United MileagePlus provides elite status extensions, lowers qualification requirements and more

Following in the footsteps of Delta's announcement, United brought out details for the MileagePlus members detailing status extensions and more on Sunday. This news is almost an exact copy of Delta's with status extension, extensions for memberships and certificates however there are some slight differences.

Here are the key points for Canadian MileagePlus members:

If you have current 2020 Premier status, it will be extended to January 31, 2022. At a minimum, you will enjoy the same published status next year that you have today, up to and including Premier 1K®.

For the 2021 status year, United is reducing thresholds for Premier qualification by 50% for each status level, to make reaching an even higher tier easier. You'll still need a minimum of four flight segments on United or United Express®.

2021 status	Earn Premier qualifying flights	and PQP	… or meet a higher PQP goal
Silver	6	2,000	2,500
Gold	12	4,000	5,000
Platinum	18	6,000	7,500
1K	26	9,000	12,000

1K® and Platinum members, we're increasing your ability to upgrade by extending PlusPoints expiration dates by six months and expanding Skip Waitlist.

• This means a six-month extension of any PlusPoints set to expire on or before January 31, 2021.

• Last year we introduced Skip Waitlist on select flights as a benefit to 1K members, giving you more opportunities to confirm an upgrade request at the time of booking. This benefit will now be available for the rest of 2020 in a significantly expanded selection of long-haul international regions and will have expanded availability in 2021 as well.

We're extending all annual membership and subscription benefits by six months.

• We want to make sure your benefits are still there when you're ready to start flying again. That's why we're extending purchased United Club℠ memberships and purchased subscriptions for Economy Plus®, United Wi-Fi℠ and checked bags by six months. You should see this reflected in your MileagePlus account soon.

All electronic travel certificates now have 24 months to be used.

• If your travel plans have been disrupted, and you have an electronic travel certificate from us for the value of your ticket, you now have two years from the date it was issued to book a new flight, as well as up to an additional 11 months to travel. This includes all currently valid and all new electronic travel certificates issued on or after April 1, 2020.

We have removed some redeposit fees for the rest of the year.

• We are currently waiving all award redeposit fees for travel through end of May 2020.

• We are now also waiving all redeposit fees for award ticket cancellations made more than 30 days before departure for the remainder of 2020.

If you read the post about Delta's announcement we had this morning you'll see it is the elite qualifying portion where United differs. Delta did not lower elite qualifying requirements for 2020 like United has done here. United has cut the requirements to qualify for 2021 by half. This could potentially mean some of you may be close to or have already qualified for 2021 if you flew United enough prior to the non-essential travel market shutting down. Just like Delta we also see United extend the validity of certificates and membership programs like United Club. It also nice to see United waive more fees in regards to cancelling MileagePlus award tickets.

United also stated in their announcement that they will make it easier to earn 2022 status during 2021 but they will announce how at a later date.

Learn more about the United MileagePlus announcement here 

Image via United

Delta SkyMiles extends Medallion Status, Sky Club memberships and more

Over the weekend we saw several U.S. airlines make positive moves for elite status members in their programs. The first of them was Delta Airlines who came out with the information on Sunday that they will provide Medallion Elite Status extensions, rollover of MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Miles), Delta Sky Club membership extensions and certificate extensions.

Here are the key points for us Canadians:

• Medallion Members:
  • All Medallion Status for 2020 will be automatically extended for the 2021 Medallion Year.
  • All Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) from 2020 are being rolled over to 2021 to qualify for 2022 Medallion Status.
• Delta Sky Club Individual and Executive memberships with an expiration of March 1, 2020, or later will receive six additional months of Delta Sky Club access beyond their expiration date.
• SkyMiles Members:
  • If you have one of the following in your SkyMiles profile “My Wallet” that is valid now or has expired since March 1, 2020, we are extending the expiration dates to give you additional time to enjoy your benefits:
    • Upgrade Certificates or $200 Travel Vouchers with an original expiration date between March 1 and June 30, 2020, are extended – now, they can be booked and flown by Dec. 31, 2020. And, SkyMiles Members with Upgrade Certificates or $200 Travel Vouchers that expire after June 30, 2020, will receive an additional six months beyond the current expiration date.
    • SkyMiles Select members will receive a six-month extension to the Priority Boarding benefit and any unused drink vouchers.

This is great news if you are a Delta frequent flyer and SkyMiles Medallion member. You now get to keep your current status until end of 2021 plus any MQMs you have earned this year or will still earn this year will rollover to 2021 making your qualification for 2022 easier.

Delta Sky Club memberships is their paid lounge access program (see our Guide to Business Class Lounge Access for more details) and this only makes sense to extend as members have paid for this access that they are no longer receiving due to the major drop in travel and most airline lounges being closed. I actually think a 12 month extension would have been better here - if your membership is due to expire on April 30 it will only be extended to October and that, in the best case scenario is when travel will only be starting to return.

 It also nice to see the extension of certificates and vouchers but again by putting a December 31 end date on those set to expire by June 30 isn't leaving much of a window for them.

We'll follow up this post with the details from United who have also announced similar news.  Here at home WestJet already did something similar a few weeks ago providing extensions to status members whose status was set to expire in March, April or May as well as voucher extensions but we are still waiting to see what Air Canada is planning for its Altitude members.

Learn more about the Delta announcement here.

Image via Delta 

Get your movie fix and earn or redeem SCENE points with Cineplex's Online store

Do you need some more movie time at home now that you have pretty much watched every movie and show possible on Netflix and Prime Video? Or want to watch some new releases but not pay the rental fees associated with most Video on Demand services? Then don't forget about Cineplex's online store. The store has all the latest releases and tons of old movies for you to rent or buy. And the best thing about it is that you can earn and redeem SCENE points for these online purchases. The earn rate is 10 points per $1 spent via the store and you can redeem 100 points for $1 off a movie rental or purchase.

And you can actually redeem at that lowest level for a full movie as they have Movie for a Loonie promotions where you a rental only costs $0.99 (for standard definition) One of the Movie for a Loonie offers that was available when this post was written was for Rambo Last Blood:

Remember as well if you happen to have a Scotiabank Gold American Express card you'll earn 3x points on any purchases made via the Cineplex online store thanks to its multiplier for streaming services.

So even though movie theatres are closed right now it doesn't mean you have to forego the SCENE program. Not only can you use the program for your movie fix via the Cineplex online store but you can also earn and redeem points for take out orders from a whole bunch of restaurants like Swiss Chalet, Milestones, Harvey's and more.

Visit the SCENE website to see all the non-theater earn and burn options that are available

Images via Cineplex

WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard cardholders now get free Wi-FI on WestJet flights and globally on the Boingo network

A benefit that has been on some World Elite Mastercards in Canada but not all has now been extended to all of them. That benefit is free Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 1 million locations worldwide and on select airlines including WestJet. This benefit and several others including credits with Foodora and Ritual launched on April 1st for all Canadian World Elite Mastercards. This is a good move from Mastercard Canada as card issuers continue to need to add benefits to compete with each other outside of the rewards side of things.

Of course out of the additions the free Boingo Wi-Fi is the biggie here and is quite possibly the most exciting for those who have the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. It's just one more benefit that makes (or will make in the future) the WestJet flying experience that much better. You have the companion vouchers, the first checked bag for free and now you have your inflight Wi-Fi covered as well.

If it is the same Boingo Wi-Fi that we've seen on from other cards that already had the benefit you should be able to connect up to 4 devices per account although I couldn't find confirmation on either the WestJet or Mastercard Canada websites.

I'll be sure to follow up with another post covering the rest of the new benefits that Mastercard Canada has added to their World Elite Cards in Canada. In the mean time:

Click here to learn more about the new World Elite benefits on Mastercard Canada's website.

Images via Mastercard Canada & WestJet

World of Hyatt extends elite status, free nights & upgrade awards and suspends points expiry to end of 2020

Hyatt Hotels provided to us detailed updates to their hotel cancellation policies and World of Hyatt program.


The no fee change and cancellation policy for Hyatt Hotel stays has now been extended to June 30.
Existing reservations for upcoming travel through June 30, 2020:

• All existing reservations (booked April 1 or before) for arrivals through June 30, 2020 can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival. This includes Advance Purchase Rate reservations.
• New reservation for any future travel: With some very limited exceptions noted below, reservations booked between April 2, 2020 and June 30, 2020 – for any future arrival date – can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival. This includes Advance Purchase Rate reservations. The only exceptions are reservations booked after April 1, 2020 at Destination Residences and Special Events Rate reservations booked after April 1, 2020. The cancellation policies for a Special Event Rate will be noted in the rate’s Rate Rules section when booking.

On the World of Hyatt side they have now extended the pausing of points expiry due to inactivity to the end of this year from the previously announced May 31. They have also now added in nice long extensions for any free night or upgrade awards you may have in your account that were set to expire from March 1 to December 31, 2020. These will all now expire on December 31, 2021. Finally if you held status with World of Hyatt as of March 31 that will now be extended to February 28, 2022.

World of Hyatt benefits will be extended in the following ways for all members globally:
 

• More time to use points: We are suspending the forfeiture of points through December 31, 2020. As a reminder, our general policy is that points do not expire, but they will be forfeited if a member’s account is inactive for 24 months.
• More time to use earned awards: All unused Free Night, Suite Upgrade or Club Lounge Access awards with expiration dates between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 will be extended to December 31, 2021. This includes existing awards and awards that may be earned throughout this year with a 2020 expiration date. The award extension will be generated by World of Hyatt – members do not need to take action. Awards that expired between March 1 and March 31, 2020 will be replaced with new awards on April 20, 2020. All other qualifying, unused awards will be updated by the 20th day of the month in which the award would have originally expired.
• More time for elite members to enjoy their status and benefits: Status and benefits will be extended for all existing elite members without having to re-qualify. This means that whatever your status was as of March 31, 2020 – whether Discoverist, Explorist or Globalist – it will be automatically updated to reflect a February 28, 2022 expiration date. All elite tier extensions should be reflected in members’ accounts no later than April 15, 2020.

Overall good news from the folks at Hyatt for these extensions to their programs and for the points expiry. We have seen other hotel chains like Best Western and Hilton extend status for members to which Hyatt joins that group. Now lets hope others like IHG do so as well.

These updates will also be added to our COVID-19 resource page later today.

Image via Hyatt

April 2 Update: Earn bonus points with Dell via Amex Offers, Marriott Amex cards in Canada will not earn 30 nights elite credit & Hotels.com reward night and elite status extensions

There is a new Amex Offers offer for shopping online with Dell. The offer I received on my Platinum from American Express is Earn 1 bonus Membership Rewards point for every dollar in qualifying purchases using your registered Card. To check if you have the offer simply log in to your American Express account online or via the American Express app. You can find this offer and many others listed on our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

** Have you received an offer that we don't list on our Amex Offers page? Let us know in the comments section of this post or the guide and we'll add it!

If you follow any U.S. points and miles blogs you'll have seen most of them post about being able to now earn 30 nights of elite credit via Marriott Bonvoy American Express cards. Previously if you had both the personal and business versions of the card (both of which award 15 nights towards elite status) you would only be credited with the nights from one card. They have now changed that so that the 15 nights from both cards count giving you 30 nights elite credit if you have both cards. Our reader Ron J. asked if the same thing is applicable here in Canada. I reached out to American Express and unfortunately it isn't the case here in Canada. You will continue to only earn 15 nights even if you have both the personal and business versions of the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Cards.

Images via Amex Canada

WestJet has confirmed they are booking flights with seat distancing in mind:

Moving forward, from now until May 4, 2020, the middle seat on our Boeing 737s and 787 aircraft and every other seat on our Bombardier Q400 will be unavailable to book. 

We’ve made this change to ensure our guests and crew can continue to fly safely and have more space to adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

Find out more about this on WestJet's blog

Image via WestJet

 

Although it isn't officially published, Hotels.com Rewards is extending free nights that are set to expire. You have to talk to an agent about it so you should expect long waits to get through if this is something you want to try. I recommend reading this post and related comments on Doctor of Credit

And speaking of Hotels.com - if you happen to hold Silver or Gold Elite status with the Hotels.com Rewards program that was set to expire between February and May they are extending the status until 2021. Find out more here.

Image via Hotels.com

 Remember to visit and bookmark our COVID-19 resource page where we are keeping you up to date with all the latest airline, hotel, lounges and loyalty program news, policies, closures and more.
Other resources on Rewards Canada to help you make the most of your points and miles right now:

• Shifting your loyalty program strategy to help during these trying and tough financial times
  
• In light of what's going on in the world should you shift to a cash back credit card instead of a travel card? Why not a card that has both?
  
• Use Instacart to circumvent Loblaw stores non-acceptance of Amex and to earn 5x points with the Cobalt Card

Posts since our last update:

• TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card - No annual fee in the first year & 6% back on all purchases for the first three months (up to $2,000)
  A new limited time offer came out sometime ago for the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card that we…
• April 1 Update: Aeroplan extends cancellation policy to April 30, Tokyo Olympic games dates set for 2021, Alaska & American expand reciprocal mileage earning
  Aeroplan announced last night an extension to their great refund and cancellation policy until April 30. This policy allows…

Deals:

Enterprise: Student Travel Assistance – Waiving young renter fees and reducing the minimum age to 18 for rentals through May 31, 2020. Find out more here

Missfresh: Simplify your life with 45% off your first 2 consecutive orders with code SIMPLIFY45. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- Triple Le Club AccorHotels Points when you rent with Hertz for 2 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until May 31, 20

Finnair Plus
- Triple Plus Points for Sixt rentals of 3 or more days at participating locations Worldwide More... Until Apr 30, 20

Hyatt World of Hyatt
- 30% Bonus World of Hyatt Points when you buy 5,000 or more points. More... Register by Nov 16, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 3,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points, up to 30% off and an upgrade for stays at W Hotels in Amman, Doha or Muscat. More... Until May 22, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

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TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card - No annual fee in the first year & 6% back on all purchases for the first three months

This offer has expired. Please see the latest offer details here:

TD further increases the welcome bonus on the TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card, now earn up to $290 cash back

The card details below show the latest offers on this card and may not be representative of the discussion above:
 

April 1 Update: Aeroplan extends cancellation policy to April 30, Tokyo Olympic games dates set for 2021, Alaska & American expand reciprocal mileage earning

Aeroplan announced last night an extension to their great refund and cancellation policy until April 30. This policy allows you to cancel Aeroplan tickets and receive all the miles back along with a complete refund of any taxes/fees paid. Learn more here.

The Tokyo Olympic games now have set dates for 2021. The games will take place from July 23 to August 8. With it being over a year away you can start setting your sights on attending and planning your travel. This goes for those who already have tickets or those who now see the opportunity of attending. Airlines don't have schedules yet for that time nor are hotels bookable yet but you can start researching what event or events you may want to attend and figure out which hotel etc. would be best for you. Most hotel chains let you book a year out so you can start looking this July and airlnes typically are just under a year so early August would be the time to start looking. Think JAL with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles! (Source IOC)

Speaking of Japan however - they have now put in restrictions that ban Canadians from entering the country if you have been in Canada or any one of another 70+ countries. This ban goes into effect on April 3 (well April 2 our time) Learn more here. (HT Running with Miles)

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and American Airlines AAdvantage expanded their reciprocal mileage earning as of today. Mileage Plan members can now earn miles (both redeemable & elite qualifying) on all American Airlines flights while AAdvantage members can earn redeemable miles on all Alaska Airlines flights. If you would like to learn more about this partnership I recommend you read our post from February. (Source One Mile at a Time)

Marriott has updated its Coronavirus policy by extending the date of which stays can be cancelled or changes with no fee until June 30. Learn more here.

Remember to visit and bookmark our COVID-19 resource page where we are keeping you up to date with all the latest airline, hotel, lounges and loyalty program news, policies, closures and more.
Other resources on Rewards Canada to help you make the most of your points and miles right now:

• Shifting your loyalty program strategy to help during these trying and tough financial times
  
• In light of what's going on in the world should you shift to a cash back credit card instead of a travel card? Why not a card that has both?
  
• Use Instacart to circumvent Loblaw stores non-acceptance of Amex and to earn 5x points with the Cobalt Card

Posts since our last update:

• 40% Discount for buying Etihad Guest miles - use to plan future travel like Prague-Seoul in business class for only US$312
  Etihad Guest is the latest airline loyalty program to launch a buy miles offer in attempt to boost some…
• OFFER EXTENDED: WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard - 350 bonus WestJet dollars on 1st purchase
  The limited time increased welcome bonus of 350 WestJet dollars on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard that we…
• Rewards Canada's Guide to Credit Card Cash Back Liquidity
  For nearly a month now we have been looking at how you can use your loyalty programs and credit…
• March 31 Update: Earn up to 48,000 Avios for free, major schedule update from Air Canada, 20x PC Optimum points with Beauty Boutique & more
  With the new HSBC World Mastercard World Elite offer we updated our Travel Hacking 101 post. With this new…

Deals:

Doordash $5 Deals. Use Code: 5DEALS at checkout! Expires April 15. Find out more here

Enterprise: Student Travel Assistance – Waiving young renter fees and reducing the minimum age to 18 for rentals through May 31, 2020. Find out more here

Missfresh: Simplify your life with 45% off your first 2 consecutive orders with code SIMPLIFY45. Find out more here.

Canadian Bonus Offers

AIR MILES
- Earn up to 100 Bonus AIR MILES Reward Miles when you book a hotel stay via AIR MILES Travel Hub. More... Until Jul 31, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 1,500 Bonus Mileage Plan miles on every bouquet ordered with Teleflora. More... Until Dec 30, 20

Etihad Guest
- 40% Discount when you buy 1,000 or more Etihad Guest Miles. More... Until Apr 7, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points when you stay 3+ nights at the Residence Inn Beaumont. More... Until May 15, 20

Millennium Hotels My Millennium
- 2,000 Bonus My Millennium Points + 10% off + complimentary upgrade for stays of 2 or more night at participating Millennium Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Jun 30 for stays until Dec 31, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

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40% Discount for buying Etihad Guest miles - use to plan future travel like Prague-Seoul in business class for only US$312

Etihad Guest is the latest airline loyalty program to launch a buy miles offer in attempt to boost some much needed cash flow. Until April 7 you can buy miles with a 40% discount which translates to a per mile cost of US 1.2 cents. Etihad flies from Toronto to Abu Dhabi, normally, but of course right now they aren't flying the route. Also redeeming miles on Etihad tends to be an expensive proposition, for example, to redeem for Business Class round trip between Toronto and Abu Dhabi costs just over 200,000 Guest Miles. However Etihad does have a lot of partner airlines where using their miles can make sense. One of those sweet spots is redeeming Etihad Guest miles to fly on Czech Airlines between Prague and Seoul. The redemption amount is ridiculously low - only 25,610 miles for business class one way. So just over 51,000 round trip if needed.

With this 40% discount on buying Etihad Guest miles you can get that one way trip in business class for only US$312 (+GST/HST as Points.com is a Canadian company)

This is an unbelievable deal to be able to fly in business class - yes Czech Airlines business isn't the same as Etihad's but for about $450 to fly this route is amazing. Of course you would be buying the miles speculatively right now as Czech Airlines isn't flying right now nor is Etihad and most flights their partners offer aren't in the air either. The good news is that Etihad states right on the buy miles page that any miles bought are valid for a minimum of two years so it will give you some time to plan some potentially amazing trips. This is definitely one of the better speculative offers out in the market right now.

Offer details:
40% Discount when you buy 1,000 or more Etihad Guest Miles. Buy miles here. Until Apr 7, 20

OFFER EXTENDED: WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard - 350 bonus WestJet dollars on 1st purchase

The limited time increased welcome bonus of 350 WestJet dollars on the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard that we have seen since November has been extended to June 30. The regular bonus of 250 WestJet dollars when you apply for and receive the card is still the norm but if you get the card now you'll get an additional 100 WestJet dollars when you make your first purchase on the card within three months of being approved for the card. That's a really easy welcome bonus to earn considering most of the cards competing with this card have a lot of spend requirements tied to them! You literally only have to make one $1 purchase on the card and you have 350 WestJet dollars to use right away towards to flights or vacation packages with WestJet.

Related: What you actually have to spend to get some of the best credit card welcome bonus offers

Even though there isn't much travel happening right now, especially to destinations outside of Canada this may be an offer you'll want to check out if you are starting to plan for future travel.

Not only is the welcome bonus an attractive offer there are other benefits on the card that are the reason why it is the best airline card in Canada. Once you have the card you get the first checked bag free for yourself and up to 8 others travelling on the same reservation. With checked bags on WestJet running between $30 to $35.40 for the first bag you can already see how this card can provide some huge savings on WestJet travel.

Related:  Credit cards that help you avoid those dreaded airline fees

Then the card has the best companion voucher benefit of any credit card in Canada. You can use the voucher for travel anywhere on WestJet's network for travel in Economy or Premium Class. Business Class is not included. Essentially what this voucher is that you buy one ticket at a regular price and you can have a companion travel with you for only $119 in Canada and the Continental U.S. and $399 anywhere else WestJet flies plus you have to pay the taxes and fees. Seeing that Premium Economy tickets can run into four figures for round trip getting one of them for only $399 can provide some immense savings. If you have a family of four or more it can make sense to have two separate WestJet RBC World Elite Credit Cards as that will give you two companion vouchers to use. This is exactly Why my wife and I each grabbed our own WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercards. In the couple of years of both of us having the cards we have saved thousands of dollars on flights, especially when we had to buy last minute travel which as we all know tends to be really expensive!

Related: The Ultimate Flight Companion Pass Credit Card portfolio

The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard does have a $119 annual fee that comes on it but when you look at getting 350 WestJet dollars with it (so a net benefit of 231 dollars to start) and then the baggage fee savings and companion voucher benefit you can see how this card is extremely valuable to get! Even if you have just one WestJet flight planned and none after that, being able to use the equivalent of 231 dollars towards that flight makes this card worth getting. 

Click here to learn more about this offer and to apply for the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

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