Starwood Preferred Guest: Double Starpoints on 2+ night stays + 250 Bonus Points at select locations

Starwood has released the details of their first systemwide promotion for 2016. Called Take Two the promotion is very similar to the last few promotions, Double Starpoints on stays of 2 or more nights at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. The good news is that all hotels are participating and we don't have a big list of locations that chose to opt out. On top of the double Starpoints, select locations around the world will also offer 250 bonus Starpoints per night. These locations are in the U.S., and 13 other countries around the globe.

Offer details
Double Starpoints for stays of 2 or more nights at all Starwood Hotels Worldwide. Select hotels from around the world will also award 250 bonus Starpoints per night.  Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Register and book by Apr 10 for stays Jan 11 - Apr 30, 16

December 15 Update: Win WestJet Gold Status + 10,000 Starpoints on FFB, up to 500 Free TAP Portugal Victoria Miles

First update since our major system crash last week!

News, Tips & Tricks
We are running the seventh and final contest of our FFB10 celebration! This contest is to last one to celebrate 10 years of our global site, FrequentFlyerBonuses.com. Check out it today and be sure to enter for your chance to win WestJet Rewards Gold Elite Status and 10,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. Find out more here!




Posts since our last update:

• Why proprietary credit card reward programs are the best option for most Canadians
  This feature article was posted to the main Rewards Canada website last Wednesday December 9th right before our computer crashed.…
• Canadian Points University - Come learn the ins and outs of travel rewards programs in Vancouver
  If you follow lots of the U.S. based miles and points bloggers you'll know that several times per year there…
• Canada's Fairmont Hotels to be acquired by Accor Hotels
  Why is that some sort major news always happens on the day that we are not in the office! I…

Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- 50% Bonus Phoenix Miles Kilometers when you fly Air China between China and Bangkok, Osaka or Tokyo. More... Until Jan 15, 16
- Double Phoenix Miles Kilometers when you book a Langham’s “Linger Longer” package at Best Available Rates at selected worldwide properties of Langham Hotels and Resorts. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- Earn up to Quadruple Phoenix Miles Kilometers for stays at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- OFFER EXTENDED Triple Mileage Plan Miles on all rentals of three days or longer at any Dollar location Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles on all Sixt car rentals Worldwide. More... Book by Dec 31, 15 for rentals until Mar 31, 16

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Jan 7, 15

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Up to 500 Bonus Victoria Miles when you refer friends to the TAP Portugal Victoria program. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Earn up to 10x Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at the Rixos The Palm Dubai. More... Until Jan 15, 16

Why proprietary credit card reward programs are the best option for most Canadians

This feature article was posted to the main Rewards Canada website last Wednesday December 9th right before our computer crashed. Hence not much action here on Rewards Canada since then!

As much as Canadians love their reward programs there are two universal truths: a.) It takes too long to accumulate meaningful points and b.) There are never enough flights available when you want to travel.

While I’ve written and conducted numerous media interviews on the topic, the best advice I can offer is to understand your options.

At their core, true frequent flyer programs such as Aeroplan are all about rewarding your travel behavior. Sure you can earn miles through your credit card spend but the bulk of your earning power is still associated with travel.

The AIR MILES Reward Program funny enough is less about frequent travel and more of frequent shopping. You earn a bulk of your miles by shopping at partner retailers, taking advantage of bonus offers and double or triple dripping by using your associated credit card.

So are you a frequent flyer or a frequent shopper? Knowing this is the first step to understanding how you can earn more points faster.

Problem is it still doesn’t solve the reward redemption part of the equation. Sadly, flight inventory continues to plague both programs and unless you’re either super flexible on where you want to go or can plan months and months in advance, there are limited options.

Or are there???

Continue reading the whole article here.

Canadian Points University - Come learn the ins and outs of travel rewards programs in Vancouver

If you follow lots of the U.S. based miles and points bloggers you'll know that several times per year there are seminars/conferences for the general public to go learn tips and tricks of the travel rewards industry. Well now the first such Canadian conference, the Canadian Points University is taking place in Vancouver on Saturday January 16th. This is the place to learn more about travel rewards programs for Canadians and how to make the most of earning and burning miles and points, achieving elite status and much much more.

There is Early Bird Pricing of $129 for the conference that ends at midnight on December 15th! Plus if you use our promo code REWARD20 you'll save an additional $20 so you can attend for only $109! If you aren't sure yet if you can attend you can buy tickets right up to the date of the event for $159 and still use our promo code of REWARD20 to save that $20 and pay only $139.

To learn more about the Canadian Points University and to buy tickets you can visit their website at www.pointsu.ca

Canada's Fairmont Hotels to be acquired by Accor Hotels

Why is that some sort major news always happens on the day that we are not in the office! I mean we did tweet about this via our FFBonuses twitter account the minute we saw the email from Fairmont announcing this and that tweet surprised a lot of people but of course we couldn't write about it yesterday. The news is France's Accor Hotels has agreed to buy FRHI (Fairmont Raffles Hotels Inc) which includes Fairmont Hotels, Raffles Hotels and Swissotel for US$2.9 billion.

As with any consolidation nothing changes now as it takes time to integrate the companies but word is the deal and integration should be ready later in 2016 around the same time that Marriott and Starwood finalize everything. I would wager a guess that the hotel brands will remain (Fairmont, Raffles, Swissotel) as they are each iconic in their own right however we will more than likely see the end of our beloved Fairmont President's Club to only be rolled in Accor's Le Club accorhotels program. The two programs are very different and President's Club is well known here in Canada while Le Club not as much. Surprisingly both are part of the benefits package of The Platinum Card from American Express, you get automatic Platinum status with Le Club and the accelerated offer to Platinum with Fairmont. So best guess is that the accelerated offer will not be around in 2017.

Overall the feeling isn't great with many as Fairmont President's Club fills a niche and treats its members very well, less can be said about Le Club accorhotels.

While it is too early to speculate exactly what will happen if and when the reward programs amalgamate we can almost guarantee it won't be good for Fairmont President's Club members.

I know we have lots of Fairmont President's Club members who visit Rewards Canada and follow us on social media so we'd love to hear your thoughts on this news!!

Avianca LifeMiles - 140% bonus miles when you buy miles online Dec 9 - 11 (1.375 cents per mile)

Avianca LifeMiles has sweetened the pot on their 100% bonus on buying miles with the added incentive bonuses for buying higher amount of miles! Up until yesterday they would tack on an additional 15% to 25% depending on the level you buy at.

BUT BETWEEN TODAY AND THE 11th THEY"LL GIVE YOU A 40% BONUS NO MATTER WHAT LEVEL YOU BUY AT!

 If you have followed us for sometime you'll know this is a decent option to get Star Alliance flights on the cheap especially in business class. However Avianca announced back on September 30th of 2014 the price to buy miles will go up 10% and had changes to their award chart on October 15th which were a devaluation. So what should you do? If you know that you can make your travel work and get the LifeMiles redemption(s) of your choice go ahead and buy the miles however I wouldn't buy them if you don't think you'll use them over then 3-6 months just in case another award chart devaluation comes along.

If you go ahead with this offer the miles will cost you US 1.375 cents a piece! So buying 150,000 LifeMiles will cost you US$4,950 but you will get a total of 360,000 miles with the bonus.


Normally a decent feature of LifeMiles is their Cash + Part Miles option but that was devalued over a year ago. This option only requires that you have 40% of the points for a reward but that offer has you buy the rest of the miles (the other 60%) at about 1.56 cents per mile so you are better off buying the whole amount of miles required for an award through this promo.

Some things to consider with the buy miles option before you pull the trigger is that their call center tends to be on the less helpful side so you are better off booking award tickets online which also means you are limited to the powers of that source, mixed class awards are not allowed unless you book each award ticket as separate one way flights and they have devalued the program without notice in the past so only buy these miles if you think you will use them in the next short while

Offer details
140% Bonus LifeMiles when you buy LifeMiles online. Full details Until Dec 11, 15

December 8 Update: Hyatt Gold Passport offline next week, 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for Best Western mobile app bookings

A quiet Tuesday for you..

News, Tips & Tricks
Hyatt Gold Passport is letting their members that their website will be down from Tuesday Dec 15 to Fri Dec 19. At that time you will not be able to access your account online or even via the 1-800 #.

"We know how important it is to have up-to-date Hyatt Gold Passport account information. So, we wanted to let our members know that from December 15 to December 18, 2015 Hyatt Gold Passport will be undergoing system maintenance and account information will not be accessible during this time.

What members are able to do:
• Earn points and stay/night credit toward tier status for all eligible stays
• Earn points for eligible dining and spa services
• Book paid reservations

What members are unable to do:
• Cannot access your account information, including point balance and promotional awards, either online or by calling a Global Contact Center
• Cannot redeem new promotional awards or points for free nights, room upgrades, or miles
• Cannot purchase or combine points

Any account activity accrued after December 12, 2015 will not be reflected on member’s account until the week of December 28, 2015. Members can be assured that any points earned during this time will be credited to their account. We appreciate your patience during this time.

We don't want you to miss out, so if you're planning an upcoming trip using your points or awards, start exploring and book before December 15, 2015. Otherwise, you’ll have full access to your account beginning December 19, 2015."

Come join us 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:

• RBC Rewards teams up with airbnb - Now earn bonus points on airbnb stays until Feb 29, 16
   In many of my past meetings with credit card issuers I have always been asked the question what can…

Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- 5,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you fly KLM World Business Class between Edmonton and Amsterdam. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Best Western Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for each qualified stay at Best Western hotels Worldwide that are booked via the Best Western to Go Mobile® app. More... Until Feb 7, 16

Caribbean Airlines CaribbeanMiles
- Earn up to 6x Caribbean Miles on Hertz car rentals at participating locations in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Up to Double GarudaMiles on all Garuda Indonesia flights Worldwide. More... Dec 20 - Jan 10, 16
- 25% GarudaMiles Discount for award travel on all Garuda Indonesia flights Worldwide. More... Book by Dec 31 for travel Jan 1 - Mar 31, 16

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios for a 4 night stay at participating Hoteles Andaluces con Encanto. More... Until Dec 31 , 15
- Quadruple Avios for stays at Iberostar Hotels in the Canary Islands. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Triple Avios for stays at NH Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double Avios for stays at Paradores hotels. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Earn up to 9,000 Bonus Avios when you purchase Rusticae Gift Cards. More... Until Jan 7, 16
- 25% Bonus Avios when you transfer U.S. Membership Rewards Points to Iberia Plus. More... Until Dec 31 , 15
- Earn up to 12,000 Bonus Avios when you subscribe to the Economist. More... Until Jan 10, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- 2,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points on your first Uber ride in the U.S. when you book it via the IHG app. More... Until ?

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple TrueBlue points and save up to $1,000 when you fly Emirates from the U.S.. More... Register and book by Feb 7 for travel Jan 11 - Apr 30, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 30% Bonus Elevate Points when you buy points online. More... Until Dec 23, 15 

RBC Rewards teams up with airbnb - Now earn bonus points on airbnb stays until Feb 29, 16

 In many of my past meetings with credit card issuers I have always been asked the question what can we do to enhance the offerings for our proprietary credit card program cardholders. One thing I always mention is adding more partners to earn points is key, think coalition program style a la AIR MILES and Aeroplan. Now RBC was not one of those issuers that I met with but they seem to be on the same wavelength as me with their RBC Rewards program. They want to give their members more value in the program than just earning points via credit card spend. Hence a couple of years ago they launched the RBC Rewards emall for online shopping and now we have this partnership with airbnb. I thought it may have been Rocketmiles or Pointshound first as I know one of these two companies was in negotiations with RBC but it looks like that have been put on hold d by this limited time partnership with airbnb.

To celebrate the launch of the partnership RBC Rewards members will earn 2x points on all eligible bookings with airbnb and if you it is your first booking with airbnb you'll get an additional 7,000 bonus RBC Rewards points. Both of these bonuses end on Feb 29, 16. After that point you earn the regular RBC Rewards points rate that your card provides on any airbnb bookings. To be eligible for the 7,000 bonus points you must not have used an RBC credit card or debit card for the 24 months prior with airbnb.  You can find out more on the partnership and bonus offers here.

This is the second major loyalty partnership for airbnb as just about a month or so ago they launched a partnership with Virgin America's Elevate program.

December 7 Update: Alitalia MilleMiglia isn't going to end on December 31st, IHG Rewards Club buy points bonus and more!

Welcome to another week of miles, points and more and Rewards Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks

Alitalia seems to be benefiting the Etihad Airways investment in them. Not only is the airline on a major comeback but the MilleMiglia program is finally doing away with one of the most convuluted rules in the frequent flyer world. The expiration of the program every 3 years. Not just miles but due to some old Italian rule the entire MilleMiglia program has to end every three years and be restarted. Typically Alitalia would offer some sort of offer to keep your miles and move them to the new program (usually 1 flight in three months and you'd move your miles over) but now the great news is they've extended the validity of the current program from ending on December 31st to August 31st, 2016. At which time:

"On the 1st of September 2016 we will launch the new MilleMiglia programme edition, even richer with benefits and whatever miles you have accumulated up to 31 August 2016 will also be maintained and transferred to the new edition of the program."

This is good news. Your miles will automatically transfer over and you won't lose them. Part of me was thinking this could be the case as the past 6 months has seen a lot of bonus miles offers on flights, buying miles, hotel stays and more which really didn't make sense if the program was to expire soon. Now we just have to wait to see what Etihad has in store for the new Alitalia MilleMiglia program that will launch next September!

Delta Airlines continues its attack on Alaska Airlines as they are adding a 5th daily flight between Vancouver and Seattle for next summer. (Source Airlineroute.net)

National Airlines has delayed the launch of their Vancouver-Orlando Sanford route from January to May 2016. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Posts since our last update:

• 100% Bonus on buying IHG Rewards Club Points returns until December 11
  We were just detailing in November how the 100% bonus on buying IHG Rewards Club points could be translated…

Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- 2,000 Bonus Club Premier Kilometers for stays of 2 or more nights at participating new Marriott Hotes in Mexico. More... Until Feb 28, 16

Delta SkyMiles
- 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles when you earn miles by using the services of two or more participating non-airline partners. More... Until Feb 29, 16

EgyptAir Plus
- 20% Bonus Plus Miles when you fly EgyptAir between Cairo and Geneva. More... Until Dec 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- 100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. More... Until Dec 11, 15

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn 1,000 Bonus TrueBlue Points on your first booking of $100 or more with Hotel Tonight. Earn an additional 250 bonus points on your 2nd and 3rd bookings. More... Until Jan 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 4X Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 16
- 4X Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at select Ibis Hotels in Brazil. More... Until Dec 20, 15

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Triple Frequent Flyer Points on all eligible domestic flights within Australia. More... Register and book by Dec 25 for travel until Jan 31, 16
 

100% Bonus on buying IHG Rewards Club Points returns until December 11

We were just detailing in November how the 100% bonus on buying IHG Rewards Club points could be translated into to some big savings on stays at InterContinental Hotels Group hotels worldwide and how that offer expired on November 11th. Well great news! They have brought it back until December 11th!

Offer Details
100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. Full details. Until Dec 11, 15

Here is a copy and paste of part of our post from November detailing how it can be used to save some cash when you travel:

Let's take a stay at the Holiday Inn Express Halifax Airport. This hotel is currently part of the IHG Rewards Club PointsBreaks offer where you only need 5,000 points to stay at the hotel. We checked a stay from Dec 15 to 16th and found the 5,000 point rate was available:

To pay for that room, the best flexible rate is $139.99 plus fees and taxes. The AAA rate is $133.50 and the non-refundable prepaid rate is $125.99

Now if you don't have any points in your IHG account you could buy 6,000 points with the current bonus (3,000 + 3,000) for US $40.50 and have 1,000 points leftover.

Convert that to Canadian dollars and add GST and you are looking around $55 for that same stay. Saving you at least $70!

Need to stay 2 nights? It get's even better as 10,000 points is just over $90 for what would be at least $250 if you paid cash for the stay bringing your savings to $160 or more.

Now lets look at a non PointBreaks hotel, the InterContinental Times Square New York City.  A Saturday night stay, Jan 17-18, 2016 has the best Flexible rate is US$459

To redeem for this same room is 50,000 points

To buy 50,000 points with the bonus is US$312.50. Convert that to Canadian and add GST and you are looking at about C$425 versus the C$596.70 for the Best Flexible rate for a savings of almost $175 on that one night!!

Overall the 100% bonus on buying IHG Rewards Club points can provide great value! The offer brings the price of a point down to 0.575 of a cent and you only have to buy 1,000 points (unlike in the summer where you had to buy 26,000 or more). This per point price is less than the Points+Cash trick of buying points for 0.7 cents. If you choose to buy the maximum number of points, 60,000, it will cost you US$690 but of course you'll end up getting 120,000 points. That's 24 nights at IHG hotels if redeeming via the PointBreaks option which works out to only $28.75 per night!

YOU HAVE TO BUY POINTS BY DECEMBER 11th BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE THEM RIGHT AWAY. However we do recommend that you don't buy points if you don't think you'll use them in the next 3-4 months are you always run the risk of the program raising redemption rates for stays.

Offer Details
100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. Full details. Until Dec 11, 15