August 17 Update: New Amex offers for Burberry, Lululemon, The Chesterfield Shop, More details on the Walmart World Mastercard and last day to grab the HSBC World Elite 60K+FYF offer

A trio of new offers are available as part of the Amex Offers program. Check your card accounts to see if you have been targeted for these. The offers are from Burberry (we received it on Marriott Bonvoy American Express Cards and The Platinum Card), the Chesterfield shop (not sure which cards, this is on Amex's general shopping page) and Lululemon (we received it on the American Express Cobalt Card and The Platinum Card). You can find these and all other current offers on our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

 

An update to follow up on our post from Friday about the new Walmart Rewards World Mastercard. Walmart Financial let us know the card will have the same welcome bonus of $25 as the base card and provided the card art as to what the card will look like. Learn more here.

And a reminder! Today is the last day to get HSBC World Elite Mastercard offer of up to 60,000 points with the first year annual fee waived. Apply for the card here.

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!

The latest inventory update from Austrian Airlines shows their Montreal-Vienna route not returning for the winter season. (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:

• Walmart Rewards World Mastercard coming this September
    The market continues to get flooded with new credit cards. One of the latest to be announced is…
• August 14 Update: Canada, U.S., Mexico non-essential travel ban extended to September 21, Turkish Airlines further delays new Vancouver route & hotel occupancy rates approach 40%
   Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have agreed to extend the non-essential travel ban between the countries to September 21.…

Deals:

TAP Air Portugal released a new us 15% Discount Code for new bookings made between today and August 18. The discount applies for flights from Canada to Europe. The discount code MULTI15 is good for travel until March 31, 2021 (Black out from Dec 17 to Jan 10) and is valid on all fares except Discount and Top Executive. Bookings made with this promo code are allowed 1 free booking change should your travel plans change due to COVID-19. Find out more here.

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

AIR MILES
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus AIR MILES Rewards Miles when you earn miles at multiple AIR MILES partners. More... Until Sep 10, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at the Best Western Plus Hilltop Inn Redding More... Until Oct 31, 20
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays at the Best Western Royal Palace Inn & Suites Los Angeles. More... Until Sep 7, 20

British Airways Executive Club
- 800 Bonus Avios on Avis rentals of a Group C vehicle or higher for 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book now for rentals Sep 1 - 30, 20

Miles & More
- Triple Miles & More Miles per night for stays at H-Hotels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. More... Until Sep 30, 20

Follow Rewards Canada:

---

Walmart Rewards World Mastercard coming this September

 

The market continues to get flooded with new credit cards. One of the latest to be announced is the Walmart Rewards World Mastercard. The card is being released just as the original Walmart Rewards Mastercard celebrates its 10th anniversary in Canada. The new card will open up for applications in September and offers some increased earn rates and benefits over the basic version of the card.

Recommended reading: There is a rewards card out there for everyone - including the Walmart Rewards Mastercard

We don't know yet what the welcome bonus will be. Seeing that the basic card offers $25 we would have to assume it will be at least that if not more. Also being a World version it will most likely have higher income requirements ($60,000 individual, $100,000 household) to qualify for the card.

Update: The card will have the same $25 welcome bonus as the base card

Here is what Walmart has provided to us so far for what this card will offer in terms of earning Walmart Rewards Dollars:

• 3% of your spend on Walmart.ca
• 1.25% in Walmart stores
• 1% everywhere else Mastercard is accepted
• 1.25% on gas 
  

Walmart Rewards Dollars work just like cash so 1 Walmart Reward dollar equates to $1 you can spend at Walmart. 

 

We also that since this is a World Mastercard it will get the benefits that are afforded to all World Mastercards and those are:

• Free global Boingo Wi-Fi (including flights on WestJet and other airlines)
• Credits for using Ritual and other everyday digital offers
  
• Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey
• Car Rental Insurance
• Purchase Protection
• Extended Warranty

Recommended reading: A look at the new benefits that have been added to all World & World Elite Mastercards in Canada

At this time we don't know yet if there will be any additional benefits or insurance added to the card as well.

In general this card will appeal primarily to the more affluent Walmart shopper, especially those making those Walmart purchases online. Outside of that there are other no fee card options out there that may be better suited for most as this card limits you to strictly redeeming at Walmart. That being said this card earns no less than 1% cash back which is pretty good considering other no annual fee cards like Tangerine, BMO et al only earn a 0.5% base rate. Some food for thought....

Click here to learn more about this card

There is a rewards card out there for everyone - including the Walmart Rewards Mastercard

On Rewards Canada we do our best to cover the 150+ rewards-based credit cards that are available to Canadians. That being said, there’s one we haven't written about yet – the Walmart Rewards Mastercard. It may have flown under the radar, but is there any value to it?  The simple answer is yes. There is a card for everyone, including the Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard®

This card is for the person who shops often at Walmart and wants to be rewarded at Walmart. This is for people who are looking to stretch their hard-earned dollars as far as they can on daily purchases like groceries and household goods - a great option for many families. Not only does Walmart offer great prices on many items, but you have the ability to redeem right at the checkout till with your Walmart Reward Dollars®. It’s all about saving money.

There are cash back credit cards that will potentially let you earn more on purchases at Walmart but those other cash back cards make you wait to redeem. With Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® you don’t have to wait to receive rewards. Walmart Reward Dollars allows you to redeem both in store and online at Walmart as soon as you’ve earned $5. As we always say in the loyalty industry, a mile earned today is not worth as much as it is tomorrow. The same holds true for cash back. In theory $1 earned is the same today as it is in a year but if you factor in inflation, savings account interest rates or other potential financial products, that $1 earned on your cash back card is worth more right now than having to wait until later. With a welcome bonus of $25 Walmart Reward Dollars you can redeem right away with this card for that instant cash savings.

A 1.25% return on Walmart shopping is strong compared to other no fee cash back cards but you get that instant redemption option at the register. The closest you may get to this with other cards is being able to pay off your account with a pay with points feature and those will not give you a 1.25% return on Walmart purchases. All other purchases on this card earn 1% back which is comparable to the majority of no annual fee cash back cards on the market.

Overall it is all about that instant savings with this card – and the fact that you’re saving on top of Walmart’s low prices. By being able to use your Walmart Rewards right at Walmart you are keeping that cash in your pocket now instead of waiting for it until the end of the year. This is a Walmart shopper's card through and through. If you don't want travel rewards and want quick and easy access to your cashback at the till, then this card is for you.

Find out more and apply for the Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® here.

This feature was sponsored by The Walmart Rewards Mastercard. The write up, views and opinions expressed in this feature, however, are purely those of Rewards Canada.



June 13 Update: Walmart Canada to no longer accept Visa, BMO SPC sign up bonuses increased and more!

News, Tips & Tricks

The big news over the weekend came to us from Walmart Canada who announced they will stop accepting Visa branded cards. The first store will be in Thunder Bay and others across Canada wil follow suit. Walmart states that Visa is charging them too high of fees and they could not come to an agreement to continue accepting Visa cards.

 Following an evaluation of credit card transaction fees in Canada and the rest of the world, we have concluded the fees applied to Visa credit card purchases remain unacceptably high.

Walmart’s purpose is to save customers money so they can live better. We are committed first and foremost to this purpose, which requires us to keep costs as low as possible.
To ensure we are taking care of our customers’ best interests and delivering on our promise of saving customers money, we constantly work to reduce our operating costs, including credit card fees. Unfortunately, Visa and Walmart have been unable to agree on an acceptable fee for Visa transactions. As a result we will no longer accept Visa in our stores across Canada, starting with our stores in Thunder Bay, on July 18, 2016.  This change will then be rolled out in phases across the country.

This leaves MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Interac and Cash as the methods of payment at Walmart. Of course this will mean an even bigger push by Walmart for their own Walmart Rewards MasterCard and many, unfortunately, will jump on the card when at the cash register finding out Walmart no longer accepts Visa. The sad thing is there are many other options that are better than the Walmart MasterCard here in Canada (whether it is a MasterCard or Amex card).

As we stated on Twitter over the weekend, this further solidifies our constant push for our readers to hold onto at least one Visa card, one MasterCard and one American Express card. We normally state this due to promotions that are available to each individual brand but now it is even holding true just for being able to use cards at certain retailers. Here is the excerpt from our Maximize Your Miles article:

Carry different credit cards

Some bonus mile offers or other offers like free gift cards (see Cash in on other rewards below) require that you only use a specific credit card like a Visa. So if it is economically viable for you to do so, carry a Visa card, a MasterCard and an American Express. Think it may be expensive? Well there are quite a few no fee credit cards that earn points.  Of course you don't even have to get a mileage card for your additional card, you could go for cash back rebates or merchandise but since this is an article on miles, why wouldn't you?"

The whole idea of carrying all three major card brands is the premise of our Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios, so if you only carry a Visa card but want to continue shopping at Walmart and continue earning your favourite rewards like Aeroplan miles be sure to check out our Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios.

---

Another Rexall AIR MILES coupon for you. 80 bonus Reward Miles if you $50 or more until the 16th. Get the coupon here.

--- 

BMO has increased the sign up bonuses for their SPC MasterCards!

Posts since our last update:

• N/A

Travel Deals
Fly British Airways between Toronto and London for as low as $693 all in. Find out more here.


Bonus Offers
Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards points for stays at Best Western Hotels in the Netherlands and Belgium. More... Jul 1 - Aug 31, 16

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Jul 7, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in in Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. More... Book by Jun 29 for stays until Aug 31, 16

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for at least two consecutive nights in the Premier Club or Premium Suite at Concorde Hotel Singapore. More... Until Jul 31, 16
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you rent with EuropCar in in Australia, Malaysia and Thailand. More... Until Jul 31, 16

South African Airways Voyager
- Double Voyager Miles for stays at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. More... Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16

Follow Rewards Canada:

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