August 18 Update: TD First Class Visa 1st year free + 40,000 points extended and requesting a new Aeroplan card

Lots to bring you this Tuesday!

News, Tips & Tricks
The increased sign up bonus of 40,000 Points and no annual fee in the first year for the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card has been extended to October 30th from an originally scheduled end date of August 31st. Now as we mentioned here a short while ago, the card just got devalued on August 16th in regards to the redemptions for the 'any travel' feature. That being said the card does retain the same value (1.5% return) if you redeem those points via Expedia for TD. Which means, if you know you can take advantage of redeeming via this method this card can provide you with $200 in free travel credit or I guess even with Expedia, $160 in any sort of travel. This extension has been reflected on our Credit Card comparison charts.

Aeroplan is soon going to require a Call Centre PIN when you call in for redemptions and/or help with your account. I forsee us getting some emails about forgotten PINS as we get emails from people who have lost Aeroplan cards and need new ones, people looking for their Aeroplan balance, etc. The simple answer is go to aeroplan.com as the site has answers to most if not all Aeroplan related questions. See our reader question below for an example!

Reader Question:
Just today we received and email from a reader requesting a new card:
I would like a new card as mine is not in good shape and I want to travel in two weeks. How can this happen?  My number is XXX XXX XXX. Thank you for this.

And our answer:
Based on the number you provided for a new card I'm guessing it's Aeroplan that you are looking for a new card for. You can order a new card from Aeroplan via this page:
https://www3.aeroplan.com/helpcenter/self-serve?icid=SUB_M_SelfServeTools_EN

RONA is offering a bonus 15 AIR MILES Reward Miles to AIR MILES® Cash in-store redemptions of 95 Cash Miles or more, towards a purchase of $60 or more. This means you would technically only be redeeming 80 AIR MILES for that $10 credit. The offer runs until August 26. Find out more here.


Posts since our last update:

• Starwood Preferred Guest adds Korean Air SKYPASS as their newest airline transfer partner
  Great news out of Starwood Preferred Guest, they have added the Korean Air SKYPASS program as a new airline…
  
  

Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- 500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on rentals of 3 or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- 500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles or rentals 3 or more consecutive day at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Caribbean. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points for stays at the Hyatt Place Jermuk. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Malaysia Airlines Enrich (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Quadruple Enrich Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Saudia Alfursan
- Triple Alfursan Miles on all Sixt rentals Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 15 

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Earn up to Triple Royal Orchid Plus Miles for Avis rentals of 5 or more days in Asia, Canada, Europe, the U.S. Middle East , Africa. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Earn up to Triple Royal Orchid Plus Miles for Avis rentals of 5 or more days in Thailand. More... Until Sep 30, 15
- Double Royal Orchid Plus Miles when you rent from Hertz for 3 or more days in Asia, Canada, Europe, the U.S. Middle East, Africa, Australia or New Zealand. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Earn up to Triple Royal Orchid Plus Miles when you rent from Hertz in Thailand for 3 or more days. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Virgin Australia Velocity (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Velocity Points for stays on the Linger Longer for Less package at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus VHR Points for stays at featured Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until Oct 15, 15

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

Starwood Preferred Guest adds Korean Air SKYPASS as their newest airline transfer partner

Great news out of Starwood Preferred Guest, they have added the Korean Air SKYPASS program as a new airline partner. This means you can now transfer Starpoints to SKYPASS at a 1:1 ratio and of course you can take advantage of Starwood's bonus of 5,000 extra miles if you transfer 20,000 Starpoints at a time. We have updated our Airlines & Hotels that you can earn miles or points with Canadian Credit Cards chart to reflect this.

I think this is great news for Canadians seeing that Korean Air serves both Vancouver and Toronto (with occasional charters to Calgary but those you can't redeem points for) and prior to this new transfer option the only way to earn SKYPASS miles outside of SkyTeam flights, car rental or hotel stays was by transferring Diners Club Club Rewards points to SKYPASS but as you know with our coverage of Diners Club, they aren't accepting new cardholders! Not to mention the 1:1 transfer rate from SPG is better than the 1.25:1 from Diners Club. This means Canadians can technically earn SKYPASS miles by using the Starwood Preferrred Guest Credit Card from American Express. The card comes with a 20,000 point sign up bonus which translates to 25,000 SKYPASS Miles with the bonus! It also earns 1 Starpoint per dollar spent which is 1 SKYPASS Mile per dollar spent excluding the transfer bonus.

Korean Air SKYPASS is well known for having great award ticket redemption availability even in Business and First Class. So if you are a frequent traveller to Asia out of YVR and YYZ you may want to look into the SKYPASS program now.

To celebrate the new partnership, SPG is also awarding new SPG members 1,000 Starpoints when you book and stay with any participating Starwood hotel or resort in Asia Pacific by 12 November (maximum 2,000 Starpoints for 2 stays). Find out more here.

August 17 Update: 5x AIR MILES on Back to School Gadgets, Last day for 25,000 Avios contest, up to 50% off when buying MileagePlus miles

Welcome to another week of loyalty rewards updates here on Rewards Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
Don't forget about our promotion where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada. Find out more here.

AIR MILES is offering 5x Rewards Miles for buying 'gadgets' via airmilesshops.ca retailers until August 24. Find out more here and find more ways to earn more miles for Back to School shopping here.

Today is the last day to head on over to FrequentFlyerBonuses.com for a chance to win 25,000 Avios!
Find all the details on the contest here!


United has once again released their best potential offer for buying MileagePlus miles. The total discount can vary so if you are one of the lucky ones who can receive the 50% off  you will actually be able to buy the miles under 2 cents a piece (in USD) This can be a great deal since you should be able to pull at least 2 cents per mile value out of them when redeeming (for the right award that is!) If you don't get the 50% then this bonus may only be good for those needing to top off their account or keep their account active. For example I received the up to 50% off offer while my wife got 35%. Find out more here

Posts since our last update:

• Last two weeks: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card with First Year Free and 25,000 Aeroplan Miles
  Unless we receive notice from TD stating an extension, there are only two weeks left to jump on one of…
  
  

Travel Deals
InterContinental Hotels: Escape to Hawaii. Stay 4 nights, get 5th night free.!


Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double BlueBiz Credits on all flights to South America. More... Until Aug 31, 15

AIR MILES
- 25 Bonus AIR MILES Rewards Miles for every $100 you spend via airmilesshops.ca. More... Until Sep 7, 15

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles on Hertz rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Aug 31 for rentals until Nov 30, 15
- Triple Skywards Miles when you rent a Van, Station Wagon or SUV from Sixt Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Hilton HHonors
- 2,500 Bonus HHonors Points by using Digital Key at participating properties. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays participating Accor Hotels in the U.K. and Ireland. More... Book by Sep 3 for stays until Apr 3, 16

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Sindbad Miles on rentals with Sixt Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Orbitz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Orbucks when you book Flight+Hotel Packages via the Orbitz App. More... Book by Sep 21, 15

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 200,000 Bonus MileagePlus miles when you fly United Airlines Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone. Until Dec 31, 15
- Double MileagePlus Miles on all Wyndham Rewards Hotels stays Worldwide starting with your 2nd stay. More... Until Oct 9, 15
- 2,500 Bonus MileagePlus Miles for each stay at the the Hotel am Steinplatz Berlin. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Save up to 50% when you buy MileagePlus miles. Discounts vary depending on the member. More... Until Aug 31, 15
- Save 20% when you transfer MileagePlus miles to friends or family. More... Until Aug 24, 15

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

Last two weeks: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card with First Year Free and 25,000 Aeroplan Miles

Unless we receive notice from TD stating an extension, there are only two weeks left to jump on one of the best Aeroplan card offers out there right now. That offer provides up to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles along with the first year annual fee waived on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card which means you essentially get enough miles for a redemption in North America for free. This offer is set to expire on August 31, 2015. You can tie this offer in with other credit card bonuses to boost your Aeroplan balance by six figures! Find out how to do that here.

Here are the card details:
Earn 25,000 Aeroplan Miles and first year free when you apply for and receive the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. Earn 15,000 miles when you complete your first purchase and an additional 10,000 miles when you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days. Full details * Residents of Canada Only Until August 31, 2015.

Miles Earned: 1 Aeroplan Mile/$1.00
Bonus #1: 1.5 mile/$1 on gas, grocery and drugstore purchases
Bonus #2: Aeroplan Card and TD Visa can be used together at Aeroplan partner locations
Insurance: 15 Day Travel & Medical Insurance, Trip Cancel/Trip Interrupt, Delayed/Lost Baggage, Flight Delay, Collision Loss and Damage Insurance, Common Carrier (incl. Auto Rental), Purchase Security & Extended Warranty, Emergency Travel Assistance
Annual Fee: $120 Primary User, $50 Authorized User
Income Requirement: $60,000 or $100,000 household
Interest Rate: 19.99%
Minimum Credit Limit: $5,000
Exclusive Privileges: Concierge
Air Canada Benefits: When travelling on Reward flights: One annual one-time use Maple Leaf Lounge access pass, First checked bag free, Priority check-in, Priority boarding

August 13 Update: Receive a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada, 100 free Marriott Rewards Points, WestJet 767 further delayed

Your Thursday update is as follows:

News, Tips & Tricks
We launched an exciting promotion today where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada. See the link below in Posts since our last update for complete details!

In the U.S. the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express just underwent some changes so I reached out to Amex here in Canada to see if any changes were in the pipeline for the Canadian version. Unfortunately at this time there are no planned changes to the card. No that this is bad news as the card itself is great (hence its #1 ranking here on Rewards Canada for hotel cards) but how sweet would it be if we saw the same 30,000 point sign up bonus that the U.S. sees right now!

According the airlineroute.net the inaugural WestJet Boeing 767 service has been pushed back by two weeks again. Now the first YYC-YYZ flight is not scheduled until Sep 5. Last we had heard it was supposed to arrive into YYC on August 10th for testing and training here but there was no sign of the plane here on that day.



NOW EXPIRED! Check out the bonus offers section for an offer of 100 free Marriott Rewards points! 

Don't forget to head on over to FrequentFlyerBonuses.com for a chance to win 25,000 Avios!
Find all the details on the contest here!


Posts since our last update:

• Receive a $250 Gift Card with the Capital One® Aspire Travel™ World Elite MasterCard®
  Today we launched an exciting new promotion where you can receive a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada when you…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Triple Phoenix Miles Kilometers for eligible stays at participating Hilton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. More...  Until Oct 31, 15

American AAdvantage
- Save up to 35% when you buy American Airlines AAdvantage® miles for yourself or gift miles to a friend or loved one. More... Until Sep 3, 15

Emirates Skywards
- Double Skywards Miles and save 10% when you rent from Budget for 3 or more days in South Africa. More... Until Sep 30, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn up to 10,000 bonus points with the bonus points package at the EVEN Hotel Times Square South in New York City or visit Rockville, Maryland, and Norwalk, Connecticut, locations for up to 5,000 bonus points per stay. More... Ongoing

Marriott Rewards
- 100 FREE Rewards Points for completing a quick survey about Marriott emails. More... Until ?

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Maritim Hotels in Europe. More... Until Oct 31, 15

United MileagePlus
- Double MileagePlus Miles for stays on the Linger Longer for Less package at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

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

Receive a $250 Gift Card with the Capital One® Aspire Travel™ World Elite MasterCard®

Today we launched an exciting new promotion where you can receive a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada when you apply and are approved for the Capital One® Aspire Travel™ World Elite MasterCard®. The gift cards you can choose from are Amazon.ca, Starbucks, Chapters Indigo and the Ultimate Dining Card. Find out more here!

August 12 Update: Double Cashback at ebates, 20% bonus miles on EVA Air flights out of YYZ & YVR, 3,000 Bonus Avios with Rocketmiles

A nice selection of offers for you today!

News, Tips & Tricks
As an add on to our Back to School feature you will now find that ebates Canada is offering Double Cash Back from select retailers like Staples, Amazon.ca, Old Navy and others that tie in nicely with Back to School shoppping!

In the bonus offer section check out the new flight bonus from EVA Air! If you are flying with this Taiwanese carrier out of Toronto or Vancouver this fall be sure to register for this offer so that you can 20% more Infinity MileageLands miles!

Don't forget to head on over to FrequentFlyerBonuses.com for a chance to win 25,000 Avios!
Find all the details on the contest here!

Posts since our last update:

• Earning Stories: Success with Alitalia MilleMiglia Status Match Offer
  Welcome to the next post in the Earning Stories series right here on Rewards Canada. For years we have provided…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Air New Zealand Airpoints
- Double Airpoints Dollars for stays on the Linger Longer for Less package at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

British Airways Executive Club
- 3,000 Bonus Avios on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Until Oct 1, 15

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Earn up to 30% Bonus Infinity MileageLands Miles from/to North America, Europe, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Singapore, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, and Okinawa. More... Sep 1 - Nov 30, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Infinity MileageLands Miles when you rent a car with HERTZ in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. More... Until Oct 31, 15

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S. More... Until Sep 10, 15

Malaysia Airlines Enrich (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Enrich Miles for stays at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Earn up to Triple Enrich Miles for stays at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 50% Bonus Miles&Smiles Miles at any Serena Hotel across Africa and Asia. More... Until Oct 15, 15
- Earn up to 1,000 Miles&Smiles Miles with the purchase of Pepsi Max products in Turkey. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Vietnam Airlines Golden Lotus Plus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Golden Lotus Miles for stays at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 15

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

Earning Stories: Success with Alitalia MilleMiglia Status Match Offer

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.

Unlike other earning stories, this one does not involve a flight, hotel stay or car rental. This one looks at an offer we posted here on Rewards Canada back at the beginning of July about Alitalia MilleMiglia having a open elite status match offer. Here is the offer as it appeared on our blog:

Here is the offer as pulled from our MilleMiglia page as it is still valid and if you haven't taken advantage of it yet you really should!

Receive an Elite Status Match to a non SkyTeam airline program. Full details
Getting a status match is very easy. 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.

I decided to give this an offer a shot and wanted to test it with a status I have that was expiring soon. I used my Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club Gold status that came with The Platinum Card from American Express. This benefit is actually no longer available from the card but my Gold status with Cathay Pacific is valid until the end of September. I simply scanned my Marco Polo Gold card and sent it off as instructed above with my name and MilleMiglia number. About three weeks later I received confirmation from Alitalia that my status match went through! I was now a MilleMiglia Freccia Alata Club member (essentially Gold status).

Here is the screen shot from the email confirming the status match:

I actually received my physical card in the mail yesterday! Now I have elite status with Alitalia and SkyTeam until the end of March next year even though my status with Cathay ends in a month and a half! I would say this is a success story.  I don't think I'll fly Alitalia before the end of March to take advantage of all the benefits but there is a good chance I will be on some SkyTeam flights so it will be nice to take advantage of the SkyTeam benefits allotted with SkyTeam Elite Plus status:

Not only will I look at using these benefits, by having this status with Alitalia I may be able to extend it to other status match offers that are in or will be coming to the market since my Cathay status ends soon.

We'd love to hear how you have if you have taken advantage of this status match offer as well! Leave us a comment below or submit your own earning story to be featured here on Rewards Canada.


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

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