March 6 Update: Podcast Episode 18, CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite with 4% back on all spending & Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer changes

News, Tips & Tricks
Episode 18 of our weekly round up podcast is out! We discuss the WestJet trans Canada bonus, the Scotia Amex Gold increased sign up bonus and converting Aeroplan Miles to RBC Avion! Listen to the podcast here!

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer announced last week that there will be some changes coming to the program on March 23rd. KrisFlyer isn't a huge program for us Canadians especially after they stopped flying here many moons ago. However some of you may make use of the program either by flying SQ outside of Canada, crediting Air Canada & Star Alliance flights to SQ or transferring hotel points like SPG's Starpoints to KrisFlyer. So these changes will be of interest to those of you who do use this program. The biggest and worst change is the loss of th 15% discount for booking awards online, everybody loved this option! Fuel and other surcharges for award flights on Singapore Airlines are being nixed however most standard mileage amounts for award tickets are going up to accomodate for this. Here is an example provided by Singapore Airlines on pricing for the Singapore-San Francisco route (note that the old amount does not include the 15% off for online redemption.) In general, due to the loss of the 15% discount the new award chart requirements are a devaluation to the KrisFlyer program even with the removal of the fuel surcharges. Find out more about these changes here

Posts since our last update:

• RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum card sign up bonus increased to 30,000 miles (Apply by April 30)
  The larger sign up bonus for the RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum card that we saw last year has…
• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for March
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of March! This is not…

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan - Please note the below TD Aeroplan offers are not live yet!
- Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles and 50% off the first year annual fee when you apply for and receive the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. More... Until May 4, 17 Residents of Canada only
- Earn up to 50,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you apply for and receive the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card. More.. Until May 4, 17 Residents of Canada only

CIBC
- 4% cash back on all your spending up to $5,000 over the first 6 statements and first year free with the CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite. More... Until Mar 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Triple AAdvantage Miles per stay at La Quinta properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. More.. Until Jun 30, 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Spain and Portugal. More... Book by Apr 7 for stays until May 14,17
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Egypt and the Middle East. More... Book by Apr 10 for stays until May 25, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay any night Friday-Sunday on the "Reopening Offer" at the Renaissance Paris La Defense Hotel. More... Until Apr 28, 17
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Shin-Osaka Station. More... Until May 17, 17
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay any night Friday-Sunday at the Turnberry Isle Miami, Autograph Collection. More... Until Apr 30, 17
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points per night at any one of four Courtyard or Residence Inn & Marriott hotels in Las Vegas. More... Until Apr 9, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays at the Four Points by Sheraton Melbourne Docklands. More.. Mar 28 - Sep 28, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum card sign up bonus increased to 30,000 miles (Apply by April 30)

The larger sign up bonus for the RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum card that we saw last year has returned!

This new bonus is enough miles to fly round trip in Economy Class on Cathay Pacific's 5th freedom flight between Vancouver and New York:

or even one way in Business Class:

Of course there are many more options out there as well on Cathay Pacific and any of their oneworld or other airline partners.

The 30,000 Asia Miles bonus is split into two parts. You'll get 15,000 miles upon approval and then you have to spend $7,500 on the card in the first three months to receive the next 15,000 miles. That's a little bit of a steep spend amount compared to other cards but definitely achievable for many. If you do want to take advantage of this offer be sure to apply by April 30th.

Click here to find out more about this offer or to apply for this card. 

RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum card privileges:

Card spend	Earn rate1
Local spend2	CAD1 = 1 Miles
Foreign currency spend3	CAD1 = 1.25 Miles
Cathay Pacific tickets purchased online4	CAD1 = 2 Miles
In-fight purchases (minimum net purchase of 500 HKD)5	HKD5 = 2 Miles

• Enjoy comprehensive insurance coverage
  • Travel at ease, with coverage that includes Out of Country/Province Emergency Medical Insurance⁶, Travel Accident Insurance⁶ and more!
• Receive membership to Cathay Pacific’s Marco Polo Club
  • The first year complimentary Green Tier membership for the primary cardholder to the Marco Polo Club includes amazing perks like priority boarding and extra baggage redemption.

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for March

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of March! 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 4 of 5 cards on this list for March are first year free so you can try them out at no cost 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! The only card that isn't first year free is the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. It has an annual fee of $120 but the sign up bonus of 20,000 Starpoints is worth no less than $400 depending on what you value Starpoints at.
   
Two changes this month, first off the Scotiabank Gold American Express gets even better with a 25,000 point sign up bonus with no first year fee adding $50 to your travel pot and now that the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite is no longer first year free we bring back the SPG Amex as that bonus is more versatile than the TD Aeroplan offer (you can transfer the SPG bonus to Aeroplan for 25,000 miles if you like!)

So here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for March (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.) Also see our new post on how this sign up bonus can get you a free flight between Toronto and Dublin!!

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 to 50,000 points awarded on approval 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 offer floating around that is specific for Marriott Elite members and some people are reporting that they getting the points while some others are not. YMMV but no matter what you should get at least 30K.


mbna Best Western Rewards MasterCard (Apply here)
Right now there is an offer for 40,000 Bonus Western Rewards points with this card! With no annual fee to boot! We detail the offer in this post that shows just how much value you can pull out of the card with this 40K bonus!

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card - 25,000 Points  (Apply here)
A very strong card in the earn category for Gas, Grocery and Dining/Entertainment purchases, the current sign up bonus for the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is 25,000 points when you reach $750 in spending in the first three months. That 25,000 points is equal to a $250 travel credit and since this card is a book anywhere card you can book the travel how you want when you want and when the charge shows up on your account you can redeem the points against the charge. The card normally has a $99 annual fee but of course that is waived in the first year if you apply by July 31, 2017!


Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express - 20,000 Starpoints (Apply here)
The sign up bonus for this card has now been 20,000 Starpoints for some time and this is the only card in this list that doesn't have the first year fee waived. That doesn't matter. This is by far the best hotel points card in Canada and Starpoints have huge value. The 20,000 Starpoint bonus is received when you spend $1,500 on the card and is worth at least $400 when redeeming them for Starwood Hotel stays or you can convert them to airline miles in over 30+ programs and Starwood will kick in an additional 5,000 miles when you transfer 20,000 Starpoints at a time.


If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with over $1,000 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

March 3 Update: Fly KLM from Edmonton to Paris for under $850, grab the TD Aeroplan card now, VHR 2x Elite Credits

News, Tips & Tricks
Today is a no news is good news day!

Posts since our last update:

• Grab the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card before Monday
  If you have been hemming and hawing about grabbing the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card because the sign up bonus…
• Starwood: Save up to 30% when you buy or gift Starpoints (until Apr 30, 17)
  A decent offer for up to 30% off when buying Starpoints has been launched though it is not as…

Travel Deals
KLM has some great fares between Ednomton and Paris the next few months! Fly roundtrip for undet $850pp! Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Double Aeroplan Miles for stays at participating Coast Hotels in Canada and the U.S. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Etihad Guest
- 50% Bonus Guest Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo plus earn 1,000 bonus miles on your first booking.  More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until Dec 31, 17

Saudia Alfursan
- Earn up to Quadruple Alfursan Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels in Europe, the Middle East & Africa. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Save up to 30% when you buy or gift 5,000 or more Starpoints online. More... Until Apr 30, 17
- 500 Bonus Starpoints for stays at The Westin Los Cabos Resort Villas & Spa. More... Until ?

Voila Hotel Rewards
- Double Elite Tier Credit when you stay two or more nights at a participating VOILÀ network hotel Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

Grab the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card before Monday

UPDATE: We have been made aware that the sign bonus may actually be 25,000 Miles as of Monday with an annual fee.

If you have been hemming and hawing about grabbing the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card because the sign up bonus is only 15,000 miles with first year free then this should make up your mind. The new offer that will release on Monday will have the same bonus of 15,000 miles on 1st purchase but will not be first year free anymore! Get it now to get those 15,000 miles for no cost!

Here is the current offer that ends at the end of day on Sunday:

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
• Receive a Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan Miles with your first Purchase 
• Receive another 5,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles if you keep your Account open, active and in good standing for one year after your Account is opened
• 100% Annual Fee Rebate for the first year (Primary Cardholder only) – that’s $120 in savings!
• Earn 1.5 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, grocery, drugstore and aircanada.com Purchases made with your Card.
• Earn 1 mile for every $1 you spend on all other Purchases on your Card.
• Earn miles twice when you pay with your TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card and present your Aeroplan Membership Card at over 150 Aeroplan partner brands and with 100 online retailers
• Your Aeroplan miles will not expire as long as you are a TD Aeroplan Credit Cardholder
• Enjoy an extensive suite of travel insurances for peace of mind on your next getaway.
Apply online

Starwood: Save up to 30% when you buy or gift Starpoints (until Apr 30, 17)

A decent offer for up to 30% off when buying Starpoints has been launched though it is not as good as the up to 50% we saw before Christmas. This brings the price down to US 2.45 cents each or under 2 cents per airline mile if you take advantage of SPG's 5,000 mile bonus when converting 20,000 Starpoints at a time. A pretty good price seeing that you can get higher value out of the points if you redeem strategically!

Offer details
Save up to 30% when you buy or gift 5,000 or more Starpoints online. Full details. Until Apr 30, 17

• Buy 5,000 – 9,500 Starpoints and save 10%
• Buy 10,000 – 14,500 Starpoints and save 15%
• Buy 15,000 – 19,500 Starpoints and save 20%
• Buy 20,000 – 30,000 Starpoints and save 30%

Find many more SPG Bonus offers here!

March 2 Update: WestJet Flight Promo update, Aeroplan adds Budget as new partner, new Shoppers Optimum bonus

News, Tips & Tricks

A quick update to the WestJet Rewards promotion we brought to you earlier this week. We posed the question to WestJet to see what happens if you mix and match fare classes on the promotion.
Our question:

"If you book one econo fare, then a plus fare, then a econo fare etc. how will the bonus be awarded? ....  Say you fly your first 2 flights in Plus you’ll get 20wsd per flight, but your third flight is Econo, do you get 10wsd since its your first econo fare or do you get 20wsd since its your third flight? Then if you go back to Plus for the 4th flight will it be 40wsd or 50wsd?"

And WestJet's response:

"You can mix and match the fare class and it will still count as an eligible flight for the flight count each time. So per your example. If they fly first 2 flights in Plus, they will receive 20 WSD for each one, third flight as Econo will earn 20 WSD, 4th flight as Plus will earn 50 WSD. J It’s a win, win, win!"

This is great news to know that you don't 'drop' down to a lower bonus when you book into a new fare class!

Shoppers Drug Mart is once again sending out big bonuses for shopping tomorrow. We got an 18,500 bonus point offer for spending $75 or more, it may be different for you. You can print out the coupon we got here.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car has expanded its Enterprise Plus loyalty program. Members can now earn rewards and free rental days at locations in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Tortola, Trinidad & Tobago and Uruguay. (Source Enterprise)

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Aeroplan was adjusting its car rental partners. As of today Budget returns as partner of Aeroplan but we also lose Hertz. Here are the details of the Budget partnership:

• Earn – Starting today, members can earn 250 Aeroplan Miles for each eligible rental with Budget at participating locations on- and off-airport in Canada, the United States and abroad.
• Redeem – Members can now use their miles to get Budget rental certificates worth $50 or $100 on aeroplan.com. Soon, members will also be able to redeem Aeroplan Miles for Budget car rentals for their choice of date and destination and will be able to earn 100 miles every time they do so.

We will also see Payless Car Rental join Aeroplan soon. (Source Aeroplan)

Aeroplan is sending out emails to select members offering bonus miles for purchases at ESSO. We received it and you should check your inbox as well to see if you were targeted!

More Rewards has lost Canadian Direct Insurance as a partner. Too bad as this program needs all the partners it can get to become the coalition program they want to be!

Posts since our last update:

• Earn Double Aeroplan Miles for Coast Hotels stays in Canada and the U.S.
  We see the return of bonus Aeroplan miles for stays at Coast Hotels. Double Miles is always a nice…
• Earn up to 500 FREE La Quinta Returns Points for connecting to LQ Social Media
  La Quinta Returns has brought back their offer of earning up to 500 points for free by connecting to…
• The Ultimate Credit Card Portfolio for Family Travel
  In this feature of Rewards Canada's Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate wallet for families who like…

Travel Deals
Starwood Sunsational savings offers a free night, up to a $200 resort credit and a room upgrade for stays at Starwood Resorts in the Americas! Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 2,000 Bonus Gold Points and a minimum $25 gift card when you book the Shopping Package at participating Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotels in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia between Johannesburg and Madrid. More... For residents of South Africa only Register & book by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 17
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Express between Madrid and Cardiff, Sardinia or Heraklion. More... Register & book by Apr 30 for travel Apr 6 - Sep 30, 17
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum between Valencia and Barcelona More... Register & book by Apr 2 for travel Mar 26 - Aug 31, 17
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select flights in Europe More... Until Apr 30, 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, 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Earn up to 500 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating AccorHotels in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. More... Book by Apr 24 for stays until May 5,17

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Earn up to 14,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Dublin and Doha. More... Jun 12 - Sep 15, 17
- Earn up to 20,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Auckland and Doha. More... Until May 5, 17
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Yanbu and Doha. More... May 9 - Jul 31, 17
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus QMiles when you fly between Tabuk and Doha. More... Jun 19 - Sep 30, 17
- 2,000 Bonus QMiles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Mar 31, 17
- Earn up to 3,500 Bonus QMiles on all Avis rentals of 3 or more days in Europe, Middle East and Africa. More... Book by Mar 31 for rentals Apr 1 - Jun 30, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

Earn Double Aeroplan Miles for Coast Hotels stays in Canada and the U.S.

We see the return of bonus Aeroplan miles for stays at Coast Hotels. Double Miles is always a nice bonus if you choose their hotels out West or in the U.S..

Offer details:
Double Aeroplan Miles for stays at participating Coast Hotels in Canada and the U.S. Full details. Until Apr 30, 17

Find many more Aeroplan bonuses here!

And remember if you use a card like the American Express Gold Rewards Card to pay for your hotel stay you'll earn 2 Membership Rewards Points per dollar which translates to an additional 2 Aeroplan Miles per dollar. A great way to keep boosting your Aeroplan balance!