Friday, September 13, 2019

September 13 Update: Reminder that Marriott Bonvoy Peak/Off Peak pricing comes tomorrow along with other changes, up to 100 Bonus AIR MILES at Rexall & more!



A friendly reminder that today is the last day of flat rate redemption awards for Marriott Bonvoy. As of tomorrow, Peak and Off-Peak pricing will kick in which means that some awards will cost more, some less, it all depends and when and where you are staying. Today is also the last day to book Points Advance bookings with the pricing locked in place and not be affected by the Peak pricing. Learn more from our post here.

 You can earn up to 100 bonus AIR MILES when you shop at Rexall this weekend. No coupon is required.

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Qatar Airways Global sale fly from Montreal for as little as $900 and earn 2x Qmiles. Book by Sep 15. 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

British Airways Executive Club
- 30% Bonus Avios when you covert American Express Membership Rewards points to Avios. More... For residents of Canada only Until Oct 31, 19

Other Bonus Offers

Emirates Skywards
- 25% Discount when you buy or gift Skywards miles. More... Until Oct 2, 19

Iberia Plus
- 25% Avios Discount when you redeem for select Iberia Express award flights between Madrid and Seville, Malta, Nantes, Lyón, Rennes, Dublin, Cagliari or Paris. More... Book by Oct 30 for travel Sep 16 - Dec 15, 19

Marriott Bonvoy
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays of 2+ nights at the TownePlace Suites Fort Worth Downtown More... Until Oct 18, 19

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays of 2 or more nights at the Hotel Jen Penang by Shangri-La. More... Until Nov 30, 19
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang Mai More... Until Dec 31, 19


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30% discount for buying Choice Privileges Points until September 17


Another short term buy points offer to let you know about. This one comes to us from Choice Privileges and offers a 30% discount when you buy 5,000 or more points. This offer only runs until September 17 and effectively lets you buy points for as low as US 0.77 cents each when you 120,000 points for US$924. Ultimately if you only redeemed for hotels at the 8,000 points level that 120,000 points gets you 15 nights at only US$61.60 per night.

Offer details
30% Discount when you buy 5,000 or more points online. Buy points here. Until Sep 17, 19

Find other Choice Privileges bonus offers here.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

September 12 Update: Travel Hacking 101 Earn 39,000+ Aeroplan Miles for free, Cathay Pacific cutting Vancouver-New York route & Amex discount for Air Canada flights


With the latest offer now out for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card we have updated our long standing Travel Hacking 101 post. This post details how you can earn 39,000+ Aeroplan Miles or 4,000 Avios for free. Check it out here!

 Cathay Pacific is cutting a very popular route for frequent travelers, travel hackers, miles hounds you name it. That route is their 5th freedom route between Vancouver and New York City. This route allowed people to try the amazing Asian carrier in First, Business and Economy class without leaving our continent. The route will be sorely missed but it does run until March 28, 2020 so you still have a little bit of time to try it out! (Source RoutesOnline / TPG) Image via Cathay Pacific


Check your inbox for a new Air Canada discount offer from American Express. The offer provides an additional 15% off flights. I received the offer for my Platinum Card from American Express.

Air Canada is adding direct flights between Calgary and Terrace BC as of October 27. The new route will operated once daily by Air Canada Express (Source RoutesOnline)

United Airlines will be cutting their direct flight between Ottawa and Newark come March 2020. (Source TPG)

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Qatar Airways Global sale fly from Montreal for as little as $900 and earn 2x Qmiles. Book by Sep 15. 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

Best Western Rewards
- Free Gold Elite Status - As a Canadian Military member you can receive Automatic Best Western Rewards Gold Elite Status when you join the Best Western Service Rewards program. More... Ongoing

Other Bonus Offers

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Earn 1.5x Infinity MileageLands Miles on all hotels stays booked via Kaligo. More... Book by Oct 11, 19

Hilton Honors
- 100% Bonus when you buy 10,000 or more Hilton Honors points online. More... Until Oct 22, 19
- 1,000 Bonus Honors Points PER NIGHT when you stay on the Grand Opening offer at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bangkok Ploenchit. More... Sep 27 - Dec 31, 19
- 1,000 Bonus Honors Points PER NIGHT when you stay on the Grand Opening offer at the Tru by Hilton Seneca Clemson. More... Until Dec 31, 19

Marriott Bonvoy
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points when you stay at least 2 nights Wednesday-Saturday (Thursday or Friday required) at the Four Points by Sheraton Setif More... Until Oct 28, 19

Miles & More
- Earn up to 4,500 Bonus Miles & More Miles when you stay at Best Western Hotels in Europe, Africa or Asia More... Until Dec 31, 19

TAP Portugal Victoria
-Triple Miles&Go Miles on Sixt rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 19


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Amex Membership Rewards: 30% Bonus Avios when transferring to British Airways Executive Club


Showing up earlier than last year we see the return of a transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways Executive Club! Once again the bonus is a decent 30%!

These transfer bonuses are the one thing many owners of hybrid credits cards look forward to as hybrid cards points can be redeemed via the credit card or give you the ability to transfer those points to frequent flyer and frequent guest programs, and it is the transfer bonus to those programs that are anticipated. Of the bonuses, people always look forward to the RBC Avion transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club and this bonus, the American Express Membership Rewards transfer offer to British Airways Executive Club!

The minimum transfer is 1,000 points with no stated maximum.


British Airways Executive Club offers many excellent redemption options which is why the transfer bonuses to the program always get so much attention. We talk about the North American redemptions in our feature Utilizing British Airways' Executive Club for flights in North America which sees one way flights starting at only 7,500 Avios (15,000 round trip). That means a one way flight is only 5,770 Membership Rewards points with this promotion!

Another redemption to look at is the Toronto-Dublin option we seem to always bring up as that is only 26,000 Avios, or 20,000 Membership Rewards points with this transfer bonus. If you have the American Express Gold Rewards card that means you would only have to spend as little as $10,000 on the card to get that latter flight or even less if you with the dining earn on The Platinum card - only $6666.67 in dining spend at 3 points per dollar will get you this redemption option. No other cards in the market can provide a flight to Ireland for that little amount of spending. Of course you then have the business class and first class redemption option on British Airways, Cathay Pacific and so many more of the oneworld Alliance airlines! Too many options to list here!

Now there is another new redemption that is actually pricing cheaper than Toronto-Dublin and that is Aer Lingus' new flight from Montreal to Dublin that will launch in 2020. During to off-peak period that flight is only 10,000 Avios each way in economy class or just under 7,700 Membership Rewards points each way with this promotion. That is an unmatched redemption option! Flying to Dublin for just over 15,000 points round trip!

The good news is that if you travelling abroad British Airways still has the 4,500 Avios Short Haul option in Europe and Asia so you can utilize this bonus for those short hops overseas!

Find out more about the American Express 30% transfer bonus which runs until October here.

Here are the best two cards for earning Membership Rewards Points and if you apply for them now and get your spending on them completed by mid October you should still be able to get in on the transfer bonus!


Flash Sale: Up to a 50% Bonus when you buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles until September 14!


Alaska Airlines has brought back their best bonus for buying Mileage Plan miles! Right now you will get up to a 50% bonus when you buy 40,000 or more miles. This is an early bird flash sale that runs until September 14 with an extra 10% – which leads us to believe the bonus will continue after September 14 but max out at 40%.

At 50% you’ll definitely want to consider buying the miles as you are buying Mileage Plan Miles under U.S. 2 cents a piece. Canadians will have to pay GST/HST on the amount since Points.com, who processes the transaction is a Canadian company.

Seeing that you can redeem miles for premium class flights on British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Hainan, Korean Air and more, there are lots of options for you to use these miles. Remember it only takes 70,000 Mileage Plan miles to fly Cathay Pacific First Class from North America to Asia and that flight alone will cost a lot more than US$1,478.13!

Here is one example of a redemption you could use this bonus offer on. Flying Japan Airlines and Korean Air business class from Vancouver to Tokyo:


 Visit Japan in April for a week – 112,500 miles round trip for business class + $102.70 in fees/taxes. To purchase 120,000 miles (the closest amount at 50% to get these flights) would cost you just over US$2,300, add in the fees and you are looking at ~C$3,100 To pay cash for the same flights you would be looking at over C$5,500.

Remember Alaska has set in place a maximum amount of miles you can buy in a year if you don’t hold MVP status.  Non-Elite members can only buy 150,000 miles per year now.  MVP, MVP Gold, and MVP Gold 75K member are not subjected to this limitation. Seeing that Alaska has never offered more than a 50% bonus this is definitely the time to buy if you were targeted to get that amount.

Offer details
Receive up to 50% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy miles online. Buy miles here Sep 14, 19
Buy 10,000 – 19,000 miles, get a 20% bonus
Buy 20,000 – 39,000 miles, get a 35% bonus
Buy 40,000 – 60,000 miles, get a 50% bonus

Find many more Mileage Plan bonus miles offers here

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Free Best Western Rewards Gold Elite status for Canadian Military members


Canadian Military members who join Best Western’s Service Rewards will automatically receive Gold Elite Status and 10% or more off with their military rates for stays at Best Western Hotels.

Offer Details:
As a Canadian Military member you can receive Automatic Best Western Rewards Gold Elite Status when you join the Best Western Service Rewards program. Full details and online registration (Registration is required). This is an ongoing offer

Here are some other bonus offers to check out:
  • Double Rewards Points when you stay at participating Best Western Hotels in in Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, or Vietnam. Full details, online registration & booking. (Registration is required)
  • Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays of 3 or more nights at the Best Western Plus Yosemite Way Station Motel Mariposa. Full Details and online booking
Find our complete list of Best Western Rewards Bonus Points offers here!

Earn up to 6,000 bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points for all Accor Hotels stays Worldwide (includes Fairmont Hotels)



Le Club AccorHotels is another hotel chain that currently has a global systemwide bonus points offer out in the market. This one is of some significance to us Canadians as Le Club AccorHotels is now the official loyalty program for Fairmont Hotels. Yes, we all miss the old Fairmont President's Club but there isn't much we can do about it now other than to try take advantage of every offer that Accor sends our way. This offer provides up to 6,000 bonus points for stays that are booked by the 27th of this month. The more multiple night stays you complete during the promotion the more points you’ll earn. 500 for your first 2+ night stay, 2,500 bonus points on your second 2+ night stay and then 3,000 on your third such stay. You do have to register for the offer and then book by September 27th for stays September 13th to January 19th to earn the bonus points.

Offer details:
Earn up to 6,000 Bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points when you complete stays of 2 or more nights at all participating Accor Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking. (Registration is required) Book Sep 3 – 27 for stays Sep 13 – Jan 19, 20.
  • Earn 500 Rewards points on your first stay (minimum 2 nights),
  • 2,500 Rewards points on your second stay (minimum 2 nights)
  • 3,000 Rewards points on your third stay (minimum 2 nights)
Find our complete list of Le Club AccorHotels bonus points offers here.

September 11 Update: Air Canada upgauges Ottawa-London while cutting Ottawa-Frankfurt, Amex adds Vancouver's TransLink as a merchant & much more!


Yesterday we brought you the news that Lufthansa will be launching new flights between Ottawa and Frankfurt. At the time we wondered if Air Canada would continue their summer seasonal service on the same route. Confirmation came late yesterday afternoon that they will not fly the route anymore, they'll leave it to Lufthansa. In the same press release however there was good news in that Air Canada will be replacing the aircraft used to fly between Ottawa and London to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner instead of the old Boeing 767. The aircraft swap will take place in late March. (Source Air Canada) Image via Air Canada


American Express has added TransLink (Vancouver's public transit system) to their merchant network. This should come as good news for American Express Cobalt cardmembers as the card earns 2x points on transit purchases. The same goes for Scotiabank Gold American Express cardholders as that card will earn 3x points on transit purchases. (Source American Express) Image via TransLink
American Express Canada and TransLink are pleased to announce that riders on Vancouver's public transit system can now pay for fares with American Express. Cardmembers can now tap their Canadian contactless American Express® Card or their mobile wallet to pay at TransLink fare gates and on buses to get around the Metro Vancouver area. American Express Cards can also be used to purchase fares at Compass Vending Machines, online or by phone.


Have plans for a 2 night or longer stay at the Delta Hotels Toronto? There is now a bonus offer to earn 1,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points until November 11. Find out more here.  Image via Marriott


Just a friendly reminder that you can earn 3x Aeroplan Miles for online purchases made at Costco.ca. Use promo code AERO3 when you check out! Find out more hereImage via Costco


Today is the last day for the KLM Dream Deals seat sale! Save on Economy or Business Class flights from Canada to Europe, Africa, the Middle East & Asia. Economy class fares start at $672 and business class at $3,222 round trip! Click here for details on the business class sale or here for the economy class sale! Image via KLM


Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Qatar Airways Global sale fly from Montreal for as little as $900 and earn 2x Qmiles. Book by Sep 15. 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

Air Canada Aeroplan
- 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert Hotel loyalty programs points to Aeroplan Miles.  More... Until Sep 22, 19
Marriott Bonvoy
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy points for stays of 2+ nights at the Delta Hotels Toronto. More... Until Nov 11, 19

Other Bonus Offers

Aeroflot Bonus
- Triple Bonus Bonus Miles  for stays at all participating Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Oct 5 for stays until Nov 5, 19

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn 50% Bonus Avios for stays at all participating Accor Hotels Worldwide  More... Book by Sep 30 for stays until Dec 31, 19

IHG Rewards Club
- 25% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you add bonus points to your stay at any IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Sep 24 for stays until Dec 31, 19
- Earn a $20 virtual reward card to use at your favorite online retailers by simply joining IHG® Rewards Club and registering, and booking a stay at avid hotels  More... Dec 31, 19

Marriott Bonvoy
- Double Bonvoy Points plus a free day when rent with Hertz for 6 or more days at participating locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, on all Car Classes and Collections. More... Until Dec 31, 19

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Double Qantas Points when you book your stay at participating Marriott hotels in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia, and Samoa. More... Unknown End Date


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Hilton Honors: 100% bonus when you buy points until October 22


Hilton Honors has released another buy points promotion for their members! This one is a nice flat bonus rate of 100% bonus points when you buy 10,000 or more points. This means you are paying US$ 0.5 cents per point which can be easily redeemed at values of 0.8 cents or more!

Remember reward nights start out at only 5,000 points so you could essentially get up to 16 to 32 nights depending on which points package you buy.


And here's an example of how this buy points deal can provide some great value. Want to stay at the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa during the height of the Christmas season? The cheapest going rate is C$1,328 per night on December 29 and 30th. The points requirement? 80,000 points per night. So it would take 160,000 points for 2 nights or paying $2,656 plus taxes for the same room and nights. 160,000 points would mean you only buy 80,000 points (and get 80,000 as a bonus) for US$800 or about C$1092 (includes GST on the points purchase). This example would save you over $1,500! Also for those who would like to know, the 80,000 point rate is also available on New Year's Eve.



Offer details:
100% Bonus when you buy 10,000 or more Hilton Honors points online. Buy points here Until Oct 22, 19

Can’t make use of this offer? Check out these other bonus opportunities:
  • Double Honors points on every stay at participating Hilton Hotels Worldwide.  If you have a Hilton Honors co-brand credit card (U.S., U.K., Japan or Germany) you will earn triple points on each stay.  Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)
  • Elite Status Match and Fast Track to Elite Status Offer - Receive Hilton Honors elite status for 90 days when you hold status with another hotel program and then stay 4 times in 90 days to keep Gold Status or 8 times to keep Diamond status. Register Online (Registration is required)
  • 500 Bonus Honors points per rental for rentals at participating Alamo, Enterprise and National locations worldwide. Bonus awarded for up to 9 days.   Full details and online booking
Find many more Honors Bonus Points offers here!

Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – September Edition



Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available! One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of these systemwide bonuses that come from many of the big chain programs and also from the lesser known programs. In fact, right now it should be rare for you NOT to earn a bonus. Unless you are staying at a boutique hotel or perhaps an independent hotel most other hotels out there have a bonus. So take advantage of it! These systemwide bonuses simply require you to register beforehand and they do not affect hotel pricing as long as you book a point eligible rate which are most rates out there. Of course booking through a third party site like Expedia or Rocketmiles does not count as most chains only award points on bookings that are made directly with them. Without further ado here are all the current promotions that are available to everyone:
Provider
Offer
Validity Date
Best Western Rewards No offers at this time --
For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Choice Hotels Privileges Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points (enough for a free night) for 2 separate stays you complete at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Stay must be booked via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Members will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 bonus points and a maximum of 8,000 bonus points, depending on the number of base points earned for 2 separate qualifying stays. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)
Restrictions
For Residents of the U.S. and Canada only
Until Nov 8, 19
For a complete listing of all Choice Privileges bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Choice page
GHA Discovery No offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all GHA Discovery bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's GHA page
Hilton Double Honors points on every stay at participating Hilton Hotels Worldwide.  If you have a Hilton Honors co-brand credit card (U.S., U.K., Japan or Germany) you will earn triple points on each stay.  Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Jan 5, 20
For a complete listing of all Hilton HHonors bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hilton page
Hyatt Earn up to Triple World of Hyatt Points starting with your second qualifying stay at over 900 participating hotels and resorts worldwide . Register online (Registration is required)
  • Earn Triple Points at nearly 350 Hyatt Place hotels in cities like New York, London, Tokyo and more.
  • Earn Double Points at over 550 other Hyatt hotels worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations and Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels.
Register by Oct 31 for stays Sep 15 - Dec 15, 19
2,000 Bonus World of Hyatt Points for your first stay at each of Hyatt's new brands of Thompson Hotels (starting March 28), Joie de Vivre (starting May 15), Alila and Destination Hotels (both coming soon) Maximum bonus of 8,000 points. Plus earn a free night if you stay at all four brands. Full details and online booking Until Dec 31, 19
For a complete listing of all Hyatt Gold Passport bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hyatt page
InterContinental Hotels Group Accelerate Part 3 –  Earn 500 to 40,000 or more Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you complete stays at IHG Hotels Worldwide. Bonus varies by member. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required)  Register by Oct 18 for stays Sep 1 – Dec 31, 19
For a complete listing of all IHG Priority Club bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's IHG page
Le Club AccorHotels Earn up to 6,000 Bonus Le Club AccorHotels Points when you complete stays of 2 or more nights at all participating Accor Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking. (Registration is required)
  • Earn 500 Rewards points on your first stay (minimum 2 nights),
  • 2,500 Rewards points on your second stay (minimum 2 nights)
  • 3,000 Rewards points on your third stay (minimum 2 nights)
Book Sep 3 – 27 for stays Sep 13 – Jan 19, 20.
For a complete listing of all Le Club AccorHotels bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Le Club AccorHotels page
Marriott No offers at this time --
For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Marriott page
Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's iPrefer page
Radisson Rewards No offers at this time --
For a complete listing of all Radisson Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Radisson Rewards page
Red Roof Inns RediRewards No offers at this time --
For a complete listing of all Red Roof bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's RediRewards page
Shangri-La Golden Circle No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Golden Circle page
Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all Sonesta Hotels bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Travel Pass page
Voila Hotel Rewards Double Elite Status Credit for every stay of 3+ nights completed at a participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required) Until Nov 30, 19
Triple VHR Points & Double Elite Status Credit for every stay completed at a participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required) Until Sep 30, 19
For a complete listing of all Voila Hotel Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's VHR page
Wyndham Rewards No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page