Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 26, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
I got an email from Air France KLM yesterday that announced an new enhancement to the program, roll over elite level miles. Essentially what this means is that any elite level qualifying miles that you earn over and above the highest status you achieve in that year will be rolled over to the next year's qualification process. This basically means that you can achieve elite level status faster in the following year. If you do not reach elite level status (ie Silver) then level miles do not roll over. More details can be found here.

Over on the blog for FrequentFlyerBonuses.com I posted about a way to earn up to 1,000 Free Emirates Skywards Miles which I also list below in the Bonus Offers section but go into more detail about the offer in the blog post.

Travel Deals
Etihad Airways is offering some great fares for fall travel out of Toronto to various destinations in Asia. These fares must be booked by July 31 at Etihad Airways
Bangkok CAD 1358 10 Sep 12-11 Dec 12
Chennai CAD 1549 11 Sep 12-11 Dec 12 4
Dhaka CAD 1752 15 Sep 12-11 Dec 12
Dubai CAD 1817 10 Sep 12-26 Nov 12
Jeddah CAD 1886 10 Sep 12-05 Oct 12 28 Oct 12-26 Nov 12
Karachi CAD 1402 10 Sep 12-07 Nov 12
Lahore CAD 1579 10 Sep 12-07 Nov 12
Manila CAD 1384 10 Sep 12-11 Dec 12
Shanghai CAD 1427 10 Sep 12-11 Dec 12

Bonus Offers
Emirates Skywards
- 500 Bonus Skywards Miles for entering Sofitel's 80 Night contest plus 500 more bonus Skywards miles if you are not a member of Le Club Accorhotels and join the program. More... Until Aug 18, 12

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles for stays at participaiting Marco Polo hotels in Hong Kong, China and Philippines. More... Until Aug 30, 12

Marriott Rewards
10,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay any night Thursday-Monday in a king leisure room at the London Marriott Hotel Regents Park. More... Aug 4 - Oct 26, 12
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay on a Wednesday or Thursday night at the Jeddah Marriott Hotel. . More... Aug 1 - Oct 15, 12
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay of two nights Friday-Sunday at the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, Courtyard Bangkok, or the JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok. More... Oct 22, 12 - Jan 14, 13
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay on Thursday-Sunday nights (Friday or Saturday required) at the Courtyard Albuquerque Airport or tge Residence Inn Albuquerque. More... Oct 14 - Dec 19, 12
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the Courtyard San Antonio Airport/North Star Mall, Fairfield Inn & Suites San Antonio Downtown/Market Square, Fairfield Inn & Suites San Antonio Airport/North Star Mall or the Residence Inn San Antonio Downtown/Market Square. More... Until Oct 1, 12
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay five or more nights at the Residence Inn Dallas Market Center.More... Oct 21, 12 - Jan 12, 13

Saudi Arabian Alfursan (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 5,000 Bonus Alfursan Miles for Hertz rentals of 5+ days in Belgium; Canada; France; Germany; Italy; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Spain; Switzerland; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom or the USA. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Alfursan Miles on all Budget rentals in Saudi Arabia. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays at all participating Golden Tulip locations Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12

Ukraine International Panorama Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 3,000 Bonus Panorama Club Miles when you flt 4 segments between Kiev and Brussels. More... Aug 1 - Sep 30, 12
- Double Panorama Club Miles for flights between Kiev and Helsinki.. More... Aug 1 - Sep 30, 12

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Double Flying Club Miles and 20% off for stays 2+ nights that are booked at least 20 days in advance at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 25, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
Today was a quiet day across the sites so not too much new going on and no exicting news from the world of loyalty. One blogger did mention that the Stash Hotel Rewards offer I talked about yesterday may be limited to only 10 rooms! If that is the case it is going to be quite the fight between people for those rooms. I guess it will come down to whoever is the fastest or has the fastest Internet connection to make the booking.

Bonus Offers
Frontier Airlines Early Returns (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Early Returns Miles for flights between Denver and South Bend IN. More... Oct 11 - Nov 11, 12

Hainan / Hong Kong Airlines Fortune Wings
- Double Fortune Wings Kilometers on all qualifying rates at any participating Meritus Hotels and Resorts in Singapore, Malaysia or China. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Fortune Wings Kilometers for all Hertz at participating locations in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Sep 30, 12

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Quadruple TrueBlue Points when you rent any Hertz vehicle for one or more days at participating locations in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. More... Until Oct 31, 12
- Earn up to 200 Bonus TrueBlue Points for Carmel ground transportation that is booked online. More... Until Dec 15, 12

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Double Frequent Flyer Points for stays on the "3 = 2" special offer rate at The Menzies Sydney, Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach or Novotel Wollongong Northbeach. More... Book by Oct 21 for stays until Nov 10, 12

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Double QMiles for all Budget rentals in Europe, Middle East and Africa. More... Aug 1 - Sep 30, 12

Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 24, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
AMAZING REWARD DEAL!!!: Over on my blog for FrequentFlyerBonuses.com I detail how to get a totally free night in New York City with Stash Hotel Rewards. I'm sure it will be limited so be sure to read the post and follow Stash Hotel Rewards closely to take advantage of this amazing offer.

Today we received confirmation that the Sears MasterCards, including their Travel Card, the Sears Voyage MasterCard will no longer charge Foreign Transaction fees. For complete details see my post from earlier today.

Travel Deals
British Airways is having a fall seat sale with fare as low $199 before taxes and fees to Amsterdam, London, Paris and Rome depending on your Canadian departure point. (Toronto is $199, Calgary is $399). These fares can found for travel between Oct 2012 and March 2013. For complete details or to book visit BritishAirways.com

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 60,000 Aeroplan Miles when you purchase or lease a new 2012 Infiniti FX, QX or M. More... Until Aug 31, 12

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles for stays at participating Kempinski and Lugaron Collection Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Double Flying Blue Miles for stays of at least 2 nights at participating Regent hotels in China, Croatia, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan and the Turks and Caicos Islands. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Double Flying Blue Miles for stays at any of the Taj Grand Palaces including Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles for Avis rentals of 3 days or more Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN Poitiers Centre Le Grand Hotel - Poitiers or the BEST WESTERN Prince Montmartre - Paris. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Rewards Points for stays of 3 or more nights Sunday to Thursday at the Best Western Country Suites Indianapolis. More... Until Oct 31, 12

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Double Gold Points for stays at participating Park Inn, Park Plaza and Radisson Blu hotels in Europe, The Middle East and Africa. More... Aug 1 - Sep 30, 12

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 1,000 Bonus Asia Miles when you book a cumulative total of six hotel nights via Ctrip within one promotion month. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles on Etihad flights between Abu Dhabi and Sao Paulo. More... Jun 1 - 30, 13

South African Voyager
- Double Voyager Miles for stays at the Hyatt Regency Oubaai Golf Resort & Spa. More... Until Aug 31, 12

Sears MasterCards officially drop their Forex fees

As you know Rewards Canada has been pushing for the removal of foreign exchange fees on Canadian Credit Cards since last summer. We brought the topic up as the trend emerged in the U.S. over the past two or so years and has been proven to be a very popular selling point to many travellers south of the border. Fast forward to earlier this year and we saw Chase release their new Amazon.ca Rewards Visa which was the first publicly available credit card in Canada with no foreign exchange fee. It seems a no-brainer that the Chase issued Sears cards would follow suit and they have (see our post last week). This is particularly interesting feature for the recently released Sears Voyage MasterCard which in itself is not a bad travel card, it falls somewhere in the middle of the pack of all travel cards but now suddenly it has become stronger. The only thing with it is that you are still stuck booking via Sears travel if you want to use the points earned on the card. Here is the press release announcing this change on the Sears cards:

Sears Financial says farewell to foreign currency transaction charges for over two million Canadians

Half of Canadians would swap their existing credit card for one that doesn’t charge this fee, survey reveals

TORONTO, ON – July 12, 2012 – Sears Canada’s Financial Services division, Sears Financial, announced today that as of July 23, 2012, foreign currency transaction charges will no longer be incurred on the Sears Financial MasterCard® and Sears Financial Voyage™ MasterCard®.  With over two million MasterCard credit cards in the market, and hundreds of thousands of vacations booked through Sears Travel annually, eliminating the fee is part of Sears Canada’s renewed commitment to do more for the customer.

The foreign currency transaction charge is applied in addition to the exchange rate when a customer uses a credit card for a transaction outside of Canada.  Most Canadian credit cards charge 2.5 percent.

Half of Canadians (51 percent) said they would consider switching to another credit card if it meant they didn’t have to pay the foreign currency transaction charge, revealed a recent survey commissioned by Sears Financial, which looked at travel and spending habits. 

The results also showed that 65 percent of Canadians travel abroad at least once every two years and that the overwhelming majority (92 percent) use their credit card to pay for meals, entertainment, and other purchases when travelling. In fact, 61 percent always or frequently use credit cards as their primary form of payment when travelling. 

A recent Statistics Canada survey found that during the first quarter of 2012 travellers spent $8.3 billion outside the country, $5 billion spent in the United States alone.  These numbers include “snowbirds” who travel to warmer climates, and suggest Canadians pay millions of dollars a year to use their credit card abroad.

“Many of our customers are snowbirds.  They and others will benefit significantly from this change,” said Peter Kalen, Senior Vice-President, Sears Financial and Home Services. “While many travellers will continue to incur additional charges on all their foreign purchases, over two million Sears Financial MasterCard cardmembers will enjoy the freedom to spend without being charged  2.5 percent on foreign purchases. We also see this as a positive move for our Sears Travel customers.”

Sears Financial made the decision to remove foreign currency transaction charges as part of Sears Canada’s company-wide initiative to do more for the customer.  This includes recently lowering the price on over 5,000 items, an improved return policy and satisfaction guarantee, and the re-launched ‘The Baby’s Room,’ offering new brands and more selection of nursery and juvenile products at great prices.

“Removing this charge is another demonstration of our ongoing commitment to provide customers and cardmembers with the quality and value they’ve come to expect from Sears,” added Kalen.

In addition to no foreign currency transaction charge, Sears Financial cardmembers will also earn valuable Sears Club Points everywhere MasterCard is accepted. These points can be redeemed for almost anything in-store and online, including a full range of flight and travel bookings at Sears Travel.  Canadians can apply for a Sears Financial MasterCard at any Sears store.

Survey Results Highlights:

·         Most Canadians (92 percent) use their credit card while travelling, with nearly two-thirds (61 percent) using it as their primary method of payment

• Canadians spent an average of $880 using a Canadian credit card on their last trip abroad

·         Travellers cheques are a thing of the past, with 82 percent saying they rarely or never use them, while 64 percent rarely or never use their debit card abroad

·         Transaction fees are more important than any other consideration when choosing to use a credit card outside of Canada; 82 percent of Canadians describe transaction fees as very or moderately important, followed by:

o   Interest rates  64 percent

o   Travel insurance  61 percent

o   Rewards points  60 percent

·         Half of Canadians (51 percent) said they definitely or probably would switch to another credit card if the other card does not charge a foreign transaction fee

For more information on foreign currency transaction charges, please visit searsfinancial.ca/fx. 

Now the question is will this be further extended to other Chase cards (Marriott Visa hint hint) and will other banks/credit card issuers follow suit?

Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 23, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
The big news today was the increased sign up bonus for the TD First Class Visa Infiinte card where you can walk away $80 ahead. For complete details see my post from earlier today.

If you do lots of travelling within the U.S. and frequently use JetBlue or Virgin America you may be excited to hear the both airline's frequent flyer program announced elite programs today. For details on JetBlue's Mosaic program see here and for Virgin America see here.

For bonus offers the stand out offer is the American AAdvantage Avis car rental offer for up to 5,000 Bonus AAdvantage miles, check it out below! Also if you are a member of Royal Air Maroc's Safar Flyer, the program is offering a 25% discount sale on award tickets which includes their Montreal-Casablanca route.

Bonus Offers
Aeroflot Bonus
- 1,000 Bonus Miles per night for stays at the Amathus Beach Hotel Limassol and Amathus Beach Hotel Paphos. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- 1,500 Bonus Miles per night for stays at the Amathus Beach Hotel Rhodes in an Elite Suite. More... Until Sep 30, 12

American AAdvantage
Earn up to 5,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on a qualifying rental at participating Avis airport locations in the US and Canada.More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on a qualifying rental at participating Budget airport locations in the US and Canada. More... Until Aug 31, 12

Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer
- 50% Bonus Safar Flyer Miles for flights between Casablanca and London. More... Jul 27 - Aug 12, 12
- 25% Safar Flyer Miles Discount on economy class award tickets to/from Morocco. More... Until Aug 17, 12
- Double Safar Flyer Miles for stays at the Pullman Marrakech Palmeraie Resort & Spa. More... Until Sep 30, 12

United Mileage Plus
- Earn up to Triple Mileage Plus miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel, resort, Traders hotel or Kerry hotel Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12

TD ups the sign bonus for the First Class Visa Infinite to 40,000 points

The card that took second spot in the Travel Points Credit Card with Annual fee in our 2012 Top Travel Credit Card rankings has doubled the sign up bonus for a limited time. The TD First Class Visa Infinite Card normally comes with a 20,000 point sign up bonus but as of today that has been doubled to 40,000 points. This is a limited time offer and requires potential applicants to apply by September 14, 2012.

What does the 40,000 points get you? It gets you $200 in credit for any travel booked on the card whether it is with TD Rewards Expedia partnership or the ultimate in flexibility any travel booking you put onto your card and then you can redeem that $200 against the charge.

Considering this card comes with a $120 annual fee you can come out $80 ahead just for getting this card. Not a bad deal for anyone looking to a credit card churn as long as your credit rating can handle the inquiry. For example if you are a heavy Aeroplan user you can book an Aeroplan reward ticket and put the fees/taxes on this card and use that $200 towards it. If you aren't doing a reward redemption regular airline bookings made on this card will earn frequent flyer miles (Aeroplan for Air Canada, WestJet Dollars for WestJet etc) and once again you can put this $200 towards the cost of that ticket. No matter what you can look at saving $80 on any travel whether it is flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages and more.

I may look at upgrading my TD Platinum to this card if they let me get the 40K points, otherwise I won't!

Full details on this offer can be found here.

Are you going to consider this offer? Let us know by commenting below on why or why not?

Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 20, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
Today I enjoyed having lunch with Brenda and Marshall from the WestJet Rewards team. We got to discuss the evolution of their program and how it has changed in the last 8-10 months and where it is heading. I can tell you this, their excitement behind the program is amazing which I believe will translate into further growth and improvement of the program. The addition of their first fully integrated FFP partner for earning (American Airlines) took some time for proper integration but that should now help ease the addition of other partners. I would imagine it won't be too long before we see more airlines come in and even see other travel partners (ie hotel, car rentals) in the mix for places to earn WestJet dollars. If you have any questions or comments about the program feel free to leave it below in the comments section. As always keep an eye on this space as I will keep you up to date on any changes, news, etc. on the WestJet program.

In terms of bonus offers, Accor Hotels continues its push in the North American market with a third bonus offer promotion for stays in the U.S. and Canada. This time it is for Sofitel properties while the others were for Novotel and Novotel/Sofitel. Check out our Accor page for details on all the promos.

Bonus Offers
Accor Hotels Le Club
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points plus your 4th night free at Sofitel Properties in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Aug 31, 12

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at any Starwood Hotels Worldwide. Plus the first 200 new registerants will earn additional 750 Phoenix Miles Kilometers. More... Register by Dec 31, 12 for stays until Jan 31, 13

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles for Air France flights between Brussels and Nantes, Bordeaux or Lyon. More... Until Aug 31, 12


Iberia Plus
- Double Avios Points for stays at Derby Hotels in Barcelona and London and Paris. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Triple Avios Points for stays at Derby Hotels in Madrid, and Paris. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Avios Points for stays at participating Husa Hotels in Spain. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Double Avios Points for stays at Occidental Hotels in Madrid & Santo Domingo. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Avios Points for stays on Official or Business rates at Paradores. More... Until Aug 31, 12

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Double Mileage Bank Miles + a free upgrade for stays of 2+ nights at The Marco Polo Suzhou. More... Aug 1 - Oct 30, 12

Thai Airways Royal Orchid
- Double Royal Orchid miles for Avis rentals of 3 or more days of a Group C or higher car in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Royal Orchid miles and up to 40% off published rates when you stay at any Anantara hotel or resort Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 12
- Double Royal Orchid miles for stays of 2+ nights at participating Centara Hotels & Resorst in Thailand. More... Until Sep 15, 12
- Double Royal Orchid miles for stays of two consecutive nights or more at participating Dusit Hotels worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Royal Orchid miles for stays for stays in a Suite on a 'Suitely Sensational' rate at over 70 Kempinski Hotels Worldwide. More... Aug 1 - Sep 15, 12
- Double Royal Orchid Miles when you book the “Linger longer for less" offer for 2 or more nights at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Earn up to Triple Royal Orchid miles when you book online at Delight Rates or Bed & Breakfast rates for two consecutive nights or more at any participating Mandarin Oriental hotel worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Earn up to Triple Royal Orchid miles for stays at participating Millennium and Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Royal Orchid Miless for stays at participating Pullman Hotels in Asia. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Earn up to Triple Royal Orchid miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel, resort, Traders hotel or Kerry hotel Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double Royal Orchid miles for stays at the St. Regis Bangkok. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 19, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
I have already made the first update to he Cash Back Comparison Chart that was released yesterday. The update added in the Chase Amazon.ca Rewards card.

According to a comment left on my post from last summer about the removal of Foreign Transaction Fees on Canadian credit cards the MasterCard(s) issued by Sears will have their foreign transaction fees removed as of July 23. This change seem logical as the card is issued by Chase who also issues the Amazon.ca card which happened to be the first publicly available card in Canada with no FX fees. Perhaps we will even see more Chase cards lose the FX fee like the Marriott Rewards Visa. Time will only tell but hats off to Chase for bringing this U.S. Phenomenon to Canada.

In the bonus offer section we see another great offer from Carlson Hotels. This time it is closer to home (yesterday was for Asia Pacific) where you can earn bonus points and your 3rd night free at Radisson & Radisson Blu hotels in North and South America (I tested the offer for Calgary and Canmore and it works), Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The only caveat is that stay has to be paid for with an American Express card (remember, I stress this all the time as to one of the reasons you should a Visa, a MasterCard and an American Express card so that you can take advantage of offers like these!)

Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- 1,000 Bonus Avios Points per stay at the Mallorca Marriott Son Antem Golf Resort & Spa. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Points + 3rd Night Free for stays at participating Radisson Blu hotels located throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa, Radisson and Radisson Blu hotels located in North and South America that are paid for with your American Express® card.
Radisson: Full Details and Online Booking
Radisson Blu: Full Details and Online Booking
Until Sep 30, 12
- 1,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays in a Deluxe Suite at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad Banjara Hills. More... Ongoing

China Southern Sky Pearl Club
- Triple Sky Pearl Kilometers when you stay at any participating hotel and resort in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. More... Until Oct 15, 12

Hilton HHonors
- Double HHonors Points for stays of 2 or more nights at the Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations Hotel - Center Strip Las Vegas. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Double HHonors Points for stays on the Romance Package at the Hilton Garden Inn Istanbul Golden Horn. More... Until Dec 30, 12
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points for eligible dining purchases of THB 1,500 or more at the Hilton Hua Hin Resort & Spa More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points for eligible dining purchases of THB 1,500 or more at the Hilton Pattaya. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points for eligible dining purchases at the Fiji Beach Resort Managed by Hilton. More... Until Mar 31, 13

TAM Fidelidade
- Double Multiplus Points when you stay at any participating hotel and resort in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Rewards Canada Daily Update: July 18, 2012

News, Tips & Tricks
Today saw somewhat of an evolution at Rewards Canada as we stepped outside of the Travel Rewards realm to launch a Cash Back Credit Card comparison chart. For some boring reading on why I did so, please visit the Rewards Canada blog otherwise you can go straight to the Cash Back Comparison Chart

SHORT NOTICE BONUS OFFER: Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for flights between Canada and London. Earn 15,000 bonus miles for flights in Tango Plus or Latitude fare class, 30,000 for Executive Class. The catch is that you have to book by July 19 for travel until Aug 31, 12. So hurry up and book if you know you are heading to London this summer! Full details are here

For bonus offers, there were quite a few nice offers but two should be noted other than the AC offer above. The first are the bonuses that Aegean Miles & Bonus members can earn for flying on Air Canada between Athens or London and Canada. Some of you may not have even heard of Aegean but with this bonus we have officially added the airline to Rewards Canada bonus offers section since Aegean is a Star Alliance member and you can earn Aegean Miles & Bonus miles for Air Canada and any other Star Alliance flights. An interesting tidbit with Aegean Airlines is that their Miles & Bonus program provides the easiest way to achieving Star Alliance Gold Status with a 20,000 tier mile requirement (1,000 of which can be earned for just joining the program). Rather than go into full details check out this detailed thread on FlyerTalk.com for the low down on this short cut to Star Alliance Gold Status. Unfortunatly the bonus miles for these Air Canada flights do not count towards that 20,000 mile requirement. The second offer is Club Carlson's Asia Pacific offer which provides enough bonus points for a low tier free reward night after completing a 2 night stay.

Travel Deals
Here is another Starwood deal if you are travelling to Asia this summer. You can save up to 50% on stays at select Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. More... .Book by Aug 3, 12

Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles & Bonus
- 5,000 Bonus Award Miles on eligible direct flights operated by Air Canada between Athens and Toronto or Montreal; London and Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, St. John’s, or Toronto. More... Aug 1 - Oct 31, 12

Air France KLM Flying Blue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you book flights on selected Air France of KLM routes from the UK to Africa. More... Until Jul 31, 12

British Airways Executive Club
- Double Avios Points for stays at any participating GHA Hotel Worldwide. More... Until Sep 15, 12
- Double Avios Points when you book the “Linger longer for less" offer for 2 or more nights at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Triple Avios Points for stays of 2+ nights at any participating Mandarin Oriental hotel Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12
- Earn up to Triple Avios Points for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel, resort, Traders hotel or Kerry hotel Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12
- Double Avios Points for stays at all participating Taj hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 12


Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
10,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays of 2 or more consecutive nights at Radisson Blu, Radisson, , Country Inns & Suites By Carlson, Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza hotels in Asia Pacific. Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Radisson or Radisson Blu Until Sep 30, 12

Gol Smiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 5X Smiles Miles for each USD spent with ClickHotels for hotel stays in Latin America. More... Until Aug 31, 12

TAP Portugal Victoria
- 500 Bonus Victoria Miles when you complete a stay of at least one night at a Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suite Novotel, Accor Thalassa, Ibis and All Seasons hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 12

United Mileage Plus
- Triple Mileage Plus Miles when you rent a Budget vehicle for 3 or more consecutive days at participating airport locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 12

New Rewards Canada Cash Back Credit Card Comparison Chart

Most of you are familiar with the Rewards Canada Travel Rewards Credit Card comparison charts (there are five six of them). These charts are a staple on Rewards Canada, in fact they are some of the most visited pages of all the pages on my site. That being said, I haven't added a new chart in nearly two years and only updated individual cards on those charts. Fast forward to today and I felt it was time to add cash back credit cards to Rewards Canada and the first logical step was making our standard comparison chart for these cards. Cash Back cards are gaining huge traction with Canadian consumers due to the relative ease of understanding the reward, low costs (most cash back cards have no-fees) and of course being able to use the cash back reward for anything.

Now, you are probably asking or wondering why I would cover cash back cards on Rewards Canada, seeing that Rewards Canada is considered a travel rewards resource. Well here are three reasons why I am going to cover cash back credit cards now:
1. Although my specialty is Travel Rewards, most loyalty programs run on the same basic premise with many of the same strategies so the knowledge I have garnered can be extended to other programs. Plus, the word travel is not included in Rewards Canada, so technically speaking I can cover all rewards, right?
2. Since you get cash back on cash back cards you can use that cash to pay for travel! Which means cash back cards could be considered pseudo-travel rewards cards.
3. Cash back cards make great sense for you secondary or tertiary cards. You've heard me say over and over again that you should carry a Visa, a MasterCard and an American Express card to cover promotions or non-acceptance of specific cards. If travel is your main goal, make your primary credit card a travel card and keep yourself open to travel or cash back cards for the other two credit card brands. Since those second and third cards won't be used as much, the ability to earn travel rewards may never happen or take a long time to achieve, so a cash back card can fit in nicely to reward you on a yearly basis.

I think that is enough explanation of my choice to cover Canadian cash back credit cards so be sure to check out the Cash Back Credit Card comparison chart today! I hope you find it informative and helpful. I would love to hear what you think of it by leaving your comments and questions below. If you see anything that needs correcting on the chart feel free to comment below as well.