May 4 Update: New mbna Rewards MasterCard, donate Aeroplan Miles for Ft. McMurray, Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers

News, Tips & Tricks
Recently mbna released a new mbna Rewards MasterCard. Think of it as the entry level version of their popular mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard. This new card carries no annual fee and comes with a 5,000 point sign up bonus worth $50 towards any travel or cash back. The card earns 1 mbna Rewards point per dollar which equates to a 1% return. Pretty standard for a no fee card! You can find our more about the card here and also check it out on the following Rewards Canada comparison pages: Travel Points & All Travel Credit Cards

You can donate Aeroplan Miles to help with the Ft. McMurray wildfire. Aeroplan themselves started it off with a donation of 1 million miles. Find out more here.

Over on FFB we cover American AAdvantage's 35th Anniversary promotion. Canadians can't enter the contest portion but we should have no problem getting the 350 or 700 FREE AAdvantage miles! Find out more here.


Posts since our last update:

• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for May
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of May! This is not…
• Registration now open for SPG's Triple Up - Earn up to Triple Starpoints on your Starwood stays Worldwide
  Registration is now open for Starwood Preferred Guest's next global promotion called Triple Up. Eligible stays starting on May…
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards: Earn up to Triple Points on your Hertz Rentals + 25 Free Points for registering
  Offer Details: Earn up to Triple Gold Plus Rewards Points + 25 Free Points on rentals at participating Hertz…

Travel Deals
Carlson Hotels is offering 25% off the Guest Room Retail Rate when you stay from Thursday to Sunday at participating Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu®, Radisson RED, Park Inn® by Radisson and Park Plaza® hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Simply book by June 9 for stays until September 30th. Find out more here

 

Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Triple Airline Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 16

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Airline Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 16

EVA Air Infiniity MileageLands
- Earn up to Triple Airline Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 16

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up to Triple Airline Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels and resorts Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 16

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by May 12 for travel until Jun 30, 16
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Express on select flights in Europe. More... Register by May 12 for travel until Jun 30, 16
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select flights in Europe. More... Register by May 12 for travel until Jun 30, 16
- Triple Avios for stays at Ibis and Ibis Styles hotels around Spain and Portugal. More... Book by Jul 2 for stays until Sep 5, 16
- Triple Avios for stays at the Hotel Banke Paris. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Double Avios for stays at the Hotel Caesar London. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple Avios for stays of 3 or more nights at the Hotel Playa de La luz. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Double Avios for stays of 3 or more nights at the Hotel Jerez & Spa, Villa Jerez or the Duque de Nájera. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Double Avios on stays of 5 or more nights at Meliá and Sol brand Hotels in Spain. More... Book by Jun 30 for stays Jun 15 - Sep 15, 16
- Triple Avios on weekend stays of 2 or more nights at NH Hotels in Spain. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Triple Avios on stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- 750 Bonus Avios on Avis car rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Jul 15, 16
- 3,000 Avios on Avis car rentals of 3 or more days including a Saturday night in Spain. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Jul 15, 16
- Earn up to 8,800 Bonus Avios when you subscribe to the Economist. More... Until Jun 30, 16

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Save up to 40% when you redeem Golden Circle Points for room awards and upgrades. More... Until Jun 30, 16


Follow Rewards Canada:

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for May

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of May! 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 4 out of 5 cards on this list for May are first year free so you can try many of 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.
   
We've brought the Starwood card back in even though it has an annual fee. It is still one of the best cards out there with the sign up bonus being worth well over $400 alone meaning after the annual fee you'll net at least $280 in value if not more meaning it provides more value than the TD First Class Visa Infinite card which we featured last month.

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for May (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.


Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express - 20,000 Starpoints (Apply here)
With the sign up bonus remaining at 20,000 Starpoints this is the only card in this list that doesn't have the first year fee waived. That doesn't matter. This is by far the best hotel points card in Canada and Starpoints have huge value. The 20,000 Starpoint bonus when you spend $500 on the card is worth at least $400 when redeeming them for Starwood Hotel stays or you can convert them to airline miles in over 30+ programs and Starwood will kick in an additional 5,000 miles when you transfer 20,000 Starpoints at a time.

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.


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

Registration now open for SPG's Triple Up - Earn up to Triple Starpoints on your Starwood stays Worldwide

Registration is now open for Starwood Preferred Guest's next global promotion called Triple Up. Eligible stays starting on May 9th will count towards your bonuses. There are some hotels not participating but that list is quite small compared to past promotions that had hotel opt outs.

Offer details:
Earn up to Triple Starpoints for stays of 2 or more nights at all Starwood Hotels Worldwide.
Earn Triple Starpoints at Sheraton® hotels and resorts
Earn Double Starpoints at all other brands
Earn an extra 1,000 Starpoints for stays that include a Friday or Saturday night (Thursday or Friday night in the Middle East)
Full Details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Register May 3 - Jul 17 for stays May 9 - Jul 31, 16

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards: Earn up to Triple Points on your Hertz Rentals + 25 Free Points for registering

Offer Details:
Earn up to Triple Gold Plus Rewards Points + 25 Free Points on rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, USVI, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand only.
Register Online (Registration is required) Until Jun 30, 16
Residents of the U.S. or Canada only

• Earn double points on your first qualifying rental with Hertz Gold Plus Rewards®. Then earn triple points on the rest of your rentals 
• You will also earn 25 points simply by registering for the promotion. 
• You’ll also earn 200 bonus points for each item purchased on your rental, including entertainment and fuel products:

• SiriusXM® Satellite Radio
• Hertz NeverLost®
• Fuel Purchase Option

May 3 Update: Targetted Esso Bonus Aeroplan mile offer, new RBC page on Rewards Canada, lots of great bonuses!

News, Tips & Tricks
Aeroplan is sending out some targeted customized offers for bonus miles at Esso. Our reader Randy M. forwarded it to us to check. I personally did not receive one but be sure to check your email to see if you have been targeted for this offer.

InterContinental Hotels Group is the latest chain to offer a discount that is exclusive to members of their loyalty program. Your Rate by IHG® Rewards Club will launch at IHG hotels in the Americas and Europe. It will be rolled out across the remainder of IHG’s estate in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and China later in the year. The new member benefit will be tailored to reflect the local dynamic in individual regions and markets. Of course this means the discount will fluctuate. I have found with other chains that the AAA rate tends to be better than the member rate when it is available. There is no deditacted landing page for the new rate however when you search for hotels on IHG and are signed in you should be able to see the rates if they are available.

Just like the pages for other issuers, we have created a page just for RBC credit cards! You can find all the current sign up offers to RBC cards that offer rewards right at http://www.rewardscanada.ca/rbc.html

Air Canada is placing a 787-8 aircraft on one of their daily Toronto-Calgary routes. It will fly the route for most of the summer as the following flights:
AC1151 YYZ0915 – 1120YYC 788 D
AC1150 YYC1245 – 1820YYZ 788 D (Source Airlineroute.net)
We cannot find the flights in business class on Aeroplan.com however as a possible redemption for either fixed value or market fare. Could it be possible that Air Canada is blocking this flight from business class redemptions? I tried about 6-7 dates in June, July and August with no luck. Economy class does show up....

Posts since our last update:

• Receive up to a 125% Bonus when you buy Avianca LifeMiles
  Wow it has actually been over 5 months since we've seen Avianca's LifeMiles have a bonus on buying LifeMiles! The…
• The Ultimate AIR MILES Credit Card Portfolio
  In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for earning AIR…
• Receive a 20% Bonus when you convert Diners Club Club Rewards Points to American AAdvantage
  It has been sometime since we've seen a partner transfer bonus from Diners Club. For those of you who…
• New sign up offer for the BMO No Fee AIR MILES MasterCard - Double Miles on all purchases
  Yesterday the 800 mile sign up bonus for the no fee BMO AIR MILES MasterCard came to end. It has…

Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Up to 50% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy or gift Mileage Plan miles online. More... Until Jun 13, 16

American AAdvantage
- 20% Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you convert Diners Club club Rewards Points to AAdvantage Miles. More... Residents of Canada only Until May 31, 16

Etihad Guest
- Earn up to Triple Guest Miles when you fly on flight number EY 204 from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai. More... Until May 31, 16

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards
- Earn up to Triple Gold Plus Rewards Points + 25 Free Points on rentals at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, USVI, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand only. More... Residents of the U.S. or Canada only Until Jun 30, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 4X Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Jun 30, 16
- Earn up to 6,000 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more night at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by May 31 for stays until Aug 31, 16
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Canada, United States, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Brasil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina. More... Book by Jun 15 for stays Jun 1 - 30, 16
- 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for Platinum Members who stay at resorts across Asia Pacific with MyRewards. More... Until Aug 31, 16

Miles & More
- Earn Double Miles & More Miles when you fly on Brussels Airlines between New York, Toronto or Washington D.C. and Brussels. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Earn up to 3,500 Bonus Miles & More Miles on all stays at participating Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 16
- Earn 5 Miles & More miles per Euro spent on Avis rentals with a minimum of 500 miles being awarded. More... Until Jun 30, 16
- Earn up Triple Miles & More Miles for Budget car rentals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Jun 30, 16


Follow Rewards Canada:

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

Receive up to a 125% Bonus when you buy Avianca LifeMiles

Wow it has actually been over 5 months since we've seen Avianca's LifeMiles have a bonus on buying LifeMiles! The king of buy miles has bonuses returned however! This time the offer is similar to what we saw before Christmas 2015 offering up to a 125% bonus albeit without the short term push to 140%.

 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. 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 and buy at the highest level the miles will cost you 1.47 cents a piece! So buying 150,000 LifeMiles will cost you US$4,950 but you will get a total of 337,500 miles in the end.

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
Earn up to 125% Bonus LifeMiles when you buy miles online. Full details Until May 31, 16

The Ultimate AIR MILES Credit Card Portfolio

In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for earning AIR MILES Reward Miles. We have always recommended that you should carry a Visa, a MasterCard and an American Express card in your wallet. The reason why is that there benefits, promotions and earning potential unique to each brand of credit card. We won't go into detail here as you can read all about it in our feature on how to Maximize your Miles and Points but here we outline one card from each brand that will help you build up those AIR MILES Reward miles faster than ever. Ultimately there are various options that could be utilized for an AIR MILES portfolio but we look at one card from each issuing family that won't totally break the bank on annual fees but will provide strong AIR MILES earning along with very strong insurance benefits.

What is Rewards Canada's Ultimate AIR MILES Credit Card Wallet?

Continue reading this article on the main Rewards Canada website to find out!

Receive a 20% Bonus when you convert Diners Club Club Rewards Points to American AAdvantage

It has been sometime since we've seen a partner transfer bonus from Diners Club. For those of you who hold this card still you can receive a 20% bonus when converting Club Rewards points to American AAdvantage miles. The normal transfer rate is 1,250 points to 1,000 miles but with this bonus you'll receive 1,200 miles. This equates to roughly just under 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent on the card, not great, but better than the regular transfer rate! May make sense to transfer over to AAdvantage to top off for an award or take advantage of their new under 500 mile flight award category.


Offer details:
20% Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you convert Diners Club club Rewards Points to AAdvantage Miles.  Full details. Until May 31, 16

New sign up offer for the BMO No Fee AIR MILES MasterCard - Double Miles on all purchases

Yesterday the 800 mile sign up bonus for the no fee BMO AIR MILES MasterCard came to end. It has been replaced with this new offer that sees no bonus miles for getting the card but will rather award you double miles on all purchases for the first 6 months you have the card. This means the card will effectively earn 1 AIR MILES Reward Mile for every $10 spent rather than $20. For many this may not be as good of sign up bonus as the 800 mile offer but for those who can spend a lot you can make this new bonus pay off way more than the old bonus. You'll have to spend $16,000 to break even on the comparison of sign up bonuses (sign up bonus + equivalent spend) over those first 6 months. That's quite a bit to put on no fee card that usually comes with a lower credit limit.

BMO AIR MILES MasterCard
Limited time: Get 2 Miles for every $20- that's DOUBLE the Miles*
- and there’s No annual fee
- Earn more reward miles when you use your card at Shell, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car
- 1 AIR MILES reward mile for every $20 that you spend on your credit card
- WEB ONLY OFFER - Not available by phone or in branch
Apply online