Cathay Pacific: Double Asia Miles in Premium Economy & Business Class between Canada and Hong Kong

We haven't seen a Cathay Pacific Asia Miles bonus offer for their flights out of Canada since March of this year so it is welcome news that there is now a new offer!  The last time they bonused economy class flights and with this offer they return to offering a bonus on premium classes from Toronto and Vancouver. No matter what, register for it and do it right now because I can guarantee you won't remember in a few months and then when your employer plops you on one of these routes in November you'll miss out on those miles (sorry for rehashing the same wording from the last two CX posts!)

Offer Details:
Double Asia Miles when you fly round trip on Cathay Pacific in Premium Economy or Business Class between Toronto or Vancouver and Hong Kong. Register Online (Registration is required)  Oct 1 - Nov 30, 15

Can't make use of this offer? Be sure to visit our Asia Miles Bonus Miles page for many other options!

IHG Rewards Club Accelerate - Earn at least 50,000 Bonus Points or 2 Free Nights for stays Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club's Share Everything is wrapping up in two weeks and since it is nearing the end IHG has released the details of their next major systemwide promotion called Accelerate. The new promotion launches on September 1st but members can log in and register as of today to see their new personalized offer.

Here is the offer I received for up to 58,000 bonus points:

Let us know what offer you received and we'll add it to this post and the offer details on our IHG Rewards Club page.

Offer Details
IHG Rewards Club Accelerate - Earn 50,000 or more IHG Rewards Club points when you stay at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15

August 21 Update: Icelandair to launch Montreal service, Air France KLM seat sale, tons of great bonuses!

Final update for this week!

News, Tips & Tricks
Icelandair is adding service to Montreal starting in May 2016! This will be the airline's 5th Canadian destination with four flights per week out of YUL. Not only is Icelandair a great way to get to Iceland but in many cases they have the best fares to get to mainland Europe! Icelandair does have their own frequent flyer program called Saga Club but outside of travel (flights, hotels, car rental) the only way to earn Icelandair Saga Club points in Canada is via Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard, Hilton HHonors or points.com transfers. (Source Airlineroute.net) Now they just need to launch Ottawa and Calgary service!

Between August 24th – 30th, donate your Aeroplan Miles to Schools Without Borders (SWB) and Aeroplan will match all miles up to 500,000 to help you make double the difference! Full details.



Posts since our last update:

• National Car Rental One Two Free / Rent Rent Reward Returns - Earn a free rental after two qualifying rentals (2 Versions)
  One of the best Car Rental Reward program promotions, National Emerald Club's One Two Free (US) / Rent Rent…
• Hilton HHonors Triple Your Trip - Earn up to Triple Points for stays Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15
  We see the return of Hilton's Triple your Trip promotion as their systemwide offer for the last third of…
• Marriott MegaBonus returns: Earn up to 45,000 Bonus Rewards Points on stays Sep 15, 15 - Jan 15, 16
  Marriott is giving ample notice once again for the latest MegaBonus promotion. You have well over two weeks to…
• Changes coming to Porter Airlines VIPorter on September 14th
  Copy and paste of the email received today from Porter Airlines: Get ready for a new VIPorter. Exciting changes are…
• WestJet Rewards: $50 Bonus WestJet dollars when booking Plus fares on select routes
  WestJet Rewards has launched a new bonus offer for booking Plus fares on select routes across their network. The…
  
  

Travel Deals
Both Air France and KLM have launched fall seat sales on their flights out of Canada. You can fly to Europe or beyond for as low as $729 all in. Book by Sep 10 for travel between October 16 and December 10th. Book online at airfrance.ca or klm.com

 



Bonus Offers
Hilton HHonors
- Triple Your Trip: Earn Triple HHonors Points on Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights, and Double HHonors Points on Monday through Thursday nights for stays at any participating hotel or resort in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Some members are also receiving an offer 2,000 additional points on their first stay. More... Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- 50% off Rewards Nights for stays in Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean More... Book Aug 24 - Sep 9 for stays between Sep 1 - Oct 31, 15

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 50% Bonus TrueBlue Points when you buy 3,000 or more points online.More... Until Sep 17, 15

Marriott Rewards
- Marriott MegaBonus: Earn up to 45,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at any participating Marriott Hotel Worldwide. More... Register by Nov 15 for stays Sep 15 - Jan 15, 16

National Emerald Club
- Earn a Free Rental day when you earn 600 points or complete two qualifying rentals Canada, the U.S., Latin America, Caribbean or Europe.Valid for residents of Canada only More... Until Jan 31, 16

United MileagePlus
- 25% MileagePlus Miles discount off roundtrip MileagePlus Saver Awards in United Economy between the U.S. or Canada and Brazil or Chile. More... Until Nov 30, 15

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

National Car Rental Rent Rent Reward Returns - Earn a free rental after two qualifying rentals

One of the best Car Rental Reward program promotions, National Emerald Club's One Two Free (US) / Rent Rent Reward (Canada) has returned. Once again there is a U.S. version and a Canadian version. The Canadian version is slightly better than the U.S. version on the rental portion as Canadians can credit Canadian and U.S. rentals towards the promo whereas their U.S. counterparts can only credit U.S. rentals (although both versions have a 300 point offer for Latin America/Caribbean and European rentals as well). You can also earn points for opting in for emails, using Emerald Reserve Service and/or booking your car via the mobile app.

Offer Details
Earn a Free Rental day when you earn 600 points or complete two qualifying rentals. A qualifying rental is the paid rental, via the Emerald Club®, of a Midsize or larger vehicle at participating National Car Rental® locations in Canada and the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia, for a period of two or more consecutive days during the promotion. Register Online (Registration is required) Valid for residents of Canada only Until Jan 31, 16

Additional Opportunities to Earn Points:
To be eligible for the email opt-in bonus of 50 points toward a Free Rental Day, you must electively opt in to receive emails from National®. Offer expires January 31, 2016, and is valid for new opt-ins only.

Hilton HHonors Triple Your Trip - Earn up to Triple Points for stays Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15

We see the return of Hilton's Triple your Trip promotion as their systemwide offer for the last third of 2015. This offer was seen at the end of last summer/fall and only ran for three months so it is nice to see it run one month longer this year. And once again Hilton has no hotels that have chosen to opt out which makes this a true systemwide promotion! There is also an adder to the promotion whereby some members will get 2,000 bonus points on their first stay during the promotional period (I got it when I registered)

Offer Details
Triple Your Trip: Earn Triple HHonors Points on Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights, and Double HHonors Points on Monday through Thursday nights for stays at any participating hotel or resort in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. Some members are also receiving an offer 2,000 additional points on their first stay. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking  (Registration is required) Sep 1 - Dec 31, 15

Marriott MegaBonus returns: Earn up to 45,000 Bonus Rewards Points on stays Sep 15, 15 - Jan 15, 16

Marriott is giving ample notice once again for the latest MegaBonus promotion. You have well over two weeks to plan out your Marriott stays to get the bonuses that are assigned to you. Just like all other incarnations of this offer each Marriott Rewards member may get a different offer and for some it is well worth it to go after the bonus while for others it may not be.

I personally received the 2,000 points on every stay starting with 2nd stay. I registered to find out which offer I got and also as I always preach that you should register for every offer even if you don't think you'll use it just in case your travel plans change and you end up using Marriott over the fall and winter months!

Offer Details:
Marriott MegaBonus: Earn up to 45,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at any participating Marriott Hotel Worldwide. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking ( Registration is required) Register by Nov 15 for stays Sep 15 - Jan 15, 16

Some of the Offer Variations (Source: FlyerTalk):

• 2,000 bonus points on every paid stay, starting with your second stay, up to up to 20,000 bonus points (maxes out after 11 stays, with no bonus on the first stay).
• 15,000 bonus points after 15 paid nights + 2,000 bonus points after each additional night, up to 35,000 bonus points (maxes out after 25 nights)
• 25,000 bonus points after 20 paid nights + 2,000 bonus points after each additional night, up to 45,000 bonus points (maxes out after 30 nights)
• Earn double points on every paid stay, starting with your second stay, up to 20,000 bonus points
• Earn 3,000 bonus points for each paid stay that includes a Friday or Saturday, up to 30,000 bonus 

Changes coming to Porter Airlines VIPorter on September 14th

Copy and paste of the email received today from Porter Airlines:

Get ready for a new VIPorter.

Exciting changes are coming to our VIPorter frequent flyer program. You'll see these changes roll out during the week of September 14, 2015, when the way you'll earn and redeem your VIPorter points will take off for the better.

Although we can't share everything with you just yet, we wanted to give you advance notice of some of the high-level upgrades that are coming your way.

How you'll earn
Today, you earn a set number of VIPorter points based on your purchased fare class. This means, you earn points based only on the airfare.

New! In the new program, you'll be able to earn on everything. From a Porter flight, checked bags, seat selection and more, you'll earn on every dollar you spend so you can step onto your award flight sooner.

How you'll redeem
Today, you need 7,500 points for an award flight and the number of available award seats is limited.

New! In the new program, we are lifting all restrictions. You'll be able to use your points to take any available flight to your favourite Porter destination. The number of points required for your award flight depends on the fare. So, when the base fares are lower so are the number of points needed to cover the cost of your flight.

Premium memberships
We're also adding new Premium membership tiers. Based on your annual spend, you'll be able to enjoy exclusive benefits that are not offered in the current VIPorter program.

There's more to come
This is just a preview of what's to come. Once we finalize all the bells and whistles, we'll share more details with all of our team members so they're ready to serve you once the new program has been announced.

It's all under wraps until then, so hang tight.    

Usually when a program announces an 'enhancement' or 'exciting changes' it usually is only one part good two, three or four parts bad. Good news here is the ability to earn points on more services. The bad news is they are moving to dynamic award pricing. Sure you can now any seat at any time but the cost in points will vary. Think Aeroplan Market Fare rewards, think Delta SkyMiles and other revenue based programs. So some tickets may cost less than the current 7,500 points but we're guessing many will cost more than that. Of course we have to wait and see until they fully reveal the new program to see if we should really be excited or bummed!

Are you a VIPorter member? What are your thoughts on these changes that are coming?

WestJet Rewards: $50 Bonus WestJet dollars when booking Plus fares on select routes

WestJet Rewards has launched a new bonus offer for booking Plus fares on select routes across their network. The offer is for $50 Bonus WestJet dollars each way so if you are booking a round trip in Plus you'll actually earn $100 bonus dollars. Remember that as of September 14th Plus seats get enhanced as the middle seat in the Plus seating section on the 737s will now be blocked. Of course with that comes higher priced Plus fares so hopefully this bonus will counteract that increase for some of you! Also you'll see Calgary-Toronto is included and that route should see the new WestJet Boeing 767's on it sometime in September so you can try out the new wider Plus seats if you are flying that route.


Offer Details
Earn $50 Bonus WestJet dollars when you book and fly on a Plus fare on select WestJet routes in Canada, to the U.S. and Hawaii. Register online (Registration is required) Until Sep 30, 15

Here is a reminder of what Plus fares receive:

Pre-flight flexibility

• No added fees if you miss your flight or arrive at the airport early
• Change your flight for no charge – just pay the difference in the fare
• Receive a full credit for future use on a WestJet flight, or a full refund (for a fee) if you need to cancel your flight for any reason

Airport experience

• Two checked bags are included
• Priority security screening to get you through the airport quicker
• Advance boarding and first access to overhead bins

Inflight comfort

• Extra legroom¹⁰
• Your choice of a window or aisle seat, there is no middle seating
  • Wider seats on our 767 service
  • The middle seat will be blocked for extra space on our 737 service starting September 14, 2015
• Enhanced on-board service
  • Most flights over 1.25 hours will include:
    • Complimentary selection of food and beverages
  • Most flights longer than 2.5 hours starting September 14, 2015 will also include:
    • Premium food and beverages
    • Warm towel service
  • Flights on our 767 aircraft will include all items listed above and:
    • Premium hot meal service
    • A pre-flight drink and amenity kit for flights longer than 6 hours

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.