June 21 Update: Meridian Visa Infinite added to site, Ultimate British Airways portfolio

News, Tips & Tricks
We've added the Meridian Visa Infinite Travel Rewards Card to our Credit Card Comparison charts. This credit union based card is a relative newcomer to the market and runs somewhere near the middle of the pack of travel rewards cards. From what we can tell it has an OK return for travel at about 1.5% on all purchases, 3% on Foreign Currency purchases (that also include a 2.5% foreign transaction fee) and really strong out of province medical insurance of up to 48 days! You have to redeem via Meridian Travel Rewards and they don't state the actual redemption rate for travel (it's always a scary proposition when a proprietary credit card program doesn't tell you that before you apply, or make it hard to find) We went to the Meridian Rewards site and you can start a travel booking but only get one step in where it gives you a 'from this many points' for booking a flight. That's where we came up with the ~1.5% but in fact it might be lower since because of that word they use 'from'. Anyways you can check out the card on the following two comparison charts of ours:

• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: All Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Travel Points Credit Cards

We will be adding several other Meridian cards to our site over the coming weeks

FYI this post has been updated as we removed the RBC/Esso news. Apparently Esso was not supposed to have sent out an email... yet and there is some incorrect information in it. RBC told us they'll advise us when everything is nailed down so that we can pass along the info.

Posts since our last update:

• The Ultimate British Airways Executive Club Credit Card portfolio!
  In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for earning British…
• Aeroplan Star Partner Locator now available online
  Aeroplan reached out to us last night to pass along some great news for award bookings on their Star Alliance…

Travel Deals
Loews Hotels: Save 20% off the best available rate for stays of 2 or more nights this summer. Find out more here

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- 1,000 Aeroplan Miles and Save 50% on the ValetParc rates when you park for a minimum of 7 consecutive days at Aeroports De Montreal. More... Until Sep 5, 17

Other Bonus Offers

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at Marco Polo Hotels across 11 cities in China, Hong Kong and the Philippines. More... Until Aug 31, 17

IHG Rewards Club
- Up to 100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. Bonus varies by member from 50% to 100%. More... Until Jul 12, 17

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Double JPMiles when you stay on the Linger Longer offer for 2 or more days at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17
- Earn up to Quadruple JPMiles for stays of 2 or more nights at Shangri-La hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 17

Jumeirah Sirius
- 2,000 Bonus Sirius Points for stays of 2 or more nights on the Family Break offer at Jumeirah Hotels in Dubai, Maldives and Kuwait. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Double Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Caribe Royale Orlando. More... Until Sep 30, 17
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Lenox Hotel Boston. More... Until Sep 6, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

The Ultimate British Airways Executive Club Credit Card portfolio!

In this feature of Rewards Canada' Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for earning British Airways Executive Club Avios. Avios is the currency of BAEC much like most programs have miles or points. We have always recommended that you should carry a Visa, a MasterCard and an American Express card in your wallet. The reason why is that there benefits, promotions and earning potential unique to each brand of credit card. We won't go into detail here as you can read all about it in our feature on how to Maximize your Miles and Points but here we outline one card from each brand that will help you build up those Avios faster than ever. Ultimately there are various options that could be utilized for an Avios portfolio but we look at one card from each issuing family that won't totally break the bank on annual fees but will provide strong Avios earning along with very strong insurance benefits.

What is Rewards Canada's Ultimate British Airways Executive Club Credit Card Wallet?
Continue reading this article on the main Rewards Canada website to find out!

Aeroplan Star Partner Locator now available online

Aeroplan reached out to us last night to pass along some great news for award bookings on their Star Alliance partners.

Aeroplan members now have access to the STAR PNR online which eliminates the need to call the Contact Centre to select seats on Star carriers. By now seeing your actual Star Carrier PNR you can go straight to that carrier's website and use the PNR provided by Aeroplan to select your seats.

Definitely makes the process of seat selection and even check in on these partners much easier. While it is Star Alliance at this time one can assume that having this system in place right now will allow Aeroplan to provide with whichever airlines they continue to partner with or add as partners come 2020.

June 20 Update: New Holiday Inn opens in Montreal, 400 Free Best Buy Rewards Zone points, $20 off Avianca flights

News, Tips & Tricks

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) opened their newest hotel in Canada last week. The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites® Montreal Centre-ville West located in downtown Montreal is their 16th location in Quebec.

This urban hotel is located steps away from the Bell Center, Place du Canada and Old Montreal, making it the perfect destination for business travelers, families and vacationers. The hotel encompasses 15 floors of a high-rise multi-use building that also includes apartments. The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Montreal Centre-ville West features an Indoor salted swimming pool with steam bath and whirlpool, Fully-equipped fitness center and Guests can enjoy delicious Southern Italian and American cuisine at Le Restaurant Crossbar

Best Buy is offering 400 Best Buy Rewards Zone points for continuing to subscribe to their emails. Not sure if everyone is getting this or only select members. Be sure to check your email for it.

We've updated the latest offers for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite and Infinite Privilege cards across our site. Right now the cards are at their absolute base offers with no additional incentives. Unless you really need the cards we would hold off on getting one until higher sign bonuses and/or first year free return on the cards!

Posts since our last update:

• Up to 500 Bonus AIR MILES when you book a hotel stay via the AIR MILES Travel Hub
  Another bonus for booking hotels via the AIR MILES Travel Hub! The AIR MILES Travel Hub, a is a…

Travel Deals
 
Avianca has a promo code so that you can save $20 on their flights out of Toronto. Simply use MILES during the check out process to save US$20. You have to be an Avianca LifeMiles member which is free to join. Must be used by June 25th for booking made via avianca.com.

Canadian Bonus Offers

AIR MILES (Canada)
- Earn up to 500 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles on your next hotel stay booked via the AIR MILES Travel Hub. More...Book by Jul 7 for stays until Sep 30, 17

Other Bonus Offers

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles on all your hotel stays booked via Kaligo. More... Book by May 15 for stays until Nov 30, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 10% Bonus Asia Miles when you book tickets or travel packages through the Cathay Pacific website or Cathay Pacific app for flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon, originating in Australia/Hong Kong/the United States and travelling to all destinations within Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon network. More... Book by Aug 31, 17
- Quadruple Asia Miles for stays on the Éclat Suite Package at the Hotel Éclat Taipei. More... Until Sep 30, 17

Hainan Fortune Wings
- Triple Fortune Wings Points when you stay for 2+ nights at Regal or iClub hotels in Hong Kong, Shanghai or Foshan. More... Until Aug 31, 17

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer miles and other exclusive benefits, when you stay on a qualifying rate at participating Mandarin Oriental hotels in Macau, Miami, Milan, Paris and Sanya. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- Double KrisFlyer miles for stays at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore, Marina Mandarin Singapore or the Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa, Langkawi. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- 1,000 bonus KrisFlyer miles when you stay for a minimum of two nights at participating Millennium Hotels and Resorts properties in Asia. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- Double KrisFlyer miles when you stay for a minimum of two nights at participating Preferred Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 18
- Double KrisFlyer miles on hotel stays booked via Rocketmiles. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- Earn up to Quadruple KrisFlyer Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at Shangri-La hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Up to 500 Bonus AIR MILES when you book a hotel stay via the AIR MILES Travel Hub

Another bonus for booking hotels via the AIR MILES Travel Hub! The AIR MILES Travel Hub, a is a hotel booking engine powered by PointsHound.com and allows AIR MILES Collectors to book stays at more than 150,000 hotels and all-inclusive resorts around the world and earn additional AIR MILES Reward Miles for those stays. As always with third party booking options there are pros and cons to booking with them. The pros are that you can earn miles at hotels that you may not normally earn any miles or points at (ie independent boutique hotels) and you can earn miles at hotels that are not normally associated with that loyalty program (ie a chain that does not partner with AIR MILES). The cons are that you may not be getting the best price (always compare with sites like Trivago, Expedia etc.), you may not earn hotel points or elite qualification (many hotel programs do not award points for booking via OTA's and third party sites) and you may not receive hotel elite status perks like late check out, upgrades etc.

Now, if you book a stay via the AIR MILES Travel Hub you'll receive up to an additional 500 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles if you make your booking by July 7th for stays until We value AIR MILES as roughly 11 to 15 cents each so you could get a return as high as $75 if you spend more than $300 on your hotel stay.

Offer details
Earn up to 500 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles on your next hotel stay booked via the AIR MILES Travel Hub. Get 250 Bonus Miles when you spend $100-$299 or 500 Bonus Miles when you spend $300 or more on your hotel stay. Full details and online booking Book by Jul 7 for stays until Sep 30, 17

Find more AIR MILE bonus offers here!

June 19 Update: Fly Canadian North to Northern Festivals & earn double points, up to 100 bonus AIR MILES at Rexall this weekend

News, Tips & Tricks
Earn up to 100 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you shop at Rexall this weekend. The more you spend the bigger the bonus.

Posts since our last update:

• Save up to 15% on Starwood stays in Canada with their Celebrate Canada 150 SPG offer
  We're only a few weeks away from our 150th Birthday and the offers to celebrate keep coming! Now Starwood…

Canadian Bonus Offers
Canadian North Aurora Rewards
- Double Aurora Rewards Points when you book Canadian North flights to the Alianait Arts Festival, Folk on the Rocks or the Great Northern Arts Festival.  Remember you also earn Aeroplan miles on Canadian North flights along with the Aurora Rewards poitns. More... Book by June 19!

Other Bonus Offers
Aeroflot Bonus
- Double Bonus Miles for stays at the Barvikha Hotel & Spa. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Miles for stays at Marriott Hotels in Europe. More... Until Sep 6, 17
- Double Bonus Miles for stays at the Garden Ring Hotel Moscow. More... Until Sep 10, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to Quadruple Avios when you stay 2 or more nights at any participating Shangri-La hotel, resort Kerry hotel, Hotel Jen and Traders hotel. More... Until Aug 31, 17
- Earn up to 8,800 Bonus Avios when you subscribe to The Economist. More... Until Jul 31, 17

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Asia Miles when you fly with Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon between Korea and Hong Kong. More... For residents of South Korea only Until Jul 31, 17
- Double Asia Miles for stays at any one of 26 participating Hyatt Hotels and Resorts in Asia Pacific. More... Book by Sep 30 for stays Jul 1 - Oct 31, 17

Hyatt World of Hyatt
- Fast Track to World of Hyatt Elite Status - Members and Discoverists can enjoy many of the benefits of Explorist status immediately for 90 days with our Elite Tier offer. Your trial membership offers access to rewards like 20% Bonus Points, upgraded rooms, complimentary premium Internet and more. More... Register by Sep 30, 17

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- 3,000 JPMiles on Avis rentals of 2 days or more in Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia (excluding India), USA and Canada. More... Book by Jul 31 for rentals until Dec 31, 17

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles for stays at at Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Maldives. More... Until Aug 31, 17
- Europcar Status Match - Receive status in the Europcar Privilege Programme that is equal to your status in the Miles & More program. More... Until ?

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer miles when you stay on a qualifying rate for a minimum of two nights in participating Harbour Plaza hotels. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- Earn 3X KrisFlyer miles when you stay for at least two consecutive nights on a qualifying rate at Hard Rock Hotel Bali. More... Until Jul 31, 17
- Double KrisFlyer miles when you stay on the “Linger Longer” offer at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Save up to 15% on Starwood stays in Canada with their Celebrate Canada 150 SPG offer

We're only a few weeks away from our 150th Birthday and the offers to celebrate keep coming! Now Starwood has come into the mix with their special promotion for stays across our great nation. It doesn't involve any bonus points although you can register for several offers via our SPG Bonus Points page and then come back here to take advantage of this offer. The offer provides up to 15% off Starwood Hotel stays (Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, Aloft, Element etc.) across Canada until the end of the year! You can find out more about this sale and book it right here!

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June 15 Update: SkyTeam to open business class lounge in Vancouver, free Porter VIPorter points for email confirmation + 8 new bonuses

News, Tips & Tricks

The SkyTeam alliance has announced they will be opening their own lounge in Vancouver! This will be the alliance's first lounge in North America that is branded specifically for SkyTeam. This will be the 7th SkyTeam globally and should get lots of use seeing that 9 of the 20 member airlines serve Vancouver! All the more reason for WestJet to join SkyTeam! (Source SkyTeam) Excerpt from the press release:

CANCUN, June 12, 2017 - SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, is taking its customers’ airport experience to new heights by opening a new lounge at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) later this year. The alliance’s first branded facility in North America, it will offer a luxurious environment for First, Business and Elite Plus customers flying on any of the alliance’s nine member airlines currently serving the airport.

SkyTeam currently offers six branded lounges around the world in Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London Heathrow and Sydney, serving hundreds of thousands high-value customers each year.

Speaking at the 73rd annual IATA AGM held in Cancun, Mexico, SkyTeam CEO and Managing Director, Perry Cantarutti, also outlined some of the focus areas that the alliance was working on to improve customer travel experiences while gaining its members value from the synergies.

 “With the opening of Vancouver later this year, SkyTeam will offer more branded airport lounges around the world than any other airline alliance. Increasing the number of shared facilities worldwide realizes significant synergies for our airlines while offering a greatly enhanced airport experience for our top customers,” said Perry Cantarutti, SkyTeam’s CEO and Managing Director. “Meanwhile, we continue to invest in technology so that we can capitalize on emerging customer trends, drive greater efficiencies and continue to deliver value for our airlines and their passengers.”

Recommended reading: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge access

Porter Airlines is wanting their members to confirm their email membership and offering 1,500 VIPorter points for doing so! Be sure you don't delete any emails from Porter so that you can take advantage of this offer! You can also get an additional 1,500 points if you take flight for the next half a year!

Posts since our last update:

• Hilton Summer Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the U.K. and Europe (for Hilton Honors members only)
  Hilton's annual summer sale for stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa will launch for everyone next week however…
• Why I like the new Starbucks Rewards program
  It has been nearly a year and half since Starbucks revamped their loyalty program. It went from My Starbucks…

Travel Deals
Marriott: Save up to 30% off rooms, restaurants and lounges across the Middle East & Africa. Full details & online booking Until Sep 9, 17

Starwood: Save up to 30% off rooms, restaurants and lounges across the Middle East & Africa. Full details & online booking Until Sep 9, 17

Canadian Bonus Offers
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
airberlin topbonus
-1,000 topbonus Miles when you join Le Club AccorHotels and complete your first stay at any Accor Hotel. More... Until Aug 31, 17

Best Western Rewards
- Earn Triple Rewards Points for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Best Western Hotels in Australia. More... Until ?
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at participating Best Western Hotels in Australia. More... Until ?
- Double Rewards Points for stays at participating Best Western Hotels in Australia. More... Until ?

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 2,500 Bonus Gold Points and 30% off for stays at participating Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. More... Book by Jun 25 for stays Jun 19 - Sep 3, 17

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up to 500 bonus Fortune Wings Points when you join the program and complete your first flight with Hainan Airlines or Grand China Air. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Double Frequent Flyer Points for stays at the Toowoomba Best Western Plus Ambassador on Ruthven Motor Inn or Bendigo Best Western Crystal Inn. More... Until ?

SAS EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus Points for stays at participating Radisson Blu, Quorvus and Radisson RED hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa. More... Jun 15 - Aug 14, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Hilton Summer Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the U.K. and Europe (for Hilton Honors members only)

Hilton's annual summer sale for stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa will launch for everyone next week however if you are a Hilton Honors member, you get early access to book stays in the U.K. and Europe as the sale launched today for members of the program! If you are not a member you can join here for free.  Stays must be booked between June 13, 2017 and June 19, 2017 and completed on weekends between June 16, 2017 and October 8, 2017. Remember that you should also be earning up to Triple Points on these stays with the current summer Hilton Honors promotion. Find that and all other Honors bonuses here.

Click here to take advantage of the Hilton Honors preview sale for stays in the UK and Europe!