April 20 Update: 5,000 Bonus Miles for your 1st Alaska Airlines flight, awesome KLM Business Class sale, 500 Bonus Marriott Rewards points in Banff

News, Tips & Tricks
In the bonus offers section be sure to check out the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan first flight bonus. If you are not a member of the program be sure to join by April 30 and then take your first flight with them or Virgin America by September 30th to earn 5,000 bonus miles. As we told you towards the end of 2016, flights between Western Canada and Seattle start at only 5,000 miles one way so the bonus covers that!

Posts since our last update:

• Hotel Review: TownePlace Suites by Marriott Edmonton South
  Volleyball had us back up in Edmonton again and this time we got to try out the brand-new Townplace Suites…
• Receive WestJet Rewards Gold Elite Status when you complete multiple flights between Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Boston
   WestJet is targeting business travellers out East with their latest Fast Track to Gold Elite Status offer. WestJet Rewards members…
• WestJet announces intent to launch ultra-low-cost carrier
  In what probably can been seen as another strike at ultra low cost carrier newleaf, WestJet surprised many today…

Travel Deals
KLM has brought back their amazing business class sale for flights from Canada to Europe and beyond! You can fly in style for as little as $2,789 all in! Simply book by May 3 for travel ALL SUMMER! Find out more and book here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
Marriott Rewards
- 500 Bonus Points per stay, any night Sunday-Thursday at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Banff Royal Canadian Lodge. More... Until May 1, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines
- 5,000 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you join the Mileage Plan program and complete one flight on Alaska or Virgin America by Sep 30. More... Join by Apr 30 for travel by Sep 30, 17

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 115,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you buy miles. More... Until Apr 28, 17

Delta SkyMiles
- 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles for each new participating SkyMiles partner you earn miles with. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- 40% Fortune Wings Discount for award flight redemptions on Hainan Airlines from Los Angeles to Chengdu and Chongqing. More... Until May 31, 17

JAL Mileage Bank
- Earn up to 100% Bonus Mileage Bank miles when you fly on select SriLankan Airlines flights. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Miles & More
- Triple Miles & More Miles for stays at participating Sofitel, MGallery by Sofitel and Pullman hotels Worldwide. More... May 1 - Jul 31, 17

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Earn up to Quadruple Frequent Flyer Points for stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jul 31, 17

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- 2,000 Bonus Flying Club Miles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Jun 30, 17


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Hotel Review: TownePlace Suites by Marriott Edmonton South

Volleyball had us back up in Edmonton again and this time we got to try out the brand-new TownePlace Suites by Marriott Edmonton South. This hotel is on the very south end of the city at the corner of Ellerslie Road and Gateway Boulevard. The hotel is only opened about 2 1/2 weeks prior to us staying here so it's very clean and has that brand new feeling.

This was our first stay at a TownePlace Suites and while not fancy, the suites themselves were very nice. Most of the team parents commented on how they liked the hotel and is perfect for teams.

We had a two queen room with lots of space, a big bathroom and if I had to stay for long time this is  very good hotel to do so. We only stayed two nights, so didn't make use of the kitchen other than the fridge to store drinks, snacks and the team's lunches.

Checking in on the Friday afternoon was a bit of a mess as there were quite a few people checking in. We have to give the check in agents credit as our team had submitted a list of names of all the girls that were to stay in each of the team rooms and somehow those got mixed up. They worked diligently to clear it all up and they did so. Not to mention we had heard this was their busiest weekend since their opening as they had our volleyball team plus a couple of lacrosse teams and all your regular guests. So it does sound like they were  quite busy.

Here are pictures of the two queen room:

Included with each stay is a complimentary continental breakfast with some hot items. Have to say like many hotels with these types of breakfasts the food is edible but nothing to write home about. Of course the best option that all the kids from the team enjoyed is the fresh waffle maker!

Overall another decent Marriott brand stay for the Rewards Canada family. We have now stayed at three of the four hotels at the intersection of Ellerslie and Gateway and probably would rank this number 2. The first being the Four Points by Sheraton and third would be the Best Western Plus. If you have plans to stay on the south side of Edmonton I can't really say anything bad about the TownePlace Suites as it served its purpose well and our stay there was enjoyable.

Hotel details
TownePlace Suites Edmonton South (Book here)
Marriott Rewards Category: 2
Points required for a free night (Standard) 10,000 Points
Points required for a free night (PointSaver) 7,500 Points
Cash+Points Requirement: 5,000 Points + US$50 per night for standard rooms
You can use your anniversary bonus of a free night in a Category 1-5 hotel from the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa Card here as well.

Talk to us! Have you stayed at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Edmonton South? What are your thoughts of the hotel? Or are you planning to and looking forward to it? Let us know below!

Receive WestJet Rewards Gold Elite Status when you complete multiple flights between Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Boston

 WestJet is targeting business travellers out East with their latest Fast Track to Gold Elite Status offer. WestJet Rewards members who register for the promotion will be awarded Gold Elite Status when they complete 10 round trips (or 20 one way flights) on Eastern Triangle routes and to Boston and New York LGA.

If you complete the challenge you'll get Gold Elite status for 12 months. Gold Elite status brings you the following:

• earn 5% back in WestJet dollars on future flights flown
• free first and second checked bag
• 10 complimentary airport lounge vouchers
• 4 advance seat selection vouchers
• advance boarding (Zone 1)
• no fee for same-day flight changes at check-in
• priority security screening (at select airports)

Offer details
Receive WestJet Rewards Gold Elite status when you complete 10 round trip flights (or 20 one way) on select flights between Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Boston. Register online (Registration is required)

Travel: To/from these eligible select routes:

• Toronto and Boston
• Toronto and Montreal
• Toronto and New York LaGuardia
• Toronto and Ottawa

• Montreal and Boston (via Toronto)
• Montreal and New York LaGuardia (via Toronto)
• Montreal and Toronto

• Ottawa to Boston (via Toronto)
• Ottawa and New York LaGuardia (via Toronto)
• Ottawa and Toronto 

Of course if 10/20 flights are out of your reach but want some benefits of Gold Status like the first bag checked for free we recommend grabbing the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard.

WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard

$250 WestJet dollars Bonus + Annual $99/$299/$399 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
- Companion flight vouchers are an annual benefit.
- First bag free for the primary cardholder up to 8 people traveling on the same reservation to anywhere WestJet flies!

WestJet announces intent to launch ultra-low-cost carrier

In what probably can been seen as another strike at ultra low cost carrier newleaf, WestJet surprised many today with their announcement that they intend to launch a new ultra low cost airline!

WestJet today announced its intention to launch a new, ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) in Canada subject to agreement with its pilots and any required regulatory approvals. Service is expected to start in late 2017 with an initial fleet of 10 high-density Boeing 737-800s designed by the airline that first brought low-cost air travel to Canada in 1996. The ULCC will provide Canadians with no-frills, lower-cost travel options.

"We have built WestJet from its low-cost, regional roots into a renowned, international airline with service to 21 countries and today it's all about disrupting at the price-sensitive end of the market," said Clive Beddoe, co-founder of WestJet and Chair of the Board of the Directors. "Launching a ULCC will broaden WestJet's growth opportunities and open new market segments by offering more choice to those Canadians looking for lower fares."

"The worldview on low-cost airlines has changed since the launch of WestJet in 1996 and we are responding," commented Gregg Saretsky, WestJet President and CEO. "The complete unbundling of services and products in order to lower fares for the price-sensitive traveller has created the ULCC category and our new airline will provide Canadians a pro-competitive, cheap and cheerful flying experience from a company with a proven track record."

I really don't know what to say but if history in the Canadian airline marketplace is any indication then WestJet will have an uphill battle with this one. Remember Air Canada's Tango? Air Canada Zip? JetsGo? CanJet, Greyhound Air? They all were attempting something similar, although at the time it would have been only called low cost carriers (LCC) which WestJet was and still calls themselves but in reality they are now a full fledged regular airline.

There are still lots of questions to be answered and we'll get those when they release more details but are newleaf and Air Canada's Rouge really having that much of an impact on WestJet that they need to go this route? Other questions will be can you earn and redeem WestJet dollars on the new ULCC (the smart move would be yes, but probably at a lower earn rate), will you be able to interline between the ULCC and WestJet (probably not as that adds costs) and many more!

Read the whole press release here.

What are all your thoughts on today's announcement from WestJet?

April 19 Update: Podcast Episode 22 is out, apply for and use the WestJet RBC card during booking & great BA fares out of YYC

News, Tips & Tricks
The 22nd episode of the Rewards Canada Weekly Round Up Podcast was released yesterday! We cover the IHG Rewards Club Spring Promo, discuss using WestJet Reward dollars on Delta Airlines flights and go into more detail on Give A Mile! You can listen to and download the podcast here!

WestJet took a very interesting and market leading step in terms of applying for and using their WestJet RBC credit card! Now for mobile bookings on the WestJet app you'll be able to apply for the credit card during the booking process and if you are instantly approved you can use the card right there and then to pay for that WestJet purchase! The same feature will be rolled out for desktop bookings later this Spring. (Source WestJet)

Posts since our last update:

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Travel Deals
British Airways is offering some amazing economy class fares between Calgary and London. Fares start as low as $623 all in round trip!. Find out more and book here.

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers
ANA Mileage Club
- Earn up to Quadruple Mileage Club Miles on all stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 6x Asia Miles when you book with National car rental at participating locations in the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain with minimum 3 days rental. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Miles & More
- Triple Miles & More Miles & a $20 voucher for stays at participating Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts in Asia. More... May 1 - Jul 15, 17

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- 2,000 QMiles per night for stays at the Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel in a superior room. More... Until May 31, 17
- 1,000 Bonus QMiles, room upgrade and comp breakfast for stays of 2+ nights at Marriott Hotels in Dubai. More... Until May 31, 17
- Earn up to Quadruple QMiles for stays at all participating Minor Hotels (Anantara, AVANI and Tivoli) Worlwide. More... Until Dec 31, 17
- Triple QMiles for stays at participating Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts in the Middle East. More... May 20 - Aug 31, 17
- Triple QMiles for stays at the Oryx Rotana Doha. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Earn up to 100,000 Starpoints for SPG Pro members when you book events at any of more than 1,300 hotels and resorts participating in the SPG® program. More... Book by Oct 31 for events until Dec 31, 17


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April 13 Update: Priority Pass gets access to Minute Suites, 1,000 Bonus HawaiianMiles at Coast Hotels, More Rewards Cruise Bonus

News, Tips & Tricks 
Priority Pass, the world's largest airport business class lounge access service is going beyond just your typical lounges now. Sometime ago they added credits for dining at an airport restaurant in the U.K. and now they have added four Minute Suites locations in the U.S.

We are pleased to announce that Priority Pass has now secured access for our Members to four new Minute Suites at the following airports:

• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Terminal B
• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Terminal A and Terminal D
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Concourse B

Open 24 hours daily, Minute Suites offer Members 1 hour access per visit to one of these private airport suites per visit. This unique lounge alternative provides a retreat within the airport, enabling Members to relax, conduct business and even sleep in comfortable, private suites between flights or during long delays. 

This is really good news for members travelling through these airports who have a longer layover or just want something different than your standard airport lounge. To learn more about Priority Pass be sure to read our Guide to Business Class Lounge access

There is one bonus to let you know about that won't be listed on the main Rewards Canada site. The bonus is for Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles members and of course Hawaiian Airlines doesn't serve Canada but this bonus may be relevant to some of you. Until the end of May, HawaiianMiles members will earn 1,000 bonus miles per stay at Coast Hotels. There's the connection you see? Coast Hotels is a Western Canadian hotel chain with locations in Western Canada and the U.S. and I know some of you do frequent their hotels. Normal earn rate is 200 miles per night. If you complete 7 stays before the end of May you'd earn 1,700 base miles and 7,000 bonus miles. That's enough for an inter-island flight within Hawaii and we know many of you who vacation there do like to island jump. So this offer may work for you if your travel habits fit this profile! Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Flying Canadian North? Remember that you can do a rare mileage earning double dip!
  A tip for our readers who are planning to fly Canadian North, whether it's from Edmonton or Ottawa to the…
• Hotel Review: Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa
  Recently the Rewards Can

Canadian Bonus Offers
More Rewards
- 10,000 Bonus More Rewards Points when you book a 9-night Northern Lights Voyage from Hurtigruten Cruises. More... Book by May 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to Triple Phoenix Miles on all stays at participating Hilton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles when you book and stay at any Swissôtel property with a minimum 2-night stay. More... Book by May 15 for stays until Jun 30, 17
- 6x Asia Miles when you book with Alamo at participating locations of USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain with minimum 3 days rental. More... Until Jun 30, 17

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Double Mileage Bank miles when you fly Cathay Pacific/Cathay Dragon between Hong Kong and select cities in China & Taiwan. More... May 1 - Jul 8, 17

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles for all stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 17

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Flying Canadian North? Remember that you can do a rare mileage earning double dip!

A tip for our readers who are planning to fly Canadian North, whether it's from Edmonton or Ottawa to the North, vice versa or from one Northern town to another, you can double dip your earnings on these flights.

We've mentioned it before on the site but wanted to remind you all that if your travels do take you on Canadian North, you can earn both Aurora Rewards Points and Aeroplan miles on these flights. This is very rare for any frequent flyer program globally as the normal rule of thumb is that you can only earn miles in one airline program per flight you take. For example you fly on Delta Airlines you can choose to earn Delta's SkyMiles or Korean SKYPASS Miles or any other SkyTeam airline program miles but you can't earn in more than one of them. You have to choose one and one only. Well count ourselves lucky but Canadian North is the only airline in the world that we know of that will actually let you earn in two programs for the same flight.

Normally double dips require some sort of bonus to be achieved but flights as you can see flying on Canadian North does not.  Of course throw in the fact that you should use a point/miles earning credit card for the actual flight booking and you're earning even more mile/points so every flight should be a triple dip (Aurora Rewards / Aeroplan / Credit Card) Then on top of that Canadian North do run the occasional flight bonus offer which then would make it a quadruple dip! Whew! That's a lot of ways you can earn miles/points for just one flight!

For your information here are the points/miles you'll earn for each Canadian North flight:

Aurora Rewards:

Aeroplan:

So next time you fly on Canadian North make sure you are earning both Aurora Rewards Points and Aeroplan miles!

Hotel Review: Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa

Recently the Rewards Canada family enjoyed another vacation in Southern California! During this Spring Break trip we had two hotel stays, one was at the Loews Santa Monica (which I'm not doing a review of) and the other was in Newport Beach where we stayed at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa. The hotel is really nice and while on the outside it may seem old, the interiors appear to have been renovated recently. The hotel lobby, grounds, pools and the rooms in general were up to date and clean.

For our stay we had a two double direct ocean view room connected to a single king room. The size of the two rooms combined was great for our family of four.  The king room is bigger than the two double room which is surprising, you'd think it would be the other way around! Maybe this little tidbit of info can help you out if you are planning on booking this hotel! The rooms we received were on the 7th floor of the main tower that house the hotel lobby, restaurant, Starbucks and more. The double room had a tub in the bathroom and the king had a walk in shower. The pictures I have for this review are of the king room with the walk-in shower. 

 
The direct ocean view was facing towards the Pacific Ocean of course, although that is a few miles away. You do have a view right on the golf course and the main pool area.

Speaking of pools, the resort has three pools in total. Two that are open to all and a third for the spa. The thing is though everybody has to pay the resort fee for staying here and that resort fee includes access to the spa pool. The resort fee also covered internet, access to the spa steam room and two bike rentals for two hours per day.  What was great about our stay as well was that we were there during the midweek and the only people that seemed to be at the hotel were conference goers which meant the pools were dead and it was like we had the resort to ourselves.

Seeing that both my wife and I are Marriott Elites we had access to the club lounge. We only visited the lounge once during our three night stay because they provided free water in the hotel room anyways and it was quite a jaunt to go there for snacks and drinks as the lounge is in a separate building because there are two towers that make up the hotel.

 
The only negative part about our stay at this hotel was the service at the Hook and Spear Restaurant and Lounge. Since the resort was quiet there was no pool service for food and drinks which meant I had go to the restaurant for drinks. On one occasion all the doors were open and no one was in the restaurant. I walked into the lounge and there was a lady setting up the lounge as it was about to open. She told me I have to go to the restaurant to order drinks. I went back there and had to wait until somebody actually showed up. The waitress took my order and ended up going to the lady who was setting up the lounge to make the drinks. Suffice to say about 15 - 20 minutes of my time was wasted just waiting to get the drinks ordered.  We did eat at the restaurant once for lunch and once for breakfast and overall the food was pretty decent but I must say the service was spotty.

The location of the hotel is ideal for those wanting to explore the Southern California beach towns of Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Laguna Beach. All are within about a 1/2 hour to 3/4 hour drive. It is also located right next to Newport Beach's Fashion Island shopping center. Of course being with three girls, the mall was thoroughly enjoyed and also offers some great dining options including Rick Bayless' Red O Restaurant which we did dine at one night and would recommend to anyone wanting his take on Mexican cuisine.

Overall thoughts 
This hotel turned out to be better than we had expected and would recommend it for families, solo travelers and generally any one else who needs or wants to stay in the Newport Beach area especially if you are loyal to Marriott Rewards or Starwood Preferred Guest. There are several buildings with what appear to be various room/bed options so I can't speak to the other accommodations on site but the direct ocean views in the main building are definitely a good choice if you want to stay here. With three pools, the golf course, shopping, bike rentals etc. the hotel offers up the best of both worlds, that is the amenities of a city center hotel and a beach resort all in one. You really can't ask for much more.


Hotel details
Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa (Book here)
Marriott Rewards Category: 8
Points required for a free night (Standard) 40,000 Points
Points required for a free night (PointSaver) 35,000 Points
Cash+Points Requirement: 24,500 Points + US$145 per night for standard rooms

Talk to us! Have you stayed at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa? What are your thoughts of the hotel? Or are you planning to and looking forward to it? Let us know below!