RBC credit card holders can now earn extra Be Well points for shopping at Rexall

CORRECTION: Thanks to long time Rewards Canada reader Harry B. for pointing out that you earn 50 points in total with your RBC card and your Rexall Be Well account. Not the 50 points + 10 points as we first published. Per the email sent out from Rexall you earn 40 points from your RBC card and 10 points from your Be Well card for a total of 50 points per dollar.

Akin to RBC's partnership with Petro-Canada, RBC credit card holders will now be able to link their credit cards with Rexall's Be Well program to earn extra points. Once you link your RBC credit card to your Rexall Be Well accounts you'll earn 50 Be Well points for every $1 spent on that RBC card at Rexall. This is over and above the base earn rate for the Be Well program.

August 26 Update: Save up to 25% at 209 Marriott Hotels in Canada, earn 62,500 Be Well Bonus Points at Rexall tomorrow + much more

 

Marriott's latest Bonvoy Escapes offer were released today and it is their biggest one ever with more than 4,900 hotels throughout the US, Canada, and Caribbean and Latin America being included. Here in Canada we see 209 of their hotels participating which is the most I've seen by far. Marriott Bonvoy members save 25% and non-members save 20% on stays. Marriott Bonvoy members always earn points, receive best rates guaranteed, flexible cancellation policy, free Wi-Fi, and mobile check-in. Stays must be booked by Sunday. Find out more here.

 

Rexall's Be Well program is offering 62,500 bonus points tomorrow for purchases of $75 or more on beauty products. No coupon is required.

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 Canada is planning a new flight between Ottawa and Cayo Coco once per week from February to April 2021. (Source RoutesOnline)

Sichuan Airlines will be continuing to offer 1flight per week between Vancouver and Chengdu in September and October. (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:

• Rewards Canada Special Offer: Free Club 1 Hotels Silver Membership with savings of up to 60% at 1.5 million+ hotels + an additional 10% off 2021 bookings made by Sep 7
    You may recall that several times over the past few years we have run special offers with Club1…
• You can now register for Hilton’s fall promo of Double Honors Points + Double Night Credits
    Yesterday we let you know that Hilton’s next systemwide promotion was revealed but you couldn’t register for it…
• American Express reveals the details for their new suite of Aeroplan cards
  Air Canada's Aeroplan is somewhat unique in that they have three credit card partners offering co-brand payment cards for…
• Hilton Honors next systemwide promotion has been revealed – Double Points & Elite Nights
    Loyalty Lobby broke the news just over a day ago that the details for Hilton Honor’s next systemwide…
• WestJet RBC Mastercard offer of 2x rewards on grocery and restaurant purchases extended to September 30
  WestJet's accelerator offer for their two credit cards issued by RBC has now been extended to September 30. Initially…
• The Top Cash Back Credit Cards for 2020
    Rewards Canada's fourth annual Top Cash back Credit Card rankings are now up on the main Rewards Canada…
• India's Vistara Airlines added as a new Air Canada Aeroplan partner
    Aeroplan added a third new airline partner is just as many months that members can earn and redeem…
• New Amex Offers for Dollarama - $5 statement credits or 500 bonus Membership Rewards Points
  Thanks to an early morning email from Rewards Canada contributor Jeff W. we have a  new Amex Offers offer…
• August 21 Update: Aeroplan now lets you book award tickets on Cathay Pacific and GOL online, even more Cobalt multipliers & Virgin Atlantic becomes first airline to provide elite tier earn on award tickets
    Aeroplan came out with news yesterday that you can now book flight rewards with Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon…

Deals:

Air Transat Here Comes the Sun Promotion. Early bird perks and extra flexibility for travel between August 5, 2020, and April 30, 2021 Book by September 11, 2020. Find out more here.
Book a South package and benefit from Option Flex* which allows you to: Change your travel dates Transfer your vacation package Cancel your trip Our Price Drop Guarantee† A reduced deposit of only $100​ Final payment 25 days before departure

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

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. 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

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 4x ALL Rewards Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Thailand.  More... Book by Sep 15 for stays Sep 1 - Dec 15, 20

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays of 2+ nights Sunday to Wednesday at the Best Western Windsor Inn Ashland. More... Until Sep 30, 20
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays of 3+ nights at the Best Western Grove City Inn. More... Until Dec 31, 20
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays of 2+ nights at the Best Western Plus Sunset Suites-Riverwalk San Antonio. More... Until Dec 31, 20
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays at the Best Western Fairfax. More... Until Sep 30, 20

Hilton Honors
- Double Honors Points & Double Elite Night Credits per stay at Hilton Hotels worldwide. More... Sep 8 - Dec 31, 20

Iberia Plus
- 50% Avios discount on Iberia, Iberia Regional Air Nostrum and Iberia Express award tickets More... Book by Aug 30 for travel Sep 1, 20 – Mar 15, 21

Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for each stay at participating Marriott Hotels in Japan. More... Until Mar 31, 21

World of Hyatt
- Earn up to 150,000 Bonus World of Hyatt Bonus Points when you host a qualifying event at participating Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Joie de Vivre, Alila, Thompson Hotels, Destination Hotels, Hyatt Ziva, Hyatt Zilara hotels, worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 22


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Rexall Be Well launches today - earn 50,000 bonus points for purchases of $50 or more this weekend

Rexall's new loyalty program - Be Well officially launched today and to celebrate they are offering 50,000 bonus points when you spend $50 or more in store.  This also means that as of today you will no longer be able to earn or redeem AIR MILES at all Rexall locations.

We have mentioned Rexall's new program a couple of times already on Rewards Canada as they offered their pre-launch sign up bonus of 10,000 points for supplying your email address. Those points will be awarded by May 31 when you actually join the program using the same email address.

In those earlier posts we pointed out that the program isn't rewarding at all on the base level. You earn 10 points per dollar spent and then you can redeem 25,000 points for $10 off at the till. This means you have to spend $2,500 to get that $10 or a return of 0.4 cents.  For comparison when AIR MILES was  a partner that same $2,500 would net you 125 AIR MILES or about $13 in terms of cash rewards.

It doesn't surprise me that Rexall went this way - AIR MILES is a pricey proposition for any retailer and an influx of back end loyalty program developers & systems have made it quite affordable to run your own program nowadays. I am and am not surprised about the redemption value however. My surprise is the base value is less than what was offered with AIR MILES even though Rexall's cost per point should be lower but I'm also not surprised as the switch allowed them to set a rate that will see base points not eat into their margins. I also believe they went with the lower value as they plan on offering a lot of bonus points to boost your value as we already see with this weekend's launch event. It's a good marketing ploy - low initial value but provide more value to get you in store and buy enough stuff to hit that minimum spend to get the bonus points.

With Rexall no longer being an AIR MILES partner it continues to confirm what I have stated in lots of media interviews and here on the site that the golden age of coalition loyalty programs has now passed us. Canada's two largest coalition programs AIR MILES and Aeroplan have not had much success in adding any major nationwide non-travel retail partners for sometime now and I don't see that changing anytime soon. What we will see are more individual retailer programs and retail group programs, the latter being programs like Triangle and PC Optimum.

Here are the steps Rexall provided in their email on how to join the program:

All images via Rexall

April 14 Update: Earn points for registering for Rexall's new Be Well program, Best Western cancellation policy update, hotel occupancy rates down to 12.8% in Canada

Rexall has brought back the sign up bonus for preregistering for their loyalty program that will launch on May 1. With today's news we now know it will be called Be Well and it will replace AIR MILES as the loyalty program for Rexall. We first brought you the details of the program back in February and the new offer is the same as the one in February whereby you preregister for the program and they'll award you 10,000 points when it launches. Those 10,000 points are worth $4. If you haven't preregistered already you are eligible to earn this bonus now as long as you sign up by April 29. Find out more and preregister here.

Best Western has finally published a COVID-19 cancellation policy. Prior to this they were leaving it up to each individual hotel as to what they wanted to do with non-refundable/non-cancellable reservations. They have now set in place a policy for their locations in Canada, the U.S. and Caribbean as follows:

• The policy applies to any reservation for any future arrival date.

• The policy applies to hotels located in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. 

• Guests may cancel at any time, as long as cancellation occurs least 24 hours before arrival, and the reservation is cancelled on or before June 30, 2020.

• Hotels will waive all fees associated with the cancellation of the booking.

• Applies to all booking channels.

• A more restrictive cancellation policy may apply to a limited number of high-demand dates at individual hotels
• Learn more about BW's policy here

And on the topic of hotels - the occupancy of hotels in Canada for the week of March 31 to April 6 dropped from 79% in 2019 to 12.8%. Ouch. The worst decline was seen in Quebec with occupancy rates dropping to 6.1% from 89.8%. (Source Canadian Lodging News)

It appears that Etihad is planning to resume 5x weekly flights between Toronto and Abu Dhabi as of April 22 (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.
Other resources on Rewards Canada to help you make the most of your points and miles right now:

• Shifting your loyalty program strategy to help during these trying and tough financial times
  
• In light of what's going on in the world should you shift to a cash back credit card instead of a travel card? Why not a card that has both?
  
• Use Instacart to circumvent Loblaw stores non-acceptance of Amex and to earn 5x points with the Cobalt Card

Posts since our last update:

• American AAdvantage provides elite status extension, lowers qualification requirements and more
  American Airlines is the last of the big 3 U.S. airlines to come out with details for the elite…
• April 9 Update: Air Canada & WestJet to hire back laid off employees, even discontinued grandfathered Mastercards get new benefits & Air Canada's May flight schedule
  Air Canada and WestJet will re-hire over 16,000 and 6,000 employees respectively thanks to the Government of Canada's Emergency... 

Deals:

Stream Man With a Plan commercial-free on CBS All Access Canada. Join now & get 1 month FREE!. Find out more here.

Indigo plum PLUS members enjoy 2x plum points on all purchases* (Until April 30)




Enterprise: Student Travel Assistance – Waiving young renter fees and reducing the minimum age to 18 for rentals through May 31, 2020. Find out more here

Hello Fresh: save $65 in total, including free shipping on the first box! Find out more here.

Missfresh: Simplify your life with 45% off your first 2 consecutive orders with code SIMPLIFY45. Find out more here.

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

No new bonuses added today

Other Bonus Offers

No new bonuses added today






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February 4 Update: Aeroplan Costco partnership ending, Rexall launching own loyalty program and will drop AIR MILES, save up to $1,000 on Air Transat packages

The partnership between Costco and Aeroplan will come to an end on April 30. We also noticed that Primus is gone as an Aeroplan partner as well. Air Canada does really seem to be going back to it roots with Aeroplan (or whatever the new program will be called) and moving it back to a frequent flyer program rather than a coalition program as the number of non-travel or non-credit card partners is really being whittled down. Find out more about Costco and Aeroplan here. 
Please note that you will still be able to redeem Aeroplan Miles for Costco gift cards beyond April 30.

Also on the loyalty program news front - Rexall is going to launch their own loyalty program on May 1st. As of that date they will no longer participate in the AIR MILES program. This just reiterates what we said in our podcast episode 63 and here on the blog that it really appears the model for coalition loyalty programs is past it's peak. For many retailers now it makes more sense to run your own loyalty program as the costs associated with doing so have really come down from years ago. Anyways, you can pre-register for Rexall's new program and if you are one of the first 100,000 to do so they will give you 10,000 points which are worth $4. Right away this tells me the program has the potential to be confusing! Why $4 for 10,000 points? You're already making it complicated Rexall. Find out more and pre-register for the program here.

Rewards Canada has a new booking partner that you can find on our travel booking page - Austrian Airlines has returned to the mix. See our Book Travel (how to support Rewards Canada) page here. 

Yesterday we brought you details of IHG Rewards Club's new global promotion of up to 4x points for stays at their hotels worldwide. They had some issues with letting members register for the offer but that does appear to be fixed now. Find out more about the offer here.

Posts since our last update:

• 25% Off Business Class Award Tickets or Air France KLM between Calgary or Toronto & Europe
  The newest set of Air France KLM’s Promo Rewards were released over the weekend and some Canadian cities are…
• Earn double elite qualifying tier miles on Emirates' flights out of Toronto and globally if you book by February 10
  Here’s an awesome new bonus offer from Emirates Skywards! Simply register and book flights between now and February 10…
• InterContinental Hotels Group New Hotel Openings in Canada for 2020 - 13 hotels in the works
  IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) is a large worldwide hotel chain best known for their Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn…
• Podcast Episode 64 - Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2020
   Episode 64 - February 3, 2020 Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2020 This is a special week! We…
• Earn up to 4x IHG Rewards Club points for stays at IHG Hotels Worldwide
  IHG Rewards Club has revealed the details of their next global systemwide promotion and once again it has the…
• Swissport Aspire Lounge set to open at Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport this February
  More good news for Canadian travellers,  especially those flying to or from Ottawa. Rewards Canada reader Todd let us…
• New limited time welcome bonuses for Tangerine credit cards - Earn a $250 bonus when you spend $5,000 within three months
  Tangerine released new limited time increased sign up bonuses today for their Money-Back Credit Card and Tangerine World Mastercard®…
• Save 20% on TAP Air Portugal flights out of Toronto and Montreal - book by February 5
  TAP Air Portugal has a new promo code that you can use if you are planning to book flights…
• January 31 Update: New transborder lounge coming to YUL late this year, Air Canada & other airlines cancel more flights to China, PC Optimum redemption event this weekend
  After I published the 2020 update for Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access, Ron S. asked in…

Travel Deals

Air Transat's The Vacation Intervention Promo allows you to save up to $1000 per couple on packages to the South .Book by Feb 10. 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

Emirates Skywards
- Double Skywards Tier Miles on all eligible Emirates and FlyDubai flights booked in eligible fare classes including flights out of Toronto. More... Register and book by Feb 10 for travel Feb 17 – May 20, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles with any stay of a minimum of two consecutive nights at one of eight Harbour Plaza Hotels across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. More... Until Dec 31, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn up to 4x IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at participating IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Apr 15 for stays Feb 15 – May 15, 20
- 5,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays of 7 or more nights at the Candlewood Suites Kansas City Airport. More... Unknown end date

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at The St. Regis Singapore. More... Until Apr 6, 20
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at any one of four participating Marriott Hotels in Venice. More... Unknown end date


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