Monday, July 20, 2015

July 20 Update: WestJet adds Boston and several other new routes, Instant Hilton HHonors Gold status offer, 25 Free Air Miles

Welcome to another week of travel rewards news, bonuses and more on RC! The latter half has vacation included so there may lack in updates depending on our family's schedule!

News, Tips & Tricks
WestJet announced their winter schedule today and includes some new routes. The one of note is Toronto to Boston with WestJet Encore! Good to see another U.S. city in their network, hopefully it works for them as they have to compete with Air Canada and Porter.  Halifax also gets one daily flight to Boston! Also announced is the return of Calgary to Ft. Lauderdalem new routes from three Canadian cities to Orlando and a few other sun destination routes. Find out more here, here and here.


A few different airline programs are sending out invites to their members for instant Hilton HHonors Gold Status (I've received it from Alitalia MilleMiglia and Saudia Alfursan). This is a great offer if you don't have Gold status as it gets you the status until October 31st and extends it to March 2017 if you complete 3 separate stays by October 31st. The offer also includes an up to Quadruple Miles bonus for those stays. BE CAREFUL however if you already have Hilton HHonors Gold or Diamond Status as it specifically states you'll drop down to Gold if you are Diamond or if you are Gold and don't meet the stay requirements by Oct 31st you'll lose that status. I almost jumped on it but I have Gold Status until March 31st 2016 and am pretty sure I will not be able to complete this challenge by Oct 31st which means I would lose out on the status between Oct 31 and Mar 31.



Posts since our last update:


Bonus Offers

AIR MILES
- Earn 25 AIR MILES Reward Miles when you subscribe to the Rona E-News newsletter. More... Until Aug 31, 15

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 3,500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you shop via the AAdvantage eShopping portal. More... Until Aug 16, 15

Best Western Rewards
- 500 Bonus Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Paris Meudon Ermitage - Meudon-La-Foret More... Until Aug 31, 15
- 500 Bonus Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Paris Val de Bievre - Jouy-En-Josas More... Jul 25 - Aug 25, 15
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN Hotel des Thermes - Balaruc-Les-Bains More... Until Sep 30, 15

Etihad Guest
- Earn up to Quadruple Guest Miles when you fly on Etihad's new 787 between Abu Dhabi and Singapore or Zurich. More... Register by Aug 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Guest Miles when you make your first booking on PointsHound. More... Until Aug 15, 15
- 500 Bonus Guest Miles when you spend £/€500 at any of the nine Chic Outlet Shopping Villages in Europe. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Meridiana Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 2,000 Bonus Avios on your first booking made with Kaligo. More... Book by Aug 31, 15 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Southwest Rapid Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 3,500 Rapid Rewards Points when you shop via the Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping portal. More... Until Aug 16, 15

SriLankan FlySmiles
- Earn up to Quadruple FlySmiles Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn a $50 Prepaid MasterCard when you stay three or more times at Four Points, Aloft or Element hotels. More... Until Nov 30, 15
- Triple Starpoints for stays at the Le Meridien Saigon. More... Until Dec 31, 15


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25 Free AIR MILES for subscribing to Rona E-News

Here is a nice easy way to earn some free AIR MILES Reward Miles if you don't subscribe to Rona E-News yet.


Offer details
Earn 25 AIR MILES Reward Miles when you subscribe to the Rona E-News newsletter. Full details. Until Aug 31, 15

Friday, July 17, 2015

IHG Share Forever promotion expanded to include Double Points on all stays until August 15th

IHG Rewards Club has decided to up the ante with their current Share Forever promotion! The promo which launched back in May awards a lot of points to begin with however this addition of double points on all stays until the middle of August just made it even better! Remember you have until September 7th to try to maximize the main promotion but only until August 15th to earn the double points.

Offer Details
IHG Rewards Club Share Forever - Earn up to 115,500 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points + DOUBLE POINTS (until Aug 15) when you stay at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. You can also earn up to 58,500 more to share or to keep. Bonus points vary per member and are awarded for various stay and other activities. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Sep 7, 15
open to residents of Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the fifty (50) United States (and the District of Columbia), Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Save up to $1,000 on Emirates flights out of Western Canada via Seattle + earn up to Triple Mileage Plan miles



Emirates may not fly to any cities in Western Canada but they have agreements with WestJet and Alaska Airlines to bring connecting passengers out of the west to the gateway cities. This promotion is for the latter, flying on Alaska Airlines out of Western Canada and connecting to Emirates' flights out of Seattle you can save up to US$1,000 on these flights not to mention you can earn up to Triple Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles! The savings are as follows: $1,000 off all First Class fares, $500 off select Business Class fares and $50 off all Economy Class fares. Book online at emirates.com with promo code ALASKA5 to take advantage of this deal.

Bonus Miles Offer details:
Earn up to Triple Mileage Plan Miles when you fly Emirates from the U.S.. Earn Triple Miles when you fly in First Class, or Double Miles when you fly Business or Economy Class non-stop between  Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington D.C. and Dubai, plus onward connecting Emirates flights from Dubai. Register Online  (Registration is required) then book online at emirates.com with promo code ALASKA5 to save $1000 on First Class fares, $500 on Business Class fares or $50 on Economy Class fares.

Bonus miles: Register and book by Sep 7 for travel Jul 15 - Nov 30, 15
Fare Discounts: Book by Sep 15, 15 for travel until Feb 28, 16

Here is an excerpt from the  terms of the promotion that mention the offer of flying out of Western Canada:
When you book a round-trip flight using promotional code ALASKA5 in the search box on this page, you can fly Emirates and save $1,000 off all First Class fares, $500 off select Business Class fares and $50 off all Economy Class fares....
...Book by September 15, 2015 to take advantage of this incredible offer. Travel available through February 28, 2016.
*US gateways include Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD) Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Washington D.C. (IAD) and Orlando (MCO) and the following interior Canadian cities for travel over (SEA) only - they are YVR (Vancouver), YEG (Edmonton), YYC (Calgary), YYJ (Victoria) and YLW (Kelowna).

July 17 Update: Air Canada announces Vancouver-Brisbane route, 15,000 Point sign up bonus for the HSBC Advance MasterCard, Hyatt Las Vegas Bonus

Final update of the week!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air Canada
has announced a new Australia route! Starting in June of 2016 Air Canada will be using their new Boeing 787's to fly three times weekly between Vancouver and Brisbane. As we always say it's great to see new routes like these at provide more redemption options for Aeroplan and other Star Alliance members. (Source Airlineroute.net)

HSBC Bank Canada has added a very rare sign up bonus to one of their MasterCards! If you apply for the HSBC Advance MasterCard before August 31st they will award you 15,000 bonus HSBC Advance Rewards points. Note that you have to be a HSBC Advance customer to apply for this card. Find out more here.


Travel Deals
Hilton Hotels
are offering a $100 resort credit and 4th night free for stays participating Hilton Hotels in the Caribbean. Book by Sep 26 for stays until Sep 30. Find out more here!





Bonus Offers

Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Quadruple FlyerBonus Points for stays at Anantara Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Earn up to Quadruple Gold Points on eligible Stays at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels in the Asia Pacific region. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles on hotel and flight bookings with Ctrip More... Until Oct 6, 15

Hong Kong Airlines Fortune Wings
- Double Fortune Wings Miles when you fly Hong Kong Airlines in Business Class between Hong Kong and Bangkok, Beijing, Okinawa, Sapporo, Shanghai or Taipei. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Gold Passport Points after every 3 nights you stay at participating properties in Las Vegas. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn up to Triple JetPrivilege Miles when you fly Jet Airways within India. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- 50% JetPrivilege Miles Discount on any domestic Jet Airways award tickets within India. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... For residents of Sweden, Denmark, Norway or Finland only Until Sep 13, 15
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Danang. More... Book by Aug 30 for stays Sep 6 - 12, 15

South African Airways Voyager
- 10% Bonus Voyager Miles when you book your SAA flight online. More... Until Jul 31, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Voyager Miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel or resort Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15


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Thursday, July 16, 2015

July 16 Update: Up to Triple Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals in Canada & the U.S., How to earn 125,000+ Aeroplan Miles and 1,000 Free Petro-Points

Relatively quiet Thursday!

News, Tips & Tricks
A new Aeroplan bonus for Avis rentals has come out. The offer is for up to Triple Miles for rentals in the U.S. or Canada. See the bonus offer section below for details!


We've updated our Travel Hacking 101 post on how to earn free Aeroplan Miles or British Airways Avios. With current offers you can potentially earn over 125,000 Aeroplan Miles or 91,250 BA Executive Club Avios for nothing more than credit card spend. Find out more here.


Posts since our last update:



Bonus Offers

Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to Triple Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals in Canada and the U.S...More... Until Sep 30, 15
- 60,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve card. More... Residents of Canada only Until Oct 31, 15
- 50,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum card. More... Residents of Canada only Until Oct 31, 15

China Southern SkyPearl
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Guangzhou and San Francisco. More... Until Aug 22, 15
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Beijing and Amsterdam. More... Until Aug 20, 15
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Guangzhou and Nairobi. More... Aug 5 - Oct 5, 15
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Changsah and Osaka  More... Until Sep 25, 15
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Lanzhou/Urumqi and St.Petersburg More... Until Sep 16, 15
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly on China Southern between Guangzhou and Nha Trang  More... Until Aug 20, 15

Delta SkyMiles
- Earn up to Triple SkyMiles for stays at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

EVA Air InfinityMileageLands
- Double Infinity MileageLands Miles for stays at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel (Shanghai) More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Double Infinity MileageLands Miles for stays on the a family package at Evergreen International Hotels (Keelung/Taipei/Taichung/Tainan/Bangkok) More... Until Aug 31, 15

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 70% Bonus GarudaMiles on all Garuda Indonesia flights systemwide. More... Aug 14 -17, 15
- 25% GarudaMiles Discount on Garuda Indonesia award tickets flights systemwide. More... Aug 14 -17, 15
- Double Elite Qualifying Credit on all Garuda Indonesia domestic flights to Jakarta. More... Jul 21 - 26, 15

La Quinta Returns
- La Quinta Up to a 25% discount when you buy La Quinta Returns Points. More... Until Aug 23, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 3,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays in a Suite at the Sheraton Denarau Villas. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays on the Grand Opening offer at the Sheraton Mesa Hotel. More... Until Jul 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays on the Grand Opening offer at the Four Points by Sheraton Coral Gables. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

- 2,000 Bonus Flying Club Miles for stays at participating Jumeirah Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 15
- Triple Flying Club Miles for stays at the St Martins Lane hotel London. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Flying Club Miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La hotel or resort Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Double Flying Club Miles for stays at the Virgin Hotel Chicago. More... Until Sep 30, 15



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

1,000 Free Petro-Points for logging into their new Members-Only Travel Website

 Here is a quick and easy way to earn 1,000 FREE Petro-Points!

Simply log in to their new Petro-Points members only travel site powered by iTravel2000.com

Log in here!

This offer is limited to first 100,000 people who log in by July 24th.






Wednesday, July 15, 2015

July 15 Update: Amex AeroplanPlus Reserve & Platinum bonuses increased by 10,000 miles, Club Carlson 2,000 points per night and more

Here is your mid week update!

News, Tips & Tricks
American Express
has boosted the sign up bonus of two of their AeroplanPlus cards by 10,000 miles! Until October 31st new American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Cardmembers, will earn 50,000 Bonus Aeroplan®* Miles after they spend $1,000 in the first three months of Cardmembership and new American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve Cardmembers will earn 60,000 Bonus Aeroplan®* Miles after they spend $3,000 in the first three months of Cardmembership.

American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve
New American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Reserve Cardmembers, earn 60,000 Bonus Aeroplan®* Miles after you spend $3,000 in your first three months of Cardmembership. Apply now.
• Earn 1.25 miles for every $1 in Card purchases 
• $899 Annual Fee (Min Personal Income $60,000)
• Accelerate your earn rate to 2 Aeroplan miles for every $1 of eligible Air Canada purchases
• Access to one annual $200 Annual Travel Credit
• Enjoy an annual Partner Ticket™ benefit for a short-haul or long-haul flight reward when you redeem up to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles
• Relax before you fly with unlimited access to the Air Canada Maple Leaf LoungeTM where available, and a Complimentary Priority Pass Membership and lounge access
• Experience the benefit of an eligible complimentary first checked bag on flights operated by Air Canada, up to 5 bags annually
• Breeze through airport lines with the Air Canada Priority Check-in benefit
• Benefit from access to the Aeroplan Priority Line where you’ll have the ability to book travel, change flights and add a Partner Ticket to your next trip
• Enjoy access to American Express Concierge Service
• +Subject to approval. The preferred rate for purchases is 19.99% and funds advances is 21.99%. If you have Missed Payments, the applicable rates for your account will be 23.99% and/or 26.99%. See the information box included with the application for the definition of Missed Payment and which rates apply to charges on your account and other details
• 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.
• Conditions apply.

Apply now.



American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum
• New American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Cardmembers, earn 50,000 Bonus Aeroplan®* Miles after you spend $1,000 in your first three months of Cardmembership.
• Earn 1.25 miles for every dollar in purchases you charge to the Card, up to $25,000
• $499 Annual Fee (Min Personal Income $40,000) 
• Accelerate your earn rate to 1.5 miles for every dollar in purchases over $25,000 annually
• Enjoy a 2-for-1 short-haul flight reward when you redeem 15,000 Aeroplan Miles, with the Partner Ticket benefit
• Bypass the regular check-in line at the airport with access to Air Canada Executive First®*/Executive Class®* Priority Airport Check-in
• Go confidently with coverage that’s as broad as your horizons, including Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance, Emergency Medical Insurance (out of province/country), and much more.
• *As a Charge Card, the balance must always be paid in full each month. 30% annual interest rate applies to balances not paid in full.
• 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.
Conditions apply

Apply now.
https://www.americanexpress.com/ca/en/content/aeroplan-platinum-card/?&cpid=100162457



Posts since our last update:


Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles when you fly Alaska Airlines between Los Angeles and Monterey. More... Nov 5 - Dec 5, 15
- Earn up to Triple Mileage Plan Miles and save up to $1,000 when you fly Emirates from the U.S.. More... Register and book by Sep 7 for travel Jul 15 - Nov 30, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Points PER NIGHT on eligible Stays at more than 1,000 Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide. More... Until Sep 27, 15

China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- 3,777 Bonus Miles when you fly in Premium Economy between San Francisco and Taipei. More... Until Aug 31, 15

Etihad Guest
- 2,000 Bonus Guest Miles per stay at Marriott hotels in Dubai. More... Until Aug 17, 15

Gulf Air FalconFlyer (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple FalconFlyer Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at any Rotana Hotels and Resorts More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double FalconFlyer Miles for Sixt Car Rentals Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles for every booking with SWISS or Edelweiss in Economy Class to North America. More... Register by Jul 31 for travel Aug 10 - Dec 10, 15

Virgin Australia Velocity (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Velocity Points on Virgin Australia or Etihad flights from Australia to Abu Dhabi. More... Register and book by Jul 27 for travel Aug 3 - Nov 30 , 15


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Club Carlson summer systemwide offer of 2,000 Bonus Gold Points per night when you book online


This offer came out last week and is one of those that we are still playing catch up on since we were off at the time.

Club Carlson already has several promotions running for the summer for select hotel brands or regions but their last systemwide promo ended on June 28 (Triple Points) so it was nice to see them bring out another systemwide promo shortly after and that is this offer of 2,000 points PER NIGHT at their hotels Worldwide until September 27 if you book online.

Offer Details
2,000 Bonus Gold Points PER NIGHT on eligible stays booked online at more than 1,000 Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites, Radisson Blu or Park Inn. Until Sep 27, 15

Earning Stories: 25,314 HHonors Points on a 7 Night Stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Regina East Gate

Welcome to the next post in the Earning Stories series right here on Rewards Canada. For years we have provided you with the details on earning points and miles (both regular earning and bonus opportunities) and these stories show the actual offers in action.

This story revolves around my recent family trip at the beginning of July and looks at the points earning for our week long Hampton Inn hotel stay.

The stay was at the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Regina East Gate and was booked on a AAA rate. I booked based on location and also wanting to try a Hampton Inn for the first time as we normally stay at the Holiday Inn & Suites just a block away. Another factor was that the hotel is only a year old versus the Holiday Inn which is one of the older hotels in that area of hotels, not to mention the Hampton also included breakfast if we wanted to eat at the hotel. I booked it knowing that I would earn bonus points since I had registered not only for Hilton's Double Points on all stays but also their limited time offer of 5,000 bonus points on stays taken from our Hilton HHonors Bonus Points page:



Here is Double Points the offer in detail as you still have most of the summer to take advantage of it! (The 5,000 point offer expired the day after we arrived into Regina)
Double HHonors Points or Double Airline MIles for eligible stays at participating Hilton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking  (Registration is required)   Until Aug 31, 15
And my screen shot of the HHonors Points that posted with this stay:

At the outset of the stay we ended up earning the 7,296 base HHonors Points plus 7,296 points from the Double Points offer and the 5,000 bonus points from the other bonus offer. Add in the Hilton Gold Elite status bonuses and the 50% bonus from the Points+Points option and all told 25,314 points posted from the stay. What can 25,314 HHonors points get? 5 nights at a Category 1 hotel, 2 nights at a Category 2 hotel, 1 night at Category 3 hotel and potentially a Category 4 hotel.

As you can see by registering and taking advantage of these two bonus offer along with the base and elite tier points we earned a decent amount of points on a stay that we were going to do no matter what! With Hilton HHonors you have two options for base earning, Points+Points or Points+Miles. I choose the former so the base points earned at 10 points per US$ + an additional 5 points per US$. Everyday people have stays like this that are not earning any bonus points or even in some cases no points at all since the people aren't part of the hotel's program! We cannot reiterate enough that not only should you join a hotel program to earn points (or airline miles) but always register for bonus point promotions even if you think that you may not use it.

We'd love to hear how you have maximized the Hilton Double Points/Miles and 5,000 Bonus Points offers! Leave us a comment below or submit your own earning story to be featured here on Rewards Canada.

Tips for Hotel Stays
- Watch the rates that include bonus miles/points - If there is a bonus most of my stays do earn those extra points but a lot of hotel offers for bonus points also come with higher rates so be sure to check other rates like AAA, Senior Rates, etc. as those could be a better deal than the paying for the extra points. Systemwide bonuses like those provided in this post are typically not associated with higher rates. For a complete list of hotel bonus offers see this page on the main Rewards Canada site.
- Read the fine print - When a bonus offer is available be sure that your stay meets the criteria. Those criteria can include certain rates, select days of the week or multiple night stays.
- If you are staying at a hotel/hotel chain that isn't your primary program chain you may be better off posting that stay to a preferred airline rather than earning the hotel points. You'll still have to join that hotel chains program but set your earning preference to your preferred airline.

Have your earning story featured!
Not only are Rewards Canada Earning Stories featured in this series, we want to feature your stories as well! Have you earned a lot of points or miles by utilizing offers posted on Rewards Canada? We would love to hear about them and potentially feature them here on Rewards Canada. Tell us your earning story by emailing us the details of what you earned, screenshots if possible of those points/miles posting and what offer on Rewards Canada you took advantage of. Email it to us info@rewardscanada.ca