Rewards Canada: Your premier points, miles & credit cards resource

Monday, November 24, 2014

IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks now live for stays until Feb 28, 15 (165 Hotels Participating, 2 in Canada)

Last Friday we were one of the first to bring the details of the newest IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks offers and are happy to tell you that they are now live! There are 165 Hotels participating in this set of offers and are now open for booking for stays until Feb 28, 15 (subject to availability). Unfortunately for those of you stuck traveling within the confines of our beautiful country you'll only find two Canadian locations participating. The Crowne Plaza Fredricton is a good choice and a great deal at 5,000 points while those primarily in the Oil & Gas Industry who are self employed may find redeeming 5,000 points in Ft. St. John as a good cost savings measure.

Each Reward Night at these participating hotels will be only 5,000 IHG Rewards Club points during the above mentioned dates. Remember the new PointBreaks rules that a member can only book up to 2 reward reservations per hotel participating in the individual offer (ie 2 at Pointbreaks hotels and 2 at Last Minute Reward Night hotels). My tip to get around this would be to book 2 reservations with one IHG Rewards Club account and then have your spouse book 2 more etc. Of course this is dependent on both accounts having enough points to redeem for these awards. Also be sure to book these ASAP as once the allotted nights are booked at certain locations those hotels will fall off the list.

Why are IHG Rewards Club Point Breaks such a great deal? Because they offer reward nights at participating IHG hotels Worldwide for only 5,000 Rewards Club points. For those of you not to familiar with IHG Rewards Club , normal redemption rates for Rewards Club reward nights run from as low as 10,000 points for some Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations to 50,000 points for ultra-luxurious InterContinental locations and even these locations can participate in PointBreaks. So as you can see you can receive a discount of 50 to 88% off the regular redemption rates. You may be thinking that the high end hotels won't participate but they do depending on the time of year! Please note that like most loyalty promotions these offers are capacity controlled so I advise to book sooner than later to ensure you get the PointBreaks rate. These offers are now bookable via the primary PointsBreaks page or via the individual hotel links below.

This is the list of hotels as provided to us by IHG:

Canada

BRITISH COLUMBIA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS FORT ST JOHN

NEW BRUNSWICK
CROWNE PLAZA FREDERICTON-LORD BEAVERBROOK

United States

Europe

Friday, November 21, 2014

Nov 21 Update: Up to 7,500 Bonus Points for Marriott stays in Canada, Air Miles Gift Card Bonus, Expedia.ca's new loyalty program

Three news tidbits and a great Marriott Rewards bonus for stays in Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
All the news items for today had their own blog posts, here are the links in case you missed them!

Huge Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway - 1.1 Reward Miles per $1 spent Nov 21-27
Don't delete that Safeway Air Miles email that came in your inbox yesterday or today!
Expedia Canada launches their new loyalty program - Expedia+
Expedia, the third party travel booking site or OTA (Online Travel Agency) has had a loyalty program for their…
IHG PointBreaks Sneak Peek for stays Nov 24 - Feb 28
Here is a preview of the new PointBreaks from IHG that will launch on Monday! This sneak peek list will…

Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 2,000 MilleMiglia Miles for stays of 7 or more nights at the Golf Hotel Campiglio or Atahotel Planibel Residence. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- Triple MilleMiglia Miles for stays of 2+ nights at participating NH Hotels in Europe. More... Until Jan 6, 15
- Triple MilleMiglia Miles for stays at Star Hotels in Italy and Paris. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Double MilleMiglia Miles for stays at UNA Hotels & Resorts e UNAWAY Hotels. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- Double MilleMiglia Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at over 250 participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 15

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to Triple AAdvantage Miles when you stay at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15

Marriott Rewards
- 1,500 Bonus Points PER NIGHT when you stay includes at least one night Thursday to Sunday at Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard and Residence Inn across Canada. More...Dec 15 - Mar 1, 15

- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at one of eight Marriott resorts in the Caribbean. More... Until Dec 19, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT at the SpringHill Suites Denver North/Westminster. More...Until Dec 19, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard Houston NW/290 Corridor. More...Until Dec 18, 14

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays of 2+ nights at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak Manitou Springs. More... Until Dec 28, 14
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays of 2+ nights at the Magnolia Hotel Denver. More... Until Dec 30, 14
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Inn at Saint Mary's South Bend. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 15 Stash Rewards Points per dollar for stays of 2+ nights at the Magnolia Hotel Houston More... Dec 1 - Jan 15, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the The Resort at Port Ludlow. More... Until May 31, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Huge Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway - 1.1 Reward Miles per $1 spent Nov 21-27

Don't delete that Safeway Air Miles email that came in your inbox yesterday or today! There is a small part of it with a link stating you can up to 825 Bonus Miles and those miles are for buying gift cards! This is a perfect time to buy those gift cards with Christmas coming up! The offer is for 55 Bonus miles per $50 Gift Card purchased which equates to 1.1 miles per dollar! That's pretty awesome if you are an Air Miles Reward Miles collector. You have to print out the coupons and you can find them here.

The merchant gift cards included are Golf Town, Spafinder, Bass Pro Shops, Roots, Chapters/Indigo, Sears, the Keg, Ultimate Dining Card, West 49, La Vie En Rose, La Senza, Sport Chek, Moxies, Garage and American Eagle.

I know I'm going to grab at least at four or five of these and pay for them on my American Express Gold Rewards card as it earn 2x points on Grocery Store purchases. Definitely grabbing Chapters/Indigo, Sport Chek, The Keg and maybe American Eagle for my tween daughter!

Expedia Canada launches their new loyalty program - Expedia+

Expedia, the third party travel booking site or OTA (Online Travel Agency) has had a loyalty program for their U.S. based site for at least two years and now they have launched a program for us Canadians for booking via Expedia Canada. The program looks likes and runs much like the U.S. version (in fact the Expedia+ page on .ca is pretty much the same as the Expedia+ Rewards page on .com, the only difference is the C in front of the Dollar Signs and the U.S.'s ability to donate points to St. Jude Hospital!)

With out rehashing all the details of the program, here are screenshots of the earning and redeeming options and benefits:

As you can see the basic earning is 2 points per dollar on hotel bookings, packages with a hotel, activities purchases and some car rentals. For flights you only earn 1 point for every $5. If you happen to earn all your points at the 2 points per $1 rate then you'll be getting a return of 1.4% on that spending based on the C$25 voucher for 3,500 points. Of course if you add in gold, silver or +VIP bonuses that rate of return increases.

One big caveat you have to remember though is that the majority of hotel bookings made via Expedia.ca do not earn points in frequent guest programs like Hyatt Gold Passport, Starwood Preferred Guest and almost all other major hotel chains. As well the stays may not count toward elite status qualification but if you hold elite status you may or may not enjoy those elite benefits on your stay booked via Expedia.ca. If you count on hotel points and status this program may not make much sense to you but if you are price conscious and switch brands willy nilly or stay at hotels that don't have loyalty programs then the Expedia+ program can definitely make sense for you.

Flights are a different story, as long as an airline is running some sort of bonus whereby you have to book via the airline itself you can definitely try to funnel your bookings via Expedia since you'll earn you frequent flyer miles and elite status qualification (as long as it is an eligible fare class) and you'll enjoy your elite status benefits if your are a member of that airline or airline alliance program.

To earn +silver status you have to spend C$5,000 on eligible bookings or stay 7 qualifying hotel room nights, and +gold status after spending C$10,000 on eligible bookings or staying 15 qualifying hotel room nights. +blue is the level everyone gets right when joining the program.

Overall it's finally nice to see Expedia Canada follow in the footsteps of their U.S. parent. Is this a great reward program? Not really. Is it a bad reward program? No, not that either. If you use Expedia.ca semi-frequently then it can be a nice fit for you but if it is a site you only once a year it may not be worthwhile to join the program. The rewards aren't huge but if you spend enough and get that 1.4% return coupled with any rewards you earn on your credit card for those bookings this program can definitely fit nicely into your reward program portfolio.

To find out more or the join the program click here.

IHG PointBreaks Sneak Peek for stays Nov 24 - Feb 28

Here is a preview of the new PointBreaks from IHG that will launch on Monday!

This sneak peek list will post after midnight tonight for bookings and stays from Nov. 24 - Feb. 28, 2015 (subject to availability). Each Reward Night at these participating hotels will be only 5,000 IHG Rewards Club points during the above mentioned dates.

The full list isn't out yet but at this time it appears only two hotels here in Canada (Ft. St. John and Fredricton) will be included which is the least we've seen in a long time (normally there are between 5 and 10 hotels)

Here is a sampling of the more than 150 properties that will be featured:

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Nov 20 Update: Air Canada 10 Millon Aeroplan Miles Contest, more MileagePlus changes, Marriott bonus for stays in Alberta

Thursday proves to be not as slow as the last two days with a bit more news for you!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air Canada launched The aircanada.com 10 Million Aeroplan Miles Contest two days ago. In this contest you can earn one entry for each new flight booking made on aircanada.com only The contest runs until Dec. 8th. Find out more here.
Prizes include:
Grand prize of 1 Million Aeroplan Miles
90 prizes of 100,000 Aeroplan Miles.

American Airlines has expanded their codesharing with WestJet. You'll now find AA codes on WestJet's flights between Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg and Phoenix. (Source Airlineroute.net)

COPA Airlines is planning to launch their own FFP in July 2015 which means United MileagePlus will not be the airlines primary program. The airline however will remain a MileagePlus partner which means MileagePlus members will still be able to earn and burn miles on COPA flights however MileagePlus Elites will lose some benefits such as access to preferred seating and complimentary upgrades on COPA flights. (Source: Copa)

More bad news for United Elites, the premier benefits are changing and sees the loss of third bag three for Gold members and the free Global Entry for Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members nixed as February 1. (Source: United)

Travel Deals
WestJet has Florida on sale! Book by November 26, 2014 (11:59 p.m. MT) for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until February 12, 2015. Blackout dates from December 17, 2014 to January 7, 2015. Book online here.

Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Double Business Extra points when you travel on American or American codeshare (AA*), operated by Japan Airlines between the United States and Asia. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you stay at select JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Gaylord Hotels®, and Marriott Hotels in the U.S., and Canada. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 5,000 Bonus Gold Points when you book the Snack and Points Package at the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Lake City. More... Until Dec 31, 14

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn a Free Night after every third night spent at any IHG® hotel in India and Nepal. Maximum of 3 free nights awarded. More... Until Apr 30, 15

Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Points for stays at the Courtyard Calgary Airport, Residence Inn Calgary Airport or the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort. More... Until Dec 15, 14
- Earn up to 4,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard by Marriott Amsterdam Airport. More... Until Dec 16, 14
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Beach. More... Until Dec 18, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays Sunday-Thursday at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Cumberland. More... Until Dec 17, 14
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown. More...Until Dec 16, 14

Orbitz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- $20 Bonus Orbucks when you book any round-trip flight with at least a 4-day length of stay from departure to return date. More... Book by Dec 3, 14

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Miles&Smiles Discounted Award Tickets when redeeming for a MIles&Smiles award ticket on virtually any Turkish Airlines routes. Amount of discount is unknown. More... Until Dec 15, 14

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

TRENDING
Scene+ is not just for movies anymore - it's become a versatile powerhouse for all types of rewards

Monday, November 24, 2014

IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks now live for stays until Feb 28, 15 (165 Hotels Participating, 2 in Canada)

Canada

United States

Europe

Asia

Middle East & Africa

Central & South America

Mexico

Friday, November 21, 2014

Nov 21 Update: Up to 7,500 Bonus Points for Marriott stays in Canada, Air Miles Gift Card Bonus, Expedia.ca's new loyalty program

Huge Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway - 1.1 Reward Miles per $1 spent Nov 21-27

Expedia Canada launches their new loyalty program - Expedia+

IHG PointBreaks Sneak Peek for stays Nov 24 - Feb 28

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Nov 20 Update: Air Canada 10 Millon Aeroplan Miles Contest, more MileagePlus changes, Marriott bonus for stays in Alberta

Top 5 Travel Cards in Canada

TRENDINGScene+ is not just for movies anymore - it's become a versatile powerhouse for all types of rewards

Monday, November 24, 2014

IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks now live for stays until Feb 28, 15 (165 Hotels Participating, 2 in Canada)

Canada

United States

Europe

Asia

Middle East & Africa

Central & South America

Mexico

Friday, November 21, 2014

Nov 21 Update: Up to 7,500 Bonus Points for Marriott stays in Canada, Air Miles Gift Card Bonus, Expedia.ca's new loyalty program

Huge Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway - 1.1 Reward Miles per $1 spent Nov 21-27

Expedia Canada launches their new loyalty program - Expedia+

IHG PointBreaks Sneak Peek for stays Nov 24 - Feb 28

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Nov 20 Update: Air Canada 10 Millon Aeroplan Miles Contest, more MileagePlus changes, Marriott bonus for stays in Alberta

TRENDING
Scene+ is not just for movies anymore - it's become a versatile powerhouse for all types of rewards