Earn 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the program & complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31

Aeroplan has brought back their new member bonus for the month of July. If you are one of the small majority of Canadians who haven't joined yet or if you have but your partner, kids or other family members and friends haven't it is time to let them know about this offer. Right now when you join Aeroplan and complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31 you'll earn 1,000 bonus miles. The easiest mileage earning opportunities right now are to make a purchase via the Aeroplan eStore or to buy some Aeroplan miles.

Offer details:
1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the program and complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31. Join here! Until Jul 31, 20

Find many more Aeroplan Bonus Miles offers here!

Image via Aeroplan

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July 7 Update: BMO card changes coming later this week, AIR MILES adds All Purpose Realty as a partner & closure of NEXUS enrollment centers extended

Have you been contemplating the BMO No Fee Rewards Mastercard with its 20,000 point bonus? Grab it now as that offer will change on Friday!

 On the other hand if you have been thinking about the card's sibling, the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard wait to apply for it. The sign up offer gets better on Friday.

AIR MILES has add a new realty partner to their list of companies that you can earn miles with. All Purpose Realty joins the ranks and you can earn up to 10,000 miles when you buy and/or sell a home. The maximum number of AIR MILES is 5,000 per transaction so when they market it as up to 10,000 I'm assuming that latter value comes from utilizing All Purpose for both the sale of a home and the purchase of a home. Find out more here.

Quite a while ago we let you know that if you were planning to go for a NEXUS interview that the US CBP had extended the closure of their enrollment centers to July 6. Bad news is that has now been further extended to at least August 10. (Source DoC)

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!

Right now Etihad Airways is flying 1 flight per week out of Toronto to Abu Dhabi but they are planning on boosting that to 3 flights per week as of July 17 (Source RoutesOnline)

Korean Air is offering 3 flights per week out of Toronto and 4 per week from Vancouver for the month of July. (Source RoutesOnline)

SWISS appears to be restarting their Montreal to Zurich route on July 14 with 3x weekly service. (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:

• Buy Aeroplan Miles and receive up to a 75% bonus + 100% Altitude Qualifying Dollars up to $5,000
  Aeroplan hasn't been selling miles for very long but they are already pushing out their second big promotion for…
• Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – July Edition
  Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available. We are starting…
• New Amex Offers for Ivanhoe Cambridge Gift Cards and Robinson Lighting
  Two new Amex Offers offers showed up in my account today for the Platinum Card from American Express and my…
• The cards Rewards Canada recommends to replace the devalued Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard
  Last week news broke that one of the best long running travel rewards cards in Canada was being devalued.…
• July 3 Update: 2x Coast Rewards Points + up to 40% off Coast Hotel Stays and 20x PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases
  Coast Hotels is offering double Coast Rewards points and up to 40% off stays at their hotels in Canada…

Deals:

Sandman Hotels 7 day summer sale - save up to 45% when you book by July 12 for stays until September 30. Find out more here

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

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 500 Bonus ALL Rewards Points for stays at participating hotels in Bosna & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia. More... Until Jul 31, 20

Shangri-La Hotels Golden Circle
- Double GC Points for stays at any Shangri-La hotel, resort, Kerry hotel, JEN hotel and Traders hotel Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 20

Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass
- 500 Bonus Travel Pass Points per night at the Royal Sonesta New Orleans. More... Until Dec 29, 20

Voila Hotel Rewards
- OFFER EXTENDED 30% Bonus VHR Points for each stay at any participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. More... Until Sep 30, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

Buy Aeroplan Miles and receive up to a 75% bonus + 100% Altitude Qualifying Dollars up to $5,000

Aeroplan hasn't been selling miles for very long but they are already pushing out their second big promotion for those who want to buy or gift miles! The first time they ran a promotion was when they launched the ability to buy miles at any time and that promotion offered an astonishing 115% bonus for those who got in on the offer right away - then others were able to get 90% followed by 60%. This time the offer will be a mystery bonus, a promotion we've seen from other programs selling miles like Alaska Airlines. When you login you'll see what your bonus will be and we know it will max out at 75% for some members. What the criteria is to get the 75% is unknown but if we take what other programs have done in it is usually reserved for those who have bought miles before. On top of the mystery bonus Aeroplan will also be providing 100% of what you spend on the miles (pre tax) as Altitude Qualifying Dollars (AQD) up to a maximum of $5,000.

This is the perfect promotion for those of you who may have already earned some AQMs through Aeroplan's Travel at Home promotions where you have enough AQMs for one level of Altitude status but not enough AQDs. If you actually spend $5,000 buying Aeroplan Miles the 5,000 AQD covers the requirements for Prestige 25K and Elite 35K. Or it may be just enough to get you to that next level should you already have some AQDs earned from flying before or even during the pandemic.

This promotion is slated to run until July 12 so you have less than a week to take advantage of it however (don't quote me on this though) many of the buy miles promotions, even Aeroplan's first one, tend to get an extension these days!

Learn more about this offer here.

Update: Here is the offer I received:

Buy 2,000-50,000 miles = 25% bonus miles
Buy 60,000-170,000 miles = 40% bonus miles
Buy 180,000-240,000 miles = 60% bonus miles
Buy 250,000+ miles = 75% bonus miles

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Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – July Edition

Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available. We are starting to see more offers emerge as hotel companies try to encourage any sort of travel now that there is even the smallest glimmer of hope that parts of the world are starting to return to normal.

One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of these systemwide bonuses that come from many of the big chain programs and also from the lesser known programs. In fact, right now it should be rare for you NOT to earn a bonus. Unless you are staying at a boutique hotel or perhaps an independent hotel most other hotels out there have a bonus. So take advantage of it! These systemwide bonuses simply require you to register beforehand and they do not affect hotel pricing as long as you book a point eligible rate which are most rates out there. Of course booking through a third party site like Expedia or Rocketmiles does not count as most chains only award points on bookings that are made directly with them. Without further ado here are all the current promotions that are available to everyone:

Provider	Offer	Validity Date
ALL Accor Live Limitless	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all ALL Accor Live Limitlessbonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's ALL Accor Live Limitless page
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. Full details, online registration & booking  (Registration is required) For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Until Sep 7, 20
	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	Until Aug 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Best Western Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Best Western page
Choice Hotels Privileges	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) For residents of the U.S. and Canada only	Jun 10 – Sep 7, 20
	For a complete listing of all Choice Privileges bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Choice page
Coast Hotels Coast Rewards	Double Coast Rewards Points on all stays at Coast Hotels in Canada and the U.S.. Full details	Until Aug 15, 20
	For a complete listing of all Coast Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Coast Rewards page
GHA Discovery	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all GHA Discovery bonus offers please visit Rewards Canada's GHA page
Hilton	Earn 2,000 Bonus Honors points per stay at Hilton Hotels worldwide plus 10,000 bonus points for every 10 nights stayed. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required )	Until Sep 7, 20
	For a complete listing of all Hilton HHonors bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hilton page
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. Register online (Registration is required) 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
	For a complete listing of all Hyatt Gold Passport bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Hyatt page
InterContinental Hotels Group	No Offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all IHG Priority Club bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's IHG page
Marriott	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Marriott Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Marriott page
Millennium Hotels My Millennium	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Millennium Hotels My Millennium bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's My Millennium page
Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's iPrefer page
Radisson Rewards	Earn 5,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards points on each stay at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)	Until Dec 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Radisson Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Radisson Rewards page
Red Roof Inns RediRewards	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Red Roof bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's RediRewards page
Sandman Hotels	Double Lucky13 rewards stamps for stays at all participating Sandman Hotels in Canada and the U.S. Full details	Until Dec 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Radisson Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Sandman Hotels Lucky13 Rewards page
Shangri-La Golden Circle	Double GC Points for stays at any Shangri-La hotel, resort, Kerry hotel, JEN hotel and Traders hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required)	Until Aug 31, 20
	For a complete listing of all Shangria-La bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Golden Circle page
Sonesta Hotels Travel Pass	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Sonesta Hotels bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Travel Pass page
Voila Hotel Rewards	30% Bonus VHR Points for each stay at any participating VOILÀ hotel Worldwide. Full details & online registration (Registration is required)	Until Sep 30, 20
	For a complete listing of all Voila Hotel Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's VHR page
WorldHotels Rewards	No offers at this time	--
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's WorldHotels page
Wyndham Rewards	2,000 bonus Wyndham Rewards points per stay at participating Wyndham Hotels Worldwide. Bonus awarded for up to 5 stays. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)	Until Jul 28, 20
	For a complete listing of all Wyndham Rewards bonus point offers please visit Rewards Canada's Wyndham page

New Amex Offers for Ivanhoe Cambridge Gift Cards and Robinson Lighting

Two new Amex Offers offers showed up in my account today for the Platinum Card from American Express and my wife's Marriott Bonvoy American Express card account:

The first one is really the stand out offer and you should log in to your account right away to see if you have been offered it as it is limited to 15,000 registrations. The offer itself is like getting a 20% discount on almost any shopping at Ivanhoe Cambridge shopping malls as these are the mall gift cards that you can use at most stores within those malls. You can earn the offer three times so ideally you'd buy three $100 gift cards and get $60 back in statement credits. You don't even have to go to the mall just yet to even buy it - you can buy it online and then use it when you do head out.

The second offer is great if you are looking to replace some lighting, doing some renos etc. as you can earn a one time $50 credit when you spend $250 or more at Robinson Lighting & Bath. (Why couldn't they have had this 5 years ago when we did a big reno and spent some a good chunk of change at Robinson!)

If you are eligible you'll find both offers in your Amex account for you to register for. We also have them listed in our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

 

The cards Rewards Canada recommends to replace the devalued Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard

Last week news broke that one of the best long running travel rewards cards in Canada was being devalued. That card is the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard and although it hasn't been available to new customers for nearly three years now, those who did have the card were able to keep it and continue earning and burning on it like before with it's 2% return on all spending and the 10,000 point anniversary bonus being grandfathered in. That 2% and 10,000 points made it worthwhile for the majority of cardholders to keep the card in their wallets but that has changed now.

As reported last week the card will be devalued as of August 5. The earn rate will drop to 1.5% which is still respectable however in the grand scheme of looking at the whole picture of what cards provide and how the competitors ramp up against the card it makes the card weaker. Then by taking away the 10,000 point anniversary bonus cardholders are losing out on a $100 value - which many competitors offer in another form. Whether its the first bag free on the WestJet RBC Mastercard, to the $100 in travel credits on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard or Priority Pass lounge visit passes on the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card, the market is ripe with better options than the Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard.

Here are the top travel cards Rewards Canada recommends as replacement options for the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard:

HSBC World Elite Mastercard
This card also earns 1.5% back on spending that can be redeemed towards any travel however that gets boosted to 3% on travel purchases which puts it ahead of the Aspire card. On top of that the card has no foreign transaction fees - which means purchases in US$ or other currencies will be 2.5% cheaper than the Aspire card plus the card provides an annual $100 travel enhancement credit that can be used towards things like seat selection, baggage fees and more. Finally the other big bonus this card has over the Aspire card is the ability to convert the points earned to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Learn more about and apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard here.



MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard
The MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard is the closest replacement to the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite Mastercard in terms of earn rate. The card earns 2 points per dollar spent and those points can be redeemed for any travel booked via MBNA Rewards at a rate of 5,000 points to $50 which means it is a full 2% return. For cash back redemptions it drops a little to 1.67% but we're more concerned with the travel redemption rate and that is equal to the old Cap One rate. Learn more about and apply for the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard here.



WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard
This card provides a 1.5% return on all spending except for purchases with WestJet which will earn 2%. So on the earn side it is pretty equal with Capital One however if you are someone who flies WestJet the extra benefits this card provides over Capital One are what you need to look at such as the first checked bag fee being covered for you and up to 8 people on the same reservation and then the coveted annual companion voucher where someone can travel with you for only $119 to $399 depending on where you are flying to. Both those benefits provide a ton of value when compared to the Aspire card. Learn more about and apply for the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard here.

American Express Cobalt Card
This is the number one travel rewards credit card in Canada and if you are good to go with Amex then this is the card to get. It has super strong earn rates ranging from 1 to 5 points per dollar spent which translates to a 1% to 5% return towards any travel you book by yourself. Redeem those points via Amex's Fixed Travel Points program and that return can be as high as 10%! You also have the option to convert points to Marriott Bonvoy which can then be converted to over 40+ airline frequent flyer programs. Learn more about and apply for the American Express Cobalt Card here.


Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
Another big earner like the Cobalt Card, the Scotiabank Gold American Express card provides returns of 1% to 5% when you redeem your points towards travel that you book from any travel provider. It will also save you 2.5% on foreign currency transactions since the card has No Foreign transaction fee.  Learn more about and apply for the Scotiabank Gold American Express card here.

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card provides a 1% to 2% return on spending when you redeem for travel booked via any travel provider so on average you may come out at about the same earn rate as the newly devalued rate on the Cap One card. Like the HSBC card this card has no foreign transaction fees meaning it will save you 2.5% on any non-C$ purchases then add in the fact the card provides 6 free airport lounge visits per year and you should be pulling more value out of this card than the Cap One card. Learn more about and apply for the Scotia Passport Visa Infinite Card here.

TD First Class Visa Infinite Card
This card also allows you to use your points for booking travel via any provider at a minimum return of 1.2 to 1.5% - so not as good as the Cap One Aspire card however that rate gets boosted if you make purchases or end up redeeming your points to book travel via ExpediaForTd. That's the key to this card is utilizing TD's partnership with Expedia to extract the most value out of the points.  For example booking travel via ExpediaForTD online earns you 9 points per dollar and those points when redeemed on ExpediaForTD would net you a 4.5% return. Learn more about and apply for the TD First Class Visa Infinite Card here.



Now these aren't the only options to replace the Capital One Aspire World Elite Travel Mastercard - you have a whole slew of other travel rewards cards, cash back cards from the big banks, little banks and credit unions but the above list does represent the best overall options for anyone reading this post from coast to coast to coast. As always we do recommend that you do your research and find the card that will work best for you.

July 3 Update: 2x Coast Rewards Points + up to 40% off Coast Hotel Stays and 20x PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases

Coast Hotels is offering double Coast Rewards points and up to 40% off stays at their hotels in Canada until August 15. Find out more here.

You can earn 20x PC Optimum points when you spend $75 or more with Shoppers Drug Mart online between today and July 5. Find out more 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!

LOT Polish Airlines is planning to fly twice weekly between Toronto and Warsaw for the first part of this month (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:

• Qatar Airways launching new flights between Toronto and Doha tomorrow!
  Qatar Airways came out with a surprising announcement earlier this week - they are launching flights between Toronto and…
• Earn 5,000 bonus points on every Radisson stay until the end of the year
  Over the past few weeks as travel has slowly started to trickle back into people’s lives we’ve started to…
• RBC Points For Canada - Earn 2x points at restaurants and save 30% in points on dining and shopping redemption options
  On July 1st RBC launched their big initiative that closely follows what many of the other major card issuers…
• July 2 Update: Canada makes the EU's shortlist for approved visitors, Alaska Airlines will issue Yellow Cards for not wearing masks & Air Canada cuts 30 routes and 8 cities in Canada
  Last week we let you know that the EU was getting ready to release a list stating which countries…

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
- 3,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at Best Western Hotels in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. More... Targeted offer – may not work for everyone Book by Jul 5 for stays until Aug 31, 20

Coast Hotels Coast Rewards
- Double Coast Rewards Points on all stays at Coast Hotels in Canada and the U.S.. More... Until Aug 15, 20

Radisson Rewards
- Earn 5,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards points on each stay at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 20

Other Bonus Offers

N/A


Follow Rewards Canada:

Qatar Airways launching new flights between Toronto and Doha tomorrow!

Qatar Airways came out with a surprising announcement earlier this week - they are launching flights between Toronto and Doha, Qatar. It isn't the route itself that is surprising - it's when it starts. Tomorrow is the first flight on this new route. That's right, they are starting it during the pandemic when travel is at an all time low and technically Canadians can't even travel to Qatar right now! However Canadians and other nationals are allowed to transit via Qatar to other countries and that is where Qatar Airways makes their living anyways - its not travel to Qatar, its connecting via Doha to other destinations beyond.

The new flights will operate 3x per week between Toronto and Doha and this is on top of the airline's 4x weekly flights between Montreal and Doha. This route comes about from an expansion in the agreement between Canada and Qatar allowing more flights. The Toronto flight will be operated with an Airbus A350-900 on the following schedule (Source RoutesOnline)

QR767 DOH0830 – 1500YYZ 359 246
QR768 YYZ2050 – 1615+1DOH 359 246

On the miles side you can earn and redeem Qatar Airways Privilege Club Qmiles on these flights and recently Qatar lowered their carrier surcharges for their redemption which is good news for those who do utilized Privilege Club. However in Canada the only way to earn QMiles outside of your standard travel providers (flights/hotels) is via the Marriott Bonvoy program which means you can access those miles via American Express (see here: Complete list of Airline & Hotel loyalty programs that you can earn miles or points in with Canadian Credit Cards). However the actual number of miles Privilege Club requires is a lot more than other programs. These means the best option for Qatar Airways flights is utilizing their oneworld partner airline programs and in Canada that primarily means British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and American AAdvantage. All three programs have lower mileage requirements for flying on Qatar Airways than Qatar's own Privilege Club so earning via credit cards like the Amex suite of Membership Rewards cards,  RBC Visa Infinite Avion or HSBC World Elite Mastercard and converting to something like Avios makes more sense than trying to convert from Marriott to Qatar's Privilege Club. You can still choose to convert Marriott to British Airways, Cathay Pacific etc. and that's totally fine and doable!

It's great to see an airline launching new flights during this downturn and while the flight may not make Qatar any money right now you can bet it will once travel opens up again in the next few years. So one can hope Qatar will keep the flight going and if their past history is any indication I feel like they will keep this route going for a long time.

You can book Qatar Airways flights here. (This link earns RC a commission - you don't have to choose to use it but thank you in advance if you do so!)

HT One Mile at a Time

Title Image via Qatar Airways

Earn 5,000 bonus points on every Radisson stay until the end of the year

Over the past few weeks as travel has slowly started to trickle back into people’s lives we’ve started to see hotel chains respond with new systemwide bonus offers. This is not lost on any of those chains and they know to encourage bookings and actual stays they will need to put out some attractive incentives. Step in Radissson Hotels Group and their Radisson Rewards program who this week revealed one of the best hotel promotions for this new era of travel.

The bonus is a flat 5,000 Radisson Rewards points per stay. Simply register for it before your first stay and you will earn that bonus on each and every stay until the end of the year. The promotion is capped at 30 stays for a potential of 150,000 bonus points and with the way travel is right now I don’t think many people need to be concerned about reaching that cap. Other than that no other restrictions are really in place as even award nights will earn the 5,000 bonus points! Since it is a flat rate bonus the biggest value comes from one night stays preferably at cheaper hotels but no matter what getting that 5,000 extra points per stay is something you want to make sure you take advantage of. Most people value Radisson Rewards points between C$ 0.5 and 0.7 cents which translates to those bonus points being worth around $25 to $35.

Offer details:
Earn 5,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards points on each stay at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required) Until Dec 31, 20

Here's an example of one those lower rate one night stays at the Country Inns Saskatoon in the midle of August:

A one night stay here would earn around 1,100 base points + the 5,000 bonus points for a total of 6,100 points. If you take the low end value of 0.5 cents per point you are getting a $30 return on that $80 stay. That's a pretty good return! Plus if you have elite status in the Radisson Rewards program you'll earn even more points. (Gold Elite comes free with the Platinum Card from American Express)

RBC Points For Canada - Earn 2x points at restaurants and save 30% in points on dining and shopping redemption options

On July 1st RBC launched their big initiative that closely follows what many of the other major card issuers have done and that is to provide incentives to use credit cards for dining and shopping purchases. The campaign is called Points for Canada and runs for the entire month of July and comprises of six incentives from earning bonus points to being able to redeem less points.

Those six incentives are as follows:

1. Earn 2x points at restaurants - eligible cards will earn double the points on restaurant purchases (dine in, take out) and also on most third party food delivery services. This first incentive is the only that requires cardholders to register to be able to take part in the promotion. You can register your RBC card here. 
2. Save 30% on dining cards - When you redeem RBC Rewards points for select gift cards for restaurants across Canada they will cost you 30% less in points
3. Dine with points for 30% more value - You'll get 30% more value when you choose to Pay In-Store with Points at restaurants across Canada
4. Shop Canada with 30% off gift cards - When you redeem RBC Rewards points for gift cards for select Canadian retailers or a RBC Visa Prepaid card they will cost you 30% less in points
5. Save more with Petro-Canada - Save 30% when you redeem for a Petro-Canada gift card and get 30% more value when you Pay In-Store with RBC Rewards points through your RBC Wallet app at a Petro-Canada location
6. Shop with points for 30% more value - You'll get 30% more value when you choose to Pay In-Store with Points at retailers across Canada where tap payment is accepted.

With this campaign and their WestJet campaign launched on June 30th RBC has now joined the ranks of American Express, TD and CIBC who are or have provided incentives to pull out your credit card and use it more. This offer is especially appealing to RBC Avion cardholders (all versions) as they are the best RBC Rewards earning cards and will earn 2 to 2.5 points per dollar spent at restaurants with this promotion. My only gripe with the promotion would be the month long window for taking part. Most of RBC's competitors have their incentives running with a longer duration which make them that much more appealing. No matter what though if you hold an eligible RBC Rewards points earning card* and it is a primary card for you where you aren't interested in the incentives from other issuers then do your best to make the most of the promotion for this month!

Learn more about Points for Canada here!

*Eligible cards:
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege for Private Banking, RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege, RBC Avion Visa Infinite, RBC Avion Visa Platinum, RBC Rewards Visa Preferred, Signature RBC Rewards Visa, RBC Rewards+ Visa, RBC Rewards Visa Gold, RBC U.S. Dollar Visa Gold, RBC Avion Visa Infinite Business, and RBC Avion Visa Business.