April 4 Update: Canada's newest airline, win Aeroplan Miles at Esso and win a free night at Executive Hotels

Catching up on lots of news and more after the Easter break!

News, Tips & Tricks
Canada's newest airline (not newleaf, who has received the green light from the CTA now, but have not announced when they will re-launch), FlySarvaq is scheduling their first flight for May 6. The new airline based out of Iqaluit will offer Boeing 737 service between Iqaluit and Halifax and Ottawa. It appears to be a similar set up as newleaf as the planes will be operated by Nolinor Aviation. No FFP listed as yet but you should be able to use proprietary credit card programs to redeem for flights on the new airline. Find out more about FlySarvaq here

Until May 23, 2016, Esso stations are giving away 15,000 Aeroplan miles every hour! To participate, swipe your Aeroplan Card when you make an eligible purchase. Find out more here!

Not too long ago we brought you the details of the new Starbucks Rewards program and it looks like the U.S. version will have a co-branded prepaid Visa from Chase later this year. Hopefully Canada will follow suit and get the same card from Chase here. Chase Canada definitely needs to increase their portfolio in Canada (after the sale of Sears cards to Scotia) as they only have the Marriott Visa and the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa. Seeing how big Starbucks is and how loyal many of their clientele offering a Canadian Starbucks Visa would make great sense! If they do, I wouldn't anticipate it until sometime in 2017 however after they launch and prove the U.S. card later this year. (Source Doctor of Credit)

Emirates now allows ticket purchasers to check in online 48 hours ahead of the flight time. Not huge news but interesting none the least. (Source Emirates)

While we were off for the Easter Break, China's Anbang made a better bid for Starwood Hotels but then withdrew it. This means Marriott's takeover of Starwood should continue as it was before all this drama of the last few weeks.

Here is another AIR MILES coupon for Rexall purchases. 40 bonus miles with a spend of $30 until April 7. Print the coupon here.

Alaska Airlines has won a bidding war to buy Virgin America. Not big news for us north of the border seeing that Virgin America doesn't serve Toronto anymore (it has been a few years!)

Executive Hotels has launched a contest where you can win 10,000 Executive Rewards points. That's enough points for a one night stay at any of their hotels in Canada or the U.S.! No stay is required! Just participate on Facebook by uploading a photo. Find all the details and enter the contest here.

Posts since our last update:

• Hilton HHonors will match your status with any other hotel program!
  Hilton has brought back their status match offer that ended back on January 11th. This one is open for…
• Register now for Hyatt Gold Passport's Stay More Play More promotion to earn up to 75,000 bonus points
  Registration is now open for what is Hyatt's first systemwide promotion in roughly 6 months. Offer details Earn up…
• mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard Review
  One of the most under regarded cards in the market, even by ourselves, the mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard…
• Finally a new Hyatt Gold Passport systemwide promotion and it's a good one!
  We haven't seen a systemwide bonus points promotion from Hyatt Gold Passport since last summer, nor have we even…
• New 75,000 point referral sign up bonus available on The Platinum Card from American Express
  An amazing new bonus has come out on The Platinum Card from American Express. This bonus is not on…
• Redemption Stories: Using Diners Club Club Reward Points for a Hertz Car Rental
  For our Maui trip back in February we rented a large SUV to shuttle us around the island. We…

Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles when you fly on British Airways between Seattle and London. More... Until Sep 30, 16

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Quadruple Guest Rewards Points for stays at La Quinta Inns and Suites in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Hilton HHonors
- Hilton HHonors Elite Status Match to preferred and elite status levels in other hotel programs. Status lasts until March 31, 2018! More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple HHonors Points on your next stay at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jan 31, 17

Hyatt Gold Passport
- Earn up to 75,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points when you stay at participating Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints when you dine with SPG outside of a stay. Just spend US$10 or more at participating restaurants More... Until Jun 15, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 10,000 Elevate Points when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16
- Triple Elevate Points on all rentals of 2+ days at participating Hertz locations in the U.S. and Mexico. More... Until Jul 31, 16


Follow Rewards Canada:

September 4 Update: Executive Hotels opens NYC Hotel, 25 Free Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Points, Aeroplan Rocketmiles bonus extended

Final update of the first week of September! We'll return on Tuesday. Have a great Labour Day long weekend!

News, Tips & Tricks
Another new airtransat route launch for next year as they announced Montreal to Glasgow service once per week starting May 29. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Canadian based Executive Hotels has officially opened their first location in New York City. The Le Soleil is now open and you can use promo code HOT if you book this hotel for some sort of deal as the details of which were not communicated in the email! You will be able to earn Executive Rewards points for stays at this location. You can learn more about Executive Rewards in our Guide to Canadian Frequent Guest Programs.

Don't forget about our promotion where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada. Find out more here.

In the bonus offers section you'll see that Aeroplan's bonus for your first Rocketmiles booking has been extended as well as Hertz Gold Plus Reward new promotion which includes 25 free points and a couple offers for the VIA Rail Preference program.


Posts since our last update:

• Air China Phoenix Miles: Bonus Kilometers and Discounted Award Tickets for new Montreal-Beiing route
  We announced sometime ago that Air China will be launching service between Montreal and Beijing later this month. To…
• VIA Rail Preference: Double Points when booking trips with the VIA Rail Mobile App
  VIA Rail has released a new mobile app for iPhone and Android users and to celebrate they are offering…
• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 50% on award tickets to Europe from Montreal
  Once again we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month we only…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Aeroflot Bonus
- Receive Aeroflot Bonus Elite Status when you have a comparable status with another frequent flyer program and complete anywhere from 3 to 5 flights in the promotional period. More... Register by December 15 for flights completed by December 1, 2015

Air Canada Aeroplan
- OFFER EXTENDED 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Sep 30, 15

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to 50% Bonus Phoenix Miles Kilometers on Air China's new routes including Montreal and Johannesburg. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometer for stays of 3 or more nights at Millennium & Copthorne hotels in Asia. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays of 2 or more nights at any participating Hotel Jen. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at Sunworld Hotels in Beijing. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Phoenix Miles Kilometers on Avis rentals in the U.S. or Canada. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers on Hertz rentals of 1 or more days in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia (except China). More... Until Sep 30, 15

Best Western Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for weekend stays (Fri-Sun) at all Best Western Hotels in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Binter Canarias BinterMas
- Double BinterMas points for stays at the Barceló Teguise Beach. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Double BinterMas points for stays at the Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards
- Earn up to Triple Gold Plus Rewards Points + 25 Free Points at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, USVI, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand only. More... Valid for residents of the U.S. and Canada. only Sep 8 - Dec 15, 15

Iberia Pus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by Oct 1 for travel until Nov 30, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia routes Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Express routes. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Regional Air Nostrum routes. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Triple Avios for stays at over 2,800 Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Oct 30 for stays until Dec 30, 15

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Mileage Bank Miles when you fly JAL between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tokyo More... Nov 30 - Feb 29, 16
- Double Mileage Bank Miles when you fly JAL between Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur More... Until Nov 30, 15

VIA Rail Preference
- Double Preference Points when you book travel via the VIA Rail mobile app. More... Book by Oct 31 for travel until Nov 30, 15
- 100 Bonus Preference Points when you join the VIA Rail Preference program if you are CAA member. More... Ongoing

Dec 10 Update: B.C. bans loyalty incentives on prescriptions and Executive Hotels bonuses for December

Tuesdays tend to be a relatively quiet day in the loyalty world, especially in December but we do have one big piece of news for you in regards to earning points and miles on prescriptions in B.C.:

News, Tips & Tricks
Randy M, a loyal Rewards Canada reader for years has been keeping me abreast of the recent ban of awarding loyalty points and miles on prescriptions in British Columbia. The ban took effect on December 2nd and has already spurred a lawsuit by Canada Safeway and Thrifty Foods against the action taken by the B.C. Government. I know Alberta was looking into this but shelved the idea due to a real lack of data showing that prescriptions were only filled for points when they weren't actually needed. I can only recall one such time where this may have been the case and that was when Rexall offered 15,000 Aeroplan Miles for transferring and filling your first prescription with them on a single Saturday. Say what? A short haul flight for as low as a dispensing fee? Yes that happened but it hasn't happened again as Rexall was overwhelmed by the response. This is an extreme case however and is probably the reason behind some of these actions as I'm sure many other pharmacies saw a bunch of prescriptions being transferred out that day! However on a day to day basis the typical rewards offered usually aren't enough for people to transfer prescriptions back and forth. Most pick one location (with or without rewards and stick with it) I know personally I haven't moved my prescriptions around to take advantage of incentives and go to my pharmacy as a matter of convenience.  As a disclaimer that is a Sobey's Pharmacy so I do earn Aeroplan Miles with them. 

Randy has forwarded me a few articles and some of his research as this affects him greatly. He stands to lose about 1,200 Air Miles Rewards Miles a year with the ban, being a pensioner he relied on those miles to fly his kids out to visit him. He has even been quoted in a recent article about the ban (see here). Rewards Canada will provided a more detailed post about this in the near future as I reach out to different parties to provide feedback. In the meantime I'd love to hear from all of our readers what their thoughts are of this ban in B.C. and how it might affect the loyalty industry as a whole across Canada. Feel free to leave your thoughts below.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 5x Aeroplan Miles when you purchase sound equipment from Bose stores in Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Executive Hotels Executive Rewards
- Earn up Triple Executive Rewards Points for stays select Executive Hotel locations in Canada and the U.S. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 1,500 Boomerang Miles and 33EUR Germanwings Voucher when you book an Airbus A320 Flight Simulator session at any one of Flightdecksystems locations in Europe. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Sindbad Miles on all eligible stays at Golden Tulip locations Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14
- Triple Sindbad Miles when staying at least three consecutive nights or Double Miles for two consecutive nights at any Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts, Traders Hotel or Kerry Hotel at the Best Available Rate. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14
Oman Air Sindbad
- Double Sindbad Miles for Avis rentals of 3+ days in UAE, Kuwait, KSA, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland & UK. More... Until Jan 31, 14
- 25% Bonus Sindbad Miles at Joyalukkas outlets in Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and United Kingdom. More... Until Dec 31, 13

S7 Airlines Priority (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Priority Miles for stays at the Marco Polo Hotel St Petersburg. More... Dec 29 - Jan 3, 14