AIR MILES launches Happy Everyday online community to entertain Canadians staying at home

AIR MILES reached out to us to pass along the news of a new online community initiative they have launched to help Canadians beat the boredom of staying at home. AIR MILES says it will 'entertain, excite and reward Canadian for doing their part and staying home'

The loyalty program has brought together a team of famous Canadians to bring a daily dose of entertainment via the online Facebook community at  facebook.com/airmilescanada. The Happy Everyday campaign launched yesterday with an interview of Tessa Virtue by Craig McMorris, tonight sees Masterchef Canada's Claudio Aprile provide a cooking lesson and on Sunday there will be a concert from Canadian country artist Brett Kissel.

In addition to these four,  AIR MILES has also confirmed the following Canadian celebrities will be making an appearance:

• The Reklaws – Country music duo
• Cœur de pirate – Montreal-based singer/songwriter
• Buffy Sainte-Marie – Oscar-winning singer-songwriter/composer, and author of her first illustrated children's book, Hey Little Rockabye, a story about pet adoption  
• Bob Blumer – Cookbook author/TV personality
• Ned Bell – Chef/TV personality 

To join in on the fun all you have to do make your way to AIR MILES' Facebook page facebook.com/airmilescanada and join the conversation.  Every Monday the program will release that week's schedule.

I noticed a keyword in AIR MILES messaging of they want to entertain, excite and reward Canadians. It's point three that I'm taking notice of - I didn't participate in last night's event but by AIR MILES stating reward does this mean some lucky attendee or attendees could possibly win some AIR MILES or perhaps something else?  Or does it just mean they are being rewarded with a free event. I have reached out to AIR MILES to see if they can elaborate and I will update the post with the answer.

Update:  AIR MILES has confirmed "Within some of the live streams there will be surprise and delights that some of the celebs/talent will be giving away to lucky listeners"

May 8 Update: New RBC Offers, up to 50,000 bonus Be Well points at Rexall and Hotels.com provides reward night & elite status extensions

Our Guide to RBC Offers has been updated. There is a new offer for 25% off at Clinique.ca and we see the Frank & Oak offer of 25% off extended to May 31. I received both offers on my WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. Learn more about them here.

The Rexall Be Well program has now been around for one full week and has another bonus offer. If you shop at Rexall this weekend they are offering 25,000 points if you spend $40-$59.99 or 50,000 bonus points for $60+. Learn more here.

A couple of Shoppers Drug Mart offers:

You can earn 20x PC Optimum Points when you shop online for beauty products and spend $75 or more. The offer runs from today to Sunday. Find out more here. 

They are also offering 5,000 bonus PC Optimum points when you sign up and verify an online account for your prescriptions. The bonus is only valid in several provinces where they have the online service and the province allows points to be awarded on prescriptions. Find out more here.

Hotels.com has finally provided a COVID-19 update for Hotels.com Rewards members. We did have news quite some time ago that reward nights would be extended and this news confirms it along with elite status extension and an extended qualifying window as well. Find out more here.

• We have paused the expiration of any collected nights or reward1 nights due to expire between 1  Apr 2020 and 31  Dec 2020.
  
• We’ll extend all Gold and Silver memberships that are up for renewal between 1  Feb 2020 – 31  Jan 2021 for an additional year.
• Plus, we’re giving you more time to qualify for Gold or Silver membership. We’ll assess nights stayed in the previous 24 months to see whether you qualify for the next level of membership by your new renewal date.
  

Speaking of hotels - we keep seeing hotel occupancy rates increase in Canada albeit by very small numbers - it was 12% a few weeks ago then 15% and the latest report shows 16.6% for the week of April 26 - May 2. (Source HNN)

 One more Mastercard Foodora update - Mastercard Canada has now confirmed on their site that May 11 is the last day as we had reported. They also have specifically noted the benefit ends on that day so it can't be utilized for Foodora outside of Canada. Find out more here.

Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature for the foreseeable future in our daily update posts as we summarize Canadian operations based on data from RoutesOnline and other sources. Remember that many of these route plans are subject to change and right now they are changing frequently!

Air France looks to be wanting to fly 5x weekly between Montreal and Paris as of June 15. (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:

• Great deal! Fairmont Chateau Whistler golf package offer - stay and play from $185pp per night in June
   Over a month ago Fairmont Hotels made the difficult decision to close down some of their most iconic mountain resort…
• May 7 Update: Aeroplan buy miles sale craziness and have we seen the last of WestJet's 767s?
  The Aeroplan buy miles sale that launched at 10am this morning was so successful that it created a lot…

Deals:

Great deal! Fairmont Chateau Whistler golf package offer - stay and play from $185pp per night in June. Find out more here.

Travelzoo and Cape Mudge Resort on B.C.'s Quadra Island are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers for 2 night stays starting at $179 each for May 2021 or $229 each for summer stays in 2020 or 2021. 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.

Enjoy up to 25% off for stays at Radisson Hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Find out more here Book by May 10 for stays June 10 – August 31, 20

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

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 10,000 Mileage Plan Miles on premium category car rentals of five or more days, across participating rental suppliers booked via Alaska Airlines. More... Book by May 31, 20

American AAdvantage
- 25% Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you convert World of Hyatt points to American AAdvantage miles More... Until May 31, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- Triple IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa/Rocky Point Island More... Until Jul 5, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays on the Member Offer rate or Pride & Joy Couples Package at the TownePlace Suites Austin Arboretum/The Domain Area. More... Unknown end date

TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
- Up to 3x Miles&Go miles when you subsribe to or renew a Club TAP Miles&Go membership. More... Until May 31, 20

United MileagePlus
- 100% Bonus when you buy MileagePlus Miles. Targeted offer - may not appear for everyone More... Until May 14, 20



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Great deal! Fairmont Chateau Whistler golf package offer - stay and play from $185pp per night in June

 Over a month ago Fairmont Hotels made the difficult decision to close down some of their most iconic mountain resort hotels in Western Canada like the Fairmont Banff Springs, Chateau Lake Louise and Chateau Whistler. At the time they stated they would like to reopen the hotels on June 1 and that appears to still be the case as there is now this new offer for golf packages at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. 

The offer is good for stays between June 1 and June 30 and is definitely priced and packaged to encourage people to make their way out and hopefully start filling up rooms and golf courses. In case you are wondering golf courses in British Columbia opened up a few weeks ago. Of course this one may be more appealing to those who live in the lower mainland - I'm guessing not a lot of us are going to jump on a plane just yet to go golfing but for those of you living in B.C. who want to have that nice drive up to Whistler and get some rounds in this package is for you.

The Golf Super Saver Offer at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler starts as low as C$185 per person per night and includes the following:

• One night's accommodation at Fairmont Chateau Whistler
• One round of 18-holes at Chateau Whistler Golf Club per person, per night

And when you reserve your golf rounds at Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Club you are entitled to:

• Unlimited golf on same day of play after initial paid round of golf (round(s) may be reserved upon completion of each round of golf) on arrival or departure day
• Complimentary club rentals
• Unlimited access to the Practice facility
• Complimentary Golf club storage
• Complimentary shuttle to/from Fairmont Chateau Whistler Golf Clubhouse
• Juniors Golf for Free (applies to one child 16 yrs old and under after 1:00 PM)
• Guest signing privileges

At the minimum you are getting one night accommodation and one round of golf but if the course isn't too busy you can play another round if the course isn't busy as you get unlimited golf after your initial paid round!

To compare, a round of golf at the course is $189 (Daily rate, twilight is less) plus a mandatory cart for $30. To play a round of golf itself costs nearly the same as a hotel stay with the golf! I did a quick check for the rate on June 1-3 (2 nights, 2 rounds of golf for 2 people) and it was available for $399 per night:

This is a pretty enticing offer if you are ready to get out of the house, hit the links and stay at a hotel.
You may ask how does this compare to the daily rate at the hotel to see if you can build the package yourself for less. We checked that out and for most days the cheapest rate at the hotel was $269 per night and then  add in $189 per person for the golf and you are almost at $650 per night versus the $399. So in the world of hotel packages which in many cases aren't a good deal, this one is the opposite in that it is a great deal! I would recommend paying for the stay with a card that earns a travel multiplier like the Platinum Card from American Express as it normally earns 2 points per dollar on travel however it does have it's limited time double points on all spending offer meaning you would earn 4 points per dollar on this package!

Remember that Fairmont Hotels is now part of the ALL Accor Live Limitless program so stays at Fairmont Hotels will rack up points in that program.

Learn more about and book this package here. 

Note the cancellation policy for this rate is three days in advance of stay.

Images via Fairmont Hotels

May 7 Update: Aeroplan buy miles sale craziness and have we seen the last of WestJet's 767s?

The Aeroplan buy miles sale that launched at 10am this morning was so successful that it created a lot of issues. Some of our readers and ourselves couldn't even log on to the system and/or got errors and that seemed to be the case for a lot of people as Points.com who facilitates the process saw some of the highest traffic in their history. However there did seem to be some lucky people who did get in on the biggest bonus of 115% but there did seem to be some outstanding issues as well even for the 90% bonus offer. Seeing that they had issues Aeroplan has provided the following statement to share with our readers:

 We all believed that the two initial tranches of miles would sell out very quickly-and indeed they did.  Unfortunately, the response was so overwhelming that several members were unable to participate in the promotion, despite our joint effort with Points to add systems capacity in-advance of the sale. 

This was some of the highest traffic that our partner, Points.com has ever seen (more details on that to come)!  We're so grateful for the response, but there are no excuses for the access issues, and we own that.  We apologize for this and would like to make it right with our members.  Specifically: 

1.     all miles purchased between 11-12pm at the 65% bonus rate will automatically be increased to a 90% bonus. In other words, in case a customer was trying to purchase at the 90% bonus and was unable to, we are taking care of them and ensuring they get even more miles (note: the issues ended within the first hour of the sale). It will take us some time to reach-out and deposit the additional miles. 

2.     along with our partner Points, we will be donating an additional 1 million miles donation to our Aeroplan Member Donation program charity - The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation (CAMH).

Good news is that if you bought miles even at 65% between 11 and 12pm ET you're in for a surprise - you will get the 90% bonus! And the donation of 1 million more miles to CAMH is another great gesture from Aeroplan. Yes I know some of you were frustrated with the process and weren't able to get in on the bonus - we knew it would sell out fast - with most likely only somewhere between 20 to 40 people actually getting the 115% bonus. And the next 100 million points at 90% were likely taken by only a few hundred buyers excluding those who will get 90% for buying between 11 and 12pm. Now, the bonus remains at the 65% for the remainder of the promotional period which is until May 13. This is still a good bonus. You are buying miles at 1.8 cents CAD each. There are easily enough award options well north of 1.8 cents that it can be worthwhile to buy miles right now - that's even with no travel. You would be buying miles speculatively for a future award flight.

Image via Air Canada

Are WestJet's Boeing 767 aircraft done? Last week WestJet donated 115 galley carts from their fleet of four Boeing 767 airplanes to Alberta Health Services and aren't asking for them back. This makes me think that WestJet is planning on not having the planes return to service once more travel resumes. With the airline now the proud owners of five Boeing 787 planes and what will be several years of recovery to reach to pre-Coronavirus travel levels - the 30+ year old 767s will most likely not be required by the airline.

WESTJET DONATES GALLEY CARTS TO ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES SPRUNG PANDEMIC RESPONSE FACILITY

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect communities across the country, WestJet’s Catering Services team found a good use for 115 galley carts in time for the completion of Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) new Sprung Pandemic Response facility in Calgary.

The 767 galley carts will be used in isolation rooms to hold medical supplies and will help keep areas fully contained, reducing the risk of cross contamination between patients at the 8,250-square-foot facility located at the Peter Lougheed Centre. The temporary structure will only open if required to accommodate patients with confirmed, possible or probable cases of COVID-19.

The first delivery of galley carts arrived at the Peter Lougheed Centre on Thursday, April 23. Even if not used, WestJet has gifted the carts to AHS permanently.

Image via WestJet 

Airline Schedule Updates
This is now be a standard feature for the foreseeable future in our daily update posts as we summarize Canadian operations based on data from RoutesOnline and other sources. Remember that many of these route plans are subject to change and right now they are changing frequently!

British Airways latest schedule update shows them operating 1 daily flight out of both Montreal and Toronto to London Heathrow in the month of June. (Source RoutesOnline)

EVA Air appears to be pushing back the re-launch of their Vancouver to Taipei route to May 25 from May 20 (Source RoutesOnline)

Korean Air's plans for June currently has them flying 4x weekly service between Vancouver and Seoul and 3x weekly service from Toronto. (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 Express provides extensions to meet required spend for welcome bonus offers
  The wait is over - American Express Canada has now followed suit with what American Express down in the…
• Aeroplan buy miles bonus of up to 115% starts now!
  Just a friendly reminder that the amazing 115% bonus on buying Air Canada Aeroplan miles starts now! There are…
• British Airways Executive Club – 50% to 75% Bonus when you buy or gift Avios
  A few days ago British Airways launched yet another buy Avios bonus. Once again for most members it is…
• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for May - These cards provide some of the best value out of their welcome bonuses
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of May 2020! This…
• 5 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per dollar via the Aeroplan eStore when paying with a CIBC or American Express Aeroplan co-branded card
  In addition to the big news of Aeroplan launching their first buy miles bonus they announced in the email…
• Get ready! Aeroplan's first buy miles promotion to offer up to a 115% bonus where you buy miles for as little as 1.4 cents - launches on May 7
  Air Canada’s Aeroplan has been one of the most engaging and active programs during this pandemic we are in…
• May 4 Update: Today only earn 10% or more cash back with Rakuten, Air Canada launches CleanCare+, AeroMexico extends elite status
  Today only you can earn 10% or more cash back with 26 retailers via the Rakuten portal (eBates.ca). Find…
  

Deals:

Travelzoo and Cape Mudge Resort on B.C.'s Quadra Island are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers for 2 night stays starting at $179 each for May 2021 or $229 each for summer stays in 2020 or 2021. 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.

Enjoy up to 25% off for stays at Radisson Hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Find out more here Book by May 10 for stays June 10 – August 31, 20

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

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Up to 60% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles and up to 20% off when you buy or gift miles online. More... Until May 31, 20

British Airways Executive Club
- Up to 75% Bonus Avios when you buy or gift Avios. Buy Avios here. Bonus varies by member. More... Until May 18, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- 100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy 3,000 or more points. More... Until Jun 15, 20

Miles & More
- Earn up to 7,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles when you rent with Avis for 2 or more days Worldwide except for Latin America. More... Book by May 31 for rentals until Dec 15, 20



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OFFER EXPIRED - American Express provides extensions to meet required spend for welcome bonus offers

THIS OFFER FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

The wait is over - American Express Canada has now followed suit with what American Express down in the U.S. has done in regards to welcome bonuses for recent and new card approvals. Most welcome bonus offers for American Express cards in Canada require the newly approved cardmembers to meet the minimum spend requirement within three months of approval to receive the bonus points. This has now been extended to 6 months for eligible consumer and small business cards that were acquired on or after January 22 all the way through to June 30. This is a nice additional buffer for those who are in the market for a new card or just got one but aren't spending as much on their cards right now.

We mention eligible cards as some American Express cards won't fall into the 6 month extension. Namely the American Express Cobalt Card as it's welcome bonus is actually awarded monthly for the first 12 months with a minimum $500 spend in each month.  Here is the complete list of cards that are eligible:

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

• American Express^® AIR MILES^®* Credit Card
• American Express^® AIR MILES^®* Platinum Credit Card 
• American Express^® AIR MILES^®* Reserve Credit Card 
• American Express^® AIR MILES^®** for Business Card
• American Express^® AIR MILES^®** Gold Business Card
• American Express Business Edge™ Card
• American Express^® Business Gold Rewards Card
• Business Platinum Card^® from American Express
• American Express Cobalt^TM Card 
• American Express^® Gold Rewards Card
• Marriott Bonvoy^TM American Express^® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express^® Card
• The Platinum Card^® 
• SimplyCash^TM Card from American Express
• SimplyCash Preferred™ Card from American Express

Note: Cards with no links above are no longer available for new applications.

The cards that are bolded have some exclusions as follows:

	Offer Exclusions
American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Gold Card	Statement Credit Offer: Receive a $75 Statement Credit when you make 1 purchase of $75.00 or more on aircanada.com (Canadian Website Only) within the first 12 months of Cardmembership
American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Card	Statement Credit Offer: Receive a $150 Statement Credit when you make 1 purchase of $150.00 or more on aircanada.com (Canadian Website Only) within the first 12 months of Cardmembership New American Express® AeroplanPlus®* Platinum Cardmembers earn 40,000 Welcome Bonus Aeroplan®* Miles after spending $3,000 in their first three months of Cardmembership.  PLUS, receive a $150 Air Canada eGift Card after spending $6,000 in purchases in the first six months of Cardmembership.  Offer Dates: October 1, 2019 – January 10, 2020
American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card	Cardmembers acquired during Limited Time Offer: New American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card Cardmembers, get a welcome bonus of up to 3,500 AIR MILES®* Bonus Miles – here’s how: Get 1,700 Bonus Miles when you charge a total of $1,500 in purchases to your Card in the first 3 months of Cardmembership. Get up to 1,800 Bonus Miles - In your first 6 monthly billing periods as a new American Express® AIR MILES®* Platinum Credit Card Cardmember, you can get 150 Bonus Miles for every $500 you spend in purchases in each monthly billing period (up to a maximum of 300 Bonus Miles per monthly billing period). Offer Dates: November 4, 2019 – January 20, 2020
American Express® AIR MILES®* Reserve Credit Card	Cardmembers acquired during Limited Time Offer: New American Express® AIR MILES®*  Reserve Credit Card Cardmembers get a welcome bonus of up to 3,800 AIR MILES®* Bonus Miles – here’s how: Get 1,400 Bonus Miles when you charge a total of $3,000 in purchases to your Card in the first 3 months of Cardmembership. Get up to 2,400 Bonus Miles - In your first 6 monthly billing periods as a new American Express® AIR MILES®* Reserve Credit Card Cardmember, you can get 200 Bonus Miles for every $750 you spend in purchases in each monthly billing period (up to a maximum of 400 Bonus Miles per monthly billing period). Offer Dates: November 4, 2019 – January 20, 2020
American Express CobaltTM Card	Earn a bonus of 2,500 Membership Rewards points through this referral offer when you spend at least $50 (after taxes and shipping) in eligible purchases using your new Cobalt Card at Amazon.ca within the first 3 months of Cardmembership.  Offer Dates: March 31 – July 1, 2020 In your first year as a new Cobalt Cardmember, you can earn 2,500 Membership Rewards points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $500 in purchases on your Card.
American Express® Gold Rewards Card	Earn an additional 2,500 points for each monthly billing period in which you spend $1,000 in purchases on your Card in the first 6 months Offer Dates: September 2019 –current
SimplyCash Preferred™ Card from American Express	Earn 5% cashback in your first 6 months

Once again some great news from American Express as it follows the already announced boosting of redemption value for Membership Rewards points and doubling of the points earned and redeemed on The Platinum Card. The increased redemption value of Membership Rewards points runs until September 30 so you can easily tie in a new card offer like the Gold Rewards Card (Personal or Business) and take more than the standard 3 months to earn the welcome bonus as you have about 4.5 months left in the promotion. If you want to take the full 6 months to earn the bonus on The Platinum Card you wouldn't be looking at utilizing double redemption value as that ends in July but you'd be getting the card looking towards future travel with the welcome bonus and of course the earning of double points until July 20.

Learn more about the Welcome Bonus extensions here!

Title image via American Express

Aeroplan buy miles bonus of up to 115% starts now!

Just a friendly reminder that the amazing 115% bonus on buying Air Canada Aeroplan miles starts now! There are only 10 million miles available at 115% which means it won't last long - I'm guessing a few minutes at most. After that the bonus drops to a still very respectable 90% for the next 100 million miles and then drops to 65%.

Starting May 7 at 10:00 am ET until May 13 at 11:59 pm ET, Aeroplan members will be able to buy miles and receive bonus miles on their purchase:

* For the first 10 million Aeroplan Miles sold, members get a 115% bonus; equivalent to $0.014 CAD/mile + sales tax OR $0.01 USD/mile;
* The next 100 million miles sold, members get a bonus of 90%; equivalent to $0.016 CAD/mile + sales tax + $0.011 USD/mile;
* All miles sold after this will get a bonus of 65%; equivalent to $0.018 CAD/mile + sales tax OR + $0.013 USD/mile

If you have knowledge of buying miles and buy miles promotions you'll know right off the bat the first 10 millions miles at 0.014 cents CAD (1 cent USD) is truly one of the best buy miles offers ever. How so? For so many Aeroplan award flight options you can easily get 1.5 cents or more in value when redeeming for economy class flights and easily 2 to 7+ cents per mile when redeeming for business class or first class flights. Even at 1.8 cents per mile with the 65% bonus there is a lot of potential to be buying future premium class flights at a discount. When you buy miles you can buy up to 250,000 miles in one transaction and you have a 500,000 mile limit per year to buy miles - and those numbers are before bonuses.

 

You can access the Aeroplan buy miles page here

Let us know if you are one of the lucky ones who does get the 115% bonus!

British Airways Executive Club – 50% to 75% Bonus when you buy or gift Avios

A few days ago British Airways launched yet another buy Avios bonus. Once again for most members it is a 50% bonus - which is decent in its own right and has been a good option for building your Avios balance up in the past. However in today's market and uncertainty in future travel it may not make any sense to buy Avios now seeing that the 50% bonus makes its way to market several times per year. That being said there is also a 75% bonus for buying Avios that is for BAEC members who hold a British Airways co-branded credit card. We know the bonus is there for both U.K. and U.S. cardholders and are assuming it is the same for Canada but aren't 100% sure. Perhaps one of our readers who does have the RBC British Airways Visa could let us know if the 75% bonus offer shows up for them! If you do get the 75% bonus you may still not want to buy Avios but it is definitely more enticing!

Offer details:
Up to 75% Bonus Avios when you buy or gift Avios. Buy Avios here. Until May 18, 20
Bonus varies by member
50% bonus for non-BA credit card holders
75% bonus BA credit card holders

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for May - These cards provide some of the best value out of their welcome bonuses

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of May 2020! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition (welcome/sign up) offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the just sign up bonus, but when some of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when you grab them strictly for the sign up rewards. This month we see two first year free cards on the list!

The big change this month is the Platinum Card from American Express making the list for the very first time and in a big way jumps to the number one spot on the list. It's bonus is 60,000 points and it does have a $699 annual fee however until late July it has double the redemption value of those points (1,000 points = $20) which means the first 50,000 points on the card are worth $1,000 plus the additional 10,000 points you get after 6 months are worth another $100 giving you $1,100 in value or a $401 gain above the $699 annual fee. The other change this month is the BMO AIR MILE World Elite Mastercard dropping off the list as it's welcome bonus decreased this month.

Editor's Note:
As travel is curtailed right now these offers are more forward looking and can and should be used towards your long term travel plans - whether that's later this year, next year or even beyond. Getting the cards now allows you to achieve the sign up bonuses as you wish and then continue to spend to build up those points and miles balances to make those future vacations that much better. - Or in the case of all the cards except the Alaska Airlines Mastercard you can also look at cash back or cash back equivalents like gift cards from each program if you are looking at short term financial help. If you are going for the latter focus on the cards that have no fee in the first year so that you can maximize your value.

Remember as well that you will find this list smack dab in the middle of the Rewards Canada homepage for easy reference!

Here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for May (in order of welcome bonus value, calculated as minimum mile/points value minus annual fee)

The Number one card has changed as its offer was removed from market.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card - 50,000 Points (Apply here)

No changes to this card means it stays put on the list The 50,000 points, awarded after spending $1,500 on the card in three months are worth at least $500 in our minds which means after subtracting the annual fee you are coming out ahead by $380. In reality you can pull even more value out of the card (into four figures) as we outlined in our post A look at how The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card provides huge value!  Don't forget you get an annual free night with the card as well on the card anniversary date!
Minimum Income: N/A

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card - 30,000 Miles (Apply here)

This is the only first year free card on the list this month and if you are just starting out I would recommend getting this card first thanks to that annual fee waiver! The bonus is awarded as follows: 15,000 Aeroplan Miles when you make your first Purchase with your Card + 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you spend $1,000 per month in the first three months (up to 15,000 miles) Depending on how you redeem those Aeroplan miles should be worth no less than $360 but more likely closer to $800 or more! In fact if you take the per mile value from our post from late July 2019 this welcome bonus would be worth $1,800 or more.
Minimum Income: $60,000 Personal or $100,000 Household

Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard - 30,000 Miles (Apply here)

This card offers a welcome bonus of 30,000 miles when you spend $1,000 on the card in the first three months of having it. This is one of the easiest bonuses to achieve and this card is one of the most churnable in Canada. There are really no problems in getting it 2-4 times in one year alone! Those 30,000 miles are worth no less than $330 when redeeming for economy class flights and just go up from there like the TD Aeroplan card.
Minimum Income: $80,000 Personal or $150,000 Household

HSBC World Elite Mastercard - 60,000 points (Apply here)
This card offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 points, split between 20,000 on first purchase and 40,000 more when you spend $6,000 within 180 days of getting the card. The annual fee of $149 is waived in the first year as well meaning these points come to you at no cost other than card spend.The card has a lot of other good benefits like no foreign transaction fees to consider as well! Those 60,000 points are worth $300 in travel rewards but those points can also be converted to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. 

Minimum Income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household or $400,000 in assets at any Canadian Financial Institution


If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with anywhere from $1,700 to over $3,000 in travel value. However even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly at no cost other than regular credit card spend. We don't really recommend getting all five in one month unless you know you can meet the minimum spend for them all at once, rather you'd want to pick one or two right now, perhaps another next month and so on.

Disclaimers:
American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link.

Sponsored advertising. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete and current information on any TD product, please visit the TD site. 

5 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per dollar via the Aeroplan eStore when paying with a CIBC or American Express Aeroplan co-branded card

In addition to the big news of Aeroplan launching their first buy miles bonus they announced in the email to us that until the end of May members who use their CIBC or American Express Aeroplan co-branded credit cards will earn an additional 5 miles per dollar spent. This is on top of the current Mother's Day bonus of up to 7x miles at select retailers.


Here is what Aeroplan provided to us:

Earn 5 extra miles per $1 spent for purchases via the Aeroplan eStore when using your CIBC® Aeroplan® Credit Card or American Express® AeroplanPlus® Card. These bonus miles are in addition to the miles a member would regularly earn for using their card at checkout.

This offer runs until May 31 and there is no set landing page for the credit card bonus or mention of it on the Travel at Home page or on the eStore but be sure this is straight from Aeroplan so the offer is valid. Just note as well that TD Aeroplan co-branded cards are not included in this offer.

 Visit the eStore here!

Learn more about Aeroplan co-branded credit cards here.
 

Get ready! Aeroplan's first buy miles promotion to offer up to a 115% bonus where you buy miles for as little as 1.4 cents - launches on May 7

Air Canada’s Aeroplan has been one of the most engaging and active programs during this pandemic we are in and they just continue to be at the forefront. They reached out to this morning to let us know about this amazing new offer that was supposed to happen back in March but of course was delayed because of the crisis.

At the start of March Aeroplan began selling miles full time - that is not at the time of redeeming for an award rather you could buy miles at any time without an award at anytime. Aeroplan was basically playing catch up here as most airline and hotel programs allowed their members to buy points or miles at anytime. Also the majority of the programs that sell their currencies run limited time offers of buying them with either bonus points or miles or discounts on the per mile price. We had hoped when Aeroplan launched the buy miles option back on March 24 that they would also provide bonus offers and we now know they will! And their first one is pretty darn amazing with a up to a 115% bonus when you buy miles starting on May 7th! Here's how the promotion from May 7 to the 13th will work:

Starting May 7 at 10:00 am ET until May 13 at 11:59 pm ET, Aeroplan members will be able to buy miles and receive bonus miles on their purchase:

* For the first 10 million Aeroplan Miles sold, members get a 115% bonus; equivalent to $0.014 CAD/mile + sales tax OR $0.01 USD/mile;
* The next 100 million miles sold, members get a bonus of 90%; equivalent to $0.016 CAD/mile + sales tax + $0.011 USD/mile;
* All miles sold after this will get a bonus of 65%; equivalent to $0.018 CAD/mile + sales tax OR + $0.013 USD/mile

If you have knowledge of buying miles and buy miles promotions you'll know right off the bat the first 10 millions miles at 0.014 cents CAD (1 cent USD) is truly one of the best buy miles offers ever. How so? For so many Aeroplan award flight options you can easily get 1.5 cents or more in value when redeeming for economy class flights and easily 2 to 7+ cents per mile when redeeming for business class or first class flights. Even at 1.8 cents per mile with the 65% bonus there is a lot of potential to be buying future premium class flights at a discount.

When you buy miles you can buy up to 250,000 miles in one transaction and you have a 500,000 mile limit per year to buy miles - and those numbers are before bonuses. So it is entirely possible that first 10 million miles that are sold could go to only 20 people and there will be a mad rush for them on May 7 at 10am ET. Personally I probably won't be buying any miles right now as we are sitting on well into seven figures of points and miles in Aeroplan and Aeroplan equivalents (ie Membership Rewards, Marriott etc.) but for many of you who are trying to plan for travel down the road and  are ready to buy some miles speculatively this is a promotion to seriously consider.

This promotion falls into Aeroplan's overarching campaign called Travel at Home which includes the current promotion where you can earn Altitude 25K Elite Status buy earning 50,000 Aeroplan Miles by May 31. It is noted by Aeroplan that when you buy miles 50% of them (including bonus) will count towards the Altitude promotion - so if you buy 50,000 miles at the onset you will also receive Altitude 25K status. It will take ~53,000 miles at 90% or ~61,000 miles to also reach the 25K status  . If you already have status you could also go the route of buying 250,000 miles or miles to get the special promotion of getting a one tier level boost up to Elite 75K.

It doesn't end there! Aeroplan with their partner Points.com will be matching a portion of the Aeroplan Miles purchased and donate them to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). 

If this promotion is for you be sure to set an alarm on your phone for a few minutes prior to 10am ET on May 7 to try to get in on the 115% bonus! You can access the Aeroplan buy miles page here - be sure to bookmark and have it ready!

We have to give kudos to Aeroplan - they have really chosen to stand out over the past few months and are the loyalty program that every other airline and hotel corporation should be watching and emulating.