Thursday, November 28, 2013

Aeroplan: 5x to 10x the miles on all eStore purchases made Nov 29 - Dec 3

A lot of the posts here on Rewards Canada and our features in the media over the past few weeks have been about maximizing your miles for holiday shopping and this post is no different. Now that Canada has fully adopted the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping frenzy seen in the U.S. it is not only the retailers putting many items on sale but the online e-malls offering up more miles or points for accessing those retailers via their shopping portal

Aeroplan has forwarded me their Black Friday/Cyber Monday offer for shopping via their portal eStore and it is a pretty decent offer! Members who shop at any of their participating retailers will earn a minimum 5x Aeroplan miles with some retailers going as high as 10x the miles! The offer runs between Friday November 29th and Tuesday December 3rd.

For me this is a Homer Simpson 'Doh!' moment as we have already done some our Christmas shopping via the portal at only 2x the miles. There is still some shopping left for us to do so we are going to make sure we get it done this weekend so that we maximize our miles on those purchases! We recommend you do so to!

http://www4.aeroplan.com/estore/index.ep?icid=ae_btn&custid=

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Nov 27 Update: up to 4x Flying Blue Miles on Hertz rentals, News recap, Air Miles bonus for Best Western stays

Here is what the middle of the week brings on Rewards Canada:

News, Tips & Tricks

All of the news today had separate posts so here is a recap with links:

Tangerine Saturday returns on November 30 - Double Aeroplan Miles for CIBC cardholders

ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus - Classic case of "Remember people it's all about the EARN and the BURN"

Air Miles: 60 Bonus Reward Miles for Best Western stays in Canada, the U.S. and Caribbean


Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Earn up to Quadruple Flying Blue Miles on Hertz rentals in Belgium; Brazil; Canada; France; Germany; Italy; Luxembourg; Moroco; Netherlands; Qatar; Spain; United Kingdom; USA and Venezuela. More... Book by Dec 15 for rentals until Feb 28, 14



Air Miles
- 60 Bonus Air Miles Reward Miles for each qualified stay at Best Western branded hotels in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands. More... Nov 30 - May 4, 14

Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com)
- 150 Bonus FlyerBonus Points when you fly 6 one way sectors between Bangkok - Mandalay, Bangkok - Yangon, Bangkok - Nay Pyi Taw, Bangkok - Vientiane, Bangkok - Luang Prabang, Bangkok - Siem Reap or Bangkok - Phnom Penh. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- Double FlyerBonus Points on Budget rentals of three or more days in Thailand. More... Until Jan 31, 14

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles when you book and stay in a Club room or above at any Langham property Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 14

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Up to 66% Mileage Bank Miles Discount for JMB award tickets on all eligible Bangkok Airways flights systemwide in eligible fare classes. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Le Club accorhotels
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays on the "Winter Collection" offer at participating Sofitel Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 15, 14
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at any one of 6 participating Accor hotels in the French Alps. More... Until Dec 20, 13
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more nights at any one of 10 participating Accor hotels in Japan. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14


Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Points per stay at the Residence Inn Birmingham Downtown at UAB. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 500 Bonus Points per stay at the Residence Inn Corona Riverside. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 2,000 Bonus Points per stay at the Atlanta Marriott Norcross. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 2,000 Bonus Points er stay including a Sunday, Monday or Thursday night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Warner Robins. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 2,000 Bonus Points per stay Sunday - Thursday at the SpringHill Suites Macon. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 1,000 Bonus Points per stay Sunday - Thursday at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Cordele. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 500 Bonus Points per stay Sunday - Thursday at the Residence Inn West Springfield. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 2,000 Bonus Points per stay at the Courtyard Portland Downtown/Convention Center. More... Until Dec 31, 13


Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Double Mabuhay Miles for stays at the Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi More... Until Jan 30, 14
- Double Mabuhay Miles when you stay for two consecutive nights or more at participating Marco Polo hotels in Hong Kong, China or the Philippines. More... Dec 1 - Jan 31, 14
- Triple Mabuhay Miles when staying at least three consecutive nights or Double Miles for two consecutive nights at any Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts, Traders Hotel or Kerry Hotel at the Best Available Rate. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14

Tangerine Saturday returns on November 30 - Double Aeroplan Miles for CIBC cardholders

Another last hurrah for CIBC Aerogold Visa cardholders comes this Saturday with the return of Tangerine Saturday.

What is Tangerine Saturday? It is quite simple really. Essentially CIBC Aerogold cardholders were earn Double Aeroplan Miles on all eligible retail purchases made on November 30th only, in store or online.

You can find the complete details here


Eligible merchants include grocery stores, drug stores, department stores, specialty retailers and most online retailers but exclude (among others) travel, entertainment, dining, or telcom service providers. Bonus miles are awarded based on the sum total of purchases (including taxes but excluding any returns or disputed charges). Bonus miles are available for domestic transactions only. Bonus miles will be earned on top of applicable grocery and drug multipliers, as illustrated: All CIBC Aerogold Visa cards (other than CIBC Aero Classic Visa): 2X the Miles promotion = 1 Base Mile + 1 Bonus Mile = 2 miles (or 2.5 miles if applicable grocery/drug multipliers apply) per dollar spent. CIBC Aero Classic Visa: 2X the Miles promotion = 1 Base Mile + 1 Bonus Mile = 2 miles (2.5 miles, if applicable grocery/drug multipliers apply) / $2 spent.

Air Miles: 60 Bonus Reward Miles for Best Western stays in Canada, the U.S. and Caribbean

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-921118-10549989?sid=am60&url=http://www.bestwestern.com/rewards/offers/amsmb.asp

The current Air Miles offer of 40 Bonus Miles for Best Western stays wraps up on Saturday and they are not wasting anytime in pushing out the next bonus offer! Air Miles members can earn even more Reward Miles with the promotion for Best Western stays until May of next year.

Here is the offer as it will appear on our Air Miles Bonus page later today:

NEW60 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 Nov 30 - May 4, 14 (Registration is required)

ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus - Classic case of "Remember people it's all about the EARN and the BURN"


The other day when I was driving home I heard an ad on the radio for the ATB Gold My Rewards Travel MasterCard. What caught my attention was the offer of 100,000 bonus points if you spend $50 on the card by January 31st! Whoa I thought as no card in Canada has offered a 100,000 point sign up bonus before and it reminded me of the immensely popular British Airways 100,000 Avios card offer south of the border.

Now I'll admit it's been awhile since I last looked at all the details of this card and could not recall the value of those points. So I decided I would be like many radio listeners and take the approach that I don't know much about the ins and outs of rewards programs and think wow 100,000 points that must be amazing and also think that it is like most other programs in that 100,000 points will get you a big travel reward! I mean if it was equal to Aeroplan or British Airways that would be enough miles for a business class ticket to Europe or multiple economy class tickets within North America. Even other programs like Amex's Membership Rewards that 100,000 would be worth $1,000 in travel if you don't convert to their airline partners.

When I got home I looked up the details on the card to refresh my knowledge of it. Guess what I learned once again and I hope that most people will do the same before jumping on this offer? That 100,000 points is worth a whopping $100! That's right $100 of travel credit. This is a classic case of some sly marketing at work in the hope that you won't examine the burn side of the program and simply apply for the card thinking the 100,000 point bonus is huge. It's not. So just like our post earlier in the year trying to educate Canadians about looking at both sides of a program, I want to stress to you Remember People it's all about the Earn AND the Burn!

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Nov 26 Update: Save 10% on Hyatt Gift Cards, JAL to introduce Sky Suite 767 on Vancouver route and you can test the seats in person in YVR

Busy day in the rewards world today! As seen already RBC with their Best Buy/Future shops news plus the Aeroplan Distinction bonuses and the following tidbits along with new bonus offers:

News, Tips & Tricks

Tip of the day: You should always consult the Rewards Canada Car Rental Bonus Listing before you rent a car to see if there is a bonus that can boost your mileage earning on your planned rental. See it in action here!

Are you planning any Hyatt stays soon? Why not save yourself 10% by buying Hyatt Gift Cards? From now until the end of the year you can save 10% on Hyatt Gift Card purchases by using promo code GPGIFT when you buy them online at Hyatt (Hyatt Gift cards can be used at Hyatt locations in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean)

Japan Airlines will be introducing the JAL Sky Suite 767 on their Vancouver - Tokyo route as of Dec 1st. The Sky Suite 767 offers lie flat business class and more room in economy class.


If you are in the Vancouver area and are Japan Airlines Mileage Bank member you can view the new seats at the HSBC Pendulum Gallery between Dec 6 and 13th:


Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Earn 50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles in any eligible fare class on select Air Canada routes Worldwide. More... Register and book by Dec 31 for travel Jan 4 - Mar 31, 14


American AAdvantage
- Earn Double AAdvantage Miles when you fly between the U.S. and Tokyo or between the U.S. and South Korea. More... Nov 21, 13 - Feb 28, 14
- Earn Double AAdvantage Miles when you fly roundtripon Japan Airlines between San Diego and Tokyo. More... Dec 1, 13 - Feb 28, 14


China Eastern Eastern Miles
- Earn up to Triple Eastern Miles Points for stays at any Shangri-La hotel, resort, Traders hotel or Kerry hotel Worldwide. More... Dec 1, 13- Feb 28, 14


JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 2,013 Bonus TrueBlue Points when you book a flight using your TrueBlue points. More... Register and book by Dec 2 for travel until Jan 31, 14


Le Club accorhotels
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stayson the "Magnifique Romance” rate at participating hotels in United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Feb 28, 14


Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer
- 500 Bonus Safar Flyer Miles when you like Safar Flyer on Facebook and then refer friends to join Safar Flyer. More... Until Dec 31, 13


Starwood Preferred Guest
- SPG Bring on the Nights: Earn up to 15,000 bonus Starpoints for stays at all Starwood hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Feb 28 for stays between Jan 5 - Apr 30, 14 REGISTRATION SHOULD OPEN MID DECEMBER


Aeroplan Distinction 2014 Flight and Hotel Bonuses Revealed


Aeroplan's Distinction status continues its expansion with the unveiling of 'Distinction Bonus Offers'. Note that these are different than the Aeroplan bonus mile offers that are offered (see our Aeroplan page for all those offers) I do potentially see some members getting confused with these Distinction Bonus and the Aeroplan bonuses. Just remember that Distinction Bonuses will simply make you reach the various Distinction status levels faster while Aeroplan bonus miles actually add miles to your redeemable miles balance. Looks like we got confused! These are actual Aeroplan Bonus miles based upon your Distinction status. So an eligible flight will earn your base Aeroplan Miles + your Distinction bonus per the chart and status levels listed below (+ any Aeroplan bonus miles if there is a promotion going on). These Distinction bonus miles DO NOT count towards your status for the next year. Also beware of the T&C's attached to the Distinction Bonus earning (see the bottom of the post) All the details can also be found at:
http://www4.aeroplan.com/distinction_acgetawaybonus?currentLanguage=en

Here is the news from Aeroplan:

We are now unveiling the Air Canada destinations and hotel partners that will allow members with Distinction status to earn even more bonus miles starting January 1, 2014.  Bonuses include:

Air Canada Getaway bonuses

Members with Distinction status will earn up to 1,500 bonus miles per eligible round trip including a Saturday night when travelling with Air Canada to one of more than twenty popular destinations grouped in the following categories:




The number of Distinction bonus miles changes with the member’s Distinction level:

·        dDiamond members: 1,500 Distinction bonus miles per round trip
·        dBlack members: 1,000 Distinction bonus miles per round trip
·        dSilver members: 500 Distinction bonus miles per round trip

Bonus miles for hotel stays
The hotel partners are now confirmed on who will be offering 250 Distinction bonus miles per eligible stay to dDiamond and dBlack members on up to 20 stays per year, for up to a maximum of 5,000 Distinction bonus miles per calendar year.  That’s in addition to the base and bonus miles members earn for each qualifying stay. To be eligible for the Distinction bonus, members must earn miles in the Aeroplan Program at the time of stay. Hotels include:

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, whose network includes over 65 world-renowned luxury establishments;
Marriott, which offers over 3,800 hotels, including more than 17 banners, in over 74 countries;
Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which owns over 1,100 hotels and resorts in close to 100 countries.

T&C's (bolding is by Rewards Canada):

*Must be an eligible Aeroplan Member with Distinction status. You must provide your Aeroplan Number at time of booking or prior to the first departure flight. An eligible roundtrip is defined as having a Saturday night stay occurring at an eligible destination listed on the Aeroplan website. Distinction bonus miles for eligible roundtrips completed will be awarded for new bookings made on or after July 15, 2013, for travel between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. In order to qualify as a new booking, the booking must have been created for the first time with a new booking reference number on or after July 15, 2013. Any booking made prior to July 15, 2013, that is subsequently changed to include travel dates within the qualifying travel period will not be considered a new booking that is eligible for this benefit. Valid on eligible scheduled non-stop flights operated by Air Canada and under the Air Canada Express banner for travel between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014, with a Saturday night stay. Not valid on flights operated by Air Canada rouge. Entire reservation must include Air Canada or Air Canada Express flights only. No Air Canada rouge, Star Alliance or other airline segments may appear in the same booking. Distinction bonus miles are awarded based on Distinction status once the last qualifying flight in the booking has been completed. All travel must be completed (all segments flown) before the bonus will be issued. To qualify, the flight segments must be travelled in one of the following fare options: Tango; Flex; Latitude; Executive Class Lowest; Executive Class Flexible; Executive First Lowest; and Executive First Flexible. Valid on published fares and Flight Passes that are eligible for Aeroplan Mile accumulation. Offers are not valid when travelling on an Air Canada Unlimited Flight Pass. To qualify, a minimum of one round-trip or two one-way segments must be on the same reservation. Combining two (2) one-way tickets (with different booking reference numbers) to make a round trip with a Saturday night stay in between them are not eligible to qualify for these bonus miles. Combining two reservations to make a roundtrip with a Saturday night stay is not eligible to qualify for these bonus miles. Multi-city bookings are eligible provided that your Saturday night stay occurs at the eligible destination. In the case of arriving in and departing from different destinations, both must be eligible in order to qualify for these bonus miles. Open-jaw at point of origin is permitted. Stopovers and same-day connections are not eligible. The bonus miles are for each individual passenger in the booking provided that they each have Distinction status, and that each Aeroplan Number was provided at time of booking or prior to the first flight departure. These Distinction bonus miles do not qualify towards Distinction status. Distinction bonus miles are not Altitude Qualifying Miles and do not count towards Air Canada Altitude status. Bonus miles will be credited up to three (3) weeks after the qualifying flights are completed. Distinction bonus miles cannot be retroactively credited. Aeroplan Flight Rewards are not eligible for mileage accumulation. Offer and list of eligible destinations are subject to change at Air Canada’s sole discretion without notice and other conditions and restrictions may apply. Please visit aeroplan.com regularly as eligible destinations may change during the same calendar year.




RBC, Best Buy and Future Shop Announce New Enhanced Rewards Redemption Option

Just in time for the holiday shopping season comes this new merchandise redemption option from RBC Rewards. It is always good to have more redemption options in certain loyalty programs, especially one like RBC Rewards since they have cards that are not travel specific but earn RBC Rewards Points and those cardholders may not be as interested in travel rewards, those travel rewards seem to be more for the Avioners! (as RBC likes to call them). This redemption option goes beyond the typical merchandise options seen in many loyalty programs in that the merchandise is not coming from RBC Rewards but rather two well known electronics retailers in Canada, Best Buy and Future Shop. The redemption option lets you redeem your points right at the point of sale online with Best Buy or Future Shop giving you access to all of the items these retailers carry on their website rather than a limited number of items often seen in many reward catalogs.

We approached RBC for the redemption value (since no one in the Rewards Canada family are RBC Rewards members) and they tell us it is 1,000 RBC Rewards Points = $6.50 towards your Best Buy or Future Shop purchases. This translates to a 0.65% rate of return assuming you earned 1 point for $1 spent on your RBC credit card. That return gets a little bit higher if you earned points via the Infinite Avion when booking travel (it earns 1.25 points on travel bookings).  This return however is far below the potential 2%+ seen on travel with the Avion card but it is inline with many of the merchandise and point of sale rewards seen from other loyalty programs those typically range from less than .5% to 1%.


Couple things to take away from the press release, apparently RBC Rewards is now the largest loyalty rewards program in Canada, usually its Air Miles that lays that claim to fame. I'm sure it is all in how you look at the numbers. Second and this is the really interesting part in this new redemption option is that you will be able to use any combination of cash and points to order merchandise from Future Shop or Best Buy. This is very similar to what many airline frequent flyer programs have implemented with cash+miles options for flights and cash+miles for hotels (Iberia Plus does this one).

You can find all the details on this redemption option here and there is even a contest to boot!

So to all you RBC Rewards members, what do you think of this new redemption option? Do you think you will make use of it or will you stick to travel or other rewards?

Here is an excerpt from RBC's press release that was forwarded to me early this morning:

RBC, Best Buy and Future Shop today announced the first redemption option of its kind in Canada that provides clients access to over 90,000 unique merchandise and electronic items, through the RBC Rewards online channel.

“RBC Rewards is excited to expand our relationship with Best Buy Canada and Future Shop. This relationship changes the landscape for redemption selection and convenience, giving clients more control over how they use their points,” said Linda Mantia, executive vice-president, Cards and Payment Solutions, RBC. “We know that quality and variety of rewards are key drivers of client satisfaction for loyalty programs and this launch allows us to open up endless possibilities for our clients to redeem their points for their choice of merchandise and electronics.”

RBC Rewards is the largest and most flexible loyalty rewards program in Canada, enabling clients to redeem their reward points from the largest selection of merchandise in Canada. Clients can earn rewards points every time a purchase is made on an eligible RBC credit card and redeem for merchandise, travel, gift cards and certificates and RBC Financial Rewards vouchers, such as redeeming points to pay down your mortgage or putting the points towards a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP).

“We are very pleased to work with RBC to offer this first-of-its-kind rewards redemption opportunity. This program leverages Best Buy Canada’s unique multichannel capabilities, which include Reserve and Pick Up in store, and delivery to Canadians as early as next day,” said Ron Wilson, president and chief operating officer, Best Buy Canada.

Highlights of the redemption option include:
Access to more merchandise – Over 90,000 merchandise and electronic items available on BestBuy.ca and FutureShop.ca, including new technology items the day they are released.
Sales – With sales on hundreds of items per week, clients also have access to these items for fewer points.
Choice in how you want to pay – Ability to pay with any combination of points or credit cards.
Real time – Clients are able to check to see if an item is in stock at their chosen Best Buy or Future Shop location.
In-store pick up – Along with the ability to receive items at your doorstep, clients will now be able to pick up items in a Best Buy or Future Shop store – something they could not do before.
Fast delivery – Most orders will ship the same day with delivery within 2 to 3 business days.

PointsHound: Earn 1,000 Points / Mile Bonus On Your First Mobile Booking

http://www.pointshound.com/jmglbn

PointsHound.com the third party hotel booking site that awards miles & points for those bookings is offering a 1,000 mile/point bonus for your first booking that you make via a mobile device. To take advantage of this offer visit PointsHound.com from your mobile device and book by December 2. (this is our referral link, if you haven't joined yet you can do so via this link. You and us will each get a bonus on your first booking)

Terms:
1,000 Points awarded on a first mobile booking made between 12A GMT Tuesday November 26 and 12A GMT Tuesday, December 3
Please allow 2-4 weeks from check-out of hotel reservation for points to post to your account
Must book on a smartphone or tablet to qualify for mobile booking bonus
One (1) bonus maximum per valid PointsHound account
By participating in this promotion, you agree to PointsHound’s Terms & Conditions

Monday, November 25, 2013

Starwood: Earn up to 15,000 Bonus Starpoints with SPG Bring On The Nights (Systemwide promo for Jan-Apr 2014)

http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-1654157-10422413?sid=btnblog&url=https://www.spgpromos.com/bringonthenights/

Starwood has revealed the details of their first 2014 systemwide promotion:

Earn 2,500 bonus Starpoints for every five eligible nights you stay (up to 10,000 bonus Starpoints and 20 eligible nights). Plus, get an additional 5,000 bonus Starpoints when you hit 25 eligible nights. 

The promotion is valid for stays January 5 - April 30, 14 and all Starwood properties are participating this time! Registration will start sometime in mid-December and you must register by February 28th to earn the bonus Starpoints.

Full details can be found here.