January 20 Update: Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers', new WestJet Calgary-Charlottetown route, Air Canada sun destination one day sale

Another week another guide on Rewards Canada! Today we released our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers' which as you guessed it details everything you need to know about the recently enhanced and expanded Amex Offers program! The guide has a summary of all the current Amex Offers as well as a 'how to' section with details on how to register for offers, see offers you've registered for and so on. It also has some tips and tricks to make the most of these offers. Check out the guide here!

Image courtesy of WestJet

WestJet has announced new summer seasonal service between Calgary and Charlottetown. The flights will operate 4x weekly from June 25 to September 7. (Source WestJet)

Speaking of WestJet route news - the new Halifax-Manchester route we let you know about last week is now open for reservations.

The Calgary Airport Authority shared some photos with us from last Thursday's celebrations for the inaugural Air Canada Airbus A220 flight:

Pictured above are Air Canada crew and customer services representatives joined by Chris Miles, Vice President Operations (third from left), Captain Patrick Tompkins, Chief A220 pilot, Air Canada (centre), and Robert Trudeau, Senior Director, Corporate and Business Development Sales, Air Canada (third from right). Photo courtesy of Calgary Airport Authority

Photo courtesy of Calgary Airport Authority

Posts since our last update:

• Great new offer on the Scotia Momentum VISA Infinite card - 10% back for first three months & first year free
  We see the return of a very popular offer for the  Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card. Right now for…
• January 16 Update: Spend $450 with Amex Travel on hotels & cars to earn a $100 statement credit, 100 bonus AIR MILES at Rexall & more!
  There is a really good Amex Offers offer that came out today. Spend $450 on prepaid hotel or car…

Travel Deals

Air Canada is having a one day sale for flights to sun destination! Book today to enjoy an additional 15% off base fares. Valid for travel until June 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

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 1,500 Rewards points for stays at participating Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts in the Middle East & Africa More... Book by Feb 3 for stays Jan 25 - Mar 31, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- 10,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at 8 Kimpton hotels in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Downtown Miami, New York & Santa Barbara. More... Book by Jan 28 for stays until Mar 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points + receive a hotel credit for stays of 2+ nights for Friday, Saturday or Sunday nights in a suite at any one of 12 Marriott Hotels in Azerbaijan, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, Romania, or Turkey. More... Until Mar 22, 20 except Ritz-Carlton Moscow until Mar 29, 20

SriLankan FlySmiles
- 20% Bonus FlySmiles on all SriLankan fligths Worldwide. More... Book by Feb 20 for travel Feb 20 - Mar 20, 20

United MileagePlus
- Triple MileagePlus Miles for stays at The Langham hotels in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and London. More... Until Mar 31, 20


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Great new offer on the Scotia Momentum VISA Infinite card - 10% back for first three months & first year free

We see the return of a very popular offer for the  Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card. Right now for new applications Scotia will award you with 10% cash back on all purchases up to $200 cash back in the first three months. Not only that but they will waive the first year annual fee of $120 on the primary card and if you grab a supplementary card they'll waive the $50 fee on that as well at no cost. That means if you can spend $2,000 on the card in the first three months you'll get the full $200 at no cost.

After the first three months you will have your usual 4%, 2% and 1% returns and with the annual fee waived in the first year it won't cost you anything to give this card a shot. Remember your cash back reward gets paid out in November so you'll want to wait until then to cancel this card if so chose to.  This offer is valid for applications made up until April 30, 2020

This card ranked third overall in our 2019 Top Cash Back Credit card rankings.

January 16 Update: Spend $450 with Amex Travel on hotels & cars to earn a $100 statement credit, 100 bonus AIR MILES at Rexall & more!

There is a really good Amex Offers offer that came out today. Spend $450 on prepaid hotel or car rental bookings via American Express Travel and receive a $100 statement credit. I received the offer for my American Express Gold Rewards card. Simply log in to your Amex account online or via the app and see if the offer shows up under Amex Offers. Be sure to register for it right away as it is capped at 65,000 registrations (this is high amount but I assume this offer is being sent to most Amex cardholders) and you must book and pay for your hotel or car rental by February 29, 2020. Also you may want to note that it does not have to be one booking - the $450 can be cumulative across multiple bookings so long as they are made and paid for by the deadline! The offer excludes flight purchases, hotel bookings made through the Fine Hotel & Resorts and The Hotel Collection programs, purchases made by phone, and travel insurance purchases.

Earn 100 bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you spend $30 or more on Rexall brand products at Rexall this weekend. No coupon is required

Speaking of both American Express and AIR MILES, this is a friendly reminder that the current limited time offers for the American Express AIR MILES Platinum Card and American Express AIR MILES Reserve Card are slated to end next week on January 20. The Platinum card is now the best earning AIR MILES Card in the market and the welcome bonus provides some big time value! Read this post for more details.

Posts since our last update:

• WestJet continues Transatlantic expansion with new Halifax to Manchester flights
  According the RoutesOnline, WestJet is going to launch service between Halifax and Manchester for the summer season on June…
• Air Canada unveils its Airbus A220 ahead of the first revenue flight this week
  Yesterday Air Canada held an event in Montreal to reveal their new Airbus A220 to the press ahead of…
• Radisson Rewards - Earn up to 150,000 Bonus Points on your stays worldwide until March 31
  Radisson is the next major hotel chain to release their first global systemwide promotion for 2020. This offer was…
• January 15 Update: How to earn 54,000+ Aeroplan Miles for free, new CIBC card offers & more American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations
  Today we updated our Travel Hacking 101 post with the latest offers from TD, CIBC and RBC. Find out…

Travel Deals

Stay at Marriott resorts across the United States and Canada, and enjoy a nightly credit up to $100 USD. Reserve your vacation by January 31, 2020 and enjoy up to a $100 nightly resort credit to use on dining, golf, spa and more. Valid for travel at US & Canada resorts through March 31, 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

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Double Mileage Plan Miles 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 Mar 31, 20

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- Triple Rewards points for stays at participating Accor Hotels near Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport. More... Until May 15, 20

American AAdvantage
- Double AAdvantage Miles 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 Mar 31, 20
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage miles when you shop online via the AAdvantage Shopping Portal. More... Until Jan 21, 20

Hilton Honors
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Honors points for stays at participating Hilton Hotels Worldwide. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Until Dec 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 4,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at any one of 14 Marriott Hotels in the Atlanta area. More... Book by Mar 2 for stays Feb 17 - Mar 31, 20

Radisson Rewards
- Earn up to 150,000 Bonus Rewards Points at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 20

Scandic Hotels Friends
- 50% discount when you redeem Scandic Friend points for award night stays at select hotels in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany. More... Until Jan 31, 20


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WestJet continues Transatlantic expansion with new Halifax to Manchester flights

According the RoutesOnline, WestJet is going to launch service between Halifax and Manchester for the summer season on June 5th. This marks WestJet's seventh city that they will be serving across the pond after London (Gatwick), Glasgow, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona and Rome. The flights are slated to operate four times weekly with a Boeing 737-700 on the following schedule

WS057 YHZ2245 – 0812+1MAN 73W x246
WS058 MAN0945 – 1152YHZ 73W x357

At the time of writing the flight wasn't showing up yet on WestJet's site for booking (nor has there been a press release about it) but I would guess we should see it open up later today or tomorrow.  The timing of the flights allows for connections from many of WestJet's other cities including those out west.

The 737-700's operating the route offer 12 Premium Economy and 122 Economy seats.  As there is no business class this entire plane is open to using Companion Vouchers from the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. Remember that those vouchers can be used for those Premium Economy seats to potentially provide you with some big savings as you'll only pay the $399 voucher amounts plus taxes and fees. Definitely consider it for the Premium Seats but for Economy itself I'm guessing the fares will be quite low where it won't make sense to use the vouchers. Also remember that right now WestJet is offering an increased sign up bonus on their WestJet Rewards World Elite Mastercard that provides 350 WestJet dollars after your first purchase on the card!

Air Canada unveils its Airbus A220 ahead of the first revenue flight this week

Yesterday Air Canada held an event in Montreal to reveal their new Airbus A220 to the press ahead of the plane entering into revenue service this week. If you are a planespotter you may have seen it plying our skies on training flights for Air Canada pilots and now it's all set to start making the airline some money!

The first revenue flight will take place between Montreal and Calgary and it will also fly other domestic routes out of Montreal and Toronto until May. At that time the plane will begin flying on two new routes for Air Canada - Montreal to Seattle and Toronto to San Jose, California.

Air Canada is second North American operator of the Canadian designed and built Airbus A220 which was previously known as the Bombardier CSeries. Air Canada has configured their A220 aircraft with 137 seats, 12 in business class in a 2x2 layout and 125 in economy class with a 3x2 layout.

Customers will have more personal space thanks to the widest economy seats in the fleet at 19 inches, and the largest overhead stowage bins for an aircraft this size.

Additional features include larger windows and full-colour LED ambient and customizable mood lighting that contribute to reducing fatigue while travelling. The high ceilings, extra shoulder room and storage make this an unparalleled interior in the narrow-body segment. 

Every seat on the A220 features a Panasonic in-flight entertainment system with content available in 15 languages and featuring more than 1,000 hours of high-quality entertainment, including content from Bell Media's premium entertainment service, Crave, and Montreal-based multi-platform audio service, Stingray. The system also offers dynamic closed captioning for the deaf and is accessible to the visually impaired. The A220 will also have satellite-based, high speed Wi-Fi access.

A220 Business Class

A220 Economy Class

Air Canada has a firm order for 45 of the planes that provide great range and fuel economy and will help Air Canada open new routes in North America as evidenced by the first two routes they will be launching in May.

Read Air Canada's A220 press release here

Are you excited to try this new plane?Are you going to be flying on the plane for the first flight or any of the other scheduled flights? Let us know in the comments below!


All images via Air Canada

Radisson Rewards - Earn up to 150,000 Bonus Points on your stays worldwide until March 31

Radisson is the next major hotel chain to release their first global systemwide promotion for 2020. This offer was revealed yesterday and is a multi-stay tiered bonus promotion. The bonuses kick in with your second stay and grow handsomely the more stays you have after that. At a minimum, when you complete two stays you'll score 5,000 bonus points. Max out at 15 stays and you score 150,000 bonus points. This works out to 2,500 to 10,000 bonus points per stay. Make all those stays one nighters at some of their inexpensive hotels and you are really maximizing this bonus. On top of this, Award Night and Points + Cash redemption stays also count towards your stay requirements - something that we haven't seen too much of in past promotions from any loyalty program.

Offer details:
Earn up to 150,000 Bonus Rewards Points at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Mar 31, 20
Eligible nights include your typical paid stays but also include Award Night and Points + Cash redemption stays.

Bonuses awarded as follows:
• Complete two (2) Stays, earn 5,000 Bonus Points when the second Eligible Stay is completed.
• Complete three (3) Stays, earn 10,000 additional Bonus Points (totaling 15,000 Bonus Points) when the third Eligible Stay is completed.
• Complete five (5) Stays, earn 15,000 additional Bonus Points (totaling 30,000 Bonus Points) when the fifth Eligible Stay has been completed.
• Complete (10) Stays, earn 45,000 additional Bonus Points (totaling 75,000 Bonus Points) when the tenth Eligible Stay has been completed.
• Complete (15) Stays, earn 75,000 additional Bonus Points (totaling 150,000 Bonus Points) when the fifteenth Eligible Stay has been completed.

Here are some other bonuses to also check out from 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. Full details & online booking (You can stack this offer with the main promotion!)
• Find our complete list of Radisson Rewards bonus offers here

January 15 Update: How to earn 54,000+ Aeroplan Miles for free, new CIBC card offers & more American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations

Today we updated our Travel Hacking 101 post with the latest offers from TD, CIBC and RBC. Find out how you can earn Earn 54,000+ Aeroplan Miles or 24,000 British Airways Avios for free. Learn more here.

Along with the CIBC Aerogold offer listed in the updated post above there are new improved welcome offers for other CIBC cards where there is a first year annual fee rebate. Find them on our CIBC page

The Rewards Canada community continues to provide details on locations that accept Amex and where you can earn the multiplies for their cards. This of course means another update has been made to our American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations. Thanks to MTL_Colin and Noel for giving us another dozen or so places in Canada and the U.S. for the 5x and 1x multipliers. See the feature here.

Posts since our last update:

• N/A

Travel Deals

Air France has launched a seat sale for flights this Spring and Fall. Fares start as low as $755 all in  from Montreal and Toronto to Europe, $839 from Vancouver. Book by February 10 for travel May 7th and June 19th, 2020 or between September 11th and October 15th, 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

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Best Western Rewards
- Free Gold Elite Status - College students and university staff can receive Automatic Best Western Rewards Gold Elite Status when you join the Best Western Student Rewards program. More... No published end date

China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- Earn up to 3x Dynasty Flyer Miles when you rent a car at participating Avis locations for 3 or more days in the US (excludes Alaska), Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Feb 29, 20

Choice Privileges
- 30% Discount when you buy 5,000 or more Privileges Points. More... Until Feb 4, 20

Czech Airlines OK Plus
- 33% OK Plus Miles discount when you redeem for award tickets between Prague and Barcelona, Budapest, Bucharest, Düsseldorf, Madrid, Milan, or Moscow. More... Book by Jan 27 for travel until Jan 31, 20

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Double ROP Miles for stays at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 20

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus MileagePlus miles when you shop online via the MileagePlus Shopping Portal. More... Until Jan 21, 20


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January 14 Update: Amex Platinum AIR MILES now coding correctly for Tim Hortons reloads, Amex Centurion & Escape Lounge open in Phoenix, StayVancouver Visa Reward Card offer

Thanks to Rewards Canada reader Harry B. for alerting us to an issue he encountered with his American Express Platinum AIR MILES Credit Card. The card as many of you know underwent some changes last November (read about them here) and one was the enhanced earning of 1 AIR MILE Reward Mile per $5 spend on eats and drinks. He noticed that when he went to reload his Tim Hortons card online those transactions were not being awarded the 1 mile per $5 but rather the base earn rate. He had no luck with Amex customer service so he reached out to us to let us know. We reached out to our Amex contacts and are happy to report that American Express has fixed this issue:

(we) have now made the necessary updates to ensure Amex Platinum Air Miles Cardmembers will receive 1 AM for every $5 made at Tim Hortons, whether it’s online or in store.

Last week saw the newest American Express Centurion Lounge open up in Phoenix. This lounge is in Terminal 4 where both Air Canada and WestJet fly out of so this is great news for the whole slew of Canadians who escape to the PHX area! We'll be travelling their later this year and will provide a review (as long there is space in the lounge as they are extremely popular and tend to get crowded. For those who don't have a Platinum Card or Centurion Card there is also a brand new Escape Lounge right next to the Centurion Lounge which can be accessed with both of these cards or by paying an one time entry fee. Learn more about the Centurion lounge here and the Escape Lounge here.

Also check out our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access for all things lounges!
 

Not sure if I missed this earlier (I believe I did as I remember seeing something about it) but an email from Sandman Hotels let us know that the StayVancouver Visa Gift Card promotion is on right now. When you book a hotel via StayVancouver with the promo code VISA you will get a $75 to $125 Visa reward card for the first night and a $50 card for each additional night. This promotion runs until April 30. Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

• 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…

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
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT when you stay Sunday-Thursday nights at the Courtyard Oshawa or the TownePlace Suites Oshawa. More... Until Feb 15, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Air Macau Phoenix Miles (Air China)
- Up to a 50% discount on Phoenix Miles award tickets for select Air Macau flights. More... Until Oct 31, 20

Best Western Business Rewards
- Automatic Diamond & Gold Elite Statuses when you join Best Western Business Rewards. More... Ongoing Offer CHECK FOR CJ LINK FOR THIS ONE

Marriott Bonvoy
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at any one of 18 Marriott Hotels in the New York City area (includes New Jersey side). More... Until Mar 25, 20
- 500 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Buffalo Amherst University. More... Until Mar 31, 20
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT when you stay Sunday-Thursday nights at the Courtyard Oshawa or the TownePlace Suites Oshawa. More... Until Fen 15, 20
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy points for stays at the SpringHill Suites Elizabethtown. More... Until Jan 31, 20
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy points for stays at The Sinclair, Autograph Collection Fort Worth. More... Until Feb 16, 20
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy points for stays at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Rock Hill. More... Until Feb 15, 20
- 1,500 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Element Moline. More... Until Jan 31, 20

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Double Stash Rewards Points when you book a Lux Suite at the Hotel Andra Seattle More... Until Mar 31, 20

United MileagePlus
- 5,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles + up to $300 and save up to 65% off when you book with RIU Hotels & Resorts and use the promo code NEWYEAR2020 with United Vacations More... Until Jan 23 for stays until Oct 31, 20


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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