March 15 Update: The Ultimate "I have no idea what travel rewards I want" Credit Card portfolio and lots more!

News, Tips & Tricks
We released our ninth Ultimate Credit Card Portfolio today! This one looks at cards that you should grab if you have great credit and the means to spend lots on your cards but have no idea where or when or how you want to travel. You just know that you want to travel eventually. Find out what the "The Ultimate "I have no idea what travel rewards I want" Credit Card portfolio!" is. You can read about the other eight portfolios here

We finally got around to updating our Credit Card Comparison chart for Business cards. Not too much has changed although there are higher sign up bonuses for the following cards:

• American Express® AIR MILES® for Business Charge Card
• Business Platinum Card from American Express
• BMO Gold AIR Miles MasterCard for Business
• ScotiaGold Passport® for business VISA* travel card
  
  You can check out the updated chart here.

There is a Best Western Rewards Elite Status upgrade that can come with one stay in Central Europe. We are not sure if it is limited to residents of that area so we didn't add the offer to our BW Rewards page but thought we'd still give it a mention just in case you have a stay in the region coming up and wanted to give it a try. We did post it on our global site of course where you can find the details of this offer.

Posts since our last update:

• 2,500 Bonus Gold Points for Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn by Radisson or Quorvus Hotels stays Worldwide
  Carlson Rezidor has brought back their Dream Deals offer! Each stay at Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn by Radisson…
• Last day to register for Starwood Preferred Guest Double Take - Double Points + more for stays Worldwide until April 15
    Today is the last day to register for the current Starwood Preferred Guest Double Take promotion where you can…
• Last day to register for Marriott Rewards MegaBonus - Double Points Worldwide until April 15
  Today is the last day to register for the current Marriott Rewards MegaBonus where you can earn double points on…
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 5x Miles + 15% off Fairmont Hotel stays of 2+ nights
  Offer details Earn 5X Asia Miles and receive 15% off the best available rate for stays of 2 or…

Travel Deals
Qatar Airways has a new business class seat sale for their flights out of Montreal. Book by Mar 19 for travel until Jun 30. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A




Other Bonus Offers
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 2,500 Bonus Gold Points and up to 30% off stays at Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn and Quorvus Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Mar 26 for stays Apr 1 - Jun 18, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn 5X Asia Miles and receive 15% off the best available rate for stays of 2 or more nights at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. More... Book by Apr 30 for stays until Jun 30, 17
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at any one of 19 participating Millennium Hotels & Resorts in Asia. More... Until May 31, 17
- Double Asia Miles on all hotel stays booked via Rocketmiles. Full details and online booking.  More... Book by Jun 15, 17
- Double Asia Miles when you rent a car with Rentalscars.com. More... Book by Jun 15, 17

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- 50% Fortune Wings Discount for award flight redemptions on Hainan Airlines between Europe and China. More... Until Apr 30, 17
- Fortune Wings Status Match Challenge - If you currently hold elite status on any other airline or airline alliance, with a platinum or higher elite credit card status on bank, you can participate in the Fortune Wings Club Elite Challenge to earn Fortune Wings Club elite (VIP) status. More... Until Dec 31, 17

La Quinta Returns
- Up to a 25% Discount when you buy or gift La Quinta Returns points. More... Until Apr 21, 17

SriLankan FlySmiles
- Double FlySmiles when you rent a car at participating Hertz locations for 3 or more days in USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, or New Zealand More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Jul 31, 17

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Double Victoria Miles for Sixt car rentals in Portugal. More... Until Apr 30, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

2,500 Bonus Gold Points for Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn by Radisson or Quorvus Hotels stays Worldwide

Carlson Rezidor has brought back their Dream Deals offer! Each stay at Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn by Radisson or Quorvus Hotels booked via the offer page will net you 2,500 bonus points and up to 30% off the best available rate.
 
Offer details:

2,500 Bonus Gold Points and up to 30% off stays at Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Park Inn and Quorvus Hotels Worldwide. Full details and online booking  Book by Mar 26 for stays Apr 1 - Jun 18, 17

Find many more Club Carlson bonus point offers on our main site! 

Participating Canadian locations:

Last day to register for Starwood Preferred Guest Double Take - Double Points + more for stays Worldwide until April 15

 

Today is the last day to register for the current Starwood Preferred Guest Double Take promotion where you can earn double points on your first three stays with the program and then additional points for stays afterwards. Even if you don't have any stays planned yet make sure you register and then you can book and stay right up until April 15th!

Offer details:
Double Starpoints + Additional Starpoints when you stay at Starwood Hotels Worldwide. Awarded on your first 3 stays during the promotional period. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required)  Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17
Additional bonus varies by member but here is an example:
Starting on your fourth stay, you can earn up to 10,000 bonus Starpoints®:

• Achieve 10 nights and you'll earn 5,000 Starpoints.
• After 10 nights earn 500 Starpoints for each additional night, up to 5,000 Starpoints

Find many more SPG bonus offers here!

Last day to register for Marriott Rewards MegaBonus - Double Points Worldwide until April 15

Today is the last day to register for the current Marriott Rewards MegaBonus where you can earn double points on your first three stays with the program. Even if you don't have any stays planned yet make sure you register and then you can book and stay right up until April 15th!

Offer details:
Double Rewards Points when you stay at Marriott Hotels Worldwide. Awarded on your first 3 stays during the promotional period. Full Details, Online Registration and Booking (Registration is required) Register by Mar 15 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 17

Find many more Marriott Rewards bonus offers here!

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 5x Miles + 15% off Fairmont Hotel stays of 2+ nights

Offer details

Earn 5X Asia Miles and receive 15% off the best available rate for stays of 2 or more nights at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Full details and online booking. Book by Apr 30 for stays until Jun 30, 17

• Earn an additional 300 Asia Miles if you are not an Asia Miles member yet and join the program to take advantage of the stay bonus

Find many more Asia Miles bonus mile offers here.

Participating Hotels:

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