October 9 Update: Tomorrow will be a big news day for WestJet and the Amex Platinum travel credit is now offered on card anniversary not annually

Keep an eye out on our blog and social media channels tomorrow morning for some WestJet announcements that a lot of you have been waiting for! If you don't follow us already on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram make sure you do so before then!


Rewards Canada Twitter follower Dana B. asked over the Thanksgiving weekend if the annual $200 travel credit on the Platinum Card from American Express has changed as the terms and conditions now state it is awarded on the card anniversary date. Thanks to the work of Barry Choi and Anshul Singh this has been confirmed. For those people who keep the card it isn't a huge deal however for other people it meant $400 in credits for the first year of having the card since you could use $200 before December 31 when getting the card say in August and then the credit reset on January 1st meaning you could get another $200 credit before August and then cancel the card. In some ways I'm surprised Amex kept this benefit running on an annual basis for this long!


Posts since our last update:

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car Plus Your Points returns - 200+ Free Points, Double Points on rentals and more!
  Last week Enterprise launched their annual Plus Your Points promotion for double points on rentals and a bunch of…
• Earn Double Flying Blue Miles flying Air France or KLM out of Canada in a Premium Class (Targetted offer)
  If you are an Air France KLM Flying Blue member be sure to check your email to see if you…

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
Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- Double Flying Blue Miles when you fly in Premium Economy or Business Class from Canada to Amsterdam or Paris. More... Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone. Residents of Canada only Book by Nov 30 for travel until Dec 15, 18

Other Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- 3,000 Bonus Avios when you join Heathrow Rewards and spend £150 on your first visit. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Enterprise Plus
- Double Plus Points on qualifying rentals at participating locations and also 200+ Free Points + many more points for collecting badges. More... Until Jan 31, 19 Until Jan 31, 19

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Double Fortune Wings Points for all hotel stays booked via Booking.com. More... Book by Oct 30 for stays until Nov 30, 18

JAL Mileage Bank
- 1,000 Bonus Mileage Bank Miles when you spend at least ¥50,000 across one or more hotel bookings booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Mar 31, 19
- Earn up to 5x Mileage Bank Miles for stays at Tokyu Hotels in Japan. More... Until Mar 31, 19

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S.. More... Until Nov 8, 18

Miles & More
- Earn up 5 ,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles for Hertz rentals of 2 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Plus Your Points returns - 200+ Free Points, Double Points on rentals and more!

Last week Enterprise launched their annual Plus Your Points promotion for double points on rentals and a bunch of bonus points for various other activities!

Offer Details
Double Plus Points on qualifying rentals at participating locations and also 200+ Free Points + many more points for collecting badges. Register Online (Registration is required) then book online at Enterprise.com Until Jan 31, 19

THE FOLLOWING BADGE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL ELIGIBLE REGISTRANTS:
Registration badge:  20 bonus points when you register for the Promotion.
Double Points badge: Double point bonus if they pick up and return any qualifying rental. Double points will be calculated by doubling the number of base points earned for a qualifying rental. The qualifying rental can be no longer than 28 days.
Survey badge:  75 bonus points when you complete a brief survey.
Extended Rental badge:  500 bonus points for each qualifying rental longer than a 28 day period.

THE FOLLOWING BADGE OPPORTUNITIES ARE SUBJECT TO ELIGIBILITY:
App Download badge:  One-time bonus of 50 points if you download and sign into the Enterprise Rent-A-Car^® App.
Email Opt-in badge:  One-time bonus of 50 points when you opt in to receive emails from Enterprise.
Keep Driving badge:  One-time bonus of 150 points if you complete three (3) qualifying rentals at participating Enterprise Rent-A-Car locations.  The qualifying rentals can be no longer than 28 days.
Rental via Mobile App badge:  50 bonus points when you reserve using the Enterprise Rent-A-Car® App and complete the rental.  The qualifying rental can be no longer than 28 days.
Rent in Europe badge: (US and Canada residents only) One-time bonus of 75 points if you rent at a participating Enterprise Rent-A-Car location in Europe. The qualifying rental can be no longer than 28 days.
Rent Online badge: 50 bonus points when you reserve a rental on enterprise.com. The qualifying rental can be no longer than 28 days.
Second Rental badge:  150 bonus points on your second qualifying rental at participating airport and neighborhood locations worldwide.  
SiriusXM^® badge: (US and Canada residents only) One-time bonus of 250 points if you add SiriusXM to a qualifying rental at participating locations in the continental U.S. and Canada (additional fees may apply).  
Weekly Rental badge:  One-time bonus of 75 points for a qualifying Weekly Rental (must be between five and fourteen days in length). 
Twitter badge: (US and Canada residents only) 50 bonus points when you share the qualifying Plus Your Points message, which includes the #plusyourpoints hashtag, on your Twitter account.
Car Sales badge: (U.S. Residents only) One-time bonus of 50 points when clicking through to learn more about Enterprise Car Sales.
Airport Weekend badge:  (US and Canada residents only)  75 bonus points for a rental at qualifying airports in the U.S. and Canada that are less than five days in length, include pick-up on Thursday, Friday or Saturday and include Saturday overnight.
Neighborhood Weekend badge: (US and Canada residents only) 75 bonus points for a rental at any non-airport location in the U.S. and Canada that are less than five days in length, include pick-up on Thursday, Friday or Saturday and include Saturday overnight.  

Earn Double Flying Blue Miles flying Air France or KLM out of Canada in a Premium Class (Targetted offer)

If you are an Air France KLM Flying Blue member be sure to check your email to see if you were targeted for this offer.

As you can see they are offering double Flying Blue miles on all of their flights out of Canada to Amsterdam or Paris if you fly in Premium Economy or Business Class. There is no registration link provided so the only way to know if you were targetted for this offer is to see if you got the email. If you did all you have to do is book your flights online at airfrance.ca or klm.com by November 30 for travel until December 15.

October 4 Update: Two new offers for Cobalt cardmembers, great offer for the BMO AIR MILES Business Mastercard & new Air Canada Transatlantic routes

American Express Cobalt Cardmembers check you emails again for two new offers:

• Receive a $5 statement credit when you spend $35 or more on Amazon.ca on October 5th only! This one is easy but you do have to register your card via the link the email. Remember to go through a mileage earning portal like AIR MILES Shops or Aeroplan eStore to earn miles on those Amazon purchases!

•  Receive 2,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points when spend $5,000 or more for the month of October. This does not require registration, if you get the email it means your card is automatically registered for this offer. I'm a little surprised the bonus points aren't more, 2,000 points on $5,000 of spending isn't a huge incentive however I figure since this card is a big earner on base points for eats and drinks (5x points) Amex considers you already getting lots of points. Still if you get the email and know you can $5,000 on the card the 2,000 points is worth at least $20 so it's better than $0! I'll try to see if I can hit that amount this month but I know I won't move spending over to the card for 1x categories as the earn on some of my others cards would pretty much make the 2,000 bonus points a wash.

On April 29, 2019 Air Canada will once again fly between Toronto and Vienna with year round service. They will replace their Star Alliance partner Austrian Airlines on the route who will start flying between Montreal and Vienna on April 29th as well. (Source Air Canada)

Air Canada will also launch seasonal non-stop service between Montreal and Bordeaux in June of 2019. The flight will be operated with the new Boeing 737 MAX. (Source Air Canada)

On Tuesday we let you know about the new offer that came out for the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard and that same offer of up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles plus a Companion Flight rebate along with No annual fee for the first year is also available on the BMO® AIR MILES®† Business® Mastercard®*

Keeping on the business card news site the CIBC Aventura Visa Card for Business is offering up to 30,000 Bonus Aventura Points along with the first year free as well. Find out more about that card here.

 and finally still on the business credit cardt tip, we have added the National Bank Platinum Mastercard Business Card added to our business card comparison chart


Posts since our last update:

• Return of the best offer for an AIR MILES co-brand credit card - Up to 3,000 Miles, a companion ticket with no annual fee in the 1st year
  We see the return of the best ever offer for an AIR MILES credit card. Right now when you…
• BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard first year fee waiver returns with 35,000 point sign up bonus
  We mentioned in our last podcast that we should expect some better credit card offers to come out in October…
• Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets between Toronto and Eastern Europe - only 30,000 miles roundtrip!
  As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" or Mileage Bargain discounted…

Travel Deals
No offers today

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 MILES
- Up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles plus a Companion Flight rebate with the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard and a waiver for the $120 annual fee for the first year. More.... Limited Time
- Get up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles plus a Companion Flight rebate and no annual fee for the first year with the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard. More... Limited Time

BMO
- 35,000 welcome points after you spend $3,000 in first 3 months and the $150 annual fee waived for the first year with the BMO World Elite Mastercard. More... Limited Time

CIBC Rewards
Earn up to 30,000 Bonus Aventura Points when you apply for and receive the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card for Business. More.... Limited Time


Other Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 500 Bonus Mileage Plan miles when you join Mileage Plan Shopping and complete your first purhcase of $150 or more within one week of joining. More... Until Oct 22, 18

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 42,500 Bonus AAdvanage Miles when you buy American AAdvantage Miles More... Until Nov 2, 18

Marriott Rewards
- 4,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays of 4+ nights at the Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan. More... Nov 1 - Jan 13, 19
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco Resort & Spa More... Oct 27 - Jan 18, 19
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel More... Nov 8 - Jan 31, 19
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Residence Inn By Marriott San Diego North/San Marcos. More... Nov 6 - Jan 29, 19
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays of 2+ nights at the Residence Inn Seattle Sea-Tac Airport. More... Nov 1 - Jan 6, 19

Shangri-La Hotels Golden Circle
- Up to a 40% GC Award Points Discount when you book a Room Award redemption stay in a Standard Room, a Club Room and Executive Suite at any Shangri-La hotel, Kerry hotel, Hotel Jen and Traders hotel worldwide. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Jan 31, 19

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus MileagePlus miles when you shop via the MileagePlus shopping portal. More... Until Oct 15, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Return of the best offer for an AIR MILES co-brand credit card - Up to 3,000 Miles, a companion ticket with no annual fee in the 1st year

We see the return of the best ever offer for an AIR MILES credit card. Right now when you apply for and receive the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard they will give it to you with no annual fee in the first year which means all of the bonuses and benefits it comes with come to you at no charge.

Let's look at the sign up bonus. They have actually increased it with this offer of the first year free from the previous 2,000 miles to 3,000 miles! The 3,000 AIR MILES Reward Miles bonus is broken down as such: you'll receive 1,000 miles on your first purchase and an additional 2,000 miles when you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases (pretty much your everyday spending, things like interest, cash advances etc. are not eligible) within the first three months of having the card.

When redeeming for flights we value AIR MILES Reward Miles at 11 to 15 cents each. This means the 3,000 miles with this card are worth at least $330. Even if you only run Cash Miles and not Dream Miles you are looking at approximately $315 in value. Not bad considering they don't cost you anything outside of your everyday spend.

However the sign up bonus doesn't end there like it typically does. BMO has now thrown in a companion ticket rebate offer. When you redeem miles for two tickets via AIR MILES you'll have the miles for the second ticket rebated to you. It doesn't matter where the redemption is to, it can be to anywhere in the World, as long as you have the miles for both tickets at time of redemption you can get the rebate. That's the kicker, having enough miles. So in all likelihood most of the companion ticket rebates will be used for flights within Canada or the U.S. as that is where the majority of AIR MILES redemption happen as most collectors do not collect enough miles for flights for two people beyond the borders of North America. That being said, maybe you are sitting on a huge nest egg of miles and have enough for two big ticket redemptions. Well before you redeem get this card and you'll effectively drop your redemption rate to 50% and be able to keep a large amount of miles in your account.

Here are the exact terms for the companion ticket offer:

To be credited the Dream Miles for your Companion flight ticket, you must book any two flights (one way or return) for travel anytime (subject to availability from participating suppliers at the time of booking) through airmiles.ca using your Dream Miles. Both flight tickets must be booked in the same transaction, and on the same itinerary (both flights must be travelling on the same day, departing from the same location in Canada, and arriving to the same destination). You must have accumulated a sufficient balance of Dream Miles in your Collector Account to use for both flights in the same transaction to be eligible for this Offer. You will be credited the number of Miles back into your Dream Account that is equal to one flight ticket (excluding all taxes, fees and applicable surcharges) within 45 days after your flight booking.

The combination of these three offers when you get this card (sign up bonus, first year free & companion ticket rebate) make this one of the strongest new limited time offers out there, especially if you are looking for an AIR MILES co-brand credit card. Even if you don't use the companion ticket rebate the card is still a great option to get with the $300+ value from the sign up bonus as you can always cancel the card before the 12 months is up so you don't pay the annual fee for year two. Remember as well the card also offers LoungeKey membership with two free visits and one of its strongest features: 15% off AIR MILES flight redemptions for travel within North America. Really there isn't a reason why you shouldn't get this card right now.

Card details:

BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard
Welcome offer: Get up to 3,000 AIR MILES Bonus Miles plus a Companion Flight rebate and we’ll waive the $120 annual fee for the first year*.· Earn 1 reward mile for every $10 in credit card purchases, everywhere you spend*
· Exclusive 15% Flight Discount on all AIR MILES flights in North America with no blackout periods*
· BMO AIR MILES World Elite Travel and Medical Protection*
· Complimentary membership in Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey, with exclusive VIP access, plus two annual complimentary passes.
· BMO Concierge Service*
· Use your card at Costco
· *Terms and conditions apply
Annual Fee: $120 Primary Card $50 Supplementary Card
· Interest Rate: Purchases 19.99% Cash Advances 22.99%

BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard first year fee waiver returns with 35,000 point sign up bonus

We mentioned in our last podcast that we should expect some better credit card offers to come out in October and they are coming! The first is one that people always look forward to. Sure its for a card the in general gets mixed reviews but to get $250 in travel and four lounge access passes for no cost is a great deal. What deal is it? It's the return of the first year annual fee waiver on the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard. The sign up bonus that you get after spending $3,000 in the first three months is worth $250 in travel bookings made via BMO Rewards which is a major source of contention, or so we hear from many of our readers but remember you are getting them for free so a little bit of hassle to use it may be justified. Then you get the complimentary LoungeKey membership with 4 lounge access passes that are worth well over US$100 alone. That means with this offer you are inline to score about $400 in value strictly for spending on the card. Remember though if you do plan on cancelling the card before you have to pay the annual fee in 12 months you'll want to use up your points and the lounge access passes beforehand.

A reminder here is how the new points earn and burn format works with BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard:

• 140 points = $1 of travel booked via BMO Rewards (Old rate was 100 points = $1)
• Earn 3 points per eligible dollar spent on travel, dining & entertainment purchases - giving a 2.14% return on those purchases (under the old program all spend was a 2% return)
• All other spending will continue to earn 2 points per dollar - giving a 1.43% return on those purchases (under the old program all spend was a 2% return) 

and here are some reasons someone may want to keep this card longer than one year

• You can use the annual LoungeKey membership with 4 lounge visits every year
• You have a bank account with BMO that covers the annual fee on the card - so it doesn't cost you anything ever and you get the Priority Pass and the 1.43 to 2.14% return. 
• You spend a lot on travel, dining and entertainment (and can put all other spending on another card) and have the patience to deal with the BMO Rewards department

Related: BMO World Elite Mastercard Review



BMO World Elite Mastercard

Welcome Offer: Get 35,000 welcome points after you spend $3,000 in first 3 months and we’ll waive the $150 annual fee for the first year*.
Get 3 BMO Rewards points for every $1 spent on travel, dining and entertainment purchases*
Get 2 points for every $1 spent everywhere else*
Points you can use to cover all flight charges & taxes*
Fly on any airline, with no blackout dates*
Complimentary membership in Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey, with exclusive VIP access, plus four annual complimentary passes.
Annual Fee: $150 Primary Card $50 Secondary Card
Interest Rate: Purchases 19.99% Cash Advances 22.99%

Save 50% on Economy Class award tickets between Toronto and Eastern Europe - only 30,000 miles roundtrip!

As we do each month we bring you the latest set Miles & More "Meilenschnaeppchen" or Mileage Bargain discounted mileage awards. This month all offers are on LOT for departures from Toronto in Economy Class. Simply book by October 21 for travel between November 6  and December 12.

You can redeem Miles & More miles for round trip economy class tickets on LOT from Toronto to Poland, Ukraine, Hungary and other Eastern European cities for only 30,000 miles. This is a 50% discount off the normal Economy Class award ticket price of 60,000 miles and LOT does not charge a lot for additional taxes and fees so this is an ideal redemption to look at!

Short on Miles & More miles? Your best bet is to convert Marriott Rewards points to Miles & More on a 3:1 basis plus you'll earn 5,000 bonus miles when you convert 60,000 points at a time. That means 75,000 points is all it would take to get one of these tickets if you don't have any Miles & More miles to your name.

If you don't have any Marriott Rewards Points you can get close to amount required to redeem for the tickets by grabbing some credit cards! How so? As we always mention in this post you can boost your Miles & More account with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express to top off your account. Currently the card comes with a 50,000 point sign up bonus when you spend $1,500 on the card and then you could also grab The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express as it also has 50,000 point sign up bonus and then you would ultimately be able to have 100,000 points not including what is earned on spending. Of course timing of getting the card(s) now, spending and getting the points will likely not happen for this month but it sets you up for future offers.  Need to grab two tickets for an itinerary? You could choose to get one SPG card for yourself and one for your partner or spouse.

Click here Full details on this Miles & More offer 

October 1 Update: Primera Air ceases operations, great gift card offer from PC Optimum and more!

Primera Air, the low cost transatlantic carrier that offered flights out of Toronto to London and Paris has ceased operations. The airline enters bankruptcy protetction and stops all flights on October 2nd. The airline had just announced further Canadian flights for next year including Montreal to Berlin. If you have tickets booked with Primera you will need to contact your credit card issuer for a refund. (Source Primera)

You can get 7,500 Bonus PC Optimum points for buying a $50 Ultimate Dining Card gift card this week at Shoppers Drug Mart. That equates to a $7.50 rebate and we'd recommend you purchase it on a card like the American Express Gold Rewards Card that earns 2 points per dollar at drug stores for that purchase since that is equal to 2 Aeroplan Miles or British Airways Avios per dollar! Another good card option is of course the PC Financial World Elite Mastercard since it earns 45 points per dollar at Shoppers Drug Mart stores. Get the coupon for this deal here.

Remember keep an eye out on our blog tomorrow for some great new offers!
 
Posts since our last update:

• Vancouver to Europe in Business Class for as little as 53,000 miles round trip with the latest Flying Blue Promo Rewards
  The newest set of Air France KLM's Promo Rewards came out today and for this month we see all…

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
Air France KLM Flying Blue
- October Promo Rewards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Oct 30 for travel Nov 30 - Jan 30, 19
Canadian cities included this month:
Calgary - 25% off business class
Edmonton - 25% off business class
Montreal - 25% off economy and business class
Toronto - 25% off business class
Vancouver - 50% off business class

TD Rewards
TD First Class Visa Infinite Card • Welcome Bonus of 20,000 TD Points when you make your first Purchase with your Card + 30,000 TD Points when you spend $1,000 within 90 days of Account opening More... Until Dec 3, 18


Other Bonus Offers
Hilton Honors
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Honors Points when you complete stays at Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Dec 23, 18

IHG Rewards Club
- 10,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at Kimpton Hotels in Seattle and Portland. More... Book by Oct 10 for stays until Feb 28, 19

Lindner Nights
- 500 Bonus Nights Points when you email Lindner Nights during your birthday month. More... Ongoing

Miles & More
- 2,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles for stays of 4+ nights at Falkensteiner Hotels in Zadar, Velden, Jesolo, Sardinia or in Stegersbach. More... Until Oct 31, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Vancouver to Europe in Business Class for as little as 53,000 miles round trip with the latest Flying Blue Promo Rewards

The newest set of Air France KLM's Promo Rewards came out today and for this month we see all five Canadian cities included!  With promo awards the discount ranges from 20 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! This month Vancouver gets lucky with 50% off business class tickets! All other cities see 25% off in business class while Montreal also get 25% off economy class

Offer details
October Promo Rewards - Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. Full Details
Canadian cities included this month:
Calgary - 25% off business class
Edmonton - 25% off business class
Montreal - 25% off economy and business class
Toronto - 25% off business class
Vancouver - 50% off business class

Here are the mileage requirements for flying from the five Canadian cities to Amsterdam and/or Paris (the mileage amount will vary for other cities)

And an example of some of the availability from Vancouver to Amsterdam:

and on the return

Here's what a round trip on the above route looks like:

Not bad at all - 60,500 miles and $631.73 in fees and taxes for business class. Under the old promo awards this flight would have been 62,500 miles plus the same fees. Yes the fees are on the high side but most other programs who may have lower fees would be costing you at least 50% more miles.

But there are better opportunities for less miles for the business class offer from Vancouver:

 That's right only 53,000 miles and $677.83 for a round trip flight to Europe in Business Class. Can't get better than that unless you can find another city in Europe that may actually price lower (but we all know Flying Blue's system is really fun to deal with!)

Some other cities we have found at the 53,000 level. Remember as well you can book one ways for half this amount - 26,500 miles!

Here are some economy class options from Montreal:

There are many other possible options to check out if this works for you and if you don't have enough miles for a Promo Reward your best bet is to convert Marriott Rewards points to Flying Blue on a 3:1 basis. Remember you'll earn 5,000 bonus miles when you convert 60,000 points at a time (a total of 25,000 miles per 60,000 points) That means 120,000 points will get you to 50,000 miles - you could always transfer the small amount more to get to 53,000 for those round trips.

If you don't have any Marriott Rewards Points you can always look at getting the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express to top off your account. Currently the card comes with a 50,000 point sign up bonus when you spend $1,500 on the card and then you could also grab The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express as it also has 50,000 point sign up bonus and then you would ultimately be able to have 100,000 points not including what is earned on spending. Of course timing of getting the card(s) now, spending and getting the points will likely not happen for this month but it sets you up for future offers.  Need to grab two tickets for an itinerary? You could choose to get one SPG card for yourself and one for your partner or spouse and you'll have a lot more points!