Choice Hotels Privileges: Earn Triple Points on all stays Worldwide

Wow! Nice to Choice Hotels move away from their 'up to 8,000 bonus points' offerings we've seen all year. Nice and simple with this one. Earn Triple Points on all eligible stays at participating locations Worldwide.

Offer Details
Triple Privileges Points on every stay at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Stay must be booked via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Corporate travelers can book in their online booking tool or through the GDS. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Nov 19 - Jan 15, 16
Restrictions
For residents of the U.S. and Canada only

Earn Double Miles & More Miles when you fly LOT Polish Airlines between Toronto and Warsaw

It has been sometime since we've seen a bonus for flying on LOT and this is a pretty decent one. The offer of double Miles & More is good on 15 significant overseas and European routes including Toronto!

Offer Details:
Double Miles & More Miles when you fly on LOT between Warsaw and Toronto, New York, Chicago, Beijing, London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Madrid, Paris, Moskow, Sofia, Geneva, Amsterdam or Prague. Valid in fare classes B, E, G, H, K, M, Q, R, S, T, V, W, Y. Bonus can be earned up to 8 times. Register online (Registration is required) Until Mar 31, 16

Transfer points to Aeroplan to earn up to 40,000 Bonus Miles

 
It's back! The Aeroplan  partner transfer bonus that is seen every spring and fall (and this past summer) now has returned. Basically what it entails is transferring points out of other select loyalty programs into your Aeroplan account. This time they it is the same as the offer we saw over summer where you can earn up to 40,000 bonus miles. There are no financial partners involved again, for Canadians that is, Americans get Diners Club Club Rewards in that category. Basically you can transfer from partners like Starwood, Hertz and more (see the last graphic) and as long as the total Aeroplan miles deposited from all of them reaches one of the bonus target levels you will be awarded the respective bonus miles.

And just like the last five versions of this offer, American Express Membership Rewards is unfortunately not included. so chances are I will not use the promo this time (again).

If you are a Starwood Preferred Guest collector you can really up the bonus by taking advantage of their 5,000 Mile bonus offer when you convert 20,000 Starpoints into Aeroplan. Which means in this promotion you can get 29,000 Aeroplan Miles for 20,000 Starpoints or if you transfer 20k four times, you'll get 125,000 Aeroplan Miles for 80,000 Starpoints and so on! Of course I like to keep Starpoints for award nights or cash+points stays within the Starwood family but some of you may like this transfer option especially since SPG may be gone in the next year or two with the Marriott buy out! You can get 20,000 Starpoints simply by getting the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express


Offer Details:
Earn up to 40,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert points from a wide selection of Aeroplan partner loyalty programs (hotel, car rental, and points.com). Bonuses are as follows and are awarded on a cumulative basis. Convert Points to
5,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 1,000 Mile bonus
10,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 2,000 Mile bonus
20,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn 4,000 Mile bonus
50,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 10,000 Mile bonus
100,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 25,000 Mile bonus
150,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 40,000 Mile bonus  
Full details Valid until Dec 21, 15

25% Bonus on American Express Membership Rewards Points Transfers to Etihad Airways Guest

Great news for American Express Cardholders in Canada who like to transfer their Membership Rewards Points to Etihad Airways' Guest program! Right now you'll get a 25% bonus on all transfers until December 31st This is an Etihad Guest promotion not one from Amex as you won't find any details on Amex's website about the offer.

Normally the transfer rate 1,000 Membership Rewards Points for 750 Guest Miles. With this promotion that is bumped to 937 miles (or 938 as we're not sure if Etihad will round up or down) for every 1,000 points. If you own the American Express Gold Rewards Card this means your rate of return jumps based in the 2 points per dollar on select categories or roughly 1.9 Etihad Guest Miles per dollar spent including the bonus. Still it may not be as good 1:1 ratio we see with Aeroplan or British Airways Executive Club however Etihad does have some great short haul redemptions in the Middle East, we're talking only 4,000 or 5,000 miles each way. So if business or pleasure takes you to the U.A.E. and you want to jump  on a quick visit to Bahrain, Muscat or other cities this could be the way to go!

On top of this you can also convert hotel points to Etihad Guest. As with the majority of hotel to airline transfers, SPG is the way to go as when you convert 20,000 Starpoints SPG will bump that to 25,000 miles and then you'll get the 25% on top of that. You can get 20,000 Starpoints for signing up for the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express

Offer Details:
25% Bonus Guest Miles when you convert your Credit Card, Hotel or Loyalty Reward Points into Etihad Guest Miles. Full details Until Dec 31, 15

November 16 Update: New Sears Club launched today, Marriott to buy Starwood and Hainan Airlines to serve Calgary?

Of course the big news today is the Marriott Starwood deal but we do have other things to bring you:

News, Tips & Tricks
The new Sears Club program launched today! Now you don't have to have Sears branded credit card to earn points. The new program offers:

"1 Sears Club Point for every 1 dollar you spend* at Sears, whether you use cash, debit or any credit card. accepted by Sears Canada, when you present your new Sears Club™ Rewards Card." 

To celebrate they are offering 3x points until the end of the year. You can sign up for the new Sears Club program here. Now we just have to wait to see what the credit card offerings for this program will be from Scotiabank!

Although not concrete it looks like Calgary will be getting their first direct service to China in June of 2016 and its not on Air Canada! If applications go throught it will be China's Hainan Airlines offering 4x weekly service between Calgary and Beijing. Find out more here.


Also on the news of Calgary, Air Canada is going all 787 service for Europe flights in the summer of 2016 as will AC's Toronto to Tokyo Narita service. (Source Airlineroute.net)


We are speaking at the Canadian Points University in January! You can save $20 off the ticket price when you use promo code REWARD20 ! Visit the site here.



Posts since our last update:

• Club Carlson: Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays at Radisson or Country Inns & Suites in Canada
  A great new offer for stays at Carlson Rezidor hotels in Canada! Whether you are staying one night or…
• Use a MasterCard to pay any businesses online with Plastiq for 1.5%
  By now you should be familiar with the company Plastiq as we have mentioned them several times here on…
• Marriott International to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts
  Well months of rumours and speculation can now be put to rest. We now know who is buying Starwood Hotels…

Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 75,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you buy or gift miles. More... Until Nov 30, 15

Etihad Guest
- 25% Bonus Guest Miles when you convert your Credit Card, Hotel or Loyalty Reward Points into Etihad Guest Miles. More... Until Dec 31, 15

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Triple Infinity MileageLands Miles on Alamo rentals of 3 or more days in the U.S. or Canada. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Earn up to Triple Infinity MileageLands Miles for every TWD100 spent when booking hotels at HRS and EVA Air designated website. More... Until Jan 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in France, Germany, Poland, Sweden and the UK.More... Book by Dec 9 for stays until Dec 31, 15
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points and 3 nights for the price of 2 at participating Accor Hotels in in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor hotels in Spain and Portugal. More... Book by Dec 20 for stays Nov 22 - Jan 10, 16
- 4x Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at the Pullman Miami Airport. More... Until Nov 30, 15

Saudia Alfursan
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays at any Tulip Inn, Golden Tulip or Royal Tulip Luxury Hotels Worldwide.More... Dec 1 - Feb 29, 16
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays at the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Living at World Trade Centre Residences, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers and Jumeirah Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- 1,000 Bonus Alfursan Miles for stays at the Marriott Executive Apartments Manama Bahrain or Residence Inn by Marriott Manama Juffair. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays at the Capital Centre Arjaan by Rotana. More... Until Jul 31, 16
- Double Alfursan Miles on all Budget rentals in Saudi Arabia. More... Until Dec 25, 15

United MileagePlus
- Premier status match + 25,000 bonus miles or earn up to 50,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you fly United Airlines Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone. Register by Jan 31, 16 for travel until Feb 29, 16

Club Carlson: Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays at Radisson or Country Inns & Suites in Canada

A great new offer for stays at Carlson Rezidor hotels in Canada! Whether you are staying one night or three nights you'll earn a bonus for stays at Radisson Hotels or Country Inns & Suites in Canada!

Offer Details:
Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Gold Points stays at Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotels throughout Canada.  Use promo code GOCANADA when you book online at Radisson or Country Inns. Until Mar 31, 16

• Stay 1 night, earn 1,000 bonus Gold Points®
• Stay 2 nights, earn 2,000 bonus points
• Stay 3 or more nights, earn 5,000 bonus points

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

By now you should be familiar with the company Plastiq as we have mentioned them several times 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 November where you can pay ANY business with a MasterCard card for a one-time payment (not recurring) and only pay a 1.5% fee. (This promotion will expire on November 30, 2015 at 5 p.m. PT.)

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 MasterCardNBC World Elite MasterCard
WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard

Marriott International to acquire Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Well months of rumours and speculation can now be put to rest. We now know who is buying Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Out of the blue came the news this morning that Marriott International is planning to acquire one of our favourite hotel chains! Nowhere had any mentioned Marriott before, over the past year its been names like Hyatt, IHG, Chinese firms, etc. who may buy Starwood but none of those are the winners. Wow is all we can say. Marriott recently bought up the beloved Canadian Delta Hotels brand and now this!

 Bethesda, MD, and Stamford, CT, November 16, 2015 – Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) announced today that the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which the companies will create the world’s largest hotel company.  The transaction combines Starwood’s leading lifestyle brands and international footprint with Marriott’s strong presence in the luxury and select-service tiers, as well as the convention and resort segment, creating a more comprehensive portfolio.  The merged company will offer broader choice for guests, greater opportunities for associates and should unlock additional value for Marriott and Starwood shareholders.  Combined, the companies operate or franchise more than 5,500 hotels with 1.1 million rooms worldwide.  The combined company’s pro forma fee revenue for the 12 months ended September 30, 2015 totals over $2.7 billion. 

What does that mean for us Canadians now and in the future? Now it is status quo, you continue on with earning and redeeming with Starwood Preferred Guest and/or Marriott Rewards. If the transaction is approved they hope it will close in mid-2016. Ultimately we believe his means integration of Starwood Preferred Guest into Marriott Rewards sometime after that. More than likely not until 2017. Seeing that there was nearly a one year timeline to integrate Delta Privilege (a much smaller program than SPG) into Marriott Rewards you can just imagine what the integration will entail of the 21 Million SPG members into Marriott Rewards. There is a good chance that many of the perks and benefits of SPG will be lost seeing that Marriott Rewards is a much larger program and frequently wins awards even though it doesn't have the prowess of SPG. This will eventually mean we will lose the coveted Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and leave Canada with only 2 hotel chain co-branded credits card in Canada, Marriott and Best Western. The Marriott Premier Visa from Chase is a great card but the SPG program makes the SPG Amex better.

In terms of hotels, Marriott may just continue to run all the Starwood brands under their current names, Sheraton, Westin, Aloft etc. and never name them Marriott's. Some of those names are iconic and shouldn't be messed with and Marriott knows this.

Of course it is too early to say any of this definitively but if past experience dictates what will happen here then at the very least we know at least some of what we speculate above will actually come true.

What are your thoughts on this news?

November 13 Update: Petro-Points & HBC Rewards team up, great Emirates sale from the U.S. to Milan, new TD page on Rewards Canada

Final update of the week!

News, Tips & Tricks
Petro-Points has teamed up with HBC Rewards. Find out more here.

" Now Members of both Petro-Points and Hudson's Bay Rewards can earn 20% MORE Petro-Points at Petro-Canada and 20% MORE Hudson's Bay Rewards points at Hudson's Bay and Home Outfitters. Become a joint Member easily when you register your Hudson's Bay Rewards Card and start earning more points!"

The IHG Flash Sale for stays in Mexico and Latin America we let you know about a few day ago is now live! Find out more here.

There is also an amazing Emirates sale for travel out of the U.S. to Milan, Italy. You can fly two people for only $1099 all in between NYC and Milan! Find out more here.

We have added a dedicated page for TD Canada Trust Credit Card offers. You can find that page here.

We are speaking at the Canadian Points University in January! You can save $20 off the ticket price when you use promo code REWARD20 ! Visit the site here.



Posts since our last update:

• CIBC Aventura Limited Time Flight Redemption Offers - Porter Flights starting at 7,500 points for travel until Mar 31, 16
  We have now featured the CIBC Aventura discount offers for flying on Porter Airlines and other airlines several times in…

Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 4x MilleMiglia Miles when you complete multiply flights with Alitalia. More... Book between Nov 15-30 for travel until Mar 31, 16
- Earn up to 60% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you buy miles. More... Until Dec 11, 15

American AAdvantage
- 30 AAdvantage Miles per $1 spent at 1800Flowers.com on holiday flowers and gifts. More... Until Nov 30, 15

Azul TudoAzul (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 3,000 Bonus TudoAzul Points on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Until Dec 31, 15

LAN LANPASS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 125% Bonus Kilometers when you buy KMs online. More... Until Nov 16, 15

Malaysia Airlines Enrich (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Enrich when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles on Budget rentals of 2 or more days in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the USA and Canada. More...Book by Nov 30 for rentals until Dec 12, 15
- Double Miles & More Miles when you ski at Alpen Plus winter sports areas. More... Dec 1 - 24, 15
- Earn up to Quadruple Miles & More Miles when you shop at any one of nine Chic Outlet Shopping Villages in Europe More... Until Dec 24, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays at the St. Regis Mumbai More...Until Dec 31, 15

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Triple Miles&Smiles Miles on Avis rentals of 3 or more days in Turkey. More... Until Dec 31, 15

CIBC Aventura Limited Time Flight Redemption Offers - Porter Flights starting at 7,500 points for travel until Mar 31, 16

We have now featured the CIBC Aventura discount offers for flying on Porter Airlines and other airlines several times in the past. We are happy to let you know that the proprietary reward program from CIBC has teamed up once again with Porter to offer some great redemption offers on flights within Canada and to the Northeast U.S. and Europe! Some of these offers are greater than a 50% discount on their regular redemption rates depending on the price of ticket. Also be aware that taxes and fees are extra but you can use your points at 100 points to $1 for those.   Here's to one or more of our readers being able to take advantage of these offers! If you do please let us know.

Departures (Roundtrip airfare)+ From Toronto to Montreal ONLY 7,500 Aventura Points From Toronto to Quebec City ONLY 8,500 Aventura Points From Toronto to Burlington (Vermont) ONLY 8,500 Aventura Points From Toronto to Mont Tremblant ONLY 8,500 Aventura Points From Toronto to New York ONLY 9,000 Aventura Points From Toronto to Chicago ONLY 10,000 Aventura Points From Toronto to Boston ONLY 10,000 Aventura Points From Toronto to Pittsburgh ONLY 11,000 Aventura Points
From Montreal to Toronto ONLY 7,500 Aventura Points From Quebec City to Toronto ONLY 8,500 Aventura Points From Mont Tremblant to Toronto ONLY 8,500 Aventura Points From Burlington (Vermont) to Toronto ONLY 8,500 Aventura Points Point redemption rates exclude taxes, fuel surcharges and applicable fees. To enjoy these Aventura® Points rates you must book a roundtrip flight with Porter Airlines through the CIBC Rewards Centre.

Flight bookings must be made between November 1 and December 31, 2015 for travel starting November 16 and completed by March 31, 2016

Find all the details on the Porter offer here and here