Lounge Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 6

In May of 2017 Air Canada moved from Terminal 2 to Terminal 6 at LAX and with it came a new Maple Leaf lounge. The old one in Terminal 2 was quite large after it expanded a few years previous and due to its size was a Priority Pass accessible lounge. The new Maple Leaf lounge in Terminal 6 looks and feels a lot like the old one however it is much smaller. Due to the size restriction the lounge is no longer participating in Priority Pass. Access is only available to those flying Air Canada Business Class, Air Canada Altitude members (Super Elite 100K, Elite 75K and 50K), Star Alliance Gold members, Maple Leaf Club members and American Express AeroplanPlus Reserve or Platinum cardholders.  TD/CIBC Visa Infinite, Infinite Privilege and Small Business Cardholders also have access to the lounge when flying on an Aeroplan award ticket. Priority Pass members while out of luck for the new Maple Leaf lounge do have access to the Alaska Airlines lounge in Terminal 6.
 
Related: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access

Operating hours are 5:30 am – 10:00 pm every day:

This was our first visit to the new lounge in Terminal 6 and our hopes were up that seeing the lounge was no longer part of Priority Pass that food and drink offerings would be enhanced. Such is not the case however. The food offerings were just as basic and simple as we found in the old Terminal 2 lounge. Things like Chips & Salsa, a couple salads and some soups were the main offerings:

We ended up getting some extra food from some of the terminal restaurants and bringing it back to the lounge. Something you would think would not be necessary when flying business class.

Drinks are plentiful and the selection is good for cold and hot beverages as well as an alright alcohol selection:

As already mentioned, the lounge is smaller so there is less seating but it is definitely quieter thanks to it no longer having the Priority Pass option. When we arrived at the lounge for our evening flight to YYC there were only 3 or 4 people in the lounge and that probably maxed out at about 20 people once others began arriving for our flight and the later YYZ flight. Seating areas are much like those seen in the old lounge:

I don't have pictures of the outside views as it was dark by the time we arrived and while the lounge does look onto the west apron of Terminal 6 it is further down the building when compared to the old lounge so it does not afford as good as plane spotting opportunities all the avgeeks enjoyed in the old Maple Leaf lounge.

Overall, the new lounge has its pros and cons - the main pro being that it is definitely less busy than the old Terminal 2 lounge and the cons are primarily the food offerings and the views. Granted, being in the lounge beats sitting in the main terminal any day. Next time we may try out the Alaska lounge even if we're flying Air Canada just to compare as we haven't tried that lounge yet.

What do you think of the relatively new Maple Leaf lounge in LAX? Let us know in the comments below!

Last week to book the Hilton Winter Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa

This is the last week to book Hilton's massive winter sale where you can save up to 25% on weekend breaks, now and throughout 2018. With over 400 hotels across Europe, The Middle East and Africa. Book today and save - and access the best savings as a Hilton Honors member, simply join for free when you book. Stays must be booked by January 31, 2018 and completed on weekends through to December 31, 2018. Remember that you should also be earning 2,000 bonus Points on these stays with the current winter Hilton Honors promotion. Find that and all other Honors bonuses here.

Click here to take advantage of the Hilton Winter sale 

For purposes of this offer, "weekend" is defined as Friday, Saturday and/or Sunday nights and in Middle East (excluding Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Africa) as Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday nights. Must book a minimum 3 days before arrival.

January 24 Update: Shangri-La day - 100 Free points and up to Triple Points for stays at the Shangri-La Vancouver or Toronto

Another free points offer to let you know about! It's a very popular type of offer the many hotel brands have used and it is to award points for downloading and trying their apps, Club Carlson and La Quinta, just to name a few, have offers now and another brand has jumped into the fray. Shangri-La Hotels Golden Circle is awarding 100 free GC Award points for logging into their app. Easy as that. They are also offering up to triple points for booking stays via the app as well so if you have been eyeing the Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver or Toronto or anywhere else Worldwide book it via the app! Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions - January Edition
  One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of the systemwide bonuses…
• One week left for the American Express Cobalt Card up to 40,000 point introductory offer
  Per the marketing terms that have been attached to the American Express Cobalt Card you only have one week…

Travel Deals
Hilton Winter Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa

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
Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Earn up to Triple GC Awards Points for stay at any Shangri-La hotel and resort, Kerry hotel, Hotel Jen or Traders hotel including Vancouver and Toronto that are booked via the Shangri-La Mobile app. More... Apr 30, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Double MilleMiglia Miles for your first hotel stay booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Mar 19 for stays until Dec 31, 18
- 30% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles for all hotel stays booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Mar 19 for stays until Dec 31, 18

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

British Airways Executive Club
- 25% Bonus Avios on your next hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Mar 31, 18

Le Club AccorHotels
- 500 Bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Switzerland. More... Book by Feb 5 for stays until Mar 31, 18

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Earn up to Triple GC Awards Points for stay at any Shangri-La hotel and resort, Kerry hotel, Hotel Jen or Traders hotel that are booked via the Shangri-La Mobile app. More... Apr 30, 18
- 100 FREE GC Award Points for new members who join GC on the App and existing members who sign in to their GC accounts on the App within the offer period. More... Apr 30, 18
- Double GC Award Points for Family stays at the Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. More... Feb 14 - May 14, 188

Follow Rewards Canada:

Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions - January 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	Receive a $10 Best Western Gift Card with every stay at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)	Until Jan 31, 18
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Carlson Hotels Club Carlson	3,000 Bonus Gold Points when you complete a stay booked via the Club Carlson mobile app. Full details	Ongoing
	For a complete listing of all Carlson Hotels Club Carlson bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Carlson page
Choice Hotels Privileges	No offers at this time	--
	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
GHA Discovery	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all GHA Discovery bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's GHA page
Hilton	Earn 2,000 Bonus Honor Points per stay at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. Earn an additional 10,000 bonus points for every 5 stays completed during the promotional period. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Jan 1 - Apr 30, 18
	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)	Jan 1 - Apr 30, 18
	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 up to 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at participating Marriott Hotels Worldwide starting with your second stay.  Earn 2,000 points per stay and an additional 1,000 bonus points for stays that include a weekend night (Fri/Sat or Thu/Fri in the Middle East) starting with your second stay. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Register by Mar 31 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 2018
	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
Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Sonesta Hotels bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Travel Pass page
Starwood Preferred Guest	Earn Double Starpoints on stays at participating Starwood Hotels Worldwide starting with your second stay. Earn an additional 500 bonus Starpoints for stays that include a weekend night (Fri/Sat or Thu/Fri in the Middle East) starting with your second stay. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)	Register by Mar 31 for stays Jan 16 - Apr 15, 18
	For a complete listing of all Starwood Preferred Guest bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's SPG page
Voila Hotel Rewards	5,000 Bonus VHR Points per stays at participating VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required)	Until Apr 30, 18
	30% Bonus VHR Points for stays at participating VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. Register Online (Registration is required)	Until Feb 28, 18
	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	Earn up to 15,000 Bonus Wyndham Rewards Points for stays at participating Wyndham Hotels & Resorts that are paid for with Visa Checkout. Full details and online booking 1st stay = 3,000 bonus points 2nd stay = 5,000 bonus points 3rd stay = 7,000 bonus points For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Until Feb 28, 18
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page

One week left for the American Express Cobalt Card up to 40,000 point introductory offer

Per the marketing terms that have been attached to the American Express Cobalt Card you only have one week left to grab this card with its introductory sign up offer of up to 40,000 points.

If you haven't applied for the card yet or even considered it you really should take a look at it. It is now ranked the number 1 card in Canada by Rewards Canada and speaking from personal experience, it is exceptionally rewarding. Both my wife and I grabbed the cards late in October and in less than 3 months we are nearing 120,000 points between the two cards. That's a minimum of $1,200 in travel - yes we have made $1,200 in that short time thanks to the 5x points on Eats & Drinks (10x during December), the monthly sign up bonus of 2,500 points for hitting $500 per billing cycle and the 10,000 points for hitting $3,000 in spend in the first three months on each card. Personally I value the points even higher than that as they will be transferred to Starwood Preferred Guest at a 2:1 ratio. That means right now we are sitting on 60,000 Starpoints and I value those points at about 2.95 cents (C$) or almost $1,800 in value. The earn can only be explained as exceptional as the amount of spending hasn't been too crazy, just focused on those eats and drinks to maximize the return.

Related articles

• American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations
• American Express Cobalt Card Review

Anyways you can still get in on the additional 10,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first three months as long as you apply for the card by January 30:


American Express Cobalt Card

• In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards® points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in net purchases on your Card. This could add up to 30,000 points in a year.
• Limited Time Offer: Apply by 01/30/18 and you can earn a Welcome Bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards® points when you spend a total of $3,000 in net purchases in your first 3 months
• Earn 5 points for every $1 spent on Card purchases at eligible restaurants, bars, grocery stores and food delivery in Canada
• Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible transit & gas purchases in Canada and eligible travel purchases. That’s 2X the points on purchases that get you from point A to B
• Earn 1 point for every $1 in Card purchases everywhere else. We won’t tell you where to spend, we’ll just reward you on your Card purchases
• Get advance access to tickets to some of the hottest concerts, shows and events through Front Of The Line® by American Express Invites® and advance screenings to blockbuster movies. Plus, more great perks.
• American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details, current product information and Terms and Conditions, click the Apply now link.
• Conditions Apply

January 23 Update: Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards, Double Stars Day on Wednesday and Hilton Winter Sale

Today is one of the biggest days of the year for Rewards Canada - it's the day we release our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings. This is our 10th Annual ranking and to the best of our knowledge, the longest running of any credit card rankings in Canada. This year sees some category updates and we crown a new overall winner! We've already had a separate post about it and of course the main feature page for the rankings so we won't go into any more detail here. Check them out here.

Tomorrow is Double Stars day for Starbucks Rewards members

American Express Membership Rewards is having a sale on gift cards - select cards are being offered for up to 50% less points. Normally we aren't huge fans of redeeming for gift cards with this program but some of them are a really good value with the sale. Check it out here.

Posts since our last update:

• Canada’s Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards Revealed
  Travel Rewards Credit Cards are the prized possession of the vast majority of Canadians, providing would be travellers with…

Travel Deals
Hilton Winter Sale - Save up to 25% on weekend stays in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa


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
- 2,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on your first online delivery order of $250 or more on the Costco Business Centre. More... Until Feb, 18
- Quadruple Aeroplan Miles when you park your vehicle for 4 or more days in Ottawa and Edmonton Park’N Fly locations. More... Until Mar 31, 18

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 100% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you purchase and fly 4 legs of your choice operated by Alitalia including Toronto to Rome. More... Until Mar 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles on all hotel stays booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Jun 30, 18
- 1,000 Bonus Asia Miles PER NIGHT for up to 3 nights on your first hotel stay booked via Rocketmiles. More... Book by Jun 30, 18

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Double Infinity MileageLands Miles when you book the Linger Longer package at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 18

Hilton Honors
- 50,000 Bonus Honor Points when you complete 4 stays within 90 days at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Jul 16, 18

Hyatt World of Hyatt
- 30% Bonus World of Hyatt Points when you buy 5,000 or more points online. More... Until Feb 23, 18

Le Club AccorHotels
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Belgium, Luxembourg or The Netherlands. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Canada’s Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards Revealed

Travel Rewards Credit Cards are the prized possession of the vast majority of Canadians, providing would be travellers with thousands of dollars worth of travel perks and privileges each year. For over 10 years Rewards Canada has been helping Canadians sift through the more than 75 travel rewards credit card offerings with its annual Travel Rewards Credit Card Ranking.

This year’s ranking reflects some significant changes that swept across the industry in 2017. The biggest and most exciting came with the introduction of the new ‘Millennial’ themed American Express Cobalt card.

“The Cobalt card exploded onto the scene in late September and is an absolute game changer,” says Patrick Sojka, founder of RewardsCanada.ca. “No other card offers the same combination of sign-up bonuses, conversion options, premium insurance benefits and an exceptionally high earn rate on the Food and Drink category. It’s a no brainer for this year’s Best Overall travel rewards card and knocks its sibling -- the American Express Gold card, off the throne.”

In addition to the Cobalt card, this year’s ranking has been modified to capture other changes. For example, the hotel category has been eliminated since industry consolidation has reduced the number of hotel offerings down to just two dedicated credit cards.  The ‘no fee’ category has expanded to include all ‘no fee’ rewards cards (travel points, airline, hotel etc.) not just travel points.  And finally, a new Coalition category ranks all reward credit cards associated with the country’s top Coalition programs including AIR MILES and Aeroplan.  This change reflects the pending divorce of Aeroplan from Air Canada and formally reclassifies Aeroplan as a true coalition program (multiple earning and redemption partners) rather than primarily an airline program, which we’ve viewed it as since the inception of our ranking.

The remaining four categories are: Travel Points (with annual fee), Hybrid (flexible currency), Airline and Best Overall Card. The credit cards are evaluated by key factors including cost, co-brand partnerships, rate-of-return, benefits and redemption options.

And The Winners Are:

Best Overall Travel Rewards Card:
American Express Cobalt Card

Travel Points (with annual fee):
Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Travel Points (with no annual fee):
Scotiabank More Rewards Visa Credit Card

Hybrid:
American Express Cobalt Rewards Card

Airline:
WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

Coalition Program Credit Card:
TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card

Other highlights include the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard crowned as the best airline card in Canada. There are several reasons behind this - the move of Aeroplan to the new Coalition program category and the WestJet Rewards program getting significantly stronger in 2017 by adding redemption options on Air France, Delta, KLM and Qantas.

“The purpose of our annual ranking is to make choosing the right travel reward card easier”, adds Sojka. “It’s also about staying on top of trends and keeping Canadians informed of how industry changes may impact their enjoyment of these cards.”

The Top Travel Rewards Card feature, with complete rankings and background, can be found online at rewardscanada.ca/topcc2018

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: