Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Paymi Review - Get cash back for shopping at retailers with any of your regular credit cards



Paymi is a new-style rewards program similar in vain to Drop Rewards and Ampli that “focuses on putting cash back into consumers’ pockets”. When members make purchases with Paymi partners—whether in-store or online—they are automatically credited with cash back for their purchases.

It gives consumers the benefits of a credit card rewards program, without being locked into using any single credit or debit card, and without requiring either codes or coupons. It also co-exists with any other reward programs, which means that members can “triple-dip”: getting rewards from their credit card, from the retailer, and from Paymi.

Sign up features - $5 for joining

Because Paymi is a new kind of service, instead of a traditional credit card rewards program, there are no specific rewards for signing up. Paymi focuses on ensuring that signing up is quick and easy, allowing people to attach their credit and debit cards to their new Paymi account by using their bank’s traditional online banking portal. This ensures that people can begin getting rewards for their purchases with Paymi’s partners quickly and effortlessly.  When you join Paymi they will give you $5 for completing your registration. You can then also earn $5 for each person you refer to the program.

Costs

Paymi is completely free to join, and there are no membership dues. Paymi covers its own expenses through its partnerships.

Earning

Earning with Paymi literally couldn’t be simpler. Once a credit or debit card is connected with Paymi, all that members need to do is use it to make online or in-person purchases with Paymi’s growing number of partners. Paymi’s partners span from everyday retailers like Walmart to prestige brands like Dyson, Hudson’s Bay, and Indochino, with more joining regularly. Percentages vary between partners, topping out at 8%. Rewards usually take 1 to 2 business days, possibly up to 5-7 days in a few cases.


Redeeming

As members make purchases, the money that they’ve earned is displayed right on their paymi web or app dashboard. Once they’ve made some money, they can cash out simply by clicking a “Redeem Now” button next to the balance. The member will be able to send an Interac money transfer to themselves. There is a $1.50 Interac fee if the transfer is under $25, but the fee is waived for transfers greater than $25.



What’s good about the program

Paymi is a no-friction way of getting cash back for your purchases. It doesn’t interfere with card rewards, and it stacks on top of rewards from retailers. It doesn’t require an extra card or code. It doesn’t require any effort, except for the initial sign-up and registration. It’s a set-it-and-forget-it reward solution that can easily develop into an impressive pile of cash rewards. Remember you still earn all your standard credit card rewards and rewards from any loyalty program that the retailer may have or participate in.

What’s not so good about the program

Paymi is still limited to a comparatively small number of retailers. Big earnings through Paymi may involve making the conscious decision to choose to use their partners, and some partners limit rewards to online purchases. Members may end up choosing between retailer rewards and Paymi rewards.

Editors Update: Per the comment of our readers, they had issues with connecting their accounts to Paymi and were locked out of their credit card account. Just a heads up to everyone.


Who should get this

There’s almost no reason not to get this. The partner rewards will get you cash back on any transaction on any connected card. It’s practically “free money” if you were planning on using the partners anyway, and conscious use of Paymi partners, especially those with big reward percentages, could lead to spectacular rewards. “Cashing out” is straightforward, and it doesn’t limit you from taking advantage of card rewards or other consumer reward programs like Air Miles.

Conclusion

Paymi is a simple, effortless way to get rewards on your purchases, without having to compromise on your card choices. It’s a good add-on to anybody focused on getting rewards for card purchases.

Learn more about and sign up for Paymi here!

 

Rewards Canada receives an affiliate commission for each Paymi sign up however this post in its entirety has been written without input nor review from Paymi. All opinions expressed herein are those of Rewards Canada.


All images courtesy of Paymi

Monday, January 13, 2020

January 13 Update: Earn up to 12,500 SCENE points when you open a Scotia iTrade account, up to 10x AIR MILES at Lowes, 10 new bonus offers


Open up a Scotia iTrade account by February 29 and you can earn up to 12,500 SCENE points for doing so. Find out more here

Funding Requirement SCENE points + $6.99 pricing
$2,000 - $4,999 1,000
$5,000 - $9,999 2,500
$10,000 - $24,999 5,000
$25,000 + 12,500



You can earn up to 10x the AIR MILES Reward Miles when you shop at Lowes until January 29. If you spend $50 to $749.99 you'll get 5x the miles, spend $750 or more you'll get 10x the miles. Find out more here.

Air India is planning to increase flights between Toronto and Delhi from 3x weekly to daily service as March 29. (Source Routesonline)

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Aer Lingus has launched a spring seat sale for their flights out of Toronto. Fares start $544 all in for round trip flights to Dublin. Book by January 29 for travel April 6 - June 9, 2020. 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

Marriott Bonvoy
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy points per night for stays at the Delta Hotels Toronto Mississauga. Bonus can be earned for up to 4 nights. More... Until Jan 31, 20

SCENE
Earn up to 12,500 Bonus SCENE Points when you open up and fund a Scotia iTrade account. More... Open account by Feb 29 and fund by Mar 31,20

WestJet Rewards
- WestJet Rewards status match until March 31 and challenges to extend beyond - Match to Silver or Gold with proof of status from Altitude or VIPorter showing your name and current status valid through to a minimum Febraury 29, 2020 More... Submit details by Jan 31, 20

Other Bonus Offers


Aeroflot Bonus
- Earn up to Triple Bonus Miles when you rent with Europcar for 3 or more days Worldwide (except in the USA and Canada) More... Book by Jan 22 for rentals until Jan 31, 20

Amtrak Guest Rewards
– Receive a Free Roundtrip when you take three roundtrips on Acela or Northeast Regional. More… Until Feb 29, 20
– Double Guest Rewards Points when you rent for 2+ days on a weekly or weekend rental at participating Hertz locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico More… Until Mar 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn 10,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays of 2+ nights at any one of 5 Marriott Hotels in Paris. More... Until Feb 14, 20
– Double Bonvoy Points when you rent for 2+ days on a weekly or weekend rental at participating Hertz locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. More… Until Mar 31, 20

United MileagePlus
- Elite Status Match that offers top-tier flyers of most other airlines a comparable status in the MileagePlus® program. More... Until Dec 31, 20

WorldHotels Rewards
- OFFER EXTENDED Quadruple Rewards Points for stays at all participating WorldHotels locations Worldwide. More... Until Feb 2, 20


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WestJet Rewards status match is back, back again - Match to Silver or Gold from Air Canada or Porter





WestJet has brought back another elite status match offer. This one is very similar to the fall offer that ended on December 15. The major difference is the programs you can match from. The fall offer had quite a few airlines from Canada, the U.S. and even the U.K. This time you can only match from two Canadian airlines programs, Air Canada Altitude and Porter Airlines VIPorter.

From now until January 31 you can submit the form on WestJet's Status Match Offer page with all your details like name, WestJet Rewards # and proof of status from Altitude or VIPorter showing your name, current status valid through to a minimum February 29, 2020. Once approved, you will then receive WestJet Rewards Silver or Gold status until March 31, 2020 as follows:




 To extend your status beyond March 31 you can take part in their challenges two challenges. Challenge one requires only one flight on WestJet by March 31 to extend your status to June 30 as follows:

  • AC Altitude and Porter members must take minimum one WestJet flight anywhere
  • US carriers: AA, Alaska and UA must take minimum one U.S.transborder flight
  • British Airways members must take minimum one transatlantic flight
And if you want to extend your status even further (into June 2021) you must meet the following Challenge 3 spending requirement:
  • Gold members with a minimum qualifying spend of $2,500 between the date of upgrade in Challenge 1 and June 30, 2020 will retain Gold status for another year, until June 30, 2021. Silver members that have a minimum qualifying spend of $1,500 between the date of upgrade in Challenge 1 and June 30, 2020 will retain Silver status for another year until June 30, 2021
And that's all of it in a nutshell! So a quick recap, if you have status with any of the above listed airlines you can receive automatic status with WestJet for the next 2.5 months. If you want to have the status extended you must meet the Challenge 2 and 3 requirements as set out above. Also, apologies for the Eminem quote in the title....

You can learn more about and register for this offer here.

Also remember that right now WestJet is offering an increased sign up bonus on their WestJet Rewards World Elite Mastercard. This offer provides 350 WestJet dollars after your first purchase on the card! And it provides the best annual companion voucher in Canada!

Related: Why my wife and I each grabbed our own WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercards

Earn 2,000 bonus points per night at the Delta Hotels Toronto Mississauga


The relatively new Delta Hotels Toronto Mississauga is offering bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points on stays at the hotel until the end of the month. The bonus points rate prices the same as the best flexible rate and is slightly higher than the members only rate. In one comparison that price difference is $5 however the 2,000 points are worth around $20 so you would come out ahead with the bonus points rate. The bonus is awarded nightly on all stays for up to four nights (8,000 bonus points maximum)



Offer details:
2,000 Bonus Bonvoy points per night for stays at the Delta Hotels Toronto Mississauga. Bonus can be earned for up to 4 nights. Full details and online booking. Until Jan 31, 20

Here are some other Marriott Bonvoy bonus offers to check out:
Click here to see Rewards Canada's full list of Marriott Bonvoy bonus points offers!

AIR MILES Flight-A-Day Giveaway - Enter to win $5,000 and $25,000 flight vouchers


AIR MILES launched an excellent contest last week that runs everyday until February 7. The contest, AIR MILES Flight-A-Day Giveaway, offers a total of 30 $5,000 flights vouchers (1 awarded per day) and a grand prize of a $25,000 flight voucher!
To enter the AIR MILES Flight-A-Day Giveaway, Collectors can swipe their Card at participating Partner locations between January 9 and February 7, 2020. While Collectors are only eligible to win one daily prize, winners of the daily prize will still have the chance to take home the $25,000 grand prize flight voucher.
Pretty easy contest to enter! Simply swipe your card at any AIR MILES partner that is participating in the contest. Those partners are:



There is also a No Purchase Necessary option to enter the contest:
To receive one (1) Contest entry without purchase, an Eligible Collector must submit his or her first and last name, complete mailing address including city, province, postal code, daytime phone number (including area code), e-mail address and AIR MILES Collector Number plus a fifty (50) word or more original essay describing "Where I would go if I won a flight" and e-mail to: Airmiles+FlightADay@promotionsolutions.net (with "AIR MILES® Flight-A-Day Giveaway Contest" in the subject line of the e-mail). The e-mail must be received by Contest Sponsor no later than 11:59:59 p.m. ET on February 7, 2020.
Limit of one (1) use of Entry Option B per Collector Number per day, to a maximum of thirty (30) uses per Collector Number during the Contest Period.

This no purchase necessary option is interesting as most contests require you to physically mail in an entry and this isn't the case here. You simply have to email your entry! This means you can draft one email and then resend it everyday to enter the contest and have to pay postage for every entry.

Learn more about the AIR MILES Flight-A-Day Giveaway here!


All images via AIR MILES

Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – January 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 Earn up to $60 in Best Western Gift Cards when you complete stays at Best Western Hotels Worldwide. You’ll earn a $10 card on your first stay, a $20 card on your second stay and a $30 card on your third stay. Full details, registration and booking(Registration is required) Until Feb 2, 20
For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Choice Hotels No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all Choice Privileges bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Choice page
GHA No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all GHA Discovery bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's GHA page
Hilto Earn 2,000 Bonus Honors points per stay at Hilton Hotels worldwide plus 10,000 bonus points for every 10 nights stayed. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required ) Until May 3, 20
For a complete listing of all Hilton HHonors bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hilton page
Hyatt 3,000 Bonus World of Hyatt Points per paid stay at over 300 destinations from Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Register online (Registration is required) Register by Jan 31 for stays until Mar 2, 20
For a complete listing of all Hyatt Gold Passport bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hyatt page
InterContinental Hotels Group Earn up to 4x IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at all IHG Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking  (Registration is required)
– Earn 1,000 Bonus Points on your 1st stay
– Double Points on your 2nd stay
– Triple Points on your 3rd stay
– Quadruple Points on your 4th stay and beyond
Register by Jan 15 for stays until Jan 31, 20
For a complete listing of all IHG Priority Club bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's IHG page
Accor Hotels No offers at this time --
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
Millennium Hotels No offers at this time --
For a complete listing of all Millennium Hotels My Millennium bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's My Millennium page
Preferred Hotel Group 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 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points plus receive up to 25% off weekend stays at participating Radisson Hotels in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Full details & online booking
Book by Jan 31 for stays until Dec 31, 20
For a complete listing of all Radisson Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Radisson Rewards page
Red Roof Inns Earn 7,000 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 soon as it seems to be continually delayed) Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Until Feb 29, 20
For a complete listing of all Red Roof bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's RediRewards page
Shangri-La 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 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 5,000 Bponus VHR Points for each stay at any participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required) Maximum of 100,000 bonus points awarded Until Mar 31, 20
For a complete listing of all Voila Hotel Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's VHR page
WorldHotel Quadruple Rewards Points for stays at all participating WorldHotels locations Worldwide. Full details & online booking
Until Feb 2, 20
For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's WorldHotels page
Wyndham No Offers at this time
--
For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page

Friday, January 10, 2020

American Express AeroplanPlus Reserve and entry level cards no longer available as of today


As of today American Express is no longer marketing their AeroplanPlus Reserve and AeroplanPlus entry level cards. Existing card members will continue to be able to use their cards and if you had applied for it by yesterday and are approved you'll still get the card. However no new applications will be accepted from today on. We haven't received notice from American Express why they have chosen to pull the cards but I have an inkling that is has to do with the new Air Canada Aeroplan program that we will see launched later this year. I anticipate that American Express will come out with new Air Canada/Aeroplan cards (or whatever name the program has if they do rename it) for that launch.

This makes sense especially on the AeroplanPlus Reserve card as when it was developed by American Express it was done so in conjunction with Air Canada and not as much with Aeroplan. It was made to be a card for Air Canada travellers rather than Aeroplan miles collectors. Now that Air Canada controls and owns it's loyalty program and promises of lots to come with that new program we can only anticipate that the credit cards will change as well. Air Canada's Mark Nasr has already been quoted that we *may* see elite status being a feature on their credit cards - so is this what we may see with Amex if and when they come out with an Ultra-Premium Air Canada card? Only time will tell!

American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card / American Express® AeroplanPlus®*Gold Card is no longer available as of August 26th, 2020. For more information, please visithttps://www.americanexpress.com/ca/en/credit-cards/aeroplan-cards/

  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.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Save up to 25% for stays at the Le Westin Resort & Spa, Tremblant, Quebec until the end of April



The Le Westin Resort & Spa, Tremblant, Quebec - a skiers paradise is offering some good discounts for multi-night stays right through the remainder of the entire ski season. Savings run from 15 to 25% off for stays until April 29, 20. The savings are broken down as follows:
  • Stay 2 nights and get 15% off 
  • Stay 3 nights and get 20% off 
  • Stay 4 nights and get 25% off
Rates are advertise as starting as low as $156.75 per night with this offer however I couldn't find those rates on a couple of dates that I checked but I was looking at January and February which is the high season! Here is an example though of the savings this offer does provide:

As you can see a three night stay in this suite in the middle of February is $72 cheaper per night. The good news about this offer as well is the rate can be cancelled albeit they will take a first night deposit when you book. That deposit will be refunded as long as cancel prior to the cancellation deadline which for most dates is 3 days prior to arrival

Click here for complete details and/or to book this offer!

 
(The landing page is in French - just click on View All Hotels on the right hand side to initiate a booking!)

January 9 Update: Throwback to 2007 reward flight comparisons, Air Canada rouge to offer summer seasonal Calgary-London, ON service, Aer Lingus spring seat sale

Throwback Thursday!
Earlier today we provided you with details on our feature about what airline and hotel programs you can earn miles and points with with Canadian credit cards. In the update post I provided a screen shot of what the chart looked like way back in 2005 and got me thinking I should do the occasional throwback Thursday here on the blog. The first thing I thought of was these charts I used to publish comparing what award tickets cost in miles for Canadians across a bunch of frequent flyer programs. These charts came out in 2006 and that was the time when many of the SkyTeam airlines were your best bet for getting from Canada to Hawaii for the least amount of miles possible! And guess what - you can still access the chart here (hasn't been updated since 2007 as the upkeep was intense due to constant changes in mileage amounts from so many programs)



Air Canada is finally bringing their Calgary to London Ontario summer seasonal service to fruition. The flights will operate daily with a Rouge A319 from June 24 to October 15. (Source RoutesOnline)

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Aer Lingus has launched a spring seat sale for their flights out of Toronto. Fares start $544 all in for round trip flights to Dublin. Book by January 29 for travel April 6 - June 9, 2020.. 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
- 1,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you rent with Avis at participating locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... For U.S. and Canadian residents only Until Feb 29, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles when you rent for 2+ days on a weekly or weekend rental at participating Hertz locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico More... Until Mar 31, 20
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you shop online via the Mileage Plan Shopping portal. More... Until Jan 14, 20

American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles when you rent for 2+ days on a weekly or weekend rental at participating Hertz locations in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. More... Until Mar 31, 20

Hilton Honors
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Honors points for stays at participating Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Dec 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points when you stay 2+ nights over the weekend (Friday or Saturday required) a the Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel. More... Until Mar 8, 20

Radisson Rewards
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points plus receive up to 25% off weekend stays at participating Radisson Hotels in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays until Dec 31, 20

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points when you book the new family room on the Flexible Rate at the Shangri-La Hotel, Qinhuangdao. More... Until Apr 30, 20


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Complete list of Airline & Hotel loyalty programs that you can earn miles or points in with Canadian Credit Cards

One of the oldest pages still live on the main Rewards Canada site got a complete makeover and update today! The feature "Airlines & Hotels you can earn miles or points with Canadian credit cards"  was originally posted on July 22, 2005 and had some updates over the years but kind of fell into a state of disrepair over the last couple of years. Here is what the page looked like when we launched it nearly 15 years ago:
Wow Aer Lingus TAB! Who remembers that? And America West FlightFund? Sure brings back memories of the good old days of the programs!

And here is what it looks like after today's update:


Back in 2005 we had 32 airline and 6 hotel programs to choose from. Now we have 60 airline and 5 hotel programs to choose from. All in all a better selection now and the only reason the hotel list dropped from 6 to 5 was due to Marriott's takeover of Starwood Preferred Guest. What hasn't changed much over those 15 years is that most of the airline options are thanks to being able to convert from credit cards (namely Amex) to Marriott or Hilton and those in turn can transfer to over 40 different airline programs.

Be sure to check out the newly updated feature here and let us know what you think!