New Priority Club iPhone App - Earn 1,000 bonus points for booking

InterContinental Hotels Group has launched an iPhone app for their Priority Club program and are offering members 1,000 bonus Priority Club points for each completed stay that is booked via the iPhone app until Jun 15, 10.

All you have to do is download the app from the AppStore and start to make you bookings!

For more details and a link for downloading please visit here.

WestJet cancels Toronto-Atlantic City service

According to WestJet's Facebook page service to ACY from YYZ is cancelled as of May 9, 2010. WestJet cites that the route did not see the demand they had hoped.

FFB is giving away 2 prizes of 2 Free Nights at any Hyatt Worldwide!

I have once again teamed up with Hyatt to give away some free night stays at any Hyatt worldwide! All you have to do is leave a comment on our Frequent Flyer Bonuses blog. The giveaway ends on Apr 30, so check it out soon!

Also don't forget about FrequentFlyerBonuses.com 5th Anniversary contest: www.5years5waystowin.com

Virgin America confirms Toronto start date

Virgin America will officially start service from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Toronto on June 23, 10. The flights are up for sale on Virgin America and if you are one of the first 500 Twitter Followers to click a special link from @VirginAmerica you will get a 50% off voucher code.

The schedules for the new flights are as follows:
Toronto-Los Angeles Dep 1800 Arr 2015
Los Angeles-Toronto Dep 2315 Arr 0700

Toronto-San Francisco Dep 0815 Arr 1040
San Francisco-Toronto Dep 0830 Arr 1559

US Airways offers system-wide Double Status and Earned Mileage

In what could be a repeat of last Spring and Fall, US Airways has released a promotion that offers double Preferred Status miles and Double Dividend miles on all US Airways, US Airways Express and US Airways Shuttle flights Worldwide. It is not entirely clear whether this promotion was a reaction to Southwest Airlines system-wide double credit promotion but nonetheless we should see other airlines match US's offer within the next 7 to 10 days. When they do so, we will have a repeat of last spring and fall where airlines offered system-wide double status mileage. The difference this year is that US Airways is offering up not only double status miles but also double earned miles! A pretty good offering to kick off the Spring 2010 season.

The offer from US Airways runs until June 15, 2010 and does require registration. Please visit this page on US Airways to register.

For information on other US Airways offers please visit our Dividend Miles Bonus Mile Opportunities page.

Air Canada Travel Advisory - Flights cancelled to/from London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt

This is from Air Canada but it is pretty much the same story for any airline flying into these and many other European cities:

MONTREAL, April 15 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada advises that as a result of the spread of volcanic ash over northern Europe due to volcanic activity in Iceland, a number of European airports have closed until further notice. Flights have been cancelled to and from the following European airports served by Air Canada: London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt. As other airports may be affected resulting in flight cancellations and delays, Air Canada will provide updates on aircanada.com as further information becomes available.

Customers with flights to or from affected areas are advised to check on the status of their flight prior to leaving for the airport by consulting the Air Canada website at aircanada.com, or by calling Air Canada's automated flight information system at 1-888-422-7533, or by using a web-enhanced cell phone.

In order to facilitate changes to travel plans, Air Canada has revised its ticketing policy for customers booked on flights that are subject to cancellation. Those customers wishing to make alternate travel arrangements can do so without penalty, space permitting, by contacting Air Canada Reservations toll free in Canada and the U.S. at 888-247-2262; TTY: 1-800-361-8071 or Air Canada Reservations worldwide. Due to increased call centre volume, wait times may be longer than usual.

"Air Canada is closely monitoring the situation and is doing everything possible to accommodate affected customers," said Duncan Dee, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "Due to heavy loads, particularly on flights to London starting today and into the weekend as a result of the end of Easter holidays, it may take several days after the re-opening of the affected European airports before customers will be able to resume travel."

Air Transat to offer Vancouver-Rome-Athens service

For the 2010 summer season Air Transat will offer direct service from Vancouver to Rome with a continuation of the flight to Athens. The flight were operate once per week from Jun 18 - Oct 2.

Source: Airline Route Updates

Goverment lifts carry-on limit for flights to the U.S.

The Canadian Government has lifted the one carry on bag rule on flights to the U.S.. With this restriction gone, passengers may now take up to two carry on bags and one personal item with them onto the plane. While this is the maximum limit, airlines may impose their own limits so check with the carrier you are flying with to see what they allow into the cabin for carry on luggage.

For more details see Transport Canada's press release

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is now available

After many months of hype from American Express and their PR team, the Starwood Preferred Guest®* Credit Card from American Express fro Canadians is finally open for applications. In fact it went live last Wednesday (Mar 31) but we have been quite swamped with the 5 Years 5 Ways to Win Contest that I have not had time to post about this card.

We revealed many of the details in an earlier post of ours but now we can see everything that this card has to offer including its insurance benefits. One main thing that has changed since our last post, is that AMEX and SPG are offering on a limited time basis 11,000 bonus Starpoints instead of 10,000 and the first year's annual fee of $120 is waived for the primary cardholder.

Once again here are the details of the card including the insuracne benefits
* Earn 1 Starpoint for every CDN$1 in purchases charged to the Card.
* Receive a Free Weekend Night Award (category 1-4) when you reach CDN$40,000 in purchases on the Card each year.
* Earn Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach CDN$30,000 in purchases on the Card each year.
* Take advantage of many American Express Card membership benefits, including Front Of The Line®* access to some of the hottest events,5 plus a host of travel-related insurance benefits.
* Enjoy the flexibility to pay balances in full or over time.
* CDN$120 annual fee.
* $500,000 Travel Accident Insurance
* Complimentary Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
* Flight Delay Insurance
* Baggage Delay Insurance
* Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance
* Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance
* Buyer's Assurance Protection Plan
* Purchase Protection Plan

Overall the card itself is pretty decent and being tied to one of the world's best Frequent Guest programs makes it relatively attractive. However if you compare it to SPG's previous offering in Canada with MBNA, the card is expensive in terms of annual fees and does not offer much more then the old card did. When quickly compared to cards it is trying to compete with (RBC Avion, CIBC Aerogolds) is stacks up nicely and is a contender against those cards. While the card will definitely have its followers, SPG and AMEX will have to do some legwork to try and pull people away from their airline cards or from the travel anywhere cards like Avion and TD Visa's. Many people outside of the pavement pounding high flying frequent travellers are unaware of hotel programs in general and they need to be educated on the value of a hotel program especially when hotels can cost as much if not more then flights on their vacations. In this case the card can be a decent proposition for leisure travellers versus the airline or travel anywhere cards.

To find out more or to apply for the card click here.

OK Tire becomes latest Aeroplan partner

Aeroplan members can now earn Aeroplan miles at over 270 OK Tire locations across Canada. Members will be able to earn 1 Aeroplan Mile per $2 spent on all tire and wheel purchases and 1 Aeroplan Mile for every $1 spent on parts, labour & mechanical services.

Source: Colloquy