January 18 Update: 2017 Top Travel Credit Cards, bonus points on Hainan's YYC & YYZ flights, SPG earn rate with Uber reduced

News, Tips & Tricks
Big news day here on Rewards Canada as we revealed the Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2017! Check out the rankings here! The two big moves are the crowning of a new champ for No Annual Fee Travel Points card and the continuing drop of the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard.

Cathay Pacific is further expanding the number of flights they have between Toronto and Hong Kong for the summer. They will now be offering 14 flights per week (2x daily) instead of the previously announced 12 flights per week. Good news for Asia Miles members, and of course also British Airways Executive Club and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members. (Source Routesonline)



In the bonus offers section check out the return of Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings' International flight bonus. You can earn up to 20,000 bonus points when flying Hainan out of Calgary or Toronto.
 
The amount of Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints you earn with Uber will be less starting on February 1st.  Gone is the increased earn for elites so all members will now earn as follows:

Posts since our last update:

• Earn 4x Aeroplan Miles for Choice Hotels stays Worldwide!
  The Aeroplan bonuses for stays at Choice Hotels just keep coming! The good news this time is that its…
• Canada’s Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards Revealed
  For many Canadians, the month of January is marked with an assortment of goal setting and New Year’s resolutions…

Travel Deals
Air Canada has flights within Canada on sale with their latest seat sale offering. Book by tomorrow for savings on flights Feb 15 - Apr 30. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Earn up to Quadruple Flying Blue Miles for stays at Sofitel Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 12, 17
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles for stays at Marriott Hotels in Europe. More... Until Mar 26, 17
- 4,000 Flying Blue Miles on Avis rentals of 3 or more days in Europe, the Middle-East, Africa, Asia, USA and Canada. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals Feb 1 - Jul 31, 17

Best Western Rewards
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points on rentals of 4 or more consecutive days at Budget locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus Fortune Wings Miles when you fly on Hainan Airlines international flights. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Icelandair Saga Club
- Quadruple Saga Club Points on your first rental with Sixt. More... Until Mar 15, 17
- Double Saga Club Points for all Sixt rentals that are booked online. More... Until Apr 30 , 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to 6,000 Bonus Le Club accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Register and book by Feb 12 for stays until Apr 9, 17
- 300 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Accor hotels in Brazil. More... Until Mar 17, 17

Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays of 3 or more nights at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel or the Milan Marriott Hotel. More... Until Mar 25, 17
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at The Hague Marriott Hotel. More... Jan 25 - Apr 18, 17
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at any one of three participating Marriott Hotels in Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 26, 17
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 2 nights Thursday-Sunday with breakfast at Marriott Hotels across the U.K.. More...Until Feb 28, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

Earn 4x Aeroplan Miles for Choice Hotels stays Worldwide!

The Aeroplan bonuses for stays at Choice Hotels just keep coming! The good news this time is that its not limited to one month. Right now you can earn 4x the miles for Choice Hotels stays until the end of March. Remember there is no such place a Choice Hotel, that's just the parent company name for hotels like Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Econolodge, Clarion and more.

Offer details:
Earn Quadruple Aeroplan Miles for stays at over 5,500 Choice Hotels Worldwide. Full details and online booking. Until Mar 31, 17

Find many more Aeroplan bonus offers here.

Canada’s Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards Revealed

For many Canadians, the month of January is marked with an assortment of goal setting and New Year’s resolutions from fitness promises to personal finance makeovers.  If leisure travel is on your ‘do more’ list it’s equally important to set a goal with a clear action plan. Travel reward credit card programs can help, but sifting through the more than 75 travel rewards credit card offerings can be a daunting task.  Thankfully, Rewards Canada has taken the guesswork out of the equation with its 9th annual Travel Rewards Credit Card Ranking.

Credit cards are ranked in six major categories including: Travel Points (with annual fee), Travel Points (with no annual fee), Hybrid (flexible currency), Airline, Hotel and Best Overall Card.  The credit cards are evaluated by key factors including cost, co-brand partnerships, rate-of-return, benefits and redemption options.

“Without exaggeration, 2016 was one of the most turbulent years in the Canadian Travel Rewards Program industry,” says Patrick Sojka, founder of RewardsCanada.ca.  “The consumer blowback from how Air Miles managed their expiration policy was unprecedented. And while the company ultimately backed off, the experience left many Canadians questioning the value of loyalty programs.”

Regaining the trust of Canadian consumers is a top priority of each of this year’s winners.  These program operators represent the best-of-the-best with travel rewards offers that are simple to understand, easy to acquire and offer a solid rate-of-return.

And The Winners Are:

• Best Overall Travel Reward Card:  American Express Gold Rewards Card
• Travel Points (with annual fee): Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard
• Travel Points (with no annual fee): Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Credit Card
• Hybrid: American Express Gold Rewards Card
• Airline: TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite
• Hotel: The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

“Once again, no card can top the American Express Gold Rewards Card as the best overall travel rewards option in Canada,” explains Sojka “It’s unmatched as a hybrid card – capable of earning points for virtually any type of travel while at the same time serving as a frequent flyer and frequent guest program card.”

The biggest changes this year came in the Travel Points Credit Card with no annual fee category.   The card offers a huge return on day-to-day spending that rivals and beats not only its no fee card brethren but many premium cards that have annual fees.

The Top Travel Rewards Card feature, with complete rankings and background, can be found online at http://www.rewardscanada.ca/topcc2017

Fun fact: Did you know that Rewards Canada was one of if not the very first website in Canada to actually rank credit cards?

January 17 Update: Tangerine MasterCard 4% offer ends on the 20th, up to 30% off Fairmont stays & new Amex Centurion lounge in PHL

News, Tips & Tricks
Just a friendly reminder that if you are considering the Tangerine Cash Back MasterCard to apply for by the end of day on January 20th as the introductory offer of 4% for the first three months in your selected categories will be gone after that date. If you apply after that date you will get 2% back in your chosen categories. You can find out more about the card and apply it here.

Today only you can get 5x AIR MILES on Rona purchases of $100 or more. Get the coupon here.



Finally One Mile at a Time reports that there will be an American Express Centurion Lounge opening up in Philadelphia later this year. As Canadians we can access any Centurion Lounges for free with The Platinum Card or Centurion Cards from American Express. If you don't hold one of those cards but do have another Amex card you can still use these lounges but you'll have to pay a $50 fee to enter.

Posts since our last update:

• How you can easily get a free flight between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland (pre taxes/fees) or 4 flights for $240+fees
  Late in 2016 Aer Lingus the national airline of Ireland replaced their Gold Circle program with AerClub and it became…

Travel Deals
The latest Fairmont Hotels Moments offers are out now. You can save up to 30% on stays at Fairmont and Accor Hotel locations Worldwide. Book by Mar 31 for stays until Apr 30. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers


Other Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles for stays at Coast Hotels in Canada & the U.S.. More... Until Feb 15, 17

Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points per NIGHT for stays at 21 participating Marriott Hotels across the U.S.. More... Until Mar 5, 17

Miles & More
- 1,000 Bonus Miles & More miles on Avis rentals Worldwide. More... Book by Feb 28 for rentals until Dec 31, 17
- Triple Miles & More miles on Europcar rentals Worldwide (except U.S. & Canada) More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Dec 31, 17

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Earn 25% Bonus Status Miles&Smiles Miles when you fly Turkish Airlines between Zanzibar & Istanbul. More... Until Jun 12, 17
- Earn 40% Bonus Status Miles&Smiles Miles when you fly Turkish Airlines between Russia & Istanbul. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- Earn 25% Bonus Status Miles&Smiles Miles when you fly Turkish Airlines between Caracas or Havana & Istanbul. More... Until Jun 20, 17
- 25% Miles&Smiles Discount when you redeem miles for flights on Turkish Airlines between Caracas or Havana & Istanbul. More... Until Jun 20, 17
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at participating Kempinski Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 17
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Marriott Hotels in Europe. More... Until Mar 26, 17
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for stays of 3 nights or more at Mövenpick Hotels in Turkey. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

How you can easily get a free flight between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland (pre taxes/fees) or 4 flights for $240+fees

Late in 2016 Aer Lingus the national airline of Ireland replaced their Gold Circle program with AerClub and it became part of the Avios family. Avios is the main currency of the British airways Executive Club program and other programs that all fall under BAs parent company IAG like the UK's Avios coalition program (formerly Air Miles) Iberia Plus and Meridiana Club.

With this change also came some changes to British Airways award chart that enraged some U.S. Executive Club members as previously you could redeem Avios for travel on Aer Lingus between Boston and Dublin at a very low rate (Zone 4) but BA decided to move Boston a few miles further to move it into a higher redemption category. This didn't really affect us Canucks very much unless you redeemed for that route but the next change in the program does affect us and does so in a really good way!

Aer Lingus flies direct between Toronto and Dublin and one of the new changes was the inclusion of Aer Lingus into BA Executive Club's off peak award pricing. In the off season, which is actually most of the year, you can fly round trip on Aer Lingus' Toronto-Dublin flight for only 26,000 Avios (13,000 one way) Toronto to Dublin is 3,279 miles which falls into Category 5 redemption which is 20,000 each way during peak season and 13,000 in off peak:

An example of availability at this new rate:

How do you get this flight for free other than your typically taxes and fees? You get yourself Canada's Top Overall Travel Rewards card, the American Express Gold Rewards Card and this new redemption possibility makes the card even better! The card comes with a 25,000 Membership Rewards Points sign up bonus when you spend $1,500 on the card in the first three months and it has no annual fee in the first year. At a minimum that gives you 26,500 Membership Rewards points for nothing other than your every day spend. Those points can then be transferred to British Airways Executive Club at a 1:1 rate easily getting you the 26,000 Avios required for the round trip. Of course you have to pay the taxes and fees but you can also use your Gold Rewards Card to pay for those and then redeem the points against the charge once it posts to your account.

Aer Lingus award flights cannot be booked online via BA Executive Club but you can check availability on the Avios website or via United MileagePlus then call up British Airways to book. Do not book via the Avios.com website as the taxes/fees are higher then booking via British Airway call center.

You can get this redemption for even less as  during certain times of the year American Express offers a bonus for converting MR points to BAEC. That bonus is typically 25% so you could redeem 21,000 Membership Rewards points to get enough Avios for the round trip. We don't take that into account in our look at this option right now but just know it can be there to make these flights even cheaper.

Here is a calendar of the 2017 Off Peak pricing for Aer Lingus:

As you can see most of the year can be had at the lower redemption rate!

If you want to get even more tickets to get your family of four to Ireland you can jump on more credit cards. Have your significant other or spouse also sign up for the Gold Rewards Card. Just like above, spend the $1,500 and your spouse now has enough for one round trip flight. Then have one of you grab the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. The card will net 20,000 Starpoints when you spend $1,500 on the card in three months. Then refer your significant other/spouse to the card as well. You'll get 10,000 Starpoints for referring and then your spouse should get to 21,500 Starpoints as well after hitting the spend requirement. Each of you converts 21,000 Starpoints to British Airways and Starwood will kick in an additional 5,000 Avios. There you have it, 2 more sets of 26,000 Avios tickets at your disposal. Four in total and your whole family flies to Ireland. The SPG cards do not have a first year free offer so the cards will cost you $240 ($120 per person) but that is still a really good deal to essentially get each ticket for $120. Plus the SPG referrer will have 10,000 Starpoints to use on hotel stays as well. The Sheraton Athlone in Ireland is only 3,000 to 4,000 points per night!

We have to tip our hat to The Points Guy who brought this new option to our attention.

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American Express Gold Rewards Card

• New American Express® Gold Rewards* Cardmembers can earn a Welcome Bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards® points just by making $1,500 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership. • No Annual Fee for the first year; $150 Annual Fee thereafter* • That’s enough to redeem for a round-trip Fixed Mileage Flight Reward TM* to almost anywhere in North America.
• Transfer your points to frequent flyer programs, or 1:1 to Aeroplan®* and Avios
• Earn 2 points for every $1 on eligible travel and everyday purchases
• Charge any travel to your Card then pay for it with points
• 1 Free Supplementary Gold Rewards Card (a $50 value*) to help you earn points faster
• You can use Apple Pay on your eligible device to pay for goods and services at participating American Express contactless merchants
• American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now  link.
• *As a Charge Card, the balance must always be paid in full each month. 30% annual interest rate applies to balances not paid in full.
Conditions apply
Apply Now
* Canadian Residents Only 

January 16 Update: Podcast Episode 13 is out, pay to access Emirates lounges in Dubai, Scotia Rewards update

News, Tips & Tricks 
Our first podcast episode of 2017 was released today! In this our 13th Episode we cover topics like earning Triple Avios on British Airways Flights, the Great Changes to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, and give a brief outlook on 2017!. Check it out on our Podcast page or subscribe on iTunes/Google Play to get it automatically.


You can earn 60 Bonus AIR MILES for spending $40 or more Rexall until the 19th. Get the coupon here.

You can now pay to access Emirates' Business Class and First Class lounges in Dubai. $100 and $200 respectively is what it will cost you if you are not flying in Business or First Class of course. If you already have access to the Business Class lounge (ie flying Business Class) you can pay $100 to access a First Class lounge. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Scotia Rewards program relaunch highlights – its seeing some great improvements!
  At the start of September we let you know about upcoming changes to the Scotia Rewards program that affects…
• Reminder: Your next three Starwood stays earn double Starpoints as of today + additional bonuses afterwards
  Just a friendly reminder that as of today your next 3 Starwood stays are eligible for earn Double Starpoints.…
• Reminder: Your next three Marriott stays earn double Rewards points as of today
  Just a friendly reminder that as of today your next 3 Marriott stays are eligible for earn Double Marriott…

Travel Deals
KLM has some great companion business class ticket offers out of Edmonton! If you book 2 business class tickets each person can fly for as as little as $2,429 all in to Europe! Book by May 31 for travel until Jun 30 17. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Avis Preferred
- Double Preferred Points for Avis rentals in Florida. More... Until Jan 31, 17

Delta SkyMiles
- Discounted SkyMiles Award tickets for travel on select routes within the U.S.. More... Book by Feb 3 for travel Feb 3 - Jul 31, 17

IHG Rewards Club
- 1,500 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points on Hertz rentals at participating locations in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the AC Hotel Chicago Downtown. More... Until Feb 20, 17
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay of 3 or more nights at the Domes of Elounda, Autograph Collection More... Apr 1 - Jun 30, 17

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More miles for stays at the Jumeirah al Naseem in Dubai. More... Until May 30, 17
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles for stays at Marriott Hotels in Europe. More... Until Mar 26, 17

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Double Flying Club Miles and save up to 15% on qualifying Affordable Rate rentals of one or more days at participating locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Middle East, New Zealand and St. Thomas. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

Scotia Rewards program relaunch highlights – its seeing some great improvements!

At the start of September we let you know about upcoming changes to the Scotia Rewards program that affects all of their credit cards earning Scotia Rewards points:

Some of these changes to the program are now live and we wanted to remind you about them since you may already hold one of their cards or as we recommend you should really jump on the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card right now since the first year free offer has returned with the 20,000 point sign up bonus.  

The big new option is Points for Credit and it can prove to be really big!

The Points for Credit Option is now available and is similar to the American Express Membership Rewards Use Points for Purchases feature in that you now essentially have a cash back option with any of the Scotia Rewards earning cards. The redemption rate is different than the travel redemption where you get $1 for 100 points (or a minimum 0.5% return) as you get the following:

This translates to a minimum return of 0.33% to 0.44%. We say minimum since the basic Scotia Rewards Visa only earns 1 points for every $2 spent while all other Scotia Rewards earning cards offer at least 1 point per dollar spent. However, the Scotiabank American Express Cards (Gold & Platinum) earn 4 points per dollar spent on select categories (Gas, Grocery, Dining/Entertainment) which actually makes these cards VERY STRONG cash back cards as you'll get 2.64% to 3.2% cash back on those category purchases and you're only limited by the $50,000 to $100,000 category limits on those cards! Sure you can get 4% for travel but if you don't want to travel we have a new option for these cards that are strong cash back earners!


Travel Booking via Scotia Rewards
The Booking Travel via Scotia Rewards offers an enhanced travel booking experience through Scotia Rewards Travel Service providing customers with a Personal travel itinerary after booking travel through Scotia Rewards Travel Service. The Personal travel itinerary will include: Destination information, recommended activities, weather forecasts, and more!

They also want you booking flights via Scotia Rewards as they have adopted a best price guarantee:

Best Price Guarantee on Airfare: If, within 24 hours after completing an airline ticket purchase on the Scotia Rewards Travel Service website or with a Scotia Rewards Travel Service Representative, you find a price for the exact same itinerary that's at least $10 less, Scotia Rewards Travel Service will offer you a Scotia Rewards points credit equal to the price difference, per passenger. See travel.scotiarewards.com for complete details and instructions on how to submit your claim.

Non-Travel/Cash Back rewards
Scotia Rewards now offers the Best Buy and Apple catalogues online to provide merchandise redemptions with these two big electronics players! The redemption provides for increased customer flexibility as it allows Scotia Rewards Cardmembers to pick up select Best Buy items in store within 24 hours of redemption.

The only negative change we can see in the updated program is the addition of the $15+tax booking fee if you call into Scotia Rewards to book travel. They are just following suit of many of the other programs here who also charge fees to call in for booking. We all dislike booking fees but as a business if the others are making money doing it why aren't we.

These are all the credit cards that are included in the Scotia Rewards portfolio:
• Scotiabank®* Gold American Express® Card
• Scotiabank®* Platinum American Express® Card 
• Scotiabank®* American Express® Card
• ScotiaGold Passport Visa* Card
• ScotiaGold Passport for business Visa* Card
• Scotiabank® Rewards Visa* Card

Overall we are really impressed with the changes from Scotiabank for the Scotia Rewards Program. It is inline with their mandate to become 'Canada's Rewards Bank' not only with their proprietary program but also with their co-brand partnerships with SCENE, GM & More Rewards.

What are your thoughts on the changes to the program? Will it make you consider it if you aren't a collector of Scotia Rewards yet? Talk to us in the comments section below or on our Social Media!