American Express Membership Rewards - Limited Time Fixed Price Redemptions via Amex Travel

Just as we saw last summer, American Express Membership Rewards have brought back their fixed price redemptions on select routes until May 31, 16. Unlike last year where there were only four routes available, Amex has greatly expanded this offering to include routes in North America, to Sun Destinations, Europe and other spots around the globe!

These redemptions are along the same line as RBC Avion or CIBC Aventura you can redeem a set amount of points up to a maximum ticket price then pay for taxes and fees with your card or points. Now if you recall nearly a year ago we released our special feature on flexibility and called out programs like Avion and Aventura as being the least flexible with charts like these as you can potentially lose value if the ticket price is way lower than the maximum set out. Same thing goes here, if you redeem points for a really cheap ticket on one of the eligible routes, you're losing value. However, where American Express differs is they allow you to choose to the fixed points redemption or the TripFlex option. So if we take the Vancouver-Calgary option and the base ticket price is more than $200 you would use the Fixed Point Redemption but if the base ticket price is less than $200 you would just charge the flight to your American Express Gold Rewards Card or The Platinum Card from American Express and then when the charge shows up on your account you then use the TripFlex option to redeem points against it. Whereas Avion and Aventura your stuck redeeming the fixed rate of points regardless of the price of the ticket.


Some of the offers are so-so when compared to other reward programs (ie converting Membership Rewards points to Aeroplan or British Airways) however you should have a better chance at getting actual availability with the Amex flights as you are not limited to select airlines of other programs. The real stand out offers are Vancouver to Los Angeles for 20,000 points and all the European routes for 50,000 points.

Oh yeah, one final note, the flights booked via these fixed price redemptions should earn frequent flyer miles as long the fare class is mileage earning eligible!

Learn more about American Express Membership Rewards Fixed Price Redemptions here.

IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Flash Sale! 100% Bonus for two days only

The buy miles/points offers just keep coming out like crazy! This one however is short compared to the rest. Get a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Club Points by February 26th!!

This offer brings the price of a point down to 0.575 of a cent when you buy between 26,000 and 60,000 points!. 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!

Offer Details
100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. Full details. Until Feb 26, 16

February 24 Update: Book award flights via the Aeroplan app, use La Quinta points for PointsHound bookings, KLM Summer Biz Class sale

Wow another busy day in the world of travel rewards!

News, Tips & Tricks
Lots of Aeroplan news, primarily the update of their app that now allows you to search and book award flights on your mobile device. Find out more here.

Aeroplan is changing the mileage earned for flying on Shenzen Airlines as of March 27. Most classes are going down in earn rates save for a few. Find out more here.

Also if you were someone who redeemed Aeroplan miles for hotel stays please note that as of Feb 1. you can no longer redeem for Delta Hotels since that brand is now fully integrated with Marriott Rewards (Source: Aeroplan)

You can now use your La Quinta Returns points to redeem for stays at thousands of hotels Worldwide via PointsHound. Not huge news for us since there are only 2 LQ's in Canada but maybe some of you road warriors frequenting the U.S. have built up balances with LQ Returns where you can make use of this new redemption option (Source FrequentFlyerBonuses.com)

And finally even though Virgin America doesn't fly to Canada anymore I'm sure some of you are members of their Elevate program from when they did or by using them for domestic flights in the U.S.. Good news is that you can earn points for joining the program or referring friends to the program. See all the details in the bonus offers section below


Posts since our last update:

• The Platinum Card from American Express cardholders now get Hilton HHonors Gold Elite Status
  As we've seen with the Platinum cards in the U.S. and U.K. this new automatic elite status option for holders…
• Now book Aeroplan award flights through the Aeroplan Mobile App!
  Great news from the team at Aeroplan! You can now book your Aeroplan award tickets via their app for…

Travel Deals
KLM has released a great business class promotion for flights over the busy summer season! You can fly in stlye to Europe and beyond for as little as $2799 all in! t. Book by Mar 9 for travel Jun 1 - Aug 31! Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
Gulf Air FalconFlyer (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double FalconFlyer Miles when you stay at Mövenpick hotels in Africa, Jordan and Lebanon. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Triple FalconFlyer Miles for Sixt Car Rentals Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 16

IHG Rewards Club
- 1,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points per stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. Stay must be made within 90 days of registering. More... Until ? Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- 4,000 Bonus JPMiles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Mar 31, 16
- Minimum of 5,000 JPMiles awarded on all Rocketmiles Bookings More... Book by Mar 31, 16

JetBlue TrueBlue (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 50% Bonus Points when you buy TrueBlue points online. More... Until Mar 11, 16

Saudia Alfursan
- 500 Bonus Alfursan Miles when you stay at any Marriott Hotel in Dubai. More... Until Apr 30, 16
- 1,000 Bonus Alfursan Miles for stays at the Renaissance Sharm El Sheikh Golden View Beach Resort, Sharm El Sheikh Marriott Resort or the Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Double Alfursan Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Worldwide. More... Until ?
- Double Alfursan Miles when you stay at the Radisson Blu Istanbul Atakoy. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Up to 50% Bonus Elevate Points when you buy points online. More... Until Mar 8, 16
- 500 Bonus Elevate Points when you join the Elevate program. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- 500 Bonus Elevate Points for each friend you refer to the Elevate program. Max of 5 referrals. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 30% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you buy Miles Booster Miles on your Virgin Atlantic flight. More... Until Mar 9, 16
- 30% Bonus Flying Club Miles when you buy Flying Club miles online. More... Until Mar 9, 16

The Platinum Card from American Express cardholders now get Hilton HHonors Gold Elite Status

As we've seen with the Platinum cards in the U.S. and U.K. this new automatic elite status option for holders of The Platinum Card here in Canada has arrived!

With this new benefit, complimentary Hilton HHonors Gold Status will be offered to Platinum Cardmembers. Gold Status typically requires 20 stays, 40 nights or 75000 base points before a customer can obtain that status.

Benefits of HHonors Gold status include:

25% ELITE STATUS BONUS
With Gold elite status, you automatically receive a 25% bonus on all the HHonors Base Points you earn.

5^TH NIGHT FREE
Silver, Gold and Diamond elite members will receive every 5^th night free⁴ on Standard Room Reward stays of 5 nights or more.

HOTEL BENEFITS¹
Members with Gold status receive all the benefits in the lower tiers:

• Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members.
• Digital Check-In: choose your room, and customize your stay from your mobile device up to 24 hours in advance.
• Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Canopy™ by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™
• Quick reservations and check-ins based on your room preferences
• Late check-out²
• Express check-out
• 2^nd Guest stays free³
• Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs⁵
• Two complimentary bottles of water per stay (at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Embassy Suites Hotels™, Hilton Garden Inn™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™ hotels)¹

MY WAY GOLD MEMBERSHIP HOTEL BENEFITS:⁶
Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts

• Space-available upgrade to a preferred room
• 1,000 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or one in-room movie¹ per stay

Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™

• Space-available upgrade to a preferred room
• 1,000 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or a complimentary continental breakfast for you and up to one additional guest registered to the same room each day of your stay

Embassy Suites Hotels™

• 500 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or two snack/refreshment choices per stay

Hilton Garden Inn™

• 750 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or a complimentary Hot Cooked-to-Order Breakfast for you and up to one additional guest registered to the same room each day of your stay

Hampton™

• 250 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or choice of snack and non-alcoholic beverage

Homewood Suites by Hilton™

• 250 HHonors bonus points per stay or two bottles of water and Pepperidge Farm cookies per stay

Home2 Suites by Hilton™

• 100 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or choice of snack and bottled water per stay

Hilton Grand Vacations™

• 1,000 HHonors Bonus Points per stay

Learn more about Hilton HHonors Gold Status here.

Don't have the Platinum Card yet? You can apply for it here!

How about you existing cardmembers? Are you excited to finally see a new elite status benefit added? Granted it doesn't replace the lost Cathay Pacific status but it is a nice addition especially seeing the card will likely lose Starwood in a year or two. For me I already have Gold Status until 2017 however my wife will definitely upgrade her HHonors status now!
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The Platinum Card from American Express
New Platinum Card® Cardmembers, 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

Now book Aeroplan award flights through the Aeroplan Mobile App!

Great news from the team at Aeroplan! You can now book your Aeroplan award tickets via their app for iOS, Android and Blackberry!

Here is how it works:

1. Under the ‘Use Your Miles’ section, select ‘Book a Flight.’ A Flight Rewards search form will appear.
   
2. Select desired City/Airport location and select date field. Click ‘Done’.
   
3. A list of potential itineraries will populate show casing both of Aeroplan’s travel options: Fixed Mileage Flight Rewards (limited number of seats exclusively offered to members on Air Canada and Star Alliance) and Market Fare Flight Rewards (access to any seat, at any time, on all Air Canada flights based on market fares at time of booking).
4. After you select a flight, a Trip Summary Page will appear.
   
5. The member is then prompted to enter passenger details,contact information and payment entry information.
   
6. Booked!
   

I have been waiting for this for sometime as I have wanted to search availability before when the only device I had near me was my phone. This will make that a lot easier now!

How about the rest of you? Are you excited about this new addition to the app?

February 23 Update: My Starbucks Rewards goes revenue based, killer iPrefer bonus points deal & lots of credit card changes coming soon!

Here is your Tuesday update!

News, Tips & Tricks
 
Starbucks is revamping their My Starbucks Rewards program. I discussed these changes earlier today on Calgary's Newstalk 770. The changes take affect on April 12th and will be good for some people and bad for others as Starbucks is following in the footsteps of many airline programs and going revenue based. Gone is the one star per transaction rather you'll now earn 2 Stars for every $1 spent. The rough breakeven point between the old and new program is just above $5. If you spend less than this in a transaction you're screwed, if you spend more than this you're golden. Personally 99% of my Starbucks purchases are over $5 as I am buying for multiple people so this is a welcome change but for those of you who just go for a single coffee it isn't.

Here is a brief summary of the changes:

1. It is moving from a transaction based program to a revenue based program. (taking note from the moves seen in the airline industry)
2. They will award 2 Stars per dollar spent versus the current 1 star per transaction - the program will be more beneficial for higher spenders (just like many frequent flyer programs)
3. The 3 levels of status are being simplified to 2. Previous was Welcome, Green, Gold. Now it is Green and Gold
4. Previously 12 stars got you a free drink, now 125 Stars does so.
5. On average those who spend over $5 per transaction will come out ahead, those below or at $5 will be losing out over the current offering.
6. You no longer have to reach 5 star before you get free refills on coffee and tea in store
7. and also bad as Stars have a 12 month expiry!

To maintain all benefits of the Green Level, you must earn at least one (1) new Star during each consecutive 12-month period following your enrollment date. If you do not earn at least one (1) new Star in each 12-month period, your Star balance will automatically reset to zero (0) and you may no longer be eligible to receive Starbucks Rewards benefits. If you do not earn at least three hundred (300) new Stars in each consecutive 12- month period, your Stars will expire and your Star balance will automatically reset to zero (0).
To maintain the Gold Level, you must earn at least three hundred (300) new Stars during each consecutive 12-month period following the date you reached the Gold Level. If you do not earn 300 new Stars in 12 months, you will be placed at the Green Level of Starbucks Rewards and your Star balance will automatically reset to zero (0). If you fail to requalify for the Gold Level, and you have between 125 and 299 Stars in your account, Starbucks will add one (1) free food or drink Reward onto your account (subject to the Gold Level exclusions and restrictions described below). This Reward will be loaded onto your account on your requalification date and will be available for you to use at participating stores for a period of thirty (30) days. If you have provided Starbucks with a current, valid email address, you will receive an email from Starbucks approximately twenty-four (24) hours after the coupon is loaded to your account indicating that your Reward is available to you.

Learn all about the Starbucks changes in their updated T&Cs

Yesterday we brought you some of the details of Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer changes and embedded at the bottom of the email was a booking bonus to celebrate the new program. If you can swing this and stay with PHG it can be a very lucrative promo as it is a flat 12,500 points for each booking made online. That 12,500 points translates to a US$25 reward certificate. Crazy thing is there are rooms out there from PHG going for as little as US$53 night (base rate) including one in Toronto! That mean's your achieving nearly a 50% return! Heck even at a $100 per night $25 is big return! Now is the time to move some stays to PHG iPrefer!! Read more about this on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com

And finally watch out next week as there are going to be a bunch of new offers for credit cards as of March 1st! We know of new offers and card changes from TD, Scotia and a really big one from RBC (a hint on the RBC one was alluded to in our Top Credit Card Rankings for 2016)

Posts since our last update:

• Starwood Preferred Guest 2016 Hotel Category Changes - 14 Hotels in Canada affected (282 Worldwide)
  Yesterday we mentioned that more hotel programs have come out with their 2016 hotel category changes. Now these aren't…
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Up to a 40% bonus when buying or gifting miles until March 31
  The Alaska Airlines buy Mileage Plan miles promo returns and is a good one but not the great one…

Bonus Offers
airberlin topbonus
- Double topbonus Miles for stays at any Best Western Hotel in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia or Slovakia. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Double topbonus Miles for stays at over 5,500 Choice Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Apr 15, 16
- 4,000 Bonus topbonus Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Mar 31, 16

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Up to 40% Bonus MIleage Plan Miles when you buy or gift Mileage Plan miles online. More... Until Mar 31, 16

British Airways Executive Club
- 1,000 Bonus Avios for new Hailo customers on their first journey booked through the app. More... Until Mar 31, 16
- Double Avios on all your Heathrow Rewards transactions in Terminal 3 and Terminal 5. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Etihad Guest
- Triple Guest Miles awarded to your BusinessConnect account when you fly Etihad in Business or First Class. More... Until Mar 21, 16

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double HawaiianMiles on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 30% Bonus Gold Passport Points when you buy Gold Passport points online. More... Until Mar 7, 16

Marriott Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- 12,500 Bonus iPrefer Points when you book any and all your Preferred Hotel Group stays via iPrefer. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Tangshan. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Guilin. More... Until May 13, 16

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Free Spirit Miles on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

United MileagePlus
- Up to 75% Bonus MileagePlus miles when you buy or gift miles online. More... Until Mar 14, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Elevate Points on all rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 16

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

Starwood Preferred Guest 2016 Hotel Category Changes - 14 Hotels in Canada affected (282 Worldwide)

Yesterday we mentioned that more hotel programs have come out with their 2016 hotel category changes. Now these aren't the addition of new categories rather the free award night category that hotels fall in. We do see these changes every year and most are predominantly worse however this year for those of you travelling and redeeming within our borders things have gotten better. We've already detailed IHG Rewards Club's and Marriott Rewards' changes and now here are Starwood Preferred Guest's.

Excerpt From SPG's post on Milepoint:

"Just over 20% of hotels are changing category; of these, 12% are moving up and 8% are moving down including some favorites such as The St. Regis Bangkok, Thailand & Le Meridien Bora Bora."

The good news for those of you redeeming for stays in Canada is that we see many hotels go down by one category while only one went up by one. That means 13 hotels go down a category with the majority of them being in Ontario and Alberta.

Here is the complete summary of our local hotel changes

So what does this mean for Starwood Preferred members? Well take a look at the complete list of hotel changes here to see if any hotels you have currently booked with points or are planning to book with points to see if they are moving up or down. If the location(s) are moving up then you'll want to lock in your booking before March 1st when these changes take place as you'll still be able to redeem at the current 2015 rates.  However if one or more of planned redemptions is at a location moving down a category you'll want to hold off until March 1st to book to ensure you use less points for that redemption. Already booked for a stay after March 1st? Once that day comes check to see if the hotel has award nights available at the lower rate, book it and then cancel your old award reservation.

The great news for Canadian redemptions and all the hotel changes that go down a category means that you can make more of the 20,000 points received from the The Starwood Preferred Guest®* Credit Card from American Express. Especially those hotels going from Cat 3 to 2 as you move from 2 nights with leftover points to 5 free nights! Of course on the flipside you have quite a few hotels (160+ Worldwide) that will cost you more points! One huge change of note sees the Four Points Penghu in Taiwan move from Category 1 to 5. Ouch!!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the latest SPG hotel category changes? Are you happy with them or with the majority of changing locations outside of Canada moving up like we tend to see each year make you angry with them (again!)

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 The Starwood Preferred Guest®* Credit Card from American Express
• New Starwood Preferred Guest®* Credit Card from American Express Cardmembers, earn 20,000 bonus Starpoints® after you charge $500 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership.
• Earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases charged to the Card
• Enjoy a Free Weekend Night Award when you reach $40,000 in purchases each year
• Experience Starwood Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year
• Redeem Starpoints for Free Nights with no blackout dates at over 1,100 of the world’s most desired hotels in nearly 100 countries
• Use Starpoints for flights on over 350 airlines with no blackout dates with SPG Flights
• Experience once-in-a-lifetime events with SPG Moments
• Get Front Of The Line®* access to tickets for some of the most popular concerts, theatre and special events
• Annual interest rate 19.99% on purchases and 21.99% on funds advances
• 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.

Apply Online

Conditions apply

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Up to a 40% bonus when buying or gifting miles until March 31

The Alaska Airlines buy Mileage Plan miles promo returns and is a good one but not the great one we saw towards the last year. At that time the maximum bonus was 50% now this time it is 40%. While not an amazing deal, it still can be worth more than the US2.1 cents you pay for each mile (including tax) with the 40% bonus since you can redeem the miles for premium class flights on airline like Cathay Pacific and Emirates. And Alaska allows you to book one ways to boot! While each transaction is limited to 40,000 miles (+ the bonus) there is no limit to the number of transactions you can complete.

Offer Details
Up to 40% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy or gift Mileage Plan miles online. Full details Until Mar 31, 16

Buy or Gift	Bonus
Buy 10,000 - 19,000 miles	20% bonus miles
Buy 20,000 - 39,000 miles	30% bonus miles
Buy 40,000 miles	40% bonus miles

This offer is around until March 31st so you don't have to jump on it right away and even though Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles are some of those most valuable out there I wouldn't buy the miles unless you have an award flight in mind (book within 3-4 months) or need to top offer you account.

February 22 Update: We're back! Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer changes, AIR MILES Uber bonus returns and more!

We're back after nearly a two week hiatus! This will be a week of catch up on news and bonuses for you!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air Canada will be ending service between Toronto and New York JFK on April 26th. (Source Airlineroute.net)

Copa Airlines Connect Miles added Avis and Budget as their newest car rental partners as of February 17th! (Source Copa)

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer underwent a revamp that launched on February 12th. They have moved from a three tier system (Silver, Gold, Platinum) to a two tier system (Insider, Elite). See the benefits in the chart below. They have also changed the points base earning rate to 10 points per US$1 spend (used to be 1 point/$) while the redemption rates have also increased by 10 so essentially the earn and burn rate remains the same. You can find out more about the changes here. Remember Preferred Hotels iPrefer does status match so give it a try by contacting them at iPrefer@preferredhotels.com and provide proof of your status at another hotel rewards program.

WestJet has added some limited-addition non-stop flights for this summer. The new flights are between Brandon and Toronto; Vancouver and both Hamilton and London, ON. (Source WestJet)

Also check out lots of great bonuses that were added to Rewards Canada. Of note is the return of the 100 Bonus AIR MILES when you take your first ride with Uber in Canada! Also if you are planning to fly Caribbean Airlines/Air Jamaica between Toronto and Kingston you'll earn double miles and there is also double miles on AC's new Vancouver-Brisbane route. You can see all these offers below in the bonus offers section.

Posts since our last update:

• Marriott Rewards 2016 Hotel Category/Tier Updates - 22 Hotels in Canada affected (nearly 800 Worldwide)
  Earlier this year we brought you the details of the IHG Rewards Club hotel category changes and said it…
• Air Canada / Aeroplan: Triple Miles for Accor stays Worldwide + a chance to win 80,000 miles
  Just like the Iberia, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and airberlin Accor stay offers that have been posted…
• 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…
• Air Canada: Double Aeroplan Miles on the new Vancouver - Brisbane route
  To celebrate to launch of Air Canada's new Vancouver to Brisbane route the airline is offering double miles to…
• Best Western Rewards: $35 Travel Card for every 2 stays at Best Western hotels for CAA Preferred Members
  Last week we brought you the details of the newest Best Western promotion that awards a $25 BW Travel…

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn Double Aeroplan Miles when you fly a round-trip (or 2 one-way segments) on Air Canada non-stop between Vancouver and Brisbane. More... Register and book by Apr 30 for travel between Jun 1 - Dec 31

AIR MILES (Canada)
- 100 Bonus Air Miles Reward Miles after you take your first ride in any Canadian city Uber operates in. More... Until Mar 18, 16

Best Western Rewards
- Receive a $35 USD Best Western Travel Card® for every 2 separate stays at Best Western® branded hotels in the U.S., Canada or Caribbean when you are a AAA or CAA preferred member. More... Feb 8 - May 8, 16

Caribbean Airlines Caribbean Miles
- Double Caribbean Miles when you fly between Montego Bay and New York or Kingston and Toronto. More... Until Apr 30, 16

Copa Airlines Connect Miles
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus ConnectMiles and a room upgrade for stays at Marriott hotels in the Caribbean and Latin America. More...Until Apr 30, 16

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- 3,000 Bonus Fortune Wings Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by May 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 700 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Sofitel, Pullman or M Gallery Hotels in Poland, Hungary,  Czech Republic, or Romania. More... Until Apr 30, 16
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for weekend stays of 2 or more nights at participating Accor Hotels in the U.K. More... Until Apr 30, 16

Virgin Australia Velocity (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Velocity Points when you fly Virgin Australia or Delta between Australia and Los Angeles. More... Register and book by Mar 8 for travel until May 31 & Jul 18 - Sep 16, 16

Marriott Rewards 2016 Hotel Category/Tier Updates - 22 Hotels in Canada affected (nearly 800 Worldwide)

Earlier this year we brought you the details of the IHG Rewards Club hotel category changes and said it wouldn't be too long before we saw other hotels release their annual changes. Now that we are back from vacation we are playing catch up as two chains released these changes last week! First off was Marriott Rewards as they announced the changes on FlyerTalk and summarized all the hotels changing here.

Here's an excerpt of what they posted on FT:

How many hotels are affected?
82% of the properties remain unchanged.
62% of all the properties will remain in Categories 1-4.
18% of the hotels are changing. Of those changing, 30% are decreasing by one category and 70% are increasing by one category.

*NEW!* – March 24, 2016 is also the day you can begin mixing cash and points for reservations of one night or more using the NEW Cash + Points.

The good news for those of you redeeming for stays in Canada is that we saw many hotels go down by one category while only three went up by one. Of course the province that is hurting right now, Alberta saw the largest percentage of those hotel drops as 11 of the 19 properties going down are in Alberta. Somewhat surprising is seeing 6 locations in the Toronto also go down!

Here is the complete summary of our local hotel changes

Hotels in Canada moving up (more points required):

Hotels in Canada moving down in category (less points required):

So what does this mean for Marriott Rewards members? Well take a look at the complete list of hotel changes here to see if any hotels you have currently booked with points or are planning to book with points to see if they are moving up or down. If the location(s) are moving up then you'll want to lock in your booking before March 24th when these changes take place as you'll still be able to redeem at the current 2015 rates. Remember Marriott allows you to book almost a year out so you can book stays in 2017 at this time. However if one or more of planned redemptions is at a location moving down a category you'll want to hold off until March 24th to book to ensure you use less points for that redemption. Already booked for a stay after March 24th? Once that day comes check to see if the hotel has award nights available at the lower rate, book it and then cancel your old award reservation.

Also embedded in this news is that March 24th will also be the official launch of Marriott Rewards' Cash+Points option which detailed sometime ago.

The great news for Canadian redemptions and the 30% of hotel changes that go down a category means that you have some more options to utilize the free nights received from the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card, of course on the flipside you have quite a few hotels (500+ Worldwide) that will cost you more points or become ineligible for the free night from this credit card.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the latest Marriott Rewards hotel category changes? Are you happy with them or with the majority of changing locations outside of Canada moving up like we tend to see each year make you angry with them (again!)

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Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card
30,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you apply for and receive the Premier card. Points are awarded after your first purchase.
Annual Fee: $120 (waived in the first year)
Supplementary cards: free
30,000 Marriott Rewards Points sign up bonus after your first purchase
1 Free Night at a Category 1 - 4 location upon card approval
5 Marriott Rewards points per $ spent at Marriott locations
2 Marriott Rewards points per $ spent on Airline Tickets, Car Rental agencies and restaurants
1 Marriott Rewards point on all other spending
15 Night credit towards elite status, which translates to automatic Silver status
Anniversary bonus of 1 free night at a Category 1 - 5 location
Apply online.
Canadian Residents Only
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