July 10 Update: Aeroplan extends buy miles bonus to July 14, an update to our Top 5 cards for July, 20x PC Optimum points this weekend

As we predicted earlier this week, Aeroplan has extended the window for buying miles with up to a 75% bonus + 100% AQDs. The offer now runs until July 14. Find out more here.

Even though it was just posted earlier this week we have updated our Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for July post as the new offer on the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard actually drops it off the list. It has been replaced with the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard. Read more here. 

If you missed the bonus from earlier this week, PC Optimum has another one for this weekend for shopping for beauty product online with Shoppers Drug Mart. From today through to Sunday you will earn 20x the points when you spend $75 or more. Find out more here.

The oneworld Alliance has put together a dedicated website that outlines what the alliance and all its member airlines are doing to make sure your health and safety are top priority if and when you travel with them. The site details airport operations and also lists what each airline's policy is in regards to cleaning, on-board safety and more. Check it out here.

Airline Schedule Updates
A summary 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!

Lufthansa is flying 3 weekly flights on their Toronto to Frankfurt and Vancouver to Frankfurt routes for this month. Those are planned to be bumped up to 5x weekly in August and then to daily service in September. (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:

• The BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard has a new increased welcome bonus offer of 40,000 points with a first year annual fee waiver
  ** This post has been updated to reflect how the welcome bonus is broken down into two parts**  …
• New increased welcome bonus of 50,000 points on the BMO Rewards® Business Mastercard®
  The personal BMO Rewards World Elite card isn't the only card from the bank that is changing today (more…
• July 9 Update: 500 bonus points for stays at the Hyatt Place Kelowna, Last day for the BMO Rewards Mastercard 20,000 point bonus & Wyndham Rewards lowers elite qualification requirements
  Yesterday we wrote about the new Hyatt Place Kelowna that will open next week. What I forgot to mention…

Deals:

Air Canada has launched a Europe seat sale - yes a seat for flights to Europe this summmer. Some countries in Europe are now open to Canadians and Air Canada is flying to those like Greece, The Netherlands and others. Book by July 16 for travel until September 10. Find out more here.

Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel - $159 night per night with parking via Travelzoo. 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

Air Canada Aeroplan
- Up to 75% Bonus Aeroplan Miles + 100% AQD when you buy or gift Aeroplan miles. More... Until Jul 14, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 500 Bonus Asia Miles when you join the Asia Miles program and complete your 1st Miles earning activity at The Langham, Hong Kong or Cordis, Hong Kong. More... Until Aug 31, 20

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles when you rent with Sixt for 3 or more days in Germany (only until Sep 15), Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, France, Monaco, Spain, the UK, Italy and the US. More... Book by Jul 31 for rentals until Sep 30, 20

Red Roof Inn RediRewards
- 50% bonus RediPoints for stays at any Red Roof location, including The Red Collection and Hometowne Studios by Red Roof in the U.S., Japan, Brazil and Canada (if the Canadian location opens in August as is slated right now)  More... Until Sep 7, 20

World of Hyatt
- 25% World of Hyatt points rebate for Hyatt credit card holders when you redeem for award nights or points+cash stays or when using points for hotels incidentals like room upgrades or spa services. More... Register by Sep 1 for stays until Oct 8, 20
- 15% World of Hyatt points rebate when you redeem for award nights or points+cash stays or when using points for hotels incidentals like room upgrades or spa services. More... Register by Sep 1 for stays until Oct 8, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

---

The BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard has a new increased welcome bonus offer of 40,000 points with a first year annual fee waiver

** This post has been updated to reflect how the welcome bonus is broken down into two parts**
 
BMO revealed the highest ever welcome bonus points offer for their premier card the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard . As of today the card comes with a limited time offer of 40,000 BMO Rewards Points that is broken down as 30,000 when you spend $3,000 within 3 months of being approved for the card and another 10,000 on the card's first anniversary.  On top of that the annual fee of $150 is waived for the first year of having the card. So basically the offer is actually 5,000 points less than the last offer on initial spend but you get that 'anniversary' bonus when you pay your annual fee for the second year.

Once you meet the minimum spend requirement you'll receive those 30,000 bonus points which are worth ~$214 towards any travel booked via bmorewards.com. Add in the 10,000 after your first year and you have $285 in points but you are now paying that $150 annual fee. You can also choose to use the points as a cash back credit towards purchases you make on the card but note the rate is quite low - those 40,000 points are equal to $133.33 in statement credits. So as you can see it is much better option to go down the travel redemption route!

The welcome bonus isn't the only factor to consider for this card - here are some of the key features of the BMO World Elite Mastercard that also make it one of the stronger cards in Canada:

·         Get 3 BMO Rewards points for every $1 spent on eligible travel, dining and entertainment purchases
·         Get 2 points for every $1 spent everywhere else
·         Complimentary membership in Mastercard Airport Experiences provided by LoungeKey, with exclusive VIP access, plus four annual complimentary passes

On top of that it has one of the best in class insurance packages mainly due to the fact that this is one of the few cards where the insurance will cover you when you fly on award tickets from other loyalty programs. As they state in their insurance policy you will be covered is you pay for the full or partial cost of a trip with this card. This means you can redeem Aeroplan miles, AIR MILES, etc. for a flight and as long as you pay for the taxes and fees with the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercrd you have met the partial payment requirement to avail of trip cancellation, trip interruption, flight delay, baggage insurance etc.

Back to the points side and redeeming them - it takes 140 points for a $1 travel redemption and with accelerated earn rate of 3 points per dollar for travel, dining and entertainment purchases your return becomes 2.14% however the remainder of your spending at 2 points per dollar only provides a ~1.43% return. Points have to be redeemed via BMO Rewards unlike some of its fiercest competition that allow their cardholders to make their own bookings with any travel provider and redeem points against those charges. There does not seem to be a minimum amount of points that you need to redeem with BMO Rewards at one time so this card can be quite advantageous in redeeming for seat sale fares. As an example, flights between Toronto and Ottawa or Montreal often dip below $50 each way and come in under $200 with taxes which means, you could redeem as little as 28,000 points for the flights (or $9333.33 in spending) When redeeming with this card you want to try to do it online as BMO Rewards will charge you for bookings made over the phone.

Here's a quick review of the pros and cons of this card

Pros

• Great welcome bonus of 40,000 points + first year annual fee waiver
• Excellent insurance package that covers award tickets
• Four complimentary lounge passes

Cons

• The everyday spending return of 1.43% is on the lower side when compared to this card's direct competitors
• Having to book via bmorewards.com can be less flexible than some competitors who let you book any way you want and then redeem points against the charge.

Learn more about and apply for the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercard here.

New increased welcome bonus of 50,000 points on the BMO Rewards® Business Mastercard®

The personal BMO Rewards World Elite card isn't the only card from the bank that is changing today (more on that coming later today!) The premium small business version of the card, the BMO Rewards® Business Mastercard® sees a nice welcome bonus increase as well. As of today the limited time offer for the BMO Rewards® Business Mastercard® is now 50,000 bonus points when you spend $5,000 or more on the card in the first three months of having it. On top of that the annual fee of $120 is waived for the first year of having the card. That means you basically get those 50,000 points at no cost outside of the spending that you actually put on the card.

Once you meet the minimum spend requirement you'll receive those 50,000 bonus points which are worth $357 towards any travel booked via bmorewards.com. You do have other redemption options with this card but travel does provide the best value.

Here are some of the key features of the BMO Rewards® Business Mastercard® to also take into account on top of the welcome bonus

·         Get 3 BMO Rewards points  for every $1 you spend on gas, office supplies and cell phone/internet bill payments
·         Earn 1.5 BMO Rewards points for every $1 you spend
·         Strong travel insurance pacakge

Much like the personal version of the card this business card's insurance will also cover you when you fly on award tickets from other loyalty programs. As they state in their insurance policy you will be covered is you pay for the full or partial cost of a trip with this card. This means you can redeem Aeroplan miles, AIR MILES, etc. for a flight and as long as you pay for the taxes and fees with the BMO Rewards World Elite Mastercrd you have met the partial payment requirement to avail of trip cancellation, trip interruption, flight delay, baggage insurance etc.

Back to the points side and redeeming them - it takes 140 points for a $1 travel redemption and with accelerated earn rate of 3 points per dollar for  gas, office supplies and cell phone/internet bill payments your return is 2.14% however the remainder of your spending at 1.5 points per dollar only provides a ~1.07% return. The Points have to be redeemed via BMO Rewards unlike some of its fiercest competition that allow their cardholders to make their own bookings with any travel provider and redeem points against those charges. When redeeming with this card you want to try to do it online as BMO Rewards will charge you for bookings made over the phone.

Here's a quick review of the pros and cons of this card

Pros

• Great welcome bonus of 40,000 points + first year annual fee waiver
• Excellent insurance package that covers award tickets

Cons

• The everyday spending return of 1.07% is on the lower side of earn rates
• Having to book via bmorewards.com can be less flexible than some competitors who let you book any way you want and then redeem points against the charge.

Learn more about and apply for the BMO Rewards® Business Mastercard® here.

July 9 Update: 500 bonus points for stays at the Hyatt Place Kelowna, Last day for the BMO Rewards Mastercard 20,000 point bonus & Wyndham Rewards lowers elite qualification requirements

Yesterday we wrote about the new Hyatt Place Kelowna that will open next week. What I forgot to mention in that post is that the hotel falls under Hyatt's new hotel bonus offer where you can earn 500 bonus World of Hyatt points per night. The bonus runs until October 30 and there is no need for registration. Simply book and stay on a eligible rate for points earning and the bonus points are yours. On the website it states the offer is available from July 6 but we know the hotel isn't opening until July 14 so that will be the start date for this offer. Find out more here.

Today is the last day to grab the 20,000 point welcome offer on the no fee BMO Rewards Mastercard. Tomorrow morning the welcome offer will be lower. Apply for the card here.

Wyndham Rewards has lowered the qualification requirements for attaining elite status in the program. Now you can receive Gold when you stay three qualifying nights, Platinum when you stay nine qualifying nights and Diamond with 24 qualifying nights in 2020. Find out more here.

Airline Schedule Updates
A summary 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!

Turkish Airlines will be starting up 3 weekly flights between Montreal and Istanbul as of July 15. This is on top of their 4x weekly flights they are now operating between Toronto and Istanbul (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 July - 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…
• Hyatt Place Kelowna opens next week - 11 days earlier than planned!
  Back on March 2 we brought you our annual New Hyatt Hotel Openings in Canada post that detailed six…
• July 8 Update: Earn up to 300 bonus AIR MILES for shopping online, AIR MILES & Shell expanding earn next week, 40,000 bonus PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases
    AIR MILES is offering up to 300 bonus miles for shopping online via Airmilesshops.ca during their Christmas in July…

Deals:

Air Canada has launched a Europe seat sale - yes a seat for flights to Europe this summmer. Some countries in Europe are now open to Canadians and Air Canada is flying to those like Greece, The Netherlands and others. Book by July 16 for travel until September 10. Find out more here.

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

Travelzoo: Big savings at the Fox Hotel & Suites in Banff

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

Finnair Plus
- Double Plus Points + Double Elite Tier Points on all eligible Finnair flights Worldwide. More... Book by Aug 7 for travel until Sep 30, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

---

Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for July - 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 July (in alphabetical order)

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)

 

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)

SimplyCash™ Preferred Card from American Express - 5% cash back on all purchases up to $6,000 (Apply here)
Welcome offer cash back value: $201 ($300 - $99 annual fee)

This card is offering 5% cash back on all spending during the first six months of having the card. The 5% is capped at $6,000 of spending for a maximum return of $300 cash back as your welcome bonus. This is the only card on the list that does not have its first year annual fee waived. That fee is $99 hence the welcome bonus sign up value of $201. Cash back on this card is awarded once per year as a statement credit.
Minimum Income: N/A

 

TD Cash Back Visa Infinite* Card - 10% cash back on all purchases up to $2,000
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. 

Hyatt Place Kelowna opens next week - 11 days earlier than planned!

Back on March 2 we brought you our annual New Hyatt Hotel Openings in Canada post that detailed six new hotels the chain was planning on opening this year. Two weeks after that Canada pretty much shut down due to the Coronavirus and that led to many planned hotel openings being postponed. In fact one of those hotels, the Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga Centre was postponed from April to June and now to late July. However one hotel is doing the opposite, the Hyatt Place Kelowna was slated to open on July 25 but that has been moved up to July 14! It is opening a full 11 days early which is something of rarity for hotels in the best of times let alone during a pandemic!

The Hyatt Place Kelowna is located on Enterprise way in a commercial area not too far out from downtown Kelowna and kind of on the way to the airport which is just over 10 kilometers away.

For the opening night on July 14 you can book a stay here for C$176 ($203 with taxes) or 8,000 World of Hyatt points. You can also choose to use Points+Cash at a rate of 4,000 points + C$110.

We value World of Hyatt points at 2.3 cents each in C$ - so redeeming 8,000 points for a $203 stay is slightly above that at 2.5 cents however we revealed earlier today that Hyatt is giving back 15% of your points as a bonus after a points stay all the way through to October 8. This means you would get 1,200 World of Hyatt points back per night meaning your 6,800 points you ended up spending would give you a point value of almost 3 cents. Not only that, when you redeem points for a stay you will receive free parking, which at this new hotel runs a staggering $4.99 per day ;-) but still that's money in your pocket.

Remember as well that you can buy World of Hyatt points right now with a 30% bonus. At a cost of 1.85 cents US each you are looking at over 2.5 cents C$ each and when you take into account the 15% back you'll get it could be worth it to buy points.

Are you excited for the opening of this new Hyatt Hotel in Kelowna? Do you plan on staying here soon? Let us know in the comments section below!

July 8 Update: Earn up to 300 bonus AIR MILES for shopping online, AIR MILES & Shell expanding earn next week, 40,000 bonus PC Optimum points for Shoppers Drug Mart online purchases

 

AIR MILES is offering up to 300 bonus miles for shopping online via Airmilesshops.ca during their Christmas in July event. You'll earn 150 bonus miles if you spend$150 across two different retailers or 300 bonus miles if you spend $300 or more across three different retailers. The offer runs until July 27. Find out more here.

AIR MILES and Shell sent out a teaser email about them launching something exciting next week. In the email it states they are introducing a new way for collectors to earn more miles with every visit. You'll recall that about five years ago Shell and AIR MILES clawed back the amount of miles earned so it looks like some of that may be coming back. Really hard to say until the details come out next week.

You can earn 40,000 PC Optimum Points if you spend $125 or more online with Shoppers Drug Mart today and tomorrow. Those 40K points are worth $40. Find out more here.

Airline Schedule Updates
A summary 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!

When Royal Air Maroc restarts international flights later this month they are planning to operate 7 flights per week (daily service) between Montreal and Casablanca. (Source RoutesOnline)

Ukraine International will be starting up 1 weekly flight between Toronto and Kiev as of July 18. (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:

• IHG Rewards Club brings back its 100% bonus on buying points and some great examples of how it can save you some money on your summer hotel stays
  We see the return of IHG Rewards Club's buy points bonus offer only a little over two weeks after…
• You can now earn and burn Aeroplan Miles on Azul Brazilian Airlines
  A major decline in travel due to the current global pandemic has not stopped Air Canada's Aeroplan from growing…
• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for July - These cards provide some of the best value out of their welcome bonuses
  Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of July 2020! This is…
• World of Hyatt offering 15% back in points for award stays + free parking + bonus points on dining
  Hyatt Hotels launched another initiative today in efforts to encourage more people to travel and whether it is a…
• Big savings at the Fox Hotel & Suites in Banff with this Travelzoo offer
  Another great Travelzoo offer to let you know about! (Travelzoo is an affiliate partner of Rewards Canada, we thank…
• 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…
• 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…

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

Travelzoo: Big savings at the Fox Hotel & Suites in Banff

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

Air Canada Aeroplan
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the program and complete your first mileage earning transaction by July 31. More... Until Jul 31, 20

World of Hyatt
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Hyatt Place Kelowna More... Until Oct 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Hyatt Place Toronto/Mississauga Centre More... Jul 21 - Oct 30, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 50% Bonus MilleMiglia Miles and up to 20% off when you buy or gift miles online. More... Until Jul 31, 20

Choice Privileges
- Save 25% when you buy Choice Privileges points. Minimum purchase of 3,000 points. More... Until Aug 16, 20

IHG Rewards Club
- 100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy 3,000 or more points. More... Until Jul 31, 20

World of Hyatt
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Park Hyatt Suzhou, Grand Hyatt Hefei, Hyatt Place Changchun Jingyue, The Lixury Hotel Chongqing, Hyatt Regency Hengqin or the Hyatt Place Changsha Airport More... Until Sep 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Melbourne/Palm Bay More... Until Sep 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Hyatt House Chicago - Medical / University District, Hyatt Place Chicago / Wicker Park or the Hyatt Place Chicago – Medical / University District More... Until Sep 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Centric Downtown Minneapolis More... Until Sep 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Fort Lee / George Washington Bridge More... Until Sep 29, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Regency Frisco - Dallas or the Hyatt Place Amarillo - West More... Until Sep 29, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Houston / Downtown More... Jul 28 - Oct 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria More... Until Sep 29, 20

-Wyndham Rewards
- Triple Wyndham Rewards Points on rentals of 3 or more days at participating Budget locations in the U.S. and Canada. More... Until Dec 31, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

IHG Rewards Club brings back its 100% bonus on buying points and some great examples of how it can save you some money on your summer hotel stays

We see the return of IHG Rewards Club's buy points bonus offer only a little over two weeks after it last ended. The promotion is the same as last time - a 100% bonus when you purchase 2,000 or more points at a time and once again the annual purchase limit has been raised to 250,000 points before the bonus.

Buying 250,000 points (500,000 total with bonus) costs US$2,500 which means each point will only cost you 0.5 cents.  However you don't have to buy that many to get in on that lowest price, the 0.5 US cents per points kicks in when you buy at least 26,000 points. We don’t encourage buying points just because there is a bonus but if you can foresee a potential use for them in the next 4-6 months it can definitely be worthwhile to buy them.

Offer Details
100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy 3,000 or more points. Buy IHG Rewards Club Points here Until Jul 31, 20



Here are some example of how buying points can save you some money on stays with IHG:

First we look at the Holiday Inn Canmore for those looking for staycation in the Banff area. You can redeem 30,000 points per night at this hotel where rates are running $297.78 per night:

Here you can see that you can buy 30,000 points for that one night stay for $172.50 USD. Take into account the exchange rate and GST you have to pay on the points and you are looking at an outlay of about C$250. That means buying the points would save you $47 on that one night stay and that's not even taking into account the taxes and fees you have to pay on the cash rate. However as mentioned above the savings get bigger when you buy more points.

For example if you buy 30,000 points (60,000 with the bonus) it will cost you $300 USD or about C$435. Now that's enough points for a 2 night stay at the Holiday Inn Canmore where your cash outlay would be $594. Now you can see you are saving $159 in total or $79.50 per night.


Now let's move over to Quebec and the Holiday Inn Express Tremblant for those road trips out of Ottawa and Montreal. You can stay here for 17,500 points per night or C$202 if you pay cash (before taxes and fees)

Here you can see that you can buy 18,000 points for that one night stay for $121.50 USD. Take into account the exchange rate and HST you have to pay on the points and you are looking at an outlay of about C$188. That means buying the points would save you only about $14 on that one night stay. However if you want to stay three nights and want to buy points for all three nights you would buy at the lowest level price of 0.5 cents US per points. Three nights is 52,500 points, which means you would have to buy 54,000 points for US$270. The Canadian equivalent is about $421 all in for a $606 stay. A total savings of $185 or about $61 per night.

There are many more examples I could go into but I recommend checking IHG first for the going rates and then comparing those rates to what you would buy points at. For example I checked the InterContinental Toronto and they wanted 27,500 points for a stay that costs C$195 per night - so in that case it wouldn't be worth it to buy the points. In the end however, it will really depend on where you want to travel to and run the numbers to see if this deal will save you some money on your staycation, road trip or even if you are brave enough - a trip to the U.S. (you can travel there by air) or one of the countries that has opened up to Canadians like Greece.

Visit IHG.com today to check hotel rates and take advantage of the buy points bonus here.





 
Find many more IHG Rewards Club bonus point offers here!