Scotiabank Gold American Express Card - First Year Free with a 25,000 points sign up bonus!

I didn't think we'd see a stronger offer for this card as 20,000 points with 1st year free has been the go to for this card but low and behold Scotia surprises us with an even better offer! The card with some very strong category earning (Gas, Grocery, Dining & Entertainment) has had the 20,000 point sign up bonus with no annual fee in the first year since the start of November. However now we see the card keep FYF but have the sign up bonus jump to 25,000 points if you spend $750 in the first three months! The offer of 25,000 points is worth $250 in travel and since it is first year free you essentially get that $250 for free!  This offer is valid until July 31, 2017!

This card ranked second in the Travel Points Card with annual fee category and fifth overall in our 2017 Top Travel Rewards Credit card rankings and you'll definitely see it in our Top 5 Sign Up offers for March.

Here are some details on the card:

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
25,000 Scotia Rewards bonus points,with $750 in net purchases in first three months - worth $250 in travel. Apply Online
• Earn 4x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 you spend at gas stations, grocery stores, on dining and entertainment • Earn one point on all other eligible purchases
• Extraordinary travel benefits
• Flexible Point Redemption
• Comprehensive travel insurance

• Use your points to purchase travel online or over the phone through our full-service travel agency. Or book your own travel using your card and go online to redeem points for the purchase.
• Receive discounts and other special offers on hotels, airfare, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages.
• Complimentary Concierge Services
• Low price airfare alerts
• Receive up to 25% off qualifying car rentals
• Travel emergency medical coverage is automatically provided for eligible persons for up to 25 consecutive days
• Redeem points for merchandise and other rewards

For more details or to apply for the card please see here.

You can also read our in depth review of the card here

1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles, $150 credit & 15% off for Fairmont stays in Canada - Celebrate Canada 150

Fairmont Hotels is the latest travel provider to jump into the fray for Canada's 150th birthday! This offer is for stays of 3 or more nights at Fairmont Hotels across Canada for the remainder of the year. Simply book the deal by May 31st. Find many more Aeroplan bonus miles offers here!

Offer details
1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles, $150 hotel credit & 15% off for stays of 3 or more consecutive nights at Fairmont Hotels in Canada.  Full details & online booking. Book by May 31 for stays until Dec 31, 17

Participating Hotels:

February 28 Update: Great Wyndham Rewards Flash Sale, 21% off WestJet flights in Canada and more

News, Tips & Tricks
Wyndham Rewards is running a flash sale for redeeming points at cottages in the UK, Ireland, France and Italy. You can redeem 15,000 points for the whole cottage per night rather than just a bedroom. This offer is limited to first 50 members who call in and complete a booking of 2 or more nights. Find out more here.

Club Carlson has released their hotel category change like we've already seen from IHG, Marriott, and Starwood. Club Carlson's aren't as drastic with only 20 hotels changing categories Worldwide and none are in Canada. 13 of those 20 are increasing by 1 to 2 categories while 7 drop 1-2 categories. Find out more here.

Air Canada is going to be switching their Mexico City flights to Rouge service. The changes out of Toronto and Vancouver will take place on May 1 and June 1 respectively. If you have booked these with Aeroplan (or cash) you can expect to get less now for what you paid, especially if you booked Business Class. (Source Routes Online)

Air France KLM released their latest promo awards but for the first time in quite some time no Canadian cities were included, so no post about it this month. The closest we get is 25% off flights out of Chicago.

Posts since our last update:

• 7,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays of 2+ nights at Country Inns & Suites by Carlson
  Club Carlson has a new spring promotion for stays at any of their Country Inns & Suites by Carlson…

Travel Deals   

WestJet's 21st Birthday Sale is offering 21% off off Econo base fares for their flights across Canada! This is a huge discount that can be applied to virtually any Econo fare. Book today only for travel March 21 to June 28.  Find out more here.

While you are at it booking these cheap fares make sure you register first to earn bonus WestJet dollars on select cross country flights! Not only will you save 21% but you'll many more WestJet dollars! Find out more here


Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- March Promo Awards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. More... Book by Mar 31  for travel May 1 - Jun 30, 17

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Triple MilleMiglia Miles for all stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays until May 1, 17
- 50% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo. More... Book by May 15 for stays until Nov 30, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to Quadruple Avios for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles when you fly Brussels Airlines between Brussels and Mumbai. More... Mar 30 - Jun 30, 17
- Triple Miles & More Miles for all stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Apr 30, 17

South African Airways Voyager
- Double Voyager Miles when you fly SAA Airlink between between Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

7,000 Bonus Gold Points for stays of 2+ nights at Country Inns & Suites by Carlson

Club Carlson has a new spring promotion for stays at any of their Country Inns & Suites by Carlson locations. Simple stay 2 or more nights and you'll receive 15% off plus 7,000 bonus Gold Points. If you average $100 per night for the stay you'll earn 2,000 base Gold Points plus any elite tier bonuses you may be eligible for meaning a two night stay should net you at least 9,000 points which is enough to redeem for a free night at a Category 1 hotel.

Offer details:
Earn 7,000 Bonus Gold Points and save 15% on stays of two or more consecutive nights at participating Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until May 31, 17

Find many more Club Carlson bonuses here!

February 27 Update: Hilton & Hyatt changes come on Wednesday, fly from Canada to China for under $800 and more

News, Tips & Tricks
A quiet weekend and a quiet start to the week! No news for you today but prepare for the Hilton Honors changes to kick in on Wednesday and the new World of Hyatt to also launch that day. Read our post about the Hilton changes from earlier this month and our post from last October that highlights the new World of Hyatt program.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn up to 200 bonus WestJet dollars when flying on select WestJet flights across Canada
  WestJet is looking to reward its members with some really healthy bonuses for flying on many of their longer…

Travel Deals
Hainan Airlines are offering up some super cheap fares between Canada and China! Fly there for under $800 from Calgary, Toronto or Vancouver. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
WestJet Rewards
- Earn up to 200 bonus WestJet dollars when you fly on select WestJet flights across Canada. More... Register & book by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Choice Privileges
- Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points (enough for a free night) for every 2 separate stays you complete at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. More... For residents of the U.S. and Canada only Mar 2 - Apr 27, 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Germany, Austria and Sweden. More... Book by Apr 23 for stays until May 31,17
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Africa and the Indian Ocean. More... Until Apr 16, 17
- Earn up to 800 bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Switzerland. More... Book by Apr 24 for stays until May 13,17
- Earn up to Quadruple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Egypt and the Middle East . More... Until Apr 16, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Earn up to 200 bonus WestJet dollars when flying on select WestJet flights across Canada

WestJet is looking to reward its members with some really healthy bonuses for flying on many of their longer haul flights across our country this spring! Simply register and book by March 31st and you'll be eligible to earn the bonuses on flights until May 31st. If you have an itinerary that connects to any of the eligible flights you will be able to earn the bonuses as well. So if you fly Regina-Calgary-Montreal you'll earn the bonus. Now may be the time to make some creative routings for travel, for example the very popular Calgary-Toronto route is not eligible so you may want to fly Calgary-Edmonton-Toronto or vice versa.

Offer details:
Earn up to 200 bonus WestJet dollars when you fly on select WestJet flights across Canada. Register Online (Registration is required) Register & book by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 17

Bonuses as follows:

Eligible Routes:

• Calgary - Hamilton
• Calgary - Kitchener
• Calgary - London
• Calgary - Montreal
• Edmonton - Toronto
• Fort McMurray - Toronto
• Hamilton - Calgary
• Kelowna - Toronto
• Kitchener - Calgary

• London - Calgary
• Montreal - Calgary
• Montreal - Vancouver
• Toronto - Edmonton
• Toronto - Fort McMurray
• Toronto - Kelowna
• Toronto - Vancouver
• Vancouver - Toronto
• Vancouver - Montreal

WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard
$250 WestJet dollars Bonus + Annual Companion Flight when you sign up for and receive the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard.
- Earn 1.5% back in WestJet dollars on every purchase you make with your card
- Earn 2% back in WestJet dollars when you purchase WestJet flights or WestJet Vacations packages with your card
- Get a complimentary round trip companion flight every year (including Plus Fares) for as little as $99 (plus taxes, fees and charges) to anywhere WestJet flies.
- First bag free for the primary cardholder up to 8 people traveling on the same reservation to anywhere WestJet flies!

February 24 Update: CIBC Aventura For Business 1st year free offer, up to 10,000 bonus miles on Jet Airways Toronto flights & more

News, Tips & Tricks
We added the CIBC Aventura Visa for Business card to our Business/Corporate card comparison chart! The chart needs a serious update for the rest on their but thought it was worthwhile to mention as the card right comes with a 25,000 Aventura Point sign up bonus and no annual fee in the first year for primary and up to three supplementary cards. See the details on the chart here!

If you are planning on flying to Amsterdam or India from Toronto check out the new Jet Airways JetPrivilege bonus. You can earn up 10,000 bonus JPMiles on all their flights include those out of Toronto! Find out more here.

Another bonus to check out is the WestJet Rewards bonus for Budget car rentals, check out the link below in the Canadian Bonus Offers section.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn up to Triple Points for stays at Novotel & Sofitel Hotels in Canada
  Right now you can earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels points for stays at any one of 8…
• Choice Privileges: 8,000 Points for every 2 stays Worldwide
  Choice Hotels has revealed the details of their Spring promotion and it is pretty much the same one they…
• 500 FREE Voila Hotel Rewards Points for suggesting new hotels
  Voila Hotel Rewards would like to know which hotels, cities, and countries they should try to expand to! And…

Canadian Bonus Offers
WestJet Rewards
- 5 Bonus WestJet dollars when you book a Budget car rental reservation through WestJet. More... Book by Apr 17 for rentals until Sep 30, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Aeroflot Bonus
- 3,000 Bonus Bonus Miles on your first hotel stay booked via Kaligo. More... Book by May 31, 17

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Earn up Triple Flying Blue Miles for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 30 for stays until Apr 30, 17

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn up 10,000 Bonus JPMiles when you fly on Jet Airways Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Earn up to Triple Points for stays at Novotel & Sofitel Hotels in Canada

Right now you can earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels points for stays at any one of 8 Novotel or Sofitel Hotels in Canada and others across North and Central America. Weekday stays will net you double points while weekend stays are worth triple points. All eight Canadian properties are situated in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto so if you travels take you there this could an good earning opportunity for you.  Be sure your register beforehand to earn the bonus points!

Offer details
Earn up to Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Accor Hotels hotels in North America and Central America. Full Details, registration and online booking (Registration is required)  Book by Apr 15 for stays until Apr 19, 17

• Earn Double Rewards points when you stay during the week, from Monday night to Thursday night. 
• Earn Triple Rewards points when you stay during the weekend, Friday night to Sunday night.

Choice Privileges: 8,000 Points for every 2 stays Worldwide

Choice Hotels has revealed the details of their Spring promotion and it is pretty much the same one they ran up until last Fall when they decided to switch to double points on all stays! That being said, it is a decent promotion as we usually see with Choice they promote it as stay twice and get a gift card or a free night. With this version they are promoting it as free nights which means you will earn enough points for an 8,000 point redemption after every two stays completed. So in reality you can redeem for higher hotel categories if you complete 4, 6, 8 stays etc.  (HT Loyalty Traveler)

Choice Hotels Privileges
Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points (enough for a free night) for every 2 separate stays you complete at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Stay must be booked via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Members will be awarded a maximum of 8,000 bonus points, depending on the number of base points earned for every (2) separate qualifying trips. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Mar 2 - Apr 27, 17
Restrictions
For residents of the U.S. and Canada only

500 FREE Voila Hotel Rewards Points for suggesting new hotels

Voila Hotel Rewards would like to know which hotels, cities, and countries they should try to expand to! And for you letting them know some of your suggestions they'll give 500 free VHR points. The survey is via Facebook and the app they use will get limited access to your profile and email. Voila Hotel Rewards has run several free points offers throughout the years so for some of you your balances may actually be getting to the point where you could redeem for something.... something small! Oh and five random members who complete the survey will win 50,000 points! If you haven't joined the program yet do so via this link to score 1,000 more points.

Offer details
500 Free VHR Points for suggesting new hotels for the Voila Hotel Rewards programs. Full details. Until Apr 30, 17

Find more VHR Bonus Points offers here!