June 12 Update: Starbucks Rewards Stars can expire, contest for 60K IHG Rewards Club Points & targeted Air Canada flight offer for up to 200% bonus AP miles

Looking to boost your IHG Rewards Club balance? You may just be able to if you enter Money We Have's contest for a chance to win 60,000 IHG Rewards Club points. Very fitting for our readers! Simply go to Barry's site and comment on what your Canadian Bucket List travel destination is!

On our feature of "Expiry and Inactivity Rules of Canadian Loyalty Programs" Rewards Canada reader Harry B. let us know that as of April 1st Starbucks Rewards Stars will expire. We looked deeper into Ontario's legislation for the banning of expiring of loyalty points and yes there is a clause that if a program has no one reward option with a value of $50 or more they can expire their currency. Since Starbucks Stars can only be redeemed at 125 for a single drink or food item they have no reward option over $50 hence they can expire them. Use them up if you've been hoarding them. In reality, Starbucks is a reward program where hoarding is really necessary due to speed they can be earned and ease of redeeming. Personally I do hold onto to them for a bit of time, not long, but when I buy food items I redeem for them since it is a better return than redeeming for a drink. For example their new power bowls run over $8 and are a great item to use your free drink/food reward for!

Check your email for the latest targeted Air Canada flight offer - or use the link below in our bonus offers section and input your Aeroplan number to see if you are eligible to earn up to 200% bonus Aeroplan miles for premium class flights on select routes worldwide. Of course our next Air Canada flight is included and we're flying business class but it was booked before the promotion came out and as we all know all flight offers from AC/Aeroplan only count for new bookings. Darn that rule!

Typically by this time of each month we have posted the latest Miles & More bargain award ticket offers but this month there are not any for departures from Canada! Check back next month!

Posts since our last update:

• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for June
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of June! This is not…
• Flight Review: Hawaiian Airlines First Class HA41/42 San Francisco - Kahului, Maui (SFO-OGG)
  As you may have already seen we’ve put up a couple reviews for our Easter Trip to Maui and…
• Lounge Review: Plaza Premium Lounge - Edmonton International Airport (Domestic/International Departures)
  Another Bill W lounge review for you! Bill is a true road warrior, his work has him driving and flying…

Travel Deals
Hilton Summer Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Find out more here

Save up to 15 % on Marriott stays in Canada! Book at a participating hotel by July 1, 2018 for stays until July 31, 2018 and save up to 10% on best available rates!  Marriott Rewards® Members save up to 5% more. Find out more here.

Receive a $100 CAD resort credit each night of your stay at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge. Book by Jun 30 for stays until Jul 31, 18 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
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 200% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly in Premium Economy or Business Class on select flights and destinations within Canada, and between Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, South America, and Sun destinations. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Book by Jul 6 for travel until Aug 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Finnair Plus
- Triple Plus Points for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 18

Hilton Honors
- 2,000 Bonus Honors Points for each night you stay at participating Waldorf Astoria or Conrad hotels & resorts. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Dec 31, 18

Hyatt World of Hyatt
- 2,500 Bonus World of Hyatt points after every 5 qualified nights at any Grand Hyatt or Hyatt Regency hotel Worldwide. More... Register by Jul 15 for stays until Aug 31, 18
Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points when staying Thursday-Sunday nights at 7 Marriott properties across Australia and Fiji. More... Jul 1 - Aug 31, 18

Radisson Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards Points and up to 30% off when you book a stay at over 1,000 hotels Worldwide! More... Book by Jul 1 for stays until Jun 30 in the U.S./Canada or from Jun 25 - Sep 2, 18 for the rest of the world

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 30% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you buy miles online. More... Until Jun 19, 18


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Why I like the new Starbucks Rewards program

It has been nearly a year and half since Starbucks revamped their loyalty program. It went from My Starbucks Rewards to just Starbucks Rewards but that was the minor change. The major change was the move to being revenue based rather than visit based. Many Starbucks fans were unhappy and those were primarily the single item per visit purchasers. But for those of us who were visiting Starbucks and buying multiple items for multiple people, the new program showed promise.

Now that we are nearly 18 months into the program I must say I really like it. The reason why is that I am one of those multiple item for multiple people purchasers and it has been way more rewarding. We worked it out that break even on the new program was making each purchase just over five dollars. Well I rarely have ever had a Starbucks purchase below that amount and that is still the case today. With the new program I am racking Starbucks Stars a lot quicker and am enjoying a free item at least once per month if not more. With the old program I think I got a free item every 3-4 months. Not only is it due to earning more Stars on my base spend rather than the Star per transaction but Starbucks has been offering so many bonus Star offers with the new program like Double Stars days, Dash Challenges and more.

How about you? Do you miss the old version of the program because you didn't spend much or you were one who split your transactions to earn multiple stars on one visit? Or are you like me and are finding the new program way more rewarding?

You can learn more about the Starbucks Rewards program here.

April 12 Update: Starbucks Rewards Gold Status with 1 purchase, RBC Rewards up to 50% off award sale, Ultimate WestJet Rewards Credit Card portfolio

News, Tips & Tricks
As we mentioned yesterday The new Starbucks Rewards program went live today. The new version isn't good for those who spend less than ~$5 per transaction but better for those who eclipse that. You now earn 2 Stars per dollar spent with a free drink coming it at 125 Stars. Gold Status now takes 300 stars but the good news is that with the launch of the new program as long as buy one drink or food item by May 2nd you'll be granted Gold Status! Find out more at Starbucks.ca

RBC Rewards members can save up to  half the points required when redeeming for hotels and vacation packages today and tomorrow during their 48 hour reward sale. Find out more here.

We released our third Ultimate Credit Card portfolio today, WestJet Rewards. Find out which MasterCard, Visa and Amex you should be carrying to maximize your travel on WestJet. Other porfolios to date include Aeroplan and Cashback.

Posts since our last update:

• The Ultimate WestJet Rewards Credit Card Portfolio
  In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate wallet for earning and redeeming…
• IHG Rewards Club's Share Forever now open for registration - Earn 65,000 or more bonus points & free nights to share
  IHG's Share Forever Promotion has returned for this summer and now it is open for registration. Offers will vary…
• Rocketmiles: 3,000 Bonus Miles/Points in the program of your choice for your first booking including Aeroplan
  If you have signed up with Rocketmiles but haven't booked with them yet you would have received this email!…

Travel Deals
Air France has launched a new Worldwide seat sale for their flights out of Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver). You can fly to Europe and beyond for as little as $695 all in! Book by Apr 20 for travel until May 31. Find out more at Airfrance.ca

 

Bonus Offers
airberlin topbonus
- Double topbnus miles on all inner-Asian routes and selected intercontinental flights of Hainan Airlines and Grand China Air. More... Register and book by Jun 30 for flights until Jul 31, 16
- Double topbnus miles when you collect miles from 24 hotel, car rental and other non-airline topbonus partners. More... Until May 15, 16
- Double topbnus miles on all Enterprise rentals in North America and Europe. More... Until May 15, 16
- 250 topbnus miles on your first ride with myDriver. More... Ongoing

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to Triple MilleMiglia Miles for select round trip international flights on Alitalia. More... Valid for residents of Argentina, USA, Korea, Japan, Brazil and Canada only Book by May 31 for travel until Jul 31, 16

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays at Anantara, AVANI and PER AQUUM hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Korean Air SKYPASS
- Triple SKYPASS MIles for stays on the Best Available Rate at any participating Accorhotels worldwide. More... Book by May 13 for stays until Jun 26, 16

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until May 5, 16

Miles & More
- 1,500 Bonus Miles & More MIles for every qualifying stay at Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Novotel Suites and Mercure hotels. More... Until May 31, 16
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles for stays at Best Western Hotels in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple Miles & More Miles for stays at Jumeirah Hotels in Dubai and the Maldives. More... Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16
- Double Miles & More Miles for stays at all participating Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts in Europe. More... Until Jun 15, 16
- Triple Miles & More Miles for Europcar r entals worldwide, except in the USA and Canada. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until May 31, 16
- Double Miles & More Miles on Hertz rentals of 1 or more days at participating HERTZ locations worldwide. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until Jun 30, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Latin America and Caribbean. More... Until Jun 30, 16

United MileagePlus
- Up to 50% Bonus MileagePlus miles when you buy or gift miles online. More... Until Apr 25, 16

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April 11 Update: New Starbucks program starts tomorrow, Marriott & Starwood deal finalized, Toronto flight bonuses!

News, Tips & Tricks
Just a reminder that the new Starbucks Rewards launches tomorrow. You will no longer earn stars per transaction but rather on how much you spend. Read all the details on our post from February.

Last last week Starwood Hotels shareholders approved the takeover by Marriott. I'm sure you've all seen the email from SPG and/or Marriott. If not essentially the major news is that Starwood Preferred Guest will more than likely cease to exist in its current form sometime in 2018. So you don't really have to panic now and can continue to earn/burn and enjoy SPG benefits for nearly two more years. When SPG and Marriott Rewards get combined into a new program that according to Marriott and Starwood will provide the best of both programs.

Excerpt from SPG:

Since the original announcement, our members have asked many questions about the future of Starwood Preferred Guest^® (SPG^®). Soon we will begin the long journey to integrate the very best of SPG and Marriott Rewards^®. Through this process, your perspective will help guide these discussions as we consider the following:

• How do we continue to deliver the unique experiences, benefits and rewards you’ve come to expect both in and out of our hotels and resorts?
• How do we take full advantage of the extraordinary new range of hotels, resorts and destinations that will be the hallmark of a combined Starwood and Marriott to add new recognition and benefits for you?
• How do we protect the value of your currency and status, whether your Starpoints^® balance, lifetime status or membership level?

Getting answers to these complicated, important questions will take time. In fact, we don’t anticipate launching a newly combined program until 2018. This means SPG will continue to run separately until then. In the meantime, we're actively exploring ways to build bridges between the two programs to further enhance your experience.

You can keep up to date on the integration process here.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn up to 5,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you fly Alitalia between Toronto & Rome
  Toronto is the place to be for flight bonuses! Earlier we brought you the details of the Turkish Airlines…
• Earn 25% Bonus Miles&Smiles Status Miles when you fly on Turkish Airlines between Toronto and Istanbul
  Turkish Airlines is offering 25% bonus Status Miles&Smiles miles on their Toronto flights until the end of the year.…

Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles for each flight on Alitalia between Toronto and Rome. More... Until May 17, 16

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Quadruple Asia Miles for stays at Anantara, AVANI and PER AQUUM hotels Worldwide.More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until May 31, 16
- Triple Asia Miles when you rent a car at participating Europcar locations Worldwide (except in Canada, Japan and the US) More... Until May 18, 16

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Garuda Miles for stays at participating Meritus Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 1,000 Bonus HawaiianMiles for stays at the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii. More... Until Dec 17, 16

Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points per NIGHT for stays at any one of 14 Marriott Hotels in Paris. More... Until May 13, 16
- 500 Bonus Rewards Points per NIGHT for stays at the JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity. More... Until May 8, 16
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the Courtyard Little Rock West. More... Until May 11, 16
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points per NIGHT for stays at the Residence Inn Portland Downtown/Lloyd Center. More... Until May 8, 16
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the at the Courtyard Shippensburg. More... Until May 12, 16
- Earn up to 5,000 Rewards Points on rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Jul 31, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints when you book a group at a participating Starwood hotel or resort in Asia Pacific. Plus, earn a signing bonus of 1,000 Starpoints for every 10 room nights booked. More... Book by Oct 31 for completion by Dec 31, 16
- 3,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at the Aloft Bangkok – Sukhumvit 11.  More... Until Jun 30, 16
- 3,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays in a Suite at the Aloft Bangkok – Sukhumvit 11. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Earn 25% Bonus Status Miles&Smiles Miles when you fly Turkish Airlines between Toronto & Istanbul. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- Receive a 25% Miles&Smiles discount when you redeem miles to fly Turkish Airlines between Toronto and Turkey. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- 3,000 Bonus Miles&Smiles Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Jun 30, 16

Follow Rewards Canada:

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

February 23 Update: My Starbucks Rewards goes revenue based, killer iPrefer bonus points deal & lots of credit card changes coming soon!

Here is your Tuesday update!

News, Tips & Tricks
 
Starbucks is revamping their My Starbucks Rewards program. I discussed these changes earlier today on Calgary's Newstalk 770. The changes take affect on April 12th and will be good for some people and bad for others as Starbucks is following in the footsteps of many airline programs and going revenue based. Gone is the one star per transaction rather you'll now earn 2 Stars for every $1 spent. The rough breakeven point between the old and new program is just above $5. If you spend less than this in a transaction you're screwed, if you spend more than this you're golden. Personally 99% of my Starbucks purchases are over $5 as I am buying for multiple people so this is a welcome change but for those of you who just go for a single coffee it isn't.

Here is a brief summary of the changes:

1. It is moving from a transaction based program to a revenue based program. (taking note from the moves seen in the airline industry)
2. They will award 2 Stars per dollar spent versus the current 1 star per transaction - the program will be more beneficial for higher spenders (just like many frequent flyer programs)
3. The 3 levels of status are being simplified to 2. Previous was Welcome, Green, Gold. Now it is Green and Gold
4. Previously 12 stars got you a free drink, now 125 Stars does so.
5. On average those who spend over $5 per transaction will come out ahead, those below or at $5 will be losing out over the current offering.
6. You no longer have to reach 5 star before you get free refills on coffee and tea in store
7. and also bad as Stars have a 12 month expiry!

To maintain all benefits of the Green Level, you must earn at least one (1) new Star during each consecutive 12-month period following your enrollment date. If you do not earn at least one (1) new Star in each 12-month period, your Star balance will automatically reset to zero (0) and you may no longer be eligible to receive Starbucks Rewards benefits. If you do not earn at least three hundred (300) new Stars in each consecutive 12- month period, your Stars will expire and your Star balance will automatically reset to zero (0).
To maintain the Gold Level, you must earn at least three hundred (300) new Stars during each consecutive 12-month period following the date you reached the Gold Level. If you do not earn 300 new Stars in 12 months, you will be placed at the Green Level of Starbucks Rewards and your Star balance will automatically reset to zero (0). If you fail to requalify for the Gold Level, and you have between 125 and 299 Stars in your account, Starbucks will add one (1) free food or drink Reward onto your account (subject to the Gold Level exclusions and restrictions described below). This Reward will be loaded onto your account on your requalification date and will be available for you to use at participating stores for a period of thirty (30) days. If you have provided Starbucks with a current, valid email address, you will receive an email from Starbucks approximately twenty-four (24) hours after the coupon is loaded to your account indicating that your Reward is available to you.

Learn all about the Starbucks changes in their updated T&Cs

Yesterday we brought you some of the details of Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer changes and embedded at the bottom of the email was a booking bonus to celebrate the new program. If you can swing this and stay with PHG it can be a very lucrative promo as it is a flat 12,500 points for each booking made online. That 12,500 points translates to a US$25 reward certificate. Crazy thing is there are rooms out there from PHG going for as little as US$53 night (base rate) including one in Toronto! That mean's your achieving nearly a 50% return! Heck even at a $100 per night $25 is big return! Now is the time to move some stays to PHG iPrefer!! Read more about this on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com

And finally watch out next week as there are going to be a bunch of new offers for credit cards as of March 1st! We know of new offers and card changes from TD, Scotia and a really big one from RBC (a hint on the RBC one was alluded to in our Top Credit Card Rankings for 2016)

Posts since our last update:

• Starwood Preferred Guest 2016 Hotel Category Changes - 14 Hotels in Canada affected (282 Worldwide)
  Yesterday we mentioned that more hotel programs have come out with their 2016 hotel category changes. Now these aren't…
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Up to a 40% bonus when buying or gifting miles until March 31
  The Alaska Airlines buy Mileage Plan miles promo returns and is a good one but not the great one…

Bonus Offers
airberlin topbonus
- Double topbonus Miles for stays at any Best Western Hotel in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia or Slovakia. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Double topbonus Miles for stays at over 5,500 Choice Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Apr 15, 16
- 4,000 Bonus topbonus Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Mar 31, 16

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Up to 40% Bonus MIleage Plan Miles when you buy or gift Mileage Plan miles online. More... Until Mar 31, 16

British Airways Executive Club
- 1,000 Bonus Avios for new Hailo customers on their first journey booked through the app. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Double Avios on all your Heathrow Rewards transactions in Terminal 3 and Terminal 5. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Etihad Guest
- Triple Guest Miles awarded to your BusinessConnect account when you fly Etihad in Business or First Class. More... Until Mar 21, 16

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double HawaiianMiles on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 30% Bonus Gold Passport Points when you buy Gold Passport points online. More... Until Mar 7, 16

Marriott Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

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

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Tangshan. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Guilin. More... Until May 13, 16

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Free Spirit Miles on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

United MileagePlus
- Up to 75% Bonus MileagePlus miles when you buy or gift miles online. More... Until Mar 14, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Elevate Points on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

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