September 8 Update: Andaz Ottawa Bonus Points, Top 5 Credit Cards and Aeroplan hotel stay bonuses

News, Tips & Tricks
Need to shop for drug store related items? Two big bonus offers are out from Shoppers Drug Mart and Rexall. For Shoppers Optimum members it's 18,500 bonus points on purchases of over $75 on Saturday and Sunday while AIR MILES collectors can earn up to 100 bonus AIR MILES at Rexall on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

The recently opened Andaz Ottawa Byward Market is offering a grand opening bonus of 2,000 Gold Passport Points for stays until the end of the year! Find out more here

Air Canada is offering bonus flight credits on their Air Canada Flight Pass for Business. You can earn up to 26 extra flight credits depending on which pass and which fare class you buy. Passes must be bought by Oct 3. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for September
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of September! This is not…
• Point Taken - Disgruntled Air Miles collector explains why he’s done with reward programs
  The following interview was posted on the main Rewards Canada website as part of our guide to the upcoming AIR…

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- OFFER EXTENDED 1,750 Bonus Aeroplan Miles (8x) for each qualified stay at any Best Western® branded hotel in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Earn 2,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Dec 31, 16

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Triple Mileage Plan Miles when you stay at participating Hilton hotels in Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America. More... Until Nov 18, 16

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Asia Miles when you apply for and receive the Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum. More... Residents of Canada only Until Oct 31, 16

Delta SkyMiles
- Double SkyMiles for stays at Radisson Blu hotels in the U.S., Brazil or Chile. More... Until Nov 30, 16

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Passport Points for stays at the Andaz Ottawa Byward Market. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 30% Flying Club Miles Discount on Flying Club Economy and Premium Economy award tickets. More... Book by Sep 22, 16


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Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for September

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of September! 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 of the cards on this list for September are first year free so you can try them all at no cost, get over $800 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.
   
This month we wanted to go with an all no fee in the first year or ever selection of cards so we see the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express dropped (although it is still one of the best cards out there right now!) and the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card is dropped since it is no longer first year free.

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for September (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 $1,500 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 article for details.)


American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card - 2,000 Reward Miles (Apply here)
Despite all the rough press surrounding AIR MILES and their expiry rules the program can still have its advantages especially with free miles. 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.


BMO AIR MILES MasterCard - 800 Reward Miles (Apply here)
A newcomer to our monthly Top 5 sign up offers, the BMO AIR MILES MasterCard carries no annual fee and comes with an 800 Reward Miles sign up bonus. That 800 Miles is worth anywhere from $88 to $120 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. Please note there is a 50,000 point floating around that is specific for Marriott Elite members and people are reporting that they ARE NOT receiving the 50k because they do not hold elite status with Marriott so that is why we are not listing the offer here. You can try google and take a chance to see if you can get the 50k.


mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard (Apply here)
Also a newcomer to our Top 5 sign up offers, the mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard doesn't have a terribly high sign up bonus, only 10,000 points worth $100 but it is first year free ($89 after that) so you are getting those $100 for free. It is also a straight 2% back card for travel OR cashback. Definitely a card for those really just wanting to earn a lot of points.



If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with over $800 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

Point Taken - Disgruntled Air Miles collector explains why he’s done with reward programs

The following interview was posted on the main Rewards Canada website as part of our guide to the upcoming AIR MILES Reward Miles expiration

Five cards for every purchase, a vision board of their next “free” vacation destinations--these are the hallmarks of the rewards points lifestyle, one that requires as much dedication to shopping as it does saving.

Matthew Irwin is not about that life. As a self-proclaimed “casual collector,” he has spent eight years collecting Air Miles from purchases at Metro, Shell and the LCBO in the hopes of collecting a well-deserved reward for himself.

“It was mainly out of convenience,” he says. “They would ask if I wanted the card every purchase and finally I said ‘why not?’”

Matthew got his answer late last year, when Air Miles announced they would be expiring the points of many longtime users starting in early 2017.

“It was very surprising,” says Matthew of the announcement. “They say they’ve been mentioning it for years, but most of us weren’t aware until recently.”

Continue reading the whole article on Rewards Canada

September 7 Update: 30,000 Asia Miles for RBC Cathay Pacific Visa is back, WestJet seat sale and tons of Miles & More miles for hotel stays

News, Tips & Tricks
The 30,000 Asia Miles sign up bonus for the RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum card has been brought back after less than two months from when it last ended. Apply for an RBC Cathay Pacific Visa card and you'll get 15,000 Asia Miles when your application is accepted. On top of that, apply before October 31, 2016 and receive an additional 15,000 Asia Miles if you spend $7,500 CAD in the first three months using your car. Find out more here.

Air Canada is bringing back a direct non-stop route between Vancouver and Dallas. This is great news for Star Alliance fans and Aeroplan members! The daily flights will launch on February 5th and will be operated with an Air Canada Express CRJ-705. (Source Air Canada)

Lucky over at One Mile at a Time posted about updates to the Marriott International app where it mentions three programs (Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and SPG!) and has the following wording: Link your Marriott Rewards account to your SPG account. So it appears the first step in integration for the Reward programs is here. While the wording is there, you still can't link your accounts but we are all guessing that will come soon. What will the linking provide? We also don't know that but it could lead to potential elite benefit reciprocity and more between the programs when you stay at hotels of the other brand.

In the bonus offers section check out the two new hotel bonuses for Miles & More members. Triple miles for Hilton stays which is decent but what is amazing is the 7x miles for Best Western stays! That's 3,500 miles per stay.


Posts since our last update:

• KLM It's an airline campaign - Earn 3,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles for joining & completing first flight
  KLM has launched a fun interactive campaign to teach travellers about the airline and benefits of flying with them.…
• National Bank of Canada MasterCards being devalued as of November 1st
  National Bank of Canada has decided to be a follower in the proprietary credit card rewards program department. Who are…

Travel Deals
WestJet is offering some great deals in their big September seat sale. Simply book by September 8 for travel until Feb 8, 2017. Find out more here. 

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Triple Aeroplan Miles when you stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 15, 16

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- 3,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you join Flying Blue and find treasures on the KLM website. Miles awarded after completing your first flight. More... Join by Oct 25 and fly by Feb 5, 17

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 5,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you fly on Alitalia medium or long haul flights in Premium Economy or Business Class. More... Book by Sep 19 for travel Sep 12 - Dec 15, 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. More... Residents of Canada only Until Oct 31, 16

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia between Madrid and Bogota, Panama, Santiago de Chile or Tokyo. More... Register by Sep 15 for travel until Oct 31, 16
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Express on select flights in Spain and between the Spain and U.K. More... Register by Sep 15 for travel until Sep 30, 16
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select flights in Spain and between the Spain and France. More... Register by Sep 15 for travel until Oct 31, 16

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles when you fly Austrian between Vienna and Havana. More... Oct 25 - Dec 31, 16
- Earn 7x Miles & More Miles (3,500 total) for all Best Western stays Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 16
- Earn Triple Miles & More Miles on all stays at participating Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 16


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KLM It's an airline campaign - Earn 3,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles for joining & completing first flight

KLM has launched a fun interactive campaign to teach travellers about the airline and benefits of flying with them. When you surf your way to itsanairline.klm.com you'll get a full screen video of a KLM 777 landing and then be brought to the start of the 'Treasure Hunt'. You'll go through multiple pages of where you have to find and click on parts of each graphic to collect items. Each item describes a feature or benefit of flying on KLM or via Amsterdam's Schipol airport.

There are a few items that have absolutely nothing to do with flying but are thrown in for fun like the following (and you can use these to get through each slide faster)

When you get through all three slides you'll get a button up top where you can join Flying Blue

Have fun!!

And if you don't feel like having fun with KLM or are strapped for time we have an additional link to take you straight to the sign up page.

Offer details:
3,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you find treasures on the KLM website and join Flying Blue. Miles awarded after completing your first flight. Full Details (if you don't want to find the treasures simply sign up via this link) Join by Oct 25 and fly by Feb 5, 17

National Bank of Canada MasterCards being devalued as of November 1st

National Bank of Canada has decided to be a follower in the proprietary credit card rewards program department. Who are they following? TD and the TD Travel Rewards program. Last year the TD Travel Rewards Program (TD First Class Visa Infinite, Platinum and Classic Travel) went through a change that saw the cards devalued when redeeming points for any travel charge made to the card. That is, booking how you want when you want and when the charge showed up on your account you redeem your points against it. TD made this move to try to have their members book via ExpediaForTD as the points redemption ratio did not change for bookings made via Expedia (and in turn TD earns a part of the commission).

NBC is now doing the same with their A La Carte Rewards Plan for holders of the World Elite, World or Platinum versions of their cards. As of November 1st the points required to redeem for 'any travel charged on your card' will be going up by up to 10%. If you have these cards or read about them here on Rewards Canada you'll know that right now redemptions are 11,000 points for a $100 credit or 10,000 Points for a $100 credit if redeeming over 50,000 points. That 11,000 becomes 12,000 and the 10,000 becomes 11,000 points. However if you choose to book travel through the À la carte Plan's dedicated travel agency, managed by Transat Distribution Canada the amount of points required will actually being going down when redeeming up to 50,000 points. The 11,000 for a $100 credit will now be 10,500. Not a huge difference but better nonetheless. Over 50,000 they are keeping it at 10,000 so it is effectively better than the 11,000 required for your travel anywhere booking.

Complete deets are in this chart:

As you can see NBC wants their cardholders to book via their agency hence these changes. This is the exact same thing that happened with TD and we all know their cardholders were not happy and we're guessing NBC cardholders won't be very happy as well! Special thanks to our reader Julien L. who sent us a copy of the letter announcing these changes. I think some competitors will be happy with this change as members will start to reconsider for other cards, we know Julien stated so! Remember too that NBC MasterCard Insurance benefits tend to be really restrictive as well (read more here and here)

You can read all about the changes here on NBC's website.

How about you? Do you have an NBC MasterCard? Are you considering changing cards after this announcement?

Learn more about Proprietary Credit Card reward programs here and why we think they are the best choice for most Canadians.

September 6 Update: Emirates adds Cash+Miles option, up to 55,000 bonus miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege and more

News, Tips & Tricks

Emirates is the latest airline to bring out a Cash+Miles redemption option for award tickets! Emirates Skywards members can now choose to redeem as little as 2,000 miles + cash for flights. Find out more here.



Earlier today we brought you the details of the new TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite offer but as we mentioned last week there is also a new offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege card:
Earn up to 55,000 Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege. Welcome Bonus of 25,000 Aeroplan Miles when you make your first Purchase with your Card. 25,000 Aeroplan Miles when you spend $1,000 within 90 days of approval, 5,000 Additional Aeroplan Miles when you add an Authorized User to your Account (Authorized User must call and activate Card by January 16, 2017) . Full details

Posts since our last update:

• Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles on all IHG hotel stays until December 15
  We've already brought you the details of the new Accelerate promotions for those people who like to earn IHG Rewards…
• RBC and British Airways bring back the 50,000 Avios sign up bonus for their Visa Infinite Card
  Last seen in the spring, RBC has brought back the 50,000 Bonus Avios offer for their RBC British Airways…
• British Airways Executive Club: Earn Triple Avios on flights between Canada & Europe
  British Airways has revealed their fall Transatlantic flight bonus which goes away from their typically tiered bonus for multiple…
• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite sign up bonus increased to up to 30,000 miles with 50% off the first year's annual fee
  Our exclusive offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card ended over the weekend but we are pleased to…
• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save 50% on Lufthansa Economy Class award tickets to Europe from Toronto
  As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This…

Travel Deals
Air Canada Go Anywhere sale is their latest Worldwide seat sale. Book by Sep 13 to save on travel to most Air Canada destinations Worldwide. Find out more here.


Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. More... Apply by Dec 2, 16 Residents of Canada only
- Earn up to 55,000 Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card. More... Until Dec 2, 16 Residents of Canada only

British Airways Executive Club
- Triple Avios when you fly British Airways, American Airlines, Finnair or Iberia between North America and Europe.More... Until Dec 11, 16

Hilton HHonors
- Earn up to 10,000 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

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Double QMiles for stays of 5 or more nights at all Millennium & Copthorne Hotels in Middle East and Africa. More... Until Oct 31, 16

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Ningbo. More... Until Oct 31, 16
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Tangshan. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Shenzen. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. More... Until Dec 29, 16
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Doha. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Voila Hotel Rewards
- 30% Bonus VHR Points per stay when you stay at any participating Voila Hotel Rewards hotels Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 16



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Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles on all IHG hotel stays until December 15

We've already brought you the details of the new Accelerate promotions for those people who like to earn IHG Rewards Club points.  But what happens though if you don't stay at IHG hotels very often and prefer to credit those stays to your favorite airline program? Well credit those stays to Aeroplan as members of this coalition program can earn Triple Miles on stays until mid December. Remember to earn the bonus you must be an IHG Rewards Club member and set your earning preference to Aeroplan miles.

Offer Details
Triple Aeroplan Miles when you stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. (InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental^® Alliance Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo^®, EVEN^® Hotels, Holiday Inn^®, Holiday Inn Express^®, Holiday Inn Resort^®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations^® hotels, Staybridge Suites^® or Candlewood Suites^® hotels)  Maximum bonus award is 7,500 bonus miles during this campaign. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Dec 15, 16

Find many more Aeroplan Bonus Miles offers here!