Join Etihad Guest for a chance to win 2 Economy Class tickets anywhere they fly

Etihad Airways is making a push to have more people join their program. Normally promos like this require a flight or some mileage earning action but for this contest, all you have to do is join the Etihad Guest program for a chance to win two Coral Economy Class tickets to any destination in the Etihad network. For those of you who may not be aware, Etihad serves Toronto three times weekly from Abu Dhabi with an extensive network out of their U.A.E. that can be connected to.

To enter visit Etihad Airways

Hyatt Gold Passport dropping 4 airline partners, including Air Canada/Aeroplan

Taken from Hyatt:

"After March 15, 2012, Hyatt will no longer offer guests the option to earn miles with Aeroplan (Air Canada), Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines and US Airways for hotel stays. You may continue to earn miles with these airlines for completed stays through March 15. Additionally, after this time period, Hyatt Gold Passport members will no longer be able to convert Hyatt Gold Passport points to miles with these airline programs."

Unfortunate for Aeroplan (and the other airlines) to lose Hyatt as a a partner, although for myself and most frequent travellers I believe this isn't a huge issue as there is more value in earning Gold Passport points on Hyatt stays rather than miles (except on the odd occasion where there were big mileage bonuses offered)

RBC British Airways Visa Infinite: Up to 50,000 Bonus Avios

As we mentioned a couple of days ago, the new version of the RBC British Airways Visa was released today. The RBC British Airways Visa Infinite replaces the old BA Platinum card that has been around for a number of years. With the Infinite branding comes a better suite of insurance benefits (though not as complete as the RBC Avion Infinite and Infinite cards from other banks) and card perks namely 31 day out of province medical insurance. The sign up bonus remains the same at 15,000 Avios however to celebrate the launch of the card, 35,000 additional Avios will be awarded to any new cardholder who applies by May 31 and spends $5,000 within the first 3 months of card membership. This brings the total of the signup bonus to 50,000 Avios, which ties past and present offers for the AeroplanPlus Platinum card and the special RFD Capital One Aspire World Travel MasterCard as the highest mile/point offer for a credit card. The card comes with an annual fee of $165 for the primary card and $75 for supplementary cards.

What can you get for 50,000 Avios? A round-trip economy class flight to England on British Airways (+taxes/fees) from anywhere in Canada or 10 one way trips between Toronto and New York (+taxes/fees). There many other options as well including upgrading paid tickets to the next higher category on BA flights (i.e. Economy to Economy Plus; Economy Plus to Business etc)

Some additional details of the card are:
- Earn 1 Avios for every $1 CAD you spend on the card.
- Earn double Avios for every $1 CAD you spend on British Airways purchases
- Receive a complimentary Companion Award Ticket~ when you spend $30,000 or more on your card in any calendar year*.
- Enjoy Comprehensive Insurances including 31-day Out-of-Country/Province Emergency Medical Insurance.
- Minimum credit limit of $5,000 (provided income requirements of $60k personal or $100k household are met).

For more details or to apply for the card please visit: rbcroyalbank.com

In the next couple of weeks watch for a complete review of this card in our standard Rewards Canada fashion as well as the new features of the card to be added to all of our credit card comparison charts.

WestJet Rewards: Fly More Earn More Promotion + new WS/RBC Credit Card offer

I said it before and I'll say it again, WestJet is really starting to make some moves with their rewards program. First the name was changed from Frequent Guest to Rewards (which is a good move as frequent guest tends to refer to Hotel Reward programs and was actually used first by Scandic Hotels for their reward program). We've now seen a first flight bonus, eastern triangle flight bonuses and free flight offers to New York and now the Fly More Earn More promotion. This a really decent offer for those who find themselves flying WestJet especially if you hit the $6000 spend level as the bonus of $500 combined with your base dollars of $140 for a total of $640 WestJet dollars equates to a 10.6% return on the money you spent and that does not include the free flight you also receive.

Along with the Earn More Fly More offer, WestJet and RBC have a new sign up offer for their WestJet Rewards World MasterCard which combines the basic $100 sign up bonus with a $99 companion ticket that is good for flights in Canada and the Continental U.S.. This offer is more lucrative than last years $350 WestJet dollar sign up bonus if you use the companion ticket on flight that costs more than $349 which in today's market is not hard to do. Full details on these new offers can be found below straight from the WestJet press release:

Starting today, WestJet Rewards members who register in the Fly more, Earn more promotion will be eligible to earn one the following bonuses on WestJet-operated flights flown between March 1 and December 31, 2012:
Reach $1500 in qualifying spend and get a bonus of $100 WestJet dollars, or
Reach $3000 in qualifying spend and get a bonus of $200 WestJet dollars, or
Reach $6000 in qualifying spend and get a bonus of $500 WestJet dollars plus one round-trip flight anywhere WestJet flies in Canada or the continental U.S.

Full details of the promotion are available at westjet.com/earnmore.

Also starting today, WestJet launches an exciting limited-time offer of a $99 round-trip companion flight as well as a welcome bonus of $100 WestJet dollars for new WestJet RBC World MasterCard cardholders. To receive this offer, new cardholders must apply and be approved from March 1 to April 30, 2012, and make their first purchase by June 15, 2012.

This offer allows new cardholders to take one companion on a round-trip flight, on the same itinerary, for $99 (excluding taxes, fees and surcharges) to any WestJet-operated destination in Canada or the continental U.S., excluding Hawaii and Puerto Rico. What’s better, the $100 WestJet dollars welcome bonus can be used to pay for the round-trip companion flight. For more information, visit westjet.com/creditcard.

Marriott Rewards Hotel Category Changes Eff. Mar 15

On February 27th Marriott released a full list of hotel category changes for reward night stays. According to Loyalty Traveler, 100 hotels are decreasing by one category (roughly 3% of the brand) while 526 hotels are increasing by one category (15% of the brand). Upon reading many of the comments from the various frequent flyer blogs a lot the hotels that are increasing by one category were in the Category 4 bracket meaning they will now become category 5 hotels and thus be exempt from the typical free night award that comes from the Marriott MegaBonus promotions. For example I used a free night earned from a MegaBonus promotion at the Residence Inn Toronto Downtown Entertainment District and would definitely again but that hotel is moving to Category 5. Perhaps we will see a change of promotion terms when the next version of MegaBonus is released to include a wider spectrum of hotel categories.

This change will also affect people who apply for the Canadian (and U.S., for those Americans reading this blog) Marriott Rewards Visa from Chase as the free night(s) that comes with the card is only for Category 1-4 hotels.

What do you think of the latest round of hotel category shifts from Marriott? Will these changes make you reconsider which frequent guest program you use?

RBC/British Airways to introduce new Visa card with up to 50,000 bonus Avios

According to a tweet from British Airways today, they will be launching a new RBC British Airways Executive Club Visa on March 1st with the ability to earn up to 50,000 Bonus Avios. That is all the details they have released at this point. The current version of the RBC BA Executive Club Platinum Visa carries a 15,000 Avios sign up bonus. Stay tuned!

Aeroplan lauches Digital Media Store

The first of its kind in Canada, Aeroplan has launched a Digital Media Store where members can use their Aeroplan Miles to download eBooks, Music, apps, games and more.

Members simply redeem their miles on the Aeroplan rewards site at www.aeroplan.com/myrewards,
then with the PIN code received in their confirmation email, go to www.aeroplanmediastore.com to
register their new account, add credits to their account, and start downloading and enjoying content in
real-time.

Currently, Aeroplan Media Store rewards are offered in bundles of 25, 50, or 100 credits,
and provide access to the following:
· eBooks – A catalogue of over 150,000 eBook titles that will be compatible with most eBook
readers, tablets and smart phones.
· Music – More than 3 million MP3s to choose from.
· Mobile Games / Apps Members can select from thousands of today’s most popular gaming
titles and apps as well as ring tones, wallpapers and more.
· Facebook Credits – Media Store credits can be converted directly in Facebook Credits loaded
directly into members’ Facebook accounts in real time.

Once again Aeroplan is expanding their catalog and this new feature should be a good addition especially for the younger crowd who may joining Aeroplan, not as a frequent flyer program but as a frequent shopper programs. I see this being popular with the University and High School crowds but by having things like eBooks and Music Aeroplan has not forgotten about their primary market of people between 25-60. This new media store is a good option on both ends of the redemption spectrum, in that it will appeal to those who don't have or may never have enough miles to redeem for a flight while it will also see usage from those members who have more miles than they know what to do with them.

This media store is similar to one run by The First Club which provides digital media stores for some non-Canadian based loyalty programs like Voila Hotel Rewards.

Possible 40,000 Point Sign Up Bonus for the TD First Class Infinite Visa

 I have been made aware of a physical mail out that has been sent to some households in Canada offering up to a 40,000 TD Rewards Point sign up bonus for the TD First Class Infinite Card. This is double the normal offering of 20,000 (which is equivalent to a $100 travel credit). The offer states that you must respond by February 29th so if you are considering this card I would not apply for it online but call in or visit your local TD Canada Trust branch and mention that you know of the offer and would like to take advantage of it, you can always walk out or hang up if they don't want to give you the offer but I am pretty sure TD wants all the business it can get so chances are you'll get it.

Thanks to Randy for the details!

Club Carslon Status Match

Although it is unadvertised, Carlson Hotel's Club Carlson program will match your elite status from Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Priority Club and Starwood (not sure about Best Western or Accor, if someone is willing to try one of these two please let me know).

To get your status matched you need to email Club Carlson at goldpointsplus@carlson.com and include a screen shot of your elite status, your Club Carlson membership number and make sure you state that you are requesting a status match. I sent over my Hyatt Platinum status screen shot and 2 or 3 days later I received an email from Club Carlson stating they had given me Club Carlson Gold status. Accodring to the Points Guy almost no one gets matched up to their Concierge level.

Club Carlson Gold Elite Status provides the following benefits:

• Complimentary room upgrades as available
• 50% point bonus on every eligible stay
• 2,000 point online booking bonus at clubcarlson.com or any Carlson Hotels website
• Early check-ins and late checkouts as available upon request
• Roll Over Nights (unused elite-qualifying nights count again next year toward elite status)
• 72-hour room availability guarantee at participating hotels
• Elite Customer Service Line

Club Carlson Silver Elite Status provides the following benefits:

• Complimentary room upgrades as available
• 25% point bonus on every eligible stay
• 2,000 point online booking bonus at clubcarlson.com or any Carlson Hotels website
• Early check-ins and late checkouts as available upon request
• Roll Over Nights (unused elite-qualifying nights count again next year toward elite status)
• Elite Customer Service Line

Hat tip to The Points Guy

Starwood enhances the Elite Levels of its Preferred Guest program

Last week Starwood announced some major enhancements to their award winning loyalty program: Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). The changes which take effect on March 1, 2012 are all aimed at the elite level members of the program and are designed to benefit frequent guests with added perks over and above the existing elite level benefits.

Per the press release from SPG the new enhancements are as follows:

Good-Bye 3 p.m. Check-in – Hello Your24
Turning an ancient hotel convention on its head, Starwood is for the first time ever abolishing the industry’s long-standing 3:00 p.m. check-in time and giving its most frequent travelers control of their own arrival and departure time. Your24 lets Members choose their own 24 hour check-in and checkout time. For example, a guest who checks in at 10 p.m. won’t have to check-out until 10 p.m. on their day of departure. The Your24 program is offered to SPG Members who spend 75+ nights at Starwood hotels annually.

Ultimate in Personal Service for Most Prolific Travelers
Building upon its successful pilot program, Starwood is expanding its innovative one-to-one service which matches its best travelers with personal ambassadors. Now, all Members who stay 100 nights annually are invited to participate in this unique service designed to provide the ultimate in tailored experiences across all 1100+ Starwood hotels. What separates this from a traditional travel concierge program is the unique personal relationship between Member and ambassador. Starwood’s ambassadors work one-on-one with guests to understand their preferences and what matters to them on each trip to deliver a customized experience on property. Ambassadors also provide services beyond the hotel and are even empowered to assist guests when they’re not traveling.

Starwood to Reward Loyalty with Lifetime Status
To show its appreciation for its most loyal and enduring travelers, Starwood Preferred Guest is introducing SPG LifetimeTM status. Now Members who have stayed 250 nights total and maintained elite status for at least five years (consecutive or not) are awarded SPG Lifetime Gold status. Members with 500 total nights and 10 years of Platinum SPG status (consecutive or not) will enjoy their top tier status for life.

Other enhancements:

o SPG 100 Nights Benefit: After crossing the 100-night threshold, SPG Members are paired with their personal ambassador.

o SPG 75 Nights Benefit: After spending 75 nights with Starwood, Members earn four Starpoints for every eligible U.S. dollar spent. Members also get access to Your24 to control their check-in and checkout time.

o SPG 50 Nights Benefit: At 50 nights, Members will receive 10 Suite Night Awards ™ to use for room upgrades. Suite Night Awards are confirmable five days prior to arrival.

o Platinum Members (25 Stays or 50 Nights Annually): now have the option of complimentary breakfast as part of their welcome gift at check-in. Platinum Members can also choose from bonus Starpoints or a local gift.

o Gold Members (10 Stays or 25 Nights Annually): now receive a welcome gift at check-in and can choose from bonus Starpoints, complimentary in-room Internet access or a complimentary beverage.

Per Loyalty Traveler, Gold Elite awarded from an SPG American Express Card (U.S., Canada or U.K.) count towards the SPG Gold lifetime status. So for those of us here in Canada, it makes the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express even more attractive as long as you meet the minimum spend of $30,000 per year to get the Gold Status.

For more details on these enhancements please visit spg.com/morepower