October 24 Update: Aeroplan accumulation changes on Thai Airways and convert hotel points to MileagePlus for a 25% bonus

News, Tips & Tricks
Aeroplan has announced more accumulation changes. This time for flying on Thai Airways. The lowest economy fares have taken hits. (Source Aeroplan)

Effective for travel December 1, 2016, earn 50% of the miles you fly in booking classes T, K or S. For travel until November 30, 2016, earn 100%.

Effective for travel December 1, 2016, booking classes G, V and W will no longer be eligible for accumulation. For travel until November 30, 2016, earn 50%.

AIR MILES members can earn 60 bonus Reward Miles for spending $40 or more until the 27th at Rexall. Get the coupon here.

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank has announced some changes to their program. The good news is that they are moving to one way award tickets costing only 50% of the round trip cost for flights within Japan. There are some other minor changes including the move to expiring miles folllowing Japan Standard time rather than your timezone. JMB miles expire 36 months after the end of the month they are earned in. All these changes take effect April 1, 2017. Find out more here and here.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn up to 500 FREE La Quinta Returns Points for connecting to LQ Social Media
  Many of us have received free La Quinta Returns points for their well known Travel Advisor videos that come…
• Targeted: 1,000 FREE Aeroplan Miles for taking a short quiz!
  UPDATE: Aeroplan reached out to us to let us know this quiz is a targeted offer (available only to the…

Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you fly Alitalia in Business Class to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. More... Book by Nov 6 for travel Nov 15 - Jun 30, 16

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 50,000 Bonus AAdvantage Mileswhen you fly nonstop between the U.S. and Australia or New Zealand on American or Qantas. More... Register by Dec 31 for travel Feb 1 - May 31, 17

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to 500 Free La Quinta Returns Points when you connect with La Quinta on several social media channels. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 5,000 Bonus Starpoints when you book and stay 15 or more eligible nights at Starwood Hotels Worldwide and pay with any American Express Card. More... Until Dec 18, 16

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Triple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson in Turkey & the Middle East. More... Until Dec 31, 16

United MileagePlus
- 25% Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you convert hotel loyalty program points into United MileagePlus Miles. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- 1,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating Starwood Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 17


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Earn up to 500 FREE La Quinta Returns Points for connecting to LQ Social Media

Many of us have received free La Quinta Returns points for their well known Travel Advisor videos that come around a few times per year and now you can earn even more free points with LQ for connecting with them on Social Media.

Offer details:
Earn up to 500 Free La Quinta Returns Points when you connect with La Quinta on several social media channels. Full details Until Dec 31, 16

• Register and Receive 100 points
• Link Your Social Handles to La Quinta and get 100 points per channel
• During Registration, Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to receive 100 additional points for each follow
• Tweet or Instagram with #LQReturns and get 50 points.

Targeted: 1,000 FREE Aeroplan Miles for taking a short quiz!

UPDATE: Aeroplan reached out to us to let us know this quiz is a targeted offer (available only to the original recipient of the email)

Earlier in the year Aeroplan launched a campaign to clarify myths of the program and the latest step in that educational campaign is to test your knowledge with a 'Myth or Truth' quiz. The quiz is super easy and only takes about a minute to complete. In the end you'll submit your Aeroplan number and they'll reward you with 1,000 miles. A nice and easy way to boost your balance and for those of you who don't use Aeroplan much, an easy way to extend your accounts by another 12 months.

Take the quiz here!

October 20 Update: Aeroplan accumulation changes on ANA, 100 Bonus AIR MILES at Rexall, Starwood Canada upgraded room sale

News, Tips & Tricks
Aeroplan announced accumulation changes for flying on ANA (All Nippon) earlier this week that take effect on November 1. You'll earn 150% of the miles when you fly on a J fare class instead of 125%. P Class fares drop from 125% to 100% and discounted economy class V,W,S drop to 50% from 70% and L,K, drop to 30% from 50%. So mostly not good news for those flying on cheap tickets on ANA. (Source Aeroplan)

AIR MILES members can earn 100 bonus Reward Miles for spending $50 or more this weekend at Rexall. No coupon is needed.

Don't forget Canadian Points University is on this Saturday! Rewards Canada's Jeff Fredericks will be delivering the lunch keynote. Find out more at Pointsu.ca




Posts since our last update:

• Restaurant Review: Yakima Social Kitchen & Bar - Calgary International Airport
  As part of our recent stay at The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel we thought we would try the food…
• Club1Hotels Update: Free for the first year ($675 savings) + now get a $100 Restaurant gift card and/or Priority Pass Membership with bookings
  A little over a week ago we let you know about Club1Hotels and even ran a contest that is…

Travel Deals
Starwood Hotels is offering up to 15% off on upgraded room types for stays across Canada. Book by October 31, 2016 for stays until March 31, 2017. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
airberlin topbonus
- 1,000 Bonus topbonus Miles per stay at over 7,800 participating Wyndham Rewards hotels globally. More... Register & book by Dec 7 for stays until Dec 14, 16

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 850 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles on rentals of 3 or more consecutive days at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Le Club accorhotels
- 800 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Sofitel, MGallery and Pullman hotels in Germany and Austria. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Miles & More
- 1,000 Bonus Miles&More Miles per stay at over 7,800 participating Wyndham Rewards hotels globally. More... Register & book by Dec 7 for stays until Dec 14, 16

Saudia Alfursan
- Double Alfursan Miles for your 2nd and 3rd stays at over 7,800 participating Wyndham Rewards hotels globally. More... Register & book by Dec 7 for stays until Dec 14, 16

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Triple KrisFlyer MIles for stays at any participating Sofitel Hotel Worldwide on the Magnifique with Sofitel offer. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for at least two consecutive nights in the Premier Club or Premium Suite at Concorde Hotel Singapore. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for at least three consecutive nights at the Gili Lankanfushi Maldives More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for at least two consecutive nights on a qualifying rate at the Hard Rock Hotel Bali. More... Until Dec 30, 16
- 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for at least two consecutive nights on a qualifying rate at Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double KrisFlyer Miles and daily complimentary breakfast when you stay at Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts in Shanghai, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt, for a minimum of two nights. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- 50% Bonus KrisFlyer Miles for every hotel stay you book via Kaligo. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Jun 30, 17
- Earn up to Triple KrisFlyer miles when you stay at participating Mandarin Orietanl Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double KrisFlyer miles for stays at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore, Marina Mandarin Singapore, or Meritus Pelangi Beach Resorts & Spa, Langkawi. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for two consecutive nights at a participating Park Regis hotel in Australia, Dubai, India and Singapore. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you stay for a minimum of two nights at participating Preferred Hotels & Resorts properties. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- 2,000 Bonus KrisFlyer Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Nov 30, 16
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles for stays of 2 or 3 nights at Raffles Hotels & Resorts in Asia. More... Until Dec 30, 16
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you rent with Avis for 3 or more days in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. More... Book by Nov 30 for rentals until Dec 15, 16
- Earn up to Triple KrisFlyer miles when you book a car at participating HERTZ locations for 3 or more days in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. More... Book by Nov 30 for rentals until Dec 15, 16
- Earn Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you rent with Sixt Worldwide. More... Book by Nov 30 for rentals until Dec 31, 16


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Restaurant Review: Yakima Social Kitchen & Bar - Calgary International Airport

As part of our recent stay at The Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel we thought we would try the food out at the in-house restaurant, Yakima Social Kitchen & bar. The name is based on the Yakima Valley Legend that tells the story of how the famous Calgary Chinook Winds came to be.

Related: Hotel Review: Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel

Yakima can be seen towards the back in this picture of the lobby at the new Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel

Yakima's open kitchen

Dinner
Drinks were ordered off of their fun bottle menu. I tried out the Green Coyote and my wife had the on-tap Red Rooster Pinot Gris. Both  The bar didn't have lemonade on the menu but the waitress gave a recipe of hers to the bartender to make a lemonade for my younger daughter.  It was awesome and talk about great service! Fun fact: Yakima makes all of its own syrups in house for their drinks!

Overall the dinner was amazing. They brought homemade beef jerky to the table and it is simply divine with its Latin American spices (we had already tried some in our room as that was an item on our treat trays - read about that here)

We started off with the braised Pork Belly with Zuzu pearls appetizer.  It was thoroughly enjoyed by all of us.

For mains, my wife had the Braised Bok Choy Potato Cakes and she loved them. She isn't vegetarian but this vegetarian dish was delicious!

My older daughter had the Braised and Pulled Elk sandwich. She loved it as well and looks forward to having it again sometime in the near future.

I had the Braised Duo. The Braised Duo of Short Rib and Pork Tenderloin was Alberta on a plate. Both cuts of meat were cooked to perfection with great sauces and being combined with the celeriac puree was pure bliss (our family is well known for loving everything celeriac!)

The Chicken Consomme that my youngest daughter ordered was so-so. It required us asking for salt and even then with that added the flavours were somewhat dull. This dish could use some revamping!

Breakfast

The menu looks great for breakfast however we noticed right away their weren't too many options. Our youngest was hoping for something more on the sweet side so she ended up taking the continental breakfast option with a side of fresh berries. My wife had an omelet and I had the Yakima Breakfast and my older daughter had the Traditional Eggs Benedict. All options were good but in all honesty nothing to write home about.

Thoughts
Overall we were very impressed with Yakima and it will definitely be on our list restaurants when we want to head out for dinner in YYC. Seeing that many families will choose the restaurant on their overnight layovers at the hotel one suggestion to Yakima management would be the development of a kids menu for all services and some more sweet options for all at breakfast.  The thought of having some delicious waffles or pancakes with local fruit or berries would make the Breakfast menu more appealing.

The restaurant will be a hit for those who may have a longer layover in YYC who don't mind leaving the secure areas of the airport (having to go through security again) as well as those from Calgary who want a good, filling meal before jumping on a flight. No flight or travels planned? No worries, eating at Yakima includes 4 hours of free valet parking so you don't have to worry about paying the high airport parking fees. Simply pull up to the hotel and let them you are going for dinner at Yakima and they'll do the rest.

Club1Hotels Update: Free for the first year ($675 savings) + now get a $100 Restaurant gift card and/or Priority Pass Membership with bookings

A little over a week ago we let you know about Club1Hotels and even ran a contest that is now closed (winner will be announced by the end of this week) but our promotion to get a beta membership with this fee based luxury hotel booking service for free (US$675 annual fee!) is still going strong until the end of the month!

Now Club1Hotels has sweetened the pot for those who join and book hotels with their service. The two offers are a $100 Restaurant.com gift and 1 year Priority Pass standard membership (you can learn more about Priority Pass in our Guide to Business Class lounges). Normally when you do buy a Club1Hotels membership you'll get the latter offer included however as part of getting the first year for free with our offer the Priority Pass membership is not included so that's where these promotion comes into play:

1. Book any hotel from Club1Hotels on or before 10/31/16 and receive a $100 of Restaurant.com electronic gift cards, Gift cards can be used at any of the 18,000 participating restaurants across the US. Restaurant.com will issue in $25.00, $50.00 or $100.00 denominations, if you use a $25.00 card you must spend $50.00, if you use a $50.00 card you must spend $100.00, and if you use a $100.00 gift card you must spend $200.00. (Most will want (4) $25.00 gift cards!) Club1Hotels issue them to members via email the day of arrival (as reservations can be cancelled).

2. Book 6-rooms with Club1Hotels on or before 10/31/16 and automatically receive a 1-year Standard Priority Pass Membership and gain access to airport clubs and VIP lounges globally with your sixth booking. This can be 6x 1-night room bookings or 6 multiple night room bookings.

$100 in Restaurant.com gift certificates can generally be purchased at less than face value and they contain restrictions but still they can provide some value considering you should already be saving on your luxury hotel stays with Club1Hotels.

To sign up for the free first year membership and start booking for the above offers simply visit our dedicated page on Club1Hotels. You can also learn more about Club1Hotels in our first post about the service.

October 19 Update: Rewards Canada Podcast now available for Android users and lots of new bonuses for you!

News, Tips & Tricks
Exciting news for Android users! The Rewards Canada Podcast is now on Google Play. You can access it from our Podcast page or straight from Google Play

Posts since our last update:

• Hotel Review: Comfort Suites Regina
  This is from a stay this past summer but thought a review would be good as the Rewards Canada family…
• 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…

Bonus Offers

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles on all Europcar rentals of 3 days or more Worldwide except for the U.S. and Canada. More... Book by Nov 13 for rentals until Nov 30, 16

ANA Mileage Club
- Earn up to Triple Mileage Club Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 17

Asiana Club
- Earn up to Triple Club Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 17

Delta SkyMiles
- Triple SkyMiles for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 16

Enterprise Plus
- Double Plus Points,  up to 200 Free Points + many more points for collecting badges on qualifying rentals at participating locations. More... Until Jan 20, 17

Etihad Guest
- Double Guest Miles for BusinessConnect admins who book travel undertaken by the Etihad Guest travellers who are ‘connected’ to that BusinessConnect account. More... Register and book by Oct 31 for travel until Dec 31, 16

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Double JPMiles for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Earn up to Triple JPMiles for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 17
- Double JPMiles on all hotel bookings made via Kaligo! More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Jun 30, 17
- Earn up to Triple JPMiles when you stay on an eligible rate at any participating Mandarin Oriental Hotel Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 16
- Double JPMiles for stays at Meritus Hotels in Singapore and Malaysia. More... Until Dec 31, 16
- Double JPMiles for your 2nd and 3rd stays at over 7,800 participating Wyndham Rewards hotels globally. More... Register & book by Dec 7 for stays until Dec 14, 16

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Triple Starpoints for stays on the Grand Opening Package at the Hotel Colonnade Coral Gables More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 31, 16

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Earn up to 6,000 Bonus Stash Rewards points when you book hotels via the Stash Rewards website. More... Until Jan 31, 17



Follow Rewards Canada:
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Hotel Review: Comfort Suites Regina

This is from a stay this past summer but thought a review would be good as the Rewards Canada family had never stayed at any hotel of the numerous brands of the Choice Hotels Privileges program before.

As part of our summer Saskatchewan trip we chose the Comfort Suites Regina as it was situated close to where our relatives live and also for making trips to visit more family north of Regina.  The AAA/CAA rate was only $119 per night in the middle of summer and is a great deal for what the hotel offers. All rooms are suites, there is a pool with hot tub and waterslide, a continental breakfast with some hot items is also included.

The one thing that stood out is that Comfort Suites has obviously listened to the connected traveller as the rooms are meant for electronics and a lot of them if you need! Unlike some older hotels where you really need to search for an electrical plug and when you find one its nowhere near the bed, desk or chair, this hotel makes sure you can plug in anywhere in the room. We counted no less than 20 plug ins or USB jacks around the room. 

Two Queen Suite

The Rewards Canada kids spent tons of time in the pool and on the water slide!

6 plug in options alone in the picture!

Another 9 plug in options here!

The stay was made during a time when you earn Double Aeroplan Miles for Choice Hotel stays and those miles posted quickly:

I choose miles over Choice Privileges points as I really don't know if and when we would use those points since Choice Privileges is not one of our main programs.

Overall I have to say for the price you pay this was a really good hotel. The rooms were nice and large, the beds were comfortable and most important the hotel was very clean. The hotel is relatively new, maybe a year old as it was supposed to open sooner but the hotel pretty much burned to the ground during construction in 2014 so it had to be rebuilt. We will definitely make this our new hub for stays in Regina due to its proximity to family and being a good hotel overall.

Hotel details
Comfort Suites Regina (Book here)
Points required for a free night 12,000 to 25,000 Points


Talk to us! Have you stayed at the Comfort Suites Regina? What are your thoughts of the hotel? Or are you planning to and looking forward to it? Let us know below!

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 traffic but does get overlooked a good majority of our readers who aren't aware of it or forgot about it! That page is our Route Bonus Listing.  Be sure to bookmark it right now! This page lists all the current bonuses that Canadians can earn on flights around the globe. The list presents all the actual Canadian options first such as flights within Canada or flights originating in Canada to anywhere in the World. The remainder of the listing shows systemwide bonuses next (these are offers for all flights on an airline and may include those leaving Canada) followed by the remainder of flights bonuses from around the world that Canadian's can take advantage of. The big difference between the RC version of this listing and the listing on our Global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com is that the RC version does not list bonuses that us Canucks cannot use which are primarily offers that are only for residents of certain countries other than Canada.

Now that you have learned about the route bonus listing or have been reminded about it we thought it would be wise to post the Canadian flight portion of the list in a post on a regular basis here on the Rewards Canada blog to remind you of the bonuses that you may be able to earn on your flights! We encourage to consult this list before you book a flight anywhere in the world or even board a flight as some offers may come up after you have already booked but you can still be eligible for. If you don't check the list there is a good chance you may miss on some extra miles to be added to your account!

Here are the current bonuses for flying within or from Canada!You'll notice we got a bit lazy and didn't break out every single Air Canada route that has a bonus right now rather we left them generalized:

From/To (or Vice Versa)		Bonus Offer	Airline Program	Validity	Details
within Canada		Up to 100% Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Canada	Asia	Up to 60,000 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Canada	Australia	Up to 60,000 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Canada	Europe	Up to 60,000 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Canada	Europe	Up to 30,000 Bonus Miles	American AAdvantage	Until Dec 11, 16	View
Canada	Europe	Triple Avios	British Airways Executive Club	Until Dec 11, 16	View
Canada	Europe	Triple Points	Finnair Plus	Until Jan 31, 17	View
Canada	Las Vegas	Up to 75 bonus dollars	WestJet Rewards	Book by Oct 16 for travel Oct 1 to Feb 1 17	View
Canada	Middle East	Up to 60,000 Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Canada	Sun Destinations	Up to 100% Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Canada	U.K.	Triple Avios	British Airways Executive Club	Until Dec 11, 16	View
Canada	U.S.	Up to 100% Bonus Miles	Air Canada / Aeroplan	Register and book between Sep 26 & Nov 14 for travel until Apr 30, 17	View
Calgary	Beijing	Up to 20,000 Bonus Miles	Hainan Fortune Wings	Jun 30 - Dec 31, 16	View
Calgary	Seattle	Double Miles	Japan Airlines Mileage Bank	Aug 1 - Oct 31, 16	View
Edmonton	Seattle	Double Miles	Japan Airlines Mileage Bank	Aug 1 - Oct 31, 16	View
Kelowna	Seattle	Double Miles	Japan Airlines Mileage Bank	Aug 1 - Oct 31, 16	View
Toronto	Beijing	Up to 20,000 Bonus Miles	Hainan Fortune Wings	Until Dec 31, 16	View
Toronto	Istanbul	25% Bonus Status Miles	Turkish Miles&Smiles	Until Dec 31, 16	View
Toronto	Mexico City	Double KMs	AeroMexico Club Premier	Until ?	View
Vancouver	Seattle	Double Miles	Japan Airlines Mileage Bank	Aug 1 - Oct 31, 16	View
Victoria	Seattle	Double Miles	Japan Airlines Mileage Bank	Aug 1 - Oct 31, 16	View