Great offer from Rocketmiles – 5,000 bonus miles or points on your first hotel booking (includes Aeroplan)

You may have seen this over on our global site a couple of days ago and am finally getting around to posting here on RC!

Rocketmiles, the third party hotel booking site that award miles and points from dozens of airline and other loyalty programs has their eyes set on the return to travel! For the remainder of the year you can earn 5,000 bonus miles or points in most of their partner programs including Aeroplan for your first hotel booking made with them. That means you need to be a new customer or at least never booked with them if you are already registered and set up with Rocketmiles.

Offer details:
5,000 Bonus Miles / Points with most Rocketmiles partners when you make your first booing at select properties Worldwide. Full details & online booking. Until Dec 31, 20

Here is one example of a hotel booking in Toronto in July where the bonus applies for Aeroplan:

7,000 miles for one night isn't too shabby! Granted you don't earn points from the hotel program on these stays but it is a good bonus to consider for a one night stay.

June 11 Update: Up to 5x Aeroplan miles with select eStore retailers for Father's Day, big AIR MILES bonuses for Safeway/Sobeys liquor, earn Double Stamps for Sandman Hotel stays

You can earn up to 5x Aeroplan Miles with select online retailers via the Aeroplan eStore with their Father's Day event. This offer runs until June 21 and some of the 5x miles retailers include Banana Republic, Indigo and New Balance. Find out more here.

Some big AIR MILES bonuses can be had for shopping at Sobeys or Safeway liquor stores this week! This offer is valid until June 17

Rexall will offering 50x Be Well points when you spend $50 or more on beauty products today. 50x points equates to a 20% return on those purchases.

I updated the American Express Cobalt Multiplier list as I ordered a few pints of locally made craft ice cream from Calgary's Village Ice Cream (curbside pick-up of course) I was able to pay with my Cobalt Card via their online order form and it has already posted as 5x points. See this merchant and others on our American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations page

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!

There is a big update to Air Canada's International services between June and September. RoutesOnline does a great job of outlining them all here but some key changes are Calgary to Frankfurt and London; Toronto to Dubai and Delhi; Vancouver to Frankfurt relaunches being pushed back to August 1. You can also find June and July frequencies on Air Canada's site.

Air France is planning to bump up their Montreal to Paris flights to 10 per week as of July 6 and have Toronto to Paris at 3 flights per week (Source: RoutesOnline)

It appears Austrian Airlines isn't planning on restarting their Montreal to Vienna flights until October. (Source RoutesOnline)

JAL (Japan Airlines) will be operating 2 flights per week for the month of July between Vancouver and Tokyo Narita. (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:

• Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for June - These cards provide the best value out of their welcome bonuses
  Welcome to a new monthly feature here on the Rewards Canada blog - The Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card…
• Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express sees limited time increase in points for office supply & electronic purchases
  American Express is doing it again at they keeps doling out increased value for cards in their portfolio. We've…
• AIR MILES Bonus Boom returns June 18 through July 1
  Back on March 17 AIR MILES decided to postpone their big Mega Miles promotion due to the COVID-19 Pandemic…
• Best Western to offer multiple $25 gift card offers for summer stays
  Best Western emailed us this morning to give us a heads up on their summer promotions. The first one…
• 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…
• 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…

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!

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

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

Sandman Hotels Lucky13 Rewards

- Double Lucky13 rewards stamps for stays at all participating Sandman Hotels in Canada and the U.S. More... Until Dec 31, 20

Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 500 Bonus ALL Rewards Points for stays at participating Accor hotels in Spain. More... Until Jul 5, 20

Choice Privileges
- Earn up to 8,000 Bonus Privileges Points after every two separate qualifying stays at participating Choice Hotels Worldwide. More... For residents of the U.S. and Canada only Jun 10 – Sep 7, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- Earn up to 3,000 bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at over 9 Hotels in Hong Kong. More... Jun 11 - Jul 7, 20
- Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stay at 17 participating Marriott Hotels in Taiwan. More... . Jun 11 - Jul 7, 20

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

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Double ROP Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide.More... Until Mar 31, 21
- Triple ROP Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21

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

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Double Flying Club Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21
- Triple Flying Club Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21


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

Welcome to a new monthly feature here on the Rewards Canada blog - The Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers. This feature is pretty much the same as the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers that we been posting for travel rewards cards for the better part of four or more years! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Cash Back 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 all five of the cards offering the first year free.

Here are our top 5 cash back credit card sign up offers for June (in alphabetical order for this first month since 4 out of the 5 cards are pretty much the same offer!)

BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard  - 10% cash back on all purchases up to $2,000 (Apply here)
Welcome offer cash back value: $200

This card is offering 10% cash back on all spending during the first three months of having the card. The 10% is capped at $2,000 of spending for a maximum return of $200 cash back as your welcome bonus. The card does come with a first year annual fee waiver on the primary card and allows to redeem as little as $1 cash back at anytime for a statement credit.
Minimum Income: $80,000 (individual) or $150,000 (household)

 

OFFER EXPIRED - CIBC Dividend® Visa Infinite* Card - 10% cash back on all purchases up to $2,000 (Apply here)
Welcome offer cash back value: $200

This card is offering 10% cash back on all spending during the first four billing cycles of having the card. The 10% is capped at $2,000 of spending for a maximum return of $200 cash back as your welcome bonus. The card does come with a first year annual fee waiver on the primary card and up to three additional cards. Cash back on this card is awarded once per year as a statement credit. Minimum Income: $60,000 (individual) or $100,000 (household)

 

ManulifeMONEY+ Visa  Infinite  - 10% cash back on grocery purchases up to $2,500 (Apply here)
Welcome offer cash back value: $250

This card is offering 10% cash back on grocery spending during the first three months of having the card. The 10% is capped at $2,500 of spending for a maximum return of $250 cash back as your welcome bonus. The card does come with a first year annual fee waiver on the primary card. Cash back on this card is awarded quarterly as a statement credit.
Minimum Income: $60,000 (individual) or $100,000 (household)

 

Scotia Momentum® VISA* Infinite card - 10% cash back on all purchases up to $2,000 (Apply here)
Welcome offer cash back value: $200

This card is offering 10% cash back on all spending during the first three months of having the card. The 10% is capped at $2,000 of spending for a maximum return of $200 cash back as your welcome bonus. The card does come with a first year annual fee waiver on the primary card and additional cards. Cash back on this card is awarded once per year as a statement credit. This limited time offer ends July 1, 2020.
Minimum Income: $60,000 (individual) or $100,000 (household)

 

TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card - 10% cash back on all purchases up to $2,000 (Apply here)
Welcome offer cash back value: $200

This card is offering 10% cash back on all spending during the first three months of having the card. The 10% is capped at $2,000 of spending for a maximum return of $200 cash back as your welcome bonus. The card does come with a first year annual fee waiver on the primary card and the first additional card. Cash back on this card can be redeemed at anytime for a statement credit as long as your cash back rewards balance is $25. This limited time offer ends September 8, 2020.
Minimum Income: $60,000 (individual) or $100,000 (household)

 

Between these five cards there is over $1,000 in cash back welcome bonus rewards! However even if you only take on one or two you are helping your finances 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:

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. 

 

 

 

Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express sees limited time increase in points for office supply & electronic purchases

American Express is doing it again at they keeps doling out increased value for cards in their portfolio. We've seen countless offers come out from Double Point Double Double Value on the Platinum Card, increased cash back redemption value for all Membership Rewards Cards to $780 in statement credits on the Business Platinum Card. Now the latest card to receive a boost is the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card.

New and existing Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Cardmembers can now earn 3 points on eligible office supplies & electronics. This will be in effect until August 31, 2020.

Amex told Rewards Canada that "American Express understands the needs and expenses for business owners are changing so for a limited time, has introduced updates to better serve Marriott Bonvoy Business Cardmembers and how they may be using their Card right now."

This limited time offer takes a category from the American Express Business Edge Card which has 3x multiplier for office supplies and electronic purchases as well.

Here is a list of known merchants where you will be able to earn 3 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar at:

• Apple
• Best Buy
• Bose 
• Canon
• CDW 
• HP
• IBM 
• Lenovo
• Microsoft 
• Office Depot
• Sony 
• Staples

(Source Rewards Canada's American Express Business Edge Confirmed Multiplier Locations)

With this offer being added to this card there aren't many left in American Express' portfolio that haven't seen some sort of boost or enhancement to keep cardholders engaged and using their cards. I know some of our readers who have this card will be happy to see this multiplier and they will be making sure to utilize their card for electronics and office supplies now!

Learn more about and apply for the Marriott Bonvoy Business American Express Card here

AIR MILES Bonus Boom returns June 18 through July 1

Back on March 17 AIR MILES decided to postpone their big Mega Miles promotion due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and we still haven't seen it return - however we now see the second Bonus Boom promotion in the span of just 1 month! I have a feeling we won't see Mega Miles return until the fall and AIR MILES will give us several more Bonus Booms until then.

While we don't know all the offers yet for the June edition of Bonus Boom we do know they have thrown in an extra little bonus that is reminiscent of Mega Miles and that's a multiple partner bonus. In this case if you use three different Bonus Boom offers you'll get 95 bonus AIR MILES. All the offers will be revealed on June 16 so that you can prepare to shop to your heart's content from June 18 to July 1.

Learn more about Bonus Boom here.

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Best Western to offer multiple $25 gift card offers for summer stays

Best Western emailed us this morning to give us a heads up on their summer promotions. The first one of the three we already covered here on RC and that is the 20% bonus when you buy Best Western Gift Cards. Read more about that offer here. Here are the two other offers that will be starting in the next couple of weeks:

• Travel by car and Best Western will cover your gas. Valid from June 15 to August 31, 2020, any member staying at a Best Western-branded hotel and visiting by car during the promotional period will receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card® (gift card). Registration will be required.
• Stay with Best Western this summer and earn a $25 gift card. BWR members who stay one eligible night between June 22 and September 7, 2020 at any Best Western-branded hotel in the U.S. or Canada will earn a $25 Best Western gift card. Registration will be required.

As you can see they are both $25 gift card offers for travel in the U.S. and Canada. The registration/landing pages for these offers have not been revealed yet so we have to await them to confirm if these offers will be stackable or if you can only choose from one or the other. Either way you don’t have to wait to book your stays as Best Western does not put ‘booking’ limitations on their offers, you can book them right now as long as they fall into to the stay dates listed above. To be eligible however stays must be booked on BestWestern.com and not via third party OTAs.

This is a smart move by BW to see the $25 gift card offers being offering for one stay/one night bookings and not like the typical two stay we see from Choice Hotels and Hyatt Hotels for this summer. Best Western knows people are wary to travel and many are only likely to try out one stay before making any further commitments to future travel. And if you are only making one trip these BW offers reward you while the others won’t.

As soon as we have landing page/registration pages for these offers we’ll pass them along!

Image via Best Western

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.