Friday, February 2, 2018

February 2 Update: Swoop, WestJet's ULCC routes announced and tickets for sale, buy Starpoints discount & more


Swoop, the Ultra Low Cost Carrier from WestJet announced their first routes yesterday and also put them on sale for as little as $15 round trip ($0+taxes/fees) but those fares are gone already! Initial service sees flights to/from 5 Canadian cities that are already popular with Canada's other ULCC Flair Airlines (nee newleaf) except for Halifax. Learn more about Swoop here

Flight schedules and routes thanks to Routesonline
Abbotsford – Edmonton eff 25JUL18 3x daily
WO120 YXX0710 – 0931YEG 738 D
WO122 YXX1145 – 1406YEG 738 D
WO124 YXX1645 – 1906YEG 738 D
WO121 YEG1020 – 1046YXX 738 D
WO123 YEG1520 – 1546YXX 738 D
WO125 YEG1955 – 2021YXX 738 D

Hamilton – Abbotsford eff 20JUN18 6 weekly
WO107 YHM0545 – 0742YXX 738 x2
WO106 YXX0835 – 1547YHM 738 x2

Hamilton – Edmonton eff 25JUN18 7 weekly
WO101 YHM0715 – 0921YEG 738 x3
WO103 YHM1300 – 1503YEG 738 2

WO102 YEG1025 – 1600YHM 738 D

Hamilton – Halifax eff 20JUN18 6 weekly
WO114 YHM1700 – 2001YHZ 738 x2
WO115 YHZ2050 – 2205YHM 738 x2

Hamilton – Winnipeg eff 25JUN18 6 weekly
WO111 YHM1655 – 1825YWG 738 x3
WO110 YWG1915 – 2229YHM 738 x3

Posts since our last update:

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
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Air China Phoenix Miles
- Earn up to 3,600 Bonus Phoenix Miles for Avis rentals Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 18

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles + a free day on Hertz rentals of 6 or more days at participating locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Jul 31, 18

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 42,500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you buy or gift 20,000 or more miles. More... Bonus + discount unitl Feb 8, bonus only until Feb 16, 18
- Double AAdvantage Miles + a free day on Hertz rentals of 6 or more days at participating locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Jul 31, 18

Marriott Rewards
- Double Rewards Points and save up to 15% off the base rate on qualifying Affordable Rate rentals of one or more days at participating locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Middle East, New Zealand and St. Thomas. More...Until Jun 30, 18

Starwood Preferred Guest
- 35% Discount when you buy or gift 5,000 or more Starpoints. More... Until Mar 16, 18


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Choice Privileges Elite Status Match now available to Canadians


We've had this offer listed for quite sometime on our global site, FrequentFlyerBonuses.com but never covered it here on Rewards Canada as it was only available to U.S. residents. Great news is that for 2018 the offer has been expanded and us Canadians can now get status matched in the program  The Choice Privileges status match offer will match the status of most other hotel loyalty programs. Choice Privileges Elite Status isn't as rich as the status seen from other programs like Starwood or Hyatt but it is better than not having any - especially when it comes to booking free award nights from the base level of only 30 days out to anywhere from 50 to 100 days depending on the status level.



I'll have to update the following post  as it boosts it to at least seven programs!

Offer details
Elite Status Match - Choice Privileges will match the elite status you hold in another hotel loyalty program. Full details

Starwood Preferred Guest: Save 35% when you buy or gift Starpoints (until Mar 16, 18)


Starwood is once again offering of a 35% discount when you buy Starpoints. This is always an ideal buy points offer as you can pull way more value out of the points when redeeming for expensive hotels or converting to airline miles for under US 2 cents apiece.  Your yearly limit remains at 30,000 Starpoints and even if you took advantage of this same offer back in December your account should have been reset to be able to buy again.. This offer brings the price down to US 2.28 cents each or just above 1.82 cents per airline mile if you take advantage of SPG's 5,000 mile bonus when converting 20,000 Starpoints at a time. Remember you can convert SPG Starpoints to Marriott Rewards at 1 to 3 rate which means purchasing 30,000 Starpoints is like buying 90,000 Marriott Rewards points.

Offer details
Save 35% when you buy or gift 5,000 or more Starpoints online.  Buy Starpoints here Until Mar 16, 18

Find many more SPG Bonus offers here!

Thursday, February 1, 2018

February 1 Update: PC Optimum first day fail, WestJet Link delayed, new Embassy Suites open at YYZ


Today is the big day of the PC Plus - Shoppers Optimum merger. However with so many millions of members it looks like there are issues happening on the IT side of things. I tried setting up my new account and keep getting errors when trying to link my Shoppers Optimum card both online and via the new app.  A major fail on their part for the first day of the new PC Optimum program. Not a good way to kick things off. How are things working for all of you? Were you able to link your accounts before the site went down today?


Read our post on the merger here.

WestJet's new regional service, WestJet Link which is provided by Pacific Coastal Airlines has been delayed until June 20th. Anyone with bookings prior to that will be contacted by WestJet to get a refund or find alternative travel. If you are booked on any of these flights I would call in rather than wait to be contacted to make sure your travel plans don't get disrupted any further. (Source WestJet)

Hilton Hotels has opened their first Embassy Suites Hotel in the Greater Toronto area. The newly renovated Embassy Suites by Hilton Toronto Airport is now open for stays! Find out more and book the hotel here.


Posts since our last update:

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 Mar 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- 500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you spend $200 or more via the AAdvantage eShopping portal. More... Until Feb 11, 18

Royal Air Maroc Safar Flyer
- Triple Safar Flyer Miles for stays at Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Apr 25, 18

United MileagePlus
- 500 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you spend $200 or more via the MileagePlus Shopping portal. More... Until Feb 11, 18

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Double Flying Club Miles and save up to 15% off the base rate on qualifying Affordable Rate Hertz rentals of one or more days at participating locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Middle East, New Zealand and St. Thomas. More... Until Jun 30, 18

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Rewards Canada Giveaway - Enter for a chance to win a pair of Maple Leaf Lounge Guest Passes!


THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

Rewards Canada Contributor Bill W. has graciously donated 2 Maple Leaf lounge passes to give away! Enter by tomorrow night and if everything works out right these will be sent out on Monday.

These are 2017 passes which means they expire on February 28th, so if you are travelling over the next few weeks be sure to enter below for a chance to win! These passes can only be used at domestic and transborder lounges in Canada as well as the MLLs in Los Angeles and New York La Guardia!

Here is how you enter:
Simply comment below on which lounge you are most likely to use this pass at! If you aren't sure yet simply let us know what your favourite Maple Leaf lounge is and why!


The giveaway closes on Friday February 2nd, 2018 at 11:59pm EST! Limit 1 entry per person Winner will be determined by random draw from all eligible entries received. Void where prohibited.  No purchase necessary.

Related Topics:


Wednesday, January 31, 2018

January 31 Update: Top Travel Rewards Credit Card Podcast, new Air Canada routes, 5x AIR MILES for online shopping

Episode 39 of the Rewards Canada Round Up Podcast is here! You can listen to or download it on Apple iTunes, Google Play, our website and Soundcloud.  In this first episode of 2018 the Rewards Canada Podcast looks at and discusses our 2018 Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings! Find out some of the details behind the rankings, the cards that came out on top and more!


There is a special RBC WestJet offer out in the market. It is only accessible to those who received the offer from RBC, via their RBC Offers page on rbc.com or through RBC’s e-newsletter. RBC clients are advised to check to see if they are eligible by signing into their account on rbc.com. The offer provides a future discount for spring travel on WestJet flights after booking flights this winter. Find out more about the offer here.

On Monday we heard about lots of WestJet's new route news and not to be outdone Air Canada has begun releasing details on new routes and enhancements as well. The Vancouver to Delhi route will be moving to year round service starting this June. They are also expanding service between Alberta and B.C. with flights between Edmonton to Kelowna and Victoria while Calgary sees flights to Comox. The Kelowna service is year round while the Comox and Victoria flights are summer seasonal. (Source: Air Canada)

Need to shop online? Check out the current AIR MILES Shops offer of 5x miles at many of their online retailers. This offer runs until February 9. Find out more here.


HSBC in the U.S. has removed Cathay Pacific Asia Miles as a transfer partner with their premium credit cards and added Jet Airways JetPrivilege and AeroMexico Club Premier. I spoke to a HSBC representative here in Canada and this looks to only be a U.S. move as HSBC Canada is currently retaining Asia Miles along with Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and British Airways Executive Club as their transfer partners.

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals
Movenpick Hotels
are offering some of their biggest discounts in a long time! Save up to 40% with their Secret M sale. Book by Feb 5. Find out more here


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 France KLM Flying Blue
- February Promo Awards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Feb 28 for travel Apr 1 - May 31, 18

Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Saint John. More... Until Mar 10, 18
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays of 2 or more nights at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort. More... Feb 5 - Apr 30, 18

Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Earn up to 7,000 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you rent a car with Maggiore for at least two days in Italy. More... Until Feb 28, 18

ANA Mileage Club
- 20% Mileage Club Miles discount when you redeem for award tickets between Japan and Phnom penh, Hanoi or China. More... Book by Mar 8 for travel until Mar 15, 18

Avianca LifeMiles
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus LifeMiles when you rent with Avis Worldwide. More... Until Apr 30, 18

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Save up to 30,000 Infinity MileageLands miles when you redeem for award travel on EVA Air and UNI Air More... Book by Jun 10, 18

Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points per stay at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Rapids Airport. More... Until Mar 31, 18

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- Earn 50,000 Bonus iPrefer Points for eligible stays of 2 or more nights at participating Preferred Hotel Group hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Feb 28, 18

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- 2,000 Bonus QMiles when you stay a minimum of two nights at any Millennium Hotels and Resorts participating hotels in the Middle East or Africa. More... Until Mar 31, 18

United MileagePlus
- 25% Discount when you gift or transfer MileagePlus Miles to friends or family. More... Until Feb 9, 18

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Air France KLM Flying Blue Promo Awards - Save 25% on Business Class award tickets between Toronto or Edmonton and Europe


The newest set of Air France KLM's Promo Awards were released today and once again we see two Canadian cities in the promotion. This offers will go live around 6pm ET tonight. With promo awards the discount ranges from 25 to 50% off the regular amount of miles required to redeem for these flights. As you can see just by the discount this can be a very good offer if you get 50% off for Business Class! However for us here in Canada the 50% offers are few and far between but we do get 25% off which can definitely be utilized by some! While 25% isn't as good as 50% of course, it still is something to look at if you were planning travel to Europe for April or May

The offers are for February are:
Toronto, Edmonton, to Europe: 25% off Business Class

Offer Details:
February Promo Awards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. Full Details Book by Feb 28 for travel Apr 1 - May 31 18  (Edmonton is Apr 1-30, 18)

Here are all the details on the  Canadian offers available for booking this month:


Don't have all the miles? You could always consider transferring Starpoints earned via the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express to Flying Blue. The card has a 20,000 Starpoint bonus right now which translates to 25,000 Flying Blue miles and a nice way to top off your account for one of these awards.

Another option to pad your Flying Blue account to get these award flights would be to take advantage of Marriott's Travel Packages where you can get 7 nights and miles as follows (although these packages are less valuable than Package #1 options):



Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer: 50,000 Bonus Points for stays of 2+ nights Worldwide


Preferred Hotel Group is celebrating 50 years with a great promotion that offers 50,000 bonus iPrefer points for stays of 2+ nights. Those 50,000 points are worth US$100 towards a future stay. Preferred Hotel Group has over 650 hotels Worldwide, 8 of which are in Canada. Many outside of Canada  have rates below US$100 a night which means these points can be a pretty big rebate! Here in Canada the best rates appear to be at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria:


Offer details
Earn 50,000 Bonus iPrefer Points for eligible stays of 2 or more nights at participating Preferred Hotel Group hotels Worldwide.  Full details & online booking Book by Feb 28, 18

Terms & Conditions
Must book stay between January 29, 2018, at 12:01 AM PST through February 28, 2018 at 11:59 PM PST. Booking must include active I PreferSM Member Number and be made through PreferredHotels.com, IPrefer.com, the I Prefer App, or Preferred Hotels & Resorts Global Reservations. Minimum 2-night stay required. Limited to points-eligible stays. No promotion code required and may be combined with other offers, except I Prefer Exclusive and Last Minute Escapes. 50,000 bonus points will be awarded to eligible member accounts in April 2018, but may be deducted if the qualifying stay is not completed. Each stay and each member account will be limited to a maximum of 50,000 bonus points under this promotion.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Last day to get the increased sign up bonus for the American Express Cobalt Card


Per the marketing terms that have been attached to the American Express Cobalt Card this is the last day to grab this card with its introductory sign up offer of up to 40,000 points. As of tomorrow the bonus will be dropoing down to the standard 30,000 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
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 11:59pm ET tonight!


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
Apply Now

January 29 Update: Case Study of a Fixed Return Card vs. a Reward Chart Card, Canadian North Aurora Rewards award ticket sale & lots more!

Our Case Study: Fixed Return Travel Card versus a Reward Chart Travel Card has been updated and relaunched. We removed it a couple of months ago as it used the Capital One Aspire World Elite Mastercard in the comparison and as we all know that card is no longer available for new applications. We have replaced it with another straight 2% back card, the mbna Rewards World Elite Mastercard. You can read the Case Study here

Canadian North Aurora Rewards members can save 30% on all Aurora Rewards award flights if you book by February 4th! Find out more here

A reminder that PC Plus and Shoppers Optimum become PC Optimum on February 1st. I have finished a bunch of interviews over the past few days on the upcoming consolidation and one good question that came up is what could Loblaw's do to promote this. Here's what I said (and feel free to take it PC Optimum) for this coming weekend, February 1 to 4 offer points on all purchases at Loblaw's stores (Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills etc.) not just those items selected for you in the app and then offer 25x points over at Shoppers Optimum. Get your customers in and get them used to new program and reward them handsomely at the start and they won't forget it. I know it won't happen as they probably already have something planned and usually it's never as good as it should be for the consumer. Anyways it's just a thought. Read our post on the merger here.


Hainan Airlines, who already fly to Calgary and Toronto are adding flights to Vancouver. Coming this May you'll be able to fly Vancouver-Tianjin-Shenzen twice per week. Hainan Airlines has their own frequent flyer program called Fortune Wings (you can find their bonus offer listing here on Rewards Canada) or what probably makes more sense for Canadian's flying on Hainan is crediting those flights to Alaska Airlines. (Source Routesonline)

Not only did WestJet announce the brand new Halifax-Paris service today, they also announced a whole bunch of route enhancements for the summer:
Vancouver Toronto Calgary Edmonton
  • An increase of 24 weekly flights between Vancouver and Calgary for a total of 16 times daily, with hourly service in both directions (top of the hour from Vancouver, and bottom of the hour from Calgary).
  • Vancouver-Edmonton from 50 to 59 times weekly (nine times each business day).
  • Vancouver-Calgary, from 88 to 112 times weekly (16 times daily).
  • Vancouver-Kelowna from 40 to 49 times weekly (seven times daily).
  • Vancouver-Ottawa from seven to 14 times weekly (twice daily).
  • Vancouver-Regina from six to seven times weekly (daily).
  • Vancouver-Fort St. John from six to 12 times weekly.
  • Vancouver-Victoria from 33 to 35 times weekly (five times daily).
  • Vancouver-Cancun, from two to three times weekly.
  • Vancouver-Cabo San Lucas from one to two times weekly.
  • Toronto-Ottawa, 76 to 85 times weekly (13 times each business day).
  • Toronto-Montreal, from 88 to 93 times weekly (14 times each business day).
  • Toronto-Saskatoon, from 10 to 12 times weekly.
  • Toronto-Victoria, from three to four times weekly.
  • Toronto-Cancun, from nine to 10 times weekly.
  • Toronto-Montego Bay, from 10 to 11 times weekly.
  • Toronto-Nassau, from four to five times weekly.
  • Toronto-Puerto Plata, from two to three times weekly.
  • Toronto-Punta Cana, from five to six times weekly.
  • Toronto-Fort Myers, from four to five times weekly.
  • Calgary-Vancouver, from 88 to 112 times weekly (16 times daily), with hourly service in both directions (top of the hour from Vancouver, and bottom of the hour from Calgary).
  • Calgary-Nanaimo, from two to three times daily.
  • Calgary-Edmonton, from 66 to 79 times weekly (12 times each business day).
  • Calgary-Halifax, from 14 to 15 times weekly.
  • Calgary-Kelowna, from 45 to 47 times weekly (seven times each business day).
  • Calgary-Fort McMurray, 24 to 31 times weekly (five times each business day).
  • Calgary-Windsor, from six to seven times weekly (one time daily)
  • Calgary-Grande Prairie from 18 to 26 times weekly (4 times each business day)
  • Calgary-Montreal, from 19 to 20 times weekly.
    Calgary-Abbotsford, from 33 to 35 times weekly (five times daily).
  • Calgary-Penticton, from 10 to 14 times weekly (two times daily).
  • Calgary-Victoria, from 35 to 36 times weekly (five times daily).
  • Calgary-Dallas/Ft. Worth, from six weekly to seven weekly (one time daily).
  • Calgary-Las Vegas, from 20 to 22 weekly.
  • Calgary-Palm Springs, from four to five weekly.
  • Edmonton-Calgary, from 77 to 86 times weekly (12 times each business day).
  • Edmonton-Vancouver, from 49 to 58 times weekly (nine times each business day).
  • Edmonton-Kelowna, from 48 to 49 times weekly (seven times daily).
  • Edmonton-Fort McMurray, from 24 to 25 times weekly.
  • Edmonton-Saskatoon, from 19 to 20 times weekly.
  • Edmonton-Las Vegas, from 10 to 11 times weekly.
  • Edmonton-Los Angeles from six to seven times weekly (once daily).



We've added the RBC Visa Platinum to our RBC page. The card offers no rewards but is a low interest card offering 5.9% on balance transfers and cash advances. Could be used for those who have a lot of debt and need to decrease the amount of interest they are paying.

Posts since our last update:

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
Choice Privileges
- Elite Status Match - Choice Privileges will match the elite status you hold in another hotel loyalty program. More... For residents of the U.S., Canada and Europe only

Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 50% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles when you buy or gift miles. More... Until Mar 31, 18

American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles and save up to 15% off the base rate on qualifying Affordable Rate rentals of one or more days at participating locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, Middle East, New Zealand and St. Thomas. More... Until Jun 30, 18

IHG Rewards Club
- IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks Redeem only 5,000 to 15,000 points for stays at select hotels Worldwide. Offer and participating hotels are subject to change at any time. More... Until Apr 30, 18

Thai Royal Orchid
- Earn up to 4x ROP Miles on Hertz rentals in Thailand. More... Until Apr 30, 18

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Triple Flying Club Miles for stays at the Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Maldives. More... Until Sep 30, 18

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