Not exactly a mileage offer but some might consider this a "Frequent Flyer Bonus" as American Airlines moves to stop charging for most alcoholic beverages in their domestic Admiral Club lounges. The new policy starts on October 1st and covers well brand liquors, beer and house wines. There will however remain a charge for premium liquors and wines as well as the variety of food options that tend to be available.
Source: American Airlines
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Marriott Rewards announces more places to earn points
On the same day that Ritz-Carlton launched their new rewards program (this will be covered in another post) that is closely tied to Marriott, members of the Marriott Rewards program can now earn and redeem Marriott Rewards points at Ritz-Carlton, Autograph Collection and EDITION Hotels. This new opportunity for Marriott Rewards members is obviously part of the reciprocity of the two hotel loyalty programs working together.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Hainan Airlines to launch Toronto-Beijing Service
Per Airline Route Updates, China's Hainan Airlines will launch three times weekly service between Toronto and Beijing on Nov 27. The route will be operated with an Airbus A340-600. Frequent travellers can earn miles for the flight in Hainan's Fortune Wings Club or on their partner airlines like Air Berlin's Top Bonus and Malev's Duna Club to name a few.Flight Timings
Toronto-Beijing Dep 1540 Arr 1855+1
Beijing-Toronto Dep 1300 Arr 1340
Aeroplan to match donations to its Beyond Miles partners on mile matching days
Montreal, QC, September 9, 2010 – Aeroplan today announced that it will match all miles donated by members to each of the nine Beyond Miles charitable partners as part of “Aeroplan Match Days.” Miles will be matched on a 1-for1 basis up to 1.5 million Aeroplan Miles for each partner organization. Each organization has chosen its own match day and Aeroplan will match miles for a 24 hour period.
To donate miles, members simply visit www.aeroplan.com/donate where they can choose to donate to any of the Beyond Miles partners including: Air Canada’s Kids Horizons, Athletes for Africa, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders, Médecins Sans Frontières, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders and War Child Canada. Each of the nine Canadian organizations are committed to improving lives and enriching communities across Canada and abroad.
“Thanks to the generosity of our members, more than 12 million miles were donated to our Beyond Miles partners last year during Aeroplan Mile Matching Days,” said Vince Timpano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aeroplan. “We hope to surpass this impressive number by encouraging our members to continue to support these incredible organizations and their projects across the world.” Mile Matching Days will be held on:
· War Child Canada – September 13, 2010;
· Veterinarians Without Borders – October 4, 2010
· Engineers Without Borders – October 15, 2010
· Médecins Sans Frontières – November 4, 2010
· Earth Day Canada – November 7, 2010
· Schools Without Borders – November 9, 2010
· Athletes for Africa – November 17, 2010
· Stephen Lewis Foundation – December 10, 2010
· Air Canada Kids Horizons – December 15, 2010
“War Child Canada is excited about our “Aeroplan Match Day” and will use the donated miles to help support children whose lives have been affected by war,” said War Child Canada’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Samantha Nutt. “Whether used to visit schools that are being rebuilt in wartorn Democratic Republic of Congo, our program that helps lift families out of poverty in Afghanistan,or children who have lost both parents to HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, the miles will go a long way to supporting children and their families in war affected communities around the world. We are incredibly grateful to Aeroplan and to their members for their generosity.”
Since the program was launched in 2006, more than 145 million Aeroplan Miles have been donated by members. Beyond Miles partners use Aeroplan Miles to offset costs related to travel by air as well as hotel accommodations and car rentals. Aeroplan offsets 100 per cent of all carbon emissions from flights taken by Beyond Miles partners using donated miles. In 2010, Aeroplan has donated 1.25 million miles to each of the partner organizations. Aeroplan also announced recently that members can now automatically donate 2 per cent of all miles accumulated to any Beyond Miles partner of the member’s choice. Members interested in donating 2 per cent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the Beyond Miles partner they would like their miles to go to. More information is available at www.aeroplan.com/donate.
In addition, Aeroplan also has a Charitable Pooling program that allows members to use miles to support individuals, families or local grass roots charities in need. 100 per cent of the donated miles go directly to these individuals and groups. Members have pooled more than 45 million miles into over 400 pooling accounts across the country.
Aeroplan’s Beyond Miles program and other community investment initiatives can now be found on Twitter. Follow us at: http://twitter.com/BeyondMiles.
To donate miles, members simply visit www.aeroplan.com/donate where they can choose to donate to any of the Beyond Miles partners including: Air Canada’s Kids Horizons, Athletes for Africa, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders, Médecins Sans Frontières, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders and War Child Canada. Each of the nine Canadian organizations are committed to improving lives and enriching communities across Canada and abroad.
“Thanks to the generosity of our members, more than 12 million miles were donated to our Beyond Miles partners last year during Aeroplan Mile Matching Days,” said Vince Timpano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aeroplan. “We hope to surpass this impressive number by encouraging our members to continue to support these incredible organizations and their projects across the world.” Mile Matching Days will be held on:
· War Child Canada – September 13, 2010;
· Veterinarians Without Borders – October 4, 2010
· Engineers Without Borders – October 15, 2010
· Médecins Sans Frontières – November 4, 2010
· Earth Day Canada – November 7, 2010
· Schools Without Borders – November 9, 2010
· Athletes for Africa – November 17, 2010
· Stephen Lewis Foundation – December 10, 2010
· Air Canada Kids Horizons – December 15, 2010
“War Child Canada is excited about our “Aeroplan Match Day” and will use the donated miles to help support children whose lives have been affected by war,” said War Child Canada’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Samantha Nutt. “Whether used to visit schools that are being rebuilt in wartorn Democratic Republic of Congo, our program that helps lift families out of poverty in Afghanistan,or children who have lost both parents to HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, the miles will go a long way to supporting children and their families in war affected communities around the world. We are incredibly grateful to Aeroplan and to their members for their generosity.”
Since the program was launched in 2006, more than 145 million Aeroplan Miles have been donated by members. Beyond Miles partners use Aeroplan Miles to offset costs related to travel by air as well as hotel accommodations and car rentals. Aeroplan offsets 100 per cent of all carbon emissions from flights taken by Beyond Miles partners using donated miles. In 2010, Aeroplan has donated 1.25 million miles to each of the partner organizations. Aeroplan also announced recently that members can now automatically donate 2 per cent of all miles accumulated to any Beyond Miles partner of the member’s choice. Members interested in donating 2 per cent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the Beyond Miles partner they would like their miles to go to. More information is available at www.aeroplan.com/donate.
In addition, Aeroplan also has a Charitable Pooling program that allows members to use miles to support individuals, families or local grass roots charities in need. 100 per cent of the donated miles go directly to these individuals and groups. Members have pooled more than 45 million miles into over 400 pooling accounts across the country.
Aeroplan’s Beyond Miles program and other community investment initiatives can now be found on Twitter. Follow us at: http://twitter.com/BeyondMiles.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One Review
This is the review in full as it appears on the main Rewards Canada site.
This post was amended on April 18, 2013 to reflect changes Capital One has made to the product
The latest travel rewards credit card to be released in Canada is the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One. Delta has been looking to release a credit card in Canada over the past couple years, initial reports had BMO being the card partner but now we all know that Capital One is the banking partner for Delta. This card is the first airline card for the SkyTeam alliance in Canada and Delta is only the fourth US airline to have a dedicated card in Canada after Alaska, American and United. It is primarily targeted to existing SkyMiles members in Canada but Capital One and Delta are also looking to potentially move some people away from other frequent flyer programs in Canada to their offering.
Overview
Seeing that the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One comes with MasterCard's 'World' branding, therefore it provides an excellent insurance and benefit package that is similar to Capital One's Aspire World MasterCard. The card features a good earning ratio that eclipses other airline cards like RBC's British Airways and Cathay Pacific Visas in that you technically get triple miles when you book with the airline. It has a decent sign up bonus, and allows you to add an authorized user for $0.
Costs
The Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One comes with a standard $120 primary card annual fee that you will find on most premium cards that offer similar rewards and benefits. Get a welcome bonus of up to 25,000 Delta miles. Depending on time, season and availability, the sign up offer could be worth upwards of $500-$600 in equivalent flight costs. The interest rate on the card is 19.8% placing it right in the middle of the pack of competitors. Please Note: A requirement of this card is a minimum personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000.
Earning
The Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One earns 3 Delta miles for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases. Earn 2 Delta miles per $1 on all other net purchases. The card features a 10,000 bonus Delta miles on your account anniversary if you spend at least $25,000 in net purchases each membership year.
Redeeming
See Application for Details
Features and Benefits
As stated above the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One comes with an insurance package that competes with all the other high end cards. The card features Trip Cancellation Insurance which is only offered as a standard feature on five other travel rewards cards and Travel Medical insurance which only comes standard on about 50% of the cards in the market.
What is good about this card
For the loyal Delta/SkyMiles traveler or frequent flyer, this card is a perfect fit to add many more miles to their SkyMiles account. The sign up bonus of 25,000 miles is higher then most other airline cards in Canada. The ability to redeem for business or first class seats at a good rate of return (these premium class redemptions can sometimes give as high as a 10% return on your spending) is always a plus feature to card like this. The airlines partnered with Delta, in particular the SkyTeam airlines, means you don't always have to transit the U.S. on your reward flights as some partners fly directly from Canada to Asia and Europe. Add the whole host of insurance and benefits including the trip cancellation and Travel Emergency Medical and you have a decent offering for an airline credit card.
What is not so good about this card
As with virtually every frequent flyer program, the biggest drawback continues to be award availability, particularly at the lowest redemption levels that a program has. Delta SkyMiles is not immune to this as we mentioned above although unlike some frequent flyer programs you at least have access to all seats and not select few per flight even if it may cost you more miles. The additional taxes and fees on reward flights can also be seen as a drawback compared to the many travel points cards in Canada that allow you to use points towards the taxes and fees. Finally, flight redemptions via SkyMiles cannot be used for flights within Canada as Delta does not have a domestic partner, all flights would have to go via the U.S. and have to be booked as separate one way or multi-segment trips.
Conclusion
While the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One won't stir up the Canadian market like Capital One's Aspire card did earlier this year it does present a viable option for a dedicated airline credit card in Canada. Having a nice sign up bonus, a good insurance package and being part of the second largest airline alliance serving Canada, the card will be attractive to frequent travelers whose primary travels take them outside of Canada. It will not make a big dent in Aeroplan's or AIR MILES' customer bases but it will definitely keep many of the current SkyMiles members from defecting to another program if they have been considering a move.
We would like to hear your thoughts on the new Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One by commenting below!
Related Links:
Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One on Capitalone.ca
“The interest rates, fees, rewards details, benefits and other details of the Capital One product(s) described in the article may have changed since the time of publication. Please consult the product information pages on the Capital One website for accurate product details. In the event of any conflict between the product details in this article and the Capital One website, the details on the Capital One website shall prevail.”
This post was amended on April 18, 2013 to reflect changes Capital One has made to the product
The latest travel rewards credit card to be released in Canada is the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One. Delta has been looking to release a credit card in Canada over the past couple years, initial reports had BMO being the card partner but now we all know that Capital One is the banking partner for Delta. This card is the first airline card for the SkyTeam alliance in Canada and Delta is only the fourth US airline to have a dedicated card in Canada after Alaska, American and United. It is primarily targeted to existing SkyMiles members in Canada but Capital One and Delta are also looking to potentially move some people away from other frequent flyer programs in Canada to their offering.
Overview
Seeing that the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One comes with MasterCard's 'World' branding, therefore it provides an excellent insurance and benefit package that is similar to Capital One's Aspire World MasterCard. The card features a good earning ratio that eclipses other airline cards like RBC's British Airways and Cathay Pacific Visas in that you technically get triple miles when you book with the airline. It has a decent sign up bonus, and allows you to add an authorized user for $0.
Costs
The Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One comes with a standard $120 primary card annual fee that you will find on most premium cards that offer similar rewards and benefits. Get a welcome bonus of up to 25,000 Delta miles. Depending on time, season and availability, the sign up offer could be worth upwards of $500-$600 in equivalent flight costs. The interest rate on the card is 19.8% placing it right in the middle of the pack of competitors. Please Note: A requirement of this card is a minimum personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000.
Earning
The Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One earns 3 Delta miles for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases. Earn 2 Delta miles per $1 on all other net purchases. The card features a 10,000 bonus Delta miles on your account anniversary if you spend at least $25,000 in net purchases each membership year.
Redeeming
See Application for Details
Features and Benefits
As stated above the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One comes with an insurance package that competes with all the other high end cards. The card features Trip Cancellation Insurance which is only offered as a standard feature on five other travel rewards cards and Travel Medical insurance which only comes standard on about 50% of the cards in the market.
What is good about this card
For the loyal Delta/SkyMiles traveler or frequent flyer, this card is a perfect fit to add many more miles to their SkyMiles account. The sign up bonus of 25,000 miles is higher then most other airline cards in Canada. The ability to redeem for business or first class seats at a good rate of return (these premium class redemptions can sometimes give as high as a 10% return on your spending) is always a plus feature to card like this. The airlines partnered with Delta, in particular the SkyTeam airlines, means you don't always have to transit the U.S. on your reward flights as some partners fly directly from Canada to Asia and Europe. Add the whole host of insurance and benefits including the trip cancellation and Travel Emergency Medical and you have a decent offering for an airline credit card.
What is not so good about this card
As with virtually every frequent flyer program, the biggest drawback continues to be award availability, particularly at the lowest redemption levels that a program has. Delta SkyMiles is not immune to this as we mentioned above although unlike some frequent flyer programs you at least have access to all seats and not select few per flight even if it may cost you more miles. The additional taxes and fees on reward flights can also be seen as a drawback compared to the many travel points cards in Canada that allow you to use points towards the taxes and fees. Finally, flight redemptions via SkyMiles cannot be used for flights within Canada as Delta does not have a domestic partner, all flights would have to go via the U.S. and have to be booked as separate one way or multi-segment trips.
Conclusion
While the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One won't stir up the Canadian market like Capital One's Aspire card did earlier this year it does present a viable option for a dedicated airline credit card in Canada. Having a nice sign up bonus, a good insurance package and being part of the second largest airline alliance serving Canada, the card will be attractive to frequent travelers whose primary travels take them outside of Canada. It will not make a big dent in Aeroplan's or AIR MILES' customer bases but it will definitely keep many of the current SkyMiles members from defecting to another program if they have been considering a move.
We would like to hear your thoughts on the new Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One by commenting below!
Related Links:
Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One on Capitalone.ca
“The interest rates, fees, rewards details, benefits and other details of the Capital One product(s) described in the article may have changed since the time of publication. Please consult the product information pages on the Capital One website for accurate product details. In the event of any conflict between the product details in this article and the Capital One website, the details on the Capital One website shall prevail.”
Friday, September 10, 2010
United cancels Ottawa - Denver service and modifies other Canadian routes
According to Airline Route Updates, United Airlines is cutting it's service between Ottawa and Denver and has made modifications to its schedule for service to a few other Canadian cities:
Chicago – Calgary 1 of 3 Daily Service continues to operate by UNITED Mainline in W10
Denver – Calgary 5 Daily UNITED Express Service (compared to Mixed Mainline/Express in W09)
Denver – Ottawa Service canceled, not resuming in Winter 2010
Denver – Vancouver 04NOV10 – 15DEC10 3 Daily service CRJ700 replace Mainline
Los Angeles – Vancouver 31OCT10 – 31DEC10 2 Daily UNITED Express Service (compared to 3 in W09)
Washington Dulles – Halifax 04NOV10 – 17FEB11 Service Temporary Canceled
Chicago – Calgary 1 of 3 Daily Service continues to operate by UNITED Mainline in W10
Denver – Calgary 5 Daily UNITED Express Service (compared to Mixed Mainline/Express in W09)
Denver – Ottawa Service canceled, not resuming in Winter 2010
Denver – Vancouver 04NOV10 – 15DEC10 3 Daily service CRJ700 replace Mainline
Los Angeles – Vancouver 31OCT10 – 31DEC10 2 Daily UNITED Express Service (compared to 3 in W09)
Washington Dulles – Halifax 04NOV10 – 17FEB11 Service Temporary Canceled
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Rewards Canada to be on 2010 Airline Mega Awards Judging Academy
I am proud to announce that I will be one of the five members of the Judging academy for the 2010 Mega Awards to be held in Montreal on Oct 13, 2010 which is part of the larger Mega Event 2010 (FFP | ARAC | Co-Brand): The Airline Profitability Summit which runs Oct 12-14.What are the Mega Awards? Well it is easier to post what Airline Information has described it as rather then having me rehash it:
"Airline Information proudly presents The 2010 Mega Awards Gala Dinner, sponsored by Visa and hosted by Freddie Laker
(son of legendary low cost airline innovator Sir Freddie Laker).
Winners of the Mega Award will be recognized during a ceremony held at Mega Event in Montreal on 13 October. An elegant gala evening featuring cocktails, dinner and a special appearance by modern low cost innovator Tony Fernandes, will mark Airline Information’s return to industry accolades since the FFP Innovation Awards.
This is truly an event that you don’t want to miss!
What are the Mega Awards?
Mega Awards can be won by Airlines, Vendors, and Professionals in three categories.
Categories include: Loyalty Marketing, Customer Engagement through Social Media, Merchandising/Ancillary Revenue. For the 2010 awards, both Vendors and Professionals are limited to the Loyalty Marketing and Merchandising categories.
What does it take to win?
The honor of winning a Mega Award requires daring innovation and results-oriented marketing. Campaigns launched or executed in the calendar year 2009 will be up for consideration by the Mega Awards Judging Academy. "
I am excited to be selected to be part of the judging panel and look forward to evaluating all the entries that are received.
If you are attending the summit or the gala or both, feel free to contact me so that we can have chance to meet face to face in Montreal.
For more information on the Mega Awards please see here: Mega Awards Gala Dinner 2010
For more information on the Mega Event Summit please see here: Mega Event 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Air Canada expanding service to Mexico City following Mexicana's collapse
Air Canada announced yesterday that they will restart daily Montreal to Mexico City service and initiate new service between Vancouver and Mexico City this fall. This announcement comes on the heels of Mexicana Airlines demise over the past weekend and also follows Japan Airlines pulling out of the Vancouver-Mexico City market awhile back.
Flight Timings
Montreal-Mexico City Dep 1630 Arr 2120
Mexico City-Montreal Dep 0930 Arr 1520
Service starts Nov. 1
Vancouver-Mexico City Dep 0830 Arr 1545
Mexico City-Vancouver Dep 1645 Arr 2035
Note: Vancouver service will run on Saturday and Sunday only from Nov 6 -30 and will become daily service on Dec 1
Source: Yahoo
Flight Timings
Montreal-Mexico City Dep 1630 Arr 2120
Mexico City-Montreal Dep 0930 Arr 1520
Service starts Nov. 1
Vancouver-Mexico City Dep 0830 Arr 1545
Mexico City-Vancouver Dep 1645 Arr 2035
Note: Vancouver service will run on Saturday and Sunday only from Nov 6 -30 and will become daily service on Dec 1
Source: Yahoo
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Changes to the AIR MILES program
The AIR MILES program has recently announced some enhancements to the program that are all related to their flight rewards. The newly announced changes or enhancements are as follows:
More Seats and Over 25 Airlines
- According to the AIR MILES, they will now offer more seats for redemption on their 11 partner airlines which hopefully means AIR MILES members will find flight redemption easier.
- Should seats not be available on their 11 partner airlines, you can now redeem AIR MILES on 25 other airlines. These redemption will require more AIR MILES then flights on the partner airlines. AIR MILES state they can start at a 5% premium but will depend on the chosen flight, date and time. (This is similar to Aeroplan's ClassicPlus flight option where you can get any seat if available but for a higher amount of miles)
The 25 new airlines that can be found under this new option are:
Delta Airlines | Continental Airlines | US Airways | Air Transat | JetBlue | British Airways | Air France | KLM | Cathay Pacific | Singapore Airways | Emirates | Qantas | British Midland | Hawaiian Airlines | AeroMexico | Air New Zealand | Swiss Airlines | Austrian Air | Caribbean Airlines | Air Jamaica | Czech Airlines | ANA | LAN | Etihad Airways | Jet Airways
One Way Flights
- AIR MILES members will now be able to book one way flights in the program allowing for open jaw, stop over and other routing possibilities.
Departures from anywhere in the World
- Members can now book flights from anywhere in the world. Previously departures had to originate in Canada or the U.S.
Online Booking
- AIR MILES has finally caught up to the rest of the travel loyalty companies by offering online booking of reward flights. This option is set to become live sometime this fall. We had heard that it was originally supposed to happen earlier this year but like almost every program out there launching a new IT initiative, it is coming out later then expected. What we don't know yet is if online bookings will have a booking fee or not. To be competitive, it should not carry a fee but for the amount of members AIR MILES has and the unlikely defection of many of those members to other programs, AIR MILES may have a fee tacked onto online bookings simply because they can. We will have to wait and see on that subject.
Overall these changes are a move in the right direction for the AIR MILES program. For the past few years the program has appeared to be more focused on merchandise and other non-flight rewards, moving away from the whole premise of the name AIR MILES. These changes bring the program back inline with its travel competitors like Aeroplan and many credit card travel reward programs. While the earning and redemption rates may still not be as attractive as some of the other programs, these changes should please many of the 9 Million+ members who have AIR MILES as their primary loyalty program.
For more details on these changes please see the AIR MILES website
More Seats and Over 25 Airlines
- According to the AIR MILES, they will now offer more seats for redemption on their 11 partner airlines which hopefully means AIR MILES members will find flight redemption easier.
- Should seats not be available on their 11 partner airlines, you can now redeem AIR MILES on 25 other airlines. These redemption will require more AIR MILES then flights on the partner airlines. AIR MILES state they can start at a 5% premium but will depend on the chosen flight, date and time. (This is similar to Aeroplan's ClassicPlus flight option where you can get any seat if available but for a higher amount of miles)
The 25 new airlines that can be found under this new option are:
Delta Airlines | Continental Airlines | US Airways | Air Transat | JetBlue | British Airways | Air France | KLM | Cathay Pacific | Singapore Airways | Emirates | Qantas | British Midland | Hawaiian Airlines | AeroMexico | Air New Zealand | Swiss Airlines | Austrian Air | Caribbean Airlines | Air Jamaica | Czech Airlines | ANA | LAN | Etihad Airways | Jet Airways
One Way Flights
- AIR MILES members will now be able to book one way flights in the program allowing for open jaw, stop over and other routing possibilities.
Departures from anywhere in the World
- Members can now book flights from anywhere in the world. Previously departures had to originate in Canada or the U.S.
Online Booking
- AIR MILES has finally caught up to the rest of the travel loyalty companies by offering online booking of reward flights. This option is set to become live sometime this fall. We had heard that it was originally supposed to happen earlier this year but like almost every program out there launching a new IT initiative, it is coming out later then expected. What we don't know yet is if online bookings will have a booking fee or not. To be competitive, it should not carry a fee but for the amount of members AIR MILES has and the unlikely defection of many of those members to other programs, AIR MILES may have a fee tacked onto online bookings simply because they can. We will have to wait and see on that subject.
Overall these changes are a move in the right direction for the AIR MILES program. For the past few years the program has appeared to be more focused on merchandise and other non-flight rewards, moving away from the whole premise of the name AIR MILES. These changes bring the program back inline with its travel competitors like Aeroplan and many credit card travel reward programs. While the earning and redemption rates may still not be as attractive as some of the other programs, these changes should please many of the 9 Million+ members who have AIR MILES as their primary loyalty program.
For more details on these changes please see the AIR MILES website
Monday, August 23, 2010
Delta Airlines to launch SkyMiles Credit Card in Canada
UPDATED AUG 24 (See below)
We have been given a heads up that Delta Airlines will officially launch a Canadian SkyMiles Credit Card tomorrow. The card will be issued by Capital One and it is the banks first foray into the airline frequent flyer market in Canada. We have known for about two years that Delta has been interested in launching a credit card in Canada, we just did not know when it would happen and with which bank (you may remember us mentioning a few times that a major U.S. airline was looking to launch a card here).
Delta Airlines serves the most cities in Canada after Air Canada and WestJet so it is a logical place for them to launch a new credit card. It will also be the first dedicated airline card for a SkyTeam alliance airline in Canada as both Star Alliance and OneWorld already have airline specific cards in Canada.
There will be two versions of the card, the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® and the Delta SkyMiles Gold MasterCard. What we know so far is that the World MasterCard will offer 1 SkyMile for each C$1 spent, 2 SkyMiles for every C$1 spent with Delta, a limited time 25,000 SkyMile sign up bonus, a full insurance/benefit package and more.
We will provide the full details on each card tomorrow when all the details are released.
September 14, 2012 update:
The cards are now live on the Capital One Website:
World MasterCard
Gold MasterCard
World MasterCard details:
Apply Online
• Earn Delta miles on everything you buy
• Get a welcome bonus of up to 25,000 Delta miles
• Earn 3 Delta miles for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases
• Earn 2 Delta miles per $1 on all other net purchases
• Plus, get 10,000 annual bonus Delta miles when you spend at least $25,000 each year
• Valuable World MasterCard Benefits, including Travel Emergency Medical Insurance and Trip Cancellation Insurance
• Add an authorized user for $0
Please Note: A requirement of this card is a minimum personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000.
Gold MasterCard Details
Apply Online
• Earn Delta miles on everything you buy with no annual fee!
• Get 2,500 bonus Delta miles on your first purchase made within the first three months of account enrolment
• Earn 2 Delta miles for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases
• Earn 1 Delta mile for every $1 on all other net purchases
• Annual interest rate of 19.8%
• Valuable Gold benefits, including Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty
• Add an authorized user for $0
We will have a complete review of the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® up on Rewards Canada within a week.
“The interest rates, fees, rewards details, benefits and other details of the Capital One product(s) described in the article may have changed since the time of publication. Please consult the product information pages on the Capital One website for accurate product details. In the event of any conflict between the product details in this article and the Capital One website, the details on the Capital One website shall prevail.”
We have been given a heads up that Delta Airlines will officially launch a Canadian SkyMiles Credit Card tomorrow. The card will be issued by Capital One and it is the banks first foray into the airline frequent flyer market in Canada. We have known for about two years that Delta has been interested in launching a credit card in Canada, we just did not know when it would happen and with which bank (you may remember us mentioning a few times that a major U.S. airline was looking to launch a card here).
Delta Airlines serves the most cities in Canada after Air Canada and WestJet so it is a logical place for them to launch a new credit card. It will also be the first dedicated airline card for a SkyTeam alliance airline in Canada as both Star Alliance and OneWorld already have airline specific cards in Canada.
There will be two versions of the card, the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® and the Delta SkyMiles Gold MasterCard. What we know so far is that the World MasterCard will offer 1 SkyMile for each C$1 spent, 2 SkyMiles for every C$1 spent with Delta, a limited time 25,000 SkyMile sign up bonus, a full insurance/benefit package and more.
We will provide the full details on each card tomorrow when all the details are released.
September 14, 2012 update:
The cards are now live on the Capital One Website:
World MasterCard
Gold MasterCard
World MasterCard details:
Apply Online
• Earn Delta miles on everything you buy
• Get a welcome bonus of up to 25,000 Delta miles
• Earn 3 Delta miles for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases
• Earn 2 Delta miles per $1 on all other net purchases
• Plus, get 10,000 annual bonus Delta miles when you spend at least $25,000 each year
• Valuable World MasterCard Benefits, including Travel Emergency Medical Insurance and Trip Cancellation Insurance
• Add an authorized user for $0
Please Note: A requirement of this card is a minimum personal income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000.
Gold MasterCard Details
Apply Online
• Earn Delta miles on everything you buy with no annual fee!
• Get 2,500 bonus Delta miles on your first purchase made within the first three months of account enrolment
• Earn 2 Delta miles for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases
• Earn 1 Delta mile for every $1 on all other net purchases
• Annual interest rate of 19.8%
• Valuable Gold benefits, including Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty
• Add an authorized user for $0
We will have a complete review of the Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® up on Rewards Canada within a week.
“The interest rates, fees, rewards details, benefits and other details of the Capital One product(s) described in the article may have changed since the time of publication. Please consult the product information pages on the Capital One website for accurate product details. In the event of any conflict between the product details in this article and the Capital One website, the details on the Capital One website shall prevail.”