American AAdvantage Changes: AAnytime Awards Move to Three Tiers, oneworld Explorer Awards and International Gateway Stopover gone

Earlier in the day we posted the good news from IHG and said most of the news today was. Here is the first of the bad news.

Without advance notice, although now emails are starting to trickle out, American AAdvantage has made some changes to their award charts and other redemption options. The concerning changes are those to the award charts which the email dances around by simply stating you can redeem less miles for the lowest level AAnytime Award but fails to mention the addition of new AAnytime Award levels that will cost more miles. The AAdvantage Award chart is now 5 levels deep Mile Saver 1 and 2, which have not changed and that is good news as most of us redeem at those levels while AAnytime Awards have 3 of their own levels with the third being reminiscent of Aeroplan's Market Fare awards as their is no set redemption amount but rather the amount will fluctuate dependent on how full a flight is and/or how high revenue tickets are pricing out at.

Here is a snippet of the new AAdvantage award chart that takes affect on June 1st:

Here is an example for Canadians who redeem AAnytime award flights to Europe between the old and new rates:

Economy 60,000 (old)  vs. 45,000 to 65,000+ (new)
Business 100,000 (old)  vs. 110,000 to 135,000+ (new)
First 125,000 (old) vs. 140,000 to 170,000+  (new)
miles required are one way.  + symbol represents the new AAnytime level 3 as we don't know what those rates will be.

The complete new American AAdvantage Award chart can be viewed here. These changes only affect award travel on American Airlines, partner travel (ie oneworld) remain at saver levels.

Another change from American is the elimination of their distance based oneworld explorer awards. These were complicated to book but provided a great value if you took advantage of them.

The International Gateway stopover also appears to be gone, this is the feature where you could do a  stopover at the North America city where your International flight was departing from.

In general the changes aren't huge and given the fact the American AAdvantage has not touched their partner awards or their mile saver awards I believe most of us will not be affected by these changes. The biggest gripe that we have along with pretty much everyone else was the lack of advance notice for some of these changes.

IHG Rewards Club: Reward Night Pricing Changes...For the Better

On what is going to be a good news bad news day (mostly bad) we thought we'd bring you the good news first!

We received an email from IHG this morning stating there will be changes coming to some IHG Rewards Club Reward Night redemption rates and unlike most of the changes happening these are actually decreases!

Here is the email:

More than 100 IHG hotels will require 5,000 less IHG Rewards Club points per Reward Night. We will not be making any increases to our Reward Night pricing during 2014.

These changes to our Reward Night catalog will be effective on April 15 

Below are some highlights of the more than 100 properties whose Reward Nights will be decreasing by 5,000 points.

InterContinental Hotel Shanghai-Puxi, China - 35,000 to 30,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Crowne Plaza Geneva, Switzerland - 35,000 to 30,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Hotel Indigo Fort Myers Downtown River District, Florida, U.S. -  30,000 to 25,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Holiday Inn Resort PhuketMai Khao Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand - 20,000 to 15,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Holiday Inn Ciudad De Mexico- Trade Center, Mexico - 15,000 to 10,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt-Messe, Germany -  25,000 to 20,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Staybridge Suites - San Antonio-Stone Oak, Texas, U.S. - 20,000 to 15,000 IHG Rewards Club points
Candlewood Suites Virginia Beach-Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. -  25,000 to 20,000 IHG Rewards Club points

It is nice for once to announce that the only changes are decreases and not a devaluation!

Hilton Hot Deals: Stays in the Asia Pacific region from as low as US$54

Another big sale from the folks at Hilton! This is a really good promotion if you are planning any upcoming stays in the Asia Pacific region including Australia & New Zealand 

With low rates, there’s no better time to pack your bags for your favorite destination in Asia Pacific and stay at any property within the Hilton portfolio. Whether it’s a tropical paradise or an extraordinary getaway like no other, we give you more reasons to book that dream holiday of yours now. Book online at hiltonhotdeals.com. Book by June 30 for stays until Dec 31, 14

 

Apr 7 Update: 500 Free Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles, Aeroplan & Birks part ways, SAS increases point earning on Avis rentals

Free miles from Virgin Atlantic, US Airways share miles bonus and more set the tone for this week!

News, Tips & Tricks
SAS EuroBonus will now award a standard 1,000 points per Avis rental instead of 500 when you book online at http://www.avisworld.com/eurobonus. Rentals made at an Avis desk or via phone will only earn 500 points. If you do a lot of one day rentals this type of earning structure can become very lucrative.

Another SAS news piece is that right now for stays at Scandic Hotels you can earn both SAS EuroBonus points and Scandic Friends points on all your stays. This offer runs until Jun 30. Full details

If you missed it earlier the amazing up to 100% Bonus on sharing US Airways Dividend Miles is back for this week only! See our post here.

In the bonus offers section see the free miles from Virgin Atlantic Flying Club when you download their ShopsAways Milesfinder tool bar. I did this offer last year when it was only 250 miles and those miles posted within a few days.

The partnership between Aeroplan and Birks didn't last too long (a year and a half at most I believe). As of April 1st Birks is no longer an Aeroplan partner. See the details here.


Bonus Offers
Air Astana Nomad Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Nomad Club points for stays at Mediterranean or Aegean Coasts Rixos Hotels More...  Until Jun 1, 14

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points for stays at the Best Western Antea Palace Hotel & Spa. More... Until Apr 30, 14
- 500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays in Turkey that are booked online at www.bestwestern.com.tr More... Ongoing
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards points for stays on the Park, Sleep and Fly package at BEST WESTERN Amsterdam Airport Hotel More... Until ?
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards points for stays at the BEST WESTERN Hotel Restaurant Stadskanaal. More... Until ?

British Airways Executive Club
- Double Avios on all TAM flights Worldwide when flown in an eligible booking class.More... May 1 - 31, 14

Icelandair Saga Club
- Double Saga Club Award Points on Sixt rentals of 3 or more days in Finland. More... Until Apr 30, 14

Le Club accorhotels
- 400 Bonus Le Club accorhotels points when you join Le Club accorhotels and complete your first stay. More... Join by Apr 30 for stays until Jun 30, 14
- 500 Bonus Le Club accorhotels points on your next stay at any participating Accor Hotel Worldwide made within 3 months of registering. More... Until Dec 31, 14 Targeted Offer - may not work for everyone

South African Airways Voyager
- 500 Bonus Voyager Miles when you book a cruise with Cruises International. More... Until Apr 30, 14

SriLankan FlySmiles
- Earn up to Triple FlySmiles Miles when you stay at properties within the Hilton HHonors™ portfolio Worldwide. More...  Until Jun 30, 14

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 500 Bonus Flying Club Miles when you download the Download the ShopsAway toolbar. More... Until May 14, 14

US Airways: Up to 100% Bonus on shared miles (Apr 7 - 13 only)

Last seen in December the US Airways Dividend Miles bonus on sharing miles is back! This is the most lucrative buy miles offer out there but does have one stipulating requirement: you must have miles in your account for the bonus to work. Just like the offer in December this week's offer is tiered and the 100% bonus only kicks in when you transfer between 30,000 and 50,000 miles.

The tiered bonuses are as follows:

Share	Receive
10,000 - 19,000 Miles	50% Bonus Miles
20,000 - 29,000 Miles	75% Bonus Miles
30,000 - 50,000 Miles	100% Bonus Miles

Essentially what happens with this offer is that when you transfer points to a friend or family members account they will receive the bonus miles. Transfer 50,000 points they get a total of 100,000 miles and there is nothing stopping them from transferring 50,000 back to you so you end up with your original 50,000 back plus 50,000 bonus miles. The cost is 1 cent per mile + 7.5% tax + $30 processing fee which means at the 50,000 mile level it costs $567.50 or about 1.13 cents per mile. Transfer back for another $567.50 and for that $1135.00 you spent you now have enough miles for a business class ticket to North Asia. Have fun trying to buy that same ticket at that low of price! As you can see this is a great deal, if you have the miles in your account to transfer.

For complete details or to share miles visit here.

Apr 4 Update: Voila Hotel Rewards renames their Elite levels, 1,500 free miles for joining airberlin's topbonus and more!

Friday brings tons of new bonuses including Wyndham's new systemwide stay bonus

News, Tips & Tricks
Voila Hotel Rewards has made their tier status names a little more simpler, gone are the Greek names, in are your regular Gold, Silver, Platinum. For members who have elite status with VHR, Phoenix is now Silver tier, Orion is now Gold tier and Centaurus is now Platinum tier. I kind of liked being Centaurus since it was different but Platinum will do!

Here is a coupon for 150 Bonus Air Miles if you spend $100 or more at Safeway Wine & Spirits by Apr 10.

Some posts on the  Rewards Canada blog that came after yesterday's update:

Air Canada tightens up on Super Elite 100K’s in 2014 - Rewards Canada contributor Sol Zia gives us a look at some unannounced changes for SE 100Ks

CIBC Aventura Limited Time Flight Redemption Offers - Florida & California from Canada starting at 11,500 points


Bonus Offers
Air Miles (Canada)
- 400 Bonus Air Miles on your first Card purchase with the no fee BMO AIR MILES MasterCard. More... Until Aug 31, 14

airberlin topbonus
- Earn up to 1,500 topbonus Miles when you register for the Top Bonus program. More... Register by Apr 27, 14

Emirates Skywards
- 5,000 Bonus Skywards Miles per stay at any one of five Marriott hotels in the Boston area. More... Until Jun 30, 14

Finnair Plus
- Double Plus Points on all US Airways flights when flown in an eligible booking class. More... Register by Apr 30 for travel until Jun 30, 14

IHG Rewards Club
- 1,500 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points per stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 14
- 1,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points per stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 14
- Earn up to 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at select hotels in Southeast & Southwest Asia. More... Until Jun 30, 14
- Earn up to 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at select hotels in Japan or South Korea. More... Until Jun 30, 14
- Earn up to 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at select hotels in Australia, Fiji or New Zealand. More... Until Jun 30, 14

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- 500 Bonus QMiles for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Marriott Resorts in the Middle East & Africa. More... Until Jun 7, 14
- Double QMiles for stays of 2 or more nights at any participating Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 14 Earn
- Double QMiles for stays at the Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa- Al Aqah beach. More... Until Jun 30, 14
- 1,000 QMiles and save 15% off Budget rentals taken at Edinburgh Airport. More... May 28 - Aug 31, 14
- 1,000 QMiles and save 10% off Budget rentals taken at Sabiha Gokcen. More... May 22 - Aug 15, 14
- 2,000 QMiles for Sixt rentals taken in Larnaca that are booked online. More... Apr 29 - Jul 31, 14
- 2,000 QMiles for Sixt rentals taken in Edinburgh that are booked online. More... May 28 - Aug 31, 14

Shangri-La Hotels Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays in a Horizon Club room or a suite at the Shangri-La Hotel, Ningbo. More... May 1 - Jun 30, 14
- Double GC Award Points and a comp upgrade & Wi Fi for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel Beihai. More... Apr 15 - Jun 30, 14
- 25% Bonus Miles when you convert Golden Circle Award Points into airline miles. More... Until Jun 30, 14

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 1,000 Bonus Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Elite World Istanbul, Elite World Prestige, and Elite World Van Hotel. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for Miles&Smiles Elite and Elite Plus members for stays at any participating Swissotel Worldwide. More... May 1 - Sep 7, 14
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for all your spending at any of the 9 Chic Outlet Shopping Villages in Europe. More... Until Apr 30, 14
- Earn up to 5,000 Miles&Smiles Miles when you rent a car from National in Turkey. More...Until May 31, 14

United MileagePlus
- Double MileagePlus miles when you fly nonstop on United between Atlantic City and Chicago or Houston. More... Until Jun 30, 14

World Hotels Peakpoints
- 300 Bonus Peakpoints when you join World Hotels' Peakpoints program. More... Until Apr 24, 14

Wyndham Rewards
- 8,000 Bonus Wyndham Rewards Points after your second qualified stay at participating Wyndham Hotels Worldwide. Bonus can be earned on your 2nd, 3rd and 4th stays. More... Until Jun 30, 14

Air Canada tightens up on Super Elite 100K’s in 2014

Rewards Canada contributor Sol Zia gives us a look at some unannounced changes for SE 100Ks

Very subtly and without any announcements (that I could gather or find) Air Canada’s Altitude program made some small but impactful reductions to the service levels of Super Elite 100K’s.

1.       New restrictions on access concierges:


Air Canada’s concierge services for Super Elite 100K’s changed as of March 1. Super Elite 100K members used to be able to contact concierge office directly during their business hours (which varied by gateway). As of March 1 that contact was restricted to day of departure only with all other inquiries being rerouted to a central Air Canada agent. To many Super Elite members this was a significant loss of service and many inquiries to the concierge were related to complex booking, seating or destination requests days away from the date. Based on my casual conversations with concierges in two markets they are already hearing complaints about the cutbacks in two major Canadian markets. It’s surprising that this change was never communicated to Super Elite 100K members.

2.       Inability to log your Elite status number to some Aeroplan Reward bookings:


Also, seemingly, new as of March 1, 2014 is the loss of ability to register your Aeroplan/Altitude number to a rewards booking made by another member (e.g. your spouse). Now this may seem trivial until you realize that this new restriction makes it difficult to take advantage of core Super Elite 100K privileges that apply when you are traveling on a “cash” ticket versus a rewards ticket. For instance 3 complimentary bag check-in, priority boarding and lounge access now require showing your card to receive the privilege (this is non-trivial when you try to check-in online and show no complimentary bags allowed). What is worse for some Super Elite 100K members is the access to Business or Executive First when Economy is sold out is gone completely. Now this is not a documented privilege but all Elite status members know that when Economy is full and they have to “bump up” passengers that Elite members (ranked by status) get access to those seats first.

As a Super Elite 100K member my lingering question is, “Is this just the tip of the iceberg or anomalies that were likely to happen and don't foreshadow more restrictions/changes to come?”

Sol Zia has been a Super Elite 100K member since 2003 and is a semi-regular contributor to Rewards Canada.

CIBC Aventura Limited Time Flight Redemption Offers - Florida & California from Canada starting at 11,500 points

A little while ago we featured the CIBC Aventura offer for flying on Porter Airlines and now the proprietary reward program from CIBC has teamed up with WestJet to offer some great redemption offers on flights to Florida, California and between Toronto & Vancouver. Some of these offers are greater than a 50% discount on their regular redemption rates.    Here's to one or more of our readers being able to take advantage of these offers! If you do please let us know.

Destinations (roundtrip airfare)
San Francisco from Calgary and Vancouver ONLY 11,500 Aventura Points Santa Ana from Vancouver ONLY 13,000 Aventura Points Los Angeles from Vancouver and Calgary ONLY 13,000 Aventura Points Phoenix from Vancouver and Calgary ONLY 14,000 Aventura Points San Diego from Calgary ONLY 14,000 Aventura Points San Francisco from Edmonton ONLY 15,000 Aventura Points San Francisco from Regina ONLY 16,500 Aventura Points Santa Ana from Edmonton and Calgary ONLY 16,500 Aventura Points San Francisco from Winnipeg ONLY 18,500 Aventura Points San Diego from Vancouver ONLY 19,500 Aventura Points San Diego from Saskatoon ONLY 19,500 Aventura Points Prices exclude taxes
Myrtle Beach from Toronto	ONLY 11,500 Aventura Points
Orlando from Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa	ONLY 12,500 Aventura Points
Orlando from Quebec City	ONLY 13,000 Aventura Points
Fort Myers from Toronto and Ottawa	ONLY 14,000 Aventura Points
Myrtle Beach from Montreal and Ottawa	ONLY 15,000 Aventura Points
Myrtle Beach from Quebec City	ONLY 16,000 Aventura Points
Fort Myers from Montreal	ONLY 17,500 Aventura Points
Myrtle Beach from Moncton and Halifax	ONLY 21,500 Aventura Points
Vancouver from Toronto	ONLY 22,000 Aventura Points

This offer is subject to availability and excludes taxes. Flight bookings must be made between April 1 and May 31, 2014 and for travel starting May 1 and completed by July 15, 2014.

Find all the relevant details on the CIBCRewards.com

Apr 3 Update: Air Canada matching US Airways Preferred Elite Status, up to 4x Miles & More Miles for Hilton stays, Canalta again!

Here is your Thursday update, the biggest deal is the Air Canada status match for US Airways elites!

News, Tips & Tricks

Earlier today we launched an exclusive offer with Canalta Hotels where members of their Rewards program (free to join) can earn double points for stays at select hotels in Alberta & Saskatchewan. Find out more here.  Watch for more exclusive offers in the future if this one doesn't work for you!

If you follow us on Twitter you would have seen this yesterday but for those who don't we want to let you know that Air Canada is offering an elite status match for US Airways Preferred Elite Status members. If you have status with US Airways this is your chance to gain Air Canada status with only one flight on AC! See the link below in the bonus offers section.

WestJet has expanded their codeshare agreement with Delta for Delta flights in the U.S.. (Source:
Airlineroute.net)

Over on the FFB blog we detail a limited time Etihad Guest bonus for flying in their premium classes. Details are here.
 


Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air Canada Altitude Elite Status for US Airways Dividend Miles Preferred Elite Status members who complete one Air Canada, Air Canada Express or Air Canada rouge flight. More... Register by Apr 30 and complete travel by May 15, 14

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles when you fly between Seattle and Baltimore/Washington or Albuquerque. More... Sep 2 - Oct 31, 14

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points for stays at the Best Western Hotel Waldegg, Luzern-Horw. More... Until May 31, 14

Canalta Hotels Canalta Rewards
- Earn Double Canalta Rewards Points with an exclusive Rewards Canada offer for stays at the the Canalta Jurassic Hotel Drumheller, Canalta Hotel Assiniboia, Canalta Hotel Tisdale or the Canalta Hotel - Melfort. More... Until Apr 30, 14

Miles & More
- Earn up to Quadruple Miles & More Miles when you register and stay within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands. More... Until Jun 30, 14
- Double Miles & More Miles for stays at all Lindner hotels and resorts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. More... Until May 31, 14
- Earn up to Triple Miles & More Miles for stays at select Melia Hotels in Europe and the Middle East. More... Until May 31, 14
- Double Miles & More Miles for purchases at all participating HEINEMANN Duty Free Shops in Germany and Austria. More... Until May 31, 14

S7 Priority (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Priority Miles on all US Airways flights Worldwide flown in eligible fare classes. More... Until Jun 30, 14
- Double Priority Miles on all Sixt rentals of 3 or more days in Helsinki. More... Apr 26 - May 31, 14

Virgin Australia Velocity Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 1,000 Bonus Velocity Points per stay when you book the ‘Velocity 1000’ rate at selected Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London, Mallorca, Rome, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Maldives, Shanghai, Kuwait and Baku. More... Until Sep 30, 14
- Double Velocity Points and a 15% discount off the Best Available Rate plus complimentary Wi-Fi at Langham Hotels in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney when you book a stay between Sunday and Thursday. More... Until Jul 31, 14

Rewards Canada Exclusive: Double Canalta Rewards Points for stays at select Canalta Hotels in Alberta & Saskatchewan

 Rewards Canada is proud to announce that we have partnered with Canalta Hotel's Canalta Rewards for an exclusive promotion for our readers. This offer is more for the road warrior than the frequent flyer but if your travels do take you to these amazing small towns why not be doubly rewarded for your stays during the month of April! To earn points you must be a member of Canalta Rewards which you can join via this link


Earn Double Canalta Rewards Points with this exclusive Rewards Canada offer for stays at the following Canalta hotels:

 Canalta Jurassic Hotel - Drumheller, AB
Call 1-888-823-3466 and mention the "Rewards Canada" double points offer when you reserve your stay

 Canalta Hotel - Assiniboia, SK

Call 1-855-459-1010 and mention the "Rewards Canada" double points offer when you reserve your stay

 Canalta Hotel - Tisdale, SK
Call 1-877-771-6235 and mention the "Rewards Canada" double points offer when you reserve your stay

 Canalta Hotel - Melfort, SK

Call 1-855-680-4242 and mention the "Rewards Canada" double points offer when you reserve your stay

You will also find these offers listed on our new Canalta Rewards page