Tuesday, July 14, 2015

July 14 Update: WestJet delays YYC-YYZ 767 flights and 14 new bonuses

Somewhat quiet day today!

News, Tips & Tricks
WestJet
is pushing back the launch of their new 767 service between Calgary and Toronto by about two week. The flights will now start on Aug 17th instead of Aug 2 (Source Airlineroute.net).

Speaking of the new 767, WestJet has added a new video to their Youtube channel showing what the 767 will look like inside and out. You can see the video here.




Bonus Offers

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at the Langham Place, Haining. More... Until Sep 15, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers when you stay on the Best Available or Bed&Breakfast rate at any participating Mandarin Oriental hotel Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers on purchases at any of the ten Chic Outlet Shopping Villages in Europe and in China. More... Until Oct 14, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 20% Bonus Asia Miles when you convert RBC Rewards Points (Avion only) to Asia Miles. More... Residents of Canada only Until Aug 31, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport

- 1,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points on qualifying rentals of 3 days or more at participating Avis locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. More... Until Jul 31, 15

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios for a 3 night stay at participating Barcelo Hotels in Europe. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Earn up to Triple Avios for Derby Hotel stays in Europe. More... Until Aug 31 , 15
- Double Avios for a 3 night stay at participating Hoteles Andaluces con Encanto. More... Until Aug 31 , 15
- Double Avios for stays at participating Melia Hotels Worldwide. More...Until Aug 31, 15s
- Triple Avios on your purchases at Chic Outlet Shopping Villages. More... Until Aug 15, 15

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Aug 6, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels in Montevideo. More... Book by Jul 30 for stays until Aug 31, 15

Turkish Miles&Smiles

- Triple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Best Western Hotels in Graz or Maribor. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles on Sixt Rentals in Graz , Austria. More... Until Jul 31, 15


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Monday, July 13, 2015

July 13 Update: We're back! Top 5 Credit Card sign up offers for July, IHG Rewards Club's new elite level, 14 new bonuses

This is going to be a week to catch up here on Rewards Canada as we were off all last week!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air Canada
will launch a new service between Montreal and Lyon next year. The route will operate 5x weekly starting in June 2016. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Another short term bonus for shopping at Home Hardware. Earn double Aeroplan Miles for Home Hardware in store and online purchases until July 18. Find out more here.


Posts since our last update:


Bonus Offers

AeroMexico Club Premier
- Double Club Premier Kilometers on all Wyndham Rewards Hotels stays Worldwide starting with your 2nd stay. More... Until Oct 9, 15

American AAdvantage
- 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles for weekend stays at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts in North and Latin America. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Quadruple AAdvantage Miles on all Wyndham Rewards Hotels stays Worldwide starting with your 2nd stay. More... Until Oct 9, 15

Avianca LifeMiles
- Earn up to Triple LifeMiles when renting with Avis in USA, Europe and Latin America.More... Until Aug 15, 15
- Earn up to Triple LifeMiles when renting with Budget in the USA and Latin America. More... Until Aug 15, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at over 2,800 Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 15, 15
- Triple Asia Miles when you shop with selected merchants on the Asia Miles iShop and also an additional one-off 100 bonus miles for your first-time online shopping experience through the Asia Miles online shop for a qualified purchase. More... Until Jul 29, 15

Etihad Guest

- Earn up to Triple Guest Miles on Virgin Australia flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth to Abu Dhabi. More... For residents of Australia only Register and book by Jul 27 for travel Aug 3 - Nov 30 , 15

Le Club accorhotels
- 200 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2+ nights at participating Novotel and Sofitel Hotels in South America. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Aug 31, 15
- 150 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays participating Mercure & MGallery Hotels in France. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays on the Grand Opening offer at the The St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Antonio. More... Until Dec 31, 15

United MileagePlus
- OFFER EXTENDED Elite Status Match that offers top-tier flyers of most other airlines a comparable status in the MileagePlus® program. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Double MileagePlus Miles on all Wyndham Rewards Hotels stays Worldwide starting with your 2nd stay. More... Until Oct 9, 15
- Up to 40% Bonus MileagePlus miles when you buy miles online. More... Until Jul 20, 15



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Spire is the new IHG Rewards Club Top Tier Elite Level

We're back after a week off on vacation!

Back in April we let you know about some changes happening to IHG Rewards Club and one of those was the launch of a new Top Tier Elite Level. We now know the full details of that level, including the name: Spire.

Here is where the name comes from (taken from IHG's Press Release)
About the Spire Elite name
‘Spire’ is derived from the old English word ‘spir’ - a shoot or a stalk of grass standing out amongst the others. It is awe inspiring, exceptional and a symbol of prestige. It conveys a sense of dedication and an aspirational attitude: going above and beyond; the sky is the limit. The name connotes a strong sense of prestige, elevated stature, and worthiness of admiration, along with a sense of dedication and an aspirational attitude, which is in line with how IHG Rewards Club sees its most loyal members who would qualify for this tier.
 As we mentioned in April the new tier is awarded to members who earn 75,000 qualifying reward points or stay at an IHG hotel for 75 qualifying nights, over the course of a calendar year.  Remember that IHG tightened the rules of qualifying points which means only base points earned from stays, partner points (car rental, credit card spend, etc.) count towards those requirements. Buying points, bonus points on stays, credit card sign up bonuses do not count.

Once you reach the new Spire Elite level you'll earn 100% extra bonus points on qualifying stays and you will also be able to choose between receiving 25,000 points, or upgrading a friend or family member to Platinum. I'm guessing most of you will grab the points since Platinum status is quite weak within IHG Rewards Club. The 100% bonus on stays is also a nice boost considering you need as little as 5,000 points for an award night (IHG PointBreaks of course!)

Also with the new elite level comes changes to other levels with Gold now being achievable with only 10,000 points or 10 stays and Platinum with 40,000 points or 40 stays. Here is a look at the all the elite levels within IHG Rewards Club:

Those of you who have already reached the 75,000 points or 75 stay requirement should be Spire Elites! If you haven't checked your account in the last few days be sure to do so as you'll be able to choose your benefit of the points or platinum status. You can find our more about this level and the rest of the elite levels here.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for July

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

There was no change in this list from June however this may be the last month the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card is included due to an upcoming devaluation on the card. Of course it may all depend on what other offerings are out at the start of August!

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for July (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.) - Please Note that this card no longer churnable

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. There is also a 50,000 Point offer meant only for Marriott Elite members which many non-elites have had success with when they apply for it. (You may or may not get the full 50k and if they find out you are not Elite you may only receive the 30k)

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.




http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=rePwQEjA0OI&offerid=373814.23&type=3&subid=0TD First Class Visa Infinite Card - 40,000 Points (Apply here)
Now seeing an increased sign up bonus and the first year fee waived, the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card has also been a good card with a simple 1.5% return on all your spending that can be redeemed for any travel that is booked on the card. The regular sign up of offer 20,000 TD Rewards Points has now been boosted to 40,000 (20,000 upon approval, 20,000 when you spend $1,000) and the first year $120  fee waived which means you essentially get $200 of travel for free.

If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with over  $1000 in travel credits and hotel free nights 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.

July 3 Update: American Express to end churning ability of their cards, Triple Avios for Hyatt stays, Voila Hotel Rewards 3x Points + 2x Elite Credit on all stays

We end the week off with some bad news for some of our readers.

News, Tips & Tricks
News started trickling out yesterday that American Express Canada is following in the footsteps of their U.S. counterparts in that they will be limiting sign up bonuses on their cards to only once per lifetime per card. In other words no more churning American Express cards. We reached out to American Express and they have confirmed that as of this month they "are beginning to enforce gaming controls" I know for some of our readers this is going to put a big dent in the ability to travel cheaply as they were swapping out cards every 6 to 8 months to earn the sign up bonuses over and over again.  Currently the terms and conditions have only been updated on cards that earn Membership Rewards points (Gold Rewards, Platinum etc.) Aeroplan and AIR MILES. At this time the SPG card has not had these terms changed.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this change! I know a lot of readers do not churn but I'm guessing there will be a small percentage of you who who will be very upset with it!



Posts since our last update:


Bonus Offers

airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double PINS on all Sixt rentals Worldwide. More...Until Jul 20, 15

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

British Airways Executive Club
- Triple Avios for stays at over 2,800 Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Jun 1 - Aug 31, 15
- Double Avios plus up to 20% off for stays at participating Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in Europe. More... Until Oct 30, 15
- Triple Avios for stays at any of the 550 Hyatt Hotel Worldwide.More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Avios for bookings made via Kaligo. More... Book by Sep 30, 15 for stays until Jul 31, 16
- Double Avios for stays at participating Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- 3,000 Bonus Avios on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Until Dec 31, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stays of 2+ nights at Harbour Plaza Hotels & Resorts across Hong Kong and China. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Triple Asia Miles when you book your accommodation with HRS. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stay at participating properties of Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International or Hotel JAL City. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Double Asia Miles for stays at participating Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for stays at New Century Hotels & Resorts. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Asia Miles when you rent a car from any participating HERTZ locations in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. More... . Until Aug 31, 15
- Triple Asia Miles for every pre-paid car rental with Rentalcars.com across the US, Australia, Thailand, Japan and the UK. More... Until Jul 31, 15Until Sep 30, 15

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

Iberia Plus
- 25% Bonus Avios  when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by Jul 12 for travel until Aug 30, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia routes Worldwide.More... Book by Aug 31, 15
- Up to Triple Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select routes.More... Register by Jul 12 for travel until Aug 31, 15
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Express routes.More... Book by Aug 30, 15
- 50% Avios Discount when you redeem for award tickets on select Iberia Regional Air Nostrum routes. More... Until Aug 30, 15

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Triple VHR Points & Double Elite Tier Status Points when you stay at any participating Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- 20% VHR Points Discount for each award night at participating Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15


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Thursday, July 2, 2015

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 20% Bonus Miles when converting RBC Rewards Points (RBC Avion cardholders only)

Yesterday saw the launch of a 20% bonus for transferring RBC Rewards Points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for Avion Cardholders! I can't recall if we have ever seen this bonus before. We've seen them numerous times for BA, AA, and WestJet but not Cathay.  While not as lucrative as the 50% Transfer Bonus that RBC currently has for British Airways this offer can really make sense for those who have no interest in what the British Airways Executive Club program can provide but are users of the Asia Miles program.  This offer is available until August 31.

With this promo you'll get at least 12,000 Asia Miles as you have to redeem a minimum of 10,000 RBC Rewards Points.  The terms and conditions also state "20% bonus Asia Miles will be earned and each member could earn up to 20,000 bonus Asia Miles during promotion period." which would lead us to believe you cannot transfer more than 100,000 RBC Rewards Points for this offer.
Update: RBC has notified us that they had a mistake in their terms and conditions and that the offer is not limited to 20,000 bonus Asia Miles and is in fact unlimited.


Find all the details on this promotion here.

July 2 Update: Reader question on Amex Gold, Air Canada Rouge to fly Toronto-London Gatwick, Alitalia MilleMiglia Status Match offer

Good Morning! We hope that everyone had a great Canada Day!

News, Tips & Tricks
We'll start the day off with a reader question. Louise asks :If I sign up for a Amex Gold, do I get the 25,000 sign up bonus as soon as I spend $500 or do I have to wait 3 months? Thxs."
And the answer is: "In most cases you should get the 25K within a few days of hitting the $500 level. At the very latest it would be on your first statement date after you hit the $500." In my personal experience I've seen it post within the few days of hitting $500 but have also known of others where it has taken a little longer.

Air Canada seems to making making a pre-emptive strike at WestJet. As you all know we passed along the news a few weeks ago that WestJet will start serving London-Gatwick with their new Boeing 767s next summer. What WestJet didn't tell us is which cities in Canada they were planning on flying from. Most are/were guessing Calgary and Toronto. We're now thinking Toronto may not be high on that list anymore as Air Canada Rouge has announced service between Toronto and London Gatwick starting in May 2016! The flight will operate daily basis with a Rouge 767-300ER. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Alitalia MilleMiglia has launched an Elite Status Match offer for elite members in non SkyTeam airline programs. To see if you are eligible send an email to StatusMatchMilleMiglia@alitalia.com by December 31, 2015 with the following:

  • First name and last name
  • MilleMiglia code
  • A legible copy of your existing valid Frequent Flyer program card
Your status will be effective 5 working days after you send the request email and will be maintained until March 31, 2016. To confirm that your status has been recognized, you will receive a personalized email from your new Club.




Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals
Air Canada has a Worldwide seat sale going on right now. Book by July 3! Find out more here.



Bonus Offers

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Receive an Elite Status Match to a non SkyTeam airline program. More... Until Dec 31, 15

American AAdvantage
- 20% Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you convert Starwood Preferred Guest points to AAdvantage miles. More... Until Aug 7, 15

Etihad Guest
- Earn up to Quadruple Guest Miles on all Etihad Airways, Alitalia,  Jet Airways, airberlin, Air Serbia or Air Seychelles flights  Worldwide. More... Register and book by Jul 20 for travel Jul 5 - Sep 15, 15

Miles & More
- 50% Bonus Miles & More Miles on the new ‘Flex’ Economy fare on flights within Europe operated by Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

- 100% Bonus QMiles when you fly on Qatar Airways flight QR3002 or QR3003 between Doha and Jeddah. More... Until Jul 15, 15
- Earn up to 6,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Doha and Zanzibar. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Save up to 20% when gift or transfer QMiles. More... Until Jul 15, 15

Wyndham Rewards
- 4x Wyndham Rewards Points on rentals at participating Avis locations Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- 5x Wyndham Rewards Points on rentals at participating locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Sep 30, 15


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

20% Bonus when converting Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints to American AAdvantage miles


It's no secret that it is relatively hard to earn American AAdvantage miles here in Canada outside of flying on AA or any of their partner airlines or from converting points from RBC Avion cards. So for some Canadian AAdvantage members they have to rely on converting points from hotel programs to boost their balances to be able to achieve award flights on AA and a bonus offer like this one is perfect for those of you who do! If you simply covert 20,000 Starpoints you'll actually end up with 30,000 AAdvantage miles due to SPG's own bonus of 5,000 miles when you convert 20K!
20,000 Starpoints = 20,000 AAdvantage miles
5,000 Standard SPG bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage miles
AAdvantage 20% mileage bonus = 5,000 AAdvantage miles
Total = 30,000 AAdvantage miles

Offer Details:
20% Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you convert Starwood Preferred Guest points to AAdvantage miles. Full details Until Aug 7, 15

Now you may be able to get those 20,000 Starpoints quite easily with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express as it currently has 20,000 Starpoint bonus as its sign up offer. However you would have to apply within the next couple of days to ensure you get the card and meet the minimum spend and get the bonus posted to your account prior to the end date of the AAdvantage offer which is August 7th. This could prove to be a very tight window! The good thing is, even if you miss the deadline those 20,000 Starpoints are worth well over $400 in the SPG program!

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
• Earn 20,000 bonus Starpoints® after you charge $500 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership.
• Earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases charged to the Card
• Enjoy a Free Weekend Night Award when you reach $40,000 in purchases each year
• Experience Starwood Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year
• Redeem Starpoints for Free Nights with no blackout dates at over 1,100 of the world’s most desired hotels in nearly 100 countries
• Use Starpoints for flights on over 350 airlines with no blackout dates with SPG Flights
• Experience once-in-a-lifetime events with SPG Moments
• Get Front Of The Line®* access to tickets for some of the most popular concerts, theatre and special events
• Annual interest rate 19.99% on purchases and 21.99% on funds advances
• American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link.

Apply Online

Conditions apply

Aeroplan Roundtable Discussion - Advertorial piece in the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star


If you read the Globe & Mail and/or Toronto Star print editions you may have noticed a full page advertorial from Aeroplan discussing redemption options from one of Canada's largest and well known loyalty programs.

I was one of the people asked to attend the roundtable and spent an afternoon at Aimia's office in Montreal being interviewed along with two other Aeroplan members and two employees of Aeroplan. The discussions were interesting and it was nice to hear the good and the not so good stories. The advertorial from Aeroplan is meant to focus on the value of Aeroplan and the good so you won't hear about the side that has issues, but the one thing you have to remember it is not only Aeroplan that has them. There will be haters who totally disagree with the piece and then there will be those who love Aeroplan and will agree with what is said. This is always the case with features like this. We even get emails from people who disagree with our credit card rankings and that is why we state, even with years of research, that it boils down to opinion and experience. It is what is best for you.  For some Aeroplan is best for others it is not. For me, I love program, I've been a member since 1989 (technically earlier if you take into account my Canadian Plus membership) and have used it consistently over the years (both earning and redeeming) and know many others that do as well. So when Aeroplan asked if I wanted to attend, I said sure. For complete disclosure, my expenses were paid (flight, taxi etc.) but I was not compensated for my time. I brought up some of the issues around flight availability, surcharges and even technical issues that have arisen on Aeroplan tickets when trying to change seats but those were more for the Aeroplan employees to take back for their use and knowledge. One aspect in the article talking about one way award tickets was that other programs charge 60-70% of a round trip and this was attributed to me however it was actually stated by Nadine St-Aubin of Aeroplan. I know this typically isn't the case, many charge exactly half and I said that it was great move from Aeroplan to move to a 50% rate like other programs from the previous higher rate they used to charge.

Ultimately whether you love or hate Aeroplan or any other program, it comes down to education and knowing the ins and outs of that program. Things like booking one ways versus round trips or redeeming on an airline that doesn't charge a carrier surcharge (YQ) are things that many members are unaware of and should educate themselves about.

Did you read the piece? What are your thoughts? You don't have to go into full on rants or raves but I'd love to hear where you think Aeroplan is heading and were they smart to do this piece? Does it change your opinion of Aeroplan? Let us know below in the comments section!



Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card - Sign up bonus increased to 20,000 points (no FYF)

UPDATE #2: The offer is finally working!

UPDATE: This offer was slated to start today (July 1) but since it is Canada Day we are assuming that no one is in Scotia's office to activate it! Chances are it will be live tomorrow.


A card with some very strong category earning (Gas, Grocery, Dining & Entertainment) sees the return of an increased sign up bonus. This time however it isn't First Year Free like we saw during the last bonus increase this past winter or as high of bonus as we saw around this time in 2014. The new offer that is current sees a sign up bonus of 20,000 points worth $200 in travel which is still a great deal as the annual fee is only $99 so you come out $101 ahead in the first year.  This offer is valid until October 31st.

This card ranked third in the Travel Points Card with annual fee category in our 2015 Top Travel Rewards Credit card rankings. Here are some details on the card:

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

4 points for every dollar spent on the card at gas stations, grocery stores and on dining and entertainment, 1 point for all other purchases with the card
No blackouts, no points expiry, no seat restrictions and no booking fees
Travel service with access to global concierge specialists
Ability to redeem points at or after booking for travel including airfare, hotel, car rental, cruise and vacation packages. Points can also be redeemed for merchandise and credits to Scotiabank investment and credit products
Highly competitive insurance benefits, such as Travel Emergency Medical (including travelers age 65+) and Rental Car Collision insurance
$99 annual fee (among the most competitive fee for a premium travel reward card currently on the market). Additional card annual fee is $29 and the interest rates are 19.99% on purchases and 21.99% on cash advances, balance transfers and Scotia Credit Card cheques.

For more details or to apply for the card please see here.

You can also read our in depth review of the card here