October 29 Update: Win 2 tickets to An Evening with Rod Stewart, 100 Bonus AIR MILES at Rexall, Alitalia Biz Class sale

Second last update of the month!

News, Tips & Tricks
We have another contest here on Rewards Canada! You can enter to win 2 tickets to the Aeroplan dExclusives "An Evening with Rod Stewart" in Toronto. Find out more here.

As we see almost every week or multiple times weekly, there is another AIR MILES offer for Rexall purchases. A little higher this week than past weeks and no coupon needed.

2 and half days left to vote for your favourite travel rewards credit card! Vote here!


Posts since our last update:

• American AAdvantage: Earn up to 90,000 Bonus Miles for flights between Canada or the US and Australia
  Here is a great new bonus for those looking to fly to Australia on American Airlines or Qantas in…
• Win 2 Tickets to the Aeroplan dExclusives "An Evening with Rod Stewart" in Toronto - Courtesy of Aeroplan & Rewards Canada
  We're proud to team up once again with Aeroplan to offer our readers another contest! Aeroplan wants to give one…

Travel Deals
Alitalia has launched a business class sale for their flights out of Toronto. Fares are as low as $3,625 all in for travel Nov 2 - Dec 18 if booked by Nov 2. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
AirAisa BIG (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 1,000 Bonus BIG Points when you register as a BIG Shot and book any international flights on Wednesdays More... Only applicable to international flights departing from Malaysia, Korea, China, Australia, Singapore and Indonesia. Until Dec 31, 15

Air New Zealand Airpoints
- Double Airpoints for Friday, Saturday or Sunday stays at the Commodore Airport Hotel Christchurch. More... Until Feb 29, 16

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 90,000 AAdvantage Bonus Miles when you fly round-trip between the U.S./Canada and Australia on an American Airlines-marketed flight. More... Register Oct 28 - May 31 for travel Feb 1 - May 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays on the MGallery Gourmet Morning offer at participating MGallery Hotels in France. More... Book by Feb 23 for stays until Mar 31, 16

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 3,000 Bonus Flying Club Miles on your first booking with Kaligo. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Oct 1, 16

American AAdvantage: Earn up to 90,000 Bonus Miles for flights between Canada or the US and Australia

Here is a great new bonus for those looking to fly to Australia on American Airlines or Qantas in the New Year.

Offer Details
Earn up to 90,000 AAdvantage Bonus Miles when you fly round-trip between the U.S. /Canada and Australia on an American Airlines-marketed flight. Earn 30,000 bonus miles on First or Business Class fares, 15,000 bonus miles on Premium or Full-fare Economy fares (Y, B or H) and 5,000 bonus miles on other Economy fares. Bonus can be earned up to 3 times. Register Online (Registration is required) Register Oct 28 - May 31 for travel Feb 1 - May 31, 16

 

*Includes First Class and Business Class fares booked in F, A, P, J, R, D or I; Premium Economy fare booked in W (marketed by American Airlines and operated by Qantas Airways); Full-fare Economy Class fares booked in Y, B or H; other Economy Class fares booked in K, M, L, W, V, G, Q, N, O or S on American Airlines marketed flights.

Terms and conditions
AAdvantage bonus mile offer is valid only on American Airlines marketed nonstop flights between the U.S. /Canada and Australia, February 1, through May 31, 2016. Only flights marketed by American Airlines and operated by American Airlines or Qantas Airways are eligible for this promotion. Offer applies only to AAdvantage members who purchase and fly on eligible published-fare tickets. Bonus miles will be calculated and awarded based on the number of trips flown in a specific booking class. The bonus can only be earned for a maximum of three round-trips. Half the round-trip bonus will be posted after each eligible one way segment. Bonus miles do not count toward elite status qualification or AAdvantage Million Miler status. Registration prior to travel is required using Promotion Code AUS16

Win 2 Tickets to the Aeroplan dExclusives "An Evening with Rod Stewart" in Toronto - Courtesy of Aeroplan & Rewards Canada

We're proud to team up once again with Aeroplan to offer our readers another contest! Aeroplan wants to give one lucky Rewards Canada reader two tickets to their "An Evening with Rod Stewart" in Toronto on November 16th. This evening with Rod Stewart is not a full on concert but rather a 45 minute Q&A session with Rod and him performing two songs.  See this auction page for complete details!

If you don't enter or win, you can still redeem Aeroplan miles for this event that is limited to 350 people via the Aeroplan dExclusives benefit for Aeroplan Distinction members. You can redeem 40,000 Aeroplan miles for the same two tickets we are giving away or 80,000 to include a meet & greet with Rod! (the latter only has 2 remaining tickets)

What are dExclusives?

• Last year Aeroplan introduced the dExclusives benefit of its new tiered recognition program ‘Distinction’ that rewards its top accumulating members based on total Aeroplan Miles earned across all coalition partners including airline, travel, retail and financial card partners.
•  Aeroplan Distinction members can bid, using their Aeroplan Miles, on a wide variety of one-of-a-kind rewards specially designed around member’s interests. The dExclusives rewards are offered exclusively online at www.aeroplan.com/dExclusives.
• A Canadian loyalty first, dExclusives offer everything from access to professional sporting events, tickets to sold out concerts and once–in-a-lifetime trips that are curated to offer some of the highest quality products and some of the most in demand experiences from around the world. dExclusives rewards include:

• Escapes – Once-in-a-lifetime trips such as a trip to the World soccer championships in Brazil, and weekend getaways, such as a trip to the PGA Championship or a wine-tasting weekend in Napa Valley.
• In the City – Amazing tickets to some of the best events in town such as: Sold-out concerts or exclusive access to sporting events.
•  Money Can’t Buy – Building on Aeroplan’s Money Can’t Buy reward category, members can bid on a variety of truly priceless, highly coveted items such as a customized guitar signed by a musical artist

Now on to the fun part! The contest portion! To enter the contest for a chance to win 2 tickets to  Aeroplan dExclusives "An Evening with Rod Stewart" in Toronto you must do the following:

Comment below on what your ultimate bucket list Aeroplan redemption would be or has been? It could something as simple as that iPad you want to grab for your child this Christmas or business class flights to Asia or one of the one-of-a-kind dExclusives rewards!

Please note Flights and/or hotel are NOT included - only the two tickets to the actual event on November 16, 2015
The contest closes on Wednesday November 4th, 2015 at 11:59pm MST! Limit 1 entry per person Winner will be determined by random draw from all eligible entries received. Void where prohibited.  No purchase necessary. 

October 28 Update: Mourning the loss of the BA Executive Club short haul awards, 4 days left to vote for your favourite credit card

Although light in quantity, today's update is important due to the British Airways changes.

News, Tips & Tricks
Sad day in the world of great flight awards as the big news today is the changes in British Airways' short haul awards in North America. You only have three more months to redeem 4,500 Avios per one way flight as they jump to 7,500 as of February 2. See all the details here.

Only four days left to vote for your favourite travel rewards credit card! Vote here!


Posts since our last update:

• British Airways does away with the 4,500 Avios Short Haul Award in North America
  All good things must come to an end. I wish whoever coined that phrase never said it in the…

Bonus Offers
Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 70% FlyerBonus Points Discount on award tickets to all Bangkok Airways destinations. More... Book Nov 5 - 15 for travel Apr 20 - Jul 20, 16

Emirates Skywards
- 2,000 Bonus Skywards Miles for stays at participating Jumeirah Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 15, 15

Ethiopain Sheba Miles
- Double Sheba Miles when you fly Ethiopian Airlines between Durban and Addis Ababa. More... Dec 16 - Feb 16, 16

Jet Airways Jet Privilege
- Double JetPrivilege Miles when you fly Jet Airways between Singapore and Delhi. More... Register by Nov 25 for travel Nov 25 - Jan 31, 16
- Triple JetPrivilege Miles when book a Club room or suite in one of the eight hotels of The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Earn up to 30% Bonus JetPrivilege Miles when you buy miles online. More... Until Nov 15, 15
- Up to 2,500 Bonus JetPrivilege Miles when you subscribe to The Economist. More... Until Nov 30, 15
- Up to 300 Bonus JetPrivilege Miles when you subscribe to Time. More... Until Nov 30, 15

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 50% Bonus TrueBlue Points when you buy points online. More... Until Nov 30, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Bonus Starpoints, Free Nights or Elite Status when you complete stays at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Register by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 16

British Airways does away with the 4,500 Avios Short Haul Award in North America

All good things must come to an end. I wish whoever coined that phrase never said it in the first place. One of the best redemption options for short haul economy class flights from Canada to the U.S.. and for flights within the U.S. is ending on February 1st. 

We have raved about the British Airways Executive Club 4,500 Avios for a one way short haul between Canada and the U.S. for quite a few years now and even had a whole post outlining which routes you could get these ridiculously cheap flights (see How to get select Canada to U.S. award flights faster by utilizing British Airways' Executive Club)

These 4,500 Avios one way/9,000 Avios Round Trip flights will now cost 7,500 one way/15,000 round trip in economy
and double that in Business Class

Well it looks like the popularity (and cost) of these flights have been felt by British Airways as they are going up in price on February 2nd 2016:

This is a large increase in pricing and isn't unusual, we've seen it before from many programs including BA themselves. The only shred of light in this change is that 7,500 Avios one way/15,000 round trip is still a decent redemption value. It is now brought up to the same short haul award level that Aeroplan charges and is still better than many U.S. based carriers who will charge 20,000 to 25,000 miles for similar flights. Interestingly enough, the 4,500 Avios short haul redemption remains in place everywhere else outside of North America, so want a cheap short haul in Europe, Asia and other regions, you can still get those.

The timing of this change is unfortunate as I'm sure many of you just transferred over American Express Membership Rewards points this summer to get the 25% bonus in hopes of using them for this exact type of redemption. You still have three months to use them up at the low level so hopefully you can do so!

Read all about the changes on British Airways' site here.

October 27 Update: Good Aeroplan Business Class availability to Turkey and $150 Air Canada Gift Card for Japan flights

A relatively sparse update for you today!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air Canada is moving up their new Brisbane Australia service by two weeks. The service will now launch at the start of June 2016 instead of in the middle of the month. (Source Airlineroute.net)

This is the last week to vote for your favourite travel rewards credit card! Vote here!


Posts since our last update:

• Decent Aeroplan Business Class availability from Canada to Turkey for next summer
  Late last week several U.S. based blogs were detailing lots of open business class space between the U.S. and Turkey…
• Receive up to a $150 Gift Card when you fly Air Canada to Japan and beyond
  Air Canada has launched a new promotion that doesn't involve bonus miles but gift cards instead! With this promotion…
  
  

Travel Deals
Don't forget about Etihad Airways 96 hour Early Bird sale for travel out of Toronto (and globally). Its called Early Bird since its for travel from January 18 to June 30, 2016. In addition to low fares they are offering double miles on all bookings made during the sale period. You have to register for the double miles first (do that here) and then book your flights here.


Bonus Offers
Best Western Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you complete 2 separate stays at all Best Western Hotels in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia or Slovakia. More... Nov 1 - Dec 31, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles and up to 30% off stays at Fairmont Hotel & Resorts in Asia. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays until Feb 29, 16
- Double Asia Miles for stays of 2+ nights at selected properties of Marco Polo Hotels and Niccolo By Marco Polo in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the Philippines. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Orbitz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 4x Orbucks on select LOT Polish Airlines flights to destinations like Budapest, Moscow, Bucharest and Warsaw. More... Book by Nov 22, 15

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Alexandra Resort Grace Bay. More... Book by Nov 15 for stays Nov 1 - 30, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Serrano Hotel San Francisco. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Horton Grand Hotel San Diego. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Hotel Viking Newport. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Mar 31, 16
- Double Stash Rewards Points for stays at The Island Inn at 123 West Friday Harbor. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Jefferson Street Inn Wausau. More... Until Dec 24, 15

Virgin Australia Velocity (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Velocity Points for stays of 3 or more nights at One & Only Resorts. More... Book Dec 14 - Apr 30, 16 for stays Feb 1 - Sep 30, 16



Today's Update is brought to you by:

Decent Aeroplan Business Class availability from Canada to Turkey for next summer

Late last week several U.S. based blogs were detailing lots of open business class space between the U.S. and Turkey on Turkish Airlines for travel next Summer. Yes, next summer during the busy travel season! (HT One Mile at a time)

We decided to give it a shot to see what availability is like out of Canada and the United website is showing quite a few days where you can 4 seats in Business Class between Toronto and Istanbul via the U.S.:

Outbound:

Return:

However since most of us have Aeroplan miles over MileagePlus miles or even Turkish Miles&Smiles miles I decided to give it a go on Aeroplan and there are even more options than what United brings up (and you don't have to go via the U.S.) Here is just one screenshot of where you can get 4 Business Class tickets between Toronto and Istanbul for travel during the high season (this was a one way search but as you can see from the graphic above there are quite a few days showing availability for 4 seats return. Granted the second option below has an economy class leg but that is for the short YYZ-YUL flight.

And both the options above aren't bad on fees! Take the EgyptAir/Turkish example:

So 210,000 miles (52,500 per person) and $221.84 ($55.21 per person) total in taxes. Not bad at all!

Some of the U.S. blogs were showing up to 8 business class seats available on the U.S. Turkish Airlines departures so there is lots of potential to use your Aeroplan miles here to get Business Class travel to Turkey! Our examples only show flights from Toronto but you should be able to connect from most major Canadian cities to the various options shown above.

Aeroplan availability for 4 business class tickets

You could technically get enough miles for the one way flight with AeroplanPlus Reserve Card which has a sign up bonus of 60,000 miles until Oct 31 or check out our post on how to earn up to 100,000 Aeroplan Miles or more with various credit cards for free. Granted however by the time you get the card and get the miles posted these great business class offers could be gone.

Do you plan on or have you already jumped on this offer?

Receive up to a $150 Gift Card when you fly Air Canada to Japan and beyond

Air Canada has launched a new promotion that doesn't involve bonus miles but gift cards instead! With this promotion you’ll receive one Air Canada Gift Card per passenger, of up to $150 each when you book an eligible flight to Japan or Southeast Asia through Tokyo. This promotion is good for tickets purchased by Dec 12 for travel between Nov 21 and Mar 21, 16.  Register online for this promotion. (Registration is required)

Sure the amounts aren't huge but any reward like this is better than nothing and for those of you who don't have Aeroplan as you major FFP this is the type of promotion that works more for you rather than bonus miles. Why? You can add your United MileagePlus, Lufthansa Miles & More or any other airline partner of AC to your reservation, earn the miles in that program and still get the gift cards to use on future Air Canada flights. Note however that these Air Canada Promotional Gift Cards come with expiry dates of Dec 15, 2016.

October 26 Update: Eurowings becomes an Aeroplan partner, fly Hainan Airlines out of YYZ to earn up 35K bonus miles, Etihad 96 hour sale

Happy final week of October to everyone!

News, Tips & Tricks
The biggest news today is the release of IHG Rewards Club's latest PointBreaks offers. These are the single handily the best hotel redemption out there especially if you can grab an InterContinental Hotel (which there is only one in this batch of ~190 hotels!). Read more about PointBreaks here.

Aeroplan has added their 34th airline partner to the roster. Eurowings, the low cost subsidiary of Lufthansa is now an earning partner for Aeroplan members. Redeeming Aeroplan miles for Eurowings is not being offered at this time. (Source Aeroplan)

More 787 news for those looking to fly this plane out of Canada!
Air Canada is adding the 787-8 on their Toronto-Istanbul route as of May 1, 2016 (Source airlineroute.net) and KLM will be putting the 787-9 on their Calgary and Edmonton routes for the winter 2016 season (Source airlineroute.net)

Check out the Hainan Airlines flight bonus below and be sure you register for it if you are planning on flying Hainan out of Toronto before the end of January.

This is the last week to vote for your favourite travel rewards credit card! Vote here!


Posts since our last update:

• Now Live - IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks - 5,000 Points for Award NightRedemptions at 190 Hotels (4 in Canada) until Jan 31, 16
  The latest set of IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks are now bookable for stays from today to January 31st (subject…
• IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks - Complete list of hotels that will be available as of Oct 26 (only 4 in Canada this time)
  The new IHG® Rewards Club PointBreaks list will be live on Monday October 26 for booking and stays from Oct…

Travel Deals
Etihad Airways has launched a 96 hour Early Bird sale for travel out of Toronto (and globally). Its called Early Bird since its for travel from January 18 to June 30, 2016. In addition to low fares they are offering double miles on all bookings made during the sale period. You have to register for the double miles first (do that here) and then book your flights here. 

Bonus Offers
Choice Privileges
- 30% Bonus Privileges Points when you buy point online. Minimum purchase of 13,000 points. More... Until Nov 24, 15

Delta SkyMiles
- Earn up to Triple SkyMiles for stays at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Nov 1 - Jan 31, 16

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up to 35,000 Fortune Wings Miles when you fly on Hainan Airlines or Grand China Air. More... Until Jan 26, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Redeem only 5,000 points for stays at select hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 100 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at 300 ibis hotels in 28 countries. More... Until ?

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Double Mabuhay Miles for stays at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort. More... Until Dec 24, 15