Jan 6 Update: Last to book Hyatt Award Nights at old redemption rates, Amtrak offer out of Vancouver, Aeroplan bonus for Best Western stays

Welcome to the first full work week of 2014! Here is what transpired on Rewards Canada and the world of travel rewards programs in Canada today:

News, Tips & Tricks
Today is the last day to book Hyatt Gold Passport reward nights at the old rates! The new, more expensive chart comes into effect tomorrow. If you have any planned Hyatt stays coming up where you wanted to redeem Gold Passport points for then you should do it by 11:59EST tonight!

Air Canada is running a contest where you can win 125,000 Aeroplan Miles when you participate in their Carbon Offset program on Air Canada flight until Feb 28. Full details.

Thanks to long time Rewards Canada subscriber Andrew S. for alerting us to another new hotel reward program. EveryStay Rewards is the frequent guest program for Rodd Hotels & Resorts in the Maritimes. You can be sure this program is now on our radar and will keep you up to date with any news and promotions from them!. Find out more about EveryStay here.

In the bonus offer section you'll find lots of bonuses and one of note is the travel twice and get one free for Amtrak's Cascade service. This is Amtrak's service to Vancouver so if you are in the lower B.C. mainland and use Amtrak be sure to register for this offer!

Travel Deals
EVA Air has a great deal on flights between Toronto and Manila, only $2,042 all in for premium economy or $1,230 in economy. The fare must be booked by Feb 2 for travel Feb 2 - May 31. Full details can be found here. 

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 750 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for each qualified "Internet Only" stay at Best Western branded hotels Worldwide More... Until Jan 31, 14
- 250 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per night for up to three nights at the Eaton Chelsea, Toronto. More... Until Jun 30, 14
- Triple Aeroplan 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... Until Feb 28, 14
- OFFER EXTENDED Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles when you rent an Intermediate (Group C) or larger vehicle for 2 days or more at participating locations in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Mar 31, 14
- 3,750 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on rentals of 5 or more day at participating airport and off-airport locations in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States. More... Until Feb 28, 14

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in participating countries Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 26 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Receive a free trip on Amtrak's Acela when you take three qualifying roundtrips on Acela. Travel January 6 – March 1, 2014 to earn one free roundtrip for travel Jul 1 – Aug 31, 2014. More... Travel by Mar 1 for free travel Jul 1 - Aug 31, 14
- Receive a free trip on Amtrak Northeast Regional when you take two qualifying roundtrips on Amtrak's Northeast Regional . Travel January 6 – March 1, 2014 to earn one free roundtrip for travel March 2 – Apr 30, 2014. More... Travel by Mar 1 for free travel Mar 2 to Apr 30, 14
- Receive a free trip on Amtrak Cascades when you take two qualifying roundtrips on Amtrak's Cascades. Travel January 6 – March 1, 2014 to earn one free roundtrip for travel March 2 – Apr 30, 2014. More... Travel by Mar 1 for free travel Mar 2 to Apr 30, 14
- Receive a free trip on the Hiawatha when you take two qualifying roundtrips on Amtrak's Hiawatha. Travel January 6 – March 1, 2014 to earn one free roundtrip for travel March 2 – May 31, 2014. More... Travel by Mar 1 for free travel Mar 2 to May 31, 14

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Earn 38,000 bonus Gold Points when you complete at least three eligible nights during one or more stays at participating Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotels worldwide. More... Until Apr 13, 14

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Sindbad Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 14
- Double Sindbad Miles on Budget rentals in Europe, Middle East and Africa. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Sindbad Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in participating countries Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

Miles & More
- Earn Double Miles & More Miles when you fly on Austrian Airlines between Vienna and Newark. More... Valid for travel Jul 2 - Sep 30, 14
- Double Miles & More Miles for stays aat all Lindner Hotels & Resorts in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Slovak Republic, Spain, Switzerland. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Triple Miles & More 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... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Miles & More Miles on all Europcar rentals Worldwide .More... Until Apr 30, 14
- Double Miles & More Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in participating countries Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Jun 30, 14
- Double Miles & More Miles for every euro you spend with WESTbahn. More... Until Feb 28, 14

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in participating countries Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

Club Carlson: Stay 3 Nights and earn 38,000 Bonus Gold Points

It's been sometime since we have seen a non-targeted systemwide promotion from Club Carlson but the wait is over with the release today of their 'Stay 3 Nights Get 1 Free' promotion.

Here is the offer as it will appear on RC's Club Carlson Bonus Point Offer page later today:

Earn 38,000 bonus Gold Points when you complete at least three eligible nights during one or more stays at participating Radisson Blu^®, Radisson^®, Park Plaza^®, Park Inn^® by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson℠ hotels worldwide. The 38,000 bonus points is enough for a free night at a Category 4 hotel. Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Radisson, Radisson Blu, or Radisson Edwardian Until Apr 13, 2014


Can't make use of this promotion? Be sure to visit our Club Carlson Bonus Point Offer page for dozens of other stay bonuses!

Reminder: SPG Bring On The Nights starts today - Earn up to 15,000 Bonus Starpoints

Back on November 25th we brought you the details of Starwood Preferred Guest's newest systemwide promotion called Bring On The Nights, then it opened for registration on December 18th and if you have registered or will do so now, stays from today officially count towards the promotion. While not the strongest promotion from SPG or when compared to Hyatt's newest promotion the one positive with Bring On The Nights is the lack of an excluded hotel list, that's right all Starwood properties are participating this time.

Here is the offer as found on our Starpoints Bonus Offer Page:

SPG Bring on the Nights: Earn 2,500 bonus Starpoints for every five eligible nights you stay (up to 10,000 bonus Starpoints and 20 eligible nights) at all Starwood hotels Worldwide. Plus, get an additional 5,000 bonus Starpoints when you hit 25 eligible nights. Full Details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Register by Feb 28 for stays between Jan 5 - Apr 30, 14



Can't make use of this promotion? Be sure to visit our Starpoints Bonus Offer page for dozens of other stay bonuses!

CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Sign Up Bonus increased to 20,000 Aeroplan Miles + First Year Free

This came as a bit of a surprise, but CIBC has upped the sign up bonus on their CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card to 20,000 Aeroplan Miles (15,000 upon approval and 5,000 more when you spend $500 in the first three months) and are waiving the first year annual fee.

Why is it a surprise? Well this essentially beats out the new TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card by 5,000 miles and $120 and it appears that anyone can sign up for the CIBC card (not just CIBC customers or people walking into the branch) If the competition between CIBC and TD stays like this one has to wonder if TD is going to actually gain anything from the Aeroplan relationship because of all the money they have to fork over to CIBC, to Aimia and of course the 15% more per Aeroplan mile than CIBC.

Honestly, if I had to choose between the TD Infinite and the CIBC Infinite and wasn't an All Inclusive plan holder at TD I would go for the CIBC offer for the extra miles and no annual fee in the first year.

Update: My mistake, the First year free being offered by TD for applying in branch or over the phone is not specific to the all inclusive plan.

For more details on the offer visit https://www.cibc.com/ca/visa/aerogold-visa-infinite-card.html#aerogoldVisaInfinite

Jan 3 Update: Air France KLM sale $799 all in to Paris, Hertz Global Sale Double Miles offers, IHG Rewards Club free Internet

Second day at work and last one for this week. More news and bonuses to pass along your way!

News, Tips & Tricks
As we reported back in 2013, as of Jan 1, 14 IHG Rewards Club members now have access to free Internet at IHG hotels (even you are not staying there) in the Americas, Greater China, Asia, Middle East and Africa while Elites will also get free Internet access in European locations. Getting Gold status is easy with IHG due to the availability of earning points and bonus points on stays but they'll even status match another chain's status if you want the status right away.

Virgin Atlantic is expanding their codesharing with Delta Airlines and it includes most major cities in Canada (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa. )(Source: Airlineroute.net)

Avianca LifeMiles is now partnered with IHG. LifeMiles members will now be able to earn miles for stays at IHG Hotels Worldwide. More details can be found here.

Hainan Airlines is expanding their Toronto-Beijing route to daily service this summer from 5x weekly flights. Some of the flights will be operated with their new 787-8 aircraft. (Source: Airlineroute.net)

Travel Deals
KLM and Air France are having another 5 day flash sale on flights to Europe! This time however it is only for flights out of Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. No Calgary or Vancouver. Fares are as low as $799 all in (incl all taxes/fees). Book by January 7th for travel March 10 - April 7. Book online at airfrance.ca or klm.com

Bonus Offers
airBaltic BalticMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double BalticMiles Points and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in over 100 countries Worldwide.More... Book by Jan 26 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

airberlin topbonus
- Double topbonus Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in participating countries Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

American AAdvantage
- 300 Bonus Business Extra points when you book and complete your first stay via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until Dec 31, 14
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on Avis rentals Worldwide. More.... Until Feb 28, 14
- Earn up to 750 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on Budget rentals Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 14

Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple FlyerBonus Points on Hertz rentals of three or more days in Thailand.More... Until Mar 31, 14

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points for stays at the Best Western Hotel Rebstock, Rorschach. More... Until Feb 28, 14

China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- Double Dynasty Flyer Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain Mainland, UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. More... Book by Jan 26 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

China Eastern Eastern Miles
- Double Eastern Miles Points for stays at participating Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 14

Etihad Guest
- Quadruple Guest Miles and a complimentary upgrade to the next room category for Etihad Guest Gold and Gold Elite members at Viceroy New York or Viceroy Maldives. More... Until Feb 28, 14
- Double Guest Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in over 100 countries Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

Hilton HHonors
- 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points for stays at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hangzhou East.  More... Until Jul 1, 14

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- 4,500 Bonus KrisFlyer Miles for a minimum of two consecutive nights’ stay at a participating Leading Hotels of the World property. More... Until Jan 31, 14
- Double KrisFlyer Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain Mainland, UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. More... Book by Jan 26 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints when you stay in a Club Room at the Sheraton Milan Malpensa Airport Hotel & Conference Centre. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Transaero Privilege (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 500 Privilege Points per night for stays at the Rixos Pera Istanbul or Rixos Taksim Istanbul. More... Until Mar 14, 14

Great CIBC Aventura Flight Redemption Offers: Toronto - New York for 8,500 points, Chicago and others for 10,000

Rewards Canada reader H.S. alerted us to this offer.

It hasn't taken CIBC long to exploit new avenues away from their long standing relationship with Air Canada and Aeroplan.  Looks like CIBC and Porter airlines are working with one another now as Aventura cardholders can take advantage of this amazing redemption offer for flights on Porter Airlines!

The offers based on the banner from the CIBC Rewards website states that you can fly on Porter between Toronto and New York for only 8,500 points as well as Chicago, Mont Tremblant and Burlington, VT for 10,000 points. Now, I am not a CIBC Aventura cardholder so I cannot tell you whether that is one way or round trip although I'm guessing round trip based on the Aventura award chart nor do we know the dates of the offer (if any of our readers wants to send us a screen shot of the terms and conditions after logging in that would be greatly appreciated!)

Update via Rewards Canada reader Dillon:
Terms are you have to travel with Porter Airlines by March 31, 2014. The travel date has to be at least 21 days from the date of booking and you have to book through the call center. You are unable to book it online. The 8500 and 10000 points are for round trips.

8,500 Points between Toronto and New York is a great deal considering the Aventure Infinite card comes with a 20,000 point sign up bonus right now, so that is two tickets to any of the destinations in this offer but if you got in on the card before December 31st chances are you took advantage of the 30,000 point sign up bonus which could get you three tickets with this promo!

8,500 points is probably the lowest we have seen from any program between Toronto and New York as British Airways Executive Club is 9,000 Avios for the same two cities but if you look at it from credit card spend, the Avios deal is better for holders of cards like the American Express Gold Rewards Card as that 9,000 Avios can be earned with as little as $4,500 of spending versus as little as $5,667 in spending on the Aventura card. In any regard this CIBC Aventura deal is well worth taking advantage of!

I am going to wager a guess that this only the start from CIBC. They have been somewhat behind the times with all of their credit card offerings compared to the other Canadian credit card issuers and I can imagine they will also do their best to tempt CIBC Aerogold cardholders to move to the Aventura cards instead of the TD Aeroplan cards.

Marriott New Member Bonus: Earn a free night at a Cat 1-5 Hotels with 2 paid stays (stackable with MegaBonus)

If you haven't joined Marriott Rewards, now is the time to do so to take advantage of this promotion. The beauty of this offer is that it is also stackable with the upcoming MegaBonus promotion so you could earn more free nights or bonus points!

Here is the offer as it will appeared on our Marriott Rewards Bonus Points page today:

Marriott New Member Bonus Earn a free night at a category 1 – 5 hotel after your 2nd paid stay at any Marriott Hotels Worldwide within 120 days of registering. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (If you are using Internet Explorer please click here)

and here are the details on the MegaBonus promotion:
Marriott MegaBonus: Earn Free Nights or Bonus Rewards Points for stays at any participating Marriott Hotel Worldwide. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking Register by Mar 31  for stays between Feb 1 and Apr 30, 2014
Some of the Offer Variations:
- Earn one free night certificate for a category 1 to 4 hotel after every two stays. Maximum of 2 free nights
- Earn one free night certificate for a category 1 to 5 hotel after every two stays. Maximum of 2 free nights.
- Earn 35,000 points after 20 nights and another 15,000 bonus points after 25 nights - up to 50,000 points
- Earn 25,000 points after 15 nights and another 15,000 bonus points after 20 nights —up to 40,000 bonus points
- Earn 35,000 points after 20 nights plus an additional 2,000 bonus points after each additional night  - up to 55,000 points.

Want to earn even more free nights and bonus points? Check out the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card

30,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you apply for and receive the Premier card. Points are awarded after your first purchase.
Annual Fee: $120 (waived in the first year)
Supplementary cards: free
30,000 Marriott Rewards Points sign up bonus after your first purchase
1 Free Night at a Category 1 - 4 location upon card approval
5 Marriott Rewards points per $ spent at Marriott locations
2 Marriott Rewards points per $ spent on Airline Tickets, Car Rental agencies and restaurants
1 Marriott Rewards point on all other spending
15 Night credit towards elite status, which translates to automatic Silver status
Anniversary bonus of 1 free night at a Category 1 - 4 location
Apply online.


Can't make use of this promotion? Be sure to visit our Marriott Rewards Bonus Point page for dozens of stay, car rental and other point bonuses!

Chase is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link. Conditions apply 

Jan 2 Update: Rewards Canada page updates, up to 3x Aeroplan Miles for Delta Hotel stays, Marriott Rewards new member bonus

We're back! After almost two weeks off Rewards Canada is back to work! We hope that you all had amazing holidays and a great New Year!

This is first update of 2014 and of course the big news is from Aeroplan which you can find in two separate posts from earlier today:

Aeroplan Changes went into effect yesterday (January 1)

TD Canada Trust Aeroplan Cards officially released

There is other news and of course bonuses to share so don't stop reading the daily update just yet!

News, Tips & Tricks
Once again in lieu of sending Christmas Gift Baskets to some of our clients Rewards Canada made a $500 donation to the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation.

Over the break we updated the Rewards Canada guide to which airlines and hotels you can earn miles/points with credit cards here in Canada. The chart was not updated for quite some time which meant some cards were not included and others changed so this is all caught up now. Also we standardized the way the points earning is listed on the chart, now you can see what you will earn based on $1 in spending or conversion of 1 point. You can check out the new chart here.

We also updated our "Travel Anywhere" Credit Card comparison chart which shows how much you have to spend on select cards to get to various levels of ailrine ticket values. All cards that were on the chart previously were updated to the latest offerings and we added the CUETS and mbna World Elite cards. Check it out here.

And the final update to Rewards Canada over the break was the update of our BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard review to reflect the changes that took place on September 1st. You can read the updated review here.

Although Boxing Day has passed there are some Boxing Day offers still available like 5x AIR MILES Rewards Miles on qualifying purchases of $20 or more via airmilesshops.ca! This offer is good until Jan 7.


Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Earn up to Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at 40 participating Delta Hotel locations in Canada. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until Apr 30, 14
- Earn 25,000 Aeroplan Miles + 2 for 1 Short Haul Flight with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege when you complete your first purchase. More... Until May 9, 14 Residents of Canada Only
- Earn 15,000 Aeroplan Miles + 2 for 1 Short Haul Flight with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card when you complete your first purchase. More... Until May 9, 14 Residents of Canada Only
- Earn 10,000 Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum Card when you complete your first purchase. More... Ongoing Residents of Canada Only
- Earn 20,000 Aeroplan Miles + 2 for 1 Short Haul Flight with the TD Aeroplan Visa Business Card when you complete your first purchase. More... Until May 9, 14 Residents of Canada Only

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at participating Peninsula Hotels worldwide. More... Until Mar 15, 14
- Double Asia Miles Miles and save up to 33% when you rent from Hertz during their Global Sale for three days or longer in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, mainland Spain, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. More... Book by Jan 26 for rentals until Jun 30, 14

Hilton HHonors
- 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points for stays at the Conrad Beijing.  More... Until Feb 28, 14

Marriott Rewards
- Marriott New Member Bonus - Earn a free night at a category 1 – 5 hotel after your 2nd paid stay at any Marriott Hotels Worldwide. More... Until ?

Vietnam Airlines Golden Lotus Plus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Golden Lotus Plus Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Marco Polo hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 14

Aeroplan Changes went into effect yesterday (January 1)

Rewards Canada was one of the first third party outlets to break the Aeroplan news back in June about the credit card changes, award chart changes, the Distinction program and more. All of these changes came into effect yesterday (January 1st) and taking note from our expanded thoughts post in July here once again are the changes that are taking place:

7 Year Expiry Rule
Firstly, the 7 year expiry rule is over and done with. A good move in my opinion. A couple of other programs have already done this, Delta SkyMile and more recently JetBlue TrueBlue. However with Aeroplan they still have the inactivity rule in place which means if you don't use your Aeroplan account at least once every 12 months (either earn or burn) you will lose your miles. Now if you read any other frequent flyer blogs or forums the removal of the 7 year rule is not a big deal. True for frequent flyers or big time credit card spenders it's not, they earn enough miles quickly to redeem well within 7 years. But for the average Canadian Aeroplan member who is neither a frequent flyer or big time crest spender this is great news. Just look at all the comments from people on numerous articles in the Canadian media when the rule was introduced or even when it hit the airwaves for a second time just before Christmas 2011. I have even received many emails from people who have or were about to scramble to redeem their miles. I know my parents did redeem theirs and I was about to as I still had around 23,000 miles from before 2007 in my account even after past redemptions. Now I didn't have to rush to do so and I'm sure many Canadians were in the same boat.

Reduction in Miles for one way awards
For both the frequent and infrequent traveller this probably the best news to come out of the changes. One way flight awards are now only 50% of the round trip mileage requirement. Groundbreaking? No not at all. In fact most other frequent flyer programs that offer one way awards have been at 50% so Aeroplan just put themselves in line with everyone else. This is a great option now though so that you can mix and match flights (ie one way with an Aeroplan reward and the the other way on a seat sale fare). Also if you plan it right and book award flights on Aeroplan partners that do not have fuel surcharges tacked on (United, US Airways until March 30, Air China, Brussels Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, EVA Air, Scandinavian, Singapore, Swiss, and Turkish) this option becomes very attractive!

Market Fare Flight Rewards
The current ClassicPlus Flight Rewards are now replaced by Market Fare Flight Rewards, which apparently will require up to 20% fewer miles than the late ClassicPlus Flight Rewards.  This somewhat good news and initial random searches do seem to show that Market Fare rewards are priced better than their predecessor! 

Increased Mileage Requirements for International Business and First Class Rewards
The primary negative action announced in the Aeroplan changes last June which is a BIG negative is the increased mileage requirements for certain International Business and First Class award tickets. Here are the changes:

As you can these are some significant increases and what adds salt to the wound is that most of were just increased in 2011. For example the coveted Asia 1 redmeptions have gone from 100,000 in early 2011 to 125,000 in July 2011 to 150,000 in 2014 for Business Class while First Class went from 120,000 to 175,000 to 210,000, a 75% increase from 2 years ago. Add to this Aeroplan now charging the fuel surcharge on many of their partners Asian flights and these awards have gone from being some of the best in the industry to just mediocre ones. You can still complete the mini-RTW with Aeroplan but it is going to cost you a lot more miles as of January 1st. 

Distinction Program
In what some are calling the first elite status program for accruing miles in an loyalty program via many methods rather than butt-in-seat or body-in-bed status earning for flights and hotels, Aeroplan's new Distinction program will reward Aeroplan members who earn lots of miles via various earning methods. Is it the first program of its type in Canada? No, Air Miles Gold had that distinction many years ago and even HBC Rewards has elite tiers. So technically speaking this concept is not new but being tied into such a large program and offering certain travel benefits does make it somewhat different than those others. Now please heed this: Distinction does not replace Air Canada Altitude. Altitude which is Air Canada's elite status program remains the same and will continue to serve those who fly on Air Canada and their partners. Think of it this way: Air Canada Altitude is a frequent flyer status recognition program while Distinction is a frequent mileage earner recognition program.


How do you earn Distinction status?
Distinction includes three status levels based on a member’s total eligible mileage accumulation:
·         dSilver – 25,000  miles accumulated during the calendar year;
·         dBlack – 50,000 miles accumulated during the calendar year;
·         dDiamond – 100,000 miles accumulated during the calendar year

What miles are eligible?
Eligible miles are miles earned in the Aeroplan Program directly at participating partners and include base and certain bonus mile offers. Unless otherwise indicated at the time of offer, the following miles are not eligible for Distinction status: financial card sign-up; bonus  miles received as a benefit of the Air Canada Altitude  program or Aeroplan Distinction status; miles  accumulated through conversion from other programs  or transfers between member accounts, top-up miles,  contest prizes, and reinstated miles.

Points converted from other programs do not count towards distinction status. So for most this would be from credit card like the American Express Membership Rewards program. Also a source of lots of miles are conversions from hotel programs like Starwood Preferred Guest. Now if you choose to earn miles directly instead of hotel points those will count towards distinction status. Now don't let the lack of status qualification deter you from converting, as that is still a good option for topping off your account for a redemption.

Once you earn Distinction status, what does it get you?
This is what the various levels of Distinction status will get you:

To expand on this once you reach Distinction status you will receive a further discount on the aforementioned Market Fare Flight Rewards (nee ClassicPlus flights). You will have access to Distinction Flights. If you have been a CIBC Aerogold cardholder this will be familiar to you. These are flights exclusively reserved for Distinction status holders who want to redeem for those flights. I believe from what I've seen from the CIBC ones is that they are very Toronto-centric so this benefit may not be of much use to many.  You will also get bonus miles for eligible Air Canada flights, hotel stays (that earn miles directly to Aeroplan) and purchases made via the Aeroplan eStore.

Related: Distinction Bonuses released

With all these changes, including the new TD cards which we had a separate post about earlier today, what are you thoughts on Aeroplan as it stands today? Are you going to participate more with program? Keep your earning about the same or are you going to jump ship to another program? And if you reached Distinction status, what level did you achieve? I got to dBlack and that was without credit card spend.

TD Canada Trust Aeroplan Cards officially released

Happy New Year to all of our readers, subscribers and fans! What better way to start the New Year than with the release of new travel rewards credit cards! Of course we have known about these cards for months and even the rumoured information that was leaked out in early December (see our post here) As we mentioned in that post if the information was correct, which it is, the new TD Aeroplan cards didn't live up to hype that was surrounding them prior to their details being leaked. First, lets take a look at the three consumer TD Aeroplan cards that are available and what they offer then we'll follow up with our thoughts.

TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum
Enrollment Bonus: 10,000 miles
Miles Earned: 1 Aeroplan Mile/$1.50
Bonus #1: 1 mile/$1 on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases
Bonus #2: Aeroplan Card and TD Visa can be used together at Aeroplan partner locations
Insurance: Delayed/Lost Baggage, Flight Delay, Collision Loss and Damage Insurance, Common Carrier, Purchase Security & Extended Warranty, Emergency Travel Assistance
Annual Fee: $89 Primary User, $35 Authorized User
Income Requirement: None
Interest Rate: 19.99%
Minimum Credit Limit: $1,500
Exclusive Privileges: None
Air Canada Benefits: None
 

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite
Enrollment Bonus: 15,000 miles + a 2 for 1 ClassicFlight Short Haul award if you apply by May 9, 2014
Miles Earned: 1 Aeroplan Mile/$1.00
Bonus #1: 1.5 mile/$1 on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases
Bonus #2: Aeroplan Card and TD Visa can be used together at Aeroplan partner locations
Insurance: 15 Day Travel & Medical Insurance, Trip Cancel/Trip Interrupt, Delayed/Lost Baggage, Flight Delay, Collision Loss and Damage Insurance, Common Carrier (incl. Auto Rental), Purchase Security & Extended Warranty, Emergency Travel Assistance
Annual Fee: $120 Primary User, $50 Authorized User
Income Requirement: $60,000 or $100,000 household
Interest Rate: 19.99%
Minimum Credit Limit: $5,000
Exclusive Privileges: Concierge
Air Canada Benefits: When travelling on Reward flights: One annual one-time use Maple Leaf Lounge access pass, First checked bag free, Priority check-in, Priority boarding

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege
Enrollment Bonus: 25,000 miles + a 2 for 1 ClassicFlight Short Haul award if you apply by May 9, 2014
Miles Earned: 1.25 Aeroplan Mile/$1.00
Bonus #1: 1.5 mile/$1 on gas, grocery and drugstore, and Air Canada purchases
Bonus #2: Aeroplan Card and TD Visa can be used together at Aeroplan partner locations
Insurance: 22 Day Travel & Medical Insurance, Trip Cancel/Trip Interrupt, Delayed/Lost Baggage, Flight Delay, Collision Loss and Damage Insurance, Common Carrier (incl. Auto Rental) - (expanded vs. Infinite coverage), Purchase Security & Extended Warranty (expanded vs. Infinite Coverage), Emergency Travel Assistance
Annual Fee: $399 Primary User, $99 Authorized User
Income Requirement: $200,000 household
Interest Rate: 19.99%
Minimum Credit Limit: $10,000
Exclusive Privileges: Privilege Concierge, Global Lounge Service (Airport Angel), Hilton HHonors Diamond Status, Fairmont Hotels Premier Status (with accelerated Platinum offer), Security VIP Fast Lane (Selected Airports), Golf Program, Sports packages (Olympics; FIFA), Music, food and wine experiences
Air Canada Benefits: First checked bag free on Air Canada flights, Priority check-in on Air Canada flights, Priority boarding on Air Canada flights, Four annual one-time use Maple Leaf Lounge access passes (when travelling on Reward flights), 50% discount on companion tickets for eligible Executive Class fares on Air Canada Flights available once per calendar year  

We here at Rewards Canada are a little disappointed with the actual cards, primarily the main Infinite card:

The best of the three which is the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card offers some great travel benefits and is in actuality a very good credit card. What hampers it is a small sign up bonus for an elite level card with higher annual fee and a high income requirement that places this card out of reach of those who could really use the added Air Canada benefits of Priority Check-in and Priority Boarding. Why do we think this? This is card targeted to people who travel semi-frequently and frequently on Air Canada.  And of those people, those who make over $200,000 are more than likely to have or will achieve status with Air Canada and get those benefits anyways via the Altitude program. There are many Canadian's who fall into the $100,000 to $200,000 bracket to whom this card would be better served. However we also see it from Air Canada's point of view, they don't want a whole throng of people getting priority access to check in and boarding making life worse for their Altitude Elite Status members. Ultimately the number of people getting the top card is capacity controlled by the $200,000 income requirement, mind you I believe only a select few of those in the 100K-200K bracket would be willing to pay the $399 annual fee so the income requirement will always be a sticking point with us. While it may seem high, the annual fee is in line with the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum ($499/year) which offers similar if not better benefits (ie. it earns more miles, full time Maple Leaf lounge access and has a standard 2 for 1 short haul ticket etc. although the TD Privilege card includes Business Class!) and would be worth paying for if you don't have status with Air Canada but are traveling enough that priority check-in and boarding will make your life better. A nice benefit that can make this card also worthwhile is the once per calendar year 50% discount on a companion Air Canada business class ticket (if you actually buy J or C class). Other somewhat hidden benefits of the card are Airport Angel membership + 6 free visits (see our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access for more details), Hilton HHonors Diamond Status (this is a pretty good benefit!) and accelerated access to Fairmont Platinum Premier status

The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card will be the mainstay card and the primary replacement for the CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card and is essentially the same as the latter. The primary difference is a few benefits being offered when flying on an Aeroplan Reward ticket operated by Air Canada like 1st checked bag free, a Maple Leaf lounge pass and priority check in/boarding. This is probably the most disappointing card of the bunch. It isn't anything new, there is nothing exciting about it and like we have mentioned in many reviews and media interviews about its predecessor, the CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card, the only reason it took first place in Rewards Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card - Airline category, was the strength of the Aeroplan program, not the card itself.  More than likely, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card will  take top spot in our Airline Category for 2014, not because the card itself is amazing but because the Aeroplan program offers so much for Canadian's and one of the easiest ways to earn Aeroplan miles is by spending on this card.

The TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum falls somewhere in between the Visa Infinite Card mentioned above and the base model from CIBC, the AeroClassic visa. The TD cards costs more than the AeroClassic but also earn more miles and offers more insurance options than the CIBC card.

Ultimately the new cards are not a huge change from the CIBC cards. Those current CIBC cardholders who are being transferred over the TD won't really notice any changes as most will get the Infinite Card which is essentially the same as their current CIBC Aerogold Infinite. I really wish they had pumped the card up with some high octane fuel and made the Infinite card better but they saved that for the limited amount people who will be going for the Infinite Privilege card. All in all I wish I had more good things to say about these cards but right now personally I'll be sticking to my American Express Gold Rewards Card, Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard plus I'll be adding the American Express AeroplanPlus Gold to my portfolio this month but I may, just may, grab the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card if it is free with my TD All Inclusive Banking plan to replace my TD First Class Visa Infinite which comes free with the plan.

What do you think of the cards? Are you going to jump on one of them and add it to your credit card portfolio? Do you agree or disagree with our thoughts? Let us know by commenting below.