January 19 Update: Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2016, United ends St. John's service, Marriott MegaBonus returns!

Big day today on Rewards Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
Of course its a big day here on Rewards Canada as we released our 8th annual Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards rankings! This year we took an additional step in the rankings by adding a new category, Overall Top Travel Rewards Card and that category was taken by the American Express Gold Rewards Card. Yes we do believe this the best overall card in Canada for travel rewards! Find all the rankings here!

Did you know that Rewards Canada was one of the very first websites in Canada to actually rank credit cards?

Almost as soon as they started they stopped. Roughly two weeks ago we let you know about the new Ultra Low Cost airline here in Canada called newleaf. The airline, as we mentioned, was actually planning to use Kelowna based Flair Air to operate their flights for them. Well it looks like that combination is coming under the scrutiny of the CTA as newleaf will not be launching on February 12th as originally planned and will be providing full refunds to anyone who has booked flights with them. Newleaf does state they will be back but when we do not know. Thanks to my wife for alerting me to this! Link to their notice

Not so good news for those of you in St. John's who like to use your Aeroplan miles (or other Star Alliance airline miles) for United's flight to Newark as the route is being canceled at the start of February. (Source Airlineroute.net)



Posts since our last update:

• Marriott MegaBonus returns: Earn free nights and/or bonus Rewards Points for stays Feb 1 - May 15, 16
  We let you know a little over a week ago that the newest version of Marriott's MegaBonus was set…

Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- 4,000 Bonus Club Premier Kilometers on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Until Mar 31, 16

AIR MILES (Canada)
- 7x AIR MILES Reward Miles on all Shell fuel purchases in Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN PREMIER Kapital Opera - Paris or the BEST WESTERN PLUS Hotel Massena Nice - Nice More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at the BEST WESTERN PREMIER Opera Liege - Paris More... Until Feb 29, 16

Hilton HHonors
- 15,000 Bonus HHonors Points when you stay 2 or more nights at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide within 90 days of registering. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jan 12, 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more nights at participating ibis and ibis Styles hotels Worldwide that offer ibis BUSINESS More... Jan 25 - Mar 28, 16
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at ibis, ibis Styles, Novotel and Mercure hotels in Italy, Greece and Israel. More... Book by Feb 12 for stays until Feb 28, 16
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, ibis and ibis Styles hotels in Italy, Greece and Israel. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays Feb 29 - Jun 5, 16
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Accor Hotels in Japan. More...Book by Feb 29 for stays until Apr 28, 16

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Double Victoria Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at the Dom Pedro Garajau or the Dom Pedro Baía. More... Until May 31, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Elevate Points on all Virgin America flights systemwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Virgin Australia Velocity (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 4x Velocity Points for stays at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Marriott MegaBonus returns: Earn free nights and/or bonus Rewards Points for stays Feb 1 - May 15, 16

We let you know a little over a week ago that the newest version of Marriott's MegaBonus was set to return today, at least for registration, as stays only start counting on February 1st. Well here it is! It is now open for registration and as always we're looking forward to our readers letting us know which offer you received from Marriott and if you unlock your bonus points offer please let us know as well!

We received the following offer:

• Win #1: Earn a free night after two stays (Category 1-5)
• Win #2: Unlock your new bonus points offer – and register when it appears in your online account
• Win #3: Every stay counts at 4,000+ hotels worldwide

Offer Details:
Marriott MegaBonus: Earn free nights and/or bonus Rewards Points for stays at any participating Marriott Hotel Worldwide. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking ( Registration is required) Register by Apr 15 for stays Feb 1 - May 15, 16

January 18 Update: 5,000 Bonus Gold Points for Club Carlson stays, big Finnair PointsHound bonus and Amex Travel Hotel sale

Welcome to another week of all things pertinent for Canadians to be rewarded!

News, Tips & Tricks
Quiet on the news front today!

Some of you may be recovering from attending the Canadian Points University over the weekend. As you may know we had a last scheduling matter that prevented us from coming out and speaking. Hopefully things work out for the next Points U! I'm sure those of you who did attend learned a lot of the ins and outs of making the most of your travel rewards programs!



Posts since our last update:

• Club Carlson - 5,000 Bonus Gold Points when you complete stays at two of their brands anywhere in the world
  This email came through about half an hour ago. A new bonus from the folks at Carlson Rezidor hotels…

Travel Deals
American Express Travel is once again running a major hotel sale. You can save up to 40% on bookings at select hotels until Feb 29, 16. Find out more here.

SWISS is offering some decent fares on their flights out of Montreal. Fly to Europe for as little as $817 all in. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
Carlson Rezidor Hotels Club Carlson
- 5,000 Bonus Gold Points when you stay at two different Carlson Rezidor brands anywhere in the world More... Until Mar 31, 16

Finnair Plus
- 10,000 Bonus Plus Points on hotel stays booked via PointsHound. More... Until Jan 31, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- 3,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for Platinum Members on your next stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Until ? Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

Oman Air Sindbad (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 4x Sindbad Miles for stays at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- Double Sindbad Miles for stays at the at Swiss-Belhotel Sharjah. More... Until Feb 28, 16

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- Double iPrefer Points for stays at AKA Serviced Residences in North America and Europe. More... Until Mar 31, 16

TAP Portugal Victoria
- 2,000 Victoria Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at the PortoBay Liberdade Lisbon. More... Until Feb 15, 16
- Triple Victoria Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Club Carlson - 5,000 Bonus Gold Points when you complete stays at two of their brands anywhere in the world

This email came through about half an hour ago. A new bonus from the folks at Carlson Rezidor hotels that is open to everyone (unlike the Trio of Bonuses last week). Simple offer of 5,000 bonus points when you complete stays at two of their hotel brands.

Offer Details
5,000 Bonus Gold Points when you stay at two different Carlson Rezidor brands anywhere in the world. Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at at Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites, Radisson Blu or Park Inn
Until Mar 31, 16

January 15 Update: Alitalia status match extended, SPG Platinum Benefits choices, KLM Dream Deals seat sale

Final update of the week!

News, Tips & Tricks
Alitalia MilleMiglia has extended their great status match offer to January 31st. However status is only granted to March 31, 2016 so you won't have it for too long but perhaps long enough where you can get another airline to match that status!! Find out more here.

Another AIR MILES bonus for shopping at Rexall this weekend. This is one of the biggest bonuses we've seen. 110 Reward Miles if you spend $50 or more. No coupon is required.

View from the Wing outlines the return of Marriott Rewards' offer to use points to buy back/retain your status.

View from the Wing also brings us details of new Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum benefit choices. The new options are:

• Free rental up to 5 days with Silvercar
  
• Free Night Award at a property up to category 5
  
• 5 Elite Qualifying Nights
  
• 40% off your favorite hotel bed (including Westin Heavenly Bed)

In case you missed the Hilton HHonors status match offer that ended earlier this week, here is a way you can speed your way to getting Gold. Hilton and South African Airways have teamed up to offer SAA Voyager members a fast track to gold status whereby you'll get the elite status level after only three stays. Find out more here.



Posts since our last update:

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Travel Deals
KLM have launched a great seat sale for their flights out of Canada just like their partner Air France! Simply book by Feb 4 for travel throughout most of this year! There are great deals in both economy and business class. Find out more here!

Bonus Offers

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Earn up to 4x Flying Blue Miles for stays at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- Triple Flying Blue miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 24 for stays until Feb 14, 16
- Double Flying Blue Miles and enjoy up to 25% off on car rentals of 3 or more days at participating HERTZ locations worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Mar 31, 16

airberlin topbonus
- 2016 Bonus topbonus miles when you rent with Europcar Worldwide except in the USA and Canada. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Dec 31, 16

American AAdvantage
- 500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles for rentals at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Caribbean. More... Until Mar 31, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- Triple IHG Rewards Club points on rentals of 1 or more days at participating Avis locations globally. More... Until Mar 31, 16

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 3,000 Bonus TrueBlue Points on your first Rocketmiles booking. More... Book by Mar 31, 16

Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay including any night Thursday - Sunday at the Courtyard New York Manhattan/Times Square West. More... Feb 25 - May 5, 16
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 2 nights at the MOXY Milan Malpensa Airport More... Feb 1 - Apr 16, 16
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Hamburg Marriott Hotel or Renaissance Hamburg Hotel. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays on Thursday - Sunday nights at four Gaylord Hotels across the U.S. More... Until Mar 27, 16

South African Airways Voyager
- Fast Track to HHonors Gold Status when you complete 3 stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More...   Until Feb 29, 16

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles when you rent with Europcar Worldwide except for the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Feb 29, 16

Wyndham Rewards
- Double Wyndham Rewards Points on qualifying rentals at participating Avis locations worldwide. More... Until Feb 29, 16

January 14 Update: Amex transfer bonus to BA returns, Choice Privileges changes point expiry rule, Air Canada North America bonus

Lots to bring you today!

News, Tips & Tricks
The big news today is of course the return of the American Express Membership Rewards transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club. Read all about it here!

Air Canada has launched a new bonus for flying within North America! Find out more here.

Just like other pages on Rewards Canada where we list credit card offers by issuer, we are proud to announce that we have launched a page for Scotia cards. You can find details on many of their cards (and more to come) at www.rewardscanada.ca/scotia.html

Loyalty Traveler outlines changes to Choice Privileges expiry rules. You now have to activity in your account once every 18 months to ensure you keep your points. This policy takes affect on February 1st. Currently the rule is 24 months of no activity sees you losing your points. So as along as you complete a stay, partner point earning action (ie Car Rental), refer a friend or redeem points for something once every 18 months you won't lose any of your points.

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings has extended their international flight bonuses from last year right through to the end of this year. That means you can earn bonus Fortune Wings Miles on their flights out of Toronto! See the bonus offer section for more details.

Although we cannot speak this weekend at the CPU in Vancouver you can still buy tickets and save $30 with our promo code REWARD30 at pointsu.ca


Posts since our last update:

• Air Canada: Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for flights within North America
  Air Canada wants you to fly in Flex fares or higher and to do so they are offering this bonus…
• Amex Membership Rewards 25% Bonus when transferring to British Airways Executive Club is back!
  Amidst all the hubbub the last couple of days in regards to the American Express referral program getting devalued…
• Carrying a balance? The American Express AIR MILES cards are offering 0% balance transfer for 6 months for new customers
  A huge no-no for those of you holding travel rewards credit cards is to be carrying a balance for longer…

Travel Deals
Air France have launched a great seat sale for their flights out of Canada! Simply book by Feb 4 for travel throughout most of this year! There are great deals in both economy and business class. Find out more here!

• MALAGA from $ 625

• ZAGREB from $ 730

• PARIS from $ 749

• SOFIA from $ 779

• LISBON from $ 859

• ATHENS from $ 865

• NICE from $ 875

• VENICE from $ 899

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly Air Canada, Air Canada Express or Air Canada Rouge on a Flex Fare or higher within Canada, between Canada and the U.S., Mexico or Caribbean. More... Register and book by Mar 15 for travel until Apr 30, 16

British Airways Executive Club
- 25% Bonus Avios when you convert American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) points to British Airways Executive Club. More... Until Mar 28, 16

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 1,500 Gold Points PER DAY and save up to 25% on participating Alamo car rentals in the US and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- 1,500 Gold Points PER DAY and save up to 25% on participating National car rentals in the US and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays at The Address Hotels + Resorts in Dubai. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until Sep 30, 16
- Double Skywards Miles for stays at participating Anantara Hotels in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand, UAE, or Vietnam. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- Double Skywards Miles for stays at participating Avani Hotels in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Seychelles or Vietnam More... Until Dec 31, 16
- 1,000 Bonus Skywards Miles PER NIGHT for stays at the JW Marriott® Venice Resort & Spa. More... Mar 20 - Apr 30, 16
- Double Skywards Miles for stays at participating Per Aquum Hotels in Maldives or UAE. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- Double Skywards Miles and 25% off the Best Available Rate at more than 90 properties across the Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders brands Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Fortune Wings Miles when you fly on Hainan Airlines international flights. More... Until Dec 31, 16

SAS EuroBonus
- 600 Bonus EuroBonus points per night for stays at Elite Hotels. More... Until Jan 31, 16
- Double EuroBonus points for weekend stays (Fri-Sun) at all First Hotels in Scandinavia. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- Double EuroBonus points for stays at the Grand Hotel Stockholm. More... Until Feb 29, 16
- Double EuroBonus points for stays at the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- 2,500 Bonus EuroBonus points for Avis rentals of 2 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Feb 29, 16 for rentals Mar 1 - Dec 31, 16
- 1,500 Bonus EuroBonus points for all Hertz rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 16

SATA Imagine
- 200 Bonus Imagine Miles when you join the Imagine program. More... Ongoing

Air Canada: Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for flights within North America

Air Canada wants you to fly in Flex fares or higher and to do so they are offering this bonus for flying within North America on such fares. You have to complete at least three segments to get a bonus of 1,500 miles and complete a whopping 21 segments the get the full bonus. That's a lot of flights to get the bonus that is equivalent to a Aeroplan award ticket within North America. The offer is also only valid on new bookings made from today (Jan 14) so if you already have some North American travel booked those flights will not count towards the bonus.

Offer Details
Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly Air Canada, Air Canada Express or Air Canada Rouge on a Flex Fare or higher within Canada, between Canada and the U.S., Mexico or Caribbean. Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Mar 15 for travel until Apr 30, 16

Amex Membership Rewards 25% Bonus when transferring to British Airways Executive Club is back!

Amidst all the hubbub the last couple of days in regards to the American Express referral program getting devalued and the AeroplanPlus Gold card bonus being lowered there is good news! Thanks to our reader Ben S. for alerting us about the return of the 25% bonus when you transfer Membership Rewards points to British Airways Avios! The bonus which had disappeared for several years marked its first return last summer in June and ran through to the end of September. Now we see it again already! This is great news, albeit not as great as many years ago when the bonus was 50% but still good nonetheless.

This is one of the offers I look forward to especially since the base transfer rate to British Airways is 1:1. What does this mean? Well you can redeem for my too often mentioned YYZ-NYC roundtrip flight for only 7,200 Membership Rewards points as that flight can be had for 9,000 Avios* (or as little as $3,600 in spending on the Amex Gold Rewards Card), there no other card can match that little of spending for that flight! See other short haul options in our post "How to get select Canada to U.S. award flights faster by utilizing British Airways' Executive Club" 

 

 

This holds true as long as you transfer right away and redeem those Avios before February 2nd at which point these North America awards jump to 7,500 Avios one way or 15,000 Avios round trip. That means you need to redeem 12,000 Membership Rewards points to get one of these trips as the 25% bonus will boost that to 15,000 Avios.  

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

 

So for as little as $6,000 in spending you can get this short haul trip, the next closest program is Aeroplan's short haul at 15,000 miles or $7,500 in spending on the Gold Rewards Card. 

 

The good news is that if you travelling abroad British Airways still has the 4,500 Avios Short Haul option in Europe and Asia so you can utilize this redemption for those short hops overseas!

Find out more about the American Express 25% transfer bonus which runs until March 28 here.

Personally I will be transferring some points over but need to work on numbers and planned travel over the next few months before I figure out how much I'm going to transfer!

Here are the best two cards for earning Membership Rewards Points:
American Express Gold Rewards Card
• Earn a Welcome Bonus of  25,000 Membership Rewards® points - our HIGHEST Gold Rewards Card offer - just by making $500 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership.
• No Annual Fee for the first year; $150 Annual Fee thereafter*
• That's enough for a round trip flight to almost anywhere in North America
• Transfer your points to frequent flyer programs, or 1:1 to Aeroplan®* and Avios
• Earn double points on eligible travel and everyday purchases
• Charge any travel to your Card theøaern pay for it with points
• 1 Free Supplementary Gold Rewards Card (a $50 value*) to help you earn points faster
• American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now  link.
• *As a Charge Card, the balance must always be paid in full each month. 30% annual interest rate applies to balances not paid in full.
Conditions apply
Apply Now

The Platinum Card from American Express
Earn 50,000 Bonus Membership Rewards® points by spending $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership
• Platinum members are automatically enrolled in the Membership Rewards First™ Tier and earn 1.25 points for every dollar in purchases charged to the Card
• The Platinum Card gives you access to exceptional lounge benefits such as the Canadian Platinum Lounge Benefit, Airport Club Program and access to the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounges and oneworld® alliance airlines Business Class lounges.
• You will also have access to elevated status with many Hotel & Car Rental loyalty programs, $200 Annual Travel Credit for Travel Bookings through Platinum Card Travel Service, lodging benefits at a collection of over 700 Fine Hotels & Resorts around the world, access to special events and unique opportunities and a dedicated concierge team
• American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link.
• *As a Charge Card, the balance must always be paid in full each month. 30% annual interest rate applies to balances not paid in full. Conditions apply

Apply Now

Carrying a balance? The American Express AIR MILES cards are offering 0% balance transfer for 6 months for new customers

A huge no-no for those of you holding travel rewards credit cards is to be carrying a balance for longer than a few months. The interest will kill you and any rewards you can get from these cards. As we mentioned in our post The upcoming year in travel rewards for Canadians: current state and predictions for 2016! the market in Canada has seen balances held on credit cards grow by roughly half a billion dollars in the last year or so!!! That's good for the credit card companies but bad for the consumer. A sign of the times I guess, people trying to make ends meet in this downtrodden economy filled with layoffs, wage cuts and more.

So what can you do? You can get a consolidation loan, you can get credit cards with lower interest rates or take advantage of balance  transfer offers like those just released by American Express on their AIR MILES cards. Now, you only get 0% for the first 6 months so this can save you some money on any balances you're carrying. Well only for half a year and then your paying it again. But hopefully 6 months is all you would need to pay off those balances! The great thing about both of the Amex cards offering this transfer balance of 0% is that they are both free, well the basic card is always free while the Platinum Card is free in the first year. This offer is only for brand new Amex cardholders, ie you cannot have any other cards in your name with Amex to get this offer.

Both cards have the following balance transfer offer:

Optional Balance Transfer Offer for new Cardmembers - Enjoy a 0% interest in first 6 months** if you choose to transfer your other credit card balances to this American Express card at time of online application.

** Offer only available to new Cardmembers. Cardmembers who currently hold a card by Amex Bank of Canada are ineligible for this offer. Offer is subject to approval up to an amount of $7,500 or 50% of your assigned credit limit, whichever is less. A balance transfer made at the time of application is eligible for a special interest rate of 0% for the first 6 billing periods, provided you meet the eligibility criteria specified in the offer terms and conditions and provided further that we always receive your minimum monthly payments by the date of the next billing statement. If either: (i) you still have an amount owing from your balance transfer when the special interest rate expires; or (ii) you do not make your minimum monthly payments by the date of the next billing statement (a "Missed Payment"), any remaining balance owing in relation to the balance transfer will be subject to interest at the rate then in effect for Funds Advances. The Preferred Rate for Funds Advances is currently 21.99% and will increase if you have additional missed payments. A 1% balance transfer fee will be charged on the transaction amount and interest is payable on the amount of this fee at the applicable interest rate for purchases. Please see the Product Information box on your online application for complete details on fees and interest rates.