November 30 Update: Last day of 15th Anniversary Celebration, mbna World Elite loses first year free & Xiamen Airlines now on Rewards Canada

News, Tips & Tricks
This is the last day of the Rewards Canada 15th Anniversary Celebration! You have a chance to win 30,000 Starpoints in the final contest! Also remember that you until the end of today you can earn double MileagePlus Miles on all hotel bookings made via Kaligo! Check it all out on the 15th Anniversary site!

One of the better cards in Canada just lost its first year free status. the mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard is no longer waiving the $89 annual fee in the first year. You can read our review of the card here.

We added yet another new program that we are now tracking on Rewards Canada. Xiamen Air Egret Club has been added to our bonus offers section. Xiamen Air flies out of Vancouver to Xiamen China so this may be useful to those of utilizing the airline out of YVR. Xiamen Air is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. You can find that bonus offer page here.

Posts since our last update:

• 5 great Marriott Hotels in Canada to use your anniversary free night benefit at from the Marriott Rewards Visa
  The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card comes with a whole bunch of great sign up bonuses when you get…
• New bill in Ontario could make points & miles expiry illegal
  The CBC ran another piece on the whole AIR MILES expiry issue today about Bill 47 in Ontario. The…

Travel Deals
Save up to 30% off on IHG Hotels stays at over 600 locations in Europe  Full details and online booking Book by Feb 24 for stays until Feb 27, 17


Canadian Bonus Offers

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Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 50% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles for stays at the Grand Hotel Majestic, formerly the Baglioni, in Bologna, Due Torri Hotel in Verona, Hotel Bernini Palace in Florence, Hotel Bristol Palace in Genoa, and Hotel Santa Barbara and Hotel Alga in Milan. More... Until Feb 28, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stays at Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 10, 17

JAL Mileage Bank
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Mileage Bank Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by Feb 28, 17

Le Club accorhotels
-200 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for every THB 1,000 you spend at the Voilà! Restaurant or L’Appart Rooftop Bar and Restaurant at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Xiamen Air Egret Club
- 50% Bonus Egret Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Feb 15, 17 for stays until Dec 31, 17

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News Round Up: Aeroplan, Xiamen Airlines, Delta, United and Malaysia Airlines

With quite a few new developments in the airline and travel rewards industry I thought it would be better to round up all the news snippets in one blog post rather then inundating you with multiple posts.

Aeroplan now providing status of 7 Year Old non-redeemed miles
Tying in to some of our earlier blog posts and interviews in the Canadian media about Aeroplan's 7 Year expiry, this new feature can be found when you log in to your Aeroplan account. Once logged, click on the 'Your Account' tab and about 1/3 of the way down there is a heading labeled "Account Expiry Status" and there you will find the link to inquire about when your non-redeemed miles are set to expire. The response is not automatic, you will receive an email within 3-4 business days with your mileage status or if they do not have an email address on file you can expect a letter to be sent to you within 20 business days.

Xiamen Airlines to join SkyTeam
The subsidiary of China Southern Airlines (already a member of SkyTeam) is planning on joining the SkyTeam alliance. The airline was approved for membership by the alliance and is slated to be a member by the end of 2012.

Delta and United Continental to raise bag fees again
This time the increase in bag fees is for International flights. The first checked bag still flies free but a second bag on United Continental has been increased to $70. Delta new charges are $60 for a second bag if checked online and $75 if checked at the airport. For Delta flights to Mexico and Central America the second bag no longer travels for free as they have now implemented a $30 fee.

Malaysia Airlines set to join OneWorld Alliance
Earlier this month MAS announced their plan to join the OneWorld Alliance and expects to have full membership within 12-18 months.