Earn 80 Bonus Air Miles Reward Miles for Best Western Stays in Canada, U.S. & Caribbean

Along with Aeroplan, Air Miles has been a mainstay in the 'bonus offer' department in regards to promotions with Best Western. You can almost guarantee that Air Miles will have some sort of offer running with Best Western and this time around the last offer hasn't even ended (20 Bonus Air Miles ends Apr 15) before releasing another one. Here is the offer as it will be posted to RC's Best Western page later today:

80 Bonus Air Miles Reward Miles for each qualified stay at Best Western branded hotels in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands. Full details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required) Apr 1 - May 31, 13
Valid for residents of Canada only

Apr 9 Update: SAS EuroBonus Points & Cash Option, Delta SkyMiles Bonus for W Hotels stays, 4x Dividend Miles for Hertz Rentals

Happy Tuesday everyone! Here is the latest news, deals and bonuses from the world of Travel Rewards!

News, Tips & Tricks
Much like last week's news from EVA Air about their new miles and cash option for buying tickets, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) has announced the option for their EuroBonus members. The EuroBonus Points & Cash option has the same slider feature as EVA Air allowing the member to choose exactly how many points and how much cash he or she wants to use to book the ticket. The ticket is considered a regular fare and not a EuroBonus ticket so it is eligible for upgrades using points and is not limited to only EuroBonus ticket availability but rather any available seat. More details can be found here.

Travel Deals
Air Canada has matched Air France and KLMs summer business class sale for flights from Canada to Europe. Flights need to be booked by April 14 for travel April 12 - Sep 1. More...


Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles when you book and confirm accommodation worth RMB2,000 or more via Hotel Reservation Service (HRS) online. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Earn up to 45,000 Bonus Asia Miles when you apply for and receive the American Express Cathay Pacific Corporate Card. More... Until Jun 30, 13 Residents of Hong Kong Only

Delta SkyMiles
- 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles and two cool cocktails in the Living Room bar for stays at participating W Hotels in North America. More... Until Jul 9, 13  

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club
- 5,000 Bonus Priority Club Points for your next weekend (Fri+Sat or Sat+Sun) stay Worldwide. Stay must be made within 90 days of registering. More... Until Mar 31, 14 Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to 30% Bonus Returns Points when you purchase La Quinta Returns Points. More... Until May 5, 13

Le Club accorhotels
- 800 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays on the "Luxury offer Le Club Accorhotels" offer at participating Accor Hotels in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherland, Morocco, Middle East and Poland. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays on the "Sofitel Spring Collection" offer at participating Sofitel Hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 20, 13
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Austria, Germany or Switzerland. More... Until May 31, 13
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in India. More... Until Jun 5, 13

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Double Mabuhay Miles when staying at the Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, Bluewater Panglao Resort and Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort. More... Until Mar 31, 14

Southwest Rapid Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Rapid Rewards Points on any stay at The Venetian or The Palazzo hotels in Las Vegas. More... Until Jul 31, 13

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn a $50 Ticketmaster Cash code for every three nights you stay with SPG. Codes are unlimited. Plus get a $10 Ticketmaster Cash code for one hotel check-in on Foursquare. More... Until May 5, 13

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Quadruple Dividend Miles with Hertz on all vehicles and any length rental at participating airport and off airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. More...Until Sep 30, 13

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- OFFER EXTENDED Elite Status Match - Virgin America Elevate is offering to match your United Air Lines or American Airlines elite status to their own Elevate® Gold or Elevate® Silver until June 30, 13. More...


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Delta Hotels: Buy a $100 Gift Card and get 15% off future stays

My family and I stayed at the Delta Kananaskis Lodge this past weekend and I often forget to read the email I get from the Delta Privilege program. Well that stay must have triggered something as I read a whole email from Delta Privilege yesterday morning and low and behold I find this decent offer that I felt was worth passing on to the RC masses. You don't have to be a Delta Privilege member to make use of it but I would recommend joining the program, its free and offers some nice perks such free Internet and late checkout which we actually used on Sunday as the Trans Canada Highway back into Calgary was closed due to an accident. The kids loved it as we used that time to spend an extra few hours in the pool, Eucalyptus steam room and indoor/outdoor hot tub! Anyways here is the offer I wanted to pass along:

Between April 1 and June 30, 2013, every guest who purchases a $100 gift card, either online at deltahotels.com or at a hotel, will receive 15% off* a future stay at Delta. Additionally, guests can also receive a $5 Amazon.ca Gift Certificate.**

More details can be found here.

* The 15% off a future stay discount applies to Best Available Rate for online bookings and reservations booked through Delta Hotels toll-free reservations. The redemption period for 15% off a future stay is from July 1 to September 30, 2013. The 15% off future stay promo offer is applicable to new bookings only. The discount cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. Reservations are based on hotel availability at time of booking. Some restrictions and blackout periods may apply.
** Receive a $5 Amazon.ca Gift Certificate for every $100 in gift cards purchased between April 1 and June 30, 2013. Guests who purchase their gift card at a hotel will be required to email giftcards@deltahotels.com with their name and the 19-digit number (located on back of the gift card) no later than July 31, 2013. Once the gift card purchase has been validated, the guest will receive an email with instructions on how to redeem their Amazon.ca Gift Certificate.

I don't see any rules about using the gift card for your stay that would have 15% off, except if your stay falls outside the redemption period, so you could always buy your gift card first and then once you receive your 15% off code book your stay and pay for it with the gift card(s)

Apr 8 Update: 2x Bonus on buying LifeMiles is back, Air Canada changing check in times, United bonus for Hilton Stays

Welcome to another week here on Rewards Canada! This should be a full week of 5 days of updates so be sure to check back everyday for updated news, bonus offers and more.

News, Tips & Tricks
The best news out today is the return of another one of the great buy miles offers, the Avianca TACA LifeMiles Double miles bonus! This offer has been mentioned frequently on Rewards Canada (Dec 2012, Sep 2012, May 2012 and more ) and is one of the best ways to get business class awards on Star Alliance for a lot less then buying those tickets with cash. Each time this offer is run there seems to a be a new set of terms and conditions so take heed in these, this time the new conditions are that you have to be a member by April 8th (so join today!) and you can only complete one transaction during the promotional period. So figure out which award ticket you want before buying and/or buy the max and hold onto the points until you can use them or take advantage of the next 2x Buy Miles offer (I think I may take the latter route)

Air Canada is changing their check in time for flights within Canada. Effective April 10, 2013, check-in and baggage acceptance for flights within Canada will close 45 minutes prior to departure – with the exception of flights leaving from Toronto’s city airport (YTZ), where check-in and bag drop-off will remain available until 20 minutes before departure.

Over on the One Mile at a Time blog, Lucky mentions that the Hyatt Diamond amenity option of 1,000 Gold Passport points will be added to International properties. Previously it was only available for stays at U.S. locations.

Travel Deals
Cathay Pacific is offering up to 15% off Premium Economy fares between Toronto or Vancouver and select destinations in Asia when two or more tickets are purchased on the same itinerary. The offer is available for travel until June 15 and between September 5th and November 30 but must be booked by April 24. Find out more


Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Earn up to Triple Aeroplan Miles when you rent an Intermediate (Group C) or larger vehicle for 2 or more days at participating Avis locations in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Triple Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at the Fairmont Makati, Philippines pr the Fairmont The Palm, Dubai. More... Until May 31, 13

Avianca TACA LifeMiles
- 250 Bonus LifeMiles when you complete a qualified stay at any Best Western branded hotel in South America. More... Until Jun 30, 13 Valid for residents of North America, Canada, South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela) and Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatema la, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua ) only =
- Double LifeMiles when you buy LifeMiles online or via their call center. You must be a member of LifeMiles as of April 8, 2013 to participate and is limited to 1 transaction during the promotional period. More... Until Apr 30, 13

Korean Air SKYPASS
- 1,000 SKYPASS Miles for rentals of 4 or more days at participating Avis locations in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Jul 31, 13

Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer
- Double Safar Flyer Miles for Royal Air Maroc flights between Casablanca and Paris. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- 1,000 Bonus Safar Flyer Miles for every 4 flights you complete on Royal Air Maroc systemwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- 7,500 Safar Flyer Miles Discount for Royal Air Maroc award tickets between France and Africa. More... May 1 - 31, 13
- Earn up to Triple Safar Flyer Miles for each Sixt car rental in Morocco. More... Until May 10, 13

United MileagePlus
- 1,000 Bonus Mileage Plus Miles for each stay of two nights or more, up to 5,000 bonus miles, at any hotel within the Hilton HHonors portfolio Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Apr 4 Update: EVA Air new Miles & Cash option, KLM Business Class sale for the busy summer season, Le Club accorhotels sign up bonus

Final day of updates for Rewards Canada this week as I will be away tomorrow!

News, Tips & Tricks
EVA Air has launched a new Cash+Miles option for booking flights online. The new feature allows you to pay for part of your flight with your Evergreen Club mileage through their new, 100% flexible online booking and payment function called “Miles & Cash.” It looks pretty cool in that you can set how many miles and how much cash you want to use for your booking. Find out more details here.

Travel Deals
KLM has once again put their Business Class cabins on sale for flights out of Canada to Europe and beyond. What is amazing about the offer this time is that it covers the whole busy summer travel season! From Toronto and Montreal you can get to Europe for as little as $2498 all in and $2998 all in from Calgary or Vancouver! This offer is valid for travel April 11 to Sep 1 and must be booked by Apr 14. Book online at AirFrance.ca or KLM.com

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 5X Aeroplan Miles for every $1 you spend on Air Canada luggage at Bentley. More... Until Jun 30, 13

airberlin topbonus
- 1,000 Bonus topbonus Miles when you join Le Club accorhotels and select airberlin topbonus as your prefered reward option. More... Until May 31, 13

British Airways Executive Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn 100 bonus Avios on standard airport parking bookings and 200 bonus Avios on Meet & Greet airport parking bookings when you book with Holiday Extras between 3 April 2013 and 15 May 2013. More... Until May 15, 13

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles for every eligible stay at select Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jun 10, 13

EVA Air Evergreen Club
- Double Evergreen Miles on Hertz Rentals of 3 or more days at participating locations in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia or New Zealand. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- 600 Bonus Evergreen Miles per car rental booked via Rentalcars.com. More... Until Apr 30, 13

Gulf Air Falconflyer (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Falconflyer Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Triple Falconflyer Miles for stays on the Best Available Rates for a minimum of 3 nights at Majestic Arjaan by Rotana – Manama. More... Until Aug 31, 13

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Double Mileage Bank Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Le Club accorhotels
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points when you join the Le Club accorhotels program and complete your first stay. More... Until Apr 30, 13

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Earn up to Quadruple KrisFlyer Miles when renting a Group C or higher car with Avis for 3+ days in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. More... Until May 31, 13

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Double Victoria Miles on rentals of two or more days at participating Avis locations Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 13

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus MileagePlus Miles or up to $30 towards future flights on United on a qualifying rental of one or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until Jul 31, 13
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus MileagePlus Miles or up to $30 towards future flights on United on a qualifying rental of one or more consecutive days at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until Jul 31, 13

Apr 3 Update: Double Aeroplan Miles @ Esso, up to 6x AAdvantage Miles for Hertz Rentals & another Voila Elite Status Offer

Another big day for new bonus offers being added to FFB and Rewards Canada. Not much on the news side other than my newest credit card review.

News, Tips & Tricks
Less then half an hour ago I posted my latest credit card review. This time its on the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Credit Card. Check it out!

Bonus Offers
Air Baltic BalticMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Baltic Miles for stays at the Žilvinas or Vyturys hotel. More... Until May 31, 13
- Earn up to 350 Bonus BalticMiles points when you sign up for a PointsHound.com account. More... Until May 31, 13

Air Canada Aeroplan
- Double Aeroplan Miles on Esso Regular, Extra and Supreme Grades of gasoline and other eligible Esso purchases. More... Until May 27, 13

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Triple Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays on the Bed and Breakfast or Best Available rate at participating Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 4x Mileage Plan Miles on all vehicles and any length rental at participating Hertz airport and off airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. More... Until Sep 30, 13

American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles for nonstop flights between New York JFK and Houston IAH. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Double AAdvantage Miles for nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Raleigh/Durham. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Earn up to 6X AAdvantage Miles plus, save up to 35% on Hertz Rentals in the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. More... Until Aug 31, 13
- Earn up to 30% Bonus Miles when you buy AAdvantage Miles. More... Until May 17, 13

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles for stays at participating Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide for three consecutive nights or more. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Double Asia Miles for stays at participating Regal Hotels in Hong Kong and Mainland China for two consecutive nights or more. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to 16,000 Bonus Skywards Miles with Emirates' April Miles Accelerator offer. The offer 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... Until Apr 30, 13

Etihad Guest
- Triple Guest Miles and 3 nights for the price of 2 at Al Ghurair Rayhaan & Al Ghurair Arjaan by Rotana - Dubai. More... Until Apr 30, 13

Scandinavian EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus points when you subscribe to the Economist. More... Until Apr 20, 13
- Double EuroBonus points for each trip made with Sverigetaxi. More... Until Apr 14, 13

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- 18,000 Bonus KrisFlyer Miles when you fly Singapore Airlines' Business Class or Suites from Los Angeles to Singapore on flights SQ11/12 or SQ37/38. More... Book by Apr 30 for travel until Sep 30, 13
- 200% Bonus KrisFlyer Miles when you fly in First Class between Auckland via Singapore and London. More... Book by May 1 for travel commencing no later than Jun 30, 13

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Double Dividend Miles for stays at participating Wyndham Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 6, 13

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Double elite-tier qualification credit when you stay 3 or more nights at any VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Review

Below you will find the complete review of the card as seen on the main Rewards Canada site.

One of only a handful of hotel frequent guest credit cards in Canada, The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa card from Chase recently went through a major work over to make the card more attractive and competitive in the extremely saturated travel rewards credit card market. The changes to card have proved popular and as such I felt that it should be the next card to be given the thorough ‘Rewards Canada review’ treatment.

Overview
The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa card came onto the market in September 2012 replacing its predecessor the Chase Marriott Rewards Platinum Visa. Issued by Chase Bank Canada, the new version of card brought along a healthier dose of rewards and also was the first hotel credit card (and also first ‘major’ travel rewards credit card) in Canada to offer no foreign transaction fees. The card falls into our “Hotel Credit Card” Category which means it is a credit card that earns points directly into a hotel's frequent guest program.

Sign up Features
The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa comes with a 30,000 Marriott Rewards points sign up bonus that is awarded upon your first purchase with the card plus one free night at a Category 1-4 hotel upon your approval for the card. Depending on the category you redeem your points and free night at you could get as many as 5 nights for free with these sign up features. 

Costs
The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa comes with a $120 Annual which is waived in the first year. $120 is par for the course with many premium travel rewards cards although not too many waive the fee in the first year. Supplementary cards are free which is slowly becoming the norm for many cards. The interest is right in-line with the majority cards at 19.99%  

Earning
The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa earns points directly into the Marriott Rewards program as follows:?5 Points per dollar spent at over 3,600 participating Marriott locations Worldwide?2 Points per dollar spend on airline tickets (must be booked directly with the airline), car rentals and restaurants?and finally 1 point per dollar on all other eligible spending. 

Redeeming
The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa earns offers numerous redemption options via the Marriott Rewards program. Of course, being a Frequent Guest Program, the primary redemption option which most people look at is hotel reward nights. Marriott Rewards offers numerous redemption levels for stays at their hotels and those level are broken down as categories. Category 1 hotels tend to be the cheapest and least attractive hotels in terms of ‘dream’ redemptions but are not necessarily bad hotels while Category 9 are the cream of the crop hotels in the most prime locations around the world. 

Marriott Reward’s points per night category requirements are as follows:
Category 1: 7,500
Category 2: 10,000
Category 3: 15,000
Category 4: 20,000
Category 5: 25,000
Category 6: 30,000
Category 7: 35,000
Category 8: 40,000
Category 9: 45,000
Ritz Carlton Hotels run from 30,000 to 70,000 points per night  

One nice feature found in a few hotel reward programs are an additional free night if you redeem for a set consecutive amount of nights and Marriott Rewards is one of the programs that offers this. On all redemptions, Marriot or Ritz Carlton if you redeem for 4 nights you can receive a 5th night free, which essentially saves you 20% on the redemption. Another way to save Marriott Rewards points is to redeem for a PointSavers award or Seasonal Award. PointSavers and Seasonal awards are kind of like Priority Club’s Point Breaks offers I have mentioned frequently though they are not as lucrative. With PointSavers you can save up to 33% on the number of points required per night at select Marriott locations worldwide. The PointSavers list changes weekly and you access that list here. ince the list is updated so frequently it is always a good idea to check it before you book a hotel reward night as a Marriott property down the street may be cheaper than the property you were originally thinking of. Seasonal awards offer at least 25% off the nightly points requirement and are not updated as frequently as the PointSavers award. You can access the Seasonal Awards list here.

Marriott Rewards also allows you to use points to upgrade a reward night and those upgrades are 5,000 points per night and are subject to availability. Another redemption option for Marriott Rewards (and therefore your Chase Visa) is instant redemption. Marriott is the only hotel chain that allows you to use points instantly while staying at a Marriott Hotel. The points are redeemed as cash against the charges on you hotel folio. The redemption rate isn’t that great but if you are swimming in Marriott Rewards points and don’t know what to do with them then this maybe a good option for you.

Probably the second biggest redemption option that members of frequent guest programs look at after reward nights are converting their hotel points to their favorite airline frequent flyer program. The program allows you to convert points to 35 different airline programs but this is where Marriott Rewards (and essentially this card) is weaker when compared to programs like Starwood Preferred Guest. Depending on the amount of points you convert and into which program it will cost you between 2.5 and 10 Marriott Reward points for one airline mile/point. The program has an option to use your Marriott Rewards points to book a flights and car rentals via their online booking engine, the number of points redeemed depends on the cost of the ticket and/or car rental. Once again the value for this redemption is less than redeeming for Marriott reward nights.. Other options include Marriott Gift Cards and Gift Cheque, spa & dining awards and like most other hotel programs Golf and exclusive experience vouchers.

Features and Benefits
The biggest feature that the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa comes with the No-Foreign Transaction Fee feature. This is big for those who travel outside of Canada lots or make a lot of transactions (ie online shopping) in currencies other than the CAD$.

Elite Status also comes with this card, albeit only Silver Elite status courtesy the card automatically giving you a 15 night stay credit on your Marriott Rewards account. Silver Elite comes at 10 Nights so you are 5 nights closer to Gold with the card. If you don’t qualify for Gold, those 5 extra nights should rollover to your next year’s elite qualification which means when your card renews you will technically have 20 qualifying nights, 10 to get you Silver (5 from the year before and 5 new) and then 10 towards Gold. Which means those 10 can then rollover to the next year and so on and so forth.

Another nice feature of the card is an annual free night at a Category 1-5 hotel that is awarded on your card anniversary. By upping this offer to Category 5, cardholders have a broader range of hotels to redeem at as many of the nicer mid-scale Marriott properties tend to be in this Category.??In terms of benefits, the card does not offer too much. In fact the only insurance is the Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver insurance. 

What is good about this card
The best thing about the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa is that it is the only credit card co-branded with a major travel industry supplier in Canada that has no foreign transaction fees. If you are abroad a lot or do a lot of online shopping, saving 2 to 2.5% on all your purchase can add up big time. I know people spending over $100K a year outside of Canada in their travels which could translate to a savings of over $2,000 per year!

The fact the card has no annual fee in the first year coupled with a decent sized sign up bonus, the silver elite status and a free night tossed in makes this card almost a no-brainer (at least for the first year). If you do plan on keeping the card after your first free year then the anniversary bonus of a Cat 1-5 free night should cover your annual fee if not more, making the card virtually free. 

What is not so good about this card
While the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa card does come with Silver Elite status, the elite program of Marriott is one of the least generous of all the big hotel chain elite status programs. The only truly useful benefits of Silver are a 20% bonus on points awarded for Marriott Stays and priority late checkout. Plus to reach Gold takes another 35 nights over the 15 you get with the card (50 nights total)

The serious lack of a good insurance package is also a big drawback on this card especially if you are thinking of making this card your primary travel rewards credit card. While it awards you with extra points for airline tickets it sure won’t protect when you fly like many other Canadian cards that also cost $120 per year but come with flight delay, lost/delayed baggage and even flight cancellation or interruption insurance.

Conclusion
I’m glad that Chase and Marriott decided to revamp their offering here in Canada as it provided a stronger card after their old version fell out of the top two in our Hotel Credit Card rankings back in 2011 due to the introduction of the Priority Club® World MasterCard® from Capital One®. Now with the enhanced sign up offer, the retention of the annual silver elite status, the new annual free night and the best feature of all, the no foreign transaction fee this card will more than likely move up the ranks in the upcoming 2013 Rewards Canada Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings. If you are a major player with Marriott Rewards than this card is no brainer, it should be in your wallet. If you travel heavily outside of Canada or make a lot of purchases outside of Canada (online or corporate) then you really should consider this card simply for the no foreign transaction fee. I remember a few years back someone emailing if there were any cards that had no foreign transaction fees as she ran a store importing lots of stuff from New Zealand ($30,000 a month if I recall correctly) and would benefit immensely if she had a card like that. Now she can and I hope she is! I’m not sure if the question I posed in 2011 to all the credit card companies in Canada about Foreign Transaction fees influenced Chase or not (I’ll just dream that I did, chances are they just followed their U.S. parent company) but the news is getting out for travelers and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see more card issuers jump on the no-foreign transaction fee bandwagon like we’ve seen in the U.S.

Enough of the forex fee, if you are not huge into Marriott Rewards and spread your hotel stays around than you may get more bang for your buck with a non-hotel travel rewards credit card but if you even have only a couple stays a year then this card could make a good secondary or tertiary card. If you are looking for a card with good insurance benefits, then skip this one as well as it virtually has none.

Overall I don’t think the card has or will make huge inroads with the masses in Canada but I do believe it has and will do really well with the frequent traveler crowd because of the no-foreign transaction fee.

Care to comment? Do you agree or disagree with us? Tell us what think about the relatively new Marriott Rewards Premier Visa by commenting below!

Related Links:
The Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa on Chase.ca
Rewards Canada's Canadian All Travel Rewards Credit Card Comparison including the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa
Rewards Canada's Canadian Hotel Only Credit Card Comparison including the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa

Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card:
American Express Gold Rewards Card
Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard
MBNA Best Western MasterCard®
MBNA Choice Privileges MasterCard
Priority Club® World MasterCard® from Capital One®
Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
- Chase is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa link above. Conditions apply

Apr 2 Update: Four Seasons to launch loyalty program, Bonus Miles for Hilton Las Vegas stays, US Airways hotel partner transfer bonus

I hope that everyone had a great Easter Weekend. I'm back at it for the next four days and based on the first 36 hours of April, this month will be way busier than March!

News, Tips & Tricks
Not sure if you should be getting a credit card with an annual fee? Check out this article from the Toronto Star that I'm featured in. It gives a good overview on the fee vs. no fee debate and if a fee based card is worth it for you.

Delta Airlines is testing the market on select routes with a new option to upgrade with miles at the time of ticket purchase. Essentially it will cost you 1 SkyMiles per 1 cent of upgrade cost. While it may not be the best use of SkyMiles you can take solace in the fact that you will earn full MQMs on the upgraded flight. Check out The Points Guy who has a good detailed explanation on this new option.

While many high end luxury hotel chains do have or participate in a loyalty program one stand out chain that has not gone down the loyalty road has been Canada's own Four Seasons hotels. That is about to change as they have announced that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts will launch their own loyalty program in Q3 of this year. With the chain expanding fairly quickly for a luxury brand and changing market conditions it made sense for the company to bring on a program.

Air Canada and Turkish Airlines will be launching codeshare services on each others flights starting on April 11. Turkish will be placing their codes on Air Canada flights out of Toronto to several Canadian and U.S. destinations while Air Canada will place their code on select Turkish flights from Istanbul to the Africa, the Middle East, India and several domestic flights within Turkey. (Source Airline Route)


Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 750 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for each qualified stay at Best Western branded hotels in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands. More... Apr 1 - May 31, 13 Valid for residents of Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands only
- Triple Aeroplan Miles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio More... Until Jun 30, 13

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Triple Mileage Plan Miles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio More... Until Jun 30, 13

American AAdvantage
- Triple AAdvantage Miles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio More... Until Jun 30, 13

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Double Gold Points for a minimum 2-night stay on a Gold Point eligible rate at participating Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson hotels in Western Europe and Northwest Africa. More... Register and book by May 3 for stays until May 10, 13

Delta SkyMiles
- 2,013 Bonus SkyMiles when you complete a minimum two-night stay at any hotel or resort within the Hilton HHonors portfolio Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- Triple SkyMiles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio More... Until Jun 30, 13
- OFFER EXTENDED 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles for stays at participating Westin Hotels & Resorts in North America and the Caribbean. More... Until Mar 31, 14
- OFFER EXTENDED 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles on every Sheraton Club stays at participating Sheraton Hotels in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Mar 31, 14

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to Quadruple Skywards Miles for every eligible stay, starting with your second stay, at participating hotels and resorts in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Frontier Early Returns (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Early Returns Miles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles for Germanwings flights to/from Vienna. More... Book by Apr 30 for flights until May 31, 13

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple HawaiianMiles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio. More... Until Jun 30, 13

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple TrueBlue Points when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Miles & More
- Quadruple Miles & More Miles when you complete an eligible weekend night stay at any participating Hilton hotel or resort within the Europe, Middle East or Africa. More... Until Jun 30, 13

United Mileage Plus
- Earn up to Double Mileage Plus Miles when you fly nonstop between Hong Kong and Guam. More... Until Jun 30, 13
- OFFER EXTENDED Elite Status Match for top-tier flyers of most other airlines a comparable status in the MileagePlus® program. More... Until Apr 30, 13
- Triple Mileage Plus Miles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio. More... Until Jun 30, 13

Starwood Preferred Guest
- SPG Double Take: Double Starpoints + 500 Bonus Points for stays at more than 1,000 participating Starwood Hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Jun 30,13 for stays May 1 - Jul 31, 13

US Airways Dividend Miles
- 250 Bonus Dividend Miles everytime you use your MasterCard® card to book a US Airways flight online at usairways.com. More... Book by Oct 31 for travel until Dec 31, 13
- 50% Bonus Dividend Miles when you convert US Airways Hotel Partner points into Dividend Miles. More... Until Apr 30, 13
- 50% Bonus Dividend Miles when you share Dividend Miles online. More... Until Apr 30, 13
- Triple Dividend Miles when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio. More... and Booking Until Jun 30, 13

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Elevate Points when you stay at select Las Vegas hotels within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio. More... Until Jun 30, 13

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Earn 750 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Best Western Stays in Canada, U.S. & Caribbean

Aeroplan has been a mainstay in the 'bonus offer' department in regards to promotions with Best Western. You can almost guarantee that Aeroplan will have some sort of offer running with Best Western and this time around the last offer hasn't even ended (Double Miles ends Apr 15) before releasing another one. Here is the offer as it will be posted to RC's Aeroplan page later today:

750 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for each qualified stay at Best Western branded hotels in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands. Full details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required) Apr 1 - May 31, 13
Valid for residents of Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands only

Starwood: Double Starpoints for eligible stays at over 1,000 locations Worldwide + 500 Bonus Starpoints for mobile booking

Starwood Preferred Guest has released the details of their next systemwide promotion. The offer is simple Double Starpoints for stays at participating hotels Worldwide. There are locations that have opted out for this promotion and you can find that list here.  Although it is not an offer that will blow your socks off, it is still a great promotion for those of you who are Starwood regulars and/or have Starwood stays planned during the promotion period. Here is the offer as it will appear on my Starwood page later today:

SPG Double Take: Double Starpoints + 500 Bonus Points for stays at more than 1,000 participating Starwood Hotels Worldwide.
Bonuses as follows:
- Earn Double Starpoints® on every eligible stay
- Earn 500 bonus Starpoints for each eligible booking made through the spg.com mobile site, the SPG® App for iPhone® or the SPG App for Android (Valid for all Starwood hotels Worldwide)
Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required) Register by Jun 30,13 for stays May 1 - Jul 31, 13