Choice Hotels: Earn up to 8,000 bonus Privileges points when you complete two stays by September 7 (enough points for a free night)

Choice Hotels summer promotion is here and…… it is the same offer we always see from them! They word the promotions differently in terms of get a free night or get a $50 gift card. In the end the promos are the same, they will award you enough bonus points after you complete 2 separate stays to have 8,000 points after those stays. This time it is being promoted once again as the free night offer as those 8,000 points can be redeemed for a free night at select Choice Hotels around the world. With so many of us planning to just road trip within Canada this is definitely a promotion to consider - at the very least register for it now just in case you forget later on and do end up having some Choice Hotel stays. And keep you eyes out for two offers coming from Best Western as well in the next few days!

Offer details:
Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points after every two separate qualifying stays at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Jun 10 – Sep 7, 20
For residents of the U.S. and Canada only

Stays at vacation rental property locations and Choice Hotels^® properties in the following countries are excluded from this promotion: Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia

Registered members will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 to a maximum of 8,000 bonus points after the second qualifying stay. The number of bonus points awarded depends on the number of base points earned from the two separate qualifying stays, with points varying by hotel. The total of base points plus bonus points awarded, however, will be at least 8,000 points, which is the number of points required for a future free night at over 1,000 Choice® hotels worldwide

Image via Choice Hotels

Today only - Earn 50,000 bonus PC Optimum points for when you spend $150+ online with Shoppers Drug Mart

Today sees another online shopping bonus from PC Optimum - this offer is a one day bonus where you can earn 50,000 PC Optimum points when you spend $150 or more online with Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty. Those 50,000 points are worth $50 so if you can shop right around that $150 mark you would be scoring a 33% return. Find out more about this offer here.

June 9 Update: Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu now part of Stay Close offer, Best Western members in Manitoba receiving a free $25 gift card, WestJet refund email came in sooner than expected

One more Canadian hotel has been added to Fairmont's Stay Close offer. The Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu is now part of this deal as well as two Fairmont Mayakoba properties in Mexico. The Stay Close offer is slightly different than the Explore Canada offer we discussed last week in that the booking window for Stay Close is longer at July 8 versus June 16 but the stay period is only until December 31 versus June 30, 2021 with Explore Canada. So you have a couple of options to choose from in terms of booking a 2 for 1 deal. Find out more about the Stay Close offer here.

Image via Fairmont Hotels

Rewards Canada contributor Jeff W. forwarded a great gift he received from Best Western Hotels. Since he is from Winnipeg he received a $25 Best Western Gift Card - just for being based in Manitoba. The email definitely seems to encourage travel within Manitoba for Manitobans. And as Jeff mentioned to me - he can buy a Best Western Travel Card with the 20% bonus right now and add this $25 gift card to have $145 to spend for only $100. I'd be curious if any of the Rewards Canada community also received a gift card at no cost to them? Let me know in the comments below and what province you are based in! We'd love to figure out if this is just a Manitoba thing or if it is nationwide.

Image via Jeff W (via Best Western email)

Yesterday I posted details about WestJet now issuing refunds at customer's requests if they had flights booked to the U.S. or U.K. In my post I provided a breakdown of when you should be able to call in to request your refund and based on my travel dates that date would have been June 16. However my wife and I each received the WestJet refund emails yesterday afternoon. Guess who I'll be calling in the next few days as I don't think I'll call right now:

Images via WestJet

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 China is planning on flying the following route once per week for this month Beijing Capital – Vancouver – Shenyang – Beijing Capital (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.

Posts since our last update:

• Big savings at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, Autograph Collection with this Travelzoo offer
  Another great Travelzoo offer to let you know about! (Yes Travelzoo is an affiliate partner of Rewards Canada) This…
• You can now earn Aeroplan Miles with Uber Eats and receive 10x miles with the special launch offer!
  Air Canada has landed a great new partner that is now being offered via the Aeroplan eStore and that partner…
• June 8 Update: A new card has been crowned as the best Mastercard to use at Costco & Cogeco users may not have got our newsletter last week
  Last week saw the devaluation of the Rogers World Elite Mastercard take place (read more about changes here) which…

Deals:

Fairmont Hotels Explore Canada offer - Get every 2nd night free for stays at 18 Fairmont Hotels until June 30, 2021

Save 20% on all Air Canada flights within Canada when you book by June 16 - good for travel until May 15, 2021!

Instacart: Get $10 when you place your first order with Instacart! Register here.

Save 20% for summer stays at Toronto's Le Germain Hotel Maple Leaf Square

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. Find out more here

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)

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

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 500 Bonus ALL Rewards Points for stays at participating hotels in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Sweden. More... Until Sep 1, 20

Caesars Rewards
- 100 Bonus Tier Credits when you make your first verified purchase with a Caesars Rewards Marketplace Card-Linked Retailer. More... Until Jul 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn up to 3,000 bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at the Sheraton Grand Macao, Cotai Strip. More... Jun 11 - Jul 7, 20

Rocketmiles
- 5,000 Bonus Miles / Points with most Rocketmiles partners when you make your first booing at select properties Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 20

SAS EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus Points for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21
- Triple EuroBonus Points for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21


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Big savings at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, Autograph Collection with this Travelzoo offer

Another great Travelzoo offer to let you know about! (Yes Travelzoo is an affiliate partner of Rewards Canada) This time it is for the  Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, Autograph Collection which is less than an hour away from Calgary. The hotel is part of the Marriott family of hotels and is well known for its Nordic Spa which unfortunately at the time of posting is still closed however it will open for massages on June 19. There is no word yet on when the pools and sauna will open. Nonetheless if you are looking for an Alberta staycation this is a pretty good deal where you can go explore the Kananaskis area.

The deal has you purchase a 100% refundable voucher for stays at the hotel. Once you have the voucher you simply call the hotel to book your stay.

Here's what is included:

• Accommodations in a Guest Room with two queens or one king bed:
  • $185 per night ... Sundays-Thursdays from June 15 - Sept. 30
  • $249 per night ... Fridays-Saturdays from Sept. 11-26
• Not available on: July 31; Aug. 1-2; Sept. 4-6
• Note: The following amenities are temporarily closed as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic: pool, fitness centre and steam room, Kananaskis Nordic Spa, children's play centre, Cedar Room, Blacktail Bar, and Woody's Pub & Patio

Note that taxes and parking fees are not included in the price and must be paid at the hotel. While these stays will not earn Marriott Bonvoy points you can use your Marriott co-brand American Express card to pay for the incidentals and taxes and earn 5 points for each dollar spent. 

For comparison here are some screenshots of what the hotel is charging when you book direct with them (before taxes and fees):

Late June, one night on Sunday June 28:

And mid-week September, one night from the 15 to 16th

The voucher can in fact provide even more savings than what Travelzoo advertises as a 37% discount. Although I would believe the pricing on Marriott's site will come down for September as I feel like they are speculating right now with the higher price and trying to maximize revenue per room at this time. Even if the price does fall this Travelzoo offer does seem to have that pricing beat.

Learn more about and book this offer here.

You can now earn Aeroplan Miles with Uber Eats and receive 10x miles with the special launch offer!

Air Canada has landed a great new partner that is now being offered via the Aeroplan eStore and that partner is Uber Eats. As of today when you place orders with Uber Eats via the eStore you can earn Aeroplan miles on those purchases.

To celebrate the launch Aeroplan is offering 10 miles per dollar spent with Uber Eats until June 15. After that date members will earn at least 2 Aeroplan Miles per dollar spent. This new partnership works with Uber Eats in Canada and the U.S.. This also means you can now earn extra Aeroplan Miles from places that you may never have been able to from before like Tim Hortons, Starbucks and 7-Eleven!


Here's how to earn earn miles with Uber Eats:

1. Visit aeroplan.com/ubereats
2. Click on the 'Shop Now' button and enter an Aeroplan Number and last name to be automatically redirected to Uber Eats.
3. Complete you purchase as normal through the Uber Eats app or website using a new or existing Uber account.

Remember as well you can combine this with other offers such as American Express' Uber Eats promotion of spend $10 get a $5 statement credit. See our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers' for more details! Plus if you use a credit card like the American Express Cobalt Card you'll earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent.

Here is an important note from Aeroplan regarding Uber Eats (and pretty much every other retailer via the eStore)
To earn Aeroplan Miles, you must complete your purchase during the same shopping session you start after clicking on the eStore link. Order must be placed within 2 hours of clicking on the Uber Eats offer to be eligible. If you visit other sites before completing your purchase or use coupons not provided by eStore, you may not earn Aeroplan Miles on your purchase. If you disable cookies on your computer you will not be able to earn Aeroplan Miles, as cookies are used to authenticate you and allocate miles to your account. 

 I am super excited to see this partnership as we haven't seen much in terms of new non-travel partners coming on board with Aeroplan for quite a few years now. If this is any indication of what Air Canada is planning to do with the program when it re-launches later this year then I think we are all in for some good things..... that is as long as they don't devalue the reward side.

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June 8 Update: A new card has been crowned as the best Mastercard to use at Costco & Cogeco users may not have got our newsletter last week

Last week saw the devaluation of the Rogers World Elite Mastercard take place (read more about changes here) which means we needed to update our feature Top 5 Mastercard Cards to use at Costco as the Rogers card is no longer the best card to use at Costco in terms of rewards earned.

If you subscribe to our weekly newsletter and have your email address with Cogeco it looks like you didn't get our newsletter from this past Friday. For some unknown reason Cogeco bounced 70+ of your emails back to us. You can read that last issue online here. Hopefully that issue will be fixed for this week's newsletter. If this issue happens again this week we'll reach out to Cogeco to see why we may be on their blacklist....

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!

No route news for today.

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.

Posts since our last update:

• World of Hyatt summer stay promotion: Triple Points on all stays starting with 2nd stay (Elites get 2,500 points on 1st stay)
  Hyatt Hotels is the first major hotel chain to release a new systemwide stay promotion during the pandemic. While…
• WestJet will provide refunds for U.S. and U.K. tickets cancelled between March 1 and June 30
  Late last week the Canadian media picked up the news that WestJet will begin to offer refunds for those…
• Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa offering 10% bonus cash back at restaurants and bars for first four months
  Another 10% cash back offer to pass along your way although this one isn't on all spending like the…
• June 5 Update: 20x PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases and NEXUS enrollment centres closure extended to July 6
  This weekend you can earn 20X PC Optimum points when you spend $75 or more online with Shoppers Drug…

Deals:

Fairmont Hotels Explore Canada offer - Get every 2nd night free for stays at 18 Fairmont Hotels until June 30, 2021

Save 20% on all Air Canada flights within Canada when you book by June 16 - good for travel until May 15, 2021!

Instacart: Get $10 when you place your first order with Instacart! Register here.

Save 20% for summer stays at Toronto's Le Germain Hotel Maple Leaf Square

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. Find out more here

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)
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

Best Western Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points on your next stay at a Best Western® branded hotel. More... (Registration is required) Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone Until Jun 30, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn up to 3,000 bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at over 80 Marriott Hotels in China, Hong Kong & Macau. More... Jun 11 - Jul 7, 20

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21
- Triple Miles & More Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21

World of Hyatt
- Triple World of Hyatt Points starting with your second stay at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels and Lindblad Expeditions. More... Register by Aug 31 for stays Jun 15 – Sep 15, 20
- 2,500 Bonus World of Hyatt Points + Triple Points for stays at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels and Lindblad Expeditions. More... For Elite members only. Register by Aug 31 for stays Jun 15 – Sep 15, 20


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World of Hyatt summer stay promotion: Triple Points on all stays starting with 2nd stay (Elites get 2,500 points on 1st stay)

Hyatt Hotels is the first major hotel chain to release a new systemwide stay promotion during the pandemic. While we did see Hilton extend their offer it wasn’t new and the only other chain to come close has been Radisson but their offer wouldn’t be considered systemwide. This new Hyatt promotion is split into two offers – one for base level World of Hyatt members and one for elite members. The base level offer provides 3x points on all stays starting with your second stay while the elite offer provides 2,500 bonus points on your first stay and then the 3x points on all stays after that.

Basic Member Offer details:
Triple World of Hyatt Points starting with your second stay at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels and Lindblad Expeditions. Register online (Registration is required) Register by Aug 31 for stays Jun 15 – Sep 15, 20

Elite Member Offer details:
2,500 Bonus World of Hyatt Points + Triple Points for stays at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide and participating M life Rewards destinations, Small Luxury Hotels of the World hotels and Lindblad Expeditions. 2,500 bonus points will be awarded on your first stay and then the 3x points on all stays after that. Register online (Registration is required) Register by Aug 31 for stays Jun 15 – Sep 15, 20

As a World of Hyatt elite member I had no issues registering today for the Elite Member offer:

Whether I will earn any points with this offer is yet to be seen. I don't think we'll be leaving the country before September 15 and Hyatt's footprint in Canada is still quite small so the likelihood of getting some bonus points remains low. If anything a staycation at the Hyatt Regency Calgary may be an possibility or if we make our way up to Edmonton we could try out the Hyatt Place Edmonton West.

WestJet will provide refunds for U.S. and U.K. tickets cancelled between March 1 and June 30

Late last week the Canadian media picked up the news that WestJet will begin to offer refunds for those travellers who had flights booked with them for travel to the U.S. or the U.K.. This policy started to emerge slowly in May as it confirms an email that FlyerTalk user rowdyfeifer received stating their U.S. itinerary was now eligible for a refund:

Credit: FlyerTalk

This change is due largely in part to the U.S. Department of Transportation enforcing rules for airlines (U.S. based and foreign carriers flying to the U.S.) to issue refunds to travellers. I would assume something similar has transpired for the U.K. since WestJet has added in those flights for refunds as well. If WestJet chose not to refund tickets they could face stiff penalties from these governments. As there is no action from Canada, Mexico and other Latin American countries on forcing refunds those itineraries will continue to see cancelled flights being credited as WestJet Travel Bank credits or if it is a WestJet Vacation package as WestJet dollars. Same goes for WestJet's continental Europe flights at this point as the EU has not enforced any of their refund rules just yet.

If you had flights to the U.S. or U.K. that were cancelled and want to have a refund processed you can follow this schedule based on your flight dates:

Photo Credit: YYCCL3 on FlyerTalk

Going back to rowdyfeifer's post on FlyerTalk the email stated only flights from March 1 to 28 could get refunds. I considered calling WestJet for a refund on my family's U.S. flights from April that were cancelled by WestJet but decided to wait as I figured they were going to systematically contact those with U.S. itineraries. I now see from the chart above that is what WestJet is planning and that I can contact WestJet on or after June 16 to process those refunds. The key to getting a refund however seems to be that email stating you can get a refund. Based on the discussion on FlyerTalk if you call in for a refund they will only process it if you have received an email stating you can get a refund.

Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa offering 10% bonus cash back at restaurants and bars for first four months

Another 10% cash back offer to pass along your way although this one isn't on all spending like the majority of the big bank offers that are available right now. This offer is for the Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa card and it provides that 10% cash back welcome bonus on spend at restaurants and bars for the first months of having the card. The 10% is only awarded on the first $500 of spending or an extra $30 in cash back over what you'd normally earn on the card in that category. This is a no annual fee card however you do have to be a Simplii Financial client to apply for and have this card. As part of new approvals the card is also offering a 10.99% interest rate on purchases until February 2021.

Regular earn rates on this card are as follow:

• 4% cash back on eligible restaurant, bar and coffee shop purchases, up to $5,000 per year
• 1.5% cash back on eligible gas, groceries, drugstore purchases and pre-authorized payments, up to $15,000 per year
• 0.5% on all other credit card purchases with no limit on how much you can earn

The card also offers purchase protection and extended warranty insurance as its only benefits.

Learn more about and apply for this offer here.

June 5 Update: 20x PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases and NEXUS enrollment centres closure extended to July 6

This weekend you can earn 20X PC Optimum points when you spend $75 or more online with Shoppers Drug Mart. Find out more here.

Image via Shoppers Drug Mart

If you have planning to apply for a NEXUS card so that you can have it ready when travel ramps again you'll have to wait until at least July to get it. You can go online and complete your application for NEXUS however the U.S. Customs and Border Control have extended the closure of their enrollment centres until July 6. This means you won't be able to have your interview completed until at least that time. Learn more here

Image via US CBP

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 Canada flew their last Boeing 767-300 revenue flight earlier this week which means all international routes will be flown with 787s, 777s and A330s. Such is the case when Air Canada resumes their Calgary-Tokyo flight in 2021 as it is now set to be flown with a Boeing 787-8. (Source RoutesOnline)

British Airways is planning to offer daily service from Toronto and Vancouver to London Heathrow for the month of July. We know they have canned Calgary service for 2020 and still have no word on Montreal flights. (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.

Posts since our last update:

• Save 20% on Avis car rentals in Canada and a tip for getting them at a lower price
  The final part of the three part promotion from Air Canada, Avis and Fairmont Hotels that we still need…
• New welcome offer on the BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard 10% cash back in your first 3 months and annual fee waived in the first year
  BMO is getting in on the 10% game that we have now seen from most of the big banks…
• Save 20% for summer stays at Toronto's Le Germain Hotel Maple Leaf Square
  Travelzoo has advertised an offer for stays at the Le Germain Hotel Maple Leaf Square in Toronto. You can…
• June 4 Update: Canada's 1st Red Roof Inn now set to open in August, Hyatt extends COVID-19 cancellation policy, up to 50,000 bonus Be Well points at Rexall this weekend
  We've mentioned in some blog posts some time ago that Canada's first Red Roof Inn was slated to open…

Deals:

Fairmont Hotels Explore Canada offer - Get every 2nd night free for stays at 18 Fairmont Hotels until June 30, 2021

Save 20% on all Air Canada flights within Canada when you book by June 16 - good for travel until May 15, 2021!

Instacart: Get $10 when you place your first order with Instacart! Register here.

Save 20% for summer stays at Toronto's Le Germain Hotel Maple Leaf Square

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. Find out more here

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)
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

Avianca LifeMiles
- Earn up to 6x LifeMiles when you rent with Dollar in the Americas or Europe.More... Until Dec 31, 20
- Double LifeMiles when you rent with Dollar in the Americas or Europe. More... Until Dec 31, 20
- 2,500 Bonus LifeMiles when you rent with Dollar for 1 or more days in the Americas or Europe. More... Until Dec 31, 20
- 1,500 Bonus LifeMiles when you rent with Dollar for 1 or more days in the Americas or Europe. More... Until Dec 31, 20
- 1,500 Bonus LifeMiles when you rent with Thrifty for 1 or more days in the Americas or Europe. More... Until Dec 31, 20

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays at the Best Western Plus Premium Inn Sunny Beach More... Until Jun 30, 20
- Triple Rewards Points or Airline Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at the Best Western Harvest Inn & Suites Grand Forks More... Until Jun 30, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points, free breakfast & US$25 daily hotel credit for stays at the Courtyard by Marriott Phnom Penh. More... Book by Aug 31, 20

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Double Frequent Flyer Points for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21
- Triple Frequent Flyer Points for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Double KrisFlyer Miles when you rent a car for 3 or more days with Hertz in Asia, USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand More... Book by Jul 31 for rentals until Dec 15, 20


Follow Rewards Canada:

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