Mar 9 Update: The Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card from Chase is not going away, up to 3x Points for Novotel/Sofitel stays in Canada

The removal of the apply now link on the Chase site causes a stir!

News, Tips & Tricks
There has been lots of chatter online about the possibility of the demise of the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card from Chase Canada. We had Guys Who Travel tweet us asking about it and several other Chase Cards:

Rest assured the card is here to stay. True it is not available via Chase Canada's own website but they have good reasons for that (we cannot divulge why) but it is available via other sites like Marriott itself, us (Rewards Canada!), and other sites like Ratesupermarket etc. As to the other cards not available on Chase's site (Future Shop and Best Buy) we don't know the future of these and we may see the Sears Cards change hands at anytime as that relationship is technically over, although Chase can issue the cards until November 2015.


Here is a coupon from Rexall to Earn 50 Bonus AIR MILES reward miles when you spend $30 or more on almost anything in-store. Valid until March 12, 15

In the bonus offers section check out the latest Le Club accorhotels bonus offer for stays in the U.S. and Canada. The European based chain has hotels in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal so if Novotel and Sofitel's are on your list for upcoming stays in those cities be sure to register for this offer.

Travel Deals
Marriott's weekly eBreaks offer 20% off stays for the upcoming weekend. Here in Canada there is one property participating, the Fairfield Inn & Suites Kelowna. Find out more and book here. 

Bonus Offers
Air Miles (Canada)
- Earn up to 25 Bonus Air Miles when you get an oil change with Jiffy Lube. More... Until May 31, 15

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to 40% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy Mileage Plan miles online. More... Until Apr 3, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts properties worldwide. More... Until May 31, 15
- Double Asia Miles on pre-paid car rentals from rentalcars.com. More... Until 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 Apr 9, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in South America. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until Apr 30, 15
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Rio De Janeiro. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until Apr 30, 15
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Brazil. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until Apr 30, 15
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Mexico, Panama, Guatemala or the Dominican Republic More... Until Apr 30, 15

United MileagePlus
- Up to 50% Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you buy or gift miles. More... Until Mar 23, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Up to a 40% bonus when buying or gifting miles until April 3

The Alaska Airlines buy Mileage Plan miles promo returns and is better than the one we saw before Christmas. At that time the maximum bonus was 35% now this time it is 40%. While not an amazing deal, it still can be worth more than the 2.1 cents you pay for each mile (including tax) with the 40% bonus since you can redeem the miles for premium class flights on airline likes Cathay Pacific and Emirates. And Alaska allows you to book one ways to boot! While each transaction is limited to 40,000 miles (+ the bonus) there is no limit to the number of transactions you can complete.

Offer Details
Earn up to 40% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy Mileage Plan miles online. Full details Until Apr 3, 15

Buy or Gift	Bonus
Buy 5,000 - 9,000 miles	10% bonus miles
Buy 10,000 - 19,000 miles	20% bonus miles
Buy 20,000 - 39,000 miles	30% bonus miles
Buy 40,000 miles	40% bonus miles

Mar 6 Update: Rewards Canada Updates, VIA Rail Double Points offer, Emirates 6,000 Bonus Miles offer between YYZ & DXB

Wrapping up the week here primarily with bonus offers!

News, Tips & Tricks
As you are probably aware, there is a wealth of information that we post on Rewards Canada and the Rewards Canada blog and it can be hard to navigate or find this info! We even missed placing these items onto pages that make them easier to find. Good news is we did an update to our 'Tips and Tricks', 'Guide to Choosing a Travel Rewards Credit Card'and 'Reviews' pages that compile links to many of our articles, charts, tips, tricks etc. Hopefully this helps make Rewards Canada a little easier to navigate for you! Next we'll work on sorting the information on those pages to make it even better for you.

VIA Rail has launched a new systemwide promotion of Double Preference Points for all eligible travel in Economy Class. Perfect timing to boost your balance so you can take advantage of their 40% discount on select award tickets. Find out more here.

Emirates' Miles Accelerator offers have been few and far between for quite sometime now. Good news is they are back for travel in June. Toronto-Dubai is included with 6,000 Bonus Miles on the DXB-YYZ leg only in First Class. See the link below for details!

Air Canada will be adding seasonal service between Toronto and Atlantic City. The flights will operate 4x weekly between May 22 and Sep 7. (Source Airlineroute.net)

There is another short term bonus from Aeroplan for shopping at Home Hardware. Earn Double Aeroplan Miles on all eligible purchases in store or online until March 14. Find out more here.

Post(s) since our last update:

• Current Bonus Miles Offers for flying within Canada or from Canada to the rest of the World
  Another reminder for you about the one page on the main Rewards Canada site that sees a good amount of…

Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at the Langham Place, Beijing Capital Airport. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Earn up to Triple Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at participating Okura Hotels Worldwide. More... Apr 1- Jun 30, 15

Binter Canarias BinterMas (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double BinterMas points for stays at Barcelo Hotels & Resorts in the Canary Islands. More... Until Mar 31, 15

British Airways Executive Club
- Double Avios on all Flybe flights systemwide. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Double Avios on all eligible Heathrow Express travel. More... Until Apr 15, 15
- Triple Avios when you shop at Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages in Europe. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Avios when you join Heathrow Rewards and spend GBP25 More... Until Apr 20, 15

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to 16,000 Bonus Skywards Miles with Miles Accelerator which enables you to earn more Skywards Miles when you fly with Emirates, irrespective of the fare you pay or where you buy your ticket. More... Valid for travel in June 2015

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles when fly between Köln-Bonn, Stuttgart, Hamburg, or Düsseldorf and Istanbul. More... Book by Mar 31 for travel until Apr 30, 15

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by Mar 15 for travel until Apr 30, 15
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Express between Madrid and Edinburgh. More... Register by Mar 15 for travel until Apr 30, 15
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select routes. More... Register by Mar 15 for travel until Apr 30, 15
- Double Avios for stays at the Urban 5* GL and Villa Real 5* in Madrid, The Caesar in London and Banke in Paris. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- Double Avios for a 3 night stay at participating Hoteles Andaluces con Encanto. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- Double Avios for weekend stays at participating NH Hotels in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao or San Sebastian. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- Double Avios for stays at Paradores Hotels. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- 8,000 Bonus Avios when you subscribe to The Economist More... Until May 31, 15

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- 20% Bonus JetPrivilege Miles when you convert your Credit Card, Hotel or Loyalty Card Points to JPMiles. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Italy. More... Book by Apr 19 for stays May 4 - Oct 31, 15
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Novotel Hotels in the U.K. when you book 21 days in advance More... Book by May 10 for stays Mar 30 - Jun 30, 15
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more nights at Mercure Hotels in the U.K. More... Book by Jun 22 for stays until Sep 6, 15
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Mercure Hotels in Andorra or France More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until May 25, 15

VIA Rail Preference
- Double Preference Points on all VIA Rail trips booked and travelled in Economy class. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Triple Elite Status Credit for stays at participating Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Current Bonus Miles Offers for flying within Canada or from Canada to the rest of the World

Another reminder for you about the one page on the main Rewards Canada site that sees a good amount of traffic but does get overlooked a good majority of our readers who aren't aware of it or forgot about it! That page is our Route Bonus Listing.  Be sure to bookmark it right now! This page lists all the current bonuses that Canadians can earn on flights around the globe. The list presents all the actual Canadian options first such as flights within Canada or flights originating in Canada to anywhere in the World. The remainder of the listing shows systemwide bonuses next (these are offers for all flights on an airline and may include those leaving Canada) followed by the remainder of flights bonuses from around the world that Canadian's can take advantage of. The big difference between the RC version of this listing and the listing on our Global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com is that the RC version does not list bonuses that us Canucks cannot use which are primarily offers that are only for residents of certain countries other than Canada.

Now that you have learned about the route bonus listing or have been reminded about it we thought it would be wise to post the Canadian flight portion of the list in a post on a regular basis here on the Rewards Canada blog to remind you of the bonuses that you may be able to earn on your flights! We encourage to consult this list before you book a flight anywhere in the world or even board a flight as some offers may come up after you have already booked but you can still be eligible for. If you don't check the list there is a good chance you may miss on some extra miles to be added to your account!

Current bonuses for flying within or from Canada!

From/To (or Vice Versa)		Bonus Offer	Airline Program	Validity	Details
to/from Canada		Up to 12,000 Bonus Miles	American AAdvantage	Until Dec 31, 15	View
Canada	Europe	up to 15,000 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 10 for travel Jan 16 - Mar 10, 15	View
Canada	Europe	up to 10,000 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Apr 5 for travel Mar 11 - Dec 13, 15	View
Canada	Europe	up to 15,000 Bonus Miles	United MileagePlus	Register and book by Mar 10 for travel Jan 16 - Mar 10, 15	View
Canada	Japan	7,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Apr 30 for travel until Jun 30, 15	View
Calgary	Edmonton	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Calgary	Seattle	Double Miles	Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan	Until May 15, 15	View
Baie-Comeau	Mont Joli	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Deer Lake	St. Johns	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Edmonton	Amsterdam	Double Miles	Air France KLM Flying Blue	May 15 - Jun 18, 15	View
Edmonton	Calgary	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Edmonton	Calgary	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Edmonton	Ft. McMurray	Up to 3x Dollars	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Edmonton	Ft. McMurray	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Edmonton	Grande Prairie	Up to 3x Dollars	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Edmonton	Grande Prairie	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Ft. McMurray	Edmonton	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Gander	St. Johns	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Gaspe	Iles de la Madeleine	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Halifax	Charlottetown	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Halifax	Moncton	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Halifax	Saint John	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Halifax	Sydney	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Kelowna	Vancouver	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Montreal	Bagotteville	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Montreal	Hartford	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Montreal	Ottawa	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Montreal	Quebec City	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Montreal	Toronto	3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Ongoing	View
Ottawa	Quebec City	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Ottawa	Toronto	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Ottawa	Toronto	3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Ongoing	View
Rouyn-Noranda	Val D'Or	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Abu Dhabi	Double Miles	South African Voyager	Apr 15 - May 31, 15	View
Toronto	Brussels	Up to Triple Miles	Jet Airways JetPrivilege	Register and book by Mar 10 for travel Feb 25 - May 30, 15	View
Toronto	Cleveland	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Delhi	Up to Triple Miles	Jet Airways JetPrivilege	Register and book by Mar 10 for travel Feb 25 - May 30, 15	View
Toronto	Detroit	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Hong Kong	Double Miles	Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	Jan 11 - Feb 19 & Mar 2 - 31, 15	View
Toronto	Hong Kong	500 Bonus Miles	Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	Register and book by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 15	View
Toronto	Kingston	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	London	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Montreal	3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Ongoing	View
Toronto	New York	3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Ongoing	View
Toronto	North Bay	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Ottawa	3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Ongoing	View
Toronto	Pittsburgh	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Sudbury	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Syracuse	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Toronto	Windsor	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Vancouver	Hong Kong	Double Miles	Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	Mar 2 - 31, 15	View
Vancouver	Hong Kong	500 Bonus Miles	Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	Register and book by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 15	View
Vancouver	Kelowna	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Vancouver	Kelowna	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Vancouver	Paris	Double Miles	Air France KLM Flying Blue	Mar 29 - Jun 18, 15	View
Vancouver	Portland	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Vancouver	Seattle	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Vancouver	Seattle	Double Miles	Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan	Until May 15, 15	View
Vancouver	Tokyo	Double Miles	American AAdvantage	Until Mar 20, 15	View
Vancouver	Victoria	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Vancouver	Victoria	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Victoria	Vancouver	Up to 3x Dollars	WestJet Rewards	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View
Wabush	Sept-Iles	up to 1,500 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book by Mar 17 for travel until Apr 30, 15	View

Mar 5 Update: 1,000 Free Club Carlson Gold Points, Air France KLM Asia Sale, up to Triple Asia Miles for Hilton Stays

Here is your loyalty round up for Thursday!

News, Tips & Tricks
Tbe best news, tip and trick for today is the 1,000 Free Gold Points from Club Carlson! Be sure to grab those sooner than later just in case they run out! See the link right below this.

Here are our blog posts since the last update just in case you missed them. 

• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 50% on award tickets to Europe from Montreal and Toronto (Business Class in July!)
  Once again we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month we see…
• 1,000 Free Club Carlson Gold Points via Twitter!
  Carlson Rezidor Hotels' Club Carlson program is once again running their #hashtaghotelpromo on March 19th. Part of the promotion…
  

Travel Deals
Yet another Air France and KLM sale to bring you! This time they have some great fares from Canada to Asia with free stopovers in Amsterdam or Paris. $1,099 all in from the East and even better only $1,199 from the West! Book online at airfrance.ca or klm.com by Mar 17 for travel until May 6 or Oct 16 and Dec 10.

Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to Triple Mileage Plan Miles when you fly Emirates from the U.S.. More... Register by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 15

American AAdvantage
- 20 Bonus AAdvantage Miles per $1 spent with FTD. More... Until Apr 10, 15

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Double Guest Rewards Points on all qualifying Amtrak travel. More... Mar 16 - May 16, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 1,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points for stays at the Hyatt Regency Savannah. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in France More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until May 17, 15
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays or 3 or more nights at participating Accor Hotels in France, Germany and Austria More... Mar 13 - May 19, 15
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in the la Défense area of Paris. More... Mar 6 - May 31, 15
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Adagio Hotels in France. More... Valid for residents of France only Until Jun 30, 15
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points & Free Breakfast for stays or 2 or more nights at participating Ibis Hotels in Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg. More... Book by Apr 15 for stays Mar 9 - Apr 30, 15

Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 50% on award tickets to Europe from Montreal and Toronto (Business Class in July!)

Once again we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month we see the return of Lufthansa Business Class options while we see the continuation of last month's offer of a 50% discount on economy class travel on Austrian Airlines between Toronto and Austria. The Business Class offer is for travel this July which is awesome as that is the high season for travel (more so economy class but still you should look into this offer!) The Austrian offers are good for booking and travel by March 31st.

You can redeem Miles & More miles for round trip tickets from Montreal or Toronto to Europe for only 55,000 miles in Business Class.  This is nearly a 48% discount off the normal Business Class award ticket price of 105,000 miles. As mentioned before the Austrian Airlines option is a full 50% discount on economy class which means an award ticket price of only 30,000 miles. Granted all these tickets will also have fuel surcharges but this is still a pretty good deal when you look at it as a whole in terms of miles+cash outlay. 

The crazy thing is that you can actually get the round trip Austrian Airlines ticket for only $5,000 in credit card spend (and a $120 annual fee). How so? As we usually mention in this post you can boost your Miles & More account with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. If you read our blog regularly you'll know that right now the card comes with a 20,000 Starpoint sign up bonus. When you convert those 20,000 Starpoints to Miles & More SPG will award you an additional 5,000 miles. Which gives you 25,000 miles but if you spend $5,000 on the card you'll have 25,000 Starpoints and the 5,000 Miles bonus giving you the 30,000 miles required for this flight. Of course fuel surcharges and taxes are extra.

Simply book by March 31st.  Full details on this offer can be found here

1,000 Free Club Carlson Gold Points via Twitter!

Carlson Rezidor Hotels' Club Carlson program is once again running their #hashtaghotelpromo on March 19th. Part of the promotion includes registration that will net you 1,000 FREE Club Carlson points if you are on of the first 5,000,000 members to register and connect via Twitter. You must have a Twitter for at least 30 days to be eligible and you must follow @clubcarlson. You have until 11am EDT on March 19 to get the bonus (or sooner if the 5,000,000 point is reached)

FIND OUT MORE HERE AND REGISTER TO GET YOUR 1,000 FREE CLUB CARLSON POINTS

Bonus Award Terms and Conditions

You must be a Club Carlson^SM member and have had an active Twitter account for a minimum of 30 days to receive 1,000 bonus Gold Points® (the “Bonus Award”). To earn your Bonus Award, complete the registration form on the Club Carlson blog (http://blog.clubcarlson.com/) and "follow" the Club Carlson Twitter handle (www.twitter.com/clubcarlson). One Bonus Award per Club Carlson member. A maximum of 5,000,000 Bonus Awards are available. We will credit your account with the Bonus Award within 4-6 weeks.

 

Mar 4 Update: Initial WestJet 767 schedule released, VIA Rail award ticket sale, SPG Hot Escapes includes 12 Canadian Hotels

Here is your update for Wednesday March 4th!

News, Tips & Tricks
WestJet has released the initial schedule for their new widebody 767 service which starts this December. As mentioned previously by WestJet, the 767's will be deployed on select Hawaii routes and thanks to Airlineroute.net we have the first look at the schedule:
eff 11DEC15 Calgary – Honolulu 2 weekly
eff 11DEC15 Calgary – Kahului 4 weekly
eff 12DEC15 Edmonton – Kahului 3 weekly

Aeroplan posted news on March 1st about Altitude members and their new benefit of having fuel surcharges removed on award tickets. This is just a reminder since these changes were announced back in October (see our post here). Air Canada Altitude members are no longer paying the fuel surchrage on Aeroplan award tickets within Canada and between Canada and the U.S. as of March 1st. Super Elite 100K's of course now get the fees waived on International destinations.

Be sure to check out the new reward ticket discount listed below from VIA Rail Preference. You can now save 40% on reward tickets for travel on the Canadian or Ocean.

Travel Deals
Starwood Preferred Guest runs a special called SPG Hot Escapes whereby members receive pretty decent discounts as select hotels around the World. This week's Hot Escapes includes 12 Canadian locations! These great rates need to be booked within 3 days for stays over the next 6 weeks (HT Loyalty Traveler) Book online here!

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you book hotel stays of 2+ nights via Aircanada.com. More... Book by Mar 14 for stays until Apr 30, 15

Best Western Rewards
- 800 Bonus Rewards Points and up to 35% off for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Best Western Hotels in Asia. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Mercure Hotels in Sweden. More... Mar 30 - Apr 12, 15
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels in the U.K. More... Valid for residents of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg only Book by May 10 for stays Mar 30 - Jun 30, 15

Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at Courtyard Hotels Worldwide when you check in on March 31. More... Mar 31 only

Orbtiz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Quadruple Orbucks when you book qualifying flights with Turkish Airlines. More... Book by Mar 25, 15

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Triple GC Award Points for stays in a Suite at the Shangri-La Hotel, Ningbo. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- Double GC Award Points for stays in a Horizon Club Room at the Shangri-La Hotel, Ningbo. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- Double GC Award Points for stays on the Horizon Club Experience at the Shangri-La Hotel, Chengdu. More... Until May 31, 15
- Triple GC Award Points for stays of 2+ nights in an Executive Room or above at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur. More... Apr 1 - May 31, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Various Bonus Starpoints or Free Nights when you complete eligible stay(s) at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer for new members only. Until ?

VIA Rail Preference
- 40% Preference Points Discount when you book and travel a reward trip on the Ocean or the Canadian in any class of service. More... Until May 31, 15



Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Mar 3 Update: Double Flying Blue Miles on KLM's new Edmonton-Amsterdam route and Hilton to offer free Wi-Fi to all HHonors members

Here is our first update for March!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air France and KLM are sure pushing their Western Canadian flights! First they offered up Double Flying Blue Miles on Air France's new YVR-CDG flight and now you can earn Double Flying Blue Miles on KLM's new Edmonton-Amsterdam flight! This is a great bonus to take advantage of in the first month of operation if you can't make use of their current Promo Awards offering 50% off Award Ticktes in Business Class. Find out more about the YEG-AMS double miles offer here.

Hilton Hotels are following in the footsteps of other hotel chains by offering free Wi-Fi to all guests who are HHonors members. Similar to the other chains new free Wi-Fi policy, you have to book via Hilton (online, by phone, or their corporate travel partners) to avail of the free internet service. This new feature will start sometime in August of this year according to Hilton's post on FlyerTalk:

• Our most loyal guests, Diamond members, will receive complimentary premium Wi-Fi beginning in the second quarter this year at all of our properties when they book directly through a proprietary Hilton channel or via one of our corporate travel partners.
• Starting in August, we will extend complimentary standard Wi-Fi access to Blue and Silver members when they book their stays directly through a proprietary Hilton channel or one of our corporate travel partners.
• Complimentary standard Wi-Fi will continue to be a benefit for HHonors Gold members who also book directly through our proprietary Hilton channels or one of our corporate travel partners.
• Booking directly through a proprietary Hilton channel one of our corporate travel partners:
  • The Hilton HHonors mobile app
  • Online from hilton.com, HHonors.com, or any of our brand/hotel websites
  • Calling Hilton Reservations Customer Care: 1-800-HHonors or your local Hilton reservations office
  • Calling an individual hotel (plus walk-ins and physical on-property too)
  • Via corporate travel agencies and travel professionals that book via a Hilton proprietary channel
• This update doesn’t apply to hotels where there is a resort charge.

Here are our blog posts since the last update just in case you missed them:

• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for March
  Here are the Rewards Canada's  Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of March!

Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles when KLM between Edmonton and Amsterdam. More... May 15 - Jun 18, 15

American AAdvantage
- Quadruple AAdvantage Miles on rentals of 1 or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- Triple AAdvantage Miles on rentals at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. More... Until Apr 30, 15
- 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you rent any car from National for 2 or more days in the U.S. or Canada. More... Until Jun 30, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 50% Bonus Asia Miles when you fly round-trip on Cathay Pacific between Doha and Hong Kong. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Triple Asia Miles when you fly round-trip on Cathay Pacific and Dragonair in select Economy classes from China to Southeast Asia. More... Valid for residents of Mainland China only Until Apr 30, 15
- Double Asia Miles when you fly round-trip on Cathay Pacific in Business or Premium Economy Class from Colombo to Hong Kong. More... Valid for residents of Sri Lanka only Until Mar 31, 15
- Double Miles when you shop at Chic Outlet Shopping® Villages in Europe and China. More... Until Apr 7, 15

China Southern Sky Pearl
- Earn up to Triple Sky Pearl Kilometers for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 15

Hilton HHonors
- Double HHonors Points or Double Airline MIles for eligible stays at participating Hilton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. More... Mar 1 - May 31, 15

Virgin Australia Velocity Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Velocity Points on all Virgin Australia flights Worldwide. More... Register and book by Mar 9 for travel Apr 1 - Sep 30, 15



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Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for March

Here are the Rewards Canada's  Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of March! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the sign up bonus, but when most of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when not taking into account insurance packages and other non-reward benefits. In fact 4 of 5 cards on this list for March are first year free so you can try them out at no cost and decide later on if the card is right for you. All the while earning the sign up bonus which can be used to subsidize your travels! The only card that isn't first year free is the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. It has an annual of $120 but the new sign up bonus of 20,000 Starpoints is worth no less than $400 depending on what you value Starpoints at.  This will be your last month to get the SPG card with the 20,000 point offer after which it will drop to 10,000 as of April 1. Apparently SPG and Amex have changed their mind about this!


The only change in this list from February was the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa being added after the first year free and 20,000 point offer for the Scotiabank Gold American Express was changed.

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for March (in alphabetical order)

American Express Gold Rewards Card - 25,000 Points (Apply here)
A mainstay offer here on Rewards Canada, the American Express Gold Rewards card has its first year fee of $150 waived and will award you 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you complete $500 in spending in the first three months. That 25,000 points is worth a $250 travel credit via Amex's TripFlex feature or can be converted to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles (1 Round trip Economy Award ticket within North America) or 25,000 British Airways Executive Club Avios (as much a 5 one way Economy Award tickets in North America, see this post for details.)

BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard - 30,000 Points (Apply here)
Quite possibly the best Travel Points card now available in the market, the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard also has a $150 annual fee but that is waived in the first year too! The sign up bonus is 30,000 BMO Rewards Points which is worth $300 toward travel booked via BMO Rewards.  There is no minimum spend so as soon as you are approved you should have access to that travel credit!

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa - 30,000 Points  (Apply here)
The best no foreign transaction fee card in Canada makes it to this list due to a very strong acquisition offer. I mean who can complain with 30,000 points awarded on approval and a certificate for a free night stay at a Category 1-4 hotel for a potential of 5 free nights, all at no cost as the card has the annual fee waived in the first year! They also give you  a 15 night credit into the mix which automatically provides you with Marriott Rewards Silver Elite status.

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express - 20,000 Starpoints (Apply here)
Recently the sign up bonus for this card was increased from 10,000 Starpoints to 20,000 Starpoints and this is the only card in this list that doesn't have the first year fee waived. That doesn't matter. This is by far the best hotel points card in Canada and Starpoints have huge value. The 20,000 Starpoint bonus when you spend $500 on the card is worth at least $400 when redeeming them for Starwood Hotel stays or you can convert them to airline miles in over 30+ programs and Starwood will kick in an additional 5,000 miles when you transfer 20,000 Starpoints at a time.

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card - 25,000 Miles (Apply here)
Also seeing an increased sign up bonus and the first year fee waived, the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card had a tough start trying to break into a market saturated with so many cards and competing against its CIBC equivalent. The card now seems to be gaining some traction and with offers like the current 25,000 Aeroplan Miles sign up bonus (15,000 upon approval, 10,000 when you spend $1,000) and the first years $120  fee waived, I'm sure you can see you why.

Other than the Starwood card, you ultimately could end up with at least $1,000 in travel credits and hotel free nights with these cards but even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly at no cost other than regular credit card spend.