Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for April

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of April! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the sign up bonus, but when most or all of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when not taking into account insurance packages and other non-reward benefits. In fact all 5 cards on this list for April are first year free so you can try them out at no cost, get over $1,000 in rewards and decide later on if the card is right for you. All the while earning the sign up bonus which can be used to subsidize your travels!  Just ensure you drop any cards you don't like before your 1st year anniversary.
   
No changes this month from the March list. Enjoy!

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for April (in alphabetical order)

American Express Gold Rewards Card - 25,000 Points (Apply here)
A mainstay offer here on Rewards Canada, the American Express Gold Rewards card has its first year fee of $150 waived and will award you 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you complete $500 in spending in the first three months. That 25,000 points is worth a $250 travel credit via Amex's TripFlex feature or can be converted to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles (1 Round trip Economy Award ticket within North America) or 25,000 British Airways Executive Club Avios (as much a 3 one way Economy Award tickets in North America, see this post for details.)


American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card - 2,000 Reward Miles (Apply here)
A newcomer to our monthly Top 5 sign up offers, the American Express Air Miles Platinum card comes first year free and comes with a 2,000 Reward Miles sign up bonus when you complete $500 in spending in the first three months. That 2,000 Miles is worth anywhere from $220 to $300 in flight value when you get around to redeeming them.

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa - 30,000 Points  (Apply here)
The best no foreign transaction fee card in Canada makes it to this list due to a very strong acquisition offer. I mean who can complain with 30,000 points awarded on approval and a certificate for a free night stay at a Category 1-4 hotel for a potential of 5 free nights, all at no cost as the card has the annual fee waived in the first year! They also give you a 15 night credit into the mix which automatically provides you with Marriott Rewards Silver Elite status. There is also a 50,000 Point offer meant only for Marriott Elite members which many non-elites have had success with when they apply for it. (You may or may not get the full 50k and if they find out you are not Elite you may only receive the 30k)

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card - 25,000 Miles (Apply here)
Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles and a 100% rebate off your first year annual fee when you apply for and receive the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card.  15,000 Bonus miles awarded on first purchase, 10,000 after 90 days and 5,000 for adding an authorized user. That means those 25,000 are free and worth well over $400 and you'll save the $120 fee in the first year. The 5,000 additional miles for the authorized user come with a $50 cost for that additional card.

TD First Class Visa Infinite Card - 40,000 Points (Apply here)
Still with an increased sign up bonus but now with  the first year fee waived, the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card has also been a good card. The regular sign up of offer 20,000 TD Rewards Points has now been boosted to 40,000 (20,000 upon 1st purchase, 20,000 after 90 days) and the first year $120  fee waived which means you essentially get $200 of travel for free when you redeem those points via ExpediaForTD.

If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with over  $1000 in travel credits and hotel free nights but even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly at no cost other than regular credit card spend

April 6 Update: Double Points on Amtrak out of Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver, KLM to Kuwait for $999 and 14 new bonuses!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air New Zealand will be adding a fourth weekly flight out of Vancouver for the month of November. Not huge news but always provides that extra slight chance of getting a redemption via Aeroplan or other Star Alliance airlines (or even AIR MILES) although expect huge carrier surcharges on some of those redemptions (AIR MILES primarily). (Source Airlineroute.net)

If you are planning to travel by train to the U.S. on Amtrak be sure to register for their Double Days promotion to earn bonus Guest Rewards points. See the link below in the bonus offers section.

Posts since our last update:

• Hotel Review: Canalta Hotel, Melfort SK
  Fast forward to March 2016 and we have more travel to rural Saskatchewan where hotel choices are slim pickings.

Travel Deals
Its Wednesday, so you know what that means! KLM Wild on Wednesday! This week it is Kuwait for only $999 from the east or $1099 from the west! Book by Apr 7 for travel May 7-Jun 18 and Sep 11-Oct 15. Find out more here

 


Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- Double Miles&Bonus Miles on Hertz car rentals in Greece. More... Book by May 7 for rentals Apr 22 - May 8, 16

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Double Guest Rewards Points on all qualifying Amtrak travel. More... Until May 21, 16

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points for stays at the BEST WESTERN PLUS Hotel le 18 - Paris More... Until Jul 4, 16
- Double Rewards Points for stays at the BEST WESTERN Hotel San Damianu - Sartene More... Until Jun 30, 16

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Avios when you apply for and receive the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card. For residents of Canada only. More... Until May 31, 16
- 3,000 Bonus Avios on your first hotel booking made via Kaligo. Minimum GBP150 spend required. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16
- 750 Bonus Avios on Avis rentals of 2+ days with minimum car group C Worldwide. More... Until Apr 30 for rentals until Jun 30, 16

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles on most Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flights in Economy Class out of Hong Kong. More... Apr 13 - Jun 15, 16
- Triple Asia Miles for stays on the Family 2 room package (50% off the second room) at participating Fairmont Hotels in Asia. More... Book by May 31 for stays Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16
- Triple Asia Miles for stays on the Family 2 room package (50% off the second room) at participating Swissotels in Asia. More... Book by May 31 for stays Jun 1 - Aug 31, 16

La Quinta Returns
- 500 Bonus Returns Points on qualifying rentals of 3 or more days at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. More... Until Sep 30, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Austria.More... Book by Apr 30 for stays untl Jul 15, 16
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for staysof 2 or more nights at participating Mercure Hotels in Czech Rep., Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Romania. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until May 31, 16

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Miles&Smiles Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Follow Rewards Canada:

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

Hotel Review: Canalta Hotel, Melfort SK

The Canalta Hotel Melfort

Points required for a free night : 25,000 Canalta Rewards Points for standard room

Almost a year ago the Rewards Canada family stayed at the Canalta Hotel in Humboldt Saskatchewan and really enjoyed it. The hotel was awesome for the type and star rating. You can read the review of that hotel here.

Fast forward to March 2016 and we have more travel to rural Saskatchewan where hotel choices are slim pickings. Lucky for us and many other travellers, Canalta Hotels is springing up in these smaller towns across Western Canada where previously only hotels that aren't very good exist. This time we were north of Humboldt in the Melfort area and seeing that Canalta has a hotel in Melfort it was the most logical choice. They also have one 20 minutes away in my wife's childhood stomping grounds of Tisdale. All I can say is the other hotel options in the area aren't so appealing so we are very happy to have Canalta around. In fact I believe this move by the Drumheller based company to open up nice, clean, comfortable hotels with decent amenities in rural spots is a very smart one.

The Canalta in Melfort is very similar to the one in Humboldt although smaller. It does not have a pool and waterslide like Humboldt, only a very large hot tub with steam room. We had a standard 2 queen bed room that looked and felt just like the one in Humboldt although once again smaller. The rooms next to us were a bit bigger based on the fire exit map on our door and the build of the hotel, so I believe it was one of those larger ones we had in Humboldt. The little bit of size difference could be felt however with two adults and teen and a tween all with our own luggage as the room did seem a bit stuffed. We do love how they give pillow options of firm and soft (the choice is embroidered on the pillow cover) but for some reason we found the beds not very comfortable even though they are probably the same ones in Humboldt? They are very 'loose' in that you can feel every little movement in them. Perhaps I'm nitpicking a bit but the fact is all four of us didn't have very good sleeps. Other features we like in the room are the microwave and fridge. It was nice to have fridge to place our drinks etc. as that is one item I seem to miss in a lot of higher end hotels. Even though the Sheraton in Saskatoon we stayed at on the same trip (review coming soon) had a smaller mini bar fridge which was usable only if you removed the items for sale. Here are some of my pictures from the room.

The bathroom had your standard hotel fixtures, nothing fancy at all but appropriate for this type of hotel. This is the picture from the hotel website as I didn't grab a photo myself:

Just like the stay last year in Humboldt what impressed us the most was how clean the room and the hotel was. Canalta definitely knows how to take care of their properties and have employees who take care in keeping the hotel in great condition. The shower and bathroom were spotless. The same goes for the carpets, beds and other room furniture. They didn't show signs of aging, stains or anything else.

Probably the most lacking part of the stay was the Continental Breakfast that was included. Compared to the one in Humboldt this one needs work.  Unlike Humboldt there wasn't any hot meat items, only what seemed to be powdered eggs which were horrible and not very warm hashbrown patties. If you are making your way through Melfort and stay here I'd suggest avoiding the hot foods and go for traditional continental breakfast items or utilize the make your own waffle station. There is always another option, Tim Horton's which is 30 seconds away on the other end of the parking lot.

Overall I would stay at this location again or the Tisdale one as it seems to be a duplicate build but chances are more of our future Saskatchewan travel will be a bit south so we'll base ourselves in Humboldt at the larger Canalta with the pool and waterslide with the better breakfast. In general though I really have to commend Canalta for their rural presence and providing some great hotels to stay at when all the other options are well not so good.

Have you stayed at any of Canalta's locations in Western Canada? What are you impressions of this small Canadian chain? Let us know by commenting below!

April 5 Update: Redeem Mileage Plan miles for Hainan flights, Tunisair proposes Montreal service, AF KLM Promo Awards

News, Tips & Tricks
Tunisair is proposing to fly twice weekly between Montreal and Tunis. They aren't part of any of the major airline alliances so you can really choose from Tunisair's Fidelys program or use a proprietary credit card program to redeem for Tunisair flights once the route gets approval. (Source Airlineroute)

Yesterday we mentioned the change to Emirates awards for Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan but we did mention their are other airline options. We mentioned Hainan as one example (for Canadians you can choose to fly Hainan from Calgary, Toronto or Seattle for those of you in the Vancouver/Victoria area) but did you know those redemptions only started on March 30th? We did a quick check on the YYC flights and you can get Economy or Business Class Mileage Plan award tickets on the inaugural flight out of YYC! Economy class one way is 30,000 miles but a better deal is the 50,000 for Business Class! It does come with $202 in taxes and fees but we looked up what Hainan was charging for the one way business class ticket and you're looking at over $3,000 all in. So what's better? 50K miles + $202 or spending over $3,000? I know which one I would choose.

Mileage Plan availability for Hainan's inaugural flight out of YYC

and the cost if you were to buy the same ticket

On March 26th Aeroplan changed the mileage earned for flying on Air China. Many of the fare classes went down in mileage earned, primarily discounted economy class fares however some business class and full fare economy class tickets will now earn more miles. (Source Aeroplan)

Air France KLM Flying Blue has released their latest promo awards (see link below in the bonus offers section) and only Montreal is included this time. You can save 25% on the regular amount of miles required for flying in Business Class this June and July.




Posts since our last update:

• RBC and British Airways bring back the 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for their Visa Infinite Card
  The 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card is back! We received an email…
• REMINDER: Redeem your Diners Club Club Rewards points by the end today for Tailored Travel credits at 1.7%
  Just a reminder that today is the last day to receive 1.7% back from Diners Club Club Rewards for Tailored…
• Earn 25 bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles on top of Double Miles for IHG stays in Alberta and Saskatchewan
  Months ago we brought you the details of IHG Rewards Club's Double Airline Miles offer where people who don't…

Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- April Promo Awards - Save 25% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Apr 30 for travel between Jun 1 - Jul 31, 16

AIR MILES
- Double AIR MILES Reward Miles for stays at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. Stays in Alberta & Saskatchewan will earn an additional 25 Reward Miles. More... Until Apr 30, 16

Copa ConnectMiles
- Double Business Class Bonus ConnectMiles when you fly in Business Class on Copa Airlines to or from Caracas, Maracaibo or Valencia. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple ConnectMiles on rentals of 2 or more days at participating Avis locations in the contiguous U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Double ConnectMiles on qualifying rentals of 1 or more days at participating Budget locations in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Resorts in Africa and the Indian Ocean area. More... Book by May 1 for stays until May 31, 16
- 4X Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until May 31, 16
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Accor Hotels in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany or Switzerland. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays untl Jun 14, 16
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Barcelona. More... Book by May 10 for stays until May 15, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn 1,500 bonus Starpoints for every three eligible stays you book for your clients via SPG Pro. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Elite Status Match - Virgin America will match your other airline elite status with silver or gold Elevate status. More... Until Sep 30, 16

Follow Rewards Canada:

RBC and British Airways bring back the 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for their Visa Infinite Card

The 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card is back! We received an email from a reader yesterday who took advantage of the bonus last fall with some concerns and while looking up the details from our old post we see that it has now returned!

The sign up bonus remains the same at 15,000 Avios however 35,000 additional Avios will be awarded to any new cardholder who applies by May 31, 16 and spends $9,000 within the first 3 months of card membership. That's right $9,000! Remember back in 2012 when it used to be $5,000 for that extra 35,000!

What can you get for 50,000 Avios? Just one example is 6 one way or 3 round trip short haul trips between Canada & North America in Economy Class(+taxes/fees).

Some additional details of the card are:

• Receive 15,000 Avios upon approval^Λ.
• Receive 35,000 bonus Avios when you spend $9,000 in the first three months account opening^Λ.
• Collect 1 Avios for every $1 CAD spent on qualifying net purchases*.
• Collect double Avios when you shop with British Airways and BA Holidays*.
• Earn a companion voucher when you spend $30,000 CAD annually˜.
• 250 bonus Avios when you rent a car with Avis and pay with your RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card†.
• 10% off British Airways flights when you book and pay with your RBC British Airways Visa Infinite card∞.

For complete details please visit BA.com

REMINDER: Redeem your Diners Club Club Rewards points by the end today for Tailored Travel credits at 1.7%

Just a reminder that today is the last day to receive 1.7% back from Diners Club Club Rewards for Tailored Travel Credits as it drops to 1.5% tomorrow. Just called in myself and redeemed $515 worth of points to a recent WestJet ticket. I think even with the change I'll keep the card but will use it less and use whatever points that I do earn on it to redeem against car rentals due to the card's superior CDW or as a top off card by converting points  to Alaska Airlines or other programs if I am short some miles for awards.

In case you missed it, here is what we posted back on March 17th about this change:

Ouch, one of the cards that has been in my wallet the longest and one of my favourites is about to get devalued! The tailored travel credit for the Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard is getting cut back. This is the book any travel and redeem points against the charge feature of the card. Granted to start with the rate was a 1.7% return which is lower than other cards out there with 2% however the card comes with an awesome airline lounge programs, costs less then those other cards and has one of the best CDW insurance coverage of any card out there as they don't put a dollar limit on cars (just types of cars like all others) so when we were in Maui last month our free upgrade to a fully loaded Infiniti QX80 didn't concern me as Diners doesn't max out at $65,000 like other cards.

Earn 25 bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles on top of Double Miles for IHG stays in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Months ago we brought you the details of IHG Rewards Club's Double Airline Miles offer where people who don't want to earn IHG Rewards Club points and would rather funnel their IHG stays to earn miles in their airline or in this case AIR MILES accounts. Well the double AIR MILES Reward Miles offer is getting a boost for IHG stays in Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the remainder of this month if you are registered for this promotion (you can do so via the link below) you will earn an additional 25 Reward Miles on top of the double miles.

Offer Details
Double AIR MILES Reward Miles for stays at IHG Hotel stays Worldwide. Stays in Alberta & Saskatchewan will earn an additional 25 Reward Miles. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Apr 30, 16

Excerpt from the terms and conditions:
The 25 additional Bonus Miles offer is subject to the terms of the Double Up offer as well as the terms for the 25 additional Bonus Miles. The 25 additional Bonus Miles offer is only valid at IHG branded hotels in Alberta or Saskatchewan. Limit of 150 Miles during the 25 additional Bonus Miles offer period. Only one room per member per stay will be awarded the applicable 25 additional Bonus Miles. No retroactive Miles will be awarded for stays prior to registration. 25 additional Bonus Miles are awarded on Qualifying Stays between March 5 and April 30, 2016

April 4 Update: Canada's newest airline, win Aeroplan Miles at Esso and win a free night at Executive Hotels

Catching up on lots of news and more after the Easter break!

News, Tips & Tricks
Canada's newest airline (not newleaf, who has received the green light from the CTA now, but have not announced when they will re-launch), FlySarvaq is scheduling their first flight for May 6. The new airline based out of Iqaluit will offer Boeing 737 service between Iqaluit and Halifax and Ottawa. It appears to be a similar set up as newleaf as the planes will be operated by Nolinor Aviation. No FFP listed as yet but you should be able to use proprietary credit card programs to redeem for flights on the new airline. Find out more about FlySarvaq here

Until May 23, 2016, Esso stations are giving away 15,000 Aeroplan miles every hour! To participate, swipe your Aeroplan Card when you make an eligible purchase. Find out more here!

Not too long ago we brought you the details of the new Starbucks Rewards program and it looks like the U.S. version will have a co-branded prepaid Visa from Chase later this year. Hopefully Canada will follow suit and get the same card from Chase here. Chase Canada definitely needs to increase their portfolio in Canada (after the sale of Sears cards to Scotia) as they only have the Marriott Visa and the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa. Seeing how big Starbucks is and how loyal many of their clientele offering a Canadian Starbucks Visa would make great sense! If they do, I wouldn't anticipate it until sometime in 2017 however after they launch and prove the U.S. card later this year. (Source Doctor of Credit)

Emirates now allows ticket purchasers to check in online 48 hours ahead of the flight time. Not huge news but interesting none the least. (Source Emirates)

While we were off for the Easter Break, China's Anbang made a better bid for Starwood Hotels but then withdrew it. This means Marriott's takeover of Starwood should continue as it was before all this drama of the last few weeks.

Here is another AIR MILES coupon for Rexall purchases. 40 bonus miles with a spend of $30 until April 7. Print the coupon here.

Alaska Airlines has won a bidding war to buy Virgin America. Not big news for us north of the border seeing that Virgin America doesn't serve Toronto anymore (it has been a few years!)

Executive Hotels has launched a contest where you can win 10,000 Executive Rewards points. That's enough points for a one night stay at any of their hotels in Canada or the U.S.! No stay is required! Just participate on Facebook by uploading a photo. Find all the details and enter the contest here.

Posts since our last update:

• Hilton HHonors will match your status with any other hotel program!
  Hilton has brought back their status match offer that ended back on January 11th. This one is open for…
• Register now for Hyatt Gold Passport's Stay More Play More promotion to earn up to 75,000 bonus points
  Registration is now open for what is Hyatt's first systemwide promotion in roughly 6 months. Offer details Earn up…
• mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard Review
  One of the most under regarded cards in the market, even by ourselves, the mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard…
• Finally a new Hyatt Gold Passport systemwide promotion and it's a good one!
  We haven't seen a systemwide bonus points promotion from Hyatt Gold Passport since last summer, nor have we even…
• New 75,000 point referral sign up bonus available on The Platinum Card from American Express
  An amazing new bonus has come out on The Platinum Card from American Express. This bonus is not on…
• Redemption Stories: Using Diners Club Club Reward Points for a Hertz Car Rental
  For our Maui trip back in February we rented a large SUV to shuttle us around the island. We…

Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles when you fly on British Airways between Seattle and London. More... Until Sep 30, 16

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Quadruple Guest Rewards Points for stays at La Quinta Inns and Suites in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Hilton HHonors
- Hilton HHonors Elite Status Match to preferred and elite status levels in other hotel programs. Status lasts until March 31, 2018! More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple HHonors Points on your next stay at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jan 31, 17

Hyatt Gold Passport
- Earn up to 75,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points when you stay at participating Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints when you dine with SPG outside of a stay. Just spend US$10 or more at participating restaurants More... Until Jun 15, 16

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 10,000 Elevate Points when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Dec 31, 16
- Triple Elevate Points on all rentals of 2+ days at participating Hertz locations in the U.S. and Mexico. More... Until Jul 31, 16


Follow Rewards Canada:

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan devalues Emirates premium class award tickets

Rewards Canada is back from Easter Break, of course while we were gone some big news comes out (Murphy's Law right?). The biggest news came from Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. On Thursday March 31st it became known that overnight from the 30th Alaska Airlines altered their award chart for travel on Emirates.

The changes affected Business Class and First Class awards on Emirates. They have been known as an exceptionally great value ever since the two airlines partnered up and began allowing redemptions. Travellers bought miles with Alaska's frequent mileage sales to take advantage of flying on Emirates in Business or First class.

Then all of the sudden on March 30th/31st these great value redemptions went up by up to 100% with no advance notice. Here is the explanation that Alaska Airlines gave on FlyerTalk:

Why is Mileage Plan making this change?

Alaska’s premium Emirates awards have long been known as an exceptionally good deal. With the rise of “travel-hacking,” intended to exploit Mileage Plan’s award routing rules, coupled with below-market award levels, our previous award levels were unsustainable. The new award levels enable Alaska to continue to offer Emirates Business Class and First Class as a redemption option

What if I purchased miles intending to book Emirates Business or First Class before I had a chance to book at the previous award level?

If you purchased miles on or after March 1, 2016, you can contact our Customer Care team for a refund.

Why didn’t Mileage Plan give advance notice? How can I expect other awards to not change suddenly?

Given the dynamics of this particular award, we were unable to announce changes in advance. This approach doesn’t represent a new normal. Our policy is to communicate significant program changes with at least 30 days’ notice when at all possible.

I’ve been saving my miles for this award. What am I supposed to do?

You’ll continue to have access to awards in premium cabins on our other partners with coverage to most of the same destinations. Future changes, if any, to these award levels will be given with advance notice.

These are the new redemption rates:

Prior to this North America to Asia was only 100,000 in First Class one way as was Africa. So right there you have 80% and 100% increases. Ouch!

Alaska put the blame on travel hacking (blogs, forums, etc.) and rightfully so. It is a cat and mouse game. People find the best value in programs and take advantage of it, when it doesn't become sustainable for the program they change and the cycle continues. However I think the much publicized stories of Sam Huang late last year is what put the final nail in the coffin. His story of getting $60,000 of Emirates flights for $300 was covered by major news sources around the globe, Canada, the U.S., the U.K. you name it. Alaska did change their wording a bit in their response about exploiting mileage rules to "the selling of award tickets for a profit by individuals and brokers in direct violation of our policy and Emirates policy" so it appears some people may have been taking advantage of buying Mileage Plan miles, then offering to buy tickets for people on Emirates lower than what Emirates was charging but higher than what those people paid for the miles. This is against the terms of any frequent flyer program! Honestly, it was probably a combination of all of the above that led to Alaska making the changes.

Overall this is a huge change and devaluation however I don't see it affecting Canadians as much as those south of the border. While many of us read about, write about and discuss the Emirates options via Alaska Airlines for many Canadians it just didn't make much sense unless you were near an Emirates city (Toronto, Seattle etc.) Those who do are a minority and it truly bites for that minority who have been saving up for that Emirates experience. No matter what Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is still a great program and makes a ton of sense for Canadians (both before and after this change) but in reality most Canadians outside of the Frequent Flyer/Travel Hacking circles won't have had these awards on their radar. Sure it sucks for those of us who wanted to redeem for high end Emirates flights via Mileage Plan but for Canada as a whole its not that big of news. The companion vouchers on the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MasterCard still provide great value while Mileage Plan miles still provide great value on Cathay Pacific premium awards, Hainan Airlines and others.

Hilton HHonors will match your status with any other hotel program!

Hilton has brought back their status match offer that ended back on January 11th. This one is open for registration until June 30th and will award you status until March 31, 2018! That's a nice long period to hold the status. You simply need to provide proof of elite status with another hotel program along with proof of at least one stay with that program in the last 12 months.

Offer details
Hilton HHonors Elite Status Match to preferred and elite status levels in other hotel programs. Register Online (Registration is required) Until Jun 30, 16

Find many more Hilton HHonors bonus offers, status fast tracks and more here!