100 FREE Aeroplan Miles for watching a video and answering two questions

Super easy way to add some miles to your Aeroplan account, especially for those of you who aren't very active and need to ensure you meet the 12 month requirement of some sort of activity! You'll earn 100 miles for watching a short video and answering two easy questions about the video. Click here for complete details and to watch the video.

Find many more Aeroplan bonus miles offers here

Air Canada to expand services to Ireland with their new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft in 2018

 Press release from Air Canada today highlights new Ireland routes:

First routes for Air Canada's new Boeing 737-Max include Shannon, Dublin

• Non-stop, seasonal Toronto-Shannon, Montreal-Dublin routes begin June 2018
• The existing Toronto-Dublin service will transfer to Air Canada mainline from Air Canada Rouge beginning October 29, 2017, with increased frequencies this winter, daily next summer
• Seasonal Vancouver-Dublin service resumes next summer with an increase in weekly frequencies to five from three

MONTREAL, Sept. 13, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada today announced expanded seasonal services to Ireland with new non-stop flights from Toronto to Shannon and between Montreal and Dublin. The flights will be operated using Air Canada's newest single-aisle aircraft, the Boeing 737 Max 8 featuring a Business and Economy cabin configuration.

"With the right aircraft for the right market, Air Canada appears to have the luck of the Irish and we want to share it with our customers. Beginning summer 2018, we will capitalize on the growing traffic between Canada and Ireland and launch two new routes to Ireland, Toronto to Shannon and Montreal to Dublin," said Benjamin Smith, President Passenger Airlines at Air Canada.

Not only is this big news for their new planes coming in but also the change to Air Canada mainline from Rouge for the existing Toronto-Dublin route is very welcome! Watch out Aer Lingus! 

Image Courtesy of Boeing

Here is the schedule

Flight	Departs	Arrives	Days of Week
AC820	Toronto 22:00	Shannon 9:30 + 1 day	Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday
AC821	Shannon 10:30	Toronto 12:45	Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
AC818	Montreal 21:15	Dublin 8:25 + 1 day	Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
AC819	Dublin 10:20	Montreal 12:00	Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday

These new flights will go on sale starting September 19th so if you have plans on Ireland next year that's the day to start checking Aeroplan as typically these new routes tend to have more award seats available in first few weeks. One way with Aeroplan in Economy is 30,000 miles (60,000 round trip) and in Business Class it is 55,000 miles one way (110,000RT)

Are you excited about these new routes? Will you fly on them next year?

September 13 Update: Flair Airlines adds 3 new cities, AIR MILES discount at Plaza Premium Lounges, Qatar Airways seat sale

News, Tips & Tricks
More ULCC news for you! Yesterday Flair Airlines (nee newleaf) announced an expansion of their flights for the upcoming winter season and much to many people's surprise it includes flights to/from Toronto Pearson and Vancouver! Now with those two cities you have options of two airports in each region of the city. Also added to the network is Kelowna (Flair's hometown!) Source Flair Airlines

Schedule Highlights:
	Toronto to:	Edmonton, Vancouver, Kelowna 4 times weekly
		Edmonton, Kelowna 3 times weekly
	Vancouver to:	Kelowna,  4 times weekly
		Edmonton, Toronto 4 times weekly
	Kelowna to:	Edmonton, Toronto 3 times weekly
		Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto 4 times weekly

AIR MILES members now receive a 20% discount to Plaza Premium Lounges at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Edmonton International Airport. Like many programs AIR MILES are now looking for ways to add additional value to membership outside of earning and burning of loyalty currencies and the more they offer the better! Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Best Western stays extended to the end of the year
  The Aeroplan bonus for stays at Best Western hotels around the globe has been extended from its previous August…

Travel Deals
Qatar Airways Global Sale is offering double QMiles and fares starting at C$839 for flights out of Montreal! Book by Sep 19. Find out more here!

Canadian Bonus Offers Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for each stay at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Other Bonus Offers
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Flying Blue Miles when you book hotels via PointsHound. More... Book by Sep 24, 17 for stays until Sep 24, 18
- Triple Flying Blue Miles for all stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Sep 30 for stays Oct 1 - Dec 31, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- Double Avios when you make advance bookings for travel on Heathrow Express More... Until Oct 24, 17

Hyatt Gold Passport
- Up to 40% Bonus World of Hyatt Points when you buy points online. More... Targeted offer Until Oct 3, 17

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Earn up to Triple Mabuhay Miles for stays at participating Hilton hotels in Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 17

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Double Starpoints for stays at participating Starwood Hotels in Japan, South Korea or Guam. More... Oct 1 - Dec 30, 17
- 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays on the grand opening offer at The Westin Jackson.. More... Until Dec 31, 17

TAP Portugal Victoria
- 200 Bonus Victoria Miles when you join the Victoria program. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Follow Rewards Canada:

1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Best Western stays extended to the end of the year

The Aeroplan bonus for stays at Best Western hotels around the globe has been extended from its previous August 31 end date to December 31st. This is always a good option for those one off stays you might have where it wouldn't be worth it to credit the stay to Best Western Rewards.

Offer details:
Earn 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for each stay at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Dec 31, 17

Find many more Aeroplan bonus offers here.

September 11 Update: Canada Jetlines plans to fly out of Hamilton & Waterloo, Amex transfer bonus to BA & more!

News, Tips & Tricks
 

Canada Jetlines, one of three known Ultra Low Cost Carriers looking to tackle the Canadian market has had a couple of announcements over the past few days with the latest being today's news about the first routes they plan out of Hamiltion and Waterloo for next summer that should start around June or July. They also posted planned routes that should launch later in 2018 and 2019.

Planned routes for June/July 2018

Planned routes August - October 2018

Planned routes November 2018 - April 2019

Last week they announced they signed a letter of intent for two Boeing 737-800NG aircraft. Looks like this airline is getting closer to a true launch. Still waiting in the wings are WestJet's ULCC and Enerjet's planned ULCC called FlyToo. Add into the mix Flair Airlines (nee Newleaf) and you have four airlines who are going to try to go after the really low fare market. Of course Air Canada and possibly WestJet won't take it. The good news is that we should see some lower fares across the board for a few years however it is highly unlikely all four airlines will survive, that is if they all get off the ground. Most ULCC airlines they don't have their own frequent flyer programs and chances are these ones will not so you can always take advantage of proprietary credit card programs to earn and burn points on these flights.

Posts since our last update:

• Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions - September Edition
  One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of the systemwide bonuses…
• Amex Membership Rewards 25% Bonus when transferring to British Airways Executive Club is back!
  One thing many owners of hybrid credits cards look forward to are transfer bonuses. See hybrid cards offer points…
  
   
• The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express isn't going away - at least for the time being
  Several of our readers have reached out to us asking about the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American…
• Up to 200 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…
• AIR MILES WestJet Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 30% for flights booked by September 30
  AIR MILES is doing everything and anything to get back into the good books of Canadians after the disastrous…

Canadian Bonus Offers Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn Thousands of Bonus Aeroplan Miles with the 6th edition of Air Canada's Earn Your Wings. More... Valid for Air Canada Altitude members only Register and book by Oct 11 for travel until Dec 11, 17

British Airways Executive Club
- 25% Bonus Avios when you convert Membership Rewards points to Executive Club. More... For residents of Canada only. Until Nov 12, 17

Other Bonus Offers

Marriott Rewards
- Up to 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at over 25 hotels across the U.S. More... Until Oct 5, 17
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at over 40 hotels across the U.S. More... Dec 6 - Jan 31, 18
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard Minneapolis Downtown. More... Until Nov 29, 17

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- 50% Bonus QMiles for hotel stays booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Oct 31, 17 for stays Until Dec 31, 18
- Up to Quadruple QMiles for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 17

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you book hotel stays via Agoda. More... Book by Sep 24, 17
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus KrisFlyer Miles when you stay at any participating Marriott Hotels and Resorts across the Pacific, including Australia and Fiji. More... Until Sep 30, 17
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus KrisFlyer Miles when you stay at any participating SPG Hotels and Resorts across the Pacific, including Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia and Samoa. More... Until Sep 30, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions - September Edition

One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of the systemwide bonuses that come from many of the big chain programs and also from the lesser known programs. In fact, right now it should be rare for you NOT to earn a bonus. Unless you are staying at a boutique hotel or perhaps an Accor or Fairmont Hotel most other hotels out there have a bonus. So take advantage of it! These systemwide bonuses simply require you to register beforehand and they do not affect hotel pricing as long as you book a point eligible rate which are most rates out there. Of course booking through a third party site like Expedia or Rocketmiles does not count as most chains only award points on bookings that are made directly with them.  Without further ado here are all the current promotions that are available to everyone: 

Provider	Offer	Validity Date
Best Western Rewards	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson	Receive 10,000 Bonus Gold Points or a Free Friday Night stay certificate when you complete 2 stays at Carlson Rezidor Hotels Worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at at Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red or Park Inn Friday E-Certs are valid for reservations on a single Friday night at any Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu®, Radisson RED, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn® by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM hotels worldwide for stays between October 6, 2017 and January 26, 2018.	Jul 1 - Sep 30, 17
	For a complete listing of all Carlson Hotels Club Carlson bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Carlson page
Choice Hotels Privileges	Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points for 2 separate stays you complete at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Stay must be booked via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates.  Members will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 and maximum of 8,000 bonus points, depending on the number of base points earned from the two (2) separate qualifying stays. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Restrictions For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Aug 31 - Nov 11, 17
	For a complete listing of all Choice Privileges bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Choice page
Fairmont Presidents Club	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Fairmont bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's Fairmont page
Hilton	Double Honors Points on all eligible stays at any Hilton Hotels Worldwide. Diamond members will earn an extra bonus which varies by member. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Sep 1 - Dec 31, 17
	For a complete listing of all Hilton HHonors bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hilton page
Hyatt	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Hyatt Gold Passport bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hyatt page
InterContinental Hotels Group	IHG Rewards Club Accelerate: Earn 500 to 30,000 or more Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you complete stays at IHG Hotels Worldwide. Bonus varies by member  Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Sep 1 - Dec 31, 17
	For a complete listing of all IHG Priority Club bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's IHG page
Le Club accorhotels	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Marriott	Earn a free night when you complete two stays at any participating Marriott Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.  Additional bonus offers may be provided after completing the two stays.  Full details, online registration and booking(Registration is required) Free stay is valid for 6 months after issuance and is good for Category 1-5 hotels.	Register by Nov 30 for stays Sep 12 - Jan 15, 18
	For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Marriott page
Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's iPrefer page
Ritz-Carlton Rewards	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Ritz-Carlton Rewards page
Shangri-La Golden Circle	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Golden Circle page
Starwood Preferred Guest	Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Starpoints for stays at participating Starwood Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking(Registration is required) Earn 1,000 bonus Starpoints per stay at St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Le Méridien, Westin, Sheraton, Tribute Portfolio and Design Hotels. 500 bonus Starpoints per stay at Aloft, Element and Four Points. Plus earn . 10,000 bonus Starpoints when you stay 25 or more nights	Register by Nov 30 for stays Sep 12 - Jan 15, 18
	For a complete listing of all Starwood Preferred Guest bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's SPG page
Voila Hotel Rewards	Double Elite Status Credit for stays of 3 or more nighst at participating VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required)	Until Jan 31, 17
	Triple VHR Bonus Points and Double Elite Status Credit for stays at participating VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required)	Until Nov 30, 17
	For a complete listing of all Voila Hotel Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's VHR page
World Hotels Peakpoints	Triple Peakpoints or Triple Airline Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels locations Worldwide. Full details	Until Mar 31, 18
	Double Peakpoints or Double Airline Miles for stays at participating World Hotels locations Worldwide that are booked at least 20 days in advance. Full details	Until Mar 31, 18
	For a complete listing of all Starwood Preferred Guest bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Peakpoints page
Wyndham Rewards	7,500 Bonus Wyndham Rewards Points for stays at participating Wyndham Hotels & Resorts that are paid for with MasterPass. Full details and online booking	Until Oct 31, 17
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page

Amex Membership Rewards 25% Bonus when transferring to British Airways Executive Club is back!

One thing many owners of hybrid credits cards look forward to are transfer bonuses. See hybrid cards offer points you can redeem via the credit card or give you the ability to transfer those points to frequent flyer and frequent guest programs and its transfer to those programs that are anticipated. Of the bonuses, people always look forward to the RBC Avion transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club and this bonus, the American Express Membership Rewards transfer offer to British Airways Executive Club!

Much like the past the two the current bonus for transferring Membership Rewards points to British Airway Executive Club is 25%. The minimum transfer is 1,000 points with no stated maximum.

British Airways Executive Club offers many excellent redemption options which is why the transfer bonuses to the program always get so much attention. We talk about the North American redemptions in our feature Utilizing British Airways' Executive Club for flights in North America which sees one way flights starting at only 7,500 Avios (15,000 round trip) 

Another redemption to look at is the Toronto-Dublin option we seem to always bring up as that is only 26,000 Avios, or 21,000 Membership Rewards points with this transfer bonus. If you have the American Express Gold Rewards card that means you could only spend $10,500 on the card to get that latter flight. No other card could provide a flight to Ireland for that little amount of spending. Of course you then have the business class and first class redemption option on British Airways, Cathay Pacific and so many more of the oneworld Alliance airlines! Too many options to list here!

The good news is that if you travelling abroad British Airways still has the 4,500 Avios Short Haul option in Europe and Asia so you can utilize this bonus for those short hops overseas!

Find out more about the American Express 25% transfer bonus which runs until November 12 here.

Personally I need to figure out how much I will want to transfer as I am also looking at taking advantage of the bonus for transferring Diners Club Club Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club!

Here are the best two cards for earning Membership Rewards Points and if you apply for them now and get your spending on them completed by mid-October you should still be able to get in on the transfer bonus!

The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express isn't going away - at least for the time being

Several of our readers have reached out to us asking about the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and if it is on its last legs. Turns out there is some speculation on the internet that the card will be ending soon.  Some say October 18 as that is when the current 25,000 Starpoint offer ends, some say November 15th since that is the last you can earn double Starpoints on Marriott and Starwood stays. Some don't have dates but are scared since the Marriott Premier Visa card was recently discontinued by Chase.

I have confirmation from American Express that neither of these dates are when the card will end. In fact, the card will continue on beyond those dates. Once we have a final date of the completion of the merger Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest program then possibly we could expect the card to end. The good news is that the programs aren't anywhere near merging yet. If you read what Marriott and Starwood execs have stated at various conferences or interviews we shouldn't see the merger happen until late 2018 or even possibly early 2019. Of course it is all speculation as Marriott and Starwood aren't divulging much as to exact dates. As to the Marriott card ending, perhaps we may see American Express win the new contract for the merged Marriott and Starwood programs. If that's the case then current SPG Amex cardholders would most likely be converted to that card. Again speculation on our part now!

In the meantime, since we know the Marriott Visa is no longer available, your best bet at to whether you are a Marriott Rewards points earner or an SPG Starpoints earner is the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express since Starpoints convert to Marriott Rewards at a 1:3 rate.

If you don't have the card yet now is the time to grab it since it does have the increased sign up bonus and it does offer the double Starpoints on Marriott and Starwood stays.  We've written extensively on why this card is so good and would recommend reading some of our other posts on the card as to why it provides what we would consider the highest return of all credit cards in Canada:

• Why you should still consider getting the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express 

• Limited Time Offer: 25,000 Starpoints with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

Up to 200 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 there is the possibility you will not be getting the best price (always compare with sites like Trivago, Expedia etc.), you may or 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 there is the possibility you will 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 200 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles if you make your booking by September 30th for stays until December 31. We value AIR MILES as roughly 11 to 15 cents each so you could get a return as high as $30 if you spend more than $300 on your hotel stay.

Offer details
Earn up to 200 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles on your next hotel stay booked via the AIR MILES Travel Hub. Get 100 Bonus Miles when you spend $100-$299 or 200 Bonus Miles when you spend $300 or more on your hotel stay. Full details and online booking Book by Sep 30 for stays until Dec 31, 17

Find more AIR MILE bonus offers here!

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BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
Welcome Offer: Get up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles* plus a Companion Flight Rebate*
·  Limited Time: $120 annual fee waived in the first year*
· 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

AIR MILES WestJet Award Ticket Sale - Save up to 30% for flights booked by September 30

AIR MILES is doing everything and anything to get back into the good books of Canadians after the disastrous 2016 they had. We've seen better credit card sign up offers, tighter account security and numerous other enhancements to the program. Then they have also run some really good limited time promotions like the recent Delta Airlines gift card offer and now this discounted award flight offer!

If you want to use your AIR MILES for flights on WestJet now would be the time to try to book them since all members will receive 20% off the required number of miles for those award tickets. The discount gets even bigger for Onyx collectors: 25% for flights in Canada and 30% off for USA, Mexico and the Caribbean. Of course most holiday travel is blacked out but if you can be flexible in your timing (ie leave for Christmas early) then this may work out for you.

Click here for complete details on this offer!

Book between September 5 and 30, 2017 for travel between September 19, 2017 and February 15, 2018.
Blackout dates include: Oct. 5-10, 2017, Nov. 9-14, 2017, Dec. 20, 2017 - Jan. 7, 2018.*

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BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
Welcome Offer: Get up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles* plus a Companion Flight Rebate*
·  Limited Time: $120 annual fee waived in the first year*
· 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