March 13 Update: Podcast Episode 19, 15 Canadian Marriott eBreaks Hotels, AIR MILES enhancements

News, Tips & Tricks
Episode 19 of the Rewards Canada Podcast is here! This week we talk systemwide hotel promotions, RBC Cathay Pacific sign up bonus, the AIR MILES apology letter and why you should get the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express, heck listen to the podcast to see how it can get you a $5,000 hotel stay for under $1,500. Find all the details on our podcast page!

Check your email for an $100 American Express statement credit when you book an Air Canada Vacations package. I was targeted for my Platinum Card but this could potentially be for other card types as well.

Posts since our last update:

• AIR MILES program enhancements coming on April 3
  AIR MILES just sent out a press release announcing some changes to the program or as they call it…

Travel Deals
Marriott's Hotels weekly e-breaks are here. 15 Canadian hotels are up with special deals for stays this weekend only.  Find out more here.
Here's a sampling of just some of the offers:

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A




Other Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- Triple Club Premier Points per stay at La Quinta properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. More... Until May 31, 17

Air New Zealand Airpoints
- Double Airpoints Dollars on all  stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 7, 17

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Earn up to 4x Infinity MileageLands Miles when you rent with Hertz in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand or Asia. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until May 31, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 3 or more nights at the Courtyard by Marriott Stockholm Kungsholmen. More... Until Apr 24, 17
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa. More... Until Apr 20, 17
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok. More...Until Apr 20, 17
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale Hotel. More... Until Apr 21, 17

Miles & More
- 1,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles when you spend RMB200 spending within 15 days upon registration with Miles Life. More... Until Sep 6, 17

Saudia Alfursan
- Quadruple Alfursan Miles for your first Sixt renal of 3 or more days Worldwide credited to Alfursan. More... Until May 31, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

AIR MILES program enhancements coming on April 3

AIR MILES just sent out a press release announcing some changes to the program or as they call it 'enhancements'. Are they enhancements? Yes they are. Are they anything to get excited about? No, not really. Here are excerpts from the press release on the upcoming changes:

Beginning April 3, AIR MILES will be introducing the following enhancements to the Program:

•  The online merchandise rewards catalogue will be fully accessible to all Collectors, while our most engaged Collectors will be able to access an enhanced tiered pricing structure.
• Up to 40% of our merchandise will now be available for purchase using credit card and Dream Miles. This “Cash and Miles” feature gives Collectors the ability to attain the rewards they want even faster. 
• We are expanding our customer service with 24/7 support on Facebook and Twitter. 

Greater rewards for all Collectors
The online merchandise rewards catalogue will now be available to all Collectors. We are also introducing tiered pricing for our most engaged Collectors, enabling them to get rewarded even faster. The more engaged Collectors are with the Program, the more they get out of it. All Collectors will continue to enjoy our already exceptional pricing, while our Gold Collectors will now receive up to 10% off all merchandise, and Onyx™ Collectors will receive up to 20% off.

More choice
The ability to use credit card and Dream Miles is a feature that has been popular with AIR MILES Collectors, because those with lower Miles balances can use fewer Miles to get the rewards they want. We have expanded this option to apply to up to 40% of all merchandise products available in the online merchandise rewards catalogue. As part of this expansion, and in an effort to simplify the rewards categories, we are integrating the current “Member Pricing” products into this option.

A commitment to extended customer service
In an effort to be more responsive to our Collectors’ changing expectations for service, we will be introducing 24/7 customer support through our Facebook and Twitter accounts

We have to give it to AIR MILES that they are trying. They dug themselves into a huge hole last year and are now ever so slowly inching their way up the walls of that hole. First it was the apology letter from earlier this month and now it is these changes. Granted these aren't huge changes, they are better than nothing but do they make the program more appealing? Not really.

The first change that sees the online merchandise rewards being available to all collectors confirms they held awards back. Of course AIR MILES stated that those more engaged in the program saw more rewards and had more options but we all know that was not the case based on our experiences last year. Nonetheless, the entire catalog should now be visible to everyone. No more pulling levers behind the scenes trying to engineer redemption, we hope. Along with this there will now be discounts on that merchandise if you are a Gold or Onyx collector of up to 10 and 20% respectively. If you redeem for merchandise this is good news however if AIR MILES has and will increase the redemption rates on merchandise as we expect them to this only really means that the elite members may just be getting the merchandise at the old redemption rates. It all depends on what the reward pricing is and will be.

The second change sees them expand the cash+miles option for rewards. We've already seen this where some merchandise was able to be redeemed for with fewer miles as long you paid a cash supplement. Cash+miles is becoming more and more popular in the industry to provide more redemption options, especially for those who don't collect as many miles and points as others. In some programs (like hotel reward programs) this type of redemption option can provide great value but what we have seen in the AIR MILES program is that it does not seem to provide very good value. Once again however if you don't have too many miles and want to use them up, using them for a small discount on some merchandise may make sense for you.

Finally the third change is the 24/7 support on Facebook and Twitter. A good move. The more help collectors can get the better. They should also look at expanding customer service hours via the phone. In our experience from call in radio shows, there is good portion of Canada's older population who collect and use AIR MILES but aren't going to go the online route for help. They rely on mail and phone. We heard a lot of complaints from this group so hopefully AIR MILES does not ignore them.

That's it in a nutshell! We'd love to hear all your thoughts on this latest news from AIR MILES! Feel free to comment below or reach out to us on social media and email.

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BMO AIR MILES World Elite MasterCard
2,000 Bonus AIR MILES when you apply for and receive the BMO AIR MILES World Elite MasterCard. That's enough for a short haul flight!
· Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in credit card purchases, everywhere you spend*
· BMO AIR MILES World Elite Travel and Medical Protection*
· Exclusive 25% Flight Discount*
· VIP Airport Lounge Access*
· BMO Concierge Service*
· Use your card at Costco
· *Terms and conditions apply

March 10 Update: Accor Hotels 3 for 2 Sale, Up to 50,000 Bonus Avios with the RBC BA Visa and more!

News, Tips & Tricks
More Rewards is offering 25,000 Bonus More Rewards Points when you book an Amadeus River Cruise. Simply book by Apr 30. BTW those 25,000 points are worth about $105, maybe you could use them towards your flights to catch the cruise. You have to call More Rewards Travel at 1-844-320-3997 to book and earn the points.

Posts since our last update:

• Air Canada St. Patrick's Payout - minimum 500 bonus Aeroplan Miles on each booking made with promo code
  Air Canada has brought back their ever popular St. Patrick's Payout promotion where they will award a total 10…
• The Top 5 Flight Bonuses for Canadians
  These are Rewards Canada's Top 5 Flight Bonus Mile/Point Offers!  If you are planning on booking flights or flying soon…

Travel Deals
 

 Accor Hotels has brought back their 3 nights for the price 2 sale! You can enjoy your 3rd night free at over 4,100 hotels Worldwide including 7 in Canada. Book by Mar 28 for stays until May 28, 17 Find out more here.
Canadian Hotels that are available for this offer:

Canadian Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up 50,000 Bonus Avios when you apply for and receive the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card. More... Residents of Canada only Until May 31, 17 

Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Courtyard St. John's Newfoundland. More... Until Apr 28, 17


Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you shop online via the AAdvantage Shopping portal.. More... Until Mar 17, 17

Ethiopian Airlines Sheba Miles
- 3,000 Bonus Sheba Miles when you fly Ethiopian between Antananarivo and Addis Ababa. More... Until May 31, 17
- Earn up to 100% Bonus Sheba Miles when you fly Ethiopian between Antananarivo and Lubumbashi. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Hyatt Gold Passport
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt Points on rentals of 3 or more days at participating Avis locations worldwide. More... Until May 31, 17

IHG Rewards Club
- Up to 80% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. More... Until Mar 28, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Domes Noruz Chania, Autograph Collection. More... Book by Mar 31 for stays Mar 31 - Jun 16, 17
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at participating Gaylord Hotels in the U.S. More...  Targeted Offer - May Not Work For Everyone Until May 31, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at the Magnolia Hotel St. Louis, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. More... Until Apr 30, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Air Canada St. Patrick's Payout - minimum 500 bonus Aeroplan Miles on each booking made with promo code

Air Canada has brought back their ever popular St. Patrick's Payout promotion where they will award a total 10 Million Aeroplan Miles for bookings made with the promo code STPATRICK2017. The 10 Million Aeroplan Miles will be split among all people who book with that code by March 22 for travel until May 31. Darn I just booked before this but I won't complain as Business Class was only $31 more than Economy, so you can guess what class of service I booked for our family for spring break. Sorry got off track there! Anyways you will receive a minimum of 500 bonus Aeroplan Miles when you do book with the code but that bonus can get higher if the total amount of bookings divided by that 10 million works out to more than 500 - that mean's less than 20,000 bookings.

Offer Details
Earn a minimum of 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you book Air Canada flights online with the promo code STPATRICK2017. Full details. Book by Mar 22 for travel until May 31, 17

Find many more Aeroplan Bonus Mile offers here!
 

Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card 
• Receive a Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan Miles with your first Purchase
• 10,000 Aeroplan Miles when you keep your Account open, active and in good standing for 90 days after Account approval
• 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you add an Authorized User to your Account by June 14, 2017 (Authorized User must call and activate their Card by July 31, 2017)
• 50% Annual Fee Rebate for the first year (Primary Cardholder only) – that’s $60 in savings!
• Offer Valid until May 4, 2017
• 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.

The Top 5 Flight Bonuses for Canadians

These are Rewards Canada's Top 5 Flight Bonus Mile/Point Offers!  If you are planning on booking flights or flying soon be sure to check these offer out to see if you can earn more miles and points on you upcoming flights! If none of the offers listed below work for your travels or reward programs be sure to check out our route bonus listing for many more offers.

UPDATE: Shortly after we posted this we learned about Air Canada's St Patrick's Payout where you can earn a minimum 500 bonus Aeroplan Miles on all bookings made by March 22. So in reality this is a Top 6 Flight Bonuses for Canadians! -Read about the St Patrick's offer here.

The top 5 flight bonuses in alphabetical order are:

American AAdvatnage
Earn up to 20,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you fly between Canada  and Europe. Register online (Registration is required) Until Mar 31,17

For	First Class	Business Class	Select Economy Class
Each round trip	20,000	10,000	5,000

Only valid for travel on American Airlines marketed nonstop flights (operated by either American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia or Finnair) Bonus miles can only be earned for a maximum of 2 round trips and half the round-trip bonus will be posted after each eligible one-way segment.

British Airways Executive Club
Triple Avios when you fly British Airways from Canada to the UK and beyond. Also valid on American Airlines, Finnair or Iberia between Europe and North America. Bonus awarded on a maximum of 8 sectors (4 round trips). Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Mar 31, 17


Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Double Asia Miles when you fly First or Business Class one way or round-trip from Canada to Hong Kong. Register Online (Registration is required) Until Apr 30, 17

If you are not a member yet of Asia Miles they will award 1,000 Asia Miles for joining the program when you register for this offer and complete your flights.

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
Earn up 10,000 Bonus JPMiles when you fly on Jet Airways out of Toronto to Amsterdam, India and beyond.  Full details and online booking Until Mar 31, 17

• 10,000 Bonus JPMiles for every First Class flight
• 5000 Bonus JPMiles for every Première flight
• 1500 Bonus JPMiles for every Economy flight

WestJet Rewards
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
Number of one-way flights

	Bonus for Econo/Flex fares	Bonus for Plus fares
1	10 WestJet dollars	20 WestJet dollars
2	10 WestJet dollars	20 WestJet dollars
3	20 WestJet dollars	40 WestJet dollars
4	25 WestJet dollars	50 WestJet dollars
5	35 WestJet dollars	70 WestJet dollars
	Total earned = 100 WSD	Total earned = 200 WSD

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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 

March 9 Update: Amex Centurion Lounges changing access rules, Marriott Resort sale and more

News, Tips & Tricks
There are reports and confirmation that access will become more limited to American Express Centurion lounges. Currently the access policy for The Platinum Card from American Express cardholders allows 2 guests or your entire immediate family. The latter part is being removed so that cardholders can only bring two guests whether or not they are family. Any additional family members or guests will cost US$50. This change will take effect on March 30th. We carry two Platinum Cards (Primary+Supplementary) in our family so the four of us will still be able to access without paying additional fees. (Source View from the Wing)

Posts since our last update:

• Current Bonus Mile & Point Offers for hotel stays via 3rd Party Booking sites - Kaligo, PointsHound, Rocketmiles
   Ever since Pointshound launched qute a few years ago the market for earning miles and points in your favorite programs…

Travel Deals
Marriott is offering up to 20% off for stay at their premier resorts across the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America. Book by May 31 for stays until June 30, 17 Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A


Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Up to 50% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you buy miles. More... Until Apr 1, 17

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Earn 2,000 Bonus Gold Points +1,500 Gold Points per night when you book the Blu Planet Energy Package for 2 or more nights at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Skywards Miles when you fly Emirates between Dubai and Ft. Lauderdale. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays at The Address Hotels & Resorts in Dubai. More... Until May 26, 17
- Double Skywards Miles for stays at participating Hyatt Hotels and Resorts in Dubai. More... Until Jun 30, 17
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays at Vida Hotels & Resorts in Dubai. More... Book by May 26 for stays until Sep 30, 17
- Triple Skywards Miles when you rent with Sixt for 5 or more days Worldwide. More... Until May 31, 17

Hilton HHonors
- Earn up to 4,500 Bonus Honors Points on qualifying Alamo, Enterprise & National rentals Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Le Club accorhotels
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at Pullman Hotels hotels in Asia Pacific. More... Until May 31, 17
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 2 or more nights at participating AccorHotels in France. More... Book Mar 10 - 26 for stays Mar 10 to May 1, 17
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels points on Hertz rentals of 2 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 31 for rentals until May 31, 17

SAS EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus Points for stays at participating Radisson Blu hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Apr 30, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Current Bonus Mile & Point Offers for hotel stays via 3rd Party Booking sites - Kaligo, PointsHound, Rocketmiles

 Ever since Pointshound launched qute a few years ago the market for earning miles and points in your favorite programs for hotel stays booked via third party sites has exploded. Second on the market was Rocketmiles and now we've seen huge growth from Singapore based Kaligo which launched in fall of 2014. All three operate on pretty much the same premise. Book hotel stays with them and they will award a lot of miles for those stays in the partner program of your choice. As with many third party booking sites the stays may not earn hotel frequent guest points, status credits and the hotels may not recognize your hotel elite status. These sites tend to be best used for hotels that do not have loyalty programs or if they are from a major chain they are ones that you don't collect points with as they are not your brand of choice. Of course, occasionally (well more than occasionally right now) these 3rd party sites offer bonus miles on top of the regular miles they award and those offers can be found right here.

There is one Aeroplan offer for Rocketmiles and those miles earned do count towards your Aeroplan Elite status.

If you don't see your program of choice listed below and have not booked via Kaligo before you can earn 1,000 Bonus Miles/Points when you make your first booking with our referral link. (we'll also earn 1,000 miles)
Aeroflot Bonus	3,000 Bonus Bonus Miles on your first hotel stay booked via Kaligo. Full details and online booking	Book by May 31, 17
Air China Phoenix Miles	1,000 Bonus PhoenixMiles Kilometers on your first hotel booking via the Kaligo mobile apps. Full details	Until Apr 10, 17
Alitalia MilleMiglia	50% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo.  Full details and online booking	Book by May 15 for stays until Nov 30, 17
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Asia Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo. Regular Asia Miles members will earn up to 4,000 bonus miles, those who book with Hong Kong based Asia Miles American Express card will earn up to 5,000 bonus miles.  Full details and online booking	Book by May 5 for stays until Dec 31, 17
Etihad Guest	50% Bonus Guest Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo plus earn 1,000 bonus miles on your first booking.  Full details and online booking	Book by Apr 30 for stays until Dec 31, 17
flydubai OPEN Rewards	50% Bonus OPEN Rewards Points on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo. Full details and online booking	Until Apr 5, 17
Latam PASS	50% Bonus LANPASS KMs on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo.  Full details and online booking	Book by Mar 31 for stays until Dec 31, 17
Philippine Airlines Mabuhay	1,000 Bonus Mabuhay Miles on your first hotel stay booked via Kaligo. Full details and online booking	Book by Mar 31, 17
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	50% Bonus Flying Club Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo.  Full details and online booking	Book by Mar 31 for stays until Dec 31, 17
If you don't see your program of choice listed below and have not booked via PointsHound before you can earn 1,000 Bonus Miles/Points when you make your first booking with our referral link. (we'll also earn 1,000 miles)
Air France KLM Flying Blue	Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles on your first hotel booking via PointsHound. Full details. • 2,000 extra Miles for bookings of €150-299 • 5,000 extra Miles for bookings over €300	Book by Mar 31, 17
If you don't see your program of choice listed below and have not booked via Rocketmiles before you can earn 1,000 Bonus Miles/Points when you make your first booking with our referral link. (we'll also earn 1,000 miles)
Air Canada / Aeroplan	50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles on your first Rocketmiles booking booked via the special promotion page at www.rocketmiles.com/aeroplanbonus. The first time booking bonus can only be earned once per member.	Book by Mar 31, 17
Air France KLM Flying Blue	1,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. Full details and online booking.	Book by Mar 31, 17
Avianca LifeMiles	1,000 Bonus LifeMiles per night for up to 5 nights when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. Full details and online booking.	Book by Mar 31, 17
Copa Connect Miles	1,000 Bonus ConnectMiles per night for up to 5 nights when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. Full details and online booking.	Book by Apr 30, 17
Etihad Guest	25% Bonus Guest Miles on all Rocketmiles hotel bookings paid for with your Etihad Guest co-brand credit card. www.rocketmiles.com/etihad-cobrand.	Until Mar 31, 17
Qatar Airways Privilege Club	2,000 Bonus QMiles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. Full details and online booking.	Book by Mar 31, 17
United MileagePlus	3,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. Full details and online booking.	Book by Mar 31, 17
Virgin America Elevate	3,000 Bonus Elevate Points when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmles. Full details and online booking.	Book by Mar 31, 17