Canadians Pick their Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2014 - Results of our Canada's Choice Vote!

For the fourth year in row RewardsCanada.ca, the country’s leading source for frequent flyer and travel reward information, asked Canadians to rank their favourite travel reward credit cards as part of its ‘Canada’s Choice’ Awards.

More than 18,000 users of the popular website responded. The results were not even close. Amex dominated four out of the five travel reward categories to reclaim its spot as Canada’s most admired portfolio of travel reward credit cards.  It is a significant honour given the more than 85 travel rewards credit cards Canadians can choose from.

“After RBC knocked AMEX off its perch last year, the credit card company responded with a noticeably stronger marketing presence,” said Patrick Sojka of Rewards Canada. “While Amex has a reputation for its strong reward options and ease of redemption, I suspect their savvy marketing campaigns are resonating with consumers and helping to create top-of-mind presence.”

Perhaps the most surprising result of the ‘Canada’s Choice’ Awards poll was TD’s lack of traction.  After shocking the industry last year when it scooped up the Aeroplan portfolio from CIBC, Canada’s largest bank has failed to move the needle on its travel reward credit card offering.

“It’s a classic case of the blockbuster not living up to its over hyped movie trailer,” add Sojka. “Consumers were looking for more and so far TD simply hasn’t delivered.”

Canada’s Choice Awards:

Travel Points (with annual fee): American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card
Travel Points (with no annual fee): American Express Air Miles Credit Card
Hybrid: American Express Gold Rewards Card
Hotel: The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
Airline: WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard

A complete list of the rankings can be found at www.rewardscanada.ca/canadaschoice


What are your thoughts on Canada's Choice?

SPG Member Select Exclusives Offers - Free Nights, up to 6,000 Bonus Starpoints or Award Stay Discounts

Starwood has sent out email to their members with their latest set of targeted Member Select Exclusive offers. There are varying offers of bonus Starpoints, free nights or discounted award stays. If you did not receive the email or deleted it before reading it you can still check to see if you are eligible for the offering by trying the registration link below. I unfortunately was not targeted this time, in fact I haven't been since the summer of 2013.

Offer Details
Earn a Free Night or up to 6,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at Starwood Hotels Worldwide with the SPG Member Select Exclusive offers.  Full Details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Dec 31, 14 Targeted offer - May not work for everyone

Category 1-5 Free Night Award For Every Two Stays - maximum of 2 awarded
1,000 bonus Starpoints for every stay - maximum of 3,000 points after 3 stays
2,000 bonus Starpoints for every two stays - maximum of 6,000 points after 6 stays
3,000 bonus Starpoints for every three stays - maximum of f 9,000 points after 9 stays
5,000 bonus Starpoints for every five stays - maximum of 15,000 points after 18 stays
6,000 bonus Starpoints for every six stays - maximum of 18,000 points after 18 stays
25% off an award stay after 6 stays

Nov 14 Update: 5x Aeroplan Miles on lottery purchases at Esso, Scandic Hotels Flash Sale, Hyatt Bonus for EMEA & India stays

Final update of the week sees 5x Aeroplan miles on lottery purchases, SPG targeted bonuses and more

News, Tips & Tricks
Aeroplan's has another Matching Miles offer for November! This is where Aeroplan will match your mileage donations to a select Beyond Miles partner. This month it is Give A Miles and Aeroplan will match up to 250,000 miles in donations.

Give A Mile, a Calgary-based not-for-profit organization, brings together family and close friends in instances of severe medical affliction or terminal illness by crowdfunding airline flights through micro-donations of Aeroplan Miles.

To find out more or to donate please see here.

Travel Deals
Scandic Hotels Flash Sale - Weekend stays in Sweden from EUR69. Simply book by November 17th for Friday to Sunday stays between December 1st and February 1st and you'll get great rates starting as low as EUR69!

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 5x Aeroplan Miles on lottery purchases made at Esso. More... Until Jan 5, 15

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles for stays at any participating Best Western Hotel Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Double Flying Blue Miles for stays at any participating Golden Tulip Hotel Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15
- 500 Flying Blue Miles per day on Avis rentals in Europe. Maximum of 7,000 miles awarded. More... Book by Dec 7 for rentals until Jan 31, 15
- Double Flying Blue Miles on all your purchases made at Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages across Europe.. More... Until Dec 24, 14

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 45,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you buy or gift AAdvantage Miles online. More... Until Nov 30, 14

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Quadruple Asia Miles when you rent a car at participating Hertz locations in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. More... Until Jan 31, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 1,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points and save 20% when you book the 7-day advance purchase rate at participating Hyatt hotels and resorts across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India. More... Dec 1 - Jan 31, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn a Free Night or up to 6,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at Starwood Hotels Worldwide with the SPG Member Select Exclusive offers. More... Until Dec 31, 14 Targeted offer - May not work for everyone

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Earn up to 45,000 Bonus Dividend Miles when you buy or gift Dividend Miles online. More... Until Nov 30, 14

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Double VHR Points for stays at Riande Hotels in Panama. More... Until Dec 31, 14


Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Nov 13 Update: 25x Air Miles at Rexall, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Online Shopping Bonus

A large Air Miles bonus for Rexall purchases is the highlight today!

News, Tips & Tricks
Icelandair Saga Club has opened up their program to 12 to 18 year olds. To most of this may not mean much but with Icelandair expanding their services in Canada quite rapidly, offering great deals on flights to Iceland and Europe it makes sense to join this program if you are flying with them. This is especially so since they have no real partnerships with other frequent flyer programs. Find out more about this program enhancement here.

Another 3 day Air Miles deal at Rexall this weekend. This time its 25x the base miles when you spend $50 or more on most things in the store. Since you earn 1 Air Mile for every $20 you'll want to try to make your purchases reach $60 or any multiple of $20 after that. Of course the more you spend the bigger the bonus but don't go out of you're way just to earn more miles.  Find out more on the Rexall eFlyer

Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- Earn up to 6x Club Premier Kilometers on Hertz rentals in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Spain, USA, France, Italy, Holland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles when you fly between Seattle and Washington Dulles (IAD) More... Register by Mar 18 for travel Mar 11 - Apr 22, 14
- Earn 700 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles for every $100 you spend via the Mileage Plan Shopping portal. More... Until Nov 21, 14

Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Fast Track to Premier Status - Receive 2015 Premier Status when you reach 200 Flight Qualifying Points (instead of 250) or 25 Qualifying Segments (instead of 35) More... Until Dec 31, 14

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles on pre-paid car rentals from rentalcars.com. More... Until Jan 12, 15

China Southern Sky Pearl
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Guangzhou/Wuhan and San Francisco. More... Dec 16 - Apr 30, 15

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S. More... Until Dec 4, 14

Le Club accorhotels
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels in the Lyon area. More... Dec 19 - Jan 4, 15

Marriott Rewards
- 7,500 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay two nights or more between select holiday and weekend dates at 13 hotels in the Atlanta area. More... Until Jan 11, 15
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points each time your stay includes a Sunday-Thursday night at 12 hotels in the New Orleans area. More... Until Jan 12, 15

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Sindbad Miles when you fly in Business Class between Muscat and Calicut, Jaipur, Lucknow or Chittagong. More... Until Nov 30, 14
- Double Sindbad Miles for stays at participating Golden Tulip Hotels Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15
- Double Sindbad Miles for stays at Swiss-Belhotel International Middle East properties in Bahrain, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates. More... Until Nov 30, 14

TAP Portugal Victoria
- 2,000 Victoria Miles for stays at participating Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 31, 14


Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for bookings made on Aircanada.com by Nov 14

Air Canada has launched a 'flash' bonus offer for bookings made online at aircanada.com. The offer is for 1,000 Bonus Miles and is good for any and all bookings made by 11:59pm EST on November 14th for travel until June 15th. Bookings on both the Canadian and U.S. versions of aircanada.com count so you may want to push your booking up if you have been contemplating purchasing some Air Canada flights.

You can find all the details here.

Nov 12 Update: American AAdvantage Status Boost and KLM WOW Sale from Calgary

The middle of the week offers up the following:

News, Tips & Tricks
American Airlines AAdvantage's Elite Status Boost has returned for 2014. Essentially if you are within 15,000 elite qualifying miles or 15 qualifying segments of your desired status you can buy your way to that level. See the chart below for details. If you won't be close enough to boost your status right away but hold status for 2014 you can renew that status for 2015 (except Executive Platinum). Find out more here.

Travel Deals
KLM is well known for their Wild On Wednesday offers, primarily on departures from Europe but sometimes we see them here in Canada and such is the case today. The KLM Canada Wild on Wednesday offer is for Calgary to Paris (with a free stopover in Amsterdam if you like) for as little as $849 all in. The good news is it appears when you click through to the offer there are even lower fares at $807 all in! This offer must be booked by 11:59pm EST on November 13th for travel between January 10th and May 6, 2014. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- 30 AAdvantage Miles per $1 spent on holiday flowers and gifts at FTD. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles when you fly on Emirates in Economy Class from China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan to Dubai. More... Register and book by Nov 30 for travel until Jan 31, 15

Hilton HHonors
- 5,000 Bonus HHonors Points for stays of 3 or more nights at the Hilton Ngapali Beach Resort. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- 1,000 iPrefer Points and up to $150 Flight Credit when you book the Flight Credit & Breakfast offer for stays at select Preferred Hotel Group locations in California. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles on Budget rentals of 3 or more days in Turkey, Europe, USA and Canada. More... Dec 1 - 30, 14

United MileagePlus
- 30 MileagePlus miles per $1 spent on purchases made with FTD. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Virgin Australia Velocity Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Velocity Points when you stay at properties within the Hilton HHonors portfolio Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

United: Save 20% on MileagePlus Saver Awards from Canada to select European destinations

Always nice to see discounted award ticket offers, especially to Europe and on an airline that doesn't add fuel surcharges! With this offer you only need 48,000 MileagePlus Miles for a round trip award ticket between Canada and select cities in Europe. Definitely a good deal if you are looking to travel to Europe from Mid January to Mid March.

Here is an example of the pricing for this award sale for Calgary to Amsterdam:

Offer Details
Save 20% MileagePlus Miles on a United Economy® roundtrip Saver Award between the U.S.,  or Canada and Amsterdam (AMS), Brussels (BRU), Frankfurt (FRA), Geneva (GVA), Hamburg (HAM), London (LHR), Munich (MUC), Paris (CDG) or  Zurich (ZRH).  Discount is valid only for travel on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the sale travel period.
Full details. Book by Dec 4 for travel Jan 12 - Mar 12, 15

Can't make use of this offer? Be sure to visit our MileagePlus Bonus Miles page for many more bonuses!

Qatar Airways Global Sale Extended: Fly from Montreal for as little as $843 all in

Qatar Airways has extended their global sale which has great offers in both Economy and Business class for their flights out of Montreal. They have also enhanced the offer if you buy a business class fare whereby you receive a Bose® SoundTrue™ around-ear headphone when you book  by November 14th, 2014.  

To redeem your Bose® SoundTrue™ around-ear headphone please book your ticket on qatarairways.com/ca and send an email with  your booking confirmation number, name and contact information to canadapromotions@ca.qataraairways.com. While quantities last. 

The sale fares must be booked by November 14 and are good for travel between November 9 and June 15, 2015. 
Black out dates are
17th-23rd December 2014
2nd-11th January 2015
26th March - 2nd April 2015
6th-13th April 2015

Full details and online booking

Nov 11 Update: $50 Rebate on TD Aeroplan Visa (+25K Miles, First Year Free), SPG & Emirates partnership, bonuses galore

Here is a two day update since we didn't post anything yesterday!

News, Tips & Tricks
A little over a week ago we alerted you to the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite 25,000 bonus mile sign up and 1st year free being extended to November 14th. Thanks to one of our Facebook fans we have been made aware of an even better deal. The sign up bonus is the same, the first year free but you get $50 back for applying for it. Much like the Alaska Airline MasterCard offer that used to be around this deal is via Great Canadian Rebates who will give you the $50 rebate if you apply for the card via them! This offer is apparently good until Dec 19 as well! Find out more and/or apply here.

Hilton Hotels are changing their cancellation policy as of January 1st, 2015. If you book a cancellable rate you will now have to cancel by 11:59pm local time of the hotel on the night before check in. (Source FlyerTalk.com)

If you are the hunt for flying the 787 Dreamliner out of Canada there is one more airline to tell you about. Royal Air Maroc will operate their 787 between Montreal and Casablanca three times weekly starting on March 29, 2015(Source: Airlineroute.net)

Starwood Preferred Guest and Emirates Skywards have joined forces in a new partnership much like SPG's Crossover Rewards partnership with Delta. The new Emirates and SPG partnership called Your World Rewards will see elite members from both programs getting more miles and/or points plus enhanced benefits. The increased earning and benefits are as follows:

Earn with SPG when you fly with Emirates.
- SPG Gold and Platinum members earn 1 Starpoint per US dollar spent on all eligible Emirates flights (on top of Skywards Miles).
- SPG Platinum members enjoy elite in-airport benefits, including priority check-in, priority boarding and complimentary e-gate access (learn more at emirates.com).

Earn with Emirates when you stay with SPG.
- Emirates Skywards® Silver, Gold and Platinum members earn 1 Mile per US dollar (on top of Starpoints) for all eligible stays at Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide.
- Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members enjoy additional benefits at Starwood hotels and resorts, including 4pm late checkout,2 access to the SPG elite check-in line and complimentary in-room Internet access.

Find out more about the partnership either on SPG or Emirates websites.

Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Earn up to 50% Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you buy miles online. More... Full details Until Dec 31, 14

airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 10,000 Bonus PINS when you subscribe to The Economist. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to 35% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy Mileage Plan miles online. More... Until Dec 20, 14

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to Triple Skywards Miles when you fly on any Virgin America flight. More... Register and Book by Dec 19 for travel until Feb 28, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 30% Bonus Gold Passport Points when you buy 5,000 or more points online. More... Until Dec 10, 14

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels in the Middle East. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Quadruple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at the Mercure Bucharest City Center. More... Book by Nov 15 for stays until Jan 31, 15
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at any one of four participating Accor hotels in Liverpool. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15

Royal Jordanian Royal Plus
- 3,000 Bonus Royal Plus Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jun 30, 15

Shangri- La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Earn up to Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you stay on the Best Available or Bed&Breakfast rate at any participating Mandarin Oriental hotel Worldwide. More... Until Nov 29, 14
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you stay on a qualifying rate for 2 or more nights at any participating Millennium & Copthorne hotel or resort. More... Until Nov 30, 14
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for two consecutive nights at a participating Park Regis hotel Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 14
- Double KrisFlyer Miles for stays of 2 or more consecutive nights at participating Preferred Hotel Group properties Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 14
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you rent from Europcar for 3 days or more Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 14
- Earn up to Quadruple KrisFlyer Miles when you rent for at least 3 consecutive days when you rent a car at a participating HERTZ location in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe* or Asia. More... Until Nov 30, 14

Southwest Rapid Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 3,000 Bonus Rapid Rewards Points on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Apr 30, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 500 FREE Starpoints when you add your stay preferences on your spg.com profile. You must be registered for the More For You promotion to earn these free points  More... Until Dec 15, 14

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Caribe Royale Orlando. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 18, 14
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the The Shores Resort & Spa Daytona Beach Shores. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Edgewater Hotel Seattle. More... Until Feb 28, 15


Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Starwood: 500 FREE Starpoints for updating your SPG.com profile

Ben over at One Mile at a Time points out the SPG has added an extra bonus to their More For You promotion. So not only did they extend the actual promotion to November 30th from October 31st for registration they have now added an incentive to go update your stay profile and check out the new SPG.com.  The bonus is easy and free but you have to make sure you are registered for the main More For You promotion to earn these 500 Starpoints.

Offer Details
500 FREE Starpoints when you add your stay preferences on your spg.com profile. You must be registered for the More For You promotion to earn these free points  Full Details (Registration is required) Until Dec 15, 14