January 22 Update: Why No Forex Fees cards are few and far between in Canada, Earn My Canadian Tire Money at Sport Chek

Many people are asking about No Foreign Transaction Fee credit cards due to the upcoming loss of the Chase Marriott and Amazon Visas. Most questions revolve around what cards still offer it (Home Trust Preferred Visa and HSBC Premier World Elite MasterCard) while there are others that the rewards on Foreign Transaction fees get you ahead of the fee amount (Rogers Mastercard, American Express Cobalt Card to name a couple) We also get a lot of questions on whether there will be any new cards that offer the No FX fee option and we answer that question in our old article: Why 'no foreign transaction fees' hasn't proliferated in the Canadian credit card market.  So we don't have our hopes up that any new cards will come out with this option but there is the slight possibility we'll see more cards offer it but the rest of the rewards/benefits on the card will be weak to make up for the loss of revenue.

Missed this one some how until I shopped at Sport Chek today. We now know why Sport Chek dropped Cineplex's SCENE program at the end of October as you can now earn My Canadian Tire Money for purchases as Sport Chek, Atmosphere and Mark's. Only makes sense since Canadian Tire owns the parent company of all those stores. Find out more here.

TAP Portugal is increasing their flights between Toronto and Lisbon for the summer season with a sixth weekly flight. TAP is a member of the Star Alliance which means you can earn and burn miles from many programs including Aeroplan, TAP's Victoria program and many more partners. (Source Routesonline)

Posts since our last update:

• Hotel Review: Best Western Gold Rush Inn Whitehorse
  We welcome another hotel review from Rewards Canada contributor Bill Wheatley: The historic Best Western Gold Rush Inn is one…
• Chase Marriott Premier Cardholders receive exclusive offer for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
  The news that broke earlier this week wasn't good. Chase Bank is deciding to leave to Canadian market which means…
• Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for Accor Hotels stays around the globe
  As we mentioned only a few minutes ago, Aeroplan is one of the easiest program to earn lots of…
• Earn 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Best Western stays until March 31
  One thing you can almost always count on from Aeroplan is the ability to earn more than just base…

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

Canadian Bonus Offers
Le Club AccorHotels
- Double Le Club Accorhotels Points when you stay at any participating Accor hotel in North America. More... Register and book by Jan 31 for stays until Mar 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 1,000 BonusGold Points on qualifying rentals of 2 or more days at participating Budget locations worldwide. More... Until Jun 30, 18

IHG Rewards Club
- Up to a 75% Bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Club Points online. More... Until Feb 28, 18

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Triple KrisFlyer Miles for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong Shangri-La Hotel, Xiamen or Hotel Jen, Beijing. More... Until Feb 28, 18

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 50% Miles&Smiles Discount on select Turkish Airlines award tickets to/from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. More... Book by Jan 31 for travel until May 31, 18

United MileagePlus
- OFFER EXTENDED Elite Status Match that offers top-tier flyers of most other airlines a comparable status in the MileagePlus® program. More... Until Dec 31, 18
- 3,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you complete your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Jul 31, 18

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Up to 5,500 Bonus Flying Club Miles on Avis rentals of 2 or more days in North America, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. More... Book by Feb 28 for rentals until Jun 30, 18


Follow Rewards Canada:

Hotel Review: Best Western Gold Rush Inn Whitehorse

We welcome another hotel review from Rewards Canada contributor Bill Wheatley:

The historic Best Western Gold Rush Inn is one of the larger hotels in Whitehorse, with 99 rooms. It is an older hotel, but has been very well maintained. They are currently renovating the outside.

The front lobby area is very open, with high ceilings and lots of wood.

There is a very large moose head that draws your eyes as you walk in the door.

The front desk clerk was very friendly and helpful, my reservation and room were ready when I arrived.

For a first-time visitor, the elevator may be slightly difficult to locate. The door has been painted to look somewhat like a walk-in safe, though the floor indicator sign above the door might be a bit of a giveaway. It is very well done and adds to the atmosphere of the hotel.

The walls are decorated with old tools of the trade from the days of the Klondike Gold Rush. The only issue I had at check-in was the parking ticket. I parked out front to check-in (not even 15 minutes) and while my back was turned, parking enforcement came by. Fortunately, it was only a $10.00 ticket. Suggestion, always check the parking meters and carry change to plug them with.  The hotel does provide complimentary parking in the lots to the west of the hotel.

The guest rooms are very neat and clean. The bathroom had the usual amenities available and was well-lit and maintained. I had a room with a queen bed and a couple of comfy chairs to relax in. There was also a desk that you could utilize for your computer and a large screen flat screen TV. The bed was very comfortable; I had no problems getting a good night’s sleep. There were no noise issues overnight, it was very restful.

There is a cozy pub attached to the hotel, The Gold Pan Saloon.  They had live entertainment scheduled for the weekends throughout the month of December. The pub itself was about ¾’s full when I arrived and was fairly loud as a result. I came in just before 10:00 pm and was able to get a quick bite, but only just. The kitchen closes at 10:00 pm, though the pub remains open. The menu was not extensive, but they had a good variety of offerings. The décor in the pub also leans heavily on the wood paneling, but it suits the ambience of the locale.  They also offer a great selection of beer on draft, including the local Yukon Gold & Yukon Red.

Elements Hair Studio and Day Spa is available for various spa treatments including manicures, pedicures, facials, body treatments, waxing, mehandi henna tattoos and more. It is open Monday to Saturday. There is also a massage service available so that you can ease those aching muscles after your day. Some of the local things to do is visit the several of the National Historic sites in the Yukon, such as the  S.S. Klondike (old Sternwheeler), or take a hike along the Chilkoot Trail. With luck, you may be treated to a show of the Northern Lights in the evening. (I’ve never been so lucky, but perhaps you will be).

The hotel is located right downtown, thus you are within walking distance of quite a few shops for shopping.  There even is a Timmie’s and Starbucks within 3 blocks of the hotel.

This is definitely a good hotel to stay when you are in Whitehorse and I would recommend it when you travel through this region.

Hotel details
The Best Western Gold Rush Inn Whitehorse (Book here)
Best Western Rewards Points required for a free night 16,000 to 24,000 Points (Book by Jan 31 for only 10,000 points!)

Remember that until the end of January you can earn a $10 Best Western Gift Card for stays at this or any other Best Western hotel. Register for the offer here!

Talk to us! Have you stayed at the Best Western Gold Rush Inn? What are your thoughts of the hotel? Or are you planning to and looking forward to it? Let us know below! 

[EXPIRED] Chase Marriott Premier Cardholders receive exclusive offer for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

THIS OFFER HAS NOW EXPIRED  
 
The news that broke earlier this week wasn't good. Chase Bank is deciding to leave to Canadian market which means their two credit cards that cardholders could still use, the Marriott and Amazon Visas are being discontinued.

The good news for those who hold the Chase Marriott Premier Visa is that Marriott has teamed up with American Express to provide an exclusive offer for Marriott Visa cardholders for the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express.

The offer sees the sign up bonus boosted by 5,000 Starpoints to 25,000 Starpoints after meeting the minimum required spend on the card as a 8.99% balance transfer for the first 12 months, which I guess makes sense for anyone who has been carrying a balance on their Marriott Visa card.

Starpoints, the currency of Starwood Preferred Guest is one of the most valuable loyalty currencies on the market today and that extra 5,000 points is a sweet deal, adding at least $150 in value to the card. Starpoints easily convert to Marriott Rewards points, all you have to do is link your Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest accounts and then the transfers are easy. One Starpoint is worth three Marriott Rewards Points. What does that mean with the SPG Credit Card? That means the sign up bonus is equivalent to 75,000 Marriott Rewards points, the standard earn of 1 Starpoint per dollar spent is equal to 3 Marriott Rewards points and the 2 Starpoints per dollar spent at Marriott and Starwood Hotels is worth 6 Marriott Rewards points. The last offer of spend at their hotels has now been extended to July 31 from the previous end date of February 15.

Recommended reading:

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

This offer is only available to existing Marriott Rewards Visa Credit cardholders who do not already have the SPG card beginning January 25 and those interested must opt into Marriott Rewards marketing emails in order to receive their offer.

The Details of this specific offer are as follows:
• Applications accepted January 25 to April 18, 2018. Offer valid for existing Marriott Rewards Visa Cardholders who do not already have the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card and are residents of Canada.
•  Receive 25,000 Starpoints after they spend $1500 CAD in the first three months after opening their account.
•  8.99% on balance transfers for the first 12 months.

Here are all the regular details of the card:
• You can earn 2 Starpoints for every dollar of eligible purchases charged to the Card at participating SPG® and Marriott Rewards® hotels through July 31, 2018.
• Earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases charged to the Card
• Enjoy a Free Weekend Night Award when you reach $40,000 in purchases each year
• Experience Starwood Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year
• Redeem Starpoints for Free Nights with no blackout dates at over 1,200 of the world's most desired hotels in nearly 100 countries
• Use Starpoints for flights on over 150 airlines with no blackout dates with SPG Flights
• Experience once-in-a-lifetime events with SPG Moments
• American Express Invites™ opens the door to great music, theatre, dining, film, fashion and shopping experiences. Be among the first to know, and among the first to go!
· You can use Apple Pay on your eligible device to pay for goods and services at participating American Express contactless merchants
• Annual interest rate 19.99% on purchases and 22.99% on funds advances 

Starting on January 25th you will be  able to  apply for the card via this link: www.americanexpress.ca/spgrewards

Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for Accor Hotels stays around the globe

As we mentioned only a few minutes ago, Aeroplan is one of the easiest program to earn lots of miles with for hotel stays. Earlier we brought you the Aeroplan IHG offer, the Aeroplan Best Western offer and now here is the Accor Hotel offer. Not as many of you may be familiar with Accor as you are BW or IHG. It is a very large hotel chain from France but you'll get to know them a lot more as they bought Fairmont Hotels a few years and are finally integrating the Fairmont Presdident's Club program in their own Le Club AccorHotels later this year. So you will see lots of Accor branding across Canada and around the world at all Fairmont Hotels. That being said, Accor does already have hotels in Canada, 8 to be exact, all are Novotel and Sofitels in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.
As always this is a good option for those one off stays you might have where it wouldn't be worth it to credit the stay to the Le Club AccorHotels program.

Offer details:
Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at any Accor Hotels worldwide. Bonus awarded for up to 3 stays. Select automatic conversion to convert your Le Club AccorHotels points into Aeroplan in your Le Club AccorHotels account preferences. Full Details & Online Bookieng Until Mar 31, 18

Find many more Aeroplan bonus offers here.

Earn 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for Best Western stays until March 31

One thing you can almost always count on from Aeroplan is the ability to earn more than just base miles for hotel stays. Earlier we brought you the Aeroplan IHG offer and now we have this one for Best Western stays. The offer isn't as rich as we saw through most of 2017 but at least it is something! 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:
500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays at any Best Western Hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Mar 31, 18

Find many more Aeroplan bonus offers here.

January 19 Update: All Chase Marriott Visa cardholders to receive free night award, 20x Shoppers Optimum points tomorrow and a trio of Aeroplan hotel bonuses

We reached out to Marriott for clarification on the Free Night and Elite Status Night credits that will be given to those who have the soon to end Chase Marriott Premier Visa card.  The clarification we were looking for is who would be getting the nights/credits as some people (my wife included) just got them not too long ago when the card hit the anniversary date late in 2017. The news is great:

All cardholders will be receiving their 2018 Annual Free Night Certificate and 15 Elite Night Credits regardless of when their anniversary is in 2018

Marriott wanted to soften the blow by the end of this card and this is a great way for the card to go out. Cheers to Marriott and Chase for doing this with some grace. And stay tuned for some more news tomorrow for Chase cardholders!

Wyndham Hotels announced they are buying La Quinta Hotels. The U.S. based chain has a very small presence in Canada with only 2 hotels but does have almost 900 hotels in the U.S. and Latin America. Of note for most Canadian is the La Quinta Returns program will be absorbed into Wyndham Rewards which means you 'll be able to use the latter to redeem for stays at La Quinta Hotels once the sale is approved and the programs are integrated.

Receive 100 bonus AIR MILES Reward miles when you spend $50 or more at Rexall today or tomorrow!

Or go shop at Shoppers Drug Mart tomorrow to earn 20X Shoppers Optimum Points when you spend $50 or more. Remember right now is the time you want to rack up as many Shoppers Optimum Points as come February 1st your points will convert to the new PC Optimum program and the more points you have the more value you'll get for them. Read more about that here.

Posts since our last update:

• Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles on all IHG hotel stays until April 30
  We've already brought you the details of the new Accelerate promotions for those people who like to earn IHG…

Travel Deals
KLM has brought back their always awesome business class sale! You can fly in style from any of their Canadian cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto or Montreal) for as little as $3,220 all in. 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
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at any IHG Hotels worldwide. More... Until Apr 30, 18
- Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at any Accor Hotels worldwide. More... Until Apr 30, 18
- 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays at any Best Western Hotels worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
-Earn up to Quadruple Asia Miles for Sixt rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Mar 30, 18

Choice Privileges
- 40% Bonus Privileges Points when you buy 5,000 or more points online. More... Until Feb 5, 18

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn 10x bonus JPMiles when you rent for 4 or more days with Avis in Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia (excluding India), USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. More... Book by Feb 28 for rentals Apr 1 - Aug 30, 18

SAS EuroBonus
- 5,000 Bonus EuroBonus Points on Avis rentals of 2 or more days in Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, USA and Canada. More... Book by Feb 28 for rentals until Dec 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles on all IHG hotel stays until April 30

We've already brought you the details of the new Accelerate promotions for those people who like to earn IHG Rewards Club points.  But what happens though if you don't stay at IHG hotels very often and prefer to credit those stays to your favorite airline program? Well credit those stays to Aeroplan as members of this coalition program can once again earn Triple Miles on stays. Remember to earn the bonus you must be an IHG Rewards Club member and set your earning preference to Aeroplan miles.

Offer Details
Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at any IHG Hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Apr 30, 18

Participating IHG Hotels are:
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Alliance Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Resort®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations® hotels, Staybridge Suites® or Candlewood Suites® hotels

Find many more Aeroplan Bonus Miles offers here!

January 18 Update: Amex Centurion to open at New York JFK airport in 2019, AIR MILES permanently raises Cash Miles daily redemption cap and more

American Express will be opening yet another Centurion Lounge in the U.S.. The latest lounge, which will be the largest one yet, will be located at New York City's JFK airport. Remember as Canadians you do have access to Centurion Lounges around the globe if you have The Platinum Card from American Express or the ultra exclusive Centurion Card. Read more about the lounge here. For more details on lounge access we suggest reading Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access.

"American Express announced it will open its largest location of The Centurion Lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4, one of the most active air terminals in the United States. With spectacular views of the airfield, exceptional amenities, and one-of-a-kind design elements, the new lounge will span more than 15,000-square-feet across two levels. The lounge is estimated to open by early 2019."

Over the Christmas period AIR MILES temporarily raised the maximum amount of Cash Miles you could redeem per day. Looks like that trial was successful as AIR MILES has made this a permanent feature as of yesterday. (Source AIR MILES)

"the AIR MILES Reward Program is announcing it is increasing the daily cap for in-store AIR MILES Cash redemptions to $750 (7,125 Cash Miles) per Collector Account, per day. The cap for in-store AIR MILES Cash redemptions at Shell remains at $60 (570 Cash Miles) per transaction, for up to 5 transactions a day. Gift cards and near-cash products will continue to be excluded."

Posts since our last update:

• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - 40% bonus miles when you buy 20,000 or more miles
  Alaska Airlines has launched their first buy miles bonus of 2018! The 40% bonus is always decent but we…
• Earn Double Aeroplan Miles on select Air Canada routes between Canada and the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Sun destinations
  Nice to see more flight bonuses coming out of Air Canada and Aeroplan - its been a bit dry…
• Chase Marriott and Amazon Visas come to a complete close on March 15
  Nearly a year ago Chase stopped accepting new applications for the Amazon.ca Visa and then late in summer 2017…

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

Canadian Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Double Aeroplan Miles when you fly on select Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge routes between Canada and the U.S., Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Sun destinations. More... Register and book by Feb 15 for travel until Jun 30, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to 40% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy 20,000 or more miles. More... Until Feb 7, 18

Avianca LifeMiles
- Earn up to 6x LifeMiles when you rent with Dollar in the Americas and Europe. More... Until Mar 31, 18

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Triple Asia Miles for stays at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 30, 18

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn up to 30% JPMiles when you convert other loyalty program points (Bank, Hotel, Credit Card etc.) to JPMiles. More... Until Feb 16, 18

Marriott Rewards
- South Africa 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays on Thursday-Sunday nights (Friday or Saturday required) at participating Marriott Hotels in South Africa. More... Until Mar 31, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - 40% bonus miles when you buy 20,000 or more miles

Alaska Airlines has launched their first buy miles bonus of 2018! The 40% bonus is always decent but we do usually see a 50% bonus several times per year son unless you need the miles right away we would wait to buy. This offer is targeted so after you click the link below, login to see if you are eligible for the offer. Remember there is also no limit to the number of miles you can buy each year, you are simply limited to a maximum of 60,000 miles pre-bonus per transaction.

With the 40% offer you are buying Mileage Plan Miles at roughly US 2.11 cents each:

 
Seeing that you can redeem miles for premium class flights on British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Hainan, Korean Air and more, there are lots of options for you to use these miles. Remember it only takes 70,000 Mileage Plan miles to fly Cathay Pacific First Class one way from North America to Asia and those 70K will cost you US$1478.13 (~C$1925) as seen above - and to pay for that first class would most likely cost you a lot more than that!

Offer details
Earn up to 40% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy 20,000 or more miles.  Full details Until Feb 7, 18

Find many more Mileage Plan offers here.