Radisson Rewards: Earn up to 120,000 Bonus Points on all stays Worldwide

Radisson Rewards is the next hotel chain to release their first global systemwide promotion of 2019 (IHG, Choice & Hilton are already out) . This is offer awards 1,000 to 120,000 bonus points on all your stays depending on how many nights you complete but in what is a nice addition and a first from what we can recall, award nights will also count towards the bonuses! In our 18 years of tracking bonus offers we can't recall ever seeing this from a loyalty program!

Offer details
Earn up to 120,000 Bonus Points for stays (including award nights) at all participating Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu^®, Radisson^®, Radisson RED, Park Plaza^®, Park Inn^® by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites^® by Radisson hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Mar 31, 19

Stay 1 Night: Earn 1,000 Bonus Points
Stay 1 additional Night: Earn 2,000 additional Bonus Points (totalling 3,000 Bonus Points)
Stay 3 additional Nights: Earn 7,000 additional Bonus Points (totalling 10,000 Bonus Points)
Stay 5 additional Nights: Earn 40,000 additional Bonus Points (totalling 50,000 Bonus Points)
Stay 10 additional Nights: Earn 70,000 additional Bonus Points (totalling 120,000 Bonus Points)

Once registered you can book direct at:

• Radisson Collection
• Radisson Blu^® 
• Radisson^® 
• Radisson RED
• Park Plaza^® 
• Park Inn^® by Radisson
• Country Inn & Suites^® by Radisson hotels

Find many more Radisson Rewards bonus points offers here!

It's confirmed - Marriott Bonvoy is the brand new name of the combined Marriott, SPG, Ritz-Carlton loyalty program

Rumours about this name began swirling around a few weeks ago when the trademark applications were found and now we have official confirmation from Marriott that the combined Marriott, SPG and Ritz-Carlton program will be known as Marriott Bonvoy.

“Marriott Bonvoy marks an evolution in travel because it represents more than a loyalty program,” said Stephanie Linnartz, Global Chief Commercial Officer, Marriott International. “Marriott Bonvoy is a travel program designed to bring to life our extraordinary portfolio of global brands in 129 countries and territories, while also providing endless inspiration for members to keep traveling and pursuing their passions.

The official launch date is February 13 when the logo and branding will be rolled out. That day will also see the end of the SPG as it was know it. The SPG and Ritz-Carlton apps will be retired as all interaction will move to the Marriott Bonvoy app (people who have the current Marriott app need not worry as it will automatically update). Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments will become Marriott Bonvoy Moments, and of note from the press release are these name changes for several elite levels:

• Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite will replace Platinum Premier Elite for members who surpass 75 nights
• Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite will replace Platinum Premier Elite with Ambassador. This top Elite status tier recognizes members who surpass 100 nights and more than $20,000 in spend annually. These members enjoy the highest level of personalization with a dedicated ambassador to help plan their travel and cater to their needs one-on-one. 

We will continue to track Marriott promotions in our bonus offer section but of course will refer to the offers as Marriott Bonvoy Bonus Point opportunities as of February 13

Members can learn more about Marriott Bonvoy at MeetMarriottBonvoy.marriott.com

Hilton Honors: 100% Bonus when you buy 10,000 or more points until February 26

Hilton Honors has released their latest buy points promotion for their members. Unlike the offer towards the end of 2018 that ranged from 80 to 100% this one is a flat 100% if you buy 10,000 or more points at one time. This means you are paying US$ 0.5 cents per point which can be easily redeemed at values of 0.8 cents or more!

For example, here is a night at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island in a water villa (yes I know you'd go for more than one night but it's a good example of the savings)

As you can see the best rate is US$556 (and that's a non-refundable pre-paid rate) while the points required is 95,000. With the 100% bonus 95,000 points would cost US$475 (+5% GST for us Canucks since Points.com is Canadian) so US$498.75 in total for that room which is less than any of the rates listed above.

Remember reward nights start out at only 5,000 points so you could essentially get 4 nights at the lowest level by only buying 10,000 points (+10,000 bonus) for only US$100.

Offer details: 
100% Bonus when you buy 10,000 or more Hilton Honors points online. Buy points here Until Feb 26, 19

Hilton Honors members can purchase up to 80,000 Hilton Honors Points in a calendar year. Email address is required and will only be used for transaction and marketing communications related to this purchase. 
 

Click here to find many more Honors Points bonuses! 

January 15 Update: AIR MILES year end summary email, Amex Centurion lounges closing temporarily in LAS & MIA, Egyptair new business coming to Toronto

AIR MILES sent out a really cool summary email earlier in the month. Check your email for it if you haven't seen it. It gives you a summary of 2018 in terms of how many miles you earned, where you earned the most and also shows your lifetime summary with the program.

 

If you are travelling to or via Las Vegas or Miami over the next few week sand were hoping to use the American Express Centurion Lounges thanks to your Platinum Card well beware that both of these locations closed as of yesterday for renovations. Word is they are only supposed to be closed for a couple of weeks. (Source Amex)

Egyptair is slated to begin using their new Boeing 787-9 aircraft between Toronto and Cairo as of October 26. This plane will feature a new much improved business class over the current Boeing 777 that is plying the route. Egyptiar is an Aeroplan partner and this route has always been one of those ones that tends to have better seat availabilty. Hopefully that will continue with the new planes coming on board! (Source Routesonline / OMAAT )

Posts since our last update:

• Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for IHG stays Worldwide until the end of April
  Airline bonus miles for stays at IHG hotels are very rare except for a few partners of the program…
• The TAP Air Portugal 50% off award ticket offer isn't nearly as good as it initially seemed
  A big thank you to a long time loyal reader of our global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com, Pedro C from Portugal…
• Coast Hotels Coast Rewards: 2x Points on all stays until January 30
  Canada's Coast Hotels has launched a short promotion where you can double Coast Rewards points on all stays at their…

Travel Deals

Air Canada is offering 15% off their fares to sun destinations in the U.S! Book by January 16 for travel until June 20. Find out more here.
Eligible routes: Canada to Florida (Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers), Hawaii (Lihue, Kahului/Maui, Kailua/Kona, Honolulu), Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Palm Springs, San Diego.

Avis: Save up to 20% with their New Year Worldwide sale. Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Dec 15, 19. Find out more here.

Hilton APAC Year End sale - Save up to 25% when you book by Feb 2 for stays until Sep 30, 2019!

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
Coast Hotels Coast Rewards
- Double Coast Rewards Points on all stays at Coast Hotel locations in Canada and the U.S. More... Until Jan 30, 19

Other Bonus Offers
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Triple Mileage Plan Miles on all rentals of three days or longer at any Dollar location Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 19
- Triple Mileage Plan Miles on all rentals of three days or longer at any Thrifty location Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 19

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn 10,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you stay 3 or more nights at the Kimpton Sawyer Sacramento. More... Until Mar 31, 19

Le Club AccorHotels
- Triple Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Turkey. More... Book by Feb 2 for stays until Feb 28, 19

Marriott Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points when you stay Thursday-Sunday nights (Friday or Saturday required) at the Mayflower Hotel, Autograph Collection Washington D.C.. More... Until Feb 24, 19


Follow Rewards Canada:

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Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for IHG stays Worldwide until the end of April

Airline bonus miles for stays at IHG hotels are very rare except for a few partners of the program like Aeroplan. You can count on an Aeroplan bonus for IHG stays several times per year and today the first such offer of 2019 launched! You can earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at
 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Alliance Resorts, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants ®, Avid Hotels ®Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Resort®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations® hotels, Staybridge Suites® or Candlewood Suites® hotels Worldwide.

You must set your IHG Rewards Club earning preference to earn Aeroplan miles to receive the bonus.

Offer details
Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at all participating IHG Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Apr 30, 19
Maximum of 7,000 bonus Aeroplan miles will be awarded per member

Find many more Aeroplan bonus miles offers here!

The TAP Air Portugal 50% off award ticket offer isn't nearly as good as it initially seemed

A big thank you to a long time loyal reader of our global site FrequentFlyerBonuses.com, Pedro C from Portugal who knows the TAP Portugal Miles&Go program inside and out! According to him when TAP Portugal changed the name of the program from Victoria to Miles&Go in late 2018 they also massively devalued the program without notice. Of course this ties in with our post last week when we broke the news on this deal:

Great Deal! 50% off all TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go Award Tickets Worldwide - Fly Toronto to Portugal for as little as 26,000 miles 

and his email to us reveals that this isn't such a good offer as we originally thought. There are two reasons why it isn't as good of deal. Firstly, the 50% discount is off of their high season value rates and most of the window of this promotion is during the saver season which means without the sale you would get up to 30% off anyways.

As Pedro told us:

1) The promotion period included in that promotion belongs to the so called "saving season". Such periods are pre-defined and during those periods the "high season" table NEVER applies:
https://www.flytap.com/en-pt/miles-and-go/spend-miles/saving-season
So you see already the 1st problem:
- they are evoking a discount of 50% on a mileage table (high season) that, anyway, would have never applied to this period. So it is actually, a much lower saving what is being suggested and proposed than the 50% mentioned.

2) Technically there could be one small window within this promotion period in which, technically speaking, the high season table would apply (basically around Carnival time - where the High Season table would be valid for the specific period)...but guess what? Exactly that period is excluded from this 50% off promotion...incredible how they twisted this, right?

The second reason behind this not being such a good deal could be seen as some slight of hand marketing from TAP. On the original promotion page they linked to a PDF of redemption rates and that PDF did not state anywhere that they were the discounted rates  - in fact at the time we published our post last week it is quite the opposite and it made it seem like the rates were the full amount and those would be discounted by 50%. Now however when you go to the TAP website they have updated the promotion landing page to state it lists the promotional rates (and there is no longer a link to the PDF). And Pedro explains:

On a very sad note, the mileage value 50'000 miles for return trip mentioned in your article and used as base for your calculations is not correct. All the values are one-way (with the promotion 50% ALREADY APPLIED). Without the promotion, TAP requires 200'000 miles on high season for a return Business Class ticket to North America.
This was part of a very recent change that has caught everyone unnoticed and was under-advertised completely and masked away by a program name change from TAP Victoria to TAP Miles & Go.

Unfortunately, FFP members community in Portugal is weak, unorganized and has no voice in the matter. FFP is also not a mass-consumption item in this market and so TAP gets by easily with such actions. So, this "promotion" comes just after the "standard values" were increased by over 100% - easy to come back now and say: I now have a 50% off promotion...right?

And confirming what Pedro told us, here are the regular redemption rates for the new Miles&Go Program:

Economy Class Round Trip Full Mileage requirements

Business Class Round Trip Full Mileage Requirements

So while last week it seemed like you could fly between Toronto and Portugal in economy class round trip for 26,000 miles and 50,000 miles for business class, it's actually double that. The discounted round trip rates are 52,000 miles for economy and 100,000 for business! Not so good of deal now!

Thanks again to Pedro for bringing this to our attention.

Coast Hotels Coast Rewards: 2x Points on all stays until January 30

Canada's Coast Hotels has launched a short promotion where you can double Coast Rewards points on all stays at their locations in Canada and the U.S.. This offer started yesterday and runs only until  January 30. Coast Rewards points convert 1:1 to Aeroplan or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan with a minimum transfer of 1,000 points.

Offer details
Double Coast Rewards Points on all stays at Coast Hotel locations in Canada and the U.S. Full details Until Jan 30, 19

January 14 Update: IHG point changes delayed to January 25, Earn up to 500 bonus AIR MILES for booking flights via Redtag & more!

Last week we brought you the details of the IHG hotels that were changing categories (28 in Canada) and there is some good news in that it has been delayed to January 25 instead of today. The PDF of the list of hotels affected now states the 25th as the date the changes will take place. That gives 11 more days to book any of the hotels going up in points at the current lower rates but of course on the other if a hotel you wanted to book is going down you'll have to wait longer to book it. (Source: HFP)

There is a nice bonus from AIR MILES and Redtag.ca that sees up to 500 bonus Reward Miles being awarded for booking flights.  Find out more here
- 500 AIR MILES® Reward Miles on a Business Class flight
- 175 Miles on a Transborder flight (travel from Canada to the U.S.)
- 175 Miles on an International flight (travel from Canada to any country other than Canada or the U.S.)
- 125 Miles on Domestic flights (travel within Canada)

For some reason the link we had the Shell 100 AIR MILES offer last week wasn't working. Here is the correct link.

Posts since our last update:

• Rewards Canada's popular Credit Card Charts get their first makeover in 15 years!
  Today marks a big day for Rewards Canada! 15 years after we first launched Canada's first credit card comparison…
• Best Western New Hotel Openings in Canada for 2019 - 13 hotels in the works including two new brands
  Best Western Hotels is a large worldwide hotel chain that was best known for just being Best Western. About…
• Hilton Asia Pacific Sale - Save up to 25%
  Hilton Honors members will be able to save up to 25% on stays across the entire region when you…

Travel Deals
Avis: Save up to 20% with their New Year Worldwide sale. Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Dec 15, 19. Find out more here.

Hilton APAC Year End sale - Save up to 25% when you book by Feb 2 for stays until Sep 30, 2019!

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 MILES
- Earn up to 500 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you book flights via Redtag.ca. More... Until Apr 14, 19

Other Bonus Offers
Le Club AccorHotels
- Quadruple Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at participating Banyan Tree Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Feb 24 for stays until Apr 14, 19
- Earn up to 500 Bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at participating Accor Hotels in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, or Ukraine. More... Book by Feb 4 for stays until Feb 28, 19

Marriott Rewards
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Marriott Rewards Points for stays of 3 or more nights at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays until Sep 30, 19
- 5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Threadneedles, Autograph Collection London. More... Until Mar, 15, 19
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points per night when you stay 2 nights or more Sunday-Thursday at the TownePlace Suites Whitefish Kalispell. More... Until Mar 8, 19

Miles & More
- 2,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles + 2 Bonus Miles per Euro Spent on all Avis rentals Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Apr 30, 19

SAS EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus Points when you stay at Radisson Blu and Radisson Collection Hotels in the Nordic countries. More... Until Feb 28, 19


Follow Rewards Canada:

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Rewards Canada's popular Credit Card Charts get their first makeover in 15 years!

Today marks a big day for Rewards Canada! 15 years after we first launched Canada's first credit card comparison charts they have received their first esthetic update since 2004! Sure the information in the charts was constantly updated but the actual look and feel of them had not been touched since we first launched them and it was time to do so.

The charts now read much better with the information being set up left to right rather than up and down and the columns are sortable! We have to thank our reader James M. for telling us about the Javascript that allowed us to add this feature. We are not programmers by trade so it took a little bit of time to figure how to work it! We still are in the process of trying to figure out how to lock the table header in place so that you can see it no matter where you scroll in the charts and hope to have that feature soon.

You'll notice some of our original comparison info is no longer in table, such as Minimum Credit Limit but you'll also we have added in more detail into the insurance and benefits section so that you can better compare things like travel medical insurance, flight delay and so on!

Here are the links to all the charts that have seen the update:

• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: All Travel Rewards Credit Cards  
• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Most Popular Cards
• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Travel Points Credit Cards 
• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Hybrid Credit Cards 
• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Airline Credit Cards  
• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Hotel Credit Cards

 The following charts will be updated over the next few months as well to the new format:

• Canadian Travel Credit Card Comparison: Business / Corporate Credit Cards 
• Canadian Credit Card Comparison: Cashback Credit Cards

Let us know what you think of the new charts in the comments below! If you find any mistakes or items that need updated please let us know as well! And if you know how to lock the headers please feel free to contact us as well to speed up the process!

Best Western New Hotel Openings in Canada for 2019 - 13 hotels in the works including two new brands

Best Western Hotels is a large worldwide hotel chain that was best known for just being Best Western. About eight or so years ago they added in Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier brands to help distinguish some of their hotels. However over the past couple of years they decided to follow the other major hotel chains with expanding the brands to meet specific travel needs. There are now 13 brands associated with Best Western:

Most hotels in Canada still fall under Best Western, BW Plus, BW Premier and BW Premier Collection (plus one Glo and one SureStay location) but 2019 will see two other brand types introduced to our market, namely BW Signature Collection and Executive Residency.

Overall Best Western are planning to grow their presence by opening or rebranding no less than thirteen hotels across our nation in 2019 These are the hotels and their anticipated opening dates (of course these are subject to change):

• Best Western Plus Prince George BC - Slated Opening April 1, 2019
• Best Western Signature Collection Mississauga ON - Slated Opening January 30, 2019 First of this brand in Canada
• Best Western Premier Northwood Hotel Timmins ON - Slated Opening May 31, 2019
• Best Western Premier Montreal Metropolitane Hotel & Suites QC - Slated Opening March 20, 2019
• Best Western Plus Hinton AB - Slated Opening Feb 15, 2019
• Loyalist Lakeview Resort, Best Western Signature Collection Summerside PEI - Slated Opening Feb 15, 2019 (This hotel is a rebranding)
• Best Western Plus Montreal East QC - Slated Opening May 17, 2019
• Executive Residency by Best Western Calgary AB - Slated Opening May 31, 2019 First of this brand in Canada
• Best Western Premier Prince Albert SK - Slated Opening June 1, 2019
• Copper River Inn & Conference Centre, Best Western Signature Collection Fort Frances ON -  - Slated Opening June 30, 2019 This hotel is a rebranding)
• Best Western Premier Regent Winnipeg Inn & Suites - Slated Opening August 26, 2019
• Best Western Plus Morden MB - Slated Opening November 19, 2019   
• Best Western Premier Executive Residency Medicine Hat AB - Slated Opening December 29, 2019

Of the new hotels (not rebrands)the only photos we could find were of the pool and hot tub of the new Best Western Plus Hinton

Remember to take advantage of all the possible Best Western Rewards bonus points offers that are on offer if you plan on staying at any of these new Best Western hotels or any other Best Wester hotels for that matter! You can find all the promotions listed on our Best Western Rewards Bonus Points page. Or you can choose to earn airline miles and there is currently an Aeroplan offer of 500 bonus miles for Best Western stays until May 12

 Are you excited about any of the new Best Western hotels opening up this year? Are there any locations or brands you'd like to see in your neck of the woods? Let us know in the comments below.

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