Sep 5 Update: Delta SkyMiles raises some award ticket requirements, Emirates Sep Miles Accelerator offers and more

News, Tips & Tricks
Delta Airlines silently raised some award ticket redemption rates over the weekend with no advance notice. While most increases from programs tend to be on the lower end rewards this one is the opposite as reported by Gary @ View from the Wing:

‘Medium’ level coach awards between the US and Mexico or the Caribbean go from 50,000 to 55,000 miles roundtrip.
‘High’ level coach awards between the US and Mexico or the Caribbean go from 70,000 to 75,000 miles roundtrip.
‘Medium’ level coach awards between the US and Southern South America go from 90,000 to 95,000 miles roundtrip.
‘High’ level coach awards between the US and Southern South America go from 125,000 to 130,000 miles roundtrip.
‘Medium’ level coach awards between the US and Europe go from 90,000 to 95,000 miles roundtrip.
‘High’ level coach awards between the US and Europe go from 125,000 to 130,000 miles roundtrip.
‘High’ level business class awards between the US and Southeast Asia go from 370,000 to 350,000 miles roundtrip

As you can see there is one decrease but overall these changes don't bode well for the already chastised SkyMiles program. As most of these rewards went up by 5,000 Miles, Delta SkyMiles® World MasterCard® from Capital One cardholders will have to spend at an extra $2,500 if one of them was in their sights, barring any other mileage earning of course.

In other news, I hinted at another new rewards credit card for the Canadian market in June's Top Credit Card feature and I can tell you that it will come out on October 24, but that is all I can tell you for now

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 2,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you book a Majestic Resorts package to Punta Cana with Air Canada Vacations. More... Book by Sep 30 for travel Oct 1 - Nov 30, 12

Air China Phoenix Miles
- 888 Bonus Phoenix Miles Kilometers per car rental booked through Rentalcars.com. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Emirates Skywards
Earn up to 16,000 Bonus Skywards Miles with Emirates Skywards September Miles Accelerator offers which enables you to earn more Skywards Miles when you fly with Emirates, irrespective of the fare you pay or where you buy your ticket. More... Sep 1 - 30, 12

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles for stays for stays in a Suite on a 'Suitely Sensational' rate at over 70 Kempinski Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 15, 12
- Double Guest Miles for stays at the Erbil Rotana, Kurdistan, Iraq. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Iberia Plus
- 20% Bonus Avios Points when you buy, gift or transfer Avios. More... Until Sep 13, 12

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club
- $50 Resort Credit when you book the Extra Credit rate for two night at Holiday Inn Resort® and Holiday Inn Club Vacations® properties in the Americas. Plus, with each additional night, you'll earn $25 in Extra Credit. More... Until Nov 30, 12

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Triple Mileage Bank Miles for rentals of a compact car or larger for three or more consecutive days in USA, Canada, Hawaii and Guam. More... Until Dec 31, 12

US Airways Dividend Miles
- 750 Bonus Dividend Miles on a qualifying rental of three or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Avianca TACA LifeMiles: 100% Bonus on buying miles is back!

OK, Avianca TACA may takeover the title of offering 'Double' for purchasing miles within a program from US Airways! In the last year we saw it in September and  December 2011, May 2012, July 2012 and now September 2012 sees the 2x1 buy LifeMiles offer return! This offer brings the cost buying LifeMiles down to 1.5 cents/mile from the normal 3 cents per mile.

The biggest difference this time (and part of July's) is that Avianca TACA is now a member of the Star Alliance. So while before I used to tout this offer as a way to get Lufthansa business class from North America to Europe for $1800, you can now use the miles on any Star Alliance airline. The program also offers one way rewards at exactly half the round trip cost and does not charge fuel surcharges on award tickets.

With business class tickets to Europe going for 100,000 miles and Asia for 120,000 miles you can travel 'luxuriously' for a lot less with this deal. Another great feature of LifeMiles (in fact even better than buying all the miles) is their Cash + Part Points option. This option only requires that you have 40% of the points for a reward (so buy 40% during this 100% bonus period) and then you can buy the rest of the miles (the other 60%) at $12.75 per 1,000 miles or 1.275 cents per mile!

What's the catch? You had the have been a LifeMiles member as of September 3 to take advantage of it. If you are not, I would recommend joining anyways and wait for the next 100% bonus to appear.

For complete details on the Avianca TACA LifeMiles 100% Bonus or to buy the miles please see here

Sep 4 Update: Upgraded RBC WestJet MasterCard, Virgin Atlantic systemwide bonus & LifeMiles 100% bonus on buy miles is back

News, Tips & Tricks
It looks like that this October will see the WestJet RBC World MasterCard upgraded to a World Elite MasterCard, which will bring with additional insurance and travel benefits including a yearly companion ticket. The annual fee is being bumped to $99 from $79 but for the extra $20 to get the annual companion ticket is well worth it! I don't have complete details but this news comes to us from Rewards Canada reader Bob who emailed me the info and was confirmed by my RBC contact today.

In the bonus offer section, two promotions to note, first is the new Virgin Atlantic systemwide bonus which includes their Vancouver route and the return of Avianca TACA LifeMiles 100% bonus on buying miles. If you are not a LifeMiles members as of yesterday don't bother but for those of you who are this is a great promotion that can get you some great reward tickets on Star Alliance for a relatively good price. Stayed tuned for a separate post on this topic.

Bonus Offers
Avianca TACA LifeMiles
- 100% Bonus LifeMiles when you purchase LifeMiles. More... Until Sep 28, 12 Applies only to members enrolled in the program prior to September 3rd, 2012.

Belavia Leader
- Double Leader Points for Belavia flights between Minsk and Erevan, Batumi, Ashgabat, Moscow, Stockholm, Helsinki, Riga, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Warsaw or St.Petersburg. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Ethiopian Sheba Miles
- Double Sheba Miles for flights between Addis Ababa and Kuala Lumpur. More... Oct 31 - Dec 31, 12

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Double Victoria Miles on all Sixt rentals Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 12

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Triple Dividend Miles when renting a Compact car or larger vehicle for two days or longer at participating Thirfty locations worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Earn up to 150% Bonus Flying Club Miles + 12 Bonus Tier Points on all Virgin Atlantic flights Worldwide including Vancouver - London. More... Register by Oct 15, 12 for travel until Feb 28, 13

Last day to earn bonus Aeroplan miles for Best Western Travel Card purchases

Today is the last day to take advantage of the 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for every $100 Best Western Travel Card purchased. By buying the card you can take advantage of a triple dip (are my current readers getting sick of this yet as this has been mentioned a few times this summer?)

Dip #1: Purchase the Best Western Travel Rewards card with an Aeroplan earning (or any other reward credit card since a triple dip does not have to be in one program)
Dip #2: Earn the 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for purchasing the Travel Card
Dip #3: Book and Stay on a mileage or point qualifying rate at any Best Western to earn miles/points for that stay.

or you can even Quadruple dip when you combine it with this fall's Best Western systemwide promotion (up to triple points Sep 23 - Nov 18) which I am sure will also have an Aeroplan component based on past promos.

Earn 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for every $100 Best Western Travel Card purchased. Buy your Best Western Travel Card here

Aug 30 Update: MBNA Choice MC Bonus, No IHG Q4 Promo, 3x Miles @ InterContinental Hotels & More!

News, Tips & Tricks
As mentioned yesterday MBNA officially launched another limited time increased sign up bonus, this time it is for the  MBNA Choice Privileges MasterCard . The sign up bonus is normally 8,000 points (good for one free night at select locations) but that bonus has now been increased to 24,000 points. See my post from earlier today for complete details

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club has advised me that they will NOT be running a fourth quarter systemwide promotion. This is quite a change for them as they have been consistent at running quartely type bonuses for many years. On top of that a lot of their competitors have already announced their fall or fourth quarter promos so this came as a bit of a surprise. Hopefully they will continue with their loosely targetted Stay X Get Y bonus offers in the fall when the current batch expire at the end of September.

Travel Deals
Receive a free night a Hyatt Resorts in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean + free daily breakfast for 2 for stays through December 30. Minimum length of stay is required and varies by propery. For more details visit Hyatt Resorts.

Alitalia is following in the footsteps of their SkyTeam partners Air France KLM and are offering great fares for travel this fall out of Toronto to Europe and North Africa from $799 including all taxes. Flights must be booked by Sep 18. Please visit Alitalia.ca for more details

Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- Triple Club Premier Miles for stays at any InterContinental hotel or resort in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Air Canada Aeroplan
- Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at any InterContinental hotel or resort in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean. More... Until Dec 31, 12

American AAdvantage
- Instant HHonors Gold Status, 500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles and 50,000 Bonus HHonors Points with a targeted AAdvantage/HHonors promo. More... Until Nov 28, 12
- Triple AAdvantage Miles for stays at any InterContinental hotel or resort in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Amtrak Guest Rewards (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Guest Rewards Points on all Amtrak Travel. More... Sep 5 - Nov 16, 12

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 4,500 Bonus Avios Miles for stays of 2 or more consecutive nights at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles when you book online at Best Available Rates or Bed & Breakfast Rates at Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo or Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London – or at Best Available Rates at Mandarin Oriental, Miami. More... Until Nov 30, 12
- Double Asia Miles when you stay in a suite or Club room or Club suite for a minimum of two consecutive nights at the Best Available Rate – at participating Shangri-La hotels or resorts, Traders hotels or Kerry hotels worldwide More... Until Nov 30, 12

Delta SkyMiles
- Instant HHonors Gold Status, 500 Bonus SkyMiles and 50,000 Bonus HHonors Points with a targeted SkyMiles/HHonors promo. More... Until Nov 19, 12
- 50% Bonus SkyMiles with every qualifying stay at all participating Choice Hotels locations Worldwide. More... Until Sep 15, 12

Hilton HHonors
- Instant HHonors Gold Status and 25,000 Bonus HHonors Points with a targeted Hilton HHonors promo. More... Until Nov 22, 12

Icelandair Saga Club
- 20% Bonus Saga Club Award Points when you buy or gift Saga Club Award points online. More... Until Sep 28, 12

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club
- 3,000 Bonus Priority Club Points for your next stay Worldwide. Stay must be made within 90 days of registering. More... Until ? Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

JetBlue TrueBlue (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Instant HHonors Gold Status, 500 Bonus TrueBlue Points and 50,000 Bonus HHonors Points with a targeted TrueBlue/HHonors promo. More... Until Nov 22, 12

LAN LANPASS
- Triple LANPASS Kilometers for stays at any InterContinental hotel or resort in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Earn up to 12,000 Bonus Rapid Rewards Points for buying Marriott Gift Cards online. More... Until Nov 30, 12

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at the new Sheraton Tampa East. More... Until Oct 31, 12

Ukraine International Panorama Club (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Panorama Club Miles for stays at the Radisson Blu Resort hotel in Bukovel. More... Sep 1 - Nov 30, 12

United Mileage Plus
- Instant HHonors Gold Status, and 6,000 Bonus Mileage Plus Miles with a targeted Mileage Plus/HHonors promo. More... Until Nov 25, 12

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Instant HHonors Gold Status, 500 Bonus Dividend Miles and 25,000 Bonus HHonors Points with a targeted Dividend Miles/HHonors promo. More... Until Dec 2, 12
- Triple Dividend Miles for stays at any InterContinental hotel or resort in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean. More... Until Dec 31, 12

Virgin America Elevate (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Instant HHonors Gold Status, and 1,600 Bonus Elevate Points with a targeted Elevate/HHonors promo. More... Until Dec 12, 12

MBNA Choice Privileges MasterCard sign up bonus tripled to 24,000 points

THIS CARD IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

For a limited time (until Nov 14, 12) MBNA is tripling the sign up bonus for the MBNA Choice Privileges MasterCard to 24,000 Privileges points. The bonus is enough points for 3 free nights at over 1,500 Choice Hotels locations in North America. For a list of Canadian properties that have reward nights at the 8,000 points or less level please see here. Considering there is no annual fee and if you don't mind an inquiry on your credit rating once again this isn't a bad offer to go for just to get the 3 free nights!

• Until November 14, 2012 only, earn up to 24,000 points - enough for 3 FREE Nights¹ at over 1,500 Choice Privileges locations across North America! 
• Using the no annual fee Choice Privileges® MasterCard® is an easy way to earn free hotel nights as you'll earn points every time you use it. Plus, you'll get automatically upgraded to Elite Gold status earning you more points for every eligible stay. 
• Apply today and you'll earn: 
• Up to 24,000 points¹ - 8,000 points¹ enough for 1 night upon your first qualifying purchase and an additional 16,000 points¹ enough for 2 more FREE nights at over 1,500 locations after spending $300 by Feb 14, 2013. 
• Up to 15 points for every $1 in net retail purchases at over 5,000 Choice Privileges locations in Canada, the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and Australasia² 
• 2 points for every $1 qualifying net retail spent on everyday purchases‡ 
• Plus you get automatically upgraded to Elite Gold status – earning you more points for every eligible stay 
• No annual fee 
• Enhanced security and protection with Chip & PIN technology and PayPass

For more details or to apply for the card please visit MBNA Canada

Aug 29 Update: Priority Club MasterCard adds Platinum Status, bigger sign up bonuses for MBNA Best Western & Choice Hotels Cards, 25K Points for Country Inn Stays

News, Tips & Tricks
Today's news is pretty much reserved for Hotel Credit Card market in Canada!

If you are current holder of the Priority Club® World MasterCard® from Capital One or are considering getting the card, I have good news for you. As of September 17 the card will offer Priority Club Platinum Elite Status instead of the current Gold Status. Members will retain the Platinum Status for the life of the account (ie you cancel your credit card, you lose status). What does Platinum Elite Status get you? 50% Bonus Points on all IHG stays (Gold is only 10%), Complimentary Room Upgrades subject to availability, and guaranteed room availability if you book at least 72 hours in advance. See all the Platinum benefits here, to apply for the card please visit Capital One

In other hotel credit card news you may have seen my post from earlier today for the MBNA Best Western MasterCard that now comes with a 50,000 Bonus Rewards Points sign up bonus for a limited time and as of tomorrow, the MBNA Choice Privileges MasterCard will come with a limited time 24,000 bonus points sign up bonus although it appears the page is already up here.

Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to 40% Mileage Plan Miles when you buy or gift Mileage Plan miles online. More... Until Sep 28, 12

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 25,000 Bonus Gold Points when you complete a Qualifying Stay of 2 or more consecutive nighgts at any Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotel worldwide on a 25 for 25 Promotion rate. More... Until Oct 14, 12

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club
- 4,000 Bonus Priority Club Points when you book the Summer Escape Rate for a consecutive two night stay at The Venetian® Las Vegas or The Palazzo® Las Vegas , an InterContinental® Alliance Resort. More... Until Sep 9, 12

Oman Air Sindbad (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 500 Bonus Sindbad Miles for Avis rentals of 3 or more days in Europe, Middle-East, Asia and Africa. More... Until Sep 30, 12

Scandic Hotels Frequent Guest
- 50% Rewards Points Discount for reward night stays at the Scandic Fornebu Oslo. More... Sep 15 - Dec 31, 12

US Airways Dividend Miles
- 500 Bonus Dividend Miles when you download and make at least one search or purchase using the Dividend Miles StoreFront Assistant. More...

MBNA Best Western MasterCard sign up bonus increased to 50,000 points

For a limited time (apply by October 5) MBNA is raising the sign up bonus for the Best Western MasterCard from the current 20,000 points to 50,000 points. The additional 30,000 points requires a spend of $1,000 on the card before Oct 31. If you don't mind an inquiry on your credit rating this is a card to consider since there is no annual fee and you'll get enough bonus points to redeem for two to six nights in Best Western hotels depending on the category. Best Western Reward night categories range from 8,000 to 36,000 points. Those points can also be converted on a 5:1 basis to 7 different airlines (ie 10,000 Frequent Flyer miles) Apply today for the Best Western MasterCard

• Earn up to 50,000 Best Western Rewards points! 
• No Annual Fee 
• Receive 20,000 bonus Best Western Rewards points after your first qualifying purchase†† 
• Spend $1,000 before October 31, 2012 on your new card and receive additional 30,000 bonus points†††. 
• Earn 1.5 Best Western Rewards points for every $1 in net retail purchases‡ 
• 1.99% promotional annual interest rate† (AIR) on balance transfers*, access cheques and deposits* for the first 6 full months 
• Get upgraded to Best Western Rewards Elite Status when you spend $6,000 on your card within one year‡‡ 
• Earn even more Best Western Rewards points by staying at Best Western hotels or making everyday purchases

Aug 28 Update: 50% Bonus Aeroplan Status Miles, Golden Tulip Bonus and Free Priority Club Points

News, Tips & Tricks
Things are slowly getting back to normal here as I am still playing catch up! In case you missed my post from earlier today I revealed the new American Express Membership Rewards Airline Transfer partner. That new partner happens to be Etihad Airways. Check out the post here.

In terms of new bonuses, I have finally added the Aeroplan Transfer bonus that has been around for a little while also adding the new Aeroplan 50% Bonus Status Miles offer for flights between YTZ & YUL. If you are travelling to Australia and are considering going via California to catch a Virgin Australia flights be sure to look at their Double Points offer for all of their flights and finally everyone loves free points and miles so be sure to opt-in to Priority Club Shopping's email to earn 500 Priority Club points.

Travel Deals
Air France and KLM have launched some big fall and winter seat sales for travel out of Canada. Flights start at $799 including all taxes and fees and need to be booked by September 18. Check them out at AirFrance.ca and/or KLM.com. You can also view some of the offers on Rewards Canada's Flying Blue page.

Scandic Hotels is opening a new hotel in Oslo, the Scandic Fornebu. To celebrate the opening Scandic Frequent Guest members (free to join) can enjoy 20% off when booking online for stays until the end of the year Full Details and online booking

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 50% Bonus Aeroplan Status Miles when you fly on Latitude fares between Toronto's city airport and Montreal. More... Until Dec 31, 12
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert points from select hotel and car rental loyalty programs and points.com into Aeroplan. More... Until Sep 9, 12

American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles for nonstop flights on American between Miami and Manaus. More... Until Dec 15, 12
- Double AAdvantage Miles for nonstop flights on American between Miami and Asunción. More... Nov 15, 12 - Feb 15, 13

Golden Tulip Flavours
- 50 Bonus Flavours Points for stays at all Golden Tulip locations Worldwide. More... Sep 1- 30, 12

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club
- 500 Bonus Priority Club Points when you opt in to receive the Priority Club® Shopping special offers email newsletter. More... Until Sep 15, 12

Scandic Hotels Frequent Guest
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Scandic Paasi Helsinki. More... Until Sep 14, 12

Southwest Rapid Rewards (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Rapid Rewards Points on any National Car Rental of three days or longer in the United States. More... Until Nov 15, 12

Virgin Australia Velocity Rewards (On FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Velocity Points on all flights with Virgin Australia systemwide. More... Register by Sep 27 and book by Sep 30 for travel between Oct 1 - Nov 30, 12

New Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partner: Etihad Airways

I have been hinting at a new transfer partner for the Canadian American Express Membership rewards program since June but have not been able to release those details until now. The information is officially up on Amex Canada's site and the new partner is Etihad Airways and their Guest program.

The transfer ratio of 1,000 MR points to 750  Etihad Guest Miles is the same ratio as Alitalia, Cathay Pacific and Delta.

How is this beneficial to Canadian's especially since some of you may not have even heard of Etihad? Well they do fly between Toronto and Abu Dhabi three times per week with ongoing connections across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Overall I don't believe most Canadian Membership Rewards members will use this partner but it is nice to have that option if you think you can make use of the Etihad Guest program for the flights they provide. Of course if you are already a member of Etihad Guest and fly regularly with them then it could be a smart idea to add the American Express Gold Rewards Card or The Platinum Card from American Express to your wallet so that you can earn even more Guest miles.

What do you think of the addition of this new partner? Do you think you will you make use of it? Let us and the rest of Canada know by commenting below!