March 14 Update: Bid for an upgrade on Air Canada flights, Aeroplan hotel conversion bonus & more

News, Tips & Tricks
 

Air Canada launched a new initiative to sell unsold premium class seats. Like several other airlines you can now bid on premium class seating (Premium Economy or Business Class) on select routes. Simply go the Air Canada Bid Upgrade Page and input your reservation details. You will then be able to make on offer on getting an upgraded seat. You have up until 96 hours before the flight to make an offer and if your offer is accepted you'll be notifed around 48 hours before your flight. Your credit card will only be charged if your bid is succesful. This new upgrade option is the third possible way to upgrade. The other two are the 'classics', that is eUpgrades for Altitude status members and last minute upgrades that can be paid for at time of check in. Find out more about the new bid upgrade option here!

A big American Express Invites (Front of the Line) offer came out today. Tickets for Ed Sheeran in 7 Canadian cities this July. Find out more at Amex Invites

Posts since our last update:

• Marriott Rewards Member Exclusive Sale for stays in Canada - must book by March 19
  Marriott Hotels has a new sale for its Marriott Rewards members (free to join of course!) for stays at…
• Up to 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert hotel loyalty program points to Aeroplan
  We see the return of another Aeroplan conversion bonus! Just like the offer seen last November this one only…

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert Hotel loyalty programs points to Aeroplan Miles. More... Until Apr 17, 16
- 25% Aeroplan Miles when you add an eligible in‑store item to your Esso fuel purchase in the same transaction. More... Until Apr 1, 17


Other Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- 50% Bonus Club Premier Points when you convert Best Western Rewards Points to Club Premier. More... Until Mar 31, 17
- Triple Club Premier Points per stay at Camino Real properties in Mexico More... Until Apr 30, 17

Delta SkyMiles
- Up to 2,000 Bonus SkyMiles plus 3 SkyMiles per dollar spent for your first airbnb stay. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Etihad Guest
- Earn up to 2,600 Bonus Guest Miles when you join Heathrow Rewards and shop at Heathrow. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up Triple Fortune Wings Points when you rent at Hertz locations in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- Double iPrefer Points and up to 30% off 3 or more nights when you book The Stay More, Save More offer sat participating Preferred Hotel Group Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 31, 17

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles and 3rd night free when you stay at the Fairmont Chengdu. More... Until Apr 30, 17
- 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles for stay of 2 or more nights at Sino/Fullerton Hotels in Hong Kong and Singapore. More... Until Apr 30, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Marriott Rewards Member Exclusive Sale for stays in Canada - must book by March 19

Marriott Hotels has a new sale for its Marriott Rewards members (free to join of course!) for stays at 60 of their locations in Canada! Simply book by March 19 for some of their lowest rates of the season for stays from March 31 to May 31, 2017.

Click here for a complete listing of all the hotels participating and to book the offer.

Just some of the hotels that are participating:

Up to 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert hotel loyalty program points to Aeroplan

We see the return of another Aeroplan conversion bonus! Just like the offer seen last November this one only focuses on hotel loyalty program transfers and offers up to a 30% bonus. Like all of Aeroplan's conversion bonuses of late you don't have to convert all at once rather they will tally all of transfers made by the end of the promotion and then you will be rewarded with a bonus that corresponds with the number of Aeroplan miles you earned from those transfers. The transfer levels and their corresponding bonus are as follows:

Most of Aeroplan's hotel partners are participating in the promotion so you can convert from any of the following to add to your final tally:

Your best bet for transfers is Starwood Preferred Guest of course since they transfer 1 to 1 to Aeroplan and if you transfer 20,000 Starpoints at one time SPG will throw in an additional 5,000 miles for 25,000 Aeroplan miles. With the conversion bonus you are actually looking at adding at least 20% to that so you'll get 30,000 Aeroplan Miles for the 20,000 Starpoints. Those 30K miles can get you two short haul tickets so you can see the potential value in transferring Starpoints to Aeroplan. In fact if you can get to the 200,000 mile level in transfers from one or more of their hotel partners you'll end up with 260,000 Aeroplan Miles which is more than enough miles for two business class tickets to Europe. Some of you may find great value in that.

Another route to look at is Marriott Rewards Hotel+Air package options. These are the packages where you can redeem Marriott Rewards points for free nights at their hotels plus a certain amount of airline miles.  For Aeroplan the Hotel+Air package looks like this:

If you are sitting on 270,000 or more Marriott Rewards points you can end up with 7 nights at a Category 1-5 hotel plus 150,000 Aeroplan Miles (120,000 + 25% bonus)

Of course if you have points sitting in other hotel programs that you may never use or are about to expire you should look at transferring them to Aeroplan so that you actually get some value out of them!

Offer details:
Earn up to 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert Hotel loyalty programs points to Aeroplan Miles.  Full details Until Apr 17, 16
- 20% bonus when you convert 2,500 to 99,999 miles worth of points
- 25% bonus when you convert 100,000 to 199,999 miles worth of points
- 30% bonus when you convert 200,000+ miles worth of points

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