Jun 8 Update: Great response to WestJet offer, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge 100th Anniversary offer, AeroplanPlus Aeroplan Bonus Mile offers

Good Monday Morning to all of you!

News, Tips & Tricks
WestJet has seen a great response from Rewards Canada readers for our Exclusive Advance Notice: Earn up to $150 Bonus WestJet dollars flying to/from Abbotsford, Halifax or Hamilton offer from last week! A big thank you must be passed along to all of you from Rewards Canada! This is exactly the type of response we hope for so that we can continue to bring you exlcusivities like this! If you haven't registered for the bonus yet be sure to click to the post above and register.

Posts since our last update:

• WestJet Rewards: Double WestJet dollars on routes to/from select cities in British Columbia.
  Even more WestJet route bonuses to let you know about! These aren't an exclusive notice like the offer from…
• Double Aeroplan Miles, Free Nights & Hotel Credit at Fairmont Hotels when paying with an Amex AeroplanPlus card
  So far for the summer we still haven't seen a Miles and Moments offer from Fairmont for general Aeroplan…
  
  

Travel Deals
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is celebrating its 100th Anniversary with a Centennial Package that includes a $100 resort credit per night. When we tried out some dummy bookings we saw the offer priced out $50 higher than the best available rate which means you would be saving $50 by taking into account the credit. This offer is available until the end of the year. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Double Aeroplan Miles for stays at participating Fairmont Hotels & Resorts worldwide that you pay for with any American Express® AeroplanPlus Card. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Sep 30, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on eligible purchases when you enroll for a Speedpass™ key tag and link the key tag to your American Express Card and Aeroplan Card. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 850 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles on rentals of 3 or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Jul 31, 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... Book by Jun 30 for travel Sep 1 - 30, 15

Meridiana Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 250 Bonus Avios when you fly Meridiana between Milan Malpensa or Naples and Saint Petersburg. More... Until Jun 30, 15
- 20% Bonus Avios when you fly Meridiana between Bologna or Verona and Cagliari. More... Until Jun 30, 15

Virgin Australia Velocity (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Velocity Points for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Double Elite Status Credit for stays of 3 or more nights at any participating VOILÀ hotel worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Double VHR Points for stays at the Sunborn London. More... Until Aug 31, 15

WestJet Rewards
- Double Westjet dollars when you fly on WestJet on routes to/from select cities in British Columbia. More... Until Aug 31, 15

WestJet Rewards: Double WestJet dollars on routes to/from select cities in British Columbia.

Even more WestJet route bonuses to let you know about! These aren't an exclusive notice like the offer from last week we brought you (which by the way has seen a great response, so thank you!) but still a great bonus for those flying to/from B.C. from Calgary or Edmonton as well several interior B.C. routes from Vancouver.

Offer Details
Double Westjet dollars when you fly on WestJet on routes to/from select cities in British Columbia.  Full details and online registration (Registration is required) Until Aug 31, 15

Double Aeroplan Miles, Free Nights & Hotel Credit at Fairmont Hotels when paying with an Amex AeroplanPlus card

So far for the summer we still haven't seen a Miles and Moments offer from Fairmont for general Aeroplan members (only AAdvantage & Mileage Plan) but this offer has come out if you happen to hold an American Express AeroplanPlus Card (Platinum, Reserve, Gold or Basic) The offer is for double Aeroplan miles plus a $25 Hotel Credit along with complimentary nights depending on the location.

Offer Details
Double Aeroplan Miles for stays at participating Fairmont Hotels & Resorts worldwide that you pay for with any American Express® AeroplanPlus Card. Offer also includes 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th complimentary night (based on hotel) Plus a $25 Hotel Credit. Full details and online booking Book by Jul 31 for stays until Sep 30, 15

Jun 5 Update: Fairmont's Great Rates Great Dates, $50 Gift Card for Holiday Inn Resort stays, 200 Free Stash Rewards points

A quieter end to the week here on Rewards Canada

News, Tips & Tricks
No news to pass along other than our Flexibility feature from yesterday which made the news! Both Global News and The Globe and Mail provided great coverage of the piece. You can find the entire feature at www.rewardscanada.ca/flexibility/

Posts since our last update:

• Aeroplan and AIR MILES Hilton First Stay Bonuses (2,000 and 100 miles respectively) extended to August 31st
  The following two offers that we brought you back in March and April have been extended from May 31st to…
• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 50% on award tickets to Europe from YYZ, YUL & YVR
  Once again we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month we continue…
• It's Official - Delta Hotels Privilege merging into Marriott Rewards on June 18
  Thanks to long time Rewards Canada reader Kevin A. for forwarding the details on the merger! Earlier this year there…
  
  

Travel Deals
Fairmont's latest Great Rates Great Dates offers are out. This discounted offers are for select dates in June and July and must be booked by June 11. Three Canadian properties are included in the batch. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
AIR MILES (Canada)
- 25 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you purchase an Oil Change from Fountain Tire. More... Jun 25 - Sep 30, 15

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Double Infinity MileageLands Miles for stays of 5 consecutive nights or more via HRS. Book your hotel on a Friday and earn 200 more miles. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Boomerang Miles when you fly between Köln-Bonn, Stuttgart, Hannover, Berlin, Hamburg, or Düsseldorf and Crete. More... Book by Jun 30 for travel until Jul 31, 15ß

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn a $50 MasterCard Gift Card when you book a two or more night stay at a Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort. More... Until Jul 31, 15

Orbitz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 4x Orbucks when you book select Etihad Airways flights. More... Book by Jun 28, 15
- $40 Bonus Orbucks when you book select RIU all-inclusive resorts with your flight. More... Book by Jun 28, 15
- $10 Bonus Orbucks when you book select San Diego hotels and spend over $500. More... Book by Jun 21, 15
- $10 Bonus Orbucks when you book select Washington, DC hotels. More... Book by Jun 28, 15
- $40 Bonus Orbucks when you book your flight with select hotels in Miami or the Florida Keys. More... Book by Jun 28, 15
- $50 Bonus Orbucks when you spend over $1,000 or more on Walt Disney World® tickets. More... Book by Jun 30, 15

Saudia Alfursan
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays at Golden Tulip Hotels Worldwide. More... Jul 1 - Aug 31, 15
-  2,000 Bonus Alfursan Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Jumeirah Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Alfursan Miles for stays of 3 or more nights booked via PointsHound. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Alfursan Miles for stays at Rotana Hotels Worldwide. More... Valid for Alfursan Silver and Gold Elite members only Until Dec 31, 15 

Stash Hotel Rewards
- 200 Free Stash Rewards Points when you update your Stash Rewards Profile and/or preferences. Can be done once every 365 days. More... Ongoing

Aeroplan and AIR MILES Hilton First Stay Bonuses (2,000 and 100 miles respectively) extended to August 31st

The following two offers that we brought you back in March and April have been extended from May 31st to August 31st! Both offers can be combined with the current Hilton Double Miles offer:

Double Airline Miles for eligible stays at participating Hilton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking  (Registration is required) Until August 31, 15

Aeroplan and Hilton have teamed up for this new bonus! If you aren't a Hilton HHonors member yet now would be the time to join if you know you'll complete a Hilton family of hotels stay during the promotional period. This offer can be combined with the current Double Points or Miles offer from Hilton HHonors that you can register for separately after you join HHonors via the Aeroplan exclusive link below.

Offer Details
2,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join HHonors and complete your first Hilton stay anywhere in the World. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Aug 31, 15

Air Miles and Hilton have teamed up for this new bonus! If you aren't a Hilton HHonors member yet now would be the time to join if you know you'll complete a Hilton family of hotels stay during the promotional period. This offer can be combined with the current Double Points or Miles offer from Hilton HHonors that you can register for separately after you join HHonors via the Air Miles exclusive link below.

Offer Details
100 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you join HHonors and complete your first Hilton stay anywhere in the World. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Aug 31, 15

Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 50% on award tickets to Europe from YYZ, YUL & YVR

Once again we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month we continue to see Lufthansa Business Class options except they are only for Montreal and Vancouver and once again we see the offer of a 50% discount on economy class travel on Austrian Airlines between Toronto and Austria. The Business Class offer is for travel this October and the Austrian offers are good for booking and travel by June 30th.

You can redeem Miles & More miles for round trip tickets from Montreal or Vancouver 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 the offers seen here by June 30th.  
Full details on this offer can be found here

It's Official - Delta Hotels Privilege merging into Marriott Rewards on June 18

Thanks to long time Rewards Canada reader Kevin A. for forwarding the details on the merger!

Earlier this year there was big news that Marriott Hotels purchased our homegrown Delta Hotels brand. The big question at the time was not if but when would Delta integrate into Marriott Rewards. Well now we know the answer and its real soon! As of June 18th Marriott Rewards becomes the official loyalty program for Delta Hotels. Find all the details on Marriott's site here.

Delta Privilege members will continue to receive all their regular entitled benefits until February 2016 and if you are a Marriott Rewards member here is what you will enjoy as well.

The merger sees limited Marriott Rewards capacity until Delta is fully integrated into Marriott's systems. So what this means is that from June 18, 15 to early 2016 Marriott Rewards members will not be able to earn or redeem points or status credits for Delta stays but you will still be able to earn 500 Aeroplan miles for stays until early 2016.  If you are an elite member with Marriott Rewards you will however enjoy your elite benefits on Delta Hotel stays starting on June 18th!

Read all about the merger of Delta Hotels Privilege into Marriott Rewards here.

Ultimately it will be sad to see Delta Privilege disappearing as it was a very giving program in terms of the benefits given to its Elite members such as hotel credits and free upgrades but the trade off will now be those stays at Delta Hotels getting you potential free nights and elite benefits to use at hotels around the globe.

What are your thoughts on this iconic Canadian hotel loyalty program disappearing?

Jun 4 Update: Amex Canada not changing conversion rate to British Airways like in the U.S. and Not all Travel Points and Hybrid Credit Cards are created equal

Good news today for those who convert Membership Rewards points to British Airways!

News, Tips & Tricks
There is news in the U.S. that is blowing up and that is the change in the conversion rate from American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways Executive Club. As of October 1st those living to the South of us will lose their 1:1 conversion rate in favour (or should I say favor) of 1.25:1 ratio where they convert 250 MR points to 200 Avios. I reached out to American Express here in Canada and the good news is there is no plan for them to follow suit and will keep the 1:1 ratio.

And if you missed it somehow we released an updated and bigger version of our Yoga Infographic looking at the flexibiility of proprietary travel rewards credit card programs! We built it into a new feature that looks at just how flexibile or inflexible these programs are. You can find the entire feature at www.rewardscanada.ca/flexibility/

Posts since our last update:

• Not all Travel Points and Hybrid Credit Cards are created equal (Feature+Infographic)
  Today we released a new feature on the main Rewards Canada site entitled "Not all Travel Points and Hybrid Credit…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Quadruple Phoenix Miles Kilometers s for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel or resort Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15

AIR MILES (Canada)
- OFFER EXTENDED 100 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles  when you join HHonors and complete your first Hilton stay anywhere in the World. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Earn up to 30% Bonus Guest Rewards Points when you purchase Guest Rewards points online. More... Until Jul 12, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles for stays on qualifying rates at Radisson Blu®, Radisson® and Park Plaza® hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 15
- 3,000 Bonus Asia Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Jumeirah Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Asia Miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel or resort Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at select Swissotel Hotels & Resorts in Asia Pacific. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Wroclaw. More... Jul 1 - Aug 31, 15

Miles & More
- Double Miles and More Miles for stays at Leonardo Hotels in Europe and Israel. More... Until Jun 30, 15
- Double Miles & More Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at more than 400 participating Worldhotels worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double Miles & More Miles on Europcar rentals in Germany. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals Jun 26 - Aug 31, 15

Today's Bonus Offer Highlight is brought to you by:

Not all Travel Points and Hybrid Credit Cards are created equal (Feature+Infographic)

Today we released a new feature on the main Rewards Canada site entitled "Not all Travel Points and Hybrid Credit Cards are created equal". This feature looks at the flexibility or lack thereof of reward redemptions from credit cards that have their own proprietary reward programs. Most of these cards claim any airline any seat at any time but as you'll see there is more to it when it comes to booking period, fees/taxes and more. You can read the entire feature at http://www.rewardscanada.ca/flexibility/ or use the infographic below to provide simple details:

Jun 3 Update: Aeroplan ClassicFlight Rewards become Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards, major changes coming to Etihad Guest, Earn up to $150 WestJet Dollars

Here is your middle of the week update!

News, Tips & Tricks
If you haven't been on Aeroplan's website lately you may not know but a few weeks they changed the name of their ClassicFlight awards to Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards and have kept the Market Fare Flight Rewards. The name change makes sense in terms of explaining what the two offerings are. To go along with the change Aeroplan has created an infographic that explains the differences between the two. The screen shot below is just a part of the infographic, you can view it in its entirety on the Aeroplan site.

Etihad Airways announced that changes will be coming to their Guest program as of July 8th. As with any major program overhaul there is good news and bad news. We aren't going to look at indepthly but here are some highlights (or lowlights)

• mileage earning is increasing in four fare classes but also decreasing in two fare class,
• they are increasing the number of GuestSeats in Business Class by 20% (lowest award booking level) on some of their busy routes (Toronto is not one of them),
• carrier surcharges are being added to all GuestSeat rewards (ranging from $50 to $150 per sector),
• the number of miles required for GuestSeat rewards are changing. Some are going down like routes over 6,000 miles in Economy class. This means Toronto-Abu Dhabi will be available for 25% less miles in Economy class. Business class seats for flights under 6,000 miles are increasing and all first class rewards are increasing
• Overall the number of miles required for an upgrade are also increasing

You can find all the details of these changes on Etihad's site.

And don't forget to register for WestJet's newest route bonuses! This offer was released exclusively to us for this week so the more of you who register the better it looks for us and will help us procure more of these exclusive offers for our readers! Read our post here.

Posts since our last update:

• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for June
  Here are the Rewards Canada's Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of June! This is not…
• Exclusive Advance Notice: Earn up to $150 Bonus WestJet dollars flying to/from Abbotsford, Halifax or Hamilton
  If you follow Rewards Canada on Instagram we mentioned sometime ago after a meeting with WestJet Rewards that an…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- OFFER EXTENDED 2,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles  when you join HHonors and complete your first Hilton stay anywhere in the World. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Carlson Rezidor Hotels Club Carlson
- Save 25% on on Award Night bookings for stays at participating Carlson Rezidor Hotels in Latin America. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Dec 31, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles for stays on the Fairmont Shopping in Style package at participating Fairmont Hotels in Asia. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Double JetPrivilege Miles on all eligible airberlin flights Worldwide. More... Book by Jun 30 for travel until Aug 15, 15
- 10% JetPrivilege Miles Discount on select Jet Airways award tickets within India. More... Until Jun 30, 15

Saudia Alfursan
- 1,500 Bonus Alfursan Miles for stays at the Courtyard by Marriott Dubai Green Community. More... Until Sep 30, 15 

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you fly in Business Class from  London or Manchester to Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Denpasar (Bali), Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Tokyo or Beijing. More... Book by Jun 30 for travel until Aug 31, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays at the Sheraton Munich Westpark Hotel More... Book by Aug 16 for stays Sep 25 - Oct 9, 15
- Double Starpoints for stays at the Sheraton Zhanjiang More... booking Until ?
- Double Starpoints for stays at the Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel More... Until Dec 31, 15

WestJet Rewards
- Earn up to $150 Bonus Westjet dollars when you travel to or from Abbotsford, Halifax or Hamilton on WestJet. More... Register and book by Aug 31 for travel until Oct 28, 15