January 12 Update: AIR MILES losing Lowe's, Rona & Reno Depot, Alaska Airlines will not adjust oneworld partner charts and Virgin Atlantic status match to British Airways

 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.

 
And so it continues - as first reported by Milesopedia. AIR MILES will be losing a major partner at the end of this month. The Lowe's group of partners (Lowe's, Rona, Reno-Depot) will end their partnership with AIR MILES on January 31. This marks another blow to the AIR MILES program and further adds fuel to the topic of the coalition program model dying a slow death in Canada. After this there aren't many prominent nationwide partners left in the program, you have Amex, BMO, Shell, Safeway/Sobeys, Staples and a few other major players but gone are the days of having so many nationwide partners to choose from.

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 and GOL online at Aeroplan.com. Prior to this you had to call in to Aeroplan to book on these airlines. For Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon you can only redeem for flights between Hong Kong and the following

• Chiang Mai, Thailand
  
• Phuket, Thailand
  
• Bangkok, Thailand
  
• Cebu, Philippines
  
• Manila, Philippines
  
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  
• Hanoi, Vietnam

While you can't redeem for other Cathay flights you can always combine the above routes to other airlines like Air Canada, Etihad, ANA etc. via Aeroplan. For GOL, all of their flights systemwide are available on aeroplan.com now. (Source Aeroplan)

For the next week when you buy $150 in Sobeys / Safeway gift cards you'll get 100 AIR MILES Bonus Miles. There is a limit of 5 offers per collector number so ultimately you can buy $750 in gift cards (use a card like Amex Cobalt or Scotia Gold Amex to earn 5x points) and earn 500 AIR MILES worth just over $50 in Cash Miles or ~$65 towards travel. This offer is valid until Aug 26, 2020

 

Even more American Express Cobalt multipliers to pass along. First I'm pretty sure this merchant is relatively new to American Express as I swear I couldn't use my card Cobalt card there not too long ago but one of Calgary's best butchers, Bon Ton Meat Market now accepts American Express and it codes properly with the Cobalt card as a 5x multiplier! I'm pretty sure it should also qualify as a Shop Small merchant so I should expect to get a $5 credit for the purchase. Then we send along a thanks to FM who commented on our multiplier page with eight new locations in B.C. that are 5x and 1x multipliers. Find them all on our American Express Cobalt Multipliers page.

Even though they stopped flying to Canada several years ago there are a few of you who may still be utilizing Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program who would find the latest news from them quite exciting. The airlines has become the first in the world to award elite tier points earning on award flights! They are taking a page out of the hotel loyalty program playbook where several hotel chains do award elite qualifying on award nights. You can learn about this exciting development here.

Hotel occupancy in Canada broke through the 40% level for the first time in months! For the week of August 9-15 the occupancy rate for hotels in Canada was 41.8%. This is nearly 48% less than the same period last year. (Source HNN)

 

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 Aeroplan partner airline Air Creebec will resume some flights next week. As of August 24 the Quebec based airline will launch several weekly flights out of Montreal-Dorval to Chibougamau, Chisasibi and Val d’Or – Chisasibi. (Source RoutesOnline)

Air France will not be flying their Vancouver-Paris route for the upcoming winter season and plan to reduce Toronto-Paris flights from daily service to 5x weekly service. (Source RoutesOnline)

Posts since our last update:

• Reminder - Only two weeks left to earn those American Express Shop Small statement credits
    Back in June American Express Canada launched the best ever version yet of their Shop Small campaign and…
• August 20 Update: Radisson Rewards extends pause on points expiration and adds elite night rollover, Cobalt multiplier at iconic Calgary Drive-In & WestJet's international flight schedule for September
  Radisson Rewards have further updated their policy in regards to points expiration and elite status. Previously they extended points…

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

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays at the Best Western Ft. Lauderdale I-95 Inn. More... Until Sep 7, 20
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays at the Best Western Richland Inn-Mansfield. More... Until Sep 30, 20

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you book a minimum of 2 consecutive nights at Casa del Rio Melaka. More... Until Dec 31, 20

World of Hyatt
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Regency Sofia More... Aug 30 - Nov 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Centric San Salvador More... Aug 29 - Nov 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Mar Monte Santa Barbara More... Until Nov 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Titusville / Kennedy Space Center More... Until Oct 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Tulsa / Downtown More... Aug 26 - Nov 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Sioux Falls – South More... Aug 18 - Nov 29, 20


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November 25 Update: Virgin Atlantic codesharing on WestJet flights, Loyalty and Award conference and up to 5x CIBC Rewards Points on select Transat flights

In some interesting route news - Virgin Atlantic is now code sharing on WestJet's flights between London and Calgary, Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver as well as on many connecting flights out of those cities. This is good news for WestJet as they lost their British Airways partnership whent they started flying to London (BA wasn't happy about that!) so it's nice to see them have a new codeshare partner. We have reached out to WestJet to see if this partnership will go beyond just codesharing and develop into a reciprocal frequent flyer partnership.  Although if some other sources are correct you can earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles on these flights so long as they are booked on Virgin's site and carry the Virgin flight number. (Source Routesonline & Virgin Atlantic)

Celebrate Aeroplan's Black Friday Cyber Monday deals with our contest where you can have a chance to win 10,000 Aeroplan miles! Enter the contest here.

This is more news for those in the industry who read our daily updates - this February, Global Flight's Loyalty and Awards conference lands in Vancouver. Global Flight along with Airline Information are the two big loyalty industry conference organizers and Rewards Canada (FFB Group Inc) is proud to be partnered with both and will be speaking at this edition of Loyalty and Awards. If you haven't registered yet for the conference you can do so here!

Posts since our last update:

• Aeroplan eStore confirmed bonuses for Black Friday Cyber Monday - 5x for Amazon, 7x for Apple, 10x for Indigo
  Continuing on our 'as we mentioned in our giveaway' post last week, the Aeroplan eStore Black Friday Cyber Monday…
• AIR MILES Amazon.ca Black Friday Cyber Monday offer for BMO AIR MILES Credit Card holders
  The Black Friday Cyber Monday train that started last week continues with this offer (and there will be many…
• 35% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert hotel loyalty program points is now live - Shangri-La is the star this time
  Last week when we launched our contest to celebrate Aeroplan's Black Friday Cyber Monday offers, one of them we let…
• Podcast Episode 61 - Interview with Hubudub founder Kurt Kinnear - Hubudub rewards Canadians for getting out and participating!
  Episode 61 - November 12, 2019 Interview with Hubudub founder Kurt Kinnear - Hubudub rewards Canadians for getting out and…
• Amex Offers: 4 Bonus Points per dollar spent with Amazon for Black Friday Cyber Monday (5 points per dollar total)
  Even more Amex Offers came out overnight and these are ones many of you have been waiting for! The…
• November 22 Update: Black Friday Cyber Monday deals page, enter our Aeroplan contest & 2,500 bonus points + $25 credit at JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort
  We are one week away from Black Friday and the deals have started to roll out! To try to…
   

Travel Deals

Canadian North Christmas Seat Sale! Save 30% when you use promo code ELF30. Book by Nov 25 for travel Nov 22 - Dec 31. Find out more here.

Save up up to 20 percent when you book stays at Delta Hotels by Marriott™ locations across Canada. Valid for stays until Dec 30, 19. Find out more here.
IHG Cyber Sale – Save up to 30% on stays around the globe

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

CIBC Rewards
- 5x Rewards Points when booking an Air Transat flight departing from Vancouver only to either Fort Lauderdale, Florida, San Jose, Costa Rica or Liberia, Costa Rica,. More... Book by Dec 15 for travel until Apr 30, 19
- 3x Rewards Points when booking select flights with Air Transat through the CIBC Rewards Centre. More... Book by Dec 15 for travel until Apr 30, 19

Other Bonus Offers

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to 2,500 Bonus Asia Miles when you rent with Avis for 2 or more days in Africa, Argentina, Asia Pacific, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East and the USA (excluding Alaska) More... Book by Jan 15 for rentals until Feb 28, 20

Copa ConnectMiles
- Earn up to 1,750 bonus ConnectMiles on qualifying rentals at participating Avis locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. More... Until Jan 31, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- Double IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at the Holiday Inn & Suites Saigon Airport. More... Book by Dec 31, 19 for stays until Feb 29, 20
- Double IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at the Staybridge Suites Bangkok Thonglor. More... Book by Dec 31, 19 for stays Mar 1 - May 31, 20
- Double IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at the InterContinental Phuket Resort or the Holiday Inn Express Pattaya Central. More... Book by Dec 31, 19 for stays until Jan 31, 20
- Double IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort More... Book by Dec 31, 19 for stays until Feb 29, 20

JAL Mileage Bank
- Up to a 25% Mileage Bank Miles discount when you redeem for award tickets between Tokyo and Vladivostok. More... Feb 28 - Jun 30, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points and 30% off per stay on Sunday-Thursday nights at Gaylord Hotels in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Tennessee or Texas. More... Until Jan 5, 20


Follow Rewards Canada:

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November 6 Update: Canadian Points University, Big AIR MILES bonuses for gift card purchases, great Virgin Atlantic offer out of the U.S.

Final update of what has proven to be a very busy week!

News, Tips & Tricks
If you haven't seen it yet, the website is now up for the Canadian Points University! This is first all Canadian points & miles conference that will take place in Vancouver in January and will feature speakers like yours truly. Tickets are now on sale for this event. Be sure to mark your calendar and come join Canada's loyalty rewards experts, bloggers and more. Visit the site here. Stay tuned here on Rewards Canada as we will bring you continuous updates on the CPU!

The big AIR MILES bonus for gift card purchases at Safeway is back! Earn 60 AIR MILES for every $50 gift card purchased for select retailers. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Big Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway returns! Up to an $18 return per card (until Nov 12, 15)
  We haven't seen AIR MILES bonuses for buying gift cards at Safeway since June but this week the bonuses…
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car Plus Your Points returns - Up to 70 Free Points, Double Points on rentals and more!
  A day sooner then we posted last year, are the details of the return of Enterprise Rent-A-Car's Plus Your…
• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 50% on award tickets to Europe from Montreal and Toronto
  As we do at the start of each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen"…

Travel Deals
Hertz Canada: Save $5/day, Up to $35 Max When You Book Now! Valid through 1/31/16


Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Triple Miles for stays at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Air New Zealand Airpoints
- 100 Bonus Airpoints Dollars when you book and fly a return Air New Zealand flight between any Air New Zealand serviced domestic airport and Los Angeles. More... Book by Nov 16 for travel Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles for stays at participating properties from Accor Hotels & Resorts in Asia Pacific. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double Asia Miles if you book your hotel stay or purchase a Cathay Pacific or Dragonair flight via the Ctrip website. More... Until Jan 31, 16

China Eastern Eastern Miles
- Earn up to Triple Miles for stays at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

China Southern Sky Pearl
- Earn up to Triple Miles for stays at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Enterprise Plus
- Double Plus Points, 20 Free Points + many more points for collecting badges on qualifying rentals at participating locations. More... Until Jul 31, 16

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by Nov 10 for travel until Dec 31, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia routes Worldwide. More... Economy Until Nov 30, 15 Business Dec 1 - 31, 15
- Triple Avios for stays at over 2,800 Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 16
- 1,500 Bonus Avios on Avis car rentals of 2 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Dec 15, 15

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 100% Bonus Flying Club Miles + Bonus Tier Points when you fly Virgin Atlantic between the US and London, Manchester or Glasgow. More... Register by Nov 30 for travel until Jan 13, 16

August 24 Update: Redeem Flying Club miles for hotel stays, Bonuses from Cathay Pacific, IHG & WestJet

IHG and Cathay Pacific take the spotlight on this first day of the week!

News, Tips & Tricks
Members of Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club can now redeem their miles for hotel stays via Kaligo. While the redemption rate may not be ideal this could be good news for those you in the Vancouver area who flew Virgin Atlantic and earned some miles before they stopped their YVR service and now you don't have a use for those miles. Find out more here.

The rest of today focuses on bonus offers! Three of them you really should check out are the Cathay Pacific bonus for flying out of Canada, IHG's next systemwide promotion called Accelerate and an offer we brought you last week, WestJet's new Plus Fare bonus (see the bonus offers section below for details!)


Posts since our last update:

• Cathay Pacific: Double Asia Miles in Premium Economy & Business Class between Canada and Hong Kong
  We haven't seen a Cathay Pacific Asia Miles bonus offer for their flights out of Canada since March of…
• IHG Rewards Club Accelerate - Earn at least 50,000 Bonus Points or 2 Free Nights for stays Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15
  IHG Rewards Club's Share Everything is wrapping up in two weeks and since it is nearing the end IHG…
  
  

Bonus Offers
AirAsia BIG (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 250 BIG Points when you sign up for Shopback and complete your first purchase (no minimum amount). More... Until ?

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Excelsior Chamonix Hotel Spa or the BEST WESTERN Marseille Bourse Vieux Port More... Until Nov 8, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles when you fly round trip on Cathay Pacific in Premium Economy or Business Class between Toronto or Vancouver and Hong Kong. More... Valid for residents of Canada only Oct 1 - Nov 30, 15
- 500 Bonus Asia Miles when you spend a minimum of HKD1,500 at thousands of hotel and other accommodation choices across France, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand and the US via Agoda. More...Book by Sep 9 for stays until Dec 31, 15

Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
- Double Business Class Bonus ConnectMiles when you fly in Business Class on Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 1,000 Free GarudaMiles when you join the GarudaMiles program. More... Until ?

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at The Blue Haven Resort and Marina. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Quadruple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Lodge on the Desert Tucson. More... Sep 1 - Oct 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Magnolia Hotel Dallass. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at The Resort at Port Ludlow. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at The Hotel Andra Seattle. More... Book by Sep 30 for stays until Dec 30, 15

WestJet Rewards
- Earn $50 Bonus WestJet dollars when you book and fly on a Plus fare on select WestJet routes in Canada, to the U.S. and Hawaii. More... Until Sep 30, 15

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

Jun 2 Update: RBC Avion transfer bonus to BA returns, SCENE adds Milestones as a partner, 20% Bonus for Diners Club transfers to Flying Club

I always love the start of each month as there are tons of new bonuses, lots of news and more that keeps the travel rewards space hopping!

News, Tips & Tricks
The big news today is the return of the RBC Avion transfer bonus to British Airways! This twice yearly 50% bonus has been much anticipated as it starts a month later than usual. We posted about it last night and are just reminding you again of the bonus as it is one of the main reasons the RBC Avion Infinite Visa card ranks high in our yearly rankings! Think about it, for 12,000 RBC Rewards Points ($12,000 in spending) you'll get 18,000 Avios which are enough points for two short haul round trip tickets in North America. Using the Avion redemption chart you would need 30,000 RBC Rewards Points ($30,000 in spending) to get the same flights! Find out more about the bonus below and more about the short haul redemption possibilities here.

Scotiabank has increased the sign up bonus for the Cineplex SCENE Visa. The regular offer of 2,000 points has been doubled to 4,000 points. This means you can get four free movies instead of two or $40 of spend at Sport Chek! This offer runs until October 31st. Find out more or apply for the card here.

Meanwhile still on the topic of SCENE, we mentioned nearly a year ago to watch this program as they grow out of a student focused movie going loyatly program to a coalition program like AIR MILES and Aeroplan. The first step was the addition of Sport Chek as a partner and now they have added Milestones Restaurants. SCENE members will now earn 1 point for every $3 spent at Milestones restaurants. Find out more here!

Oh yes and finally, in about two hours stay tuned to the Rewards Canada blog for another exciting announcement that is exclusive to Rewards Canada!

Posts since our last update:

• Hyatt Gold Passport: Earn 3,000 to 65,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points this summer with Sweet Dreams Sweet Rewards
  Hyatt launched their summer systemwide promotion today which means we now have summer promotions from almost every major hotel…
• airberlin: 1,000 Free topbonus Miles for registering for the frequent renter offer from Sixt returns again
  Today we see the return of a free miles offer we saw in July and November of 2014. Sixt…
• 50% Transfer Bonus for RBC Rewards (Avion only) to British Airways Executive Club is back - June 1 to July 15
  Many of you have been asking via email or comments on blog posts for old versions of this offer and…
• BMO CashBack World Elite MasterCard Review
  This post is a duplicate of the one found on our main Rewards Canada site)  Link: BMO CashBack World Elite…
  
  

Travel Deals
Marriott is offering 15% off their best available rates in the U.S. and Canada when you stay 2 nights or more. Simply book by June 12 for travel until August 15. Find out more here.

WestJet has launched a 2 day sale for travel in Canada, to the U.S. and Sun destinations. Book by June 3 for travel until August 31st. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- Double Miles&Bonus Miles on all domestic flights in Greece when you join the program in June and fly by August 31. More... Join by Jun 30 and fly by Aug 31, 15

airberlin topbonus
- Double topbonus Miles for Choice Hotels stays Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- 1,000 Free topbonus Miles when you join the Sixt Frequent Renter program. More... Until Jun 30, 15
- Earn up to 2,000 topbonus Miles on Sixt rentals Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 15

Binter Canarias BinterMas (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double BinterMas points for stays at Barcelo Hotels & Resorts in the Canary Islands. More... Until Jun 30, 15
- Double BinterMas points for stays at the Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden. More... Until Jun 30, 15

British Airways Executive Club
- 50% Bonus Avios when you convert RBC Rewards Points (Avion Cardholders only) to British Airways Executive Club. More... Residents of Canada only Until Jul 15, 15

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles for stays at select Park Inn Hotels in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Double Guest Miles for stays at select Radisson Blu Hotels in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Triple Guest Miles for stays at all Rotana Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport
- Earn up to 65,000 Bonus Points for stays at Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- 700 Bonus Gold Passport Points on qualifying rentals of 2 days or more at participating Avis locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and the Middle East More... Until Jun 30, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- 4X Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Jul 20 for stays until Aug 31, 15
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating ibis, Novotel or Mercure Hotels in in Poland, Lithuania or Latvia. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Aug 31, 15

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 500 Bonus Elevate on your first Gilt purchase. More... Until ?

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Flying Club Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- 20% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you convert Diners Club Club Rewards Points to Flying Club miles. More... Until Jun 30, 15

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