WestJet further extends Transborder & International flights suspension to June 25 plus provides domestic schedule updates

In yesterday's WestJet media brief they provided details of their planned flight schedule  for travel between June 5 and July 4. As can be expected the airline will continue to not fly many routes within Canada outside of those that are critical for essential travel and cargo. WestJet has also confirmed that they are further extending the suspension of transborder and international flights to June 25 for the time being.

Here are the domestic routes that WestJet has chosen to not operate for this schedule update as well as new start dates for several summer seasonal routes.

Domestic route suspensions from June 5 through July 4, 2020 

Market	Previous frequency
Vancouver – Nanaimo	2x daily
Vancouver – Comox	1x daily
Vancouver – Regina	4x weekly
Vancouver – Saskatoon	1x daily
Vancouver – Winnipeg	3x daily
Vancouver - Fort St. John	1x daily
Vancouver – Cranbrook	1x daily
Vancouver - Ottawa	2x daily
Vancouver - Montreal	6 to 13x weekly
Vancouver - Halifax	6x weekly
Kelowna – Victoria	12x weekly
Calgary - Prince George	1x daily
Calgary - Ottawa	2x daily
Calgary - Montreal	2x daily
Calgary – London, ON	1 to 2x daily
Calgary - Halifax	3x daily
Calgary - St. John's	1x daily
Edmonton – Comox	8x weekly
Edmonton – Victoria	20x weekly
Edmonton - Kelowna	7x daily
Edmonton - Grande Prairie	13x weekly
Edmonton – Yellowknife	1x daily
Edmonton - Saskatoon	3x daily
Edmonton - Regina	3x daily
Edmonton - Winnipeg	20x weekly
Edmonton - Ottawa	4x weekly
Edmonton - Montreal	3x weekly
Edmonton – Halifax	10x weekly
Edmonton - St. John's	4x weekly
Winnipeg – Ottawa	1x daily
Winnipeg – Regina	1x daily
Winnipeg - Halifax	1x daily
Toronto - Victoria	4x weekly
Toronto – Regina	10x weekly
Toronto – Saskatoon	12x weekly
Halifax - Montreal	2x daily

The following domestic markets will have a new seasonal start date: 

Market	New start date
Calgary - Quebec City	6-Jul-20
Calgary - Charlottetown	5-Jul-20
Winnipeg - Montreal	5-Jul-20
Toronto - Kelowna	5-Jul-20
Toronto – Sydney, NS	5-Jul-20

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Receive 20% off Marriott Gift Cards until May 17

With travel at a virtual standstill, travel providers are having a hard time bringing in much needed cash. We've seen hotel chains sell points to card issuers (Hilton and Marriott) and we are starting to see more travel providers attempting to boost immediate cash flow by launching promotions for future travel by discounting or bonusing products that can give them cash right now.

The latest offer came this morning from Marriott who are offering 20% off e-gift cards that you can use to pay for future stays at any time since these cards don't expire. This is a great way to get some savings for your future travels or even close in if you have essential travel that is required. The cards are sold in US$ but can be used at any Marriott Hotel worldwide.  The gift cards come in $50, $100, $250, $500 or $1000 options and you can buy up to $5,000 in cards per day. Also you should be aware that you cannot use Marriott gift cards on prepaid stays.

Marriott also announced that once the gift card sale is done they will be offering a bonus on selling Marriott Bonvoy points starting on May 18. The bonus will be 60% which is the highest ever seen from Marriott. The points sale bonus will run until June 30 so there will be some time to contemplate the offer to see if it makes sense for you. At 60% you are buying Marriott Points at about C$ 1.1 cents each. On the lower end we value Bonvoy points at 1 cent each so you can take that into account but there are many award night opportunities that are worth a heck of a lot more than 1.1 cents so you can come out ahead with the bonus.

Learn more about the Marriott gift card offer here 

Here are the full terms and conditions:

• Marriott’s GiftCard promotion is limited to eGiftCards in denominations of $50, $100, $250, $500 and $1,000 (United States Dollars). Offer is valid from May 11 through May 17 while supplies last.
• Marriott GiftCards may be used at Hotels operating under the following Marriott brands and at participating retail, spa, golf and food and beverage outlets:
  AC Hotels by Marriott®, Aloft®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Courtyard®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, EDITION®, Element®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Gaylord Hotels®, JW Marriott®, Le Méridien®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Hotels®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Moxy Hotels , Protea Hotels by Marriott®, Renaissance® Hotels, Residence Inn®, Sheraton®, SpringHill Suites®, St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, The Ritz-Carlton, The Ritz-Carlton Reserve® hotels, TownePlace Suites®, Tribute Portfolio™, W®, Westin®
• The following brands in the Marriott portfolio DO NOT accept Marriott GiftCards:
  Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts, Design Hotels™, Homes & Villas by Marriott International™, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club®, The Ritz-Carlton Residences.
• Marriott GiftCards and the Marriott Shop Retail Gift Cards may be redeemed on participating retail sites toward the purchase of Marriott retail branded merchandise:
  Marriott Hotels, shopmarriott.com; Courtyard Hotels, shopcourtyard.com; JW Hotels, curatedbyjw.com; Gaylord Hotels, gaylordhotelsstore.com; Renaissance Hotels, collectrenaissance.com; Fairfield Inn & Suites, shopfairfieldinn.com
• Card carries no value until activated. Card is a prepaid card, not a credit card or debit card, and is the property of and issued by MI Fulfillment Services, LLC.
• Card is available in United States Dollars only.
• Card does not expire.
• Card is not redeemable for cash in any amount except when otherwise required by applicable law.
• Card becomes inactive upon use of all card value.
• Card may not be used for deposit, advance purchase or to secure or confirm a reservation. 
• Each transaction will be debited against card balance, if transaction exceeds balance, user must pay the difference.
• Lost, stolen or damaged cards will be replaced only if previously registered on gifts.marriott.com. Value of replaced card will equal balance on card at the time it was reported lost, stolen or damaged.
• To check card balance, visit gifts.marriott.com. 
• For Customer Service call +1 800.442.6132 or email Gifts@marriott.com.

 

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BA Executive Club Buy Avios Bonus only 50% for Canadian British Airways credit card holders

Last Wednesday we posted about the latest British Airways Executive Club buy Avios bonus that runs until May 18. The bonus as seen in other countries like the U.S. and U.K. is 50% for those members who don't hold a British Airways co-branded credit card but was 75% for those who do have one. We weren't 100% sure if that was the case for those in Canada who have the RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card so we reached out to the Rewards Canada community to find out. One of our readers, Dennis C who has the RBC BA card logged into his account and only showed a 50% bonus. Based on this I would have to assume that this unfortunately means that Canadian BA credit card holders aren't getting the same bonus as seen by those in the U.S. and U.K. This is really too bad as we've never seen a 75% bonus before from British Airways and as Dennis puts it:

"Which is not fair, but that is par for the course here in Canada!"

Anyways here's a recap of the offer which now has the 75% wording removed from our site:

Offer details:
50% Bonus Avios when you buy or gift Avios. Buy Avios here. Until May 18, 20

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



Follow Rewards Canada:

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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