World of Hyatt: Up to a 40% bonus when you buy points

Tis the season for buying points and miles bonuses! While there are many bonuses for the buying of points and miles throughout the year there tends to be two spikes per year where there are lots of offers at once and one of those spikes is right now. This offer is tiered and offers up to 40% bonus points. You need to buy at least 5,000 points to get the lowest bonus of 20% or 30,000 or more points to get the 40%. The offer of 40% works out to 1.714 cents per point. Depending on how you redeem them it could be worthwhile to purchase them for rewards at high end hotels like Park Hyatt's around the globe or even buying less if you just need a few thousand points to top off for an award.

Offer details
Earn up to 40% Bonus World of Hyatt Points when you buy points online. Full details. Until Dec 15, 17

Purchase between 5,000 and 9,000 Bonus Points in a single transaction and receive 20% additional Bonus Points or purchase between 10,000 and 29,000 Bonus Points in a single transaction and receive 30% additional Bonus Points or purchase a minimum of 30,000 Bonus Points in a single transaction and receive 40% additional Bonus Points.

Find other World of Hyatt bonuses here!

BMO World Elite Mastercard changes confirmed for January 15, 2018

On November 13 we detailed that negative changes were coming to several BMO credit cards and thanks to all our readers we know most if not all of the details that were happening. This post looks at the very popular BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard that up until several years ago was our Top Travel Points Credit Card with an annual fee but that changed as they made the card less attractive and now it is becoming even more so. As we see in a lot of cases the company tries to put a positive spin on the changes but when you delve deep and look at all the numbers we typically find the changes to be negative.

According to this page on the BMO site here is what is happening to the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard:

Earn BMO Rewards points 50% faster!

Get rewarded even sooner. Earn 3 BMO Rewards points for every $1.00 spent on eligible travel, dining and entertainment purchases, up to $50,000 in purchases per year.^{1, 2}

Enjoy more rewards flexibility

We have reviewed the BMO Rewards program, and are making some changes to give you more choice and better value across our range of rewards:

• Travel reward changes
  The number of BMO Rewards points needed to redeem³ for $1.00 in travel rewards will be increasing from 100 to 140 points. We understand that receiving full value for your travel rewards is important to you and we are committed to honouring the purchasing power of the BMO Rewards points you’ve already earned. As of January 15, 2018, we will be adding extra points to your BMO Rewards account to offset the impact of this change so you won’t lose the value of your points. This means there’s no rush to redeem your points now.
• Improved value of merchandise and gift cards
  BMO Rewards is not just about travel. As of January 15, 2018, you’ll be able to redeem for the same great merchandise and gift cards with up to 20% fewer points!
• Invest more for your future with BMO financial contributions
  We have improved the value you receive when redeeming your points for eligible BMO investment accounts. You’ll be able to invest with 25% fewer points. It has never been more rewarding to invest in what matters to you most.
• Coming February 2018! Turn your BMO Rewards points into cash
  For the ultimate in flexibility, treat yourself by purchasing whatever you want, wherever you want and use your BMO Rewards points to pay down your credit card balance. Get ready to pay yourself with points!

First off they tell you you can earn points 50% faster - but that's only in three categories. Multiplier bonuses are always great but when you change other aspects of the program it can kill those multiplier bonuses. Not to mention, multipliers while we love them can make a nice and simple program like the BMO Rewards one more complicated (which it gets even more complicated now that redemption is changing as well). So come January 15th the card will continue to earn 2 points per dollar spent on all purchases outside of travel, dining and entertainment which will earn 3 points per dollar. In the old program it was a simple 2 points per dollar on all purchases.

Now to the second change, the change in redemption rate. Before it was 100 points for a $1 travel credit which meant your 2 points per dollar equated to a straight 2% return. Now the redemption rate will be 140 points for $1 come January 15. That means you'll have a varying return depending on your spending. For your 3 points per dollar spending your return equates to a 2.14% return and your 2 points per dollar now equate to a 1.43% return. As you can see most spending categories on this card will now be worth nearly 30% less while the three categories that get boosted only see a 7% increase. Not ideal. Now this card will really only make sense for purchases in the three boosted categories outside of that there are cards with much better returns. And we aren't even diving into the card costing $150 per year plus $50 for supplementary cards. Close competitors are cheaper on that front but yes with the BMO Card you get your Priority Pass membership covered with the card along with 4 free lounge visits, something you will have to take into account. For those who have the card already you won't lose the value of your earned points up to January 15 as they will add extra points to your account to account for the change to 140 from 100.

The other change of note will be the ability to use points to pay down your balance, essentially a cash back option. The site doesn't state what the rate is but according to some forums it is half the travel rate. So 140 points will be worth 50 cents. This is following in the footsteps of several other programs that now have cash back options with their cards on top of the better travel redemption options. This means you are looking at a .72 to 1.05% return for the cash back option.

Overall I'm really torn by this card - it still has hints of greatness, the lounge access can be worth the annual fee, it has a really good insurance package attached to it and the 2.14% for travel if you only use the card at category bonus merchants is pretty good. However the high cost of ownership of the card, the much lower return on non-category bonus spending and the fact that you have to redeem your points for travel via BMO Rewards to achieve the best return are real downfalls of this card. Its closest competitors allow you to book any travel you want with lowering the value of your points and give you up to 12 months after the travel is charged to redeem your points for it giving you more flexibility - this card does not.

What do you all think? Am I being too hard on the card or do you agree that in general it keeps going on a downward spiral? Let me know in the comments section below.

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15x AIR MILES Reward Miles on all airmilesshops.ca purchases until November 29

The online shopping bonuses are the best during the holiday season and here is the next one! For the next 9 days you can earn 15x Reward Miles on each qualifying purchase of $20 or more dollars via Air Miles Shops. For more Holiday S

For more details visit airmilesshops.ca

For more on Holiday Shopping check out our Top 6 tips for maximizing miles & points earning on your holiday shopping

Here are the terms of the offer:
Monday November 20 until Wednesday November 29, 2017. Get 15x Miles sitewide
† LIMITED TIME OFFER: Get 15x AIR MILES® Reward Miles on qualifying purchases of $20 CDN or more, excluding shipping, duty and taxes, made in a single transaction between 00:00:01 AM ET on November 20 and 23:59:59 PM ET on November 29, 2017. Offer applies to the total Base Miles collected on qualifying purchase amount excluding shipping, duty and taxes. Base offer may vary per store, click on store logo at airmilesshops.ca for details. Collectors must sign in at airmilesshops.ca before purchasing in order to get Reward Miles. Offer can be combined with other Bonus Miles offers. Offer is valid on the purchase of gift cards only at online stores who regularly offer Miles on gift card purchases. See airmilesshops.ca for details. For travel online stores (including travel bookings, car rentals, and hotels), travel must be booked by November 29, 2017 and completed by February 28, 2018. Bonus Miles will be posted to your Collector Account within 75 days after the promotional period.

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BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
Welcome Offer: Get up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles*
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*
· VIP Airport Lounge Access*
· BMO Concierge Service*
· Use your card at Costco
· *Terms and conditions apply
· Interest Rate: Purchases 19.99% Cash Advances 22.99%

Avianca LifeMiles - 145% Bonus when you buy LifeMiles until November 27 (Use on Air Canada as an Aeroplan alternative)

Avianca has launched a great buy miles offer for Cyber Week! It is not tiered, it is not exclusive to select blogs. This is one of the best buy miles offers yet from Avianca due to these reasons. You can buy 1,000 miles and get the 145% bonus or you can buy 200,000 miles and get the 145% bonus! The price per 1,000 miles is USD33 which means you are buying miles for US 1.35 cents pre tax.

If you have followed us for sometime you'll know this is a decent option to get Star Alliance flights on the cheap especially in business class. So what should you do? If you know that you can make your travel work and get the LifeMiles redemption(s) of your choice go ahead and buy the miles however I wouldn't buy them if you don't think you'll use them over then 3-6 months just in case another award chart devaluation comes along.

Considering Avianca is a Star Alliance member this is a great way to get a lot of miles to use for Air Canada and this is actually one program you can look at as a stop gap measure if you are looking for an Aeroplan alternative where you can use miles on Air Canada indefinitely before AC launches their own program.

Some things to consider with the buy miles option before you pull the trigger is that their call center tends to be on the less helpful side so you are better off booking award tickets online which also means you are limited to the powers of that source and they have devalued the program without notice in the past so only buy these miles if you think you will use them in the next short while.

Offer details
145% Bonus LifeMiles when you buy LifeMiles online.  Full details Until Nov 27, 17


Find many more Avianca LifeMiles bonus offers here.

IHG Rewards Club Your World Sale - Save 15-30% off destinations across the globe for a limited time

Black Friday is fast approaching and one of the biggest hotel sales that was launched over a week ago is the Your World Sale from IHG. It provides up to 30% off stays around the globe for IHG Rewards Club members, discounted Points+Cash offers and more. If you are not a member yet it's free to join.

The World. Now on Sale. Shop Your World Sale from IHG® Rewards Club to save 15-30% off destinations across the globe for a limited time. Book by November 29 for stays until March 31, 2018

Book the IHG Rewards Club Your World Sale here!

Not only is the Your World Sale offering discounted rates around the globe there are also IHG Rewards Club Bonus Points opportunities available as well (can be found in the link above)

Terms & Conditions

Booking in the US, Canada and Latin America
The “Your World Sale” promotional rate is valid only for bookings made from November 11 2017 through November 29 2017 and consumed through March 31 2018 at participating IHG hotels in the United States, Canada, Caribbean, Central America and South America. You must be a member of IHG Rewards Club to qualify for the discount, which ranges from 15%-30% off the Best Flexible Rate. This is a qualifying rate and the discount varies by hotel, blackout dates apply, rooms subject to availability.  This rate is fully pre-paid and non-refundable. Hotel policy varies in regards to the number of guests allowed per room. Not applicable with other discounted rate promotions. Not applicable to group bookings. Hotel-specific early departure fee applies.

Booking into Europe
The “Your World Sale” promotional rate is valid only for bookings made from November 11 2017 through November 29 2017 and consumed through March 31 2018 at participating IHG hotels in Europe. You must be a member of IHG Rewards Club to qualify for the discount, which ranges from 15%-30% off the Best Flexible Rate. This is a qualifying rate and discount varies by hotel, blackout dates apply, rooms subject to availability. This rate is fully pre-paid and non-refundable. Hotel policy varies in regards to the number of guests allowed per room. Not applicable with other discounted rate promotions. Not applicable to group bookings. Hotel-specific early departure fee applies.

Booking into Greater China
The “Your World Sale” promotional rate is valid only for bookings made from 11 November 2017 through 29 November 2017 and consumed through 31 March 2018 at participating IHG hotels in Greater China. You must be a member of IHG Rewards Club to qualify for the discount, which ranges from 15%-20% off the Best Flexible Rate between November 11 2017 and November 17 2017. A discount of up to 14.5% will apply November 17 2017 through November 29 2017 based on normal Your Rate APR. This is a qualifying rate and discount varies by hotel, blackout dates apply, rooms subject to availability. This rate is fully pre-paid and non-refundable. Hotel policy varies in regards to the number of guests allowed per room. Not applicable with other discounted rate promotions. Not applicable to group bookings. Hotel-specific early departure fee applies.

Booking into Asia Pacific the Middle East and Africa
The “Your World Sale” promotional rate is valid only for bookings made from November 11 2017 through November 29 2017 and consumed November 18 2017 through April 15 2018 at participating IHG hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. You must be a member of IHG Rewards Club to qualify for the discount, which ranges from 11%-30% off the Best Flexible Rate. This is a qualifying rate and discount varies by hotel, blackout dates apply, rooms subject to availability. This rate is fully pre-paid and non-refundable. Hotel policy varies in regards to the number of guests allowed per room. Not applicable with other discounted rate promotions. Not applicable to group bookings. Hotel-specific early departure fee applies.

Join InterContinental Ambassador
A one-time bonus of 10,000 Bonus Points will be awarded to you approximately 6-8 weeks after you successfully join the InterContinental Ambassador program. Offer is valid from November 11 through November 29.

Yes it is official - say good bye to the Capital One® Aspire Travel™ World Elite Mastercard®

Amazon, Marriott and now this, the best Travel Points Credit Card with an annual fee and our 2nd place card overall in Canada is no longer available to new customers. You may have noticed that as of a few days ago we pulled all references of this card off our site and as of yesterday it was taken off the Capital One site as it has been officially discontinued!

Citing economics due to the change in interchange rates (see our 2015 death knell post) Capital One has decided to pull this card from the market.

What if I already have the card?
For now you are OK. Capital One has told us that all existing Aspire Travel World Elite card holders will continue to enjoy this amazing card!

It is just for anyone who has not got the card that you have now lost out if you were considering it. We asked Capital One if there is a replacement product in the works and unfortunately there is not.

All other Capital One products like the Capital One® Aspire Travel™ Platinum Mastercard® and the Capital One® Aspire Cash™ Platinum Mastercard® are still available.

Thoughts everyone?

November 16 Update: Papeete now bookable with WestJet dollars plus their Black Friday offers start today with flights as low as $99

Several people have asked us about using WestJet dollars for the Air France's flight Papeete out of Los Angeles as when we posted yesterday it wasn't showing up on WestJet's site. As of today Papeete is on the drop down list now and it is proving hard to find availabilty and that is mainly due to Air France only flying the route 3x per week and being only one of two routes between mainland North America and Tahiti you can gather why availability is sparce.

I did find availability between Calgary (any Canadian city should work) and Papeete on December 7th, the price is 729WSD + 91.24 in taxes. The only other date we found was March 8. Both said 4 seats available and that is only one way. We did not check return flights but then again who would want to return!

If you are having difficulty finding availability on any routes for Member Exclusive Fares we have had several tips have come in from readers and WestJet alike to help out:

From Hyacinthe in the comments of our blog post yesterday:

Member exclusive fares options online are somehow limited but I've been told that the rewards department over the phone can book any origin-destination, including from outside Canada

From WestJet via email:

Here’s what you need to book:

• Your WestJet Rewards ID and password. You’ll need to sign in to book.

• Enough WestJet dollars to cover the entire base fare. If you don’t have enough, you can buy more.

• The Member Exclusive checkbox. International destinations and fares are only displayed when booking a Member Exclusive fare so be sure to always check this option on the book a flight search tool before selecting your dates and destination.

• Flexibility with your travel dates. These destinations are made available by our airline partners through a restricted supply of seats reserved for frequent flyer program redemption. For best availability try booking at least two months in advance and if you can’t immediately find the date you’re looking for, search for other dates. You’ll find best availability during non-peak days of week and travel periods. 

• Flexibility with your destination. In many cases, multiple cities are offered within the same country. Can’t get to Frankfurt? Consider Berlin, Dusseldorf or Munich.

FYI Air France KLM Flying Blue is still not showing WestJet flights on their award booking engine. As soon as they do we'll make sure to let you know about it!

Pacific Coastal Airlines is launching a new route between Vancouver and Tofino in April of 2018. Pacific Coastal does not have their own frequent flyer program which means it is an ideal airline to use proprietary credit card points for flights with them! (Source Routes Online)

We're going to keep this reminder going in each update until Christmas:
Check out the Give A Mile Flight Hero campaign! The charity can really use donations of miles to help provide flights to those who otherwise would be unable to travel to visit terminally ill or critically sick family and friends. Rewards Canada has pledged to raise 100,000 miles and we are half way there! We are putting the call out to all of our fans, readers and even new visitors, if you can give please do so. It can be as little as 1,000 miles! You can find out more and donate here.



Posts since our last update:

• 30% Transfer Bonus for RBC Rewards (Avion only) to British Airways Executive Club is back
  Some of you asked when this bonus would return and we guessed it would be today and it was!…
• You can now redeem WestJet Rewards dollars for flights on Air France and KLM!
  Always hinting and putting out teasers where we can, today's news is that where we implied potential good news from…

Travel Deals

WestJet has launched a one day only Black Friday sale - Fares start as low as $99 one way between major Canadian cities however fares are limited at the lowest prices (some have already sold out at time of posting) Find out more here

Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- 30% Bonus Avios when you convert RBC Rewards Points (Avion Cardholders only) to British Airways Executive Club. More... For residents of Canada only. Until Dec 31, 17


Other Bonus Offers
Etihad Guest
- Triple Guest Miles for stays at Anantara Hotels in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Hyatt World of Hyatt
- Double World of Hyatt Points on all Hyatt stays Worldwide More... Register by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 31, 17

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios for stays at Derby Hotels in Barcelona, Madrid, London and Paris. More... Until Dec 31, 17

Marriott Rewards
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays Thursday to Sunday (Friday or Saturday required) at the Nanki-Shirahama Marriott Hotel. More... Until Dec 26, 17

Miles & More
- 500 Bonus Miles & More Miles for stays at participating Novotel Hotels & Suites and Mercure hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 17


Follow Rewards Canada:

Hyatt Hotels: Double World of Hyatt Points on all stays through to the end of 2017

If we can recall correctly this is only the second system wide bonus to be offered by Hyatt since launching the revamped World of Hyatt program. With this offer you earn double the base points (5 bonus points/$ essentially) on all stays booked online via Hyatt.com or the app.

Offer details:
Double World of Hyatt Points on all Hyatt stays Worldwide that are booked online at Hyatt.com or on the World of Hyatt app.  Register Online (Registration is required) Register by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 31, 17

Stays booked through other channels (including other Hyatt channels) are not eligible.

Find other World of Hyatt bonus offers here

[OFFER EXPIRED] Simply unprecedented - SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express offers up to 10% cash back

THIS OFFER IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Continuing on with our tweet from Monday:

This is the definite good news for Wednesday on top of all the other good news we already posted!

A Canadian first, perhaps a worldwide first, but as of today you can get a 10% return on credit card spending. Yes it is limited to specific category spending but all we can say is wow! We have never seen a published 10% offer before. Has it been possible to pull value of 10% or more out of credit cards? Yes with frequent flyer and frequent guest cards like The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express but those are not published returns. Here we have a card that is marketing and publishing a 10% return!

As of today if you apply for and are approved for the SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express you will earn 10% cash back on eligible gas, grocery and restaurant purchases in Canada for the first 6 months of Cardmembership (up to $300 cash back). The previous offer was 5% up to to $300. So your total value doesn't change but you can now reach that limit twice as fast with only $3,000 in category spending versus $6,000 of overall spending!


SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express

Card Name: SimplyCashTM Preferred Card from American Express
Card Type: Credit   
Annual Fee: $99
Product Details:
New SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express Cardmembers can earn 10% cash back on eligible gas, grocery and restaurant purchases in Canada for the first 6 months of Cardmembership (up to $300 cash back)
Earn 2% cash back on all other purchases and when your welcome rate ends.
No limit to the amount of cash back you can earn
Access to memorable experiences with American Express Invites®
Extensive insurance coverage and 24/7 Customer Service
American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link. Offer subject to change without notice.

Conditions apply

November 15 Update: WestJet Rewards becoming a real contender, YYC to YYZ via AMS on Air France KLM & 2 new Canadian Marriott stay bonuses

This is just me thinking out loud here..... WestJet Rewards and Air France KLM Flying Blue finally announced reciprocal redemption from their respective reward programs today. We covered using WestJet dollars on AF KLM earlier today and this is great news that I wanted to talk about more. The ever expanding capacity of WestJet Rewards is making the program that much stronger and a contender. It is one to watch out for and to consider joining. With redemption possibilities on WestJet, Delta, Air France, KLM and soon Qantas, there isn't much of the world left that you won't be able to get to. Yes it is only in economy class (for the time being ) but the reality is that is what most Canadians redeem for. Even Aeroplan let us know that redeeming for business class isn't a major award goal. When they raised the amount of miles required for business class flights to Europe and several other award categories a few years ago, they themselves stated that this affected only about 2% of their members. As someone living in Calgary it really has me starting to reconsider my strategies for some of my family's travel patterns. Yes we have the WestJet cards for the companion fares but now I need to crunch the numbers on regular spending as well for all these member exclusive fare options. I would love to hear what others are contemplating!

On the flip side, Air France KLM Flying Blue lists that you can spend miles on WestJet now however the flights don't show up online so chances are you will have to redeem via the phone if you wanted to redeem today! We tried a booking between Calgary and Toronto and this is what we got - not that we would mind going through Amsterdam on a 787 and 747 to get to Toronto but not really practical!

We're going to keep this reminder going in each update until Christmas:
Check out the Give A Mile Flight Hero campaign! The charity can really use donations of miles to help provide flights to those who otherwise would be unable to travel to visit terminally ill or critically sick family and friends. Rewards Canada has pledged to raise 100,000 miles and we are half way there! We are putting the call out to all of our fans, readers and even new visitors, if you can give please do so. It can be as little as 1,000 miles! You can find out more and donate here.



Posts since our last update:

• 30% Transfer Bonus for RBC Rewards (Avion only) to British Airways Executive Club is back
  Some of you asked when this bonus would return and we guessed it would be today and it was!…
• You can now redeem WestJet Rewards dollars for flights on Air France and KLM!
  Always hinting and putting out teasers where we can, today's news is that where we implied potential good news from…

Travel Deals


Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers
Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 7,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the TownePlace Suites London. More... Until Jan 31, 18
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard Waterloo St. Jacobs. More... Until Jan 31, 18

RBC Rewards
2 Bonus RBC Rewards Points per dollar spent when you rent with Thrifty Car Rental in Canada. Must use an RBC Rewards earning credit card for payment. More... Ongoing


Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- 5,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you spend $200 or more on your first booking with Rocketmiles More... Until Dec 31, 17

Avianca LifeMiles
- Quadruple LifeMiles on your first rental with Sixt that is 3 or more days. More... Until Jan 31, 19

SAS EuroBonus
- 6,000 Bonus EuroBonus Points on Avis rentals of 2 or more days in Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, USA and Canada. More... Book by Nov 30 for rentals until Dec 31, 17
- 4,000 Bonus EuroBonus Points when you rent with Sixt Worldwide for 2 or more days. More... Book by Dec 22 for rentals until Jan 15, 18

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
-Triple Flying Club Miles on Sixt rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Dec 15 for rentals until Dec 31, 17

Voila Hotel Rewards
- 30% VHR Points Discount when you redeem for award nights participating VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 18

Follow Rewards Canada: