Best Western Rewards: $10 BW Gift Card with every stay until April 30

Best Western Rewards has extended their systemwide promotion where you can earn a $10 Best Western Gift Card with every BW stay. Not a bad deal considering there are lots of BW hotels that can be booked for under $100 meaning you can pull a 10% or higher return. Now you only have 120 days to use up that gift card after it being issued so not a lot of time to make use of it especially if you don't stay at Best Western very often.

Offer details:
Receive a $10 Best Western Gift Card with every stay at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Apr 30, 17
Valid for North American residents only

Find more BW Rewards Bonus Offers here.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Up to a 40% bonus when buying miles until April 6

The Alaska Airlines buy Mileage Plan miles promo returns and is a good one and exactly the same as the one we saw launch in late February of 2016. The bonus this time can net you up to a 40% bonus, decent but not as good as the 50% we see several times per year. While not an amazing deal, it still can be worth more than the 2.1 cents you pay for each mile (including tax) with the 40% bonus since you can redeem the miles for premium class flights on airline like Cathay Pacific and Emirates. Or you could potentially buy a ton of short haul flights between Western Canada and the Western U.S. seeing that many of those only go for 5,000 to 7,500 per one way award.  While each transaction is limited to 40,000 miles (+ the bonus) there is no limit to the number of transactions you can complete.

Offer Details
Up to 40% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy or gift Mileage Plan miles online. Full details Until Apr 6, 17
Buy 10,000 - 19,000 miles = 20% bonus
Buy 20,000 - 39,000 miles = 30% bonus
Buy 40,000 - 60,000 miles = 40% bonus

Find many more Mileage Plan bonus offers here!

Canada's Top Travel Points Credit Card with no annual fee now has a 15,000 point sign up bonus!

In our 2017 Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings we crowned a new winner in the Travel Points Credit Card with no annual fee category, the Scotiabank More Rewards Visa card. It took first place without a sign up bonus, that's how good the card is and it just got better. If you apply for the card by March 31st you can get up to 15,000 bonus More Rewards Points. You'll get 5,000 upon approval and 10,000 more on your first purchase. A pretty easy way to score those 15,000 points worth around $63 towards travel. Doesn't seem like much but when you add it in to the 6 Points per dollar you earn at More Rewards partners and 4 points per dollar everywhere else it is a nice addition to the card. You'll want to read our full review of the Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card here but we'll mention again that the 4 points and 6 points per dollar that you earn are the equivalent of a 1.65% and 2.54% return towards travel redemptions. That's huge for a no annual fee card! And not to toot our own horn but it appears that this sign up bonus is a celebration of us awarded the card first place in this category!

Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Card

• Earn 5,000 Bonus More Rewards Points on approval and 10,000 Bonus More Rewards Points on first purchase if you apply by March 31, 2017
• Earn 6 More Rewards points for every $1 spent on purchases at participating More Rewards locations including Save-On-foods, PriceSmart Foods, Overwaitea Foods, Cooper’s Foods and Urban Fare stores and participating More Rewards partners such as Petro Canada and Panago.
• Earn 4 points for every $1 on other purchases everywhere else
• Redeem your More Rewards points for travel, groceries, gift cards, merchandise and more
• No annual fee and no earning or redemption caps.

Marriott and Starwood provide 2017 Hotel Category Award Night changes - 60+ hotels in Canada affected

You may recall from earlier this year that we already mentioned the category changes for IHG Rewards Club and that we could expect changes from Marriott and Starwood as well. Those changes are here. Remember, the actual amounts of points for redeeming for specific categories have not changed. These changes are for the hotels themselves moving up or down to a different category. All of these changes will kick in on March 7th. As we always advise if you were planning to book one of these of hotels on points or free night certificates, and there is a good chance you are seeing that the amount of hotel changing make up a decent amount of Marriott's and Starwoods worldwide portfolio, book now if you can if the hotel you want is going up in categories or wait until after March 7th if you can to book if the hotel is going down.

On to the changes!

Marriott has well over 1,000 hotels changing categories this year and 24 of them are in Canada. 13 are going up a category and 11 are moving down. This isn't too bad, a pretty even split. One of the surprising changes is the Delta Calgary Airport In-terminal hotel. It moves from Category 4 to Category 5 which makes it the same as its new neighbour and in all honesty, the much better hotel, the Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel. Read our review of the new hotel here and see why if you are going to redeem to stay at YYC why you wouldn't even bother with the Delta now that it costs the same.

A sampling of some of the Canadian changes:

You can find the complete list of Marriott changes here.

On the Starwood side we see 40 of their hotels in Canada change categories. Overall the entire chain has 325 hotels changing categories. The 40 hotels in Canada is a significant portion of their portfolio here! And its not so good news, 38 of those 40 are going up in price which means they will cost more points or may not be available for free night certificates like the Category 1-4 certificate that comes with $40K in spending on the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. Two hotels even have significant 2 category jumps higher, the Westin Toronto Airport and the Four Points by Sheraton Halifax both go from being Category 2 hotels to Category 4 hotels.

A sampling of some of the Canadian changes:

You can find the complete worldwide list of the Starwood Hotel changes here.

What are everyone's thoughts on this years changes? Are there any hotels that you may have been planning to stay at that are affected? Will that change your plans? Let us know in the comments below!

February 8 Update: Marriott updates mobile app, Aeroplan adding Budget & Payless Car Rental, Lufthansa seat sale

News, Tips & Tricks
Marriott launched an updated version of their app for iOS with an update for Android coming soon. Here are the highlights from the press release

Extensive customer research and member feedback is driving the new mobile app experience and will continue to do so as part of Marriott’s ongoing service innovation strategy.

Since Marriott became the first hotel company to offer Mobile Check-in/Checkout and Mobile Room Ready Alerts worldwide in 2014, more than 12 million members have taken advantage of it. The popular feature will now be easier to use and more powerful. For example, when members check in using the app, for the first time they will now be able to request room upgrades and receive notification it has been fulfilled before they arrive. Also for the first time, they will be able to request a late check-out in the app rather than at front desk, which is guaranteed for Gold and Platinum Elite Members.

With the app’s innovative new navigation, members will find it even easier to customize their stay with Mobile Requests. Guests can use the app to chat directly with hotel staff before, during and after their stays for special requests that require personal attention, or choose from a drop-down menu of the most frequently requested services or amenities such as more towels or extra pillows. Fully 54 percent of users make their requests before they’ve even checked-in. Having been the first to offer Mobile Requests globally beginning in 2015, the service is currently available at more than 4,000 hotels worldwide.

With the app relaunch, Marriott is also expanding Mobile Key, rolling out to more than 500 hotels globally this year. Members who check-in using the Marriott Mobile app can choose to skip the front desk and go straight to their room, using their smartphone to open the door.

For travelers in planning mode, they will now be able to precisely narrow down their destination searches by address or point-of-interest to find the closest, most convenient hotel, and to save their favorite hotels for quicker future bookings.

Increasingly, travelers are seeking more authentic destination information from local experts whether they’re choosing where to go or looking for tips for what to do once they get there. For the first time, the app will deliver curated, original content from Marriott’s digital magazine, Traveler based on users’ previous hotel searches or upcoming travels. 

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As an update to Monday's news, Aeroplan reached out to us to let us know that although Avis will be their only car rental partner when Hertz leaves on March 2nd it won't be that way for too long. Avis's other company Budget will become an Aeroplan partner once again this year as will Payless Car Rental. (Source Aimia)

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Posts since our last update:

• Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets between Toronto & Austria!
  As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This…
• Hilton Honors: 500 Extra Points for bookings made via the Hilton Honors App
  Just last week the newest systemwide bonus from Hilton was launched offering 2,000 bonus points per night on every…
• Receive 15% Bonus dollars when you convert RBC Rewards Points to WestJet Rewards
  Today sees the return of the RBC Rewards transfer to WestJet Rewards. Those RBC Rewards points collectors who hold a…

Travel Deals
Lufthansa's has some great deals on their flights between Canada and Europe. You can fly Montreal-Paris for $779, Toronto-Helsinki for $829 and more! Book by Feb 14. Find out more here.


Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 1,000 Bonus Gold Points when you download the Club Carlson mobile app and book and complete your first stay. More... Until ?
- Double Gold Points for stays on the Business Package at participating Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotels in the United States, Canada and Latin America. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Hilton HHonors
- 500 Bonus Honors Points for each eligible stay at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide that you book via the Hilton Honors app. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Iberia Plus
- Triple Avios when you fly Iberia between Madrid and Basel. More... Register & book by Feb 17, 17
- 50% Avios Discount when you redeem for an award ticket on Iberia between Madrid and Basel. More... Register & book by Feb 17, 17
- 1,000 Bonus Avios on all Avis rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 17

La Quinta Returns
- 250 Bonus Returns Points on qualifying rentals of 3 days or more at participating Avis locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Apr 30, 17
- 350 Bonus Returns Points on qualifying rentals of 3 or more days at participating Budget locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- 1,000 Bonus Mabuhay Miles on your first hotel stay booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Mar 31, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Various Bonus Starpoints or Free Nights when you complete eligible stay(s) at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted Offer - may not work for everyone Feb 15 - May 15, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Miles & More Award Ticket Sale - Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets between Toronto & Austria!

As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" discounted mileage awards!  This month it is 50% off economy class tickets between Toronto and Austria on Austrian Airlines.! This is a great offer and below we'll even show you how to get these for just an annual credit card fee (outside of the award ticket taxes/fees)

These offers are good for travel until Mar 31, 17

You can redeem Miles & More miles for round trip tickets on Austrian from Toronto to Austria for only 30,000 miles. This is a 50% discount off the normal Economy Class award ticket price of 60,000 miles.

Here are the offers:

 

 

As we mention every time they have the 50% off economy offer is that you could in theory get the  tickets with grabbing a couple of credit cards and a $120 annual fee! - there aren't many cards that will get you a round trip flight to Europe for that amount of spend! How so? As we usually mention in this post you can boost your Miles & More account with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. Currently the card comes with a 20,000 Starpoints sign up bonus. When you convert those 20,000 Starpoints to Miles & More SPG will award you an additional 5,000 miles. Which gives you 25,000 miles. Yes but I need 30,000 points for the ticket right? Right then you get yourself the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa card with the 30,000 or 50,000 point sign up bonus. You can then convert those to SPG at a rate of 3:1 so you have now added 10,000 to 16,000+ more Starpoints to you account. So now you would convert 25,000 Starpoints to Miles & More as they'll give the 5,000 extra for that 30,000 miles and still have 5,000 to 11,000 Starpoints left over. Now you have about a month and 3/4 to book these offers so if you don't have these cards get them right now so you could potentially travel in March but chances are you won't get all the points from these credit cards in time. You can still grab them now to see what offers will come out next month or beyond

Simply book the offers seen here by March 31st.
Full details on this offer can be found here

Hilton Honors: 500 Extra Points for bookings made via the Hilton Honors App

Just last week the newest systemwide bonus from Hilton was launched offering 2,000 bonus points per night on every stay. Now you can tack on additional 500 points per stay if you make your booking via the Hilton HHonors app. This app bonus runs all year long so not only can you tie it into the current 2,000 point bonus you'll be able to tie it in with future bonuses as well. You do have to register for this promotion and can do so via the link below  HT One Mile at a Time.

Offer details
500 Bonus Honors Points for each eligible stay at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide that you book via the Hilton Honors app. Full details and online registration (Registration is required) Until Dec 31, 17

Find many more Honors bonus offers here

Receive 15% Bonus dollars when you convert RBC Rewards Points to WestJet Rewards

Today sees the return of the RBC Rewards transfer to WestJet Rewards. Those RBC Rewards points collectors who hold a RBC credit card can transfer their points to WestJet Rewards and receive a 15% bonus on the total dollars deposited. This means for every 100 RBC Rewards Points transferred you'll receive $1.15 WestJet dollars. This is the same bonus we saw last fall and spring, it runs until Mar 20, 17

Offer Details
15% Bonus WestJet dollars when you convert RBC Rewards Points to WestJet Rewards. Full details Until Mar 20, 17

February 6 Update: Hertz & Aeroplan parting ways, 22 Marriott ebreaks hotels in Canada, Podcast Episode 16

News, Tips & Tricks
Episode 16 of the Rewards Canada Weekly Round Up Podcast came out today and it is the first time we feature an interview. We sat down and chatted with Marshall Wilmott, WestJet's Senior Vice President of Marketing & Digital to discuss the changes that launched today with the Elite Status tiers of WestJet Rewards. Find out more and listen to the podcast here.

I was really surprised to see this news (actually it came out early January) but Aeroplan and Hertz are parting ways! As of March 2nd you will no longer be able to earn Aeroplan miles on Hertz rentals. This has always been a good way to earn more miles (see our post Earning Stories: 2,500 Aeroplan Miles on a Hertz SUV rental in Maui) and now I'll have to rethink where I credit my Hertz rentals to. This leaves Avis as the only Aeroplan car rental partner at the moment as they cleaned house on partners years ago when they went with just Avis and Hertz.  (Source: Aeroplan)

Hertz isn't the only partner that Aeroplan is losing. Expedia CruiseShipCenters stopped being an earning partner on February 2nd. (Source Aeroplan)

Posts since our last update:

• British Airways Executive Club: 35% Bonus Avios when you transfer hotel points until March 8
  British Airways Executive Club has brought back their transfer bonus for moving points from hotel programs into Avios. The…
• WestJet Rewards elite tier status tweaks went live today & our interview with WestJet about it!
  Back on December 1st we let you know about changes coming to the WestJet Rewards Elite Status tiers and…

Travel Deals
Marriott's ebreaks for stays this weekend features a whopping 22 hotels in Canada that are 20% off. There are 2 hotels in B.C., 4 hotels in Alberta, 1 in Manitoba, and 15 in Ontario. These are great offers for last minute weekend getaways! Find out more here.

Jet Airways has launched a business class seat sale for their flights out of Toronto to Amsterdam, Mumbai and Delhi. Book between Feb 7 and 10. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- 1,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Mar 31, 17

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Double Guest Rewards Points+ a free day on Hertz rentals of 6 or more days at participating locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Jun 30, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- 35% Bonus Avios when you convert hotel points from Starwood, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, Shangri-La, Club Carlson or Hilton Honors to British Airways Executive Club. More... Until Mar 8, 17
- Triple Avios when you subscribe to The Economist. More... Until Mar 31, 17

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Mar 2, 17

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Flying Club Miles for stays at Marriott Hotels in Europe. More... Until Mar 26, 17
- Double Flying Club Miles on rentals with Enterprise in Europe & North America. More... Until Feb 28, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

British Airways Executive Club: 35% Bonus Avios when you transfer hotel points until March 8

British Airways Executive Club has brought back their transfer bonus for moving points from hotel programs into Avios. The bonus is 35% and is good for most major hotel programs: SPG Starpoints, Marriott Rewards points, IHG Rewards Club points, Hyatt Gold Passport points, Shangri-La Golden Circle Award Points, Club Carlson Gold points and Hilton HHonors. With Starwood, when you transfer 20,000 Starpoints they'll automatically throw in 5,000 more Avios which will give you 33,750 Avios with this bonus!

Offer details:
35% Bonus Avios when you convert hotel points from Starwood, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, Shangri-La, Club Carlson or Hilton Honors to British Airways Executive Club. Full details. Until Mar 8, 17

Earn even more Avios! Find the most BA Executive Club Bonus Offers here!