Receive up to a 15% bonus when you convert credit card points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles & save 20% at 94 Marriott Hotels in Canada

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

Cathay Pacific has brought back a bonus for converting credit card points to their Asia Miles. The bonus is 10% if you convert to a total of less than 30,000 miles. If you convert for 30,000 or miles you'll receive a 15% bonus. For those of us in Canada you can receive this bonus on transfers from American Express Membership Rewards, HSBC Rewards and RBC Avion Rewards. The promotion runs until November 12 and requires registration. Click here for more details & to register for this offer.

Credit Card Review: HSBC World Elite Mastercard

 

The HSBC World Elite Mastercard is a relatively new card in the Canadian market. This is not their 'Premier World Elite' which is meant for people who bank at HSBC but rather this card is for any Canadian and it is essentially the same as the Premier version. When HSBC launched this card in late 2018 it became obvious they didn't want to only market their credit cards to those who bank with them, rather they wanted to get into the entire lucrative Canadian credit card market. It was about time they did as Canadians, slow as they may have been to adapt, are learning they don't have to get credit cards from the bank they bank with, rather they can get whatever card they like and HSBC wants part of that pie.

Earn up to 80,000 bonus points + receive a first year annual fee rebate with the no foreign transaction fee HSBC World Elite Mastercard

 
The current welcome bonus offer for the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®  provides up to 80,000 bonus HSBC Rewards points for new cardholders.  On top of the new 80,000 point bonus is also a first year annual fee rebate for the primary cardholder. Once you have those 80,000 points they are worth $400 towards any travel! Since Quebec doesn't allow the first year free waiver the offer there is a whopping 110,000 points worth $550 towards travel but you do have to pay the annual fee so you end up with $401 in travel value.

Receive a 30% bonus when you transfer HSBC Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club

The HSBC Rewards transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club is now live! We first gave you advance notice back in May and now a reminder that you can receive a 30% bonus when converting your  points! The last few iterations of the bonus have seen it at 35% and 40%, so it is not as high this time but still a very worthy bonus to consider.  This could be a prime time for those of you who grabbed the HSBC World Elite Mastercard in Fall of 2020 and missed the offer last July to convert now. Those of you who signed up for the card in Fall of 2021 with the 100K bonus should have a sizeable amount of points as well to consider converting.

New increased welcome bonus offers on HSBC's no fee travel and cash back rewards cards

 
You can now earn even higher welcome bonus offers on the new HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard® and HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard®. These are HSBC's entry level no fee rewards cards that were introduced into the market in late 2021 with two options, a travel rewards card and a cash back rewards cards. Both cards now see even higher bonuses than we have seen since the launched and these offers are available until October 31.

Receive a 30% bonus when you transfer HSBC Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club in June

Next month HSBC is bringing back their transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club and this time it will be a 30% bonus! The last few iterations of the bonus have seen it at 35% and 40%, so not as high this time but still a very worthy bonus to consider.  This could be a prime time for those of you who grabbed the  HSBC World Elite Mastercard in Fall of 2020 and missed the offer last July to convert now. Those of you who signed up for the card in Fall of 2021 with the 100K bonus should have a sizeable amount of points as well to consider converting.

Clash of the Credit Cards! HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® vs. TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card

Welcome to another Rewards Canada Clash! This clash comes to us at the request of one of our Facebook followers! 'Nam' asked if we could have a Clash between the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® and the TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card so here it is! If you would like to see any cards go head to head against each please do not hesitate to reach out to us in the comments, on social media or via email.

Best ever offer revealed for the HSBC +Rewards Card: up to 35,000 points + first year annual fee rebate

 
The best ever offer for the HSBC +Rewards™ Mastercard® went live today. The card is HSBC's low interest rewards card  now comes with a welcome bonus of 35,000 points and the first year $25 annual fee rebated*. This offer eclipses the previous best offer on this card of 30,000 points with the first year free.

New HSBC World Elite Mastercard offer provides up to 80,000 bonus points + a first year annual fee rebate

The new welcome bonus offer for the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® is here and it provides up to 80,000 bonus HSBC Rewards points for new cardholders. This is 20,000 less than the offer that was in the market for quite a few months. If history repeats itself we won't see that 100K offer return until the fall especially with this offer being marketed as ending on October 31, 2022..  On top of the new 80,000 point bonus is also a first year annual fee rebate for the primary cardholder. Once you have those 80,000 points they are worth $400 towards any travel! Since Quebec doesn't allow the first year free waiver the offer there is a whopping 110,000 points worth $550 towards travel but you do have to pay the annual fee so you end up with $401 in travel value.

Clash of the Credit Cards! BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card vs. HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®

It's time for another Rewards Canada Clash! This time in our Clash of the Credit Cards we see BMO's relative newcomer take on HSBC's flagship card! Those cards are the BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card and the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®

January 25 Update: 1,500 More Rewards points at Panago Pizza, 20 to 35K points for InterContinental Ambassador memberships, & the new HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard DOES NOT have the airline conversion option

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! 

 

More Rewards is offering 1,500 points when you order $30 or more from Panago Pizza until February 28. Those 1,500 points work out to just over $6 when redeemed for travel. Click here to learn more. 

HSBC introduces a new no fee credit card - the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard

HSBC is expanding their credit card portfolio for the everyday Canadian with the launch of the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard®. We say everyday Canadian as up until a few years ago most of their credit card offerings were limited to HSBC customers or those with high net worth. That changed when they launched the awesome travel rewards HSBC World Elite Mastercard and then followed it up with the low interest rewards card the HSBC +Rewards Mastercard. As of this week they have now added a third card that is open to anyone applying for it and it also marks the bank's entrance into the no fee rewards card space.

HSBC's low interest Mastercard is offering a welcome bonus of 30,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year

 
There's been a lot of focus around the return of the 100K points offer on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and that's kind of overshadowed a pretty decent offer on their lower end rewards card. That card is the HSBC +Rewards™ Mastercard® which is their entry level and low interest rewards card which right now comes with a 30,000 point welcome bonus and the first year $25 annual fee rebated*. This is one of the best offers seen on this card to date.

A closer look at the credit card that Canada voted as the number one No Foreign Transaction Fee card

 
The results of Canada's Choice 2021 were revealed earlier this month covering 10 categories of credit cards and loyalty with some surprising and not so surprising results. The third of which we look is the card that took the top spot in the No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card category and that's the
HSBC World Elite® Mastercard®

Receive up to a 15% bonus when you convert HSBC Rewards (Canada) points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

 
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer has brought back their bonus for transferring bank rewards points (ie credit card) to their program. For us here in Canada this means HSBC Rewards and the bonus ranges from 12% to 15% depending on how many points you transfer to KrisFlyer. So this is a little different than when they ran it at the end of last year/beginning of this year as that time it was a flat 15% instead of a tiered bonus. The transfer window is also smaller this time as you only have until November 22 to make a transfer, though SQ did extend it last year so it is possible it will be extended this time as well.

HSBC brings back the 100,000 point & first year free offer on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard

 
HSBC has just matched their previous biggest and best offer yet of 100,000 points on the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® but have made it a little harder to achieve than last year's version. On top of the 100,000 point bonus on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard this current welcome bonus also provides no annual fee in the first year for the primary cardholder. Those 100,000 points are worth $500 towards any travel! Since Quebec doesn't allow the first year free waiver the offer there is a whopping 130,000 points worth $650 towards travel but you do have to pay the annual fee so you end up with $501 in travel value.

September 15 Update: HSBC extends current credit card welcome bonuses, earn 5x points at an iconic Calgary bakery & your weekly Shoppers/Rexall 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.

 
The current offers on the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® of up to 70,000 bonus points plus first year free and the HSBC +Rewards™ Mastercard® with 20,000 points and first year free have been extended from ending on September 27 to now ending on October 3.

Your September points & miles agenda - these offers are all slated to end this month

Here is a list of promotions, offers and more that are slated to end during the month. Whether its stay bonuses, registering for offers or signing up for a limited time credit card offer we'll have it here if it expires in this month.

* Note all offer end dates were current at time of posting this however some offers do get extended so there expiry date may change. We will do our best to update this list frequently to note those changes. Also note that your mileage may vary with credit card offers - just because they are ending on the date listed below does not mean the next offer will not be as good as the offers can be extended or the issuer may come out with an even better offer. 

How to score flights to Ireland for as little as $120 plus taxes and fees

With news that Ireland reopened to vaccinated Canadians with no quarantine or testing requirements as of July 19 (Source Canadian Travel News) I thought it would be the perfect time to bring one of the easiest, most achievable transatlantic economy class redemptions back to the forefront. We discussed this redemption quite a few years ago and frequently bring attention to it but figured it would be best to update it for 2021.

That redemption option is using British Airways Executive Club to redeem for flights on Aer Lingus between Toronto and Dublin. Back in 2017 the redemption option (well any redemption on Aer Lingus) became part of BA Executive Club's off peak award pricing. With off-peak In the off season, which is actually the majority of the year, you can fly round trip on Aer Lingus' Toronto-Dublin flight for only 26,000 Avios (13,000 one way) which is a steal in the points and miles world!
 

Loyalty Lesson: Why hybrid rewards credit cards are the best bet for most Canadians

Whether you are a frequent flyer, a points & miles junkie or just someone who wants to have the utmost in flexibility with your travel rewards then there is one type of credit card that is the best for most of you and in reality for most Canadians. That type of card is the Hybrid Card. Hybrid cards are the moniker for these cards that Rewards Canada instituted many moons ago. Also known as Flexible Points card, Hybrid cards give the cardholder the best of all worlds when it comes to being rewarded from their credit card spending and welcome bonuses.