Meet the Collectors: Frequent traveller retires, learn how he and his wife fund their travels now!

 Today we bring you our latest Meet the Collectors feature. These are interviews with our readers, who are everyday Canadians like you, on what they are doing with their loyalty programs.

What happens when you have been a frequent traveller for the better part of your life thanks to your work and then retire from that career that saw you globetrotting? You look for other ways to earn those points and miles and that's what Rewards Canada reader Jim Marchbank describes for us.

I am a retired CEO of a cultural organization. I have been an Aeroplan member since 1987 and a Hilton Honors member for about 20 years.  When I was working I undertook a lot of business travel and flew Star Alliance most frequently and stayed mostly in Hilton properties.  I was a Diamond member of HH for many years and an Air Canada Super Elite member for almost 15 years.

Upon retirement I realized my substantial Aeroplan and Honors balances would deplete and, with only leisure travel, would eventually disappear.  Until then I had never churned a credit card.

Continue reading the interview here! 

If you would like to be considered for our Meet the Collectors series please contact us at info@rewardscanada.ca

Meet the Collectors: Airport planner utilizes a divide and conquer strategy with loyalty programs

 Today we bring you our latest Meet the Collectors feature. These are interviews with our readers, who are everyday Canadians like you, on what they are doing with their loyalty programs.

What happens when you work for a company that designs airports? Well you travel a lot naturally! Meet Martin Leprohon who is an airport planner and engineer. He gets his fair share of travel time but not to the point of that he calls himself a road warrior. Seeing the programs he uses and the amount of miles he collects we beg to differ. No matter what, when things ramp up, he likes to know about his options and making his travel as comfortable and enjoyable as possible by making the most of a wide range of loyalty programs.

Continue reading the interview here! 

If you would like to be considered for our Meet the Collectors series please contact us at info@rewardscanada.ca

Meet the Collectors: Road warrior of the Canadian Prairies makes the most of his hotel programs

 Today we bring you our latest Meet the Collectors feature. These are interviews with our readers, who are everyday Canadians like you, on what they are doing with their loyalty programs.

Bill Wheatley is the Ultimate Road Warrior - he works in Information Technology for NAPA Auto Parts and travels across the prairies for his job, racking up tons of points and miles along the way.

Last year Bill took more than 45 short haul flights between Winnipeg and Saskatoon on Air Canada. He flew more the 50,000 miles on the airline -- good enough for valuable perks including priority baggage and check-in. He also earned more than $8,100 in qualifying dollars.

Continue reading the interview here! 

If you would like to be considered for our Meet the Collectors series please contact us at info@rewardscanada.ca

March 23 Update: AIR MILES halts in-store Cash Miles redemptions, new Meet the Collectors interview & Chelsea Toronto Aeroplan bonuses

News, Tips & Tricks
Most of today's news has been covered in separate blog posts, see the 'Posts since our last update' section below.

We missed out a small but important program on our Expiry and Inactivity Rules of Canadian Loyalty Programs feature, Porter Airlines VIPorter! The program is now on the list with their 24 month inactivity rule.

Posts since our last update:

• AIR MILES Cash Miles in-store redemptions halted temporarily due to fraud
  Loyalty program fraud has been making the rounds in the news recently with programs like PC Points having been breached.…
  
   
• Meet the Collectors: Young professional makes mile & point consolidation work to his favour
  Today we bring you our latest Meet the Collectors feature. These are interviews with our readers, who are everyday Canadians…
  
   

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to Quadruple Aeroplan Miles when you stay at the Chelsea Hotel, Toronto. More... Until Jun 30, 17
- 1,250 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you stay 5 nights at the Chelsea Hotel, Toronto. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Other Bonus Offers
China Southern Sky Pearl Club
- Earn up to Triple SkyPearl Kilometers when you stay at Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Iberia Plus
- Triple Avios when you subscribe to The Economist. More... Until Apr 30, 17

JAL Mileage Bank
- Earn up to 7,500 Bonus Mileage Bank Miles when you fly on American Airlines between Asia and the U.S.. More... Apr 1 - May 31, 17
- Earn up to Triple Mileage Bank Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 17

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Meet the Collectors: Young professional makes mile & point consolidation work to his favour

Today we bring you our latest Meet the Collectors feature. These are interviews with our readers, who are everyday Canadians like you, on what they are doing with their loyalty programs.

Anybody who’s truly serious about collecting points knows planning is key to maximizing their value. Choosing the most cost-effective flights, hotels, and even destinations for their affordability, or their points payoff, is key to making the most of one’s rewards experience.

Tell that to Charles Tam. Because of his job as a manager of regulatory affairs with Edwards Life Sciences in Mississauga, Charles flies over 25,000 miles annually, averaging 6-8 domestic business flights per year. This makes Charles’ story different from other points collectors, because he often isn’t able to plan his travels around maximizing points. Yet that hasn’t stopped him from saving for getaways and splurge purchases like any other seasoned collector.

Continue reading the interview here! 

If you would like to be considered for our Meet the Collectors series please contact us at info@rewardscanada.ca

June 9 Update: Introducing our newest feature - Meet the Collectors plus 9 new bonuses added today

News, Tips & Tricks
Today we launched another new series on Rewards Canada: Meet the Collectors. These are interviews with our readers, who are everyday Canadians like you, on what they are doing with their loyalty programs. The first interview is with borderfreetravel's Jay T. Read the interview here! If you would like to be considered for our Meet the Collectors series please contact us at info@rewardscanada.ca

And our tip of the day: Why you should still consider getting the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express


Posts since our last update:

• Earn Quadruple Aeroplan Miles on all IHG hotel stays until August 31st
  We've already brought you the details of the new Share Forever and Accelerate promotions for those people who like to…
• Earn 40 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles for Best Western stays until the end of the year
  The latest Best Western stay bonus for AIR MILES members is slightly weaker than the spring offer but it is…
• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets to Europe from Montreal & Toronto
  As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month…

Travel Deals
Air Canada has launched another Worldwide seat sale. You can save on most destinations that Air Canada flies to if you book by Jun 13. Find out more here.


Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- 500 Flying Blue Miles PER DAY on Avis rentals in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, USA, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand. More... Book by Jul 31 for rentals Jul 1 - Mar 31, 17

Air Miles (Canada)
- 40 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles for each qualified stay at any Best Western® branded hotel in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- Double Air Miles for stays at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. More... Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16
- 40 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles on Budget rentals of 2 or more days at participating Canada and U.S. locations. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Points when you stay on the Park and Stay Package at Country Inns & Suites By Carlson in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays on the Romance Package at the Country Suites By Carlson, Bismarck, ND. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- OFFER EXTENDED 12,500 Bonus iPrefer Points when you book any and all your Preferred Hotel Group stays via iPrefer.com.  More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Saudia Alfursan
- Triple Alfursan Miles for stays at Atlantis, The Palm Dubai. More... Book by Aug 31 for stays until Dec 21, 16

Stash Hotel Rewards
- 500 Stash Rewards Points when you book any Stash Rewards hotel via the Stash Rewards website. More... Until Jul 31, 16

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Today's Bonus Offer Highlight is brought to you by: