Tuesday, February 4, 2020

February 4 Update: Aeroplan Costco partnership ending, Rexall launching own loyalty program and will drop AIR MILES, save up to $1,000 on Air Transat packages


The partnership between Costco and Aeroplan will come to an end on April 30. We also noticed that Primus is gone as an Aeroplan partner as well. Air Canada does really seem to be going back to it roots with Aeroplan (or whatever the new program will be called) and moving it back to a frequent flyer program rather than a coalition program as the number of non-travel or non-credit card partners is really being whittled down. Find out more about Costco and Aeroplan here. 
Please note that you will still be able to redeem Aeroplan Miles for Costco gift cards beyond April 30.


Also on the loyalty program news front - Rexall is going to launch their own loyalty program on May 1st. As of that date they will no longer participate in the AIR MILES program. This just reiterates what we said in our podcast episode 63 and here on the blog that it really appears the model for coalition loyalty programs is past it's peak. For many retailers now it makes more sense to run your own loyalty program as the costs associated with doing so have really come down from years ago. Anyways, you can pre-register for Rexall's new program and if you are one of the first 100,000 to do so they will give you 10,000 points which are worth $4. Right away this tells me the program has the potential to be confusing! Why $4 for 10,000 points? You're already making it complicated Rexall. Find out more and pre-register for the program here.



Rewards Canada has a new booking partner that you can find on our travel booking page - Austrian Airlines has returned to the mix. See our Book Travel (how to support Rewards Canada) page here. 


Yesterday we brought you details of IHG Rewards Club's new global promotion of up to 4x points for stays at their hotels worldwide. They had some issues with letting members register for the offer but that does appear to be fixed now. Find out more about the offer here.

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals


Air Transat's The Vacation Intervention Promo allows you to save up to $1000 per couple on packages to the South .Book by Feb 10. 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

Emirates Skywards
- Double Skywards Tier Miles on all eligible Emirates and FlyDubai flights booked in eligible fare classes including flights out of Toronto. More... Register and book by Feb 10 for travel Feb 17 – May 20, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles with any stay of a minimum of two consecutive nights at one of eight Harbour Plaza Hotels across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. More... Until Dec 31, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn up to 4x IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at participating IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Register by Apr 15 for stays Feb 15 – May 15, 20
- 5,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays of 7 or more nights at the Candlewood Suites Kansas City Airport. More... Unknown end date

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at The St. Regis Singapore. More... Until Apr 6, 20
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at any one of four participating Marriott Hotels in Venice. More... Unknown end date


Follow Rewards Canada:
Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram RSS Newsletter
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

25% Off Business Class Award Tickets or Air France KLM between Calgary or Toronto & Europe



The newest set of Air France KLM’s Promo Rewards were released over the weekend and some Canadian cities are back on the list after a month without any.  With promo rewards the discount ranges from 20 to 50% off the regular amount of miles required to redeem for these flights. As you can see just by the discount this can be a very good offer if you get 50% off for Business Class and that's the case for flights on KLM out of Edmonton! For Calgary and Toronto the discount is 25% off business class.

Offer details
February Promo Rewards – Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. Full Details  Book by Feb 29 for travel Apr 1 – May 31, 20

This month's Canadian cities:
Calgary - 25% off business class on KLM
Toronto - 25% off business class on Air France or KLM

Here are the mileage requirements for flying from Canada to Amsterdam or Paris (the mileage amount will vary for other cities in Europe).


And an example of some of the availability from Toronto to Paris in April:
 And return flights:

 Here is an example of a round trip booking:

Even with the taxes and fees at that amount this is a decent redemption as business class flights on these routes will cost you over $4,100.

Normally at this point in the post we look at some  other city options that price out at the same amount or even less miles however we can't find any. In fact all the usual cities that used to price out less than Paris or Amsterdam like Brussels and Milan are all pricing at 53,000 miles each way (106,000 round trip). It appears that Flying Blue may have fixed their pricing where flights beyond their hubs were pricing out cheaper? We'll have to keep checking to see if this is the case.

And for Calgary? I couldn't find any promo rewards pricing out at the 45,375 mile level to Amsterdam or beyond. I found a few days you could get to Zurich for 53,000 miles, Amsterdam was pricing over 60,000 miles and Rome was 58,000 miles. Not so great for those in Southern Alberta!

If you don't have enough miles for a Promo Reward your best bet is to convert Marriott Bonvoy points to Flying Blue on a 3:1 basis. Remember you'll earn 5,000 bonus miles when you convert 60,000 points at a time (a total of 25,000 miles per 60,000 points) That means 120,000 points will get you to 50,000 miles which can cover a one way flight in business class

If you don't have any Marriott Rewards Points you can always look at getting the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card to top off your account. Currently the card comes with a 50,000 point sign up bonus when you spend $1,500 on the card and then you could also grab the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card as it also has 50,000 point sign up bonus. You would then ultimately be able to have 100,000 points which can be converted 3 to 1 to Flying Blue Miles plus Marriott will kick in an additional 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred.  Of course timing of getting the card(s) now, spending and getting the points will likely not happen for this month but it sets you up for future offers.  Need to grab two tickets for an itinerary? You could choose to get one Marriott card for yourself and one for your partner or spouse and you'll have a lot more points!    

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Earn double elite qualifying tier miles on Emirates' flights out of Toronto and globally if you book by February 10


Here’s an awesome new bonus offer from Emirates Skywards! Simply register and book flights between now and February 10 (11:59pm Dubai Time) for travel February 17 to May 20 and you’ll earn double elite qualifying Skywards tier miles. This is valid on all of Emirates' flights out of Toronto and any anywhere else they fly!

Offer details:
Double Skywards Tier Miles on all eligible Emirates and FlyDubai flights booked in eligible fare classes. Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Register and book by Feb 10 for travel Feb 17 – May 20, 20

Terms and conditions
  1. The Emirates Skywards Double Tier Miles Offer February 2020 is open to all individual Emirates Skywards members who:
    • a. are existing Emirates Skywards members, or who enroll as new members by 11:59 p.m. on 10 February 2020 (Dubai time).
    • b. have registered for the offer by 11:59 p.m. on 10 February 2020 (Dubai time) either via email link, emirates.com, Emirates App, flydubai.com or Emirates Retail and Contact Centers. Skysurfers can register only with consent from their Parent/Guardian, who must register via Emirates Retail and Contact Centers.
    • c. have booked and completed issuance of an Eligible Ticket and Eligible Fare (return or one way) between 12:01 a.m. on 4 February 2020 and 11:59 p.m. on 10 February 2020 (Dubai time).
    • d. have commenced and completed their journey on Eligible Flights between 12:01 a.m. on 17 February 2020 and 11:59 p.m. on 20 May 2020 (Dubai time).
  2. An Eligible Ticket is defined as:
    • a. any with prefix 176 (being Emirates), prefix 141 or 169 (being flydubai) or any booking receipt issued directly via flydubai.com.
    • b. any purchased via emirates.com, Emirates App, flydubai.com, flydubai App, Emirates Retail and Contact Centers, or via a travel agent.
    • c. any eligible for normal Skywards Miles accrual, per Emirates Skywards Program Rules.
  3. An Eligible Fare is defined as:
    • a. on Emirates: “Flex” or “Flex Plus” in either Economy Class, Business Class or First Class.
    • b. on flydubai: “Flex” in Economy Class or “Business” in Business Class.
  4. An Eligible Flight is defined as:
    • a. any Emirates marketed flight with EK flight number, operated by Emirates or flydubai.
    • b. any flydubai marketed flight with FZ flight number, operated by flydubai or Emirates.
    • c. all other codeshare and interline flights are excluded from this offer.
  5. An Emirates Skywards member who, at the discretion of Emirates Skywards, satisfies all the conditions set out above will be awarded bonus Tier Miles in addition to the Tier Miles normally earned in respect of the flight:
    • a. the bonus multiple is calculated on the total Tier Miles earned.
    • b. the bonus applicable for this promotion is 100% bonus Tier Miles on Eligible Fares and Eligible Flights only.
    • c. the bonus applies as per the original ticketed class, excluding any subsequent reward or complimentary upgrades, or other changes.
    • d. if an Emirates Skywards member qualifies for bonus Tier Miles from any other offer or promotion, only the higher of the eligible bonuses will be credited.
  6. The Emirates Skywards member will be notified of the Miles credit in their membership statements, which are accessible on the Emirates App or online at emirates.com or flydubai.com
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Monday, February 3, 2020

InterContinental Hotels Group New Hotel Openings in Canada for 2020 - 13 hotels in the works


IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) is a large worldwide hotel chain best known for their Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands. IHG however comprises of 14 brands in total and well over 5,700 hotels Worldwide. They have a significant presence here in Canada with nearly 200 hotels from coast to coast.

They are planning to grow that presence by opening another 13 hotels across our nation in 2020. These are the hotels and their anticipated opening dates (of course these dates are subject to change):
With the exception of one hotel in Alberta and one in Manitoba all of IHG's planned openings for 2020 are in Ontario. Unlike other years there aren't any real stand out hotels this year - we were really hoping we'd see that first Avid hotel open up but that appears to be pushed back to 2021. If I were to pick any standouts it would be the Holiday Inn & Suites in Guelph and the combined Holiday Inn Express with Candlewood Suites in Kingston. If you are planning a stay at any of these hotels listed above let us know as we'd love for you to do a review for us (paid of course)!

Overall this is a higher amount of new hotels opening compared to 2019 which had 7 slated openings. It is great to see the brand continuing to grow in Canada. Based on IHG's reports there are at least another 24 hotels planned in Canada over the next few years.


Remember to take advantage of all the possible IHG Rewards Club bonus points offers if you plan on staying at any of these new IHG hotels or any other IHG hotels for that matter. This includes the up to 4x points promotion for stays February 15 - May 15, 2020. Be sure to register for that offer here. You can find this and many other promotions listed on our IHG Rewards Club Bonus Points page. 

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

All images via IHG - Title image shows an artist's rendering of the Holiday Inn Express Kingston West
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Podcast Episode 64 - Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2020

 

Episode 64 - February 3, 2020
Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2020

 

This is a special week! We look at and discuss our 2020 Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings!
Find out some of the details behind the rankings, the cards that came out on top and more!
You can find the full rankings here!
 

Click Here to download the podcast (mp3)


This episode is proudly sponsored by EQ Bank
EQ Bank, the digital arm of Equitable Bank, recently partnered with TransferWise in a first of its kind collaboration in Canada that offers customers a better way to send money abroad. Translation -- fast international money transfers that are up to 8x cheaper‡. For more details, please visit eqbank.ca
 

or Download/subscribe via:

Listen on Google Play Music
Soundcloudacast

Links relating to this week's topics:

 

 

 

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Earn up to 4x IHG Rewards Club points for stays at IHG Hotels Worldwide


IHG Rewards Club has revealed the details of their next global systemwide promotion and once again it has the 4x points theme attached to it. Seems like Accelerate (and even PointBreaks) are being shelved for the time being as IHG is now focusing on these new tiered non-member specific bonus offers. Similar yet different from the last 4x offer that just ended in January, this iteration sees bonuses awarded on nights completed rather than stays completed as seen in the last promo. With this version you’ll earn 1,000 bonus points on your first night, 2x points on nights 2 through 5, 3x points on nights 6 through 14 and 4x points thereafter for up to 100,000 points. To compare, the last promotion was 1,000 points on stay 1, 2x points on stay 2, 3x points on stay 3 and 4x points thereafter. As you can see, unless you have a couple of week long stays booked or planned for this promotional period it will take you a lot longer to get to the 4x bonus points than seen in the last promotion. Still no matter what you should register for this promotion right away and start taking advantage of the bonus points for stays between February 15 and May 15, 2020. Nights stayed do not have to consecutive but you have to make sure your room rate is at least US$30 or more to earn the bonus points.



Offer details:
Earn up to 4x IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at participating IHG Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Register by Apr 15 for stays Feb 15 – May 15, 20

Here are some other IHG Rewards Club bonus offers to check out:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Swissport Aspire Lounge set to open at Ottawa/Macdonald–Cartier International Airport this February


More good news for Canadian travellers,  especially those flying to or from Ottawa. Rewards Canada reader Todd let us know in the comments section of our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access that Swissport will be opening up an Aspire lounge in Ottawa.  This will be their third Aspire branded lounge after the two in Calgary and fourth lounge in total in Canada as Swissport also runs the Montreal Airport Swissport Lounge.

According to the Ottawa Business Journal the lounge will take the space that Porter's old lounge was in. It will have 3,700 square feet of space and be able to accommodate up to 90 people.  Swissport states:
"The Aspire Lounge at Ottawa International Airport will offer a wide variety of complimentary hot and cold food and beverages, including local flavours and offerings such as St. Alberts Cheese, locally roasted coffees and Real Maple Syrup."


Swissport also states the lounge will open in February 2020 - so this month! The lounge isn't bookable yet on Swissport's executivelounges.com website but we imagine it won't be too long before you can book your visits online. Just like the other Aspire lounges in Canada you should be able to access the lounge with pretty much all the third party lounge access providers. I would also assume the lounge will become part of Amex's Canadian lounge program as well. If you are not familiar with the various lounge access providers be sure to check our guide here.

You can learn more about the new lounge on Swissport's website .

All images courtesy of Swissport
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

New limited time welcome bonuses for Tangerine credit cards - Earn a $250 bonus when you spend $5,000 within three months


Tangerine released new limited time increased sign up bonuses today for their Money-Back Credit Card and Tangerine World Mastercard® cards. If you apply for the card by March 31 you'll get $250 cash back when you spend $5,000 on either of the cards with the first three months of having them (well 92 days to be exact) This bonus is over and above the regular 2% earn rate in your selected categories and 0.5% on all other spending. The $250 translates to 5% back meaning you can earn up to 7% back in those first three months. The key factors however in this offer versus the old offer that just ended yesterday is that you have to spend $5,000 (albeit any spending, not just bonused categories) instead of earning 4% on the three categories of your choice and 0.5% on all other spending. So now we see a minimum spend requirement and a cap all in one. That being said this is a pretty decent sign up bonus and if you can spend $1667 on your card each month for three months, especially in the accelerated categories you choose then you may want to consider one of these two cards.

These are the spending categories you can choose from to earn the higher cash back rates:
Once, one of the best cash back cards out there the current version of the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card is now somewhere in the middle of the pack for cash back cards (same with the new World version) but the earn of 7% (and then 2%) on certain categories might just make the best sense for some of you!! 

The card details below show the latest offers on this card and may not be representative of the discussion above:
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, January 31, 2020

January 31 Update: New transborder lounge coming to YUL late this year, Air Canada & other airlines cancel more flights to China, PC Optimum redemption event this weekend


After I published the 2020 update for Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access, Ron S. asked in the comments section of that feature if there is any word on Montreal (YUL) airport opening any lounges in the domestic or transborder areas other than the Maple Leaf lounge. We reached out the ADMTL and the good news is there are plans for a new lounge in the transborder area however they do not have room for a lounge for domestic departures.
We are looking to have our own lounge open in the transborder jetty by November or December 2020. Presently, we do not have any space to open a lounge in the domestic jetty because of the works. If a space becomes available, we will likely open a lounge in the domestic jetty.
As you can see the new transborder lounge is slated to open in November or December of this year. There is no mention of who will operate it for ADMTL and no word yet on access options although one could imagine Priority Pass and LoungeKey are front runners. I will follow up with them to see if they can provide more details on lounge access and who will operate the lounge. Visit our updated Lounge Access feature here.
Image via ADMTL



In our last daily update post from Wednesday we had passed along the news that Air Canada had cancelled some flights to China - well as of yesterday it was updated to all Air Canada flights to China now being cancelled until February 29 however Taipei and Hong Kong do not fall under that. This is the case for many carriers flying to China like British Airways, Air France, KLM and American Airlines who have cancelled some or all of their flights. If you have flights booked for the upcoming be sure to check with your airline about alternate options or to change those flights as the airlines are offering free changes. The Government of Canada issues a non-essential travel avoidance advisory for China on the 29th and it was further updated yesterday. You can read those details here.


PC Optimum is running another redemption bonus event this weekend for shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart. If you redeem 50,000 points towards your purchase you'll receive $65 off instead of the standard $50, redeem 100,000 for $140 off instead of $100 or redeem 200,000 to get $300 off instead of $200. Find out more here. 
 Image via PC Optimum

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Choice Hotels Pop Up Sale - Save 20% off the Best Available Rate at participating hotels within Canada when paying in advance. Book by Feb 9 for stays until Apr 30, 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
- Triple Mileage Plan Miles on all rentals of three days or longer at any Thrifty location Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 20

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Earn up to Quadruple Asia Miles when you rent with Hertz for 3 or more days in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the USA. More... Book by Feb 29 for rentals until Mar 31, 20

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- 8,000 Bonus iPrefer Points when you Book a Stay More, Save More package at participating Preferred Hotel Group hotels Worldwide  More... Until Feb 29, 20

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





Follow Rewards Canada:
Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram RSS Newsletter
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

January 29 Update: How to maximize the elite status benefits from The Platinum Card from American Express updated, great Marriott bonus in the Bahamas, BA and AC China flight cancellations


Another feature update to let you know about. How to maximize the elite status benefits from The Platinum Card from American Express has been updated and now shows you how you can get 11 hotel elite status, 1 airline status, 2 car rental status and 1 cruise line status with The Platinum Card. My tweet yesterday stated 10 hotel statuses but after posting about the Choice Hotels sale earlier today I went back to check the Choice status match and they have removed the stay requirement that they added last year so I have further updated the feature to reflect this. Check out the feature here.


Over on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com I highlight a pretty amazing Marriott Bonvoy bonus points offer. You can earn 25,000 Bonus Points for stays of 2 or more nights at the French Leave Resort, Autograph Collection, Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera. The special rate for earning the bonus points is the same as the member only rate - there is no extra charge from them. If you only stay 2 nights that means you'd earn 12,500 bonus points per night! Find out more here.


British Airways has cancelled all flights to mainland China (Beijing and Shanghai) until January 31 in light of the Corona Virus outbreak. Flights to Hong Kong are not affected at this time. Find out more here.

Air Canada is also cancelling some flights to China over the next few weeks to better meet the lack of demand for the flights. If you are booked to fly to China on Air Canada be sure to double check your reservations! Find out more here.

Posts since our last update:

Travel Deals

Choice Hotels Pop Up Sale - Save 20% off the Best Available Rate at participating hotels within Canada when paying in advance. Book by Feb 9 for stays until Apr 30, 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
- 4,000 bonus Bonvoy points PER NIGHT for stays at the Delta Hotels Kamloops. More... Until Mar 6, 20
- 2,500 bonus Bonvoy points for stays at the Courtyard or Residence Inn Halifax Dartmouth. More... Until Feb 22, 20

Other Bonus Offers

China Airlines Dynasty Flyer
- Earn up to 4x Dynasty Flyer Miles when you rent a car at participating Hertz locations for 3 or more days in the USA, Asia, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. More... Book by Feb 29 for rentals until Mar 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 25,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays of 2 or more nights at the French Leave Resort, Autograph Collection Governor's Harbour Eleuthera.  More... Mar 28 - Jun 20, 20
20
- Earn 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at the W Ibiza More... . Apr 9 - Jul 2, 20
- 2,500 Bonus Bonvoy points plus a $50 food and beverages credit for stays at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort. More... Book by Feb 7 for stays until Mar 29,20

National Emerald Club
- Receive an automatic upgrade to Executive Elite status for having an American Express card. More... Until Feb 29, 20

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Earn up to Quadruple Mabuhay Miles when you rent with Avis for 3 or more days in in the USA (excluding all locations in Alaska), Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. More... Book by Feb 29 for rentals until Mar 31, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:
Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram RSS Newsletter
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,