnership, Double Miles on TAP's Toronto-Lisbon route + more!

News, Tips & Tricks
RBC provided us an official statement regarding their partnership with ESSO:

"We recognize the long partnership we have shared with Esso. During this time, we will be working with our valued clients who use the RBC Esso Visa card to ensure a smooth transition. In the meantime, clients can continue to use their RBC Esso Visa co-branded products as they normally would."

We missed this promotion earlier this month but perhaps someone can still make use of it over the next week. TAP Portugal is offering Double Victoria Miles on their new Toronto-Lisbon route. The bonus started when the route started on June 10 and runs until the 30th. It doesn't appear you need to register so if you are already booked and have flown or will fly the route in the next week you should get the bonus. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Three cards you'll want to wait to apply for until July
  Many banks give us some sort of advance notice of changes and limited time offers coming to their various credit card products...
• Hilton Summer Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the U.K., Europe, the Middle East & Africa
  Hilton's annual summer sale for stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa is now on for everyone!…

Travel Deals
While we're on the TAP tip why not feature one of their travel deals! You can fly on TAP between Toronto and Lisbon for as little as $300 all in one way or go to Gran Canaria for as little as $331! Find out more here.

 

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn 1,500 Bonus Honors Points + 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles PER NIGHT when you stay  at participating hotels in Canada within the Hilton portfolio of hotels and resorts. More... Until Aug 31, 17


Other Bonus Offers
Iberia Plus
- 25% Bonus Avios when you fly on select Iberia Express flights in Europe. More... Jul 1 - Sep 17, 17
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Express flights in Europe. More... Jul 1 - Sep 17, 17

Le Club AccorHotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels in France More... Book by Aug 31 for stays Jul 7 - Sep 3, 17

United MileagePlus
- Up to 75% Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you buy or gift miles. More... Until Jul 3, 17


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June 22 Update: Update on the RBC/Esso news, 5,000 miles for joining Mileage Plan and completing 1st flight + more!

News, Tips & Tricks
Yesterday we removed the post covering the RBC/Esso news that is making the rounds now. Apparently Esso was not supposed to have sent out an email to its members yet and there is some incorrect information in it. RBC told us they'll advise us when everything is nailed down so that we can pass along the info.

Japan Airlines is going to offer free Wi-Fi on most of their domestic flights within Japan. Would be nice if Air Canada and WestJet did the same? (Source Business Traveller)

Alaska Airlines has brought back or rather extended the offer of 5,000 Bonus Miles when you join Mileage Plan and complete your first flight. That 5,000 miles is enough for an award ticket between Alberta/B.C. and Seattle. See the bonus offers section below for details.

Posts since our last update:

• Celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday With An Epic Canadian Travel Experience With Marriott International
  The Canada 150 offers and contests keep coming! We post those relevant to our readership and know there are…
• Great AIR MILES Redemption Option - Delta Airlines Travel Vouchers for use on Delta, KLM, Alitalia or Air France
  For a limited time you can get in on a very good AIR MILES redemption offer to save you money…

Canadian Bonus Offers

AIR MILES
- Earn up to 75 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you redeem miles for an Alamo/National car rental in the U.S. or Canada. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals Aug 22 - Nov 30, 17

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 5,000 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you join Mileage Plan and complete your first flight. More... Join by Jul 31 for travel until Sep 30, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at Ascott’s Serviced Residences. More... Until Aug 31, 17
- Triple Asia Miles for stays on the Linger Longer offer at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17

Jumeirah Sirius
- Double Sirius Points for stays of 3 or more nights on the Jumeirah Flavours offer at Jumeirah Hotels in Dubai or the Maldives. More... Until Dec 20, 17

Kaligo
- 1,000 Bonus Miles or points in the program of your choice on your first hotel stay booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Jun 28 for stays until Dec 31, 18
- 20% Bonus Miles or points in the program of your choice on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo.  More... Book by Jun 28 for stays until Dec 31, 18

Miles & More
- 4,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles for your next hotel booking made via Miles & More Hotels. More... Book by Jun 30, 17

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- 50% KrisFlyer Miles discount when you redeem your KrisFlyer miles online for a SilkAir flight. More... Book by Jul 11 for travel Jul 1 - Oct 31, 17


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