Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2011

Today on RewardsCanada.ca we posted our third annual picks for Canada's top travel rewards credit cards. New for this year is Canada's Choice, where we asked Canadians to vote for their favorite travel rewards credit cards with the results to be posted along side our rankings. We have combed over 70 different credit cards offering travel rewards for Canadians and of those there are a few that really stand out. While it is practically impossible to give this question a perfect one card answer, we can breakdown the market of Canadian Travel Rewards credit cards into five major categories that these cards fall into. Without further ado, here are the top travel rewards credit cards for 2011 as picked by RewardsCanada.ca along with Canada's Choice for each category:

Top Travel Points Credit Card (with annual fee)
Rewards Canada's Pick: Capital One Aspire Travel™ World MasterCard®
Canada's Choice: American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card

Top Travel Points Credit Card (with no annual fee)
Rewards Canada's Pick: American Express Blue Sky Credit Card
Canada's Choice: American Express Air Miles Credit Card

Top Hybrid Travel Credit Card (with annual fee)
Rewards Canada's Pick: American Express Gold Rewards Card
Canada's Choice: American Express Gold Rewards Card

Top Airline Credit Card
Rewards Canada's Pick: CIBC AeroGold Visa Infinite
Canada's Choice: American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum Card

Top Hotel Points Credit Card
Rewards Canada's Pick: (tie) Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and Priority Club® Platinum MasterCard® from Capital One
Canada's Choice: Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

For the complete article, details on each card plus runners up in each category please visit the full Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card for 2011 page on the Rewards Canada website

Care to comment on our choices? Want to voice your opinion on the good and the bad of all the Travel Rewards Credit Cards in Canada. Share you views and experiences by leaving a comment below.


“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.”

RBC ups the sign up bonus for WestJet MasterCards

One of the weakest components of the WestJet RBC MasterCards has been the relatively low sign up bonus. Most premium travel rewards credit cards in Canada offer a large enough bonus to get a free flight within Canada or North America (short haul or long haul depending on the card), the premium card for WestJet is the WestJet RBC World MasterCard and since the launch it has only offered a $100 WestJet Dollars sign up bonus, nowhere near a free flight. That has changed, well at least for a limited time only.

As of yesterday you can now get a $350 WestJet Dollar sign up bonus for the WestJet RBC World MasterCard, which according to WestJet's promo material is enough for a free flight in most cases (not including taxes and fees). Overall the WestJet Frequent Guest program is average however if someone is planning a flight with WestJet in the near future, then this sign up bonus would be well worth the $79 annual fee on the card as you will end up saving $271 on your flight(s). There could also be a chance of lowering that annual fee if you cancel the card before you renew and they prorate it for you and refund the difference. Some card issuers (like TD) are known to do this so RBC may do it also. (just make sure you redeem your WestJet dollars before cancelling)

The lower end WestJet RBC MasterCard has also had its sign  up bonus upped to $100 and carries a $39 annual fee. Definitely not as good of a deal like the one above.

For complete details on this promotion please see here.

Air Canada cuts service to Iqaluit

According to Airline Route Updates Air Canada is ending their service to Iqaluit, Nunavut on July 31st. The service from Ottawa utilized a CRJ705 and operated for just over a year.

Hainan Airlines offering 2 for 1 Business Class on Toronto-Beijing Route

On this relatively new route it appears Hainan is trying to generate some business for the upfront cabin during the summer season when more families tend to travel economy rather then people flying for work in business class. The offer states that if you buy a business class ticket you can get another one free, or if you buy two business class tickets you can still get one free(?). So if you have a family of four and you want to take advantage of this offer you may want to do two separate bookings to get two free business class tickets. Either way this is not a bad deal and may allow for some people to travel upfront who normally would not. The offer itself runs until August 31. For full details please see the promotional offer on Hainan's website

Diners Club continues to expand airport lounge access including 4 more Canadian cities

Back in March we had mentioned that Diners Club had expanded their lounge access program (this is the program where you use your Diners Club card not the Priority Pass that also comes with the card) and now they have expanded it even further. In March the total number of lounges you could access with your Diners Club card was just 350 and that has now grown to over 400. Of particular interest to us Canadians is the expansion of the program to include more lounges in Canada. After the first expansion only the KLM Crown Lounge in Toronto was participating but now there is access to lounges in Calgary (2),  Montreal, Quebec City and Winnipeg. A quick glance at the list of lounges shows a large increase in the  amount of lounges one can access south of the border.

This card keeps getting stronger after a bit of a lull when it was be pawned off by Citibank and we here at Rewards Canada can only anxiously await its return to the general public. Meanwhile us current cardholders can sit back and relax..... in one of the many more lounges now available.

Here are the specifics on the Canadian lounges that are participating, for a list of all the lounges please see here:

Calgary International Airport – Calgary, Canada
Lounge Name	Chinook Lounge
Lounge Location	Concourse D
Telephone	403 221 1506
Fax	N/A
Hours Open	6:00 am - 9:00 pm daily Closed : Dec 25, Jan 01 & 02
Languages Spoken	English
Entry Conditions	Cardmembers must present their Diners Club card. Maximum 3 hour stay. Dress code applies (no shorts, baseball caps or football shirts allowed). Non-smoking.
Amenities Offered	Air conditioning, Disabled access, Flight monitor, Newspapers, Magazines, Conference facilities, Internet, Wi-Fi, Telephone, TV, Snacks, Soft Drinks and Alcoholic beverages.
Fees	Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access. Children under 2 years are admitted free. Guest fee - US $27.

Calgary International Airport – Calgary, Canada
Lounge Name	Rocky Mountain Lounge
Lounge Location	Concourse C
Telephone	403 221 1534
Fax	N/A
Hours Open	6:00 am - 9:00 pm daily Closed : Dec 25, Jan 01 & 02
Languages Spoken	English
Entry Conditions	Cardmembers must present their Diners Club card. Maximum 3 hour stay. Dress code applies (no shorts, baseball caps or football shirts allowed). Non-smoking.
Amenities Offered	Air conditioning, Disabled access, Flight monitor, Newspapers, Magazines, Conference facilities, Internet, Wi-Fi, Telephone, TV, Snacks, Soft Drinks and Alcoholic beverages.
Fees	Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access. Children under 2 years are admitted free. Guest fee - US $27.

Trudeau International Airport – Montreal, Canada
Lounge Name	TD First Class Lounge
Lounge Location	Airside - after Security Checks (Entrance B) the Lounge is located between Gates 52 and 53, next to the Duty Free Airport Shop
Telephone	514 636 7638
Fax	N/A
Hours Open	5:00 am - 10:00 pm daily
Languages Spoken	English
Entry Conditions	Cardmembers must present their Diners Club card. Maximum 3 hour stay. Non-smoking.
Amenities Offered	Air conditioning, Disabled access, Flight monitor, Newspapers, Magazines, Internet, Wi-Fi, Telephone, TV, Snacks, Soft Drinks and Alcoholic beverages.
Fees	Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access. Children under 2 years are admitted free. Guest fee - US $27.

Quebec International Airport – Quebec, Canada
Lounge Name	Salon VIP Lounge
Lounge Location	Airside - after Security Checks on the 2nd Floor, the Lounge is located on the left hand side between two escalators
Telephone	418 640 2700
Fax	418 640 2656
Hours Open	4:00 am - 10:00 pm daily
Languages Spoken	English
Entry Conditions	Cardmembers must present their valid Diners Club card. Non smoking.
Amenities Offered	Air conditioning, Disabled access, Flight monitor, Newspapers, Magazines, Conference facilities, Internet, Wi-Fi, Telephone, TV, Snacks, Soft Drinks and Alcoholic beverages.
Fees	Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access. Children under 2 years are admitted free. Guest fee - US $27.

Toronto Pearson International – Toronto, Canada
Lounge Name	KLM Crown Lounge
Lounge Location	Terminal 3: Airside - Concourse C, above Gate C33, and after the Duty Free shops. The lounge is situated after the International Security Checks (accessible only to International passengers.)
Telephone	N/A
Fax	N/A
Hours Open	1:00 pm - 12:00 am daily. Hours are subject to seasonal changes
Languages Spoken	N/A
Entry Conditions	Cardmembers must present their valid Diners Club card. Non smoking.
Amenities Offered	Air conditioning, Fax facility, Internet access, Wi-Fi, Newspapers, Magazines, Telephone, Television, Snacks, Soft drinks, and Alcoholic beverages.
Fees	Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access. Guest fee - $25 USD.

Winnipeg International Airport – Wininipeg, Canada
Lounge Name	Travel Lounge by Palliser
Lounge Location	Airside - after Security Checks and Passport Control, the Lounge is located on the 2nd Floor of the main departure lounge, adjacent to Gate H. Due to it's location, the lounge is not accessible to passengers traveling on transborder flights to the US.
Telephone	204 987 9439
Fax	204 987 2074
Hours Open	7:00 am - 8:00 pm Monday - Friday Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Languages Spoken	English
Entry Conditions	Cardmembers must present their valid Diners Club card. Non smoking.
Amenities Offered	Air conditioning, Disabled access, Flight monitor, Newspapers, Magazines, Internet, Wi-Fi, Telephone, TV, Snacks, Soft Drinks and Alcoholic beverages.
Fees	Cardmembers please check with your issuer for terms and conditions of lounge access. Guest fee - US $27.

Air Canada Top Tier Summer Upgrade Offer

For the summer travel season Air Canada is offering its elite members greater access to upgrading from Tango Plus fares for travel within Canada and between Canada and the U.S.. Super Elite and Elite members are being offered reduced amounts of eUpgrade credits while Prestige members will be allowed to request upgrades from Tango Plus fares. The promo runs from Jun 24 to Aug 31.

For more information please visit AirCanada.com

Rewards Canada Blog now optimized for mobile browsing

Thanks to the latest enhancement from Blogger, the Rewards Canada  blog is now optimized for mobile browsing. There is nothing that you have to do on your end, just point your phone to http://blog.rewardscanada.ca and it will automatically switch to the mobile version.

I know that if any of you tried our blog before on your phone that our iFrame above with our route listings didn't size properly on some phones so you would see the entire route listing before you saw any blog posts. This is now corrected with the new mobile feature.

Etihad Guest launches new elite tier

Etihad Airways Guest Rewards program has added a new tier to their elite status levels called Gold Elite. Gold Elite is the now the highest status level you can reach with Etihad. Guest members who earn 125,000 tier miles or 60 tier segments within a 12 month rolling period will be awarded the new Gold Elite Status.

What does the Gold Elite status bring to table over and above the benefits in the lower tiers?
* All the benefits of Etihad Guest Gold plus:
* 50% extra Etihad Guest Miles on every flight
* An exclusive rewards section on the RewardShop
* A Guaranteed Coral Economy Seat if booked 12 hours in advance even if the flight is fully booked (must be booked in the highest economy fare class)
* Waitlist priority
* Diamond First Class Lounge access
* Bonus Etihad Guest Miles when you travel in the Pearl Business or Diamond First class
* 20kg Excess Baggage Allowance
* The chance to nominate one Etihad Silver Guest
* 3rd Party Nomination
* Exclusive offers with programme partners and many more

For complete details on this new tier please see here.

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.

Great Reward Ticket Bonus Offers from Alitalia and Etihad

You may recall that not too long along we starting tracking discounted award/reward offers from all the various travel reward programs (see this FFB page for a summary) and in the past week two airlines have come out with some really great promotions on their reward tickets. Alitalia's applies right to your first booking while Etihad's requires you to redeem for 5 tickets, either way both offers are well worth taking advantage of:

Alitlia MilleMiglia
AZ's offer will provide MilleMiglia members with a 40% MilleMiglia bonus on each reward ticket that is redeemed for. That is, if you redeem for an economy class ticket between New York and Milan for 50,000 MilleMiglia miles, they will provide you with 20,000 bonus miles afterwards. This offer is good on all standard reward tickets in all booking classes, so the higher the redemption value the higher the bonus. This offer runs until June 30, 11. For complete details please see here.


Etihad Guest
Etihad's offer also provides members with bonus miles after redemption but in EY's case you have to complete 5 reward ticket redemptions. All five redemptions do not have to take place at the same time but all have to be booked by July 31. Once you have completed all 5 bookings, Etihad will award you with bonus miles equivalent to the lowest value booking out of your 5 redemptions. to make the most of this offer you will want to try to go for some bigger redemptions to ensure a bigger bonus is returned to you, nonetheless whatever route you go you will end up with enough miles for another redemption at that lowest level.

For Example: you redeem for 4 business class tickets between North America and Abu Dhabi at 140,000 miles each but then redeem your 5th one for economy class for 70,000 miles, your bonus would be 70,000 miles or enough for another economy class ticket from North America to Abu Dhabi.

Full details and registration for this promotion can be found here.

You may ask why offer bonus miles on redemptions? Why not just discount the reward ticket as that would be easier? The primary reason is that with a discount there is no guarantee you may come back to fly that airline and use their FFP again. By offering you bonus miles after the fact you are being encouraged to continue using that FFP and its partners to earn more miles within the program. In fact promos like these kill two birds with one stone, they promote redemption and lower mileage balances on the FFP's books while potentially keeping the member active in the program.