Friday, June 26, 2020

June 26 Update: Choice Hotels earn a free night promo won't start until July 10 for Canadians, 2 new RBC offers & Canadians could possibly visit Europe soon


Early in June we passed along the details of Choice Hotels new where you book 2 stays and earn enough bonus points for a free night. Well it turns out the promotion launched at that time was for the U.S. only even though it did state it was open to Canadian residents. Choice has decided that for Canada the promotion will launch on July 10th instead. The promotion registration page has been updated to reflect this. Thanks to long time Rewards Canada follower Kevin A. for catching this development!


We added two new RBC offers to our Guide to RBC Royal Bank 'RBC Offers'. There is a 15% statement credit offer for Pet Value that works on purchases of $30 or more (up to $100 in total) and a a 15% discount code for shopping at State & Liberty. See these and all other RBC offers here.


Thanks to Rewards Canada Facebook follower Aaron R. for passing along info that shows what countries the EU is planning to allow visitors from when they reopen. It is currently in draft stage and being debated in Brussels and it does appear most countries, including Canada will be allowed. However countries like The U.S., Brazil and Russia will not be. The opening date is also being debated as to whether it will be July 1 or later. If and when they do open you still need to check each individual country's rules and regulations for mask wearing, whether you need to submit test results et. (Source EuroNews)

Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature 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!

China Airlines will be offering one flight per week during the month July between Vancouver and Taipei. (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:

Deals:

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. Find out more here

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

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
- 20% Bonus LifeMiles when you book hotel stays via the dedicated LifeMiles Hotels website. More... Book by Aug 15 for stays until Dec 31, 20

Best Western Rewards
- 2,000 Bonus Reward Points and up to 30% off on rentals 3 days or longer at participating Avis locations in the U.S and Canada. More... Until Sep 15, 20

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- 750 Miles&Smiles Miles and a 20% discount for stays at NG Hotels. More... Until Jul 29, 20

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My experience getting a refund from WestJet for cancelled U.S. flights


Earlier this month we let you know that WestJet began to offering refunds for those travellers who had flights to the U.S. and U.K. cancelled by the airline. In the article here we detailed how and when you could approach WestJet for a refund from waiting to get the email from them to the time period of when you should be calling in. What follows is my experience in getting such flights refunded.

The time period to get a refund for U.S. and U.K. flights
Photo Credit: YYCCL3 on FlyerTalk

The Rewards Canada family had flights booked to the U.S. for Easter Break in April under two reservations. The reason for two reservations is that both my wife and I used our companion vouchers from our WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercards for our kids. When you want to book flights using those vouchers from two different accounts they have to be made under separate reservations. We took the wait and see approach when the pandemic started and eventually those flights were cancelled by WestJet (not by us) in late March.

Snippet from the email about our flight cancellation

The money we paid was put into a travel bank and the companion vouchers were placed back into our accounts. At that time it state that if we preferred a refund the information would come at a later date - it's almost like WestJet knew that legally flights to the U.S. would have to be refunded but they wanted to wait if the DOT may loosen that restriction to the help the airlines.


On June 8th we received emails from WestJet that we could now contact them for a refund:


This email came 8 days sooner than the chart we referenced in our earlier post and the next day I looked to call WestJet to process those refunds. Unfortunately this was the wait time to call in and WestJet didn't have their 'schedule a call back' button available.



I decided to wait a few days to see if those times subsided at all. Nine days later on June 17th I was lucky to find that the WestJet website had the schedule a call back button showing and it allowed me to schedule a call back to process the refund. This was the first time in nine days that I saw the schedule a call back button.  I scheduled the call back around 9am MT and again the wait time stated over 600 minutes so I wasn't expecting a call back until late afternoon or early evening but I actually received it just after 1pm MT. The call itself took 51 minutes because the two separate reservations meant everything had to be done twice. Add in the fact that part of our original flight payments also used WestJet dollars and some travel bank credits and that extended the phone call duration - mainly due to some back end issue with transferring around the travel bank credits. All said and done everything worked out and the agent on the other end was cordial and very helpful - she got everything sorted and I was happy to have it complete. She said we could expect to see the refunds to our WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard in about 3-5 business days and sure enough by June 30 the funds were back on the credit card.

I have a couple of thoughts in the process, first I don’t know if it will ever happen but how awesome would it be if one day WestJet day allowed multiple vouchers from the same family or household to be used in a single booking! That would really simplify any potential issues surrounding flights changes or in this case cancellations and refunds as well as status recognition. The latter issue arises if only one family member has status those benefits won't be extended to the other reservation. This happened to us sometime ago before the entire family became Gold elite members - two of us were Zone 1 for boarding while the other two family members were Zone 2. Second, it would be nice if you could request refunds online somehow rather than having to call in. It would definitely help in reducing those call wait times!

Overall though I'm happy that we got our money back - something I know thousands of Canadians are also hoping for but not getting right now. I'm in the camp that all flights should be refunded - not just those for the U.S. and U.K.. Most of Canada's airlines have the liquidity to make this happen but there not doing it and the government has basically done nothing. The fight is going strong from Air Passenger Rights and other consumer protection groups to push the government to change its stance on refunds. Hopefully with enough of push this is something that will happen soon. I know its not ideal for the airlines but it is even less ideal for consumers right now who have lost jobs or have reduced income, having that money in their pocket is critical for some to survive.

What boat are you in? Have you had tickets cancelled on you and have not received a refund? Are you OK with travel vouchers or is it critical for you to get that cash back? Let us know in the comments below.
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Thursday, June 25, 2020

Every second night free at the Fairmont Tremblant for the rest of 2020 - book by July 24


Since our last Fairmont Stay Close update the hotel chain has added three more hotels to the list of participating hotels including the Fairmont Tremblant. This promotion if you are unfamiliar with it provides every 2nd night or 2nd room free for stays at select hotels in Canada, the United States and Mexico!

Here is our previous coverage of the offers:
In the latest update we see 3 more hotels added and those are the :
These hotels have now officially ended with the offer:
Stays must be completed by December 31, 2020

Here’s a quick look at the rates for the Fairmont Tremblant (July 22 -24 ):
The deal works out to $139.50 a night! That's a good deal!

 Just like all the other hotels this deal is exactly 50% off the daily rate and is also significantly cheaper than other special rates. The rates must be prepaid in advance however they are fully refundable as long as you cancel in advance. Some hotels show a cancellation policy of only 24 hours before so there is lots of flexibility while others have a  7 day cancellation policy which is still pretty good!

Black out dates:
Fairmont Tremblant: December 25-31, 2020
Fairmont Olympic: Not specified
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa: July 4; September 5; November 27; December 31, 2020.

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

For more details or to book this offer you can do so via these links:
Here are the terms & conditions of the offer:
Buy one night and receive a complimentary second night during the same stay. A 1 night prepaid fully-refundable deposit is required. This promotion is subject to availability and may not be combined with any other offers, promotions or packages. For stays through December 31, 2020. Blackout dates may apply.

*You may also use your complimentary night as a second room on the same night. Should you wish to do so, please book a two night stay and then you must call the hotel directly to amend the reservation. The reservation will be amended to have two rooms in the same room category for the price of one for one night.

ALL Rewards points may not be redeemed to cover the cost of any charges associated with stays booked on the “Stay Close” offer either at time of booking or during the stay. This includes, but is not limited to charges for room rate/restaurant/in-room dining/spa/golf. Members who book through the “Stay Close” offer will receive the on-property benefits associated with their tier level at time of stay. Members will earn points at standard earn rates for room charges and all eligible spend that is charged to their room during the stay.
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

June 24 Update: Receive up to $325 in gift cards for hotel stays in Edmonton, new Amex Offer for HelloFresh & your weekly Be Well and PC Optimum beauty bonuses


In a similar fashion to the StayVancouver offer we let you know about last week there is a gift card offer for stays in Edmonton. The YEG offer provides up $100 in gift cards per night for up to three nights when you stay at any one of 57 locations in Edmonton. Then if you use boost code SUMMER they will add in a one time $25 gas card! The $100 in gift cards per night is actually broken down to two $50 cards - one for Costco and one for Ikea. The offer is good for stays until July 31 and must be booked at least 48 hours in advance. If you do end up staying three nights you'll earn $325 in gift cards. Find out more about the offer here. Thanks to Cheryl T. who let us know about this offer on the Rewards Canada Facebook page.



And another awesome Amex Offers offer came out today. This one is a $20 statement credit when you spend $80 or more with HelloFresh! The offer is good to August 31 and we received it on our Cobalt, Marriott Bonvoy and Platinum Amex cards. You can find this and all other current offers on our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

Plus what now seems to be a weekly thing - here's are your drug store beauty bonus points offers for this week:


You can earn 40,000 bonus PC Optimum points (worth $40) when you spend $125 or more with Shoppers Drug Mart online today and tomorrow. Find out more here.


and you can can 30,000 bonus Be Well points (worth $12) when spend $60 or more at Rexall stores on June 25. Find out more here.

And a one week reminder for the Scotia Momentum® VISA* Infinite card - it's welcome bonus of 10% on all spending up to $2,000 ends on July 1!


Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature 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!

EgyptAir is looking to restart flights between Toronto and Cairo on July 2. For the first two weeks it will be 1 flight per week and then move to 2x weekly service.. (Source RoutesOnline)


Looks like things may be picking up for Pacific Coastal Airlines as they have chosen to add even more frequencies to their July schedule then previously announced. (Source RoutesOnline)
New frequencies are as follows:
Kelowna – Cranbrook 4 weekly (Previous plan: 3 weekly)
Kelowna – Victoria 10 weekly (Previous plan: 6 weekly)
Vancouver – Campbell River – Comox – Vancouver 12 weekly (Increase from 5 weekly in June 2020; Previous plan: 9 weekly)
Vancouver – Cranbrook 6 weekly (service resumption)
Vancouver – Port Hardy 4 weekly (Increase from 3 weekly in June 2020)
Vancouver – Powell River 12 weekly (Increase from 6 weekly in June 2020; Previous plan: 9 weekly)
Vancouver – Tofino 5 weekly (Increase from 3 weekly in June 2020)
Vancouver – Trail 3 weekly (Increase from 3 weekly in June 2020; Previous plan: 3 weekly)
Vancouver – Victoria 12 weekly (Increase from 3 weekly in June 2020; Previous plan: 11 weekly)
Vancouver – Williams Lake 3 weekly (Identical to June; Previous plan: 4 weekly)

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:

Deals:

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. Find out more here

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

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

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- 500 Bonus Mileage Plan miles when you $200 or more online shopping via the Mileage Plan online shopping portal More... Until Jul 1, 20

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- Quadruple (4x) ALL Rewards Points for stays at participating new or renovated hotels in Germany and Switzerland. More... Book by Jul 31 for stays until Aug 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- OFFER EXTENDED 5,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points, free breakfast & 1000THB daily hotel credit for stays at any one of 18 hotels in the Bangkok area. More... Until Aug 31, 20



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Save 25% on TAP Air Portugal’s new routes out of Montreal and Toronto - good for travel until March 2021


TAP Air Portugal has provided us with 25% Discount Code for their new flights between Montreal  and Lisbon and their new route from Toronto to Ponta Delgada! While overseas travel may not be on most of your minds this offer covers flights until March 2021 as long as they are booked by July 8, 2020. Portugal is a country that has been itching to reopen to tourists as soon as they can. For the most part they will begin opening up on July 1 to international travel ( but there will be some restrictions in place, see below for the current requirements of the Azores as an example but this could change). I would recommend reading this page on Visit Portugal to learn more about their opening plans and what it will entail as a Canadian travelling to Portugal.

Passengers flying to the Azores archipelago will be subject to one of the following options:
1. Submit proof of testing to COVID-19 up to 72 hours prior to flight departure;
2. Perform test on arrival and stay in prophylactic isolation until the result is obtained;
3. Perform voluntary quarantine for a period of 14 days in a hotel indicated for the purpose;
4. Return to the destination of origin or travel to any destination outside the Region, fulfilling, until the time of the flight, prophylactic isolation in a hotel indicated for this purpose.
More information at https://covid19.azores.gov.pt    
This offer is good for Toronto to Ponta Delgada flights between July 1, 2020 and March 27, 2021 while Montreal to Lisbon is for July 30, 2020 to March 27, 2021

The promo code, NEWROUTE saves you up to 25% on most fare classes (and includes 25% off the YQ) The only fares classes the discount doesn’t work on are the lowest economy fare called Discount and Top Executive which is the more expensive business class fare.  Simply book by July 8 for travel within the dates listed above. Note that December 19 to January 10 are blacked out for this offer.

Book this offer here!


Here’s an example for Business Class between Toronto and Ponta Delgada – only C$1737 with the discount applied!




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Amex Shop Small promotion returns for the summer and it's better than ever - earn up to $50 in statement credits nationwide!


Amex's awesome Shop Small offer is back again for the summer and it is better than ever! American Express knows how much small businesses in Canada have suffered over the past few months and are looking to support them with this iteration of the Shop Small campaign:

"Small businesses across the country need our support now more than ever. Shop Small is about standing by the small business owners who have given so much to our communities," says Lisa Kalhans, President and CEO of American Express Canada. "As an organization, we understand the critical role we can play in encouraging not only our own Cardmembers, but all Canadians to get out there and show up for small businesses."

And how is American Express doing this when you compare it to past Shop Small offers? There are three primary differences with this summer's Shop Small promotion. First, it isn't limited to Shop Small merchants in only four cities, this time it is any Shop Small merchant in Canada - from coast to coast to coast. Second, there isn't a cap on the number of cardholders who can register for the promotion and third they have doubled the number of times you can earn the statement credit from the usual 5 times seen in past promotions to 10 times for this one!



The offer
The offer is the same for every American Express cardmember and card. Each time you spend $10 at Shop Small merchant you will receive a $5 statement credit. This statement credit can be earned up to 10 times for a maximum of $50 in statement credits. The offer is available for purchases made until September 13, 2020.



If you aren't familiar with American Express' Shop Small program we have a feature to help you out:  A step by step guide to the American Express Shop Small Program which shows you how to find merchants who participate in the program. Essentially American Express Shop Small merchants aren't your major nationwide chain stores. You won't find Wal-Mart on the list but you will find mom and pop shops, small regional chains, restaurants and other small businesses. The best way to find out which merchants you can use your American Express Card at to earn the statement credit is to go to the American Express Shop Small website and look for the Shop Small icon beside the merchant:





Ideally, those looking to maximize the offer will only spend $10 at each location to come out with what is essentially a 50% discount but I know for me I don't even think about that. I'll simply go to my local merchant and buy what I need to buy whether it is $10, $30 or $300. I will however consider spending more if I am only at $7 I'll look to see if there is anything else I can grab to get to that $10 since I'll be getting the $5 back - and that is the gist of this promotion. Getting you to spend a little more at these merchants to help them out!

You can register for Shop Small promotion the via Amex Offers on the app or Amex Canada website and you must register your card(s) to start earning the credits:


If the offer doesn't show up in the app or in your account on the web you can register for it right here.

Happy shopping!

Learn more about Shop Small here.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

More details on the pause and future evolution of WestJet Rewards Member Exclusive Fares


Last Friday we brought you the news that WestJet will be pausing their Member Exclusive Fares as of June 25. At the time there were questions on whether it is a pause or if that redemption feature of the program was going to go by the wayside. I can tell you the good news that it is strictly a pause. WestJet has committed that a solution will be in place by the end of 2020 with a better member reward offering and will continue to add more features after that. If you are unfamiliar with WestJet's Member Exclusive Fares they are basically WestJet's fixed grid redemption option. If you are familiar with Aeroplan's Classic Flight rewards chart, Amex's Fixed Points for Travel chart, the RBC Avion chart and so on that is what Member Exclusive Fares are. 



The primary reason for wanting to update member exclusives is exactly what is stated on WestJet's site - to improve the process. Right now the booking process for Member Exclusive Fares doesn't follow their typical booking flow as if you were buying a revenue ticket or even just wanting to redeem WestJet dollars towards a revenue ticket.

Improving the process for booking Member Exclusive Fares will make it easier for WestJet to promote them. The uptake on the program was lower than expected and up until now it has been a secondary method of redemption that members mostly learned of via sites like ours. They aren't front and centre on WestJet's site (yes there is a check box right on the home page to show the fares during the process but many people aren't aware of what it means) For the most part the WestJet Rewards program has really focused on the ability to redeem WestJet dollars dollar for dollar. However the future Member Exclusive Fares will be much more integrated into the booking process and in my mind should make WestJet Rewards even more competitive with other frequent flyer programs as these type of reward options can provide outsized value. For example in our post from last Friday the flights between Toronto and Calgary were $347.22 using Member Exclusive Fares versus $459.01 to buy outright. 


WestJet's 787 Business Class should become part of Member Exclusive
Fares in the future

The other step with the new Member Exclusive Fares that will make WestJet Rewards that much more competitive is that WestJet wants to make sure they will have set rates for Premium and Business Class redemptions on WestJet flights. 

What is an unknown right now is what the pricing will be for reincarnated Member Exclusive Fares. Will they still be a fixed price and be the same as they are now? Will they move to dynamic pricing like Air Canada is planning for North American redemptions? We don't have any details yet from WestJet but I feel like they will keep a very close eye on what Aeroplan will do and adjust accordingly. What I can say is that they will need to be competitive - for example if the sign up bonus for the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard is 250 WestJet dollars they'll want the standard North America redemption rates to be around 200 to 250 (100 to 125 WJD each way) to stay in the league of what we see from other airline co-brand credit card offers seeing that those others hover around the short haul redemption to long haul redemption region. In my mind if WestJet keeps a fixed rate redemption in place they can't raise the current prices we are used to by more than 10%. If they did WestJet could be putting the nail in the coffin in terms of competing with Aeroplan and having Member Exclusive Fares becoming the competitive tool they want it to be.



All in all the impression I get from WestJet is that they don't want to mess with the actual premise and value of Member Exclusive Fares. They really do want it to become a major part of the WestJet Rewards program, they want it front and centre and they want it to help them grow the program and the airline. 

To close out this post let me say this isn't the only news from WestJet that you can expect over the next few weeks. So stay tuned right here on the Rewards Canada blog as we'll bring you all the details as the news (and offers) get released!

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June 23 Update: Amex Shop Small promotion returns tomorrow, potential to make money with Best Western's promotions & Dubai to open up on July 7


American Express' Shop Small promotion returns tomorrow! The ever popular promotion sees cardmembers in select Canadian cities earn a $5 credit or 10x points each time they spend $10 at a participating Shop Small merchant. Those merchants are most of the ones that are not nationwide chains or major retailers. These are your mom and pop shops, local chains etc. The offers will launch on June 24 and in my email it states that I can earn up to $50 in statement credits. That means the $5 or 10x points will be awarded on 10 Shop Small purchases. I'll have a complete post detailing the new promotion tomorrow but in the mean time check out our step by step guide to the American Express Shop Small Program to familiarize yourself with it!



Earlier today I brought you the news that I confirmed with Best Western that you can earn $50 in gift cards with just one stay. I provided some Canadian examples where there is decent value with these promotions but those are unlike the example I used over on FrequentFlyerBonuses. The example in my post actually makes you money! I just randomly chose Memphis (don't ask my why, it was just the first city to pop in my head) and the Best Western Tunica Resort was pricing out at US$38.46 including taxes and it is an eligible rate so you would come ahead by $11.54! Unbelievable! Read more about it here!


Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature 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!

KLM has updated their Intercontinental operations for July - they will fly twice weekly to Calgary, three times weekly to Vancouver and once daily service will be offered to both Montreal and Toronto. (Source RoutesOnline)



Dubai has announced they are opening up to International tourists as of July 7. Emirates is flying 5x weekly from Toronto as we speak while there is no news from Air Canada as to when they will restart Dubai flights. Find out more here!
:Tourists must do a PCR test with a maximum validity of four days (96 hours) ahead of the date of departure. They will be required to show proof of not being infected with the virus on arrival at Dubai airports. If they cannot provide proof, they will undergo a PCR test at the airport. All arrivals will be subject to thermal screenings. If a traveler is suspected to have COVID-19 symptoms, Dubai airports have the right to re-test to ensure the tourist is free of the virus. It is mandatory for tourists who test positive for COVID-19 to register their details on the COVID-19 DXB app and isolate themselves at an institutional facility provided by the government for 14 days at their own expense.

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:

Deals:

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. Find out more here

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

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

Best Western Rewards
- Receive a $25 Best Western Gift Card when you complete one stay at a Best Western Hotel in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. More... For residents of the U.S. and Canada only Until Sep 7, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to a 60% bonus when you buy Mileage Plan miles. Bonus varies by member and will be revealed after you log in. More... Until Jun 28, 20

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 25,500 Bonus Avios when you subscribe to the Economist. More... Until Jul 31, 20

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 1,000 Bonus Asia Miles + free breakfast for stays on the “Bed and Breakfast” package at any one of 11 Marriott Hotels in Hong Kong. More... Until Jul 31, 20



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Confirmed! You can earn $50 in Best Western Gift Cards with just one stay this summer!


In my post yesterday detailing Best Western Rewards' newest promotion I proposed that it could very well be combined with their other offer that I detailed the week before. I said that based on the terms and conditions you could possibly earn the $25 Best Western Gift Card from the Tanks-A-Lot offer along with the $25 Gift Card for completing one stay at a Best Western hotel. I reached out to Best Western and have confirmation from them that this is the actual case! This means with just one Best Western stay you can earn $50 in Best Western Gift Cards. This gives you the potential to have a big return on just one Best Western stay.

 To show the value I grabbed some screen shots of rates available in select cities in Canada on August 11:




All pretty decent rates but look at the one from Montreal! $89.99 (about $107 with taxes) and you can get $50 in travel cards to use for a future stay. That's almost a 50% return on that one stay. No matter where you stay or even what you pay ultimately you can make $50 on that stay.

Remember that you can also buy Best Western Travel Cards in $100 denominations with a 20% bonus right now. So if you buy a C$100 card you'll get that plus a $20 bonus card. The Prince Albert example above would come to around $120 once you take into account taxes and fees. So you pay $100 to buy a Best Western Travel card - you get $120 with the bonus, use it to pay for the stay and then you get the $50 in travel cards for future use. So that $120 stay ends up only costing you $50 if you take into account the $50 you received back.

So how do you get the $50 in travel cards?

First make sure you register for the Best Western Rewards Rush promotion - that is the one where you earn a $25 gift card after one stay. Even if you don't know your plans yet, just register now for it. It is good for stays until September 7. Then make sure to keep the Best Western Tanks-A-Lot promotion up front and centre in your mind. You don't need to register for it but you have to email Best Western after your stay is completed with a receipt showing you bought some gas or charged an electric vehicle within 10 days of your stay and they'll issue you another $25 travel card. This offer is good for stays until August 31 so if you want to make sure you complete one stay complete by the end of August to earn the $50.

You will also earn your regular Best Western Rewards Points on these stays, so if we take the Montreal example you'll earn 890 points if you are Blue member all the up to 1,335 points if you are a Diamond elite member. With an average value of about 0.5 cents that's another $4 to $6 in value. Then if you pay for your stay with a card like the mbna Best Western Mastercard® you'll earn 5 points per dollar on that stay as well, so another 535 points with the Montreal example.

 Do be aware that the $25 travel cards from both promotions have an expiry date of December 31, 2020 so you will have to use them up by then for another stay.

Rewards Rush Offer details
Receive a $25 Best Western Gift Card when you complete one stay at a Best Western Hotel in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Full details, online registration & booking  (Registration is required) Until Sep 7, 20
For residents of the U.S. and Canada only

Tanks-A-Lot offer details
Receive a $25 Best Western Travel Card when you complete 1 stay at a Best Western Hotel and submit a gas receipt or electric vehicle charging receipt within 10 days of your stay. Full details & online booking
For residents of the U.S. and Canada only



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