Banff Mt. Norquay Sightseeing Chairlift - A lesser known gem in the Canadian Rockies with spectacular views

 Living just a short 60 minutes away from Banff has afforded the Rewards Canada family lots of time in our oldest National Park. Heck I spent many days in the area during my ski racing days of yesteryear but since that time some things have changed. Namely the amount of visitors that the national park gets. Some days it can be hard to find parking in Banff and surrounding attractions and this was before this year's 150th Birthday offer of free access to all of Canada's National Parks. Banff this summer has been insane!

One attraction that gets crazy line ups and can take up a good part of your day, perhaps more than you would like is Banff's Sulphur Mountain Gondola. Yes the terminal at the top has recently been rebuilt and the views are particularly spectacular. That being said I have an alternative for you. A favourite of the Rewards Canada family that also provides spectacular views yet is way less busy and is roughly half the cost. That alternative is the Banff Sightseeing Chairlift at Mt. Norquay and in our minds it provides even better views than the gondola.

Every time we have gone, at least 4 times over the past 2 summers, we have never had to wait to get onto the chairlift! At the base of the lift they have a sign stating how many days it's been since there has been a bear sighting and in most cases it's 0. That's right if you want to see bears from the safety of the air there is a good chance you can do so here! Here are some photos and even videos of some our rides on the Norquay lift:

Our youngest providing Bambi style questioning of the bear!

There are times the chair lift is even featured on Groupon so you can get it for even less than the current rates which are as follows:
Adult (16+)  $29.95
Child (6-15)  $19.95
5 and under free (minimum age 2 years)

Also at Mt. Norquay is the Via Ferrata which is at the top of the chairlift where you can go mountain/rock climbing. They have various options from novice to advanced. We haven't tried it yet as our youngest wasn't old enough but she is now so if time allows we may just do it this summer!

The drive up and down to Mt. Norquay doesn't disappoint either as we have seen Bears, Rocky Mountain Sheep, Deer and more:

For more details on the lift and the mountain climbing visit Banffnorquay.com

July 13 Update: Aeroplan adds Budget as a redemption partner, Air France Fall seat sale with fares from $799 + more!

News, Tips & Tricks
Aeroplan has enhanced and expanded the ability to redeem miles for car rentals with the addition of Budget and more flexibility with the bookings:

As part of our commitment to bringing members the best travel experience we can, we’ve made some changes to our car rental rewards. Here’s what members can expect:

More choice
In addition to Avis, members can now redeem for Budget car rentals online at aeroplan.com. With over 3,000 Budget rental locations throughout Canada, US, Latin America, and Europe, we’re giving members more choice and flexibility when it comes to finding a car that fits their plans. (And don’t forget, members can earn 100 miles every time they redeem for a Budget car rental).

Additionally, members can redeem for one-way rentals with Avis and Budget, by simply choosing to return their vehicle at a different location than the original pick-up location.

More flexibility
Members can now cancel up until their scheduled pick-up time, and their miles will be refunded at no cost.

Book with ease
Members can enjoy a brand new online experience tailored to their needs, including user-friendly search options and more.

Check it out here: https://www.aeroplan.com/en/travel.html

Although we don't cover Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles here on Rewards Canada (all our coverage of that program is on FFB) there is a promotion right now for Canadian Diners Club card holders to receive 30% bonus HawaiianMiles when you convert Club Rewards points. That means you'll receive 1,300 HawaiianMiles for every 1,250 Club Rewards points you convert. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Hotel Review: The Westin Prince Toronto
  Another quick one day trip to Toronto had me staying one night, well really about 8 or so hours at…
• EIA Rewards - Flying from, to or via Edmonton? Be sure to join to enjoy free benefits and more at YEG
  To the best of our knowledge, EIA Rewards is Canada's only airport reward program. A rarity in the loyalty world,…

Travel Deals
Air France has another great seat sale for travel to France from Canada this fall. Fares start at $799 all in. Book by July 17 for travel September 11 - October 15!. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers
Best Western Rewards
- Earn up to 60,000 Best Western Rewards points when you apply for the mbna Best Western Mastercard. More... Until Aug 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Hilton Honors
- Triple Honors Points on your next stay at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... * Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jan 31, 18

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios for stays at NH Hotels in n Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastian or Seville. More... Until Aug 31, 17


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Hotel Review: The Westin Prince Toronto

Another quick one day trip to Toronto had me staying one night, well really about 8 or so hours at the Westin Prince Hotel.

With an arrival at the hotel at 11 pm check in was quick and easy through the SPG Elite line with the agent letting me know I had been upgraded to a deluxe corner room. The suite was on the 20th floor of the main building. The lobby of the hotel was quite nice, you can tell it must have been updated recently. The 20th floor and the room, well that's a different story.

The deluxe corner that I received was spacious and afforded some nice views the surrounding area and of downtown Toronto in the distance. Of course having a Westin Heavenly bed in place, the bed was awesome like usual with Westin hotel's however the rest of the room was definitely dated and in need of an update. I liked that it was clean despite feeling like I was staying in the 1980's or early 90's hotel. The room showed quite a bit of wear and tear with big chips out of some of the furniture and the green marble bathroom counter tops in the bathroom really dated it. Probably the biggest giveaway of the age of the room (and the hotel) was the lack of plugs to power electrical devices. As you'll see in one of the photos,  the hotel has to utilize extension cords to be able to offer extra plugs. The hallways also had that dark, older feeling along with not being very clean.

King Size Westin Heavenly Bed

The shower was a bit of tight squeeze!

How to power your devices in the room

Mini Fridge was in this cabinet

The wrap around windows afforded some nice views

Welcome gift

Small wrap around balcony

Would I stay at this hotel again? Seeing that I had a meeting with a client a few minutes away I more than likely would since there are only a couple other options right in that area and based on web reviews they don't seem any better.

How about you? Have you stayed at the Westin Prince Toronto? What are your thoughts of the hotel?

The Westin Prince Toronto Hotel
SPG Category: 4

Points required for a free night 10,000 Starpoints

Cash+Points Requirement: 5,000 Starpoints + US$75 per night for standard rooms

EIA Rewards - Flying from, to or via Edmonton? Be sure to join to enjoy free benefits and more at YEG

To the best of our knowledge, EIA Rewards is Canada's only airport reward program. A rarity in the loyalty world, airport reward programs can be found at several airports around the world with the most famous and largest program being London's Heathrow Rewards. EIA Rewards, is the reward program for Edmonton International Airport (YEG) and differs from Heathrow Rewards as it not a points program like its British counterpart.

What EIA Rewards offers are access to better services and discounts for using select merchants or service providers at Edmonton International. There are two versions of the program, one is for residents of Edmonton and the other, the Connecting Passengers programs is for residents of select cities and provinces of Canada.

For Edmonton residents this is what you get when you join EIA Rewards:

• Automatic entry into EIA Rewards monthly prize contests where you can win prizes like
• EIA bucks for shopping and dining
• EIA or jetSet parking
• Complimentary premium Wi-Fi in terminal (five times the speed and unlimited time)
• Monthly discounts for parking, shopping, and dining including standard offers of:
  • 25% off regular rates at the Plaza Premium Lounge
  • Save the service charge at International Currency Exchange
  • Always save a minimum of 30% at jetSet youPark parking
  
  

For complete details and to join the program as an Edmonton resident click here. 

If you don't live in Edmonton, you can still join the program if you reside in select cities/provinces and connect via YEG. Eligible connecting passengers live near airports requiring connecting flights including Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Red Deer, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, Vancouver Island, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories.

These connecting passengers receive the same benefits as listed above for Edmonton residents but also the following: 

• Four complimentary Plaza Premium Lounge passes (a $160 value) and 25% off the regular rates after you’ve used your passes 
• A special rate for the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel. The only hotel connected to the terminal, the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel is a fun, relaxing and luxurious way to start your trip early!

That's a pretty good offer for those eligible non-Edmonton residents! Four Plaza Premium passes are a sweet deal!

For complete details and to join the program as a connecting passenger click here.

Both Edmonton and connecting passengers have the chance to win flights on WestJet to any city the airline flies to directly from Edmonton if you join the program by July 31st!

Are you a member of EIA Rewards? We'd love to hear from you in the comments section on how you have used the program already to make your YEG experience even better. 

July 11 Update: Porter Airlines route news, Double Best Western Rewards points in Asia + more

News, Tips & Tricks
Porter Airlines is expanding service between Ottawa and New Brunswick with new flights from the nation's capital to Fredricton and Saint John. The once daily flights to both cities will launch in September. (Source Routesonline)

On the flipside, Porter is getting rid of their Toronto Island to North Bay route in September. (Source Routesonline)

Posts since our last update:

• AIR MILES expands partnership with Transat - more travel options, more ways to book and more mileage earning
  After a tough year in 2016, AIR MILES is doing what it can to show Canadians they are still…
• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for July
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of July! This is not…

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points for stays at Best Western hotels in Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, or Thailand. More... Until Sep 30, 17

Iberia Plus
- 500 Bonus Avios for stays at any participating Novotel, Novotel Suites and Mercure Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Aug 10, 17

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Double ROP Miles for all women who fly on Thai Airways during the month of August. More... Aug 1 - 31, 17


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AIR MILES expands partnership with Transat - more travel options, more ways to book and more mileage earning

After a tough year in 2016, AIR MILES is doing what it can to show Canadians they are still a program worth being part of and being loyal to. In 2017 the program has taken steps to try to regain the trust of Canadians and provide more value from the program. The latest announcement from AIR MILES that came out last week is yet another positive step in AIR MILES climbing out of the hole they buried themselves in last year.

the AIR MILES Reward Program is pleased to announce the expansion of its long-term relationship with Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), which will give Collectors more travel options, more ways to book, and more Miles. Effective August 13, 2017, AIR MILES Packaged Vacation and Cruise (PVC) bookings will now be completed through Transat Distribution's travel agency network.

• Expanded travel options
  • Through Transat Distribution Canada's travel agency network, Collectors will be able to use their Miles for more travel destinations and at more travel partners than ever before, including, Collette, Encore Cruises TravelBrands, AmaWaterways, Tours Chanteclerc and many more.
• More ways to book travel
  • Collectors will now be able to redeem exclusively online for Marlin Travel, Club Voyages, Transat Travel, TripCentral Atlantic Canada and TravelPlus eVouchers (currently available using Cash Miles) and physical Certificates (available August 13 in $100 denominations using Dream Miles). These can be used towards PVC travel bookings with participating preferred partners through any of Transat Distribution's 286 participating travel agency locations across Canada or through the TDC call centre.
  • To make it easier and faster to receive the physical Dream Certificates, AIR MILES will be shipping certificates within 72 business hours from redemption, at no cost to the Collector.
  • In 2018, together with Transat Distribution Canada, AIR MILES will be introducing a new PVC website, enabling Collectors to use their Miles immediately for PVC bookings online, 24/7 with participating partners.
• More Miles on PVC travel bookings
  • Effective August 13, Collectors will get 1 Mile for every $20 spent (versus 1 Mile for $35) on any PVC booking with a participating Transat Distribution travel agency. This includes any additional Cash portion spent on the PVC booking, beyond the certificate value.

The expansion of this partnership makes sense for AIR MILES since the majority of its collectors are leisure travellers. By being able to offer more tours and cruises as redemption options they providing more ways for collectors to use their miles and by far the best new option is the ability to redeem Dream Miles for $100 certificates to use at nearly 300 travel agencies across Canada. With a membership base that includes a large number of seniors who do not book online the ability to save money when booking travel via a travel agency and choosing to use Cash or Dream miles for the money saving certificates should appeal to them not to mention many other members.

Finally they are increasing the number of miles you earn with Transat Distribution from 1 Mile for $35 to 1 Mile for $20. Always good news when you are able to earn more miles for your purchases.

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BMO AIR MILES Mastercard
500 AIR MILES Bonus Miles after your first card purchase
LIMITED TIME OFFER: get 3X the Miles for the first 6 Months!*
- and there’s No annual fee
- Earn more reward miles when you use your card at Shell, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car
- 1 AIR MILES reward mile for every $20 that you spend on your credit card
- Extended Warranty
- Purchase Protection

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for July

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of July! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition (sign up) offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the sign up bonus, but when most or all of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when you grab them strictly for sign up rewards. In fact all of the cards on this list for June are first year free so you can try them out at no cost and decide later on if the card is right for you. All the while earning the sign up bonus which can be used to subsidize your travels!
   
Couple big changes from June's list. This month marks the return of the first year free offer for the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard. It knock the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card off the list even though that card is still first year free. The other big change is the Best Western Rewards Mastercard from mbna. It's still on the list but the summer 60,000 point sign up offer for the card is back! 

Here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for July (in alphabetical order)

American Express Gold Rewards Card - 25,000 Points (Apply here)
A mainstay offer here on Rewards Canada and a card that really should be in everyone's wallets. The American Express Gold Rewards card has its first year fee of $150 waived and will award you 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you complete $1,500 in spending in the first three months. That 25,000 points is worth a $250 travel credit via Amex's Use Points for Purchases feature or can be converted to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles (1 Round trip Economy Award ticket within North America) or 25,000 British Airways Executive Club Avios (as much a 3 one way Economy Award tickets in North America, see this article for details.) Also see our post on how this sign up bonus can get you a free flight between Toronto and Dublin!!


BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard- 20,000 Points  (Apply here)
It's been awhile since this card has graced the top 5 credit card sign up offers! 20,000 points is your sign up bonus that is worth $200 in travel and since the card is first year free right now (they bill you $120 and then rebate after several months) that means your $200 in travel is free and yes you even get the Priority Pass access and 4 lounge passes included in that first year free.

Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa - 50,000 Points  (Apply here)
The best no foreign transaction fee card in Canada makes it to this list due to a very strong acquisition offer. I mean who can complain with 50,000 points awarded on approval all at no cost as the card has the annual fee waived in the first year! They also give you a 15 night credit into the mix which automatically provides you with Marriott Rewards Silver Elite status.

mbna Best Western Rewards Mastercard - 60,000 Points  (Apply here)
Just like last summer, we this card have its sign up bonus boosted! For many months now it has been 40,000 points but until August 31 it is now 60,000 points.  With no annual fee to boot! You do have to meet the minimum spend of $2,000 in 90 days to get the bonus but that's doable. We detail the offer in this post that shows just how much value you can pull out of the card with this 40K bonus!

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card - 30,000 Points  (Apply here)
A very strong card in the earn category for Gas, Grocery and Dining/Entertainment purchases, the current sign up bonus for the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is 30,000 points when you reach $750 in spending in the first three months. That 30,000 points is equal to a $300 travel credit and since this card is a book anywhere card you can book the travel how you want when you want and when the charge shows up on your account you can redeem the points against the charge. The card normally has a $99 annual fee but of course that is waived in the first year if you apply by October 31, 2017!


If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with over $1,250 in travel credits and hotel free nights but even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly at no cost other than regular credit card spend