Earn One Million Bonus Aeroplan Miles if you spend $100,000 at Birks

Wow! In our 12+ years of running Rewards Canada I don't think we've ever come across a bonus this big from Aeroplan. One Million bonus Aeroplan Miles, that's right a one with six zeros after it. How do you get the million bonus miles? Oh it's simple! Its like spending pocket change for most us! No really, if you have $100,000 lying around to buy some jewelry from Birks then 1 Million miles is yours. Seriously? If you have $100,000 to spend on jewelry chances are you fly around in a private jet and On Million Aeroplan Miles isn't that big of deal or is it? If you value Aeroplan Miles at 1 cent a piece then you are a getting a 10% return on your $100,000 jewelry investment so perhaps those of you who are really rich and were planning a big jewelry purchase for Christmas this offer could actually bring you a healthy return. All you have to do is make that purchase of $100,000 by next Monday November 11th.  Find all the details here.

Huge devaluation of the United MileagePlus program - what does it mean for Canadian MileagePlus members?

So we took Friday off from the world of travel rewards and of course as Murphy's Law would have it that some really big news happened. Also as Murphy's Law would have it, the news isn't good. United Airlines' MileagePlus program has announced changes to their flight award charts, primarily for flights on their partners. This really hits home to a lot of Canadian frequent flyers as this has been the program of choice that many disgruntled Aeroplan members have moved to. Why did they move to United MileagePlus? Well before this announcement the program was actually one of the best for redemptions (one way awards were always half the cost of round trip, which Aeroplan is bringing in 2014), they didn't pass along fuel surcharges so the taxes and fees on award tickets were way less than Aeroplan and the elite status program of MileagePlus, called Premier is also very attractive. Also since United and Air Canada are Star Alliance partners many Canadian's chose MileagePlus after leaving Aeroplan since you could earn and redeem MileagePlus miles for Air Canada flights, both domestic and international. Of course, now many of those award ticket redemptions on Air Canada will cost you more MileagePlus miles.

So what are the details of the changes? First off, the new award ticket mileage requirements go into effect on February 1st, 2014 which gives you until January 31 to book at the old rates. As of February 1st United MileagePlus will essentially have two award charts, one for flying on United (and United Express etc) and one for their partners. The increases for flights on United are not out of the world and honestly could have been expected as certain award ticket levels now match those of United's main competitors. The biggest changes in the partner awards come in International Business Class and First Class redemptions. United is definitely looking at lowering the amount people redeeming their easily obtained miles for these expensive type of flights and recouping their costs for those who do (so United says). One must also see that United has reduced the miles required for several redemptions but that hardly makes up for the high percentage increaese for others (over 80% in some cases!).

Here are some key examples of changes that will affect Canadian MileagePlus members the most:
If you want to do your own comparison here are links to the MileagePlus award charts:
2013 Award Chart (valid until Jan 31)
2014 Award Chart (effective Feb 1)

Redemptions on United
Canada - Hawaii
Economy Class
Saver Award
Old 20,000 Miles one way
New 22,500 Miles one way

Canada - Europe
Economy Class
Standard Award
Old 55,000 Miles one way
New 65,000 Miles one way

Business Class
Saver Award
Old 50,000 Miles one way
New 57,500 Miles one way
Standard Award
Old 125,000 Miles one way
New 150,000 Miles one way

First Class
Saver Award
Old 67,500 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way
Standard Award
Old 157,700 Miles one way
New 170,000 Miles one way

There are also slight increases in flight awards to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia/New Zealand.

Redemptions on Partner Airlines (ie Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways etc)
Canada - Southern South America
Business Class
Old 50,000 Miles one way
New 55,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 67,500 Miles one way
New 70,000 Miles one way

Canada - Europe
Business Class
Old 50,000 Miles one way
New 70,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 67,500 Miles one way
New 110,000 Miles one way

Canada - Africa
Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 75,000 Miles one way
New 130,000 Miles one way

Canada - Middle East
Economy Class
Old 40,000 Miles one way
New 42,500 Miles one way

Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 75,000 Miles one way
New 140,000 Miles one way

Canada - Central Asia (incl India)
Economy Class
Old 40,000 Miles one way
New 42,500 Miles one way

Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 80,000 Miles one way
New 140,000 Miles one way

Canada - South Asia
Economy Class
Old 32,500 Miles one way
New 40,000 Miles one way

Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 70,000 Miles one way
New 130,000 Miles one way

Canada - North Asia
Economy Class
Old 32,500 Miles one way
New 35,000 Miles one way

Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 70,000 Miles one way
New 120,000 Miles one way

Canada - Japan
Economy Class
Old 32,500 Miles one way
New 35,000 Miles one way

Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 75,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 67,500 Miles one way
New 110,000 Miles one way

Canada - Oceania
Business Class
Old 60,000 Miles one way
New 75,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 75,000 Miles one way
New 110,000 Miles one way

Canada - Australia/New Zealand
Business Class
Old 67,500 Miles one way
New 80,000 Miles one way

First Class
Old 80,000 Miles one way
New 130,000 Miles one way

All we can say is ouch!! Those long haul award flights on UA's Star Alliance partners in business class and first class have sure taken a huge hit. One topic that I have not seen discussed on other frequent flyer blogs is the idea of fuel surcharges? Is it possible that United MileagePlus wants to keep its reputation of not charging fuel surcharges on partner flights simply by embedding that surcharge in this increase in miles? The reply from MileagePlus doesn't state this directly but does say that the increased cost of these flights from their partners is the main reason that the award amounts are increasing so theoretically it could mean that UA is now charging a fuel surcharge that is simply buried in the award amount. We doubt we'll ever know the true answer however!

What happens if you book a mixed airline award (one leg United, next leg Air Canada or other partner). Well it appears it will book at the higher of the two award amounts (United vs. Star Alliance award chart) if the flights are in the same class.  For example if you want to fly to Paris from Toronto via the U.S. in Business Class and leg 1 is on Air Canada (Toronto-Chicago etc) and then leg 2 is on United (Chicago etc to Paris) and you choose the fly that first leg on Air Canada in Business Class (well AC Executive) then you will pay the Star Alliance amount of 70,000 miles one way however if you book the Air Canada leg into Economy class and then fly the Transatlantic leg on UA in Business Class you'll pay the award rate of the United chart of 57,500 miles. So some creative thinking may have to go into planning mixed airline award booking with MileagePlus.

The devaluations don't stop with award tickets as there are some minor changes to Mileage Upgrades for Intra-Asia and Northern South America flights. These shouldn't affect many of Canada's MileagePlus members but should be worth noting.

Looking quickly at the new 2014 Aeroplan chart versus the 2014 MileagePlus chart, Aeroplan looks to be the better deal for flights in Business Class or First Class on Star Alliance partners other than United as you will need less miles. For example, business class on Air Canada to Europe with Aeroplan is 90 to 105,000 Miles + Fuel Surcharge and United will be 140,000 Miles with no fuel surcharge. Depending on how you earn miles you may be better off with Aeroplan with the fuel surcharge. First class to Asia? 210,000-215,000 miles with Aeroplan, 240,000-260,000 with MileagePlus. Of course the best way around this is to redeem MileagePlus miles for flights on United only but for some destinations and flights out of Canada that can be tough. We will have a follow up post with a deeper comparison of Aeroplan 2014 versus United Partner Chart 2014 to look at mileage requirement amounts and fuel surcharges.

The next question to be asked is which airlines will follow suit? Delta has already gone through a major change, American and US Airways are most likely waiting until their merger is approved or not and hopefully, crossing our fingers here, Aeroplan doesn't follow suit given that they have already announced an increase for next year in certain award ticket categories! Also holding our breath that Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan doesn't jump on this bandwagon as now with UA changes, the small Pacific Northwest program got even stronger.

Finally, if you have lots of MileagePlus miles that you have been holding onto for that premium class award ticket now is to the time redeem or to at least start planning on redeeming them before January 31st, 2014!

What are your thoughts on the changes? Are you going to stick with MileagePlus or will you perhaps give Aeroplan or another Star Alliance program a look? We'd love to hear from you, comment below!

Nov 4 Update: New Capital One page on Rewards Canada, US Airways targeted Buy Miles bonus, IHG PointBreaks

Monday is quiet on the update front, primarily due to us working on items behind the scenes!

News, Tips & Tricks
The biggest news to come out since our last update on Thursday is the huge devaluation to the United MileagePlus program that will take effect on February 1st, 2014. Rewards Canada will have a separate post on this coming later today so stay tuned!


We have launched a separate page on RewardsCanada.ca for Capital One. Much like our separate Amex page, this page highlights credit card offerings only from Capital One and will be populated shortly with more of their cards. If this page proves popular we will expand this service to other major card issuers in Canada. See the new Capital One page here.


Travel Deals
Hyatt is offering 2 Free Nights and up to a $150 Resort Credit for stays at the Andaz Maui at Wailea. Stay 4 nights and Get 2 nights free + $75 resort credit Stay 5 nights and get 2 nights free + $150 resort credit. Full details and online booking Until Jan 8, 14

Bonus Offers
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Double Infinity MileageLands miles for each qualifying stay at Club Room or higher room category at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 14

IHG Rewards Club
- IHG Rewards Club Point Breaks Redeem only 5,000 points for stays at select hotels Worldwide. Offer and participating hotels are subject to change at any time, valid for stays thru Jan 31, 14. More...

United MileagePlus
- 3,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you join RocketMiles and then book and complete your first stay made via RocketMiles. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Apr 1, 14

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Earn up to 100% Bonus Dividend Miles when you buy Dividend Miles. Bonus ranges from 50 to 100% and is targeted by member. More... Until Nov 30, 13 Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

IHG PointBreaks now open for booking

One of the best redemptions in the hotel loyalty program world is IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks and the latest set of offers are now available for booking for stays November 1 to January 31st.  Rather then rehashing the whole list again you can see our preview post from a few days ago or go straight to the PointBreaks page.

Why are IHG Rewards Club Point Breaks such a great deal? Because they offer reward nights at participating IHG hotels Worldwide for only 5,000 Rewards Club points. For those of you not to familiar with Priority Club, normal redemption rates for Rewards Club reward nights run from as low as 10,000 points for some Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations to 50,000 points for ultra-luxurious InterContinental locations and even these locations can participate in Point Breaks. So as you can see you can receive a discount of 50 to 88% off the regular redemption rates.  Please note that like most loyalty promotions these offers are capacity controlled so I advise to book sooner than later to ensure you get the Point Breaks rate.

Quite possibly the best location participating this time is the InterContinental Resort Tahiti! My bets are on that it will only last a few days before it sells out of its 5,000 point nights!

50% Transfer Bonus for RBC Rewards (Avion only) to British Airways Executive Club is now live

As I mentioned back on Oct 1st, the  50% Transfer Bonus for RBC Rewards (Avion only) to British Airways Executive Club is now live. The promotion will run from November 1st to December 31st and is one of the best reasons on why to own an RBC Avion credit card.

As always BA Avios are a great option for flights to Asia (via Cathay Pacific), short to medium haul within North America (Alaska Airlines, American Airlines) and even though huge surcharges are added to their UK/Europe redemptions they can still be a good value because of this bonus transfer based on your spend with the credit card (see my post about Earn & Burn for an explanation)

Full details on the promotion can be found here

Oct 31 Update: IHG Big Win Survey for 100 points, Andaz Maui offer, Aeroplan CIBC offer for 3x Miles

Happy Halloween everyone! Let's start it off with a fun vine (Thanks to Monique, RC's Creative Director for finding this one!)




News, Tips & Tricks
If you are participating in IHG Rewards Club's The Big Win promotion, the online survey portion is now open. You can access it via the Big Win login page and earn 100 points when you complete it.


Travel Deals
Hyatt is offering 2 Free Nights and up to a $150 Resort Credit for stays at the Andaz Maui at Wailea. Stay 4 nights and Get 2 nights free + $75 resort credit Stay 5 nights and get 2 nights free + $150 resort credit. Full details and online booking Until Jan 8, 14


Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 3x Aeroplan Miles when purchasing your Air Canada flights at aircanada.com and paying with your CIBC Aerogold® Visa Infinite™ or CIBC Aerogold® Visa™ card. More... Until Nov 26, 13

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points for stays at any one of 14 participating Best Western locations in Australia. More... Until ?

British Airways Executive Club
- Double Avios per £1 spent on any flight + hotel or flight + car holiday with British Airways Holidays. More... Book by Nov 30 for travel until Dec 31, 13 Residents of the UK only

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn Double Asia Miles on all eligible flights with Qatar Airways Worldwide. . More... Nov 15 - Dec 19 & Jan 6 - 31, 14

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 5,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points, 5th Night Free and $150 Resort Credit for stays of 5 or more nights at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays Dec 20 - Apr 30, 14
- 2 Free Nights and up to a $150 Resort Credit for stays at the Andaz Maui at Wailea. Stay 4 nights and Get 2 nights free + $75 resort credit Stay 5 nights and get 2 nights free + $150 resort credit. More... Until Jan 8, 14

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Triple QMiles when booking any room category at selected Langham properties worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 14

Stash Hotel Rewards
- 500 Bonus Stash Rewards Points for stays on the Fall into Savings package at The Buena Vista Suites Orlando. More... Until Dec 24, 13
- Double Stash Rewards Points for stays on the Thanksgiving Shop & Dine Package at the Caribe Royale Orlando. More... Until Dec 2, 13
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for Sunday-Thursday stays at the SeaCrest OceanFront Hotel, Pismo Beach More... Until Nov 27, 13

Last Day to Register: Hyatt Gold Passport Discover New Possibilities - up to 50,000 Bonus Points

Today is the last day to register for Hyatt's systemwide promo! Here is the offer as you'll find it on our Hyatt Gold Passport page:

Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points for eligible stays at any participating Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, or Hyatt Residence Club™ hotel and resort worldwide, or any participating M life resort.  Members must register to take part in the promotion. Register Online (Registration is required) Register between Sep 9 - Oct 31, 13 for stays between Sep 9 - Nov 30, 13
Bonuses are as follows:
Stay           Earn                                       Total Bonus Points Earned
5 Nights      5,000 bonus points                   = 5,000
10 Nights    additional 10,000 bonus points    = 15,000
15 Nights    additional 15,000 bonus points    = 30,000
20 Nights    additional 20,000 bonus points    = 50,000

CIBC Aerogold Cardholders can earn 3x Aeroplan Miles for Air Canada bookings

In what may be a last hurrah for the CIBC and Aeroplan partnership is this promotion which was just released for holders of the CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite or CIBC Aerogold Visa cards. The offer is triple Aeroplan miles when purchasing your Air Canada flights and paying with your CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite or CIBC Aerogold Visa cards. Flights must be booked by November 26. Full details can be found here.

Part of me thinks this is a plan by CIBC to garner a few new clients before they can't promote themselves to the Canadian public as an Aeroplan partner and hopefully keep these new customers in their portfolio! What do you think?

Shangri-La Hotels: Earn up to 1,200 GC Award Points for FREE (enough for a free night or other rewards)

Earlier in the week we got an email from Shangri-La Hotels announcing a game to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of their Golden Circle frequent guest program. Over the next 6 weeks you can play the game and get  up to 200 GC Awards points per week (Week 1 ends tomorrow so jump on this ASAP to make sure you don't miss out on the points for Week 1). Each week you complete the game you will 100 GC Award Points but they will also give a code for 100 more points that you must input via their mobile app (obviously to get people to download and use it). Its that easy!For complete details and to play the game click here. If you are planning on staying at any Shangri-La hotels be sure to visit our Golden Circle Bonus Points page to see if you can earn even more points for your stay!

What can the 1,200 GC Award points get you?
A free night at any of the following hotels

• Mainland China
• Shangri-La Hotel, Baotou
• Shangri-La Hotel, Beihai
• Traders Upper East Hotel, Beijing
• Shangri-La Hotel, Huhhot
• Shangri-La Hotel, Manzhouli
• Shangri-La Hotel, Qufu
• Traders Hotel, Shenyang
• Shangri-La Hotel, Wuhan
• Golden Flower Hotel, Xian
• Malaysia
• Putrajaya Shangri-La
• Traders Hotel, Puteri Harbour, Johor, Malaysia
• Traders Hotel, Penang
•  Philippines
• Traders Hotel, Manila
• Taiwan
• Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Tainan

or the following:

Oct 30 Update: Qatar Airways oneworld flight bonuses, Mileage Plan now showing Korean award space, Country Inns Shopping Package

What does the middle of the week bring? The official entrance of Qatar Airways into the oneworld Alliance and the first set of bonus offers celebrating this!

News, Tips & Tricks
A little over a week ago Alaskaa Airlines Mileage Plan online award booking engine began displaying Korean Air award space. Once again another boon for this great program from the Pacific Northwest. (Source: One Mile at a Time)

Star Alliance Gold members can no longer take three free checked bags with them on domestic United flights. That benefit has been reduced to one free checked bag at 23kg. United Gold Premier members can still take three bags at 32kg each for free. (Source: LoyaltyLobby)



Travel Deals
Book a Hotel Shopping Package with Country Inns & Suites and receive shopping coupons or a gift card valued at $25 for use during your stay, now through December 31, 2013.



Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn Double AAdvantage Miles when you fly on any Qatar Airways flight Worldwide (including AA codeshares on QR) More... Nov 15 - Dec 19 & Jan 6 - 31, 14

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Earn Double Mileage Bank Miles for flights on Qatar Airways Worldwide in all eligible booking classes. More... Nov 15 - Dec 19 & Jan 6 - 31, 14

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn 4x TrueBlue Points on all JetBlue flights systemwide. More... Register and book by Nov 30 for travel until Dec 31, 13

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 50% Sindbad Miles Discount for award tickets on most Oman Air flights Worldwides. Flights not included in the promotion are to and from London, Kuwait, Riyadh, Khasab and code share flights. More... Until Nov 30, 13

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Earn Double Frequent Flyer Points on eligible flights and fares on Qatar Airways Worldwide. More... Nov 15 - Dec 19 & Jan 6 - 31, 14

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Earn double Qmiles when you fly on any oneworld partner airline Worldwide More... Nov 15 - Jan 31, 14

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Earn up to 1,200 Bonus GC Award Points for playing the Golden Circle 3rd Anniversary Game. More... Until Dec 6, 13