Will we see Amex's Shop Small promotion soon, four U.S. British Airways lounges join Priority Pass & increased interest rates on select Scotia savings accounts

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

A question I am starting to see more of right now is: when is Amex's Shop Small promotion returning? We've seen the annual Shop Small promotion already launch this month in France, Germany and the U.K.. So will Canada be next? Hopefully it will be! Over the past few years here it has launched as early as June 24 but as late as July 17 as well. American Express Canada has not given us any indication yet as to if and when the Shop Small promotion will launch but our fingers are crossed we will see it over the coming weeks. In the meantime you can brush up on Shop Small by checking out Rewards Canada's step by step guide to the American Express Shop Small Program

Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access - Updated for 2022

The next long running Rewards Canada feature to get its yearly update and also be moved to the new format on our site is our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access. There weren't a ton of changes to this 8+ year old feature which looks at all the ways Canadians can access business class lounges at airports without having elite status or flying in business or first class.

Priority Pass Black Friday Offer: Up to 40% off annual memberships + 1 free visit

 
Priority Pass has come out with their annual Black Friday sale for their business class lounge access memberships. This year is very similar to past years however they seem to have released several different offers. One offer provides up to a 40% discount which is like past years but this year they add in one free lounge visit as well which is a savings of US32. All in all this is a pretty good deal if you don't already get access via your credit card. The other offer which is the one targeted to the U.K. provides up to a 50% discount but no free lounge visit.

Great news! Select Canadian Visa cards receive limited time Plaza Premium business class lounge access

 
That didn't take too long at all! Over the past few months we here at Rewards Canada have been providing you with coverage of how Priority Pass and LoungeKey would be losing access to all Plaza Premium lounges in Canada and how that affects some of our credit cards. And then only a few days ago we posed the question as to who would be the first Canadian card issuer to drop Priority Pass/LoungeKey and move to a different program like Dragon Pass. The great news is we have a partial answer to that question and it is not just one issuer but a select few that offer Visa cards. Before we give you the details let's give a big thanks to our reader Raffaele F. for alerting us to this news!

June 30 Update: Amex's Eats & Drinks bonus points posting fast, Alaska Airlines extends their EQM bonus on flights & which Canadian credit card issuer will be the first to drop Priority Pass?

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 accelerated earn rates from American Express that launched last week for existing cardmembers are posting super fast! And contrary to what we were told the bonus points are over and above the regular earn rates! For example the screenshots below from some purchases made on my Platinum Card are working out as 11 points per dollar for purchases that only earn 1 point per dollar normally (SkipTheDishes & Sobeys) and 13 points per dollar for dining purchases that normally earn 3 points per dollar (Flores & Pine in this case). Previous communication with Amex stated these would simply be 10 points per dollar. I'm not going to complain however as earning 11 to 13 points per dollar spent is simply amazing.

Reminder that all Canadian Plaza Premium lounges leave Priority Pass and LoungeKey tomorrow

 
A follow up here to the several posts we've already had on this topic as we wanted to remind our readers that as of tomorrow you will no longer be able to access the 13 Plaza Premium lounges in Canada with your Priority Pass or LoungeKey memberships. The lounges remain accessible by paying for access online withe Plaza Premium, at the lounge entrance, or by using another lounge access program such as Dragon Pass or American Express.

Sorry for the bad news - It is now confirmed that Canadian Plaza Premium lounges are leaving Priority Pass & LoungeKey

Back on April 15 we brought you the news that  Plaza Premium announced they were leaving the Priority Pass and LoungeKey airport access programs. What we didn't know then was how many of Plaza Premium's 120+ lounges from around the world were going to leave as there were some ongoing negotiations going on between Collinson Group (the operator of Priority Pass and LoungeKey) and Plaza Premium to keep some lounges as part the access programs. We now know that there will be 57 Plaza Premium lounges in total leaving Priority Pass and LoungeKey and us Canadian's are some of the worst hit. All Plaza Premium lounges in Canada will no longer be available via Priority Pass and LoungeKey as of July 1. 

May 11 Update: 10,000 bonus Be Well points for spending $40+ at Rexall and Priority Pass announces a 20% portfolio expansion for its members

 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.

 
You can earn 10,000 bonus Be Well points when you spend $40 or more at Rexall until May 13. Simply log in to your account or the app to load the offer to your card.

May 4 Update: RSVP Rewards - Canada's newest hotel loyalty program, earn 40,000 PC Optimum points for shopping beauty & 3 Lufthansa lounges join Priority Pass

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.

 
In April the Sandman Hotel Group consolidated several of their loyalty programs and relaunched them as one program called RSVP Rewards. The new frequent guest program combines Sandman Hotel's Lucky 13 Rewards and Sutton Place Hotels Prestige into one. The new RSVP Rewards program is points based which is more like the Sutton Presitge program as Lucky 13 Rewards was a stamp based program (think buy 10 get 1 free punch cards. All Sutton Prestige members will retain their existing points balances and elite status levels while Lucky 13 members will have their stamps converted to points, unless you have a full card in which you can still redeem that for a free night. The program is giving Lucky 13 members until June 1, 2022 to convert their stamps into electronic points.

Podcast Episode 79 - Converting the Air Canada Buddy Pass to Aeroplan Points & Plaza Premium Lounge set to leave Priority Pass & LoungeKey

In this episode we bring you the latest news surrounding the unadvertised option to convert Air Canada Buddy Passes received from several Aeroplan co-brand credit cards to Aeroplan points (it's good news!). Then we move into the not so good news of one of the largest third party airport lounge operators, Plaza Premium, deciding to leave the Priority Pass and LoungeKey lounge access programs

Click Here to download the podcast (mp3)

A look at the Canadian airport lounges that may be left for Priority Pass and LoungeKey come July

 
Last week we brought you the news that Plaza Premium airport lounges will be leaving the Priority Pass and LoungeKey access programs as of July 1. This doesn't mean that you can't access the lounges, you can but unless you get access from a card like the Platinum Card from American Express or are flying business or first class with an airline you won't get the discounted entry that Priority Pass and LoungeKey provide. So that begs the question that our Twitter follower Joshua asked:

And that's what we'll look at that in this post, what lounges will be left for members of Priority Pass and LoungeKey seeing that Plaza Premium operates the most third party lounges in Canada?

Major News: Priority Pass and LoungeKey losing access to most Plaza Premium lounges worldwide

 

Australia based Executive Traveller broke the news today that airport business class lounge provider Plaza Premium will be cutting ties with two of the biggest lounge access programs. As of July 1, 2021 members of Priority Pass and LoungeKey will no longer be able to access most Plaza Premium lounges worldwide. This change affects numerous lounges here at home as Plaza Premium operates 13 lounges with two in Edmonton, six in Toronto, four in Vancouver, and one in Winnipeg. There is word that some Plaza Premium lounges will remain part of those programs but they haven't been revealed yet. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed that some of the Canadian locations are part of that list.

Priority Pass Black Friday Sale – Up to 40% off annual memberships

Priority Pass, the premier and largest lounge access program has once again brought back their biggest sale ever for Black Friday! With this sale you can save up to 40% on your first year fee with the program. When you purchase Priority Pass you then gain access to over 1,300 business class lounges Worldwide plus restaurant credits and more. Of course with the pandemic the actual number of lounges you can visit is lower. Collinson Group (the owner of Priority Pass) updates this page here every Thursday as to which lounges are open. At the time of posting there are 7 lounges and 1 restaurant in Canada that are open to Priority Pass members including the new WestJet Elevation lounge in Calgary.

Priority Pass adds two restaurant options at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport

Last week One Mile at a Time reported that Priority Pass added two restaurants in Montreal to their ever expanding list of non-lounge options for cardholders. This is great news for Priority Pass members flying out of or via YUL as their is only one lounge in YUL that has Priority Pass access which is the National Bank lounge and that is only for International departures. Those flying domestic or to the U.S. don't have any lounge options via Priority Pass. The two restaurants that are now part of the program fill that gap, at least until the new YUL domestic lounge that we first reported about a few weeks ago opens towards the end of this year. The first restaurant, Pork & Pickle is in the Canadian domestic departures area near Gate 3 while the second, Houston Avenue Bar & Grill is located in U.S. departures near Gate 77.

When you visit one of these restaurants and show your eligible Priority Pass membership you will receive a C$37 deduction off your entire bill*

Remember that Priority Pass memberships issued from American Express cards do not get the Priority Pass restaurant benefit. If you get your Priority Pass membership from cards like the CIBC Aventura cards, RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card or the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card you do receive the Priority Pass restaurant benefit. Also if you buy your Priority Pass directly from them (you can get up to a 20% discount with our exclusive offer) you also get the restaurant benefit.

* For those of you who receive limited free visits via cards like the Aventura cards or Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite those free visits can be utilized for these restaurant options. If you don't have any free visits left you would be charged US$32 for the C$37 credit. Same goes for the lower end Priority Pass memberships where you have to pay for each visit or only receive 10 visits.

You can learn more about Priority Pass and other business class lounge access options in our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access.

Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access - Updated for 2020

Today I completed an update to our long running feature Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access. The guide provides details on how you can access business class lounges at airports around the world without having to fly in business or first class.

The update includes pricing changes from some of the single entry, third party lounge access and airline lounge access programs. It also includes the addition of No1 Lounges under the single entry access options and expanded details on the superb lounge access provided by the Platinum Card from American Express. We see Diners Club's airport lounge program jump from 850 to over 1,000 lounges and added in new cards like the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Privilege and Vancity's Enviro Visa Infinite and Infinite Privilege cards.

Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access by the numbers:

Single Entry lounge options: 6
Third Party lounge access programs: 3
Credit cards offering lounge access: 19
Airline lounge access programs: 5

You can read the entire feature here!

November 15 Update: Save up to 40% on Priority Pass Business Class lounge memberships, Canadian North Intercommunity Holiday seat sale & more!

Priority Pass has launched their annual Black Friday sale that offers up to 40% off their annual lounge access memberships! Find out more here. 

Here are the Black Friday prices:

As an added benefit this year if you buy a membership during this sale you'll get the following:

A follow up email with three redemption codes of each brand below.

• MIDO Watches up 30% off on watches.
• Roam Luggage, fully customizable premium luggage receive up to $150 off
• Dufl stores receive a $200 Credit from Dufl. (*$200 value = can be used toward 2 standard U.S. DUFL trips OR $200 credit toward an international trip).

Learn more about Priority Pass in Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class lounge access 

Receive $50 gift certificate PER NIGHT for Costco with your stay at the newly opened Courtyard Halifax Dartmouth.  This rate prices out at about $40 more than the best flexible rate so you would be saving only $10. Full details & online booking. Until Apr 4, 20

Posts since our last update:

• You can now earn Flying Blue Elite Status Experience Points when flying on WestJet to 60+ destinations
  Flying Blue, the program for Air France KLM sent out an email today letting members in Canada know that…
• Up to a 50% Bonus when you buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles until December 23!
  Alaska Airlines has brought back their best bonus for buying Mileage Plan miles! Right now you will get a…
• Hilton Honors: 100% bonus when you buy points until November 26 - this is one of the better buy points offers
  Hilton Honors has released another buy points promotion for their members! Once again this one is a nice flat…
• November 14 Update: Scotia will add Disney+ to streaming service category in the new year and 25% bonus Norwegian CashPoints for online shopping (yes Norwegian)
  As many of you will know, Disney officially launched their own streaming service, Disney+ earlier this week. As it…

Travel Deals

Canadian North has launched an Intercommunity holiday seat sale. One way fares in the sale run from $220 during the peak time from December 20 to January 8. Sale ends on January 4. Find out more here.

IHG Cyber Sale – Save up to 30% on stays around the globe

Enjoy up to 25% off for stays at Fairmont Hotels in North America with their Fairmont Moments offer. Book by Mar 31 for stays until Apr 30, 20 Full details & online booking

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

AIR MILES
- Earn up to 1,200 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you earn miles from multiple partners during the Shop the Block promotion. More...   Until Dec 27, 19

Other Bonus Offers

Hilton Honors
- 100% Bonus when you buy 10,000 or more Hilton Honors points online. More... Until Nov 26, 19

Le Club AccorHotels
- Double Le Club AccorHotels points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg or Sweden. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Book by Dec 16 for stays Dec 1- 31, 19

Miles & More
- Triple Miles & More Miles for stays at the Vienna House MQ Kronberg im Taunus or the Vienna House Zur Bleiche Schaffhausen. More... Book by Dec 31, 19 for stays until Jan 31, 20

Rocketmiles
- 300 Bonus Miles / Points with most Rocketmiles partners when you tag @rocketmiles in a photo, and add #promotion to the caption on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. More... Unknown End Date

SriLankan FlySmiles
- 25% FlySmiles Discount when you redeem miles for award tickets in Economy Class on SriLankan Airlines. More... Until Mar 31, 20

WorldHotels Rewards
- Quadruple Rewards Points for stays at all participating WorldHotels locations Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 19

Wyndham Rewards
- Double Wyndham Rewards Points on your next stay at a Wyndham Rewards Hotel worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jan 7, 20


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Canadian American Express Cards will lose non-lounge benefits from their Priority Pass Memberships

If you happen to read any non-Canadian based points and miles blogs you may have seen the news yesterday that Loyalty Lobby broke about changes to Priority Pass memberships issued via American Express in Hong Kong. Fast forward a couple of hours and Gary at View From The Wing had confirmation the same was happening to U.S. based American Express cards. I immediately reached out to American Express Canada to see if the same thing was happening here. And unfortunately the answer is yes. American Express' Priority Pass benefit is being limited to lounge visits only come August 1st. It almost seems that this a global change for American Express. Here is what American Express Canada told us:

Confirming changes will apply to Canadian Cards as well. As our lounge access benefits are intended to provide Cardmembers with a premium lounge spaces to relax and unwind in while traveling the globe, starting August 1, 2019, the Priority Pass Membership benefit offered on American Express Platinum and Centurion Consumer and Business Cards will no longer include complimentary access to non-lounge airport experiences. Further details below.

• Non-lounge airport experiences and outlets include but are not limited to restaurants, cafés and bars where a food and beverage credit is offered as an alternative to entrance into a traditional airport lounge.
• Eligible Cardmembers may continue to gain access to approximately 1,200+ Priority Pass lounge locations as well as select sleeper suites via the Priority Pass Membership benefit provided on their Card. 
• Cardmembers can continue to review which locations they have access to by logging into their Priority Pass membership account on the Priority Pass website and mobile app

In recent years Priority Pass has grown their program beyond just lounge access at airports. They started adding these restaurant food and beverage credits (mostly in the U.S.) at airports where they didn't have lounges, where lounges tended to be overcrowded and just an overall enhancement to the program. This is an unfortunate change to Amex's cards that have the unlimited Priority Pass membership benefit and I'm sure many of you won't be happy with this change that kicks in on August 1st!

For those who receive Priority Pass membership via another card there is no word yet if the free visits that come with them (ie Scotia Passport Visa Infinite) will be changed to also exclude restaurant visits. If you buy your Priority Pass membership outright then you have nothing to worry about.

Related: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access

Priority Pass Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off annual memberships!

Perfect timing for this offer to coincide with our updated Guide to Business Class Lounge Access!

Right now until Sunday you can save up to 40% off Priority Pass memberships instead of our regular 20% off Rewards Canada offer!

Priority Pass, the premier and largest lounge access program has brought back their biggest sales ever for Black Friday! With this sale you can save up to 40% on your first year fee with the program. When you purchase Priority Pass you then gain access to over 1,200 business class lounges Worldwide plus restaurant credits and more.

There are three levels of membership in the program, Standard just makes you a member allowing you to pay US$32 per visit at any of those 1,200+ lounges. Standard Plus gives you 10 Free visits then you US$32 per visit and finally Prestige provides the member with unlimited access to all the lounges at no extra cost. All three memberships allow for guests to access lounges with you at US$32 per guest. The discount with this offer is 40% on Standard memberships and 25% off the other two.

This sale runs until November 25th and you can purchase memberships right here.

October 16 Update: Update to No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards for Canadians feature, Lufthansa lounge in DTW now part of Priority Pass & more!

We made a small update to our No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards for Canadians feature. We have now added the HSBC World Elite MasterCard to the list. There are now eight true no FX fee cards in Canada. Granted 6 of those 8 are essentially various version of each other  (Brim and HSBC)  Check out the feature here.

 For those of you in Southwestern Ontario who use Detroit as your jumping off point for your travels around the world there is good news from the latest Priorty Pass Lounge update email. The Lufthansa Business Lounge in the North Terminal of DTW is now a Priority Pass lounge.  For sun seekers you now have access to the VIP Lounge Puerto Vallarta International as well. Learn more about Priority Pass (included our exclusive discount offer) and other business class lounge access options in our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn 5x Aeroplan Miles for Choice Hotels stays Worldwide until December 31
  Aeroplan's next bonus with Choice Hotels is here and they have made it one of the best yet. Normally…
• United MileagePlus: 30% bonus when you convert hotel loyalty points to MileagePlus Miles
  United MileagePlus has brought back their bonus for transferring hotel loyalty program points to MileagePlus. The bonus is 30%…

Travel Deals
Air Canada is offering 20% off economy class flights to Europe. Bookings must be made today for travel Nov 1 - Jun 15. Book online here

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
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Earn 5x Aeroplan Miles for stays at over 6,500 Choice Hotels worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- 30% Miles&Bonus Discount on select award tickets within Greece and between Greece and Europe, the Middle East or Africa. More... Until Nov 30, 18
- 50% Miles&Bonus Miles when you buy miles. More... Until Oct 31, 18

Le Club AccorHotels
- Earn up to 600 Bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Miles & More
- 500 Bonus Miles & More Miles for stays at participating Mercure, Novotel or Novotel Suites hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Oct 31 for stays until Dec 31, 18

Radisson Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Points for every stay of 2 nights or more booked at any participating Radisson Collection hotel. More... Until Feb 28, 19

United MileagePlus
- 30% Bonus MiileagePlus Miles when you exchange hotel points for award miles. More... Maximum bonus is 25,000 miles Until Nov 30, 18

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September 18 Update: Priority Pass continues to add more restaurants, WestJet up to 20% discount for today only & more

Priority Pass continues its expansion beyond business class lounges - they have added more than half a dozen new airport restaurants to their list of where Priority Pass members can dine with a credit. The list of new restaurants can be found here. Some of the airports that are included are San Francisco, Boston, Houston and more. The amount of credit tends to be US$28 per guest. That means this really only makes sense for those who get visit passes for free or have one of the higher memberships that pay the per lounge visit fee otherwise you'll be paying US$32 to get the $28 credit. If you don't have a Priority Pass membership and are looking to acquire one not via a credit card remember that Rewards Canada has a special partnership with them offering up to 20% off membership fees. You can find out more about our offer here.

Posts since our last update:

• IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Sale Flash Sale - 100% Bonus until September 20
  It's time for another IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Flash Sale! This time everyone can get a 100% bonus…
• Three days only! RBC Avioners can get 30% of their points back when redeeming for flights
  RBC tells us that they want their Avioners to follow their passion for travel and use their points to see…

Travel Deals
WestJet has a one day Autumn sale today offering up to 20% off Econo (Lowest), Econo and Plus (Lowest) base fares anywhere they fly. Book today for travel until Dec 15 Find out more here

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
Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points for Friday or Saturday night stays at the Courtyard Montreal Airport. More... Book by Nov 4 for stays until Dec 1, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to 4x Asia Miles when you book hotels via Trip.com More... Book by Sep 30 for stays until Oct 31, 18

China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- Earn up to Quadruple Dynasty Flyer Miles for Avis rentals of 3 or more days in USA (exclude Alaska), Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. More... Book by Sep 30 for rentals until Dec 14, 18

Hilton Honors
- 1,000 Bonus Honors Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Home2 Suites by Hilton Hot Springs Arkansas. More... Until Jan 6, 19

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios for stays at NH Hotels in Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Marseille, Las Palmas, Lanzarote, Turin, Bolonia or Seville. More... Until Oct 31, 18

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to 200 Bonus Returns points when you use La Quinta Moblie Check-in and Checkout with the La Quinta app. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays of 3 or more nights at the Domes Noruz Chania, Autograph Collection. More... Until Nov 5, 18
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 2 nights Thursday-Sunday (Friday or Saturday required) at the Kigali Marriott Hotel. More... Until Nov 17, 18
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 2 nights Thursday-Sunday (Friday or Saturday required) at the Cape Town Marriott Hotel Crystal Towers. More... Until Nov 17, 18
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel. More... Until Nov 2, 18

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