Starwood Preferred Guest Stay for More now open for registration - earn Double Starpoints + 500 Bonus on stays of 2+ nights

Registration is now open for Starwood's Fall Systemwide* promotion. The offer provides a bonus of Double Starpoints for stays of 2 nights and adds an additional 500 points if that stay is 3 or more nights. * Almost systemwide as roughly 10% of Starwood Hotels are NOT participating, see link below.

Offer Details:
Double Starpoints + 500 Bonus Starpoints for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Starwood Hotels Worldwide. Double Starpoints awarded for 2 nights stays, 500 additional Starpoints awarded on 3+ night stays.  Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Register by Dec 6 for stays Oct 1 - Dec 20, 15
List of hotels NOT participating

These are the Canadian properties not participating:

• Four Points by Sheraton London
• Four Points by Sheraton Regina
• Sheraton on the Falls Hotel
• The Westin Ottawa

Alaska Airlines and Icelandair partnership returns - great news for Canadians

With Icelandair's recent onslaught of Canadian flights we were super excited to see this news come across many U.S. blogs this morning! The Icelandair and Alaska Airlines partnership is back! This is great news for Canadians who fly on Icelandair out of Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax (and hopefully more soon like YOW and YYC) as crediting these flights to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan makes more sense than Icelandiar's own Saga Club program. The Mileage Plan program is one of the best and most versatile out there so now with the renewed partnership that launches on October 1st you will be able to earn Mileage Plan miles on all Icelandair flights. Of course reciprocating you can also earn Icelandair Saga Club points on Alaska Airlines flights.

As well elite benefits will be extended between the two airlines

As an added benefit, starting Oct. 1 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold and Gold 75K members will receive complimentary access to Icelandair's Saga Lounge at Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik and Icelandair Saga Gold and Silver members will enjoy complimentary access to Alaska Board Room lounges in Seattle, Portland, Anchorage and Los Angeles. 

To celebrate the relaunch of their partnership Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members can earn Double Miles on all Icelandair flights from Oct 1 to Dec 15 (take advantage of that Travelzoo offer that came out earlier this week for Northern Lights in Iceland as long as the flights are a mileage earning ticket class!) You can register for Double Miles here.

What we don't know yet are the redemption details of the partnership. If and this is a big if the redemption levels for using Mileage Plan miles on Icelandair flights are reasonable the value of the Canadian mbna Alaska Airlines World Elite MasterCard just went up even more! (Read our review of the card here) Not only does Mileage Plan have relatively good awards on Alaska Airlines flights but offers decent award levels and one way award options on airlines American, Cathay Pacific, Air France KLM, Emirates and more! This program is the hidden gem for Canadians! Just because Alaska Airlines only flies to five cities in B.C. and Alberta it doesn't mean that those of you in Ontario, Quebec or other provinces shouldn't consider the program!

American AAdvantage: Up to 125,000 Bonus Miles for flights between Canada & Europe

Just as we thought and mentioned yesterday when we posted BA's version of this offer, American AAdvantage provides us with the same promotion. The only difference between the two is that the AA offer is open to everyone, not just those who live in North America like the BA offer. For us Canucks this means we can get the bonus on AA flights via the U.S.., direct BA and Finnair flights out of Canada or of course Iberia & OpenSkies flights via the U.S..

Offer Details:
Earn up to 125,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, OpenSkies or US Airways marketed nonstop flights for round-trip travel between the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. Register Online (Registration is required) Until Jan 31, 16 HT View from the Wing

September 22 Bonus Offer Highlight: 500 issues of RC News, 20% off WestJet Plus Fares, new Air Canada and BA Bonuses

We haven't had a daily update since Thursday so there is a bit of catch up here!

News, Tips & Tricks
First off, in case you missed it yesterday we launched an exclusive offer with WestJet that saves you 20% on their Plus fares. Find out more here!

 Over this past weekend the 500th Issue of the Rewards Canada News email newsletter was sent out! We want to thank subscribers new and old who read our weekly newsletter. Whether you are one of the dozen or so who received our 1st issue way back in 2002 or one of the thousands who now read number 500, a big THANK YOU goes out to all of you for your continued support. If you don't subscribe to the newsletter you can do so here.

WOW Air, the ultra low cost carrier from Iceland has announced service between Reykjavik and Montreal and Toronto that will start in 2016. No prices seem to be available yet but if their introductory fares for US routes (US$99 each way) are any indication we can expect them to launch with low fares here as well! Our guess is C$149! Of course they don't have a frequent flyer program but you will be able to use proprietary credit card programs to redeem points for these flights. (Thanks to Aeroman380 and Airlineroute.net)

Only 9 days left in our promotion where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada! Find out more here.
In the bonus offers section or posts since our last update check out the new Air Canada and British Airways flights bonuses! Lots of miles and Avios up for grabs for Canadians!


Posts since our last update:

• British Airways: Up to 125,000 Bonus Avios between Canada & the UK or Europe
  Very similar to their summer promotion, British Airways has launched their fall promo offering up to 125,000 Bonus Avios…
• Air Canada’s Destination Bonus Event - Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select flights worldwide
  Air Canada has launched a massive new bonus Aeroplan mile event for flights across the globe. Whether you are flying…
• Rewards Canada Exclusive: Save 20% when you book WestJet Plus Fares to anywhere they fly
  We are happy to have teamed up with WestJet again to bring you this special offer! Exclusive to Rewards…
• Only 10 days left!! Receive a $250 Gift Card with the Capital One® Aspire Travel™ World Elite MasterCard®
  There are only 10 days left in our exciting promotion where you can receive a $250 Gift Card from Rewards…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for every round trip (or 2 one way segments) on select Air Canada flights within Canada, to the U.S., Europe or Asia. More... Register and book by Nov 15 for travel until Dec 13, 15
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays at Delta Hotels & Resorts in Canada. More... Until Dec 15, 15

Air New Zealand Airpoints (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Airpoints for Business Airpoints when employees book and travel on eligible Air New Zealand flights. More... Until Dec 31, 15

airberlin topbonus
- Earn up to Quadruple topbonus Miles when you fly in Business or First Class with Alitalia, Etihad, Jet Airways, Niki, airberlin, Air Serbia or Air Seychelles. More... Full details Book between Sep 15 - 28 for travel Sep 25 - Dec 15, 15
- Double topbonus Miles and up to 25% off Hertz rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Sep 30 for rentals until Mar 20, 16

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 125,000 Bonus Avios when you fly round trip on qualifying British Airways, American Airlines, Finnair, Iberia, OpenSkies or US Airways operated and marketed non-stop flights between North American and the UK or Europe. More... Until Jan 31, 16

Delta SkyMiles
- Instant Gold Status for 2 months and then receive full status and 15,000 Bonus SkyMiles when you complete 2 qualifying round trips on Delta. More... Targeted offer - May Not Work for everyone Register by Oct 15, 15

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- OFFER EXTENDED 200 Bonus TrueBlue Points per day on rentals of 2 or more consecutive days (max 5 days) at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Caribbean. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- OFFER EXTENDED 200 Bonus TrueBlue Points per day on rentals of 2 or more consecutive days (max 5 days) at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., and Canada. More... Until Oct 31, 15

Le Club Accor Hotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at the Mercure Guatemala Casa Veranda. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at the Novotel Panama City. More... Until Dec 31, 15

MEA Middle East Airlines Cedar Miles
- 50% Cedar Miles Discount on all MEA round-trip reward tickets. More... Nov 2 - Dec 6, 15

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Quadruple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Edgewater South Beach Miami Beach. More... Book by Oct 31 for stays until Nov 30, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays of 3+ nights at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel New Orleans. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Dunes on the Waterfront Ogunqui. More... Book by Oct 19 for stays until Oct 25, 15
- Double Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Condor Hotel Brooklyn. More... Book by Oct 19 for stays until Oct 25, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Parkview Hotel Syracuse. More... Oct 1 - 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at The Edgewater Seattle. More... Until Dec 30, 15

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 25% Bonus Elevate points when you transfer ThankYou Points to Virgin America. More... Until Oct 21, 15

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

British Airways: Up to 125,000 Bonus Avios between Canada & the UK or Europe

Very similar to their summer promotion, British Airways has launched their fall promo offering up to 125,000 Bonus Avios for flights between North America and the UK or Europe. Difference this time is all fare classes are included and it also takes more flights to earn as many Avios as the summer promo. Nonetheless it should be a good fall for Transatlantic travel as earlier we brought you Air Canada's bonus, now this one and more than likely American, Iberia and Finnair will all follow suit.

Offer Details
Earn up to 125,000 Bonus Avios when you fly round trip on qualifying British Airways, American Airlines, Finnair, Iberia, OpenSkies or US Airways operated and marketed non-stop flights between North American and the UK or Europe. Full details, Online Registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Jan 31, 16 Valid for residents of Canada, the US and Mexico only

Earn up to 125,000 bonus Avios on transatlantic travel

Number of round trip flights	Bonus Avios earned for first or business class fares	Bonus Avios earned for premium economy or select full-fare economy fares	Bonus Avios earned for other economy fares
1	25,000	7,000	2,000
2	25,000	7,000	2,000
3	25,000	7,000	2,000
4	25,000	7,000	2,000
5	25,000	7,000	2,000
Total	125,000	35,000	10,000

Air Canada’s Destination Bonus Event - Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select flights worldwide

Air Canada has launched a massive new bonus Aeroplan mile event for flights across the globe. Whether you are flying within Canada, to the U.S., Europe or Asia there is a good chance you can earn extra miles on those Air Canada flights.

Offer Details
Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select Air Canada flights within Canada, to the U.S., Europe or Asia. Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Nov 15 for travel until Dec 13, 15

Earn 50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights within Canada in Flex or Latitude fares.
Earn Double Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights within Canada in Business Class, Premium Economy and Premium rouge.

Earn 50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and the USA in Economy Class.
Earn Double Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and the USA in Business Class and Premium rouge.

Earn 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Europe in Economy Class.
Earn 7,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Europe in Business Class, Premium Economy and Premium rouge. 

Earn 7,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Asia in Tango or Flex fares.
Earn 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Asia in Business Class, Premium Economy, Premium rouge and Latitude.

 

Rewards Canada Exclusive: Save 20% when you book WestJet Plus Fares to anywhere they fly

We are happy to have teamed up with WestJet again to bring you this special offer! Exclusive to Rewards Canada readers you can save 20% on Plus Fares to any of WestJet's 100+ destinations. Whether you are off the Regina or Honolulu, it doesn't matter, you can save 20%.

The exclusive codes for Rewards Canada readers for the 20% Plus fare discount on WestJet flights are as follows:

Promo code: REW05
Coupon code (web coupon no.): DW1U2GR

Simply visit westjet.com (in French here) and input the codes on the booking page to take advantage of the discount.
Book by Oct 5, 2015 (9:59PM MT) for travel Sep 21 - Dec 10 (Oct 8-13 are blacked out)

The great news is this promotion can be combined with the current $50 Bonus WestJet dollars offer for flying in Plus on the following routes:

Register here and complete travel by September 30th to be eligible to receive the $50 bonus WestJet dollars

September 16 Update: Tuition deadlines are looming, how you can pay for them with miles + lots of new bonuses

News, Tips & Tricks
Today we released the latest Rewards Canada feature in helping students make the most of loyalty programs. This feature looks at how you can use miles to pay for tuition. Read more here!

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




Posts since our last update:

• Use a MasterCard to pay new businesses online with Plastiq for 1.5%
  On occasion we have mentioned the company Plastiq here on Rewards Canada. They are a company that allows you to…
• In Defence of Loyalty Programs
  Recently, the loyalty industry has really taken it on the chin.  The latest coming from the results of a global…
  
  

Bonus Offers
Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double FlyerBonus Points when flying on selected Cathay Pacific Airways flights between Bangkok and Hong Kong. More... Oct 15 - Nov 30, 15
- Double FlyerBonus Points for stays at Centara Hotels and Resorts in Thailand More... Book by Oct 15 for stays Nov 1 - Apr 10, 16
- Double FlyerBonus Points when you book the "Luang Prabang Adventure" at Le Palais Juliana Luang Prabang or Package "Sua Sa Dai" at Juliana Hotel Phnom Penh More... Until Dec 23, 15
- Double FlyerBonus Points for stays at the X2 Samui or the X2 Kui Buri More... Until Dec 15, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 10,000 Bonus Gold Points when you arrive Thursday through Sunday and stay two or more nights at a participating Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu®, Park Plaza® and Park Inn® by Radisson hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Nov 15, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to 500 Bonus Asia Miles when you book hotels via Expedia HK. More... Until Nov 30, 15
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Asia Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Oct 31, 15 for stays until Jan 31, 16

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn up to Quadruple JetPrivilege Miles when you fly in Business or First Class with Alitalia, Etihad, Jet Airways, Niki, airberlin, Air Serbia or Air Seychelles. More... Book between Sep 15 - 28 for travel Sep 25 - Dec 15, 15

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- OFFER EXTENDED 3,000 Bonus Sindbad Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Oct 31, 15
- Shangri-La Double Sindbad Miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 15

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 50% Bonus Elevate Points when you book hotels in Hawaii via Kaligo. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- 10,000 Bonus Elevate Points when you stay 4 or more nights at any participating Marriott Hawaii resort. More... Nov 1 - Feb 28, 16
- 1,000 Bonus Elevate Points on PointsHound bookings in Hawaii. More... Nov 2 - Jan 31, 16
- 1,000 Bonus Elevate Points per night for a stay in Hawaii, when you make your first booking More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Earn up 750 Bonus Elevate Points on qualifying rentals at participating Avis locations in Hawaii. More... Nov 2 - Jan 31, 16
- Up to 80% Bonus Elevate Points when you buy points online. More... Until Sep 23, 15

Use a MasterCard to pay new businesses online with Plastiq for 1.5%

On occasion we have mentioned the company Plastiq here on Rewards Canada. They are a company that allows you to pay companies that don't accept credit cards with your credit card. Essentially you pay Plastiq with your credit card and they submit the payment on your behalf. Of course, there is a fee for doing this. That fee varies but we have seen promos as low as 0% to regular rates of 1.99% and higher.

Today they launched a new promotion for the remainder of September where you can pay new businesses (any business you have not made a payment to before with Plastiq) with a MasterCard card and only pay a 1.5% fee.

You can find out more about this offer here

What does this mean? If your rewards credit card provides you with a value of at least 1.5% or more then you should look at this offer as those points, miles or cashback are worth more than the fee and you are coming out ahead. Some examples of MasterCard cards that are at or over the 1.5% level are as follows:

BMO World Elite MasterCard
BMO CashBack World Elite MasterCard
CUETS World Elite or Platinum MasterCards

Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard
mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard
mbna Alaska Airlines MasterCard
WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard

In Defence of Loyalty Programs

Recently, the loyalty industry has really taken it on the chin.  The latest coming from the results of a global study commissioned by Aimia on the perceived value of reward programs. Aimia (operators of Canada's Aeroplan program) polled more than 20,000 people representing 11 countries and came to the conclusion that collectors don't feel they're getting enough value in return for the personal data they give up.

But as much as we love to moan and groan about these programs one thing remains clear -- they're not going anywhere any time soon.  Marketers love the ability to target customer segments and create tailored offerings with the hope they will increase their likelihood to buy. The premise is simple -- the more information a marketer knows about its customer's buying preferences the greater their ability to put something in front of the customer of relevance.  Are there opportunities for improvement?  You bet.  But I think it's important to remember the bigger win/win these programs represent.  No one wants to go back to the days of clipping coupons and taking packaging flaps back to your favourite grocer.  Loyalty programs drive innovation and simplify the way we convert our loyalty into currency.  In the case of coalition programs -- they allow collectors to pool and save up points for something bigger like a trip or tickets for special event. Yes, like many, I've been frustrated with how difficult it can be to redeem for higher demand items. But the frustration quickly disappears when I do cash in and feel like I've somehow beaten the system by getting something for free. I don't have an exact number but believe I've gained more than five figures worth of value from loyalty programs, sit on close to 3 million points and miles and know some Rewards Canada readers who have racked up as much as six figures worth of savings.

How about you? Do you agree with the survey? Do you like sharing personal info like shopping habits to increase your ability of points earning and redemption?

See the full size infographic on Aimia