July 7 Update: Aeroplan eStore adds 20 new stores, Triple Avios for Fairmont stays and more!

News, Tips & Tricks
A quiet end to the first week of July! Have a great weekend everyone!

Aeroplan has added 20 new retailers to their online shopping portal, the Aeroplan eStore. Like all online retailers available you'll earn a minimum of 1Aeroplan Mile per dollar spent at these new merchants. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Rare increased sign up offer for the RBC Visa Infinite Avion card: 15,000 points + a $100 Travel Credit
  The RBC Visa Infinite Avion is one of the most popular travel points cards in Canada thanks to some…
• Hello! The 60,000 point sign up bonus for the no fee Best Western Rewards MasterCard returns!
  For some time now we've had a 40,000 point sign up bonuses for this card while the standard sign…

Canadian Bonus Offers
RBC
- 15,000 Point sign up bonus + a $100 travel credit on your first travel-related purchase of $100 of more within six months of approval with the RBC Visa Infinite Avion card. More...
- 2,500 welcome points on approval on the RBC Rewards+ Visa Card and a 1.9% intro rate for 10 months∆ on balance transfers and cash advances More...

Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 100,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you buy or gift AAdvantage Miles. More... Until Jul 31, 17

Avianca LifeMiles
- Earn up to 6x LifeMiles on Hertz rentals at participating locations in Belgium, Canada, Caribbean, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Latin America, Luxembourg, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. More...Until Sep 30, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- Triple Avios and up to 30% off for stays of 2+ nights at participating Fairmont Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Sep 30 for stays until Oct 31, 17

- Double Avios for stays on the Linger Longer offer at any participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17
- Double Avios for stays at any participating Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17
- 50% Bonus Avios on hotel stays booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Sep 30, 17

China Southern Sky Pearl Club
- Earn up to Triple SkyPearl Kilometers when you stay at Mandarin Oriental Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jul 30, 17

IHG Rewards Club
- Double IHG Rewards Club Points when you stay three or more nights at Holiday Inn Resort® Waikiki Beachcomber. More... Register & book by Aug 31 for stays Sep 1 - Dec 26, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

[OFFER EXPIRED] Rare increased sign up offer for the RBC Visa Infinite Avion card: 15,000 points + a $100 Travel Credit

THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

The RBC Visa Infinite Avion is one of the most popular travel points cards in Canada thanks to some heavy advertising on RBC's part.  This popularity has meant the card rarely if ever had a change to its basic sign up bonus. Well good news folks, RBC has upped the ante for a limited time. The card still comes with its standard 15,000 point sign up bonus which is enough for a short haul flight but now RBC is throwing in a $100 travel credit. To earn the credit simply spend $100 on travel within the first 6 months of having the card and RBC will credit you the $100. Not to mention the card earns 1.25 RBC Rewards points on travel purchases so you'll be getting some extra points on that travel purchase prior to getting the credit.

We have written quite extensively about the card over the years and as you may well know we rank it quite high in our annual Top Credit Card Rankings primarily due to the card being a hybrid card where you can convert those points to airlines such as British Airways. In fact, if you convert points to BA and then redeem those British Airways Avios for a reward ticket within the first 6 months and put the taxes and fees on the Avion card, you have your travel purchase that meets the criteria for a credit. For example, converting the 15,000 RBC Rewards points you get for receiving the card to British Airways Executive Club will give you enough Avios for a handful of flights from Canada to the U.S.:

Add caption

Read more about Utilizing British Airways Executive Club for flights in North America.

If converting the points isn't an option, then as mentioned before those 15,000 points are enough for a short haul flight to neighbouring provinces or states. You'll want to push the value you get out of those points however so we recommend reading our article on How to maximize value out of the RBC Avion Airline Award Chart.




RBC Visa Infinite Avion

• Limited Time Offer: Earn a $100 travel credit on your first travel-related purchase of $100 or more within six months of approval^
• Ability to book flights with any airline with no blackout periods, extremely useful when there are no seat sales
• Receive 15 000 welcome RBC Rewards points (up to $350 of value)
• Up to a 2.3% return on your spending depending on which reward ticket you book
• Option to transfer RBC Rewards Points to WestJet Rewards, British Airways Executive Club, American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Look for the transfer bonus to BA several times per year!
• A complete suite of insurance coverage and benefits
• Unwritten ability to redeem for Business Class tickets although at a lower rate of return when compared to the Avion Reward chart

Hello! The 60,000 point sign up bonus for the no fee Best Western Rewards MasterCard returns!

For some time now we've had a 40,000 point sign up bonuses for this card while the standard sign up bonus is 20,000 points. Well now the 60,000 point bonus for the mbna Best Western Rewards MasterCard has returned! Last seen about this time last year this offer for the card that has no annual fee needs you to hit some spending targets to get the 60,000 points.

You'll get the standard 20,000 points upon your first purchase with the card. Then an additional 20,000 points will be awarded with $1,000 in spend in the first 90 days of having the card and another 20,000 points if you hit $2,000 in spend in those first 90 days.

The rest of the card details are as such:
• Earn 1 Best Western Rewards® point for every $1 in eligible purchases‡
• Earn 5 Best Western Rewards® points for every $1 in eligible purchases at Best Western properties‡
• You will be awarded "Gold Status" upon first use of your credit card and "Diamond Status" when you spend $10,000 in eligible purchases within one year◊◊
• No limit to the Best Western Rewards® points that can be earned using the credit card in a year
• Use your Best Western Rewards® points in many ways – hotel stays, dining, gift cards and more.
• 1.99% promotional annual interest rate† (AIR) on balance transfers✪ for the first 10 full months
Apply now for the Best Western MasterCard® Credit Card 

This offer is available for applications until Aug 31, 17.

With the points from this card you have various redemption options with the top two being free nights at Best Western hotels or converting the points to airline miles including Aeroplan. In fact for the latter we list this card as one of three you should get for the Ultimate Aeroplan Credit Card portfolio. The sign up bonus on this card is worth 12,000 Aeroplan Miles, so not a bad deal seeing there are essentially free outside of your spend. You can pull out better value however by using the points for actual award nights at Best Western Hotels (such is the case with almost any hotel program).

Free nights at Best Western run anywhere from 8,000 points to 24,000 points per night which means the sign up bonus could get you anywhere from 2 to 7 free nights.

For example you could do three nights at the Best Western Premier Bangtao Beach Resort and Spa and have points to spare:

 

The hotel itself doesn't seem too shabby for a BW! 

And there are many more options around the globe that you can choose from seeing that Best Western has over 4,200 hotels in over 100 countries.

July 6 Update: Aventura Visa Infinite First Year Free offer extended, Aeroplan Avis & Budget bonuses + more!

News, Tips & Tricks
The first year annual fee waiver on the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card has been extended to October 31. Right now you can try the card for free and get 15,000 Aventura points at no cost to you. Find out more here.

Lots of Canadians were travelling for the Canada Day holiday and our 150th birthday as Air Canada set some records:

Air Canada transported close to one million customers throughout the six-day holiday period, during which it achieved a single-day record for passengers carried. On Thursday, June 29, Air Canada welcomed aboard 166,850 customers, a record for Canada's flag carrier, and from June 29 to July 4 over 930,000 customers took flight with Air Canada. (Source Air Canada)

The Aeroplan bonuses for Avis and Budget car rentals have been extended but with some slight changes. To earn the bonuses, you now must rent for 5 days from either company and the total number of bonus miles from Avis has dropped from 3,500 to 3,250. For complete details see our bonus offer section below.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn up to 90 Bonus WestJet dollars on select flights in Canada
  WestJet is now offering bonuses on even more routes within Canada outside of their More Canada More Rewards offer.…
• RBC Rewards Visa+ increased sign up bonus of 2,500 Points (up to a $25 value)
  When launched in 2016 the entry level RBC Rewards+ Visa Card came out without a sign up bonus. Somewhat…

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn up to 3,250 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Avis rentals of 5 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on Budget rentals of 5 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17

WestJet Rewards
- Earn up to 90 bonus WestJet dollars when you fly on select WestJet routes within Canada. More... Register and book by Jul 31 for travel until Dec 15, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 500 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles for stays at any participating Novotel, Novotel Suites and Mercure Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- 500 Bonus Avios for stays at any participating Novotel, Novotel Suites and Mercure Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly on select Iberia Regional Air Nostrum flights within Europe. More... Until Aug 31, 17
- Double Avios for stays at any Iberostar Hotels in Spain. More... Until Aug 31, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Earn up to 90 Bonus WestJet dollars on select flights in Canada

WestJet is now offering bonuses on even more routes within Canada outside of their More Canada More Rewards offer. The more you fly on the popular routes listed below the more bonus dollars you'll earn. There is a big window of flight eligibility, until December 15th, however you have to know your plans beforehand as you must book by July 31.

Offer details
Earn up to 90 bonus WestJet dollars when you fly on select WestJet routes within Canada. Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Register and book by Jul 31 for travel until Dec 15, 17

Bonuses as follows:

Flight frequency	Econo fare bonus	Flex/Plus fare bonus
Book 1st one way	5 bonus WSD	10 bonus WSD
Book 2nd one way	6 additional bonus WSD	12 bonus WSD
Book 3rd one way	7 additional bonus WSD	14 bonus WSD
Book 4th one way	8 additional bonus WSD	16 bonus WSD
Book 5th one way	9 additional bonus WSD	18 bonus WSD
Book 6th one way	10 additional bonus WSD	20 bonus WSD

Eligible routes to/from these select routes:

• Calgary-Comox
• Calgary-Edmonton
• Calgary-Halifax
• Calgary-Hamilton
• Calgary-Kelowna
• Calgary-Kitchener
• Calgary-Montreal
• Calgary-Saskatoon
• Calgary-Winnipeg
• Calgary-Victoria
• Edmonton-Calgary
• Edmonton-Halifax
• Edmonton-Vancouver
• Edmonton-Victoria
• Halifax-Calgary
• Halifax-Edmonton
• Halifax-St. John's

• Montreal-Calgary
• Montreal-Quebec City
• Montreal-Vancouver
• Toronto-Fredericton
• Toronto-Kelowna
• Toronto-London
• Toronto-Moncton
• Toronto-Ottawa
• Toronto-Quebec City
• Toronto-Sudbury
• Toronto-Thunder Bay
• Toronto-Winnipeg
• Vancouver-Edmonton
• Vancouver-Kelowna
• Vancouver-Montreal
• Vancouver-Prince George
• Vancouver-Winnipeg

RBC Rewards Visa+ increased sign up bonus of 2,500 Points (up to a $25 value)

When launched in 2016 the entry level RBC Rewards+ Visa Card came out without a sign up bonus. Somewhat rare but not unheard of for an entry level no annual fee card. Now RBC appears to be on an acquisition campaign for the card as perhaps the card isn't meeting the expectations of sign ups as they have added a sign up bonus for the card. Right now you can get 2,500 RBC Rewards Points when you apply for and receive the card. Those points can then be redeemed for a $25 gift card or $25 toward travel. Those are your typical 100 points = $1 redemption options. There are many other redemption options but they go up in the number of points required per dollar. The card itself isn't a very strong option for rewards. 1% back essentially on Gast, Grocery & Drug Store purchases and 0.5% back everywhere else. It does have other bonus point options when you go digital such as 500 points for providing your email, 500 for receiving eStatements and so on, up to 3,500 more points.

RBC Rewards+ Visa Card
- Get 2,500 welcome points* on approval and a 1.9% intro rate for 10 months∆ on balance transfers and cash advances
- Earn 1 RBC Rewards® point for every $1 spent on gas, grocery and drug store purchases†
- Earn 1 RBC Rewards point for every $2 spent on all other purchases†
- Get up to 3,500 bonus RBC Rewards points for going digital±
-Only RBC Rewards+ TM Visa‡ cardholders can get the most popular $25 gift cards‡ at an exclusive redemption rate**

Looking for feedback on the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

As many of you know,  the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express was revamped back at the start of April and it was a good revamp. Good enough to make the Top Cash Back Credit Card in Canada for 2017.  That being said, we are looking for your feedback on the card. What would you like to see happen with it? Are you happy with it how it is or could you envision even more changes?

Some ideas we have come up with are:
- higher initial sign up bonus, 5% back up to $400 or $500 instead of $300
- first year annual fee waiver so more people could try it out
- allow more access to the accumulated cash back, that is rather than just paying out in September, pay it out monthly or as the cardholder requests as long as the balance is $25 or more.

What do you think? If you have ideas, comments, criticisms etc. Please comment below!

July 5 Update: Entire list of Delta cities you can use WestJet dollars for, Air Canada Europe Sale, $30 Amazon Gift Card for Country Inn stays

News, Tips & Tricks
One of our Twitter followers asked if Melbourne was on the list of cities that you can now use your WestJet dollars for. The answer unfortunately is no for Melbourne. We did provide a list to him of all the cities you can use your WestJet dollars for that Delta operates to and want to share that list with all our readers:

Looks like Air Canada's Vancouver to Delhi is doing well as when the route returns for winter it is increasing to 4x weekly and even 5x weekly for December and January. (Source Routesonline)

Central Mountain Air is adding new flights between Prince George and Edmonton. Another route that can make sense to use proprietary credit card points. (Source Routesonline)

Posts since our last update:

• First year free offer returns for the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard! That's $200 in travel for free!
  It's been sometime and lots of people have been asking us about this exact offer for well over a year…
• Earn Triple Miles for the first 6 months + 500 Bonus AIR MILES with the No Fee BMO AIR MILES MasterCard
  Back in June we told you to hold off on applying for three cards as they would get better in…
• WestJet Plus Fare Discount offer - Save up to 30% on travel in Canada & 20% for Europe
  WestJet has launched a new discount offer for those looking to book Plus fares. For those living in Montreal,…
• Air France KLM Flying Blue Promo Awards - Save 25% on award tickets between Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver & Europe
  The newest set of Air France KLM's Promo Awards went last Friday and for us Canadians this set has three…
• Exclusive Offer: 10% off hotel stays booked via Agoda
  Rewards Canada (well our global site FFB which really are one and the same) has teamed up with Agoda,…
• Scotiabank SCENE Visa Card - New sign up bonus of 5,000 points, enough for 5 free movies
  This is the highest sign up bonus we have seen (or should we say Scene ;-) ) on this…

Travel Deals
Air Canada is offering 15% off select European destinations, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, Barcelona and Madrid. Book by July 7, 2017!. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
AIR MILES
500 AIR MILES Bonus Miles after your first card purchase abd LIMITED TIME OFFE of 3X the Miles for the first 6 Months with the BMO AIR MILES Mastercard. More...

BMO Rewards
$150 annual fee waiver in the first year and get 20,000 welcome bonus points worth $200 in travel rewards with the BMO World Elite Mastercard. More...

Cineplex SCENE
5,000 bonus SCENE points when you apply for and get the SCENE® VISA* card. Bonus awarded with $500 in everyday purchases within the first three months.  That's - 5 FREE Movies. More... Until Oct 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- July Promo Awards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Jul 31  for travel Sep 1 - Oct 31, 17

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- Receive a $30 Amazon.com Gift Card when you stay 2 or more consecutive nights at participating Country Inns & Suites By Carlson hotels in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Sep 4, 17

Etihad Guest
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Guest Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Dec 31, 17

Iberia Plus
- Earn up to Triple Avios for stays at select Derby Hotels in Madrid and Paris. More... Until Aug 31, 17

Le Club AccorHotels
- Triple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating Sofitel & MGallery Hotels in Rio. More... Until Aug 23, 17
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at participating ibis Hotels in Madrid. More... Jul 1 - Dec 31, 17

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Triple QMiles on Hertz rentals of 5 or more days in France. More... Until Sep 30, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- OFFER EXTENDED Save 35% when you purchase or gift 5,000 or more Starpoints. More... Until Jul 14, 17

Follow Rewards Canada: