Tuesday, May 28, 2019

NOW LIVE: IHG Rewards Club PointBreaks – 162 Hotels (6 in Canada) for only 5,000 to 15,000 points per night until August 31, 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 only 162 hotels that can now be booked for 5,000 points to 15,000 points per award night for stays until August 31, 2019. For Canada we see a little jump from 5 hotels last time to 6 for this set.

Remember the PointBreaks rules are that a member can only book up to 2 reward reservations per hotel participating in the individual offer.  If you need more bookings for one hotel my tip to get around this would be to book 2 reservations with one IHG Rewards Club account and then have your spouse or partner book 2 more etc. Of course this is dependent on both accounts having enough points to redeem for these awards – and if you have a spouse or partner!

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. This month the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur is included at 15,000 points which is 50% off its regular 30,000 points rate. Another good value? The Even Hotel Miami Airport is 15,000 points versus its regular 35,000 points!


PointBreaks 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 that only held true with each list being above 150 hotels for about a year when compared to about 100 or so when the list used to only be 5,000 points. However the last set released in February was below 100 hotels! Now we see one of the biggest lists ever with 160+ hotels!

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

 Here is the list of hotels:

Canadian Hotels 


10,000 points:
ALBERTA, CANADA

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Medicine Hat Transcanada Hwy 1
ONTARIO, CANADA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Toronto-Mississauga
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ottawa East – Orleans

5000 points hotels

United States

Worldwide


10000 points

United States

ARIZONA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Phoenix East – Gilbert
Staybridge Suites Phoenix East – Gilbert
Holiday Inn Express Sierra Vista
ARKANSAS
Staybridge Suites Hot Springs
Crowne Plaza Little Rock
Holiday Inn Express & Suites White Hall
CALIFORNIA
Holiday Inn Palmdale-Lancaster
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Porterville
Holiday Inn Redding
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Twentynine Palms- Joshua Tree
COLORADO
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Grand Junction
FLORIDA
Staybridge Suites Gainesville I-75
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Orlando – Lake Nona Area
EVEN Hotel Sarasota-Lakewood Ranch
Holiday Inn St. Petersburg West
Holiday Inn Tallahassee E Capitol – Univ
GEORGIA
Holiday Inn Express Atlanta W (I-20) Douglasville
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Atlanta Airport NE – Hapeville
Holiday Inn Express Atlanta SW – Newnan
ILLINOIS
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bloomington – Normal
Holiday Inn & Suites Chicago North Shore (Skokie)
INDIANA
Staybridge Suites South Bend-University Area
IOWA
Holiday Inn & Suites Des Moines-Northwest
KENTUCKY
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ashland
Staybridge Suites Lexington
LOUISIANA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lake Charles
MARYLAND
Holiday Inn Express Baltimore At The Stadiums
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Cumberland – La Vale
Holiday Inn Express Waldorf
MICHIGAN
Crowne Plaza Auburn Hills
Holiday Inn & Suites Farmington Hills – Detroit NW
Holiday Inn Detroit Northwest – Livonia
Holiday Inn & Suites Mount Pleasant
Staybridge Suites Lansing-Okemos
MISSOURI
Holiday Inn Columbia-East
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Holiday Inn Express Keene
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Merrimack
NEW JERSEY
Holiday Inn Express Voorhees – Mt. Laurel
NEW YORK
Holiday Inn Auburn-Finger Lakes Region
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Batavia – Darien Lake
Staybridge Suites Buffalo-Airport
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Malone
OHIO
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ashland
Crowne Plaza Dayton
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Cleveland-Richfield
OKLAHOMA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Blackwell
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jenks
Staybridge Suites Oklahoma City – Downtown
OREGON
Candlewood Suites Portland-Airport
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Portland Airport
PENNSYLVANIA
Crowne Plaza Suites Pittsburgh South
Holiday Inn Express & Suites West Chester
TENNESSEE
Candlewood Suites Murfreesboro
TEXAS
Candlewood Suites Buda – Austin SW
Candlewood Suites Galveston
Holiday Inn Express & Suites McAllen – Medical Center Area
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Worth North – Northlake
Crowne Plaza San Antonio Airport
Holiday Inn Express & Suites San Antonio – Brooks City Base
UTAH
Holiday Inn Express Heber City
VIRGINIA
Holiday Inn Express Williamsburg North
WISCONSIN
Holiday Inn Express Milwaukee-West Medical Center
WYOMING
Candlewood Suites Casper

Worldwide

ALBERTA, CANADA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Medicine Hat Transcanada Hwy 1
ONTARIO, CANADA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Toronto-Mississauga
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ottawa East – Orleans
MÉXICO, MEXICO
Crowne Plaza Mexico Norte Tlalnepantla
NUEVO LEÓN, MEXICO
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Monterrey Valle
PUEBLA, MEXICO
Crowne Plaza Puebla
EL SALVADOR
Crowne Plaza San Salvador-Conference Center
PANAMA
Holiday Inn Express Panama Distrito Financiero
ARMENIA
Holiday Inn Express Yerevan
BELARUS
Crowne Plaza Minsk
GERMANY
Holiday Inn Express Essen – City Centre
Holiday Inn Hamburg – HafenCity
ITALY
Holiday Inn Rome – Aurelia
PORTUGAL
Crowne Plaza Porto
RUSSIA
Holiday Inn Kaliningrad
SWITZERLAND
Holiday Inn Schindellegi – Zurichsee
TURKEY
Crowne Plaza Istanbul – Asia
UNITED KINGDOM
Holiday Inn Aberdeen – West
Holiday Inn Ashford – Central
Holiday Inn Basingstoke
Holiday Inn Express London – Dartford
Holiday Inn Express Dunstable
Holiday Inn Express London – Newbury Park
Holiday Inn Express London – Wimbledon South
Holiday Inn London – Heathrow M4,Jct.4
Holiday Inn Express Manchester – East
OMAN
Crowne Plaza Sohar
QATAR
Crowne Plaza Doha – The Business Park
SAUDI ARABIA
Holiday Inn Al Khobar
Holiday Inn Riyadh – Al Qasr
INDIA
Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park
Crowne Plaza Jaipur Tonk Road
Crowne Plaza Kochi
INDONESIA
Holiday Inn & Suites Jakarta Gajah Mada
JAPAN
ANA Crowne Plaza Kumamoto New Sky
TIANJIN, MAINLAND CHINA
Holiday Inn Tianjin Xiqing

15,000 points hotels

United States

FLORIDA
Holiday Inn & Suites Orlando SW – Celebration Area
Crowne Plaza Melbourne-Oceanfront
EVEN Hotel Miami – Airport
Staybridge Suites Miami International Airport
GEORGIA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Augusta West – Ft Gordon Area
INDIANA
Holiday Inn Express Indianapolis – Southeast
MARYLAND
Crowne Plaza Baltimore – Inner Harbor
Crowne Plaza Greenbelt – Washington DC
MICHIGAN
Holiday Inn & Suites Ann Arbor Univ. Michigan Area
Holiday Inn Ann Arbor-Near The Univ. Of Mi
MINNESOTA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Minneapolis-Dwtn (Conv Ctr)
InterContinental Minneapolis – St. Paul Airport
NEBRASKA
EVEN Hotel Omaha Downtown
NEVADA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carson City
NORTH CAROLINA
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlotte-Concord-I-85
PENNSYLVANIA
Hotel Indigo Pittsburgh – Technology Center
SOUTH CAROLINA
Hotel Indigo Mount Pleasant
Crowne Plaza North Augusta
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charleston Arpt-Conv Ctr Area
TENNESSEE
Hotel Indigo Memphis Downtown
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Mt. Juliet-Nashville Area
TEXAS
Crowne Plaza Suites Arlington – Ballpark – Stadium
Crowne Plaza Austin
InterContinental Houston – Medical Center
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Seguin
UTAH
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Cedar City
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Kanab
VIRGINIA
Holiday Inn Arlington At Ballston
WISCONSIN
Holiday Inn & Suites Madison West

Worldwide

Marriott Bonvoy American Express cards see welcome bonus drop to 50,000 points


As of today both the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card see their welcome bonus lowered from 60,000 points to 50,000 points.

This isn't a bad offer, in fact it is still a great offer when compared to other cards found in our entire market. It just isn't as good as the offer of 60,000 points that ended yesterday.

Why is it still a good offer? You have a card that provides a 50,000 point welcome bonus after you meet the minimum spend. Those 50,000 points are worth at least $500 if not more. Subtract the $120 annual fee and you are still getting no less than $380 in value. And I say no less - in fact you could and should be getting more value than that:

The Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport in August is only 25,000 points while the best rate we could find was the AAA rate of $396



Imagine two nights, 50,000 points for $792. Now you have $672 in value from the welcome bonus.

And that's just from the sign up bonus. We're not even taking into account the other benefits of the card. For example, you have the anniversary free night benefit that can be used for hotels that cost up to 35,000 points per night. Here are some examples taken from our post  A look at how The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card provides huge value!

The Westin Turtle Bay Resort and Spa in Mauritius is only 35,000 points per night.

As you can see from the example above you are way ahead as you would be getting a US$497 room for C$120. Let's get more realistic and look closer to home where you might use a one night free night benefit:

Now you are in Calgary and need a hotel for the night before an early flight. Or maybe you live in YYC and want a staycation. The Rewards Canada family can recommend the Calgary Airport Marriott In-Terminal Hotel (read our review here) and it runs 35,000 points for one night:

The 35,000 points you got as an anniversary benefit just got you a $287 room for your $120 annual fee.

The card still has 15 Elite Night Credits given to you every year you have the card,  automatic Silver Elite status (and Gold if you hit $30,000 in spending on the card), the ability to convert to a wide selection of airlines and the earn rates of 5 points per dollar spent at Marriott Bonvoy properties and 2 points per dollar everywhere else.

We all hate it when a welcome bonus offer is lowered and we can only hope that in this case the 60,000 points offer returns in the near future as another limited time or permanent offer!

The card matrices below show the latest offers on these cards and may not be representative of the discussion above:

- American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link.
- This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own. 


Monday, May 27, 2019

May 27 Update: Rewards Canada now on Flipboard, Clarifications to new Cobalt terms, IHG's latest PointBreaks to be released tomorrow




Rewards Canada is now on Flipboard! You can now get all of our blog posts with all your other news and events via this social news aggregator and app! Here is the link to our magazine:  https://flipboard.com/@RewardsCanada



Last week we mentioned that there were some terms and conditions updates to the American Express Cobalt card. We now have further details right from American Express to clarify the questions:
Confirming that Cardmembers may continue to earn points on cash equivalent purchases, but Amex is entitled to claw back the points if we believe there is abuse of the Membership Rewards program.

As for insurances, Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption are not being added to the Cobalt Card. The notice covered all changes happening to insurance coverages, regardless of the card.


The latest version of IHG Rewards Club's famed PointBreaks redemption offers will be revealed tomorrow. They are typically released around 12pm ET. You can read our post from the last set to get acquainted with them if you aren't familiar with PointBreaks.


Check your emails for a targeted Cathay Pacific Asia Miles offer for double miles when flying Cathay Pacific in first or business class from Canada or the U.S.

If you have been considering the Marriott Bonvoy Card from American Express I would apply for it TODAY. 

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

IHG Global Sale! Book now and save up to 20% at thousands of IHG® Hotels & Resorts worldwide when you book between now and July 31st.! Full details

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

Emirates Skywards
- Double Skywards Miles for stays at participating One&Only Resorts Worldwide More... Book by Jun 30 for stays until Dec 31, 19

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays of 4 or mroe nights at the El Mangroove, Autograph Collection Guanacaste. More... vUntil Jun 30, 19
2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points per stay of 2+ nights at the Hotel Football, Old Trafford, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel. More... Until May 31, 19
- Earn up 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at the SpringHill Suites Indianapolis Westfield. Plus, get an extra 2,000 points when you stay 5 nights or longer. More... Until Jun 30, 19

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you book a minimum of 2 consecutive nights at Concorde Hotel Singapore. More... Until Dec 31, 19

United MileagePlus
- 20,000 Bonus MileagePlus miles and save up to $400 per reservation when you book 7+ night air/hotel packages to Tel Aviv. More... Book by Jun 30 for travel until Mar 31, 20



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The no annual fee BMO CashBack Mastercard is a great option for the lower income bracket thanks to its welcome offer & earn rate

Today we continue our series of posts that review some of the card offerings from BMO. The past posts have focused on their higher end travel cards so we haven't really looked at their cash back or no fee cards. We do get quite a bit of feedback and requests from our readers about cards for those in lower income brackets since much of our focus is for the higher end cards. It's true that many of the cards in today's market require you to have $60,000 to $80,000 in annual personal income to qualify for them. So what happens if you don't make that much money? Can you still be rewarded? Absolutely. There are lots of options for rewards credit cards that have lower or no published income requirements at all. From travel points to retail points to cash back you have lots to choose from. One of BMO's cards, the BMO CashBack Mastercard is a great no fee card option that allows you to have flexible redemption on whatever you like and doesn't have high income requirements.

If you don't travel much or you want to be in full control of how you use your credit cards rewards then the cash back route is ideal. In the world no fee cash back credit cards, the BMO CashBack Mastercard is definitely one of the more attractive cash back cards in the market thanks to its current welcome offer and everyday earn rate. There are very few no fee cash back cards that offer an increased welcome offer of 5% like this card. Most are quite a bit lower or have no welcome offer at all. The 5% featured on this card is good for the first three months of the card and maxes out at $100 in rewards and it is not limited to select merchant categories. That means you'll earn 5% back on the first $2,000 in spending in the first three months or about $666. 67 of spending per month.

On the earn side, the 1% cashback is average or better than average when comparing to competitors offering similar no fee cash back cards. There are several cards that will earn more on everyday spending but their welcome offer is much lower so the trade off could be worth it. Some other cards will offer more in select categories but then outside of those categories they will earn less. For example 2% back on groceries but then only 0.5% on everything else. Having the flat rate of 1% removes confusion and depending on your spending habits will actually earn you more cash back than a card that has higher category bonuses and lower 'all other spending' rates.  Sometimes it is just nice to know that you'll earn a flat rate on everything.

Another reason you may want to look at this card is its current introductory rate on balance transfers. Yes we all hate it when we have to carry a balance on our credit cards and it hurts getting dinged with interest rates near or more than 20%. The BMO CashBack Mastercard has a limited time offer right now of only 1.99% interest on balance transfers (plus a 1% fee) for 9 months. This could just be what you need to get rid of a balance earning a high interest rate, move it to this card and focus on paying it off in those nine months.

Here are the details for the card:

This post was sponsored by BMO. The views and opinions expressed in this post however, are purely those of Rewards Canada.

 


Friday, May 24, 2019

May 24 Update: Hilton Honors Lawn Days Summer Concerts return, 3,000 bonus points in the Blue Mountains & a WestJet Priority Baggage update


Hilton Honors is bringing back its Lawn Days Summer Concert Series. Live Nation and Hilton Honors are giving hotel loyalty members access to seeing dozens of top artists in dozens of premium outdoor amphitheaters nationwide. By redeeming just 10,000 Points, members receive two lawn seat concert tickets. It doesn't appear any Canadian cities or events are included in the Lawn Days Concert series but if your travels are taking you to the U.S. this summer there are lots of options that may work for you. You can view the full lineup and redeem points on the Hilton Honors Experiences Platform


Yet another Marriott Bonvoy stay bonus in Canada to let you know about! This time it's 3,000 bonus points for stays of 2+ nights between Sunday and Thursday at the Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain. Find out more here! There are now 11 such bonuses for Canadian Marriott locations. Find them all here.


And an update to a post from earlier this week on WestJet's new Priority Baggage benefit. WestJet has let us know that Priority is also a benefit when you fly on Premium or Business Class fares. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

IHG Global Sale! Book now and save up to 20% at thousands of IHG® Hotels & Resorts worldwide when you book between now and July 31st.! Full details

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 Bonvoy
- 3,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays of 2+ nights Sunday-Thursday at The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain More... Until Aug 5, 19

Radisson Rewards
- Earn 3,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards points for stays at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide starting with your second stay.  More... May 27 – Aug 31, 19

Other Bonus Offers

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles when you rent with Avis for 3 or more days Worldwide More... Book by Jul 31 for rentals until Sep 30, 19

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Four Points Nashville Airport. More... Until Jun 30, 19
Qantas Frequent Flyer
- 500 Bonus Qantas Points when you rent a car with Avis in Australia for 7 or more days. More... Until Jun 30, 19

SAS EuroBonus
- Earn up to 5,000 Extra EuroBonus Points on Sixt rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Aug 31, 19

United MileagePlus
- 5,000 Bonus MileagePlus miles when you book air/hotel packages of 7 or more days to La Colección Resorts in Mexico. More... Book by Jun 6 for travel until Dec 31 , 19




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IHG Global Sale – Save at least 20% at IHG Hotels & Resorts Worldwide


The IHG Global Sale is on now! Book now and save up to 20% at thousands of IHG® Hotels & Resorts worldwide when you book between now and July 31st. IHG® Rewards Club members save even more.

Full details & online booking!

Terms & conditions:
Save a minimum of 20% at select properties around the globe
The Global Sale promotion is valid only for bookings made from May 14, 2019 through July 31, 2019 using the “Global Sale” rate. All bookings must be consumed from May 24, 2019 through September 15, 2019 at participating IHG® hotels and resorts. The discount is at least 20% off the Best Flexible Rate. IHG® Rewards Club members receive an additional savings. Additional member discount varies by region. Booking must be made at least three (3) days in advance and requires non-refundable, full pre-payment for the entire stay at the time of booking. Discount varies by hotel and blackout dates apply. Rooms are subject to availability and certain room types may be excluded. Hotel policy varies in regards to the minimum length of stay required and number of guests allowed per room. Not applicable with other discounted rate promotions. Not applicable to group bookings. Hotel specific early departure fee applies. The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas and IHG® Army Hotels are excluded from the promotion.

Image via IHG

Earn 6,500 Bonus RediPoints when you complete 2 separate Red Roof stays (1st Canadian location coming soon)



This is one hotel chain and program we haven't covered much at all on Rewards Canada as they don't have a presence here. That's all about to change as Red Roof is ramping up to open their first location in Canada right here in Rewards Canada's hometown!  The Red Roof PLUS+ & Suites Calgary is slated to open in late spring and it is the first of multiple locations they are planning to open in Canada over the next five years. This new location is not a new build, instead it is renovations and rebranding of the Travelodge Hotel Calgary International Airport South.


Red Roof explains that "A substantial investment will be made to renovate and upgrade the property to 150 rooms and suites to Red Roof high quality standards and is slated to open in late Spring 2019. The property will not only have all of the PLUS+ upgrades and amenities but will also house an off-lobby restaurant, pool and will offer airport shuttle service, appealing to both the leisure and business traveler."

The chain itself has over 600 hotels, mostly in the U.S. but it also has some locations in Japan and Brazil.:

The reward program is called RediRewards (formerly known as RediCard) and they have revealed the details of their summer promotion! It has hints of Choice Privileges in that it is being promoted as a gift card offer when in fact it is a bonus points offer. When you complete 2 stays with Red Roof they will reward you with 6,500 Bonus Points which are enough for a $25 gift card – or a free night stay at HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof (6,000 points for a free night). Other free nights start at 7,000 points so you won’t be too far off after completing two stays.


There is definitely more value in the free nights than the gift card or even possibly in their other redemption option, 30% off a night for as little as 3,000 points.  This promotion is valid for stays June 1 to August 31 but you can register for it now as well as book your stays for that time period right away.

Offer details
Earn 6,500 Bonus RediPoints when you complete 2 separate stays at any Red Roof location, including The Red Collection and Hometowne Studios by Red Roof in the U.S., Japan, Brazil and Canada (if the Canadian location opens on time) Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Jun 1 – Aug 31, 19

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Hotel Review: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South


The past few months have been pretty hectic in the Rewards Canada household for our kid's activities. One of those is competitive volleyball and it took us to Edmonton a couple of times for tournaments and our new team has the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South as their home base.

Previous years with a previous team had us a little further south at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Edmonton South (read my review here) so this was a new hotel for us to stay in. The location is a little closer to the volleyball venues than Towneplace Suites but not by a big factor.  The Holiday Inn Express is quite a bit older than the Towneplace Suites which only opened in 2017 but overall it isn't too bad of a hotel but not great either.  The first thing I will say is that the breakfast however is one of the best we've had in these lower to mid level hotels that have the free breakfast option! There were multiple meat options, the eggs actually tasted real and there were lots of food options to choose from. The service as well from the people looking after the breakfast room was great!

The rooms themselves were pretty decent for a Holiday Inn Express - better than the last one I had stayed at in Lethbridge a few years prior. My first of two complaints of the room is that I did find the mattresses to be really hard which didn't make for the best sleep:




There is lots of room in the two queens rooms which in part is thanks to (or maybe no thanks to) a small dresser and small TV:


 The rooms also have a mini-fridge, microwave and Keurig Coffee machine:


The bathroom and toiletries were standard for an HI Express. Good thing was that for both stays the bathrooms were very clean and showed that they were well cared for by the housekeeping staff:




As I mentioned above I had two complaints, the second shows that this location is somewhat older and that there weren't a lot of electrical/USB outlets. Sure you don't need 20+ outlets like we found in the Comfort Suites Regina (read our review here) but there may not be enough if four people stay in the room. In the pictures below you'll see four available plugs and the one by the TV isn't the most convenient and there is only one in the lamp on the nightstand.



Overall the hotel isn't too bad of a hotel. It's not the best place I've ever stayed at but it isn't one I wouldn't return to if asked to stay there. Both times the hotel was very busy on the weekends we were there with lots of sports teams (volleyball, hockey, curling and more) so you can expect the breakfast area to be busy and that just reminded me of a third complaint - I know I said I only had two but I just remembered this one. This hotel has some of the slowest elevators ever! The two elevators take forever to move up and down and when you add in dozens of kids and parents of many sports teams  you'll want to head straight for the stairs unless you have hours to spare. I used the stairs all the time despite staying on the fourth and fifth floors. Ain't nobody got time for slow elevators!

Hotel details
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South (Book here)
Points required for a free night 20,000 Points
Points+Cash rates: 10,000 Points + C$80 or 15,000 Points + C$44

Talk to us! Have you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South? What are your thoughts of the hotel? Or are you planning to and looking forward to it? Let us know below!

Title image via IHG, all other images are those of the authors.

Grab the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card now for an easy 80,000 points - it will get harder to get them come June


Another card change to let you know about - one we did give mention to in one of our daily updates a few days ago. On June 3rd the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card will come out with a new offer and it is not as good as the current offering. That means if you have been considering this card and were waiting to see if it might get better that's not happening. The current offer of up to 80,000 points will be changed. It will still be 80,000 points but a quarter of those points won't be seen until you've had the card for a year and pay the annual fee for it in the second year. As well to score half the points you'll have to spend more on the card when compared to the current offer. The good news is that it will still be first year free however.

The card matrix below shows the latest offer on this card and may not be representative of the discussion above: