WestJet's first 787 revenue flight is slated for Toronto to Calgary on February 20

For all our Avgeek and WestJet fans here is the news you have been waiting for. WestJet has filed the information for their first revenue Boeing 787 flight. As was much expected it will be between Toronto and Calgary as the plane will be based in Toronto to start with since the new 787 hanger in Calgary won't be ready yet.

The first 787 flight is now scheduled to fly flight 655 on February 20 from Toronto to Calgary. Departing at 9am, the flight is already bookable and WestJet seems to know this will be a popular flight as the fares are running from $853 in Economy class to $1474 in Business Class!

Compare this the non 787 flights that day:

and the plane isn't even close to full yet as you can see by this screenshot of part of the economy class:

and Business Class is pretty much wide open:

If you are planning on being on this flight I would arrive early as there will more than likely be some festivities before hand to celebrate this first revenue flight and more than likely there will be something you can take home as well to commemorate the event!

The return flight from Calgary to Toronto is WestJet 670 that will depart YYC at 13:30 and it's pricing out slightly better than the outbound flight:

The plane will operate flights 655/670 until April 27 and will also operate 669/662 as of April 8 (Source Routesonline)

Are you thinking of jumping on this first flight or any of the early 787 flights between YYZ and YYC? If so let us know in the comments below!

Related: And the first long haul WestJet Boeing 787 routes are Calgary to Paris, London and Dublin

November 29 Update: World of Hyatt officially adds Small Luxury Hotels of the World to the program and earn Double Elite Qualifying Miles on Emirates flights

As we reported back at the start of August, Hyatt Hotels announced a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) for their World of Hyatt program. That partnership officially went live today! World of Hyatt members who stay at SLH hotels (booking must be made via a Hyatt booking channel) will earn 5 points per US$1 spent plus a tier qualifying night for every night stay. In addition to the earning members will enjoy the following benefits at participating SLH hotels:

• Complimentary continental breakfast
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Early check-in 12:00pm (based on availability at check-in)
• Late check-out 2:00pm (based on availability at check-in)
• One category room upgrade (based on availability at check-in)

There are currently only 50+ hotels participating out of the 500+ that SLH lists on their site. The majority of those participating are in Europe and a handful in Asia. SLH has only one hotel in Canada, the Trout Point Lodge Nova Scotia in Kemptville and at this point it isn't participating. Hyatt does state more hotels will be added in the future! Stays from December 6th and beyond will count towards the World of Hyatt earning and benefits receipt. On the redemption side participating SLH hotels will use the same World of Hyatt free night categories which includes the new Category 8 that is coming soon and for the time being will only consist of SLH hotels.

Learn all about the partnership here

Added to our bonus offers section today a great bonus offer from Emirates Skywards. If you book any flights with Emirates by December 3 for travel until the end of March you'll earn double elite qualifying tier miles! Find out more here.
 

 It's the season of giving! Help support Rewards Canada's Flight Here campaign for Give A Mile. Help us reach 100,000 miles to provide up to 4 flights of compassion. Find out more here!

Posts since our last update:

• Qatar Airways Privilege Club: Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles and a fast track to elite status when you join & fly
  Here's a great offer for the Qatar Airways Privilege Club program. When you join the program and complete your…
• Redemption Stories: Utilizing the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard Companion Flight Benefit
  Rewards Canada reader Jim M. provided a comment on our post Travel Hacking 102 - Earn up to 4,300+…
• The Ultimate Flight Companion Pass Credit Card portfolio
  Image courtesy of British Airways Today we released the 15th Ultimate Credit Card Portfolio on Rewards Canada! In this feature…

Travel Deals
Enjoy 25% off stays at the Shangri-la Hotel Toronto Book by Dec 31 for stays until Mar 31. Find out more here!

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
- Double Aeroplan Miles when you use Park & Jet at the Calgary Airport. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Other Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- 6,000 Premier Points for stays at Choice Hotels in Mexico. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Up to a 30% discount when you buy or gift MilleMiglia Miles. More... Until Dec 23, 18

Avis Preferred
- Receive a Free Day Rental Award when you rent twice with Avis for two or more days in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico or U.S.V.I. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Feb 28, 19

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles on all hotel bookings made via Hotels.com. More... Book by Dec 31, 18 for stays until Feb, 19

Emirates Skywards
- Double Skywards Tier Miles when you fly in any class to any destination across the Emirates and flydubai network. More... Register & book by Dec 3 for travel until Mar 31, 19

Ethiopian ShebaMiles
- Double ShebaMiles when you fly Ethiopian between Addis Ababa and Manchester. More... Dec 11 - Feb 10, 19

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus Infinity MileageLands miles when you fly on any EVA/UNI Air flight. More... Until Dec 15, 18

Finnair Plus
- Earn up to 50% Bonus Plus Points when you buy Plus points. More... Until Dec 9, 18

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles and a fast track to elite status when you join Privilege Club and fly on Qatar Airways. More... Join by Mar 31 for flights until May 31, 19

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Earn up to Triple ROP Miles for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Southeast Asia and Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 18
- Earn up to 3x ROP Miles on Hertz rentals of 3+ days in Thailand. More... Until Dec 31,18

Follow Rewards Canada:

Qatar Airways Privilege Club: Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles and a fast track to elite status when you join & fly

Here's a great offer for the Qatar Airways Privilege Club program. When you join the program and complete your first flight you'll receive up to 10,000 bonus QMiles. What's even better is there is a fast track to elite status with this offer. You could potentially receive Privilege Club Gold Elite status with just one return flight out of Montreal to places beyond Doha in business class! For example, YUL-SIN can earn up to 266 Qpoints!

Offer details:
Earn up to 10,000 Bonus QMiles and a fast track to elite status when you join Privilege Club and fly on Qatar Airways. Full details, online registration and booking.  (Registration is required) Join by Mar 31 for flights until May 31, 19
Earn 10,000 bonus Qmiles in Premium Class or 5,000 bonus Qmiles in Economy Class upon your first flight.
If you earn 100 Qpoints on flights taken between 20 November 2018 till 31 May 2019, you will be upgraded to Silver Tier. Earn 200 Qpoints and receive Gold Tier status.

Find many more Privilege Club Bonus QMiles offers here!

Redemption Stories: Utilizing the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard Companion Flight Benefit

Rewards Canada reader Jim M. provided a comment on our post Travel Hacking 102 - Earn up to 4,300+ AIR MILES Rewards Miles for FREE with a potential value of over $1,300 in travel (Updated Nov 21, 18) and how he has leveraged just one of these offers for an amazing redemption story. This ties in perfectly with our latest Ultimate Credit Card Portfolio that came out earlier in the week that focuses on companion passes! We'll pass it off to Jim now!

Here is a good example of how we have been able to receive amazing value from AIR MILES. I applied for the BMO AIR MILES World Elite Mastercard last month. It offers first year free, 3,000 AIR MILES Rewards Miles on a minimum spend of $3,000 which in turn produces 3,300 Air Miles. The card also brings a 15% reduction in AIR MILES award flight mile requirements for travel within North America and a one time free companion benefit.

I received the card and am in the process of completing the minimum spend. Last week I booked return flights between Sudbury and Vancouver for the spring. The mileage cost was 7,200 Air Miles for two, reduced by the 15% the card provides so in the end the redemption was 6,120 AIR MILES Reward Miles.. The companion benefit will see 3,060 miles returned to my account so the net miles cost is only 3,060! That’s 240 less than the sign-up bonus on the card and the earnings for the minimum spend.

The taxes and fees for two return tickets YSB-YVR were $287. The lowest price I could find for two between YSB and YVR return flights on the same dates of our travel was $1,471. The immediate dollar value of the miles earned from this card is therefore $1,184!

Not bad for one card, not bad for our tertiary travel program. In the end we are receiving about 39 cents of value per AIR MILE on this booking thanks to the companion voucher. AIR MILES, used carefully, is a very valuable option for ‘free’ travel.

This kind of specific use of AIR MILES allows us to save most of our Aeroplan Miles and British Airways Avios for long haul, intercontinental Business Class travel which is where the real value of those programs lies. We also save Avios for travel within South America where LATAM doesn't have scam charges. Qantas is similar in Australia for us.

And a tip from Jim:
When we get new cards we tend to concentrate all our spending on the new card until minimum spend amounts have been reached. All our spending, even a Starbucks coffee, goes on that card. We occasionally plan to get a new card with a high minimum spend just in advance of a major payment. I pay off our cards daily online from our bank accounts and almost never carry a balance on a card. It is the easiest way to manage them and ensure we never miss a payment. We do not use any manufactured spend techniques to meet our minimum spend requirements.

Editors note/tip:
This redemption story from Jim provides insight to an often forgotten value of the AIR MILES and even the Aeroplan program. That is using miles and points for domestic flights out of smaller Canadian cities that tend to be expensive to fly out of. Sudbury is a famous one that always shows up on forums like FlyerTalk. Basically any small town or city that has only one major airline serving it tends to be more expensive which equates to better value for your miles and points, even more so than for international flights and remember it doesn't take as long to collect enough miles for most domestic flights!

The Ultimate Flight Companion Pass Credit Card portfolio

Image courtesy of British Airways

Today we released the 15th Ultimate Credit Card Portfolio on Rewards Canada!

In this feature of Rewards Canada's Ultimate Credit Card Portfolios we look at the ultimate one for those who like to travel with companions and want to save on that travel. This portfolio looks at credit cards in the Canadian market that offer companion pass vouchers. That is, a benefit where you can buy one ticket (or redeem miles for a ticket) and get a second ticket for free or at a reduced price. Of course the cards included offer other benefits beyond companion passes that should also be taken into account when selecting cards. So with that said what are the best choices for a companion pass wallet? Read the complete feature here to find out!

Find all our Ultimate Card Portfolios here!

November 26 Update: Air Canada enters into definitive agreement to buy Aeroplan, new Orbitz Rewards elite benefits and more

Looks like one more step has been completed in Air Canada's steps to purchase Aeroplan from Aimia. Today it was announced that both companies have sign a definitive agreement for Air Canada to purchase the program and that Air Canada looks to close the deal as soon as possible after the approval by Aimia shareholders. It is expected that the deal will close in January of 2019. Air Canada signed deals with TD, CIBC and Visa to be the payment card providers of the new Aeroplan and to a our surprise the airline is apparently is in talks to keep American Express on board as well (that would be awesome!) (Source Aimia and CBC)

Orbitz Rewards has added new benefits for Platinum Elite members. Platinum members can choose from either TSA Pre✔® or LoungeBuddy -- at no cost to them. For Canadian members it will have to be LoungeBuddy since TSA Pre✔® membership is for U.S. residents only. Find out more here

 It's the season of giving! Help support Rewards Canada's Flight Here campaign for Give A Mile. Help us reach 100,000 miles to provide up to 4 flights of compassion. Find out more here!

Posts since our last update:

• NOW LIVE: IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks - 108 Hotels (2 in Canada) for only 5,000 to 15,000 points per night until Feb 28, 19
  The latest IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks hotels are now available for booking! We didn't get any previews this time…
• A Guide to Shopping Small with American Express
  There’s no denying the fact that some of the best reward cards in Canada are offered by American Express and…
• IHG Rewards Club Cyber Sale offers: 10k bonus points with Ambassador, 15% off cash+points, 50% bonus on bonus point packages
  In addition to the actual stay offer of at least 25% off the Best Flexible Rate at participating IHG…

Travel Deals
Hilton Waikiki Village Cyber Sale - Save up to 25% for stays Dec 1 to Jun 30. Book by Nov 26. Find out more here


Enjoy 25% off stays at the Shangri-la Hotel Toronto Book by Dec 31 for stays until Mar 31. Find out more here!

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

Radisson Hotels Cyber Week Offer - 30% off weekends until Aug 31, 19 at participating Hotels of Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Inn by Radisson in Europe, Middle East and Africa. (also available weekdays between April 5 and May 6) Book by Nov 27, 18 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
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 2,500 Bonus MilleMiglia Miles for Avis rentals of 3 or more days in Italy. More... Until Dec 22, 18

Choice Privileges
- Receive Choice Privileges Gold Elite status when you complete two qualifying stays at any Cambria® Hotels property. More... Until Feb 28, 19

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 Feb 28, 19

Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at participating Marriott hotels in London. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Follow Rewards Canada:

NOW LIVE: IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks - 108 Hotels (2 in Canada) for only 5,000 to 15,000 points per night until Feb 28, 19

The latest IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks hotels are now available for booking! We didn't get any previews this time and this set has 108 hotels that can now be booked for 5,000 points to 15,000 points per award night for stays until February 28, 2019.  For Canada there is a paltry two hotels on the list.

Remember the PointBreaks rules are that a member can only book up to 2 reward reservations per hotel participating in the individual offer (ie 2 at PointBreaks hotels and 2 at Last Minute Reward Night hotels).  My tip to get around this would be to book 2 reservations with one IHG Rewards Club account and then have your spouse book 2 more etc. Of course this is dependent on both accounts having enough points to redeem for these awards.

Also be sure to book these ASAP as soon as the list comes out as once the allotted nights are booked at certain locations those hotels will fall off the list.

Why are IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks such a great deal? Because they offer reward nights at participating IHG hotels Worldwide for as little as 5,000 Rewards Club points. For those of you not to familiar with IHG Rewards Club , normal redemption rates for Rewards Club reward nights run from as low as 10,000 points for some Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations to 70,000 points for ultra-luxurious InterContinental locations and even these locations can participate in Pointbreaks.

PointBreaks now have multiple redemption levels where all hotels are not 5,000 points like they used to be pre-2018, some are now at that level but there are also hotels at 10,000 and 15,000 points. IHG states this allows them to provide more hotels for the promotion and so far that was holding true with each list being above 150 hotels compared to about 100 or so when the list used to only be 5,000 points. However this time we are back down to 108 hotels.

Remember as well there is a 100% purchase bonus for buying IHG Rewards Club points until November 30. With the bonus when you buy the most amount of points you can get up to 24 nights at IHG hotels if redeeming via the PointBreaks 5,000 point level, 12 nights at 10,000 and 8 nights at the 15,000 point level. Even at that highest level it is like you are buying each night for only US$75.

Click here to view and book any of the current PointBreaks offers.

Why are IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks such a great deal? Because they offer reward nights at participating IHG hotels Worldwide for as little as 5,000 Rewards Club points. For those of you not to familiar with IHG Rewards Club , normal redemption rates for Rewards Club reward nights run from as low as 10,000 points for some Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express locations to 70,000 points for ultra-luxurious InterContinental locations and even these locations can participate in Pointbreaks.

PointBreaks now have multiple redemption levels where all hotels are not 5,000 points like they used to be pre-2018, some are now at that level but there are also hotels at 10,000 and 15,000 points. IHG states this allows them to provide more hotels for the promotion and so far that was holding true with each list being above 150 hotels compared to about 100 or so when the list used to only be 5,000 points. However this time we are back down to 108 hotels.

Remember as well there is a 100% purchase bonus for buying IHG Rewards Club points until November 30. With the bonus when you buy the most amount of points you can get up to 24 nights at IHG hotels if redeeming via the PointBreaks 5,000 point level, 12 nights at 10,000 and 8 nights at the 15,000 point level. Even at that highest level it is like you are buying each night for only US$75.


Click here to view and book any of the current PointBreaks offers.

Canadian Hotels (both at 10,000 points per night):
ONTARIO, CANADA
Crowne Plaza Kitchener-Waterloo

SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Saskatoon East - University
All the hotels: 

5000 points hotels

TEXAS

Candlewood Suites Mount Pleasant
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bonham

Worldwide

BRAZIL
Holiday Inn Porto Alegre

TURKEY
Holiday Inn Express Istanbul - Altunizade
Holiday Inn Express Istanbul Airport

JAPAN
ANA Crowne Plaza Matsuyama

GANSU, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Zhangye

HEBEI, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Shijiazhuang Heping
Holiday Inn Express Wuhan Optical Valley

JIANGSU, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Nantong Textile City

JILIN, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Changchun High-Tech Zone

LIAONING, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Yingkou Onelong Plaza

SHANDONG, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Yantai YEDA

10,000 points

ARKANSAS
Holiday Inn Jonesboro

COLORADO
Staybridge Suites Denver South - Highlands Ranch

CONNECTICUT
Crowne Plaza Danbury

FLORIDA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fleming Island
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Punta Gorda

GEORGIA
Candlewood Suites Valdosta Mall
Crowne Plaza Atlanta SW - Peachtree City
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Locust Grove

ILLINOIS
Crowne Plaza Springfield - Convention CTR
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mattoon

INDIANA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hammond

IOWA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites West Des Moines - Jordan West

KANSAS
Candlewood Suites Lenexa - Overland Park Area
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Olathe South

KENTUCKY
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mt Sterling North
Holiday Inn Lexington - Hamburg

LOUISIANA
Holiday Inn & Suites Lafayette North
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Baton Rouge -Port Allen

MARYLAND
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Clear Spring
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Owings Mills-Baltimore Area

MICHIGAN
Holiday Inn & Suites Farmington Hills - Detroit NW

MISSOURI
Candlewood Suites Kansas City - Independence
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hannibal - Medical Center

NEBRASKA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Omaha - 120th and Maple

NEW JERSEY
Holiday Inn Express & Suites North Brunswick

NORTH CAROLINA
Holiday Inn & Suites Arden - Asheville Airport

OHIO
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ashtabula-Geneva
Staybridge Suites Canton

OKLAHOMA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oklahoma City North
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tulsa South - Woodland Hills

OREGON
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hood River

PENNSYLVANIA
Candlewood Suites Pittsburgh-Airport
Staybridge Suites Pittsburgh-Cranberry Township

SOUTH DAKOTA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Dakota Dunes – Event Center

TENNESSEE
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Memphis Arpt Elvis Presley Blv

TEXAS
Holiday Inn Brownsville
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston IAH - Beltway 8
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lubbock Central - Univ Area
Staybridge Suites Houston W - Westchase Area

ONTARIO, CANADA
Crowne Plaza Kitchener-Waterloo

SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Saskatoon East - University

COAHUILA, MEXICO
Crowne Plaza Torreon

JALISCO, MEXICO
Holiday Inn Guadalajara Expo

BRAZIL
Staybridge Suites Sao Paulo

COLOMBIA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bogota DC
InterContinental Cali
InterContinental Medellin

PANAMA
Crowne Plaza Panama
Holiday Inn Express Panama Distrito Financiero

GERMANY
Holiday Inn Express Munich - City East
Holiday Inn Munich - City East

ITALY
Crowne Plaza Padova

LITHUANIA
Holiday Inn Vilnius

RUSSIA
Holiday Inn Express Moscow - Sheremetyevo Airport
Holiday Inn Express St. Petersburg - Sadovaya
Holiday Inn Moscow - Seligerskaya

TURKEY
Holiday Inn Istanbul - Old City

UNITED KINGDOM
Holiday Inn Ashford - Central
Holiday Inn Express Liverpool - Royal Albert Dock
Holiday Inn Express London - Newbury Park
Holiday Inn Ipswich

SAUDI ARABIA
Holiday Inn Makkah Al Aziziah

INDIA
Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bengaluru Racecourse
Holiday Inn Express Bengaluru Whitefield ITPL
Holiday Inn Express Gurugram Sector 50

JAPAN
ANA Crowne Plaza Ube

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Holiday Inn Express Suwon Ingye

HAINAN, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Sanya Bay

JIANGSU, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Nanjing Xuanwu Lake
Holiday Inn Kunshan Huaqiao

SHANDONG, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Express Jinan Exhibition Center

THAILAND
Holiday Inn & Suites Rayong City Centre
Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Soi Soonvijai

15,000 points

ALABAMA

Hotel Indigo Birmingham Five Points S - UAB

COLORADO
Holiday Inn Express Boulder

FLORIDA
Candlewood Suites Miami Airport - Doral

MARYLAND
Crowne Plaza Baltimore Dwntn Inner Harbor

MASSACHUSETTS
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Great Barrington - Lenox Area

PENNSYLVANIA
Crowne Plaza Philadelphia - King of Prussia
Holiday Inn Express Grove City (Outlet Center)

Worldwide

BELGIUM
Hotel Indigo Antwerp - City Centre

FINLAND
Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre

GERMANY
Holiday Inn Express Munich - Messe

POLAND
Hotel Indigo Warsaw - Nowy Swiat

UNITED KINGDOM
Crowne Plaza Edinburgh - Royal Terrace
Holiday Inn Express Manchester - Salford Quays
Holiday Inn London - Gatwick Airport
Holiday Inn Manchester - West

KENYA
InterContinental Nairobi

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi - Yas Island
Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City

JAPAN
ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima

JIANGSU, MAINLAND CHINA
Crowne Plaza Wuxi City Center

VIETNAM
InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort

A Guide to Shopping Small with American Express

There’s no denying the fact that some of the best reward cards in Canada are offered by American Express and one or more of them should be in everyone’s wallets. While American Express may be a smaller player in Canada compared to other credit card networks, the list of Amex accepting merchants is constantly growing, especially with small retailers and restaurants.

In fact, last year alone over 70,000 new small business began accepting American Express*.

The breakdown of new small retailers accepting Amex in 2017 in our four largest cities is:

• Toronto: Over 15,500 new small businesses began accepting American Express® Cards *
• Vancouver: Over 7,000 new small businesses began accepting American Express® Cards*
• Calgary: Over 3,800 new small businesses began accepting American Express® Cards*
• Montreal: Over 7,500 new small businesses began accepting American Express® Cards *

American Express is bringing Cardmembers closer to the small businesses they already love and helping them discover new independent businesses in their communities with the Shop Small program.

To encourage you to Shop Small, American Express is running a special offer in four cities where you can earn a $5 statement credit when you spend $5 at a participating small merchant, up to $25 in statement credits. The offer period runs until November 30. Here are the individual registration pages for you to take advantage of this offer:

• Toronto: www.americanexpress.ca/shopsmalltoronto
• Vancouver: www.americanexpress.ca/shopsmallvancouver
• Calgary: www.americanexpress.ca/shopsmallcalgary
• Montreal: www.americanexpress.ca/shopsmallmontreal

This is just one example of the value American Express brings to Cardmembers and small merchants. As the Shop Small program evolves, American Express will continue to connect Cardmembers to support small businesses.

If you want to find small businesses in your neighbourhood that accept American Express visit American Express Maps.

And just to show you how many places do accept the cards, here is an example of the small merchants you will find in Toronto using the map:

Find American Express Shop Small businesses here!



This feature was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The write up, views and opinions expressed in this feature, however, are purely those of Rewards Canada.



Footnote: 

 *Based on internal comparison of American Express small business merchant locations in January 2017 to American Express merchant locations in December 2017. 

Talk to us!

Have you ever used Amex's ShopSmall Map feature? What do you like about it most? Are there any improvements they can make? Tell us in the comments section below or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!

Rewards Canada can be found on the following social media channels:
   

IHG Rewards Club Cyber Sale offers: 10k bonus points with Ambassador, 15% off cash+points, 50% bonus on bonus point packages

In addition to the actual stay offer of at least 25% off the Best Flexible Rate at participating IHG Hotels worldwide. IHG® Rewards Club members can also take advantage of the following offerings until November 30

Earn 10K bonus points with Ambassador

It starts with the stay, but there’s more to experience. Earn 10K bonus points when you enroll in the Ambassador Program to enjoy room upgrades, 4pm checkouts, and free weekend nights. This limited time 10k bonus point offer for enrollment in the Ambassador Program is only available in English.

Save up to 15% on your stay with Points & Cash

When you book with Points & Cash, you can combine points with less cash to save on your stay.  That’s 15% off the cash portion when you book between 11/23 - 11/30 on any stay between 11/26 - 12/31.

Get more with Bonus Points Packages

Book a Bonus Points Package and earn 50% more bonus points when you book between 11/23 ­- 11/30 for stays between 11/26 - 12/31. Plus, they are Elite qualifying points, which count toward Elite status.

Find all the IHG Rewards Club Cyber offers here!

November 23 Update: 15x AIR MILES for shopping online until Sunday, 3x points at Holt Renfrew on your Cobalt Card, Norwegian Reward online shopping bonus

AIR MILES is offering a huge 15x the miles + any other bonuses for shopping via airmilesshops.ca between today and Sunday! Find out more here

Continuing on the Holiday shopping tip, check out other Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers on our Holiday Shopping feature

Speaking of that feature we added Norwegian Reward's eShop offer of 25% bonus CashPoints until the end of the year.  Now's the time to start racking up CashPoints to redeem on their two Canadian flights that they just started and the Transatlantic ones that will start in 2019!

Yet another American Express Cobalt bonus points offer for shopping!

As a little extra gift for being a Cobalt Cardmember, when you shop in-store at Holt Renfrew, Ogilvy or online at holtrenfrew.com from November 23, 2018 to December 31, 2018 with your registered Cobalt Card, you can earn a total of 3x the points on eligible purchases up to a maximum of $500 (after taxes and shipping). After you reach $500 in purchases during the offer period you’ll still earn at the regular earn rate of 1x the points¹.

If you didn't get the email saying your card is registered be sure to call Amex and ask them to manually register you for the offer.

Air Canada is adding a new route between Montreal and Raleigh/Durham in June of 2019. The new route will operate once daily with a Jazz CRJ200. (Source Routesonline)

 It's the season of giving! Help support Rewards Canada's Flight Here campaign for Give A Mile. Help us reach 100,000 miles to provide up to 4 flights of compassion. Find out more here!
Posts since our last update:

• Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions - November Edition
  One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of the systemwide…
• Expedia.ca Black Friday Sale - Extra 75% Off Select Hotels & More. Very limited quantity.
  In just a few minutes Expedia.ca will have a very limited amount of 75% off coupon codes available to…

Travel Deals
Hilton Waikiki Village Cyber Sale - Save up to 25% for stays Dec 1 to Jun 30. Book by Nov 26. Find out more here

Qatar Airways Cyber Offer from Montreal - Fares from C$970 to destinations around the globe! Book by Nov 25, 18 Full details & online booking

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

Radisson Hotels Cyber Week Offer - 30% off weekends until Aug 31, 19 at participating Hotels of Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Inn by Radisson in Europe, Middle East and Africa. (also available weekdays between April 5 and May 6) Book by Nov 27, 18 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
N/A

Other Bonus Offers
Marriott Rewards
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay 2+ nights over the weekend (Friday and Saturday required) at the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel. More... Until Dec 31, 18
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT when you stay 2+ nights Friday-Sunday at the London Marriott West India Quay. More... Until Dec 31, 18

MEA Cedar Miles
- Triple Cedar Miles on all Sixt car rentals Worldwide. More... Until Jan 31, 19

Norwegian Reward
- 25% Bonus Cashpoints when you shop online via the Norwegian Reward eShop. More... Until Dec 31, 18

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- 20% Discount when you buy, gift or transfer Qmiles. More... Until Dec 20, 18

Follow Rewards Canada: