September 29 Update: Cineplex SCENE expands with 8 restaurant brands, SPG Dashboard, Top No Fee Travel Cards

Tuesday's news and more!

News, Tips & Tricks
Over a year ago we said that Cineplex's SCENE program was the program to watch out for in our Top Loyalty Currencies feature as they were planning to become more of a competitor to Canada's two big coalition programs AIR MILES and Aeroplan. Well their growth into a coalition program continues with the addition of the Cara group of restaurants as an earn and burn partner. SCENE members will now be able to earn 1 SCENE point for every $3 spentd at 8 restaurant brands across Canada. Members will also be able to redeem 1,000 points for a $10 credit at these restaurants. To celebrate the newest addition to the program you can earn bonus points at these restaurants with these coupons. Learn more about the new partnership here.

If you registered for the newest SPG promotion, Stay For More, you may have noticed that after you complete the registration you are taken to a new page on SPG called 'Dashboard'. This new dashboard allows you see tons of great info on your membership with SPG along with special targetted offers such as 200 points for opting in for emails, 500 points for booking via the SPG App or 10,000 points for completing stays at all 10 SPG brands. You can access your SPG Dashboard here.

Remember we have an exclusive offer with WestJet that saves you 20% on their Plus fares. You must book by Oct 5! Find out more here!

Only 2 days left in our promotion where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada! Find out more here.



Posts since our last update:

• Top No Fee Travel Cards to look at with the current economic downturn
  While economists aren't saying that we are in a recession yet there has definitely been a downturn in the Canadian…
• Aeroplan and Toyota Canada announce partnership
  Aeroplan announced today the addition of another automotive partner! In addition to the current partnership with Volvo, Aeroplan will…
  
  

Bonus Offers
China Southern Sky Pearl
- Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly China Southern between Brisbane and Guangzhou. More... Oct 10 - Dec 10, 15
- Earn up to 4,000 Bonus Sky Pearl Kilometers when you fly China Southern between Sanya and Osaka. ore... Until Nov 1, 15
- Up to 50% Sky Pearl Kilometers Discount for award tickets on select routes within China and from China to Asia, the Middle East and Africa. More... Oct 1 - Dec 31, 15

Delta SkyMiles
- OFFER EXTENDED 200 Bonus SkyMiles per day on rentals at participating Hertz locations in the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, Latin and South America. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Emirates Skywards
- Double Skywards Miles when you fly Emirates to Bologna from select cities Worldwide. More... Register and book by Oct 31 for travel Nov 3 - Dec 15, 15

Finnair Plus
- Double Plus Points on all Finnair flights Worldwide. More... Oct 1 - Nov 30, 15
- 3,000 Bonus Plus Points on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Dec 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- 10,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when book the “10,000 Reasons to go to HK” Bonus Points Package for 3+ nights at a participating hotel in Hong Kong, or for 2+ nights at a participating hotel in Macau. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Sindbad Miles when you fly on Oman Air between Muscat and Dhaka. More... Oct 25 - Dec 15, 15

South African Airways Voyager
- Double Voyager Miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 15

United MileagePlus
- Double MileagePlus miles when you fly p.s.® Premium Service between New/York Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO). More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone. Until Feb 29, 16

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

Top No Fee Travel Cards to look at with the current economic downturn

This has been removed due to frequent changes to the cards that were originally listed here.

 

Aeroplan and Toyota Canada announce partnership

Aeroplan announced today the addition of another automotive partner! In addition to the current partnership with Volvo, Aeroplan will now add Toyota to the ranks of its earning partners. This is a big move compared to Volvo as Toyota is a much larger brand here in Canada with a much larger base of customers. The partnership looks to be built along the same lines as the Volvo one as it will 

"enable members to earn miles during the entire ownership experience with Toyota and Scion including test drives, purchase, vehicle servicing and upgrades.”

Full details of the partnership aren't out yet so we don't know the earn levels yet. Those will be revealed when the partnership launches.

As a Toyota owner I'm excited as I will now have yet another way to earn more miles however I wonder if this will make my local dealership's reward program disappear or at the very least have to choose between one or the other.

September 28 Update: New menus on Rewards Canada, 40,000 Point sign up bonus for the mbna Best Western MasterCard

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Here is your first update of the week!

News, Tips & Tricks
If you visited the main Rewards Canada site over the weekend you may have noticed a change to our menus! We have essentially run on the same menu system for 10+ years which was fromed when Rewards Canada had a larger focus on bonus offers and not much other content. For many years we have been providing much more content than bonuses and the menus did not follow so it was hard to find our features, guides, educational pieces and more on the site. Now with the new menus it should be much easier to find all we have to offer on the site! There is still further updating to be done to the drop down menus however so be sure to keep checking them as they will change over time!

Before:

After:

Air Canada will be placing their 787-9 aircraft on Calgary and Toronto to Frankfurt routes for April 2016. (Source airlineroute.net)

There is a great new increased sign up bonus for the Best Western MasterCard from mbna! The usual bonus of 20,000 points has been doubled to 40,000! Not as big as the 50k we've seen in previous years but still a great offer to take advantage of seeing that the card has no annual fee! Find out more here.

Remember we have an exclusive offer with WestJet that saves you 20% on their Plus fares. You must book by Oct 5! Find out more here!

Only 3 days left in our promotion where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada! Find out more here.



Posts since our last update:

• Best Western Rewards 2016 Program Changes - Moving to dynamic award night pricing, changes to elite levels and no more expiration
  Best Western is rolling out the news of the changes to their Rewards program that will take place on…
• RBC and British Airways bring back the 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for their Visa Infinite Card
  The 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card has returned! The sign up bonus…

Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- 30% Miles&Bonus Discount on select award tickets within Greece and between Greece and Europe or Africa. More... Until Nov 30, 15

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at Fairmont Hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, Yangcheng Lake, Nanjing, Manila and Bali More... Until Oct 9, 15
- Up to Quadruple Phoenix Miles Kilometers when you book hotels via HRS. More... Until Oct 31, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers when you stay on the Best Available or Bed&Breakfast rate at any participating Mandarin Oriental hotel Worldwide.More... Oct 1 - Dec 31, 15
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at Fairmont Hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, Kunshan, Foshan, Bangkok and Phuket. More... Until Oct 9, 15

American AAdvantage
- 3,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Dec 31, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Earn up to 70,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays at the the Radisson Blu Warwick Hotel, Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- 1,500 Bonus Gold Points for Club Carlson Gold and Concierge members on qualifying rentals of 1 or more days or more at participating Avis locations worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Barcelona & Madrid. More... Until Nov 15, 15

Orbitz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn 4x Orbucks when you book select China Eastern flights from the U.S. to Shanghai, Beijing, Xian, Hong Kong, Seoul, Osaka, Paris, London, Melbourne, Sydney and more. More... Book by Oct 18, 15
- 4x Orbucks when you book Bermuda flight + hotel packages. More... Book by Nov 2, 15
- 4x Orbucks on select Mexico vacations, including top brand resorts like Live Aqua Cancun, Grand Fiesta Americana and The Explorean Cozumel. More... Book by Oct 25, 15

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Earn up to Quadruple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at any Radisson Blu Hotel in Turkey. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Rixos Hotels in Turkey. More... Oct 1 - Dec 15, 15

United MileagePlus
- Double MileagePlus Miles for stays at any participating Shangri-La Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 15

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

Best Western Rewards 2016 Program Changes - Moving to dynamic award night pricing, changes to elite levels and no more expiration

Best Western is rolling out the news of the changes to their Rewards program that will take place on January 1, 2016. The major new points are the elimination of the points expiry rule of 13 months of no activity, the addition of a fourth elite status level called Diamond Select and gone is the same price award night levels as the program moves to dynamic pricing based on the season and availability of rooms at each hotel. This will mean that during slow periods award nights may cost less than they do now however during peak seasons those award nights may cost more than they do now. Overall this should mean more award night rooms are available but of course in most cases it will mean that it will cost you more points than the current iteration of the program


Here is BW's example:
Before:

After:

Low Season

High Season

The changes to the Elite status levels of BW Rewards see the addition of a fourth top tie level called Diamond Select. This level will require 50+ nights or 40+ stays or 50,000 base points from stays to achieve. This new level will receive 50% elite bonus points on each stay once achieved.
Current Elite

2016 Elite Levels:

All Platinum and higher levels including Diamond Seleect can receive room upgrades depending on availability however at this time we don't know what other benefits will come with Diamond Select other than the 50% bonus points.

Apparently you will be able to earn points on more rates with BW. We do know the excluded rates are as follows:

 As we learn more details of the changes we'll be sure to let you all know! In the mean time feel free to comment below to let us know what you think of the changes that we know so far!

RBC and British Airways bring back the 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for their Visa Infinite Card

The 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card has returned!

The sign up bonus remains the same at 15,000 Avios however 35,000 additional Avios will be awarded to any new cardholder who applies by Nov 15, 15 and spends $9,000 within the first 3 months of card membership. That's right $9,000! Remember back in 2012 when it used to be $5,000 for that extra 35,000!

What can you get for 50,000 Avios? Just one example is 11 one way or 5 round trip short haul trips between Canada & North America in Economy Class(+taxes/fees). Read all about that here

Some additional details of the card are:

• Receive 15,000 Avios upon approval^Λ.
• Receive 35,000 bonus Avios when you spend $9,000 in the first three months account opening^Λ.
• Collect 1 Avios for every $1 CAD spent on qualifying net purchases*.
• Collect double Avios when you shop with British Airways and BA Holidays*.
• Earn a companion voucher when you spend $30,000 CAD annually˜.
• 250 bonus Avios when you rent a car with Avis and pay with your RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card†.
• 10% off British Airways flights when you book and pay with your RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card∞.

For complete details please visit BA.com

September 25 Update: Aeroplan Award Chart changes, WestJet Status Match & Fast Track Offers, big bonuses from Copa Airlines

Big news right before the weekend from Aeroplan!

News, Tips & Tricks
Of course the big news today is the upcoming changes to the Aeroplan award charts. Read our take on them here

Yesterday we brought you the details of WestJet status match offer but there is also a fast track offer available to select WestJet Rewards members. Be sure to check your email for it! I received it in my email yesterday.

Remember we have an exclusive offer with WestJet that saves you 20% on their Plus fares. You must book by Oct 5! Find out more here!

Only 6 days left in our promotion where you can get a $250 Gift Card from Rewards Canada! Find out more here.

Flying Copa Airlines out of Montreal or Toronto to any of their new destinations via Panama City? You can stand to earn up to 150,000 bonus ConnectMiles. See the link below in the bonus offers section. 

Posts since our last update:

• Aeroplan Award Chart Changes effective December 15, 15
  An email came out this morning from Aeroplan announcing more changes to their fixed mileage award charts. Over the…
• WestJet Rewards Status Match offer is back! Get Gold Status with one flight when you hold status with other North American programs
  Late last year when WestJet Rewards launched their Elite levels they offered a status match and a fast track…
• Current Bonus Mile Offers for flying within Canada or from Canada to the rest of the World
  Another reminder for you about the one page on the main Rewards Canada site that sees a good amount of…

Bonus Offers
Copa Airlines ConnectMiles
- Earn up to 150,000 Bonus ConnectMiles when you fly on Copa Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia to Belize, David, San Francisco, New Orleans, Villahermosa, Puebla, Santa Clara, Georgetown, Montreal, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa or Boston. More... Oct 1 - Mar 31, 16

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Rotana Hotels in the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Hilton HHonors
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus HHonors Points when you complete a two-night qualifying stay at participating Hilton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide within 90 days of registration. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jan 7, 16

JAL Hotels One Harmony
- Earn up to 2,500 bonus One Harmony Points when you dine at restaurants/bars at Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International, Hotel JAL City. More... Oct 1 - Dec 15, 15

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit
- Save 30% when you buy or gift Free Spirit points online. More... Until Oct 19, 15

Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Triple Rapid Rewards Points per stay at La Quinta properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus Rapid Rewards Points when you book hotels via Southwest.com. More...Until Dec 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Rapid Rewards Points for weekend stays at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts in North and Latin America. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Double Rapid Rewards Points for midsize or larger vehicle rented from Alamo for at least two days in the United States and Canada. More... Until Nov 15, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Rapid Rewards Points on all car groups at any participating Avis airport location in the United States. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Earn up to Quadruple Rapid Rewards Points on all car groups at any participating Budget airport location in the United States. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Earn up to Quadruple Rapid Rewards Points on all Hertz rentals at participating locations in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada. More... . Until Dec 31, 15
- Double Rapid Rewards Points on on qualifying rentals at participating Payless airport locations. More... Until Jan 31, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn a Free Weekend Night Award for every five eligible nights you book with SPG Pros for stays at Sheraton hotels. More... Until Dec 31, 15

WestJet Rewards
- Receive WestJet Gold Elite Status if you hold elite status with another airline in North America and complete 1 flight with WestJet. More... Until Dec 31, 15

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

Aeroplan Award Chart Changes effective December 15, 15

An email came out this morning from Aeroplan announcing more changes to their fixed mileage award charts. Over the past few years we have seen a lot of changes to the Aeroplan fixed (or what used to be known as Classic Flight) awards and thankfully, although this could be deemed a devaluation it isn't as bad as those past changes. The single change I see that would be considered the worst is the move of Canada to Europe 1 Business Class from 90,000 Aeroplan Miles to 110,000 miles! That award has always been a great sweet spot and I was planning on using it next spring so I think I'll definitely book that before December 15th now!

Overall here are the pros and cons of these changes announced today

Pros:

• Aeroplan is giving us a decent time period of advance notice! Too many times in the past and present, airline and hotel programs change rates without giving ample notice
• The addition of one-way Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards at 50% of the miles to rewards from international destinations to other international destinations. Previously it was only available on flights departing from Canada
• A significant amount of awards from one international destination (not North America) to another international destination have decreased in cost.
• Based on historical Aeroplan redemptions the changes announced today impact roughly about 2% of the Aeroplan membership base. They left their most popular redemptions which are economy class within North America untouched

Cons

• Some very important award redemptions affecting us Canadians have increased, most notably business class between Canada and Europe 1. Business Class to Europe 2 and First Class to both Europe 1/2 also increase
• Award tickets to Southern South America also see significant increases for Business Class and a slight increase for First Class
• Economy Class tickets to Australia from Canada also jump from 80,000 to 90,000 miles
• Short Haul Business Class within Canada and Canada to the U.S. increase by 5,000 miles for a round trip
• Travel Zones are changing, countries like Poland move from Europe 1 to Europe 2 (perhaps to combat the lack of a large YQ charge on LOT flights between Canada and Poland?)
• Intra Asia business class sees the biggest jump of all! Asia 1 to Asia 1 goes from 30,000 miles to 80,000 miles! Ouch!

Here is a look at the changes for those of us who primarily travel within or from Canada. The black dot represents increases. No dot means they stay the same and an orange dot represents a decrease, which you'll only see on the linked PDF below this chart.

You can find a comparison chart of all the current and new mileage levels on the Aeroplan site here.

Also here is a look at the travel zone changes:

Other than the Poland change these aren't too bad. Even the moves of Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to Asia 2 as the mileage differences between Asia 1 and Asia 2 are typically only 5,000 miles for premium classes however it is a big jump for Economy (75,000 to 90,000)

Overall this isn't huge breaking news from Aeroplan like past program and award chart changes. I think the biggest hit and issue a lot of Rewards Canada readers will have is with the big increases to Business and First Class travel between Canada and Europe. Really though, Aeroplan is just playing follow the leader with these as we saw British Airways increase the amount of Avios required between Canada and the UK or Europe as well as with United when redeeming MileagePlus miles on Air Canada flights. Not happy about it personally but this is the landscape that is now. Like I said I am going to redeem for our planned Canada-Europe 1 flights before 12/15/15!

Thoughts everyone?

WestJet Rewards Status Match offer is back! Get Gold Status with one flight when you hold status with other North American programs

Late last year when WestJet Rewards launched their Elite levels they offered a status match and a fast track to status to boost immediate membership. The status match was only for members from other Canadian programs (Air Canada and Canadian North to be exact) but now we have this offer that is open to members of any North American airline program! This isn't an instant status match however as you need to complete one flight on WestJet by the end of the year. A a very useful offer if you hold other status and are planning to fly WestJet. Note: any North American airline includes those based in Canada, U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

Gold Elite with WestJet provides:
• Two free checked bags
• Ten airport lounge passes
• Priority security screening (at select airports)
• Advance boarding
• And more

To take advantage of this offer:

1. First, submit a request to participate including:
   
   1. Your first and last name.
   2. Your 9-digit WestJet Rewards ID (provided to you upon joining WestJet Rewards). If you're not already a member you can join now.
   3. A photo or scanned copy of your membership card in another North American airline's frequent flyer program showing your name, top-tier status and valid dates.
2. Then, fly a minimum of one eligible WestJet-marketed flight with your WestJet Rewards ID on the booking between September 24 and December 31, 2015.

REGISTER FOR THIS OFFER HERE!