Now is a good time to pay off your student loans and tuition using points and miles via HigherEdPoints

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Suzanne Tyson from HigherEdPoints.com after my post on Shifting your loyalty program strategy to help during these trying and tough financial times and she reminded me about their service and how right now may actually be the best time to use them. In my piece we looked at shifting from a travel focus to a cash or cash equivalent focus in your loyalty programs and that's what HigherEdPoints is - a cash equivalent.

We've covered HigherEdPoints in the past on Rewards Canada but if you are unfamiliar with them here is a quick recap.

HigherEdPoints is a program that provides students and their families an option for using points towards post-secondary tuition and student loans. They are currently partnered with Aeroplan, CIBC and TD as a redemption option and you can convert points to cash payments towards payment of tuition at over 100 institutions in Canada or towards Canada Student Loans and other provincial student aid programs. To date Canadians have utilized HigherEdPoints to offset over $2 million in student loans and tuition.

How does it work?
You simply log in to your rewards account with Aeroplan, TD or CIBC and navigate to the proper page for redeeming and click on HigherEdPoints.  Or you can access the redemption option links via this page on HigherEdPoints.

How many points or miles does it take?
You can convert 35,000 Aeroplan Miles to receive a $250 credit. Same goes for CIBC where you'll get $250 for 35,000 CIBC Rewards points. Finally, there is TD Rewards which provides the best redemption rate: 62,500 TD Rewards points nets you that $250 credit. Compare this to the regular TD Rewards Cash Back rate of 100,000 points to get $250 cash back and you can see why it is such a good redemption option. It fact it's actually not far off the best redemption rate for ExpediaForTD redemption and is equivalent to the travel anywhere redemption option (up to $1,200 in travel)

Listen in: Rewards Canada podcast Episode 53 - Interview with Suzanne Tyson, founder of HigherEdPoints

Why redeem points and miles now?
"It's going to be so important for people to know about HigherEdPoints to help fund their education because it's a quadruple whammy coming ...parents laid off, student jobs disappearing, campuses needing to cut back on financial aid because students can't enroll (bursaries are funded by tuition offsets...so, less tuition, fewer bursaries) and the government funding may take a hit because of all the other funding they are providing nationwide..." states Suzanne, "Given the Feds have taken away student loan repayments and taken interest accruals off until September, this is a perfect time for students to get out from under their debt."

Recommended Reading: Using Points & Miles to pay for Tuition 

It's the latter point Suzanne makes that really may hit home with a lot of you. You can pay down your student loans right now to lower your future potential interest by using one of their three program partners. If you are a student and don't have the points or miles to redeem it never hurts to ask your family members. Remember that outside of TD the redemption rates from Aeroplan and CIBC may not be tempting for those who track value but take into account the interest savings, yours or your child's possible lack of cash flow to start making payments in September and all of a sudden those Aeroplan and CIBC redemptions become very valuable.

If you don't have enough points in any of the programs but are stable enough financially to take on a new credit card you could look at the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card as it provides up to 65,000 points as its welcome bonus (when you apply by May 31, 2020 and complete the minimum spending) and with no annual fees on the primary and first additional card in the first year as those are rebated. This means you can get that $250 HigherEdPoints credit, have 2,500 points left over at no cost outside of your actual spend on the card. Similarly you could do the same with the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card but you'll have to spend a bit more to get to the 35,000 Aeroplan Mile level to redeem so if you were only looking making a move on a credit card for the sake of paying tuition or student loans I would recommend the TD First Class Visa Infinite card.

Learn more about HigherEdPoints here.

Front Line Workers can receive free Best Western Rewards Gold status, upgrade to next tier or Diamond Select for Life

Best Western Rewards has come out with an elite status promotion for Front Line Workers. If you work in the medical field, the hospitality industry, the restaurant industry, shipping and e-Commerce, retail, and others you are eligible to receive free Best Western Rewards Gold Elite status until January 31, 2022. If you already have status that was earned by meeting tier requirements over the previous 12 months you’ll be upgraded to the next level and if you happen to have Diamond Select status you will be awarded Diamond Select for Life status. The terms don’t state how BWR confirms you are an essential front line worker but they do state it can take 2-3 weeks to get the upgrade so it may be possible they will reach out for confirmation.

Offer details
Receive Gold Elite Status or an upgrade to the next elite status level in Best Western Rewards for being an essential Front Line Worker. Full details & online registration. Register by Jul 31 to receive status until Jan 31, 2022 except for Diamond Select for Life

• New BWR members will receive an upgrade Gold Elite status
• Current Elite BWR members will receive an upgrade to next Elite status
• Current Diamond Select Elite tier members will receive a Diamond Select for Life status

Full terms:
Individuals who (a) serve in essential roles* on the front lines for the COVID-19 response; (b) are Best Western Rewards^® (“BWR^®”) members or enroll in BWR; and (c) register for the Program by Friday, July 31, 2020, 11:59 pm MST; will receive one of the following benefits:

• Newly enrolled BWR members will receive an upgrade to Gold Elite level
• Elite level members will receive an upgrade to the tier above their current Elite level
• Diamond Select members will receive a “Diamond Select for Life” Status**

There is a limit of one (1) upgrade that may be earned through this Program. There is a limit of one (1) upgrade in a 12-month period. Members who earned an upgrade by meeting tier requirements during the past twelve (12) months are eligible to earn an upgrade through the Program. Newly upgraded Elite members will maintain their Elite tier status until January 31, 2022, without meeting tier requirements. Program registration and BWR enrollment/membership required prior to Friday, July 31, 2020, to earn the upgrade. BWR enrollment and registration may be completed by visiting bestwestern.com/frontlineheroes.
No extensions, substitutions, or replacements available. Program may not be valid with certain other offers, promotions, or discounts. Program is subject to cancellation or change without notice. Please allow for approximately two to three weeks (2 to 3) weeks for the upgrade to occur. All BWR program rules apply. Visit bestwesternrewards.com for complete program terms and conditions.
*Essential roles are defined as any employee in the medical field, the hospitality industry, the restaurant industry, shipping and e-Commerce, retail, and others.
**“Diamond Select for Life” status is a VIP Diamond Select status where annual downgrades do not occur to the “Diamond Select for Life” Elite members’ tier.

April 15 Update: Earn 3x Aeroplan Miles at Coast Hotels until the end of June, 20% bonus Avios on your first British Airways eStore purchase and WestJet cuts 5 domestic routes

A reminder of a bonus offer we let you know about quite a few weeks that just launched this past Monday. That offer is for 3x Aeroplan Miles when you stay at Coast Hotels until June 30. I know many of you aren't travelling but if you do have some essential travel and Coast Hotels are somewhere you might stay check out this offer. The base earn rate is 250 to 500 miles depending on the hotel so with this offer you'll earn 750 to 1,500 miles. As it is a flat rate earn the bonus is best for one night stays but in fact it is still pretty good for longer stays when you compare it to earning Coast Rewards Points and then converting to Aeroplan. Find out more here.

Last week we brought you The ultimate guide to earning miles, points, and cash back for online shopping and food delivery services and one topic we discuss is taking advantage of bonus offers for online shopping. Another bonus has emerged now where you can earn 20% bonus Avios when you complete your first online purchase via the British Airways Executive Club eStore. Now they don't have a Canadian specific shopping site but do have a U.S. one so you can use it to shop at any U.S. retailers who ship to Canada (or your U.S. forwarded if you have one). When you navigate to the site it may set you by default on the U.K. shopping site so to switch to U.S. scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see a selection option on the bottom left to switch over to U.S.. Find out more here.

Towards the end of March WestJet provided an updated flight schedule for their domestic operation until May 31. An adjustment has been made to the schedule with some of the flights being removed:

 For guests with travel after April 16 through May 4, we are proactively notifying them of their travel options.

The following city pairs have been temporarily removed:
Vancouver – Fort St. John                 1x daily
Edmonton – Kelowna                        1x daily
Edmonton – Saskatoon                     3x weekly
Edmonton – Regina                           4x weekly
Edmonton – Winnipeg                      1x daily

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:

• Reader Question: Can lifetime Air Canada Altitude elite members share status for 2021?
  Back on April 6 we revealed Air Canada Altitude's COVID-19 response. The news was that they are extending elite…
• April 14 Update: Earn points for registering for Rexall's new Be Well program, Best Western cancellation policy update, hotel occupancy rates down to 12.8% in Canada
  Rexall has brought back the sign up bonus for preregistering for their loyalty program that will launch on May…
  
   

Deals:

Casper: Take 10% off a mattress with code GOODSNOOZ. Valid through 5/11.

Stream Man With a Plan commercial-free on CBS All Access Canada. Join now & get 1 month FREE!. Find out more here.

Hello Fresh: save $65 in total, including free shipping on the first box! Find out more here.

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

Rona: 20% off online exclusive BBQs until April 17.  Find out more here.


Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

No new bonuses added today

Other Bonus Offers

British Airways Executive Club
- 20% Bonus Avios on your first transaction when shop online via the British Airways eStore. More... Unknown end date

Czech Airlines OK Plus
- 2,000 Bonus OK Plus Miles when you fly on any Czech Airlines flights once flights resume. More... Until Aug 31, 20

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Earn up to Quadruple Infinity MileageLands Miles when you rent with Hertz for 2 or more days in USA, Canada, Europe, Asia Australia and New Zealand. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Aug 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Residence Inn Fargo. More... Until May 30, 20




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Reader Question: Can lifetime Air Canada Altitude elite members share status for 2021?

Back on April 6 we revealed Air Canada Altitude's COVID-19 response. The news was that they are extending elite status for their members, providing an option to share status and an ability to earn Altitude Qualifying Miles for donating Aeroplan Miles. Today's reader question is on the option to share elite status.

Here is a recap of what Air Canada states for sharing status:

Since Altitude status is secure through 2021, if a member has already achieved status for next year, or does so by the end of 2020, they can gift it to a friend or family member.

This means if you have already achieved status for next year or will by the end of 2020 you can gift the status you earn from 2020 to someone else.

On our original post our reader Paul S. who has lifetime Air Canada Altitude Elite 50K status posed a very valid question in regards to sharing. He wondered since he has lifetime status can he also share status for 2021?

I reached out to Air Canada with this question and they responded to let us know that lifetime status does not have a sharing option as part of Air Canada Altitude's pandemic response.

"The answer is that members will be able to share the status they “earn” based on their 2020 Altitude Qualifying Miles or Segment AND the Altitude Qualifying Dollar as tracked and published on the Air Canada Altitude website."

This means if you have lifetime Altitude status you will only be able to share status with someone if you reach a qualifying Altitude level yourself within the program in 2020. 

Hope this helps Paul!

April 14 Update: Earn points for registering for Rexall's new Be Well program, Best Western cancellation policy update, hotel occupancy rates down to 12.8% in Canada

Rexall has brought back the sign up bonus for preregistering for their loyalty program that will launch on May 1. With today's news we now know it will be called Be Well and it will replace AIR MILES as the loyalty program for Rexall. We first brought you the details of the program back in February and the new offer is the same as the one in February whereby you preregister for the program and they'll award you 10,000 points when it launches. Those 10,000 points are worth $4. If you haven't preregistered already you are eligible to earn this bonus now as long as you sign up by April 29. Find out more and preregister here.

Best Western has finally published a COVID-19 cancellation policy. Prior to this they were leaving it up to each individual hotel as to what they wanted to do with non-refundable/non-cancellable reservations. They have now set in place a policy for their locations in Canada, the U.S. and Caribbean as follows:

• The policy applies to any reservation for any future arrival date.

• The policy applies to hotels located in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. 

• Guests may cancel at any time, as long as cancellation occurs least 24 hours before arrival, and the reservation is cancelled on or before June 30, 2020.

• Hotels will waive all fees associated with the cancellation of the booking.

• Applies to all booking channels.

• A more restrictive cancellation policy may apply to a limited number of high-demand dates at individual hotels
• Learn more about BW's policy here

And on the topic of hotels - the occupancy of hotels in Canada for the week of March 31 to April 6 dropped from 79% in 2019 to 12.8%. Ouch. The worst decline was seen in Quebec with occupancy rates dropping to 6.1% from 89.8%. (Source Canadian Lodging News)

It appears that Etihad is planning to resume 5x weekly flights between Toronto and Abu Dhabi as of April 22 (Source RoutesOnline)

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:

• American AAdvantage provides elite status extension, lowers qualification requirements and more
  American Airlines is the last of the big 3 U.S. airlines to come out with details for the elite…
• April 9 Update: Air Canada & WestJet to hire back laid off employees, even discontinued grandfathered Mastercards get new benefits & Air Canada's May flight schedule
  Air Canada and WestJet will re-hire over 16,000 and 6,000 employees respectively thanks to the Government of Canada's Emergency... 

Deals:

Stream Man With a Plan commercial-free on CBS All Access Canada. Join now & get 1 month FREE!. Find out more here.

Indigo plum PLUS members enjoy 2x plum points on all purchases* (Until April 30)




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

Hello Fresh: save $65 in total, including free shipping on the first box! Find out more here.

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

Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

No new bonuses added today

Other Bonus Offers

No new bonuses added today






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American AAdvantage provides elite status extension, lowers qualification requirements and more

American Airlines is the last of the big 3 U.S. airlines to come out with details for the elite status portion of the AAdvantage program. Like most airline and hotel programs American is now offering extensions to those who currently hold elite status. On top of that they are providing a reduced qualifying structure to account for the lower demand in travel, extending the validity of upgrade vouchers and more.

Here are the details as provided by American:

• Extending elite status for AAdvantage members until Jan. 31, 2022.
• Reducing elite status qualifications for 2020.
• Extending Admirals Club® memberships purchased from American for 6 months.*
• Introducing up to $400 special credits for future travel on American Airlines Vacations packages for elite members.**
• Every dollar spent on an eligible AAdvantage co-branded credit card through the end of 2020 will count for one mile toward Million Miler℠ status.
• Award reinstatement fees waived for travel through September 2020.

Elite Status Extension
If your current elite status expires on January 31, 2021, we’ll automatically extend the expiration date until January 31, 2022.
You’ll continue to enjoy all the benefits that come with your status, and you can earn a higher status through lower elite qualification requirements this year.
Accounts will be updated by May 15, 2020.

Lowering elite qualification requirementsYou’ll be able to qualify for a higher elite status in 2020 with lower Elite Qualifying Dollar (EQD), Elite Qualifying Mile (EQM) and Elite Qualifying Segment (EQS) requirements.

Qualifying metric	Gold oneworld® Ruby	Platinum oneworld® Sapphire	Platinum Pro oneworld® Sapphire	Executive Platinum oneworld® Emerald
EQDs	$1,500	$4,000	$6,000	$9,000
EQMs	15,000	30,000	45,000	60,000
EQSs	15	30	45	60

Extending expiration of systemwide upgrades
Any unused systemwide upgrades with an expiration date of January 31, 2021, will be automatically extended through July 31, 2021.
While we’re not awarding new systemwide upgrades with the extension of Executive Platinum status, members who qualify or re-qualify for Executive Platinum status in 2020 will receive 4 systemwide upgrades valid through January 31, 2022.
Accounts will be updated by May 15, 2020.

Promotion to reach Million Miler status
We’re introducing a limited-time promotion to help you reach Million Miler℠ status and receive benefits like elite status. For all eligible Citi / AAdvantage^® and AAdvantage^® Aviator products, as well as select AAdvantage^® credit cards outside the U.S., every dollar spent on net purchases that post between May 1, 2020, – December 31, 2020, will count as 1 mile toward Million Miler℠ status.

Waiving award reinstatement and change fees for award bookings
Waived award reinstatement and change fees for awards booked by May 31, 2020, for travel through September 30, 2020. For award travel ticketed on or after June 1, 2020, we’ll waive change and reinstatement fees when the change is made at least 60 days before travel. A new fee structure will apply to changes made with fewer than 60 days before travel:

Elite status	Change made 60 days or more before travel	At least 7 days, but fewer than 60 days before travel	Fewer than 7 days before travel
Executive Platinum	$0	$0	$0
Platinum Pro	$0	$50	$75
Platinum	$0	$75	$100
Gold	$0	$100	$125
Regular member	$0	$125	$150

American Airlines Vacations credit
We’re giving AAdvantage^® elite members another reason to look forward to a vacation. On July 1, 2020, they’ll receive a special one-time credit of up to $400 to use toward an American Airlines Vacations package.

Elite status	Credit amount
Gold	$300
Platinum and Platinum Pro	$350
Executive Platinum	$400

Great news for the small amount of Canadians who do hold status with American AAdvantage as you now get to have it for one full year extra and have the possibility to boost that status higher with the lowered requirements if you get the chance to fly on American later this year. For the even smaller portion of our population, there may a select few of you who hold a U.S. based American AAdvantage credit card you have an amazing opportunity to boost your run for Million Miler status by having your credit card spend from May to December count towards that status.

I'm surprised at their reinstatement fee structure - having no fees for changing 60+ days out is the good part and sure you have no change fees at all for awards booked by May 31 for travel until September 30 but still with so much uncertainty around travel in the next 6 to 12 months to have fees that will be charged for travel changes within 60 days does seem a bit ridiculous.

We also see in the news release that people who have purchased Admirals Club memberships will have those extended for 6 months.

Overall this was expected from AA seeing that their competitors have already announced their elite status extensions and the such. And most of it is great news if you hold status or know that you can now qualify for it next year with the lowered requirements.

Learn more about this announcement here.

Title image via American Airlines

April 9 Update: Air Canada & WestJet to hire back laid off employees, even discontinued grandfathered Mastercards get new benefits & Air Canada's May flight schedule

Air Canada and WestJet will re-hire over 16,000 and 6,000 employees respectively thanks to the Government of Canada's Emergency Wage Subsidy. Here is a statement from WestJet's CEO Ed Sims:

“We are pleased to announce, after discussions with the federal government, that we will bring almost 6,400 employees back on the WestJet payroll, once the government has approved the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program.” 

“This does not automatically mean that they will be coming back to work as there may not be work there for them. But it does help them make ends meet and I am grateful for the hard work by the Government of Canada and of all governments across Canada to provide businesses with the tools to continue operating in these challenging times. We will be communicating with those WestJetters who are affected by this decision as soon as we can.” 

and from Air Canada's CEO Calin Rovinescu:

"The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy is an extremely important program to help employees and employers during this time of crisis, and as one of Canada's largest employers most affected by COVID-19, we want to acknowledge the leadership of the Government of Canada in introducing it," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer at Air Canada. 

"While our seat capacity and operations have decreased by more than 90 per cent overnight, we are trying to keep as many of our employees as possible during the crisis and this measure will certainly help. Depending on wage levels, many furloughed employees will get a somewhat higher amount under CEWS than they would otherwise receive from Employment Insurance payments plus they will maintain their health insurance and other benefits and stay more connected to our company during the Program Period. Once the crisis passes and passenger demand increases, we look forward to returning as many employees as possible to active status as we resume normal operations," concluded Mr. Rovinescu.

Great news for those of you who have the grandfathered version of what used to be Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card from years ago - the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard. Rewards Canada reader Leo T. asked if we knew if the card would also receive all the new World and World Elite Mastercard benefits we announced last week. He contacted Capital One who told him to contact Mastercard. Well he decided to just try it out on the Boingo site and Leo has confirmed that his card was eligible.

This should hopefully mean it also gets all the other new benefits that come with premium Canadian Mastercards. Read more about the new benefits here.

Top image via Mastercard

Air Canada has released their intended flight schedules for May and it sees international flights tripling from 30 per week to 90 as the airline slowly prepares for a hopeful early return to travel. Their page shows a significant increase in flights within Canada although it is still not even close to what it was before the pandemic. Flights to the U.S. are also being increased but are once again being limited to departures from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. You can find all their scheduled flights for May here. (List below is sourced from  RoutesOnline).

Here are Air Canada's planned international operations for May:

Montreal – Brussels 4 weekly A330-300 (service resumption)
Montreal – Fort-de-France 1 weekly A319 (service resumption)
Montreal – Frankfurt 1 daily 787-9
Montreal – London Heathrow 5 weekly A330-300
Montreal – Paris CDG 1 daily 777-300ER (400-seater)
Montreal – Pointe-a-Pitre 1 weekly A319 (service resumption)
Toronto – Bogota 3 weekly 787-8 (service resumption; Mainline replacing rouge)
Toronto – Bridgetown 1 weekly A319 (resumes on 16MAY20)
Toronto – Cancun 2 weekly A320 (service resumption; Mainline replacing rouge)
Toronto – Frankfurt 1 daily 777-300ER (400-seater)
Toronto – London Heathrow 2 daily 777-300ER (400-seater)/787-9
Toronto – Mexico City 1 daily A319
Toronto – Montego Bay 2 weekly A319 (service resumption; Mainline replacing rouge)
Toronto – Punta Cana 2 weekly A320 (service resumption; Mainline replacing rouge)
Toronto – Tokyo Haneda 4 weekly 787-9 (service resumption)
Toronto – Zurich 4 weekly 787-9 (service resumption)
Vancouver – Hong Kong 5 weekly 787-9
Vancouver – London Heathrow 5 weekly 787-8
Vancouver – Seoul Incheon 4 weekly 787-9 (service resumption)
Vancouver – Tokyo Narita 5 weekly 787-9

Image via Air Canada

 

Throwback Thursday - Here's a throwback to 2012 when Rewards Canada was featured as the Travel Website of the Week on Canada.com. Of note that's when the WestJet RBC World Mastercard became a World Elite Mastercard. Read the old article 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:

• Calgary Hotel Association stepping up with member hotels to provide accommodations for front line workers, self-isolation and vulnerable Calgarians
  I'm sure this is prevalent across Canada with various city, town and province hotel and tourism associations but seeing…
• AIR MILES will match collector donations made to Food Banks Canada and Kids Help Phone
  AIR MILES revealed a new campaign that starts today whereby they will match donations made by their members to…
• Select BCAA members may receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card for joining Best Western Rewards
  In my everyday search for new bonus offers to add to the bonus offers sections on Rewards Canada Frequent…
• April 8 Update: Alaska Airlines extending paid lounge access memberships, 500 free iPrefer points in your email, update to our COVID-19 page
  Yesterday we brought you the news about Alaska Airlines providing elite status extending elite status and voucher and wanted…
   

Deals:

Ready to plan some travel for 2021? Contiki has released their 2021 trips and are allowing you lock in at this years prices. Find out more here.

Indigo plum PLUS members enjoy 2x plum points on all purchases* (Until April 30)



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

Hello Fresh: save $65 in total, including free shipping on the first box! Find out more here.

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

Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

Best Western Rewards
- Receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card when you join the Best Western Rewards program. Valid for select BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Association) members. More... Targeted offer - may not work for everyone Unknown end dates

Other Bonus Offers

Etihad Guest
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus Guest Miles when you were due to travel between 1 March and 30 June 2020, and when you cancel your booking for Etihad Credit. More... Until Jun 30, 20

EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
- Triple Infinity MileageLands Miles when you rent with Avis for 3 or more days in North America (exclude Alaska), Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. More... Book by Apr 30 for rentals until May 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays of 2+ nights at the Four Points by Sheraton St. Louis - Fairview Heights. More... Until Jun 6, 20

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- Double iPrefer Points for stays at the Huntington Hotel San Francisco More... Until Dec 31, 20

Singapore Airines KrisFlyer
- Earn up to Triple KrisFlyer Miles when you rent a car for 3 or more days with Budget in North America (excluding Alaska), Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. More... Book by May 31 for rentals until Jun 30, 20




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Calgary Hotel Association stepping up with member hotels to provide accommodations for front line workers, self-isolation and vulnerable Calgarians

I'm sure this is prevalent across Canada with various city, town and province hotel and tourism associations but seeing that Rewards Canada is in Calgary I wanted to focus on what the Calgary Hotel Association (CHA) is doing for the COVID-19 pandemic.  Working in conjunction with Tourism Calgary the association has set up a list of all their member hotels who are accepting reservations and providing special rates for front-line and health care workers and those people who need to self-isolate. They are also working closely with select member hotels to provide accommodations for vulnerable Calgarians during this time.

Front-line and Health Care Workers
The CHA has a list of hotels on their website where front-line and health care workers  seeking accommodation or isolation solutions while they provide critical services at Calgary’s primary facilities. The list of hotels provides contact details as well as distances from hospitals and urgent care centers. You can access the list here (Excel spreadsheet)

Self-Isolation
The CHA also has a list of member hotels who are providing accommodations to those people who need to Self-Isolate - whether that's from coming back to Calgary from overseas or being potentially exposed within the community. You can access the list here. You will notice they are all near the Calgary airport so if you are not in that part of the city you could reach out to the CHA or other hotels directly to see if they are accepting reservations for Self-Isolation.

I spoke with the CHA's Sol Zia (you may recognize Sol from his occasional posts here on Rewards Canada and his providing of extra Maple Leaf Lounge passes for some of our giveaways) as to whether the hotels are offering discounted rates for the above situations. While each hotel has a different policy in place Sol did state that "the rates are likely heavily discounted - I know many are in the $69, $79 and $89 range" We recommend that you call or email the hotel directly via the contacts from the above links to see what the special rates may be.

Vulnerable Calgarians
For vulnerable Calgarians the CHA is also working "in collaboration with the City of Calgary and Community agencies and shelters by connecting them with Calgary hotels directly to supply adequate and safe housing options for vulnerable Calgarians. At this point in time, the agencies are working directly with a select number of hotels determined as the best fit for each agency’s needs." This list of hotels is not provided for confidentiality reasons but it is great to know they are taking people in need at a time when it is needed the most.

Learn more about the CHA's COVID-19 initiatives here. 

Now it's your turn Rewards Canada community! 
 What is your local city, association, tourism board doing to help out? Let us know in the comments below so that they can all get a well deserved shout out!

Images via Calgary Hotel Association

AIR MILES will match collector donations made to Food Banks Canada and Kids Help Phone

AIR MILES revealed a new campaign that starts today whereby they will match donations made by their members to Food Banks Canada and Kids Help Phone. To participate you can redeem 500 Dream Miles to either of the charities which turns into a $50 donation to them. AIR MILES will then match all of the member donation amounts up to $500,000 or $1 Million in total between members and AIR MILES corporate.

These are the details AIR MILES provided us today:

• Starting today, AIR MILES Collectors can donate 500 Dream Miles to Food Banks Canada or Kids Help Phone
• For every Collector donation, AIR MILES will contribute $50 to the Collector's selected charity, and match it with a corporate donation of $50
• AIR MILES will match the first $500,000 in Collector pledges
• Collectors will receive a tax receipt from the charity via the email address associated with their AIR MILES Account
• Both donation opportunities are available through airmiles.ca/donate

You'll notice bullet point #4 which states you'll get a tax receipt - this is an extra bonus for anyone and everyone's generosity via this campaign. Most loyalty programs don't provide tax receipts for donations made with a loyalty currency, just an added incentive to bring down your tax burden for the year and keep your actual cash flow intact.

Images via AIR MILES

Select BCAA members may receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card for joining Best Western Rewards

In my everyday search for new bonus offers to add to the bonus offers sections on Rewards Canada Frequent Flyer Bonuses I came across this offer from Best Western Rewards for British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) members. Now before I get into the offer you should note that it is targetted - it says so right in the terms and conditions: "British Columbia Automobile Association (“BCAA”) members (“Member(s)”) who (a) have been selected to participate in this Promotion (which will be communicated to them via email), (b) enroll in the Best Western Rewards program (with a valid, subscribed email address) within 10 days of the date the email is sent to the Member." so if you have not received an email from BCAA asking you to join BWR there is a good chance you won't qualify.  

That being said - it never hurts to try. As we say in the world of points and miles, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) which means you may or may not get the offer but you do try for it.  If you do want to try you can either register your existing BWR number (this tends not to work with these new member bonuses) or you can join the program via the link and make sure you input your BCAA membership number during the registration process. 

The offer itself provides a C$25 Best Western Travel Card when you join the program that you can use towards a stay at any Best Western hotel. Problem is that Travel Card will expire within 3 months from date of issue and there has been no news from Best Western about any extensions to any travel cards because of the Covid-19 pandemic.  This offer is similar to one offer to Central Ontario CAA members last summer however that offer wasn't so deeply targeted.

Offer details:
Receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card when you join the Best Western Rewards program. Valid for select BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Association) members. Full details and online registration. (Registration is required)
Targeted offer - may not work for everyone

There's also one other note with this offer that gives me some concern. The landing page URL contains a '16' in it - this could indicate the offer is from 2016 however this page didn't show up anywhere in my scouring for bonus offers until late March. And Best Western does seem to have odd numbers at times in their URLs so the 16 may not mean anything.

If any of our readers in B.C. are BCAA members and did receive this email please let us know when you did and if you signed up for the offer! Or if you are member but didn't get the email let us know if you will try it right away to see if it works out for you.