Podcast Episode 70 - COVID-19 and the airline refund situation in Canada

Episode 70 - August 10, 2020
COVID-19 and the airline refund situation in Canada

In this episode we discuss the biggest topic in travel that has arisen due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and that's the issue of Canadian travellers getting or not getting refunds for flights that were cancelled by Canadian airlines. We delve into the topic primarily by giving real world examples from our readers and listeners and how they have handled getting or not getting refunds, their success or lack thereof with credit card charge backs and more. Give it a listen today!

Click Here to download the podcast (mp3)

 

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Links relating to this week's topics:

• Provide your feedback on the airline refund situation in Canada for an upcoming episode of the Rewards Canada podcast - this was our initial call out for stories, give the comments section a read for all the details and links from our great community!
• My experience getting a refund from WestJet for cancelled U.S. flights - Rewards Canada's own experience
• Air Passenger Rights Canada - Consumer Advocacy Group fighting for Canadian travellers
• Petition to the Government of Canada - Petition pushing for federal jurisdiction to have airlines issue refunds
• CTA Statement on airline vouchers

Useful links provided by our readers:

• Mastercard Chargeback Guide (PDF)
• Mastercard Dispute Resolution Management During COVID-19 (Public Version)
• Air Passenger Protection Regulations: SOR/2019-150

Sample letter to use to write your MP:

Dear [NAME OF MP]

It has been years since I have felt the need to write to my MP or MPP with my concerns about government policy. I am normally able to accept that there will be some things I can agree with and some things I don't. I am writing today to tell you how upset I am at your government's lack of action on demanding Canadian airlines refund their passengers for services not provided.

I have supported you at the ballot box and even been to a rally during an election campaign but you will no longer have my support if your government continues to allow Canadian airlines to steal money from Canadians and offer useless in vouchers in their place. I am now forced to go through my credit card company and likely the courts to get my money back for flights that were cancelled by the airlines. It is obvious by the outrageous prices for future flights that the vouchers are essentially worthless and quite frankly illegal as the airlines provided me with nothing for the money I gave them.

The minister of transportation has clearly sided with the airlines and their billions of dollars in the bank against Canadians and potential voters. The airlines should use bankruptcy protection to allow themselves to restructure as airlines do all the time. I would never invest in an airline for this reason, but I do think that it is the shareholders not unwilling Canadians who should be paying for this. The minister seems concerned about their being an airline industry coming out of this crisis. Of course there will be. Let them restructure and create an industry that is suitable for a pandemic and post pandemic time.

I have no idea why your government seems to be against the consumer. You will likely be facing a difficult election next year as Canadians have the time to assess the governments successes and failures of the current crisis. There will be thousands of voters holding onto to useless vouchers putting their X beside another party because the Liberals chose to ignore them and their hard earned money that is sitting with airlines rather than helping them to survive this difficult pandemic.

1,000 Free Qatar Airways Privilege Club QMiles when you download their app and login

 

Over on our global site I posted about an  offer where you can earn 1,000 bonus Qmiles when you book Qatar Airways flights via their app (this is applicable to Canadians as well) however if you keep reading further down on the promotion page there is another offer. That offer states you’ll earn 1,000 Qmiles for simply downloading the Qatar Airways app and logging in to your Privilege Club account on the app.

Here is the terminology direct from Qatar Airways:

Not yet downloaded the Qatar Airways App? As a valued Privilege Club member, download the app by 12 August 2020 and you will also enjoy an additional 1,000 bonus Qmiles once you log in.

This is valid for new members or those members who have never used the app or haven’t logged in for 6 months or more and the offer runs until August 12.

Learn more about the app offers here.

Full terms and conditions:

Bonus Qmiles Terms and Conditions for Qatar Airways App Download and Login to the membership profile:

• This offer is only applicable to Privilege Club main members, who download Qatar Airways mobile app and login to the membership account
• Members who have logged into the Qatar Airways mobile app in the last 6 months will not be eligible for the bonus Qmiles
• App users who are not members need to enrol to the Privilege Club program as main member and login to their membership account to be eligible for the bonus Qmiles
• Promotion period for App download and login: 06 August 2020  to 12 August 2020
• Members will earn bonus Qmiles only once during the offer period
• Bonus Qmiles will be credited to the eligible members account by 20 August 2020.

August 6 Update: New Amex Offer for Wayfair, Air Transat cancels Western Canada flights to sun destinations (but offers refunds) & earn Skywards miles for online shopping

A new Amex Offers deal came out this week. Once again we see a statement credit promotion for shopping with Wayfair. Cardmembers who see the offer in their account and register for it will receive a $15 statement credit when they spend $100 or more with Wayfair. We received in our household on the American Express Cobalt Card and the Platinum Card. This offer has been added to our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

Image via American Express

Air Transat has decided to cancel flights from Western Canada to sun and U.S. destinations for the upcoming winter season. Flights from Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria are all affected. The good news however is Air Transat will be offering all customers who had booked such flights full refunds rather than vouchers. (Source CTV News)

Image via Air Transat

Emirates Skywards now has an portal where you can earn Skywards miles for online shopping. The portal has a U.S. or U.K. option, as such most Canadians will most likely pick the U.S. option and shop at stores that ship north to us unless you have a U.S. forwarding address where you can even shop at stores that don't ship here and still earn your Skywards miles. Visit the Skywards Miles Mall here.

Image via Emirates

Rexall is offering $15 back in Be Well points this weekend when you spend $75 or more. No coupon is required.

Image via Rexall

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!

Air Canada is planning to resume flights between Toronto and Tokyo as of October 2nd. (Source RoutesOnline)

The rest of Air Canada's international routes have also been updated. Check them out on RoutesOnline. Some flights of note are Calgary-London restarting on October 25, Montreal-Tokyo on October 26, Ottawa-London on October 25, Toronto-Dubai on October 25 and Vancouver-Delhi on September 2.

Pakistain International Airlines will resume flights between Toronto and Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore during the first week of September. (Source RoutesOnline)

 

Posts since our last update:

• Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for August - 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 August 2020! This…
• Earn 4x ALL Rewards Points + save up to 40% on stays at Fairmont Hotels in North America
  Fairmont Hotels have definitely been one of the more aggressive hotel chains over the past three months in pushing…
• August 5 Update: AIR MILES Mega Miles returns next week, American Express Cobalt Confirmed Multiplier Locations update & 40,000 bonus PC Optimum points for online beauty shopping
  Originally planned way back in March but postponed due to COVID the fan favourite promotion AIR MILES Mega Miles…

Deals:

WestJet has a Canada wide seat sale running until August 10. Save on travel to any of their 39 destinations in Canada for travel until December 16. Find out more here.

If you aren't using the Ampli Cash Back app yet you can get $5 when you download the app and join today with promo code AMPLI5 Find out more here

Enterprise: Enjoy a free rental upgrade on rentals until August 28, 2020 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

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

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- August Promo Rewards – Save 20% to 50% on the Award Miles usually required for an award ticket. Destinations vary by each promotional period. More... Book by Aug 31 for travel Aug 1, 20 - Mar 31, 21

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- Quadruple (4x) ALL Rewards Points and up to 40% off for stays at participating Fairmont, Sofitel, Swissotel and 21c Hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Caribbean. More... Book by Aug 31 for stays until Mar 31, 21

World of Hyatt
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt House Frankfurt Eschborn More...  Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Ambassador Chicago More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Indianapolis / Carmel More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night at the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center or the Hyatt Centric Downtown Portland. More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt House Nashville / Downtown - SoBro More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Place Amarillo - West More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Regency Frisco - Dallas More... Until Aug 30, 20
- OFFER MODIFIED 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20

Wyndham Rewards
- 30% Bonus when you buy Wyndham Rewards Points. More... Until Aug 16, 20

Follow Rewards Canada:

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for August - 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 August 2020! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards 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 two first year free cards on the list

For this month the list is the exact same as July's list as there haven't been any significant changes to the higher end welcome offers in our market.

Editor's Note:
As travel is curtailed right now these offers are more forward looking and can and should be used towards your long term travel plans - whether that's later this year, next year or even beyond. Getting the cards now allows you to achieve the sign up bonuses as you wish and then continue to spend to build up those points and miles balances to make those future vacations that much better. - Or in the case of all the cards except the Alaska Airlines Mastercard you can also look at cash back or cash back equivalents like gift cards from each program if you are looking at short term financial help. If you are going for the latter focus on the cards that have no fee in the first year so that you can maximize your value.

Remember as well that you will find this list smack dab in the middle of the Rewards Canada homepage for easy reference!

Here are our top 5 credit card sign up offers for July (in order of welcome bonus value, calculated as minimum mile/points value minus annual fee)

Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card - 50,000 Points (Apply here)
Minimum value: $380

The 50,000 points, awarded after spending $1,500 on the card in three months are worth at least $500 in our minds which means after subtracting the annual fee you are coming out ahead by $380. In reality you can pull even more value out of the card (into four figures) as we outlined in our post A look at how The Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card provides huge value!  Don't forget you get an annual free night with the card as well on the card anniversary date, automatic Silver Elite status, 15 night credit towards the next elite status and more.
Minimum Income: N/A

Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard - 30,000 Miles (Apply here)
Minimum value: $330

This card offers a welcome bonus of 30,000 miles when you spend $1,000 on the card in the first three months of having it. This is one of the easiest bonuses to achieve and this card is one of the most churnable in Canada. There are really no problems in getting it 2-4 times in one year alone! Those 30,000 miles are worth no less than $330 when redeeming for economy class flights and just go up from there like the TD Aeroplan card.
Minimum Income: $80,000 Personal or $150,000 Household

CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite Card - 20,000 Miles (Apply here)
Minimum value: $240
 The bonus is awarded as follows: 15,000 Aeroplan Miles when you make your first Purchase with your Card + 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you spend $3,000 or more in the first four billing periods. Plus your first year annual fee is waived! Depending on how you redeem those Aeroplan miles should be worth no less than $240 but more likely closer to $500 or more! In fact if you take the per mile value from our post from late July 2019 this welcome bonus would be worth $1,500 or more.
Minimum Income: $60,000 Personal or $100,000

WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard - 350 WJD (Apply here)

Minimum value: $231
 The WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard actually requires the least amount of spend out of any of the cards on this list. Spend $1 and you'll get the 350 WestJet dollars bonus. You do have to pay the $119 annual meaning you come out $231 ahead. This card will earn 2x rewards on groceries and dining until August 31, 2020

Minimum Income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household

If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with anywhere from $1,400 to over $2,500 in travel value. However even if you only take on one or two you are helping your travel budget significantly 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:
American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information click the Apply now link.

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. 

Earn 4x ALL Rewards Points + save up to 40% on stays at Fairmont Hotels in North America

Fairmont Hotels have definitely been one of the more aggressive hotel chains over the past three months in pushing out offers to encourage travellers to stay at their hotels. If you are a regular reader of our blog you'll already know about their Stay Close offer that provides every 2nd night/room for free on stays at select hotels and now they have this new promotion called Take Your Time.

The Take Your Time offer is available at most Fairmont locations in North America (no Hawaii though) plus a select few other Accor family of hotels in the U.S. and Mexico. It provides up to a 40% discount on the best flexible rate plus quadruple ALL Accor Live Limitless points. This means you'll earn 100 points per 10EUR spent on your stays at these locations with the promotion. With a lot of Fairmont Hotels not being the cheapest places to stay at a multiplier like this can become very valuable.

A one night stay at the Banff Springs Hotels in the middle of August comes with a 10% discount which means rates start around C$450 or about 285 Euros. This means that one night stay will earn 2,850 points not including any elite bonuses if you hold status with the program. With the ALL program 2,000 points can be redeemed for 40EUR off a stay so the points earned are worth about 57EUR or about C$89. That's a decent rebate on the $450 stay.  But is this a good deal? Depends on the discount at the hotel. For example the CAA/AAA rate for the same night is only C$375. So $75 cheaper and base points earned are worth about $18 which means the CAA/AAA rate works out slightly better. This could be due to the fact the dates I checked only had a 10% discount with this offer. Chances are in the off season the discount will be 20% and if you are looking at other locations the discount can be as high as 40% so definitely do your homework and to make it easier for you each ALL reward point is worth 2 EUR cents each (about 3.15 cents Canadian)

Now to make sure you earn 4x points you need to book your stay(s) by August 31 but you have a long time to actually travel as you can book stays as far out as January 31 for city locations or March 31, 2021 for resort locations. The discount portion of the offer is good for bookings until December 31 however if you book between September 1 and December 31 you won't earn the 4x points.

Learn more about and book this offer here

August 5 Update: AIR MILES Mega Miles returns next week, American Express Cobalt Confirmed Multiplier Locations update & 40,000 bonus PC Optimum points for online beauty shopping

Originally planned way back in March but postponed due to COVID the fan favourite promotion AIR MILES Mega Miles will return next week! This is the promotion that offers bonus miles for shopping at various AIR MILES partners and then extra bonus miles for earning at multiple partners. This time the bonuses are 300 bonus miles for 3 partners or 1,000 miles for earning at 5 partners. The partners participating and offers do vary by region and will be revealed when the promotion starts on August 13. Find out more here.

Image via AIR MILES

Another small American Express Cobalt Card Multipliers update. This one comes from us as we enjoyed takeout from Flores and Pine a relatively new restaurant in Calgary that is highly acclaimed.

It codes properly as a 5x points merchant and not only that it falls under Amex's current Shop Small promotion so I was credited $5 for the purchase made there. See all the confirmed American Express Cobalt Multipliers here and learn more about Amex's Shop Small promotion here.

And speaking of Amex's Shop Small promotion - another merchant that surprised me a Shop Small merchant was Alberta's Hospital Home Lottery. They are one of the few lotteries that accepts American Express and after buying my tickets for it I received a $5 Shop Small credit with my Platinum Card.

This week's online shopping bonus for Shoppers Drug Mart is 40,000 bonus PC Optimum Points when you spend $125 or more. This offer is good for today and tomorrow. Find out more here.

Image via Shoppers Drug Mart

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 will be moving to daily flights to Frankfurt from both Toronto and Vancouver this September while Montreal to Munich moves up to 5x weekly. (Source RoutesOnline)

SWISS is offering 3 flights per week between Montreal and Zurich for this month while moving to 5x weekly come 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:

• You can now use Instacart to circumvent Costco's non-acceptance of Amex and to earn 5x points with the Cobalt Card
  Back in March we had our reader TitaniumTux let us know that Instacart was finally coding properly as an…
• July 31 Update: The 2% return on travel Envision World Mastercard now on Rewards Canada, hotel occupancy rates in Canada continue to rise slowly and seven new bonus offers
  Sometime ago our Facebook follower Jeremy B. introduced us to the Envision World Mastercard and I'm finally getting around…

Deals:

WestJet has a Canada wide seat sale running until August 10. Save on travel to any of their 39 destinations in Canada for travel until December 16. Find out more here.

If you aren't using the Ampli Cash Back app yet you can get $5 when you download the app and join today with promo code AMPLI5 Find out more here

Enterprise: Enjoy a free rental upgrade on rentals until August 28, 2020 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

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

IHG Rewards Club
- Receive a free night (worth up to 40,000 points) when you enroll in or renew an InterContinental Ambassador membership and stay once at an InterContinental, Kimpton or Regent Hotel. More...   Enroll/join/stay by Nov 15, 20
- OFFER EXTENDED 100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy 3,000 or more points. More...  Until Aug 14, 20

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- 1,000 Miles&Smiles Miles when you stay of 2 nights or more at Avec Hotel More... Until Dec 31, 20

United MileagePlus
- Up to a 100% bonus when you buy MileagePlus Miles. More... Until Aug 27, 20

World of Hyatt
- Receive one night free for every night your redeem points for stays at Miraval Resort & Spas. More...   Until Dec 31, 20

Follow Rewards Canada:

You can now use Instacart to circumvent Costco's non-acceptance of Amex and to earn 5x points with the Cobalt Card

Back in March we had our reader TitaniumTux let us know that Instacart was finally coding properly as an eats and drinks merchant with American Express.  At that time we wrote about how you could Use Instacart to circumvent Loblaw stores non-acceptance of Amex and to earn 5x points with the Cobalt Card. Now the same rule applies to Costco as last week they announced a new same day delivery option powered by Instacart. That means you can now earn your American Express Cobalt Card category multiplier for shopping at Costco and here's the really good news. When you do shop via Instacart YOU DON"T HAVE TO BE A COSTCO MEMBER.  Now the trade off is that the pricing via Instacart won't be the same as in store at Costco or even if you shop for the regular Costco.ca items for delivery in 2 days or longer. So in reality this option is best for the grocery items that you cannot order regularly through Costco and of course for those who are not members and don't want to pay for a membership. Even with the higher pricing via Instacart I'm sure there are savings to be had utilizing this method over shopping at other stores and then on top of that you'll earn your rewards from whicheve.r card you use to pay for the transaction.

You have two options for the delivery service in terms of ordering, you can do so via Instacart or via Costco's website:

Customers can begin shopping from Costco via Instacart today by going to https://www.instacart.ca/store/costco, opening the Instacart app on their mobile device, or visiting Costco's member-only ecommerce site at http://sameday.costco.ca. From there, customers select their city and Costco warehouse, and can begin adding items to their Instacart grocery cart. An Instacart shopper will pick and deliver the order within the customer's designated timeframe.

I went through the process of setting up the same day shopping on Costco's website and rather than completing a new profile I simply imported data from Instacart:

The only credit card I have saved on Instacart is the American Express Cobalt™ Card  as it earns 5x points with Instacart which translates to a 5% cash back return on those purchases until the end of September.  The 5x points for eats & drinks is limited to $30,000 annually. Once you are at 1,000 points you can start redeeming and those 1,000 points will net you a $10 statement credit until September 30 (it drops to 1,000 points = $7 after that or a 3.5% return)  Of course for travel it is always a minimum 5% but can get as high as 10% with Amex's Fixed Points for Travel option.

Do note that when you shop at Costco via Instacart you will not earn your Costco Executive Membership 2% return. Also of note is that some sale prices that may be available in store may not be available via Instacart. This really is the trade off - if you are willing to go shop in store you'll enjoy more savings however if you are not a member or don't want to set foot in a physical store just yet this is a great new option

Learn more about this new partnership here: https://www.instacart.ca/store/costco or  http://sameday.costco.ca.

July 31 Update: The 2% return on travel Envision World Mastercard now on Rewards Canada, hotel occupancy rates in Canada continue to rise slowly and seven new bonus offers

Sometime ago our Facebook follower Jeremy B. introduced us to the Envision World Mastercard and I'm finally getting around to putting the card's details on the Rewards Canada site and will begin to consider it for any potential rankings, portfolios and so on that I publish. This is credit union card that offers a straight 2 points per dollar spent on the card which translates to a 2% return when you redeem towards travel so it could be considered a replacement for the Capital One Aspire World Elite Mastercard however there are some pros and cons to it. From what I can tell you must have the full amount points in your account to redeem for travel (no partial redemptions) and you have to book via their travel portal. I did a quick one time search for flights on their portal between Toronto and Montreal in late August and the price on Envision's site for the Air Transat flight was 19,135 points ($191.35) while Air Transat was selling the same flight for only $160. This is something that may need more research as it reminds of the BMO Rewards travel portal where many of readers tell us the pricing found there is typically higher than booking direct with the airline.

The card also provides a cash back option however the reward site won't let me see what that redemption rate is but if it is anything like their gift card rates then it should be pretty good!

I have added the card to the Rewards Canada All Travel Credit Cards and Travel Points Credit Cards comparison charts. I do plan on providing more coverage of the card in the near future but here are some quick takeaways on the card if you want to check it out right away:

• To apply for the card you have to be a member of the credit union which you can join for $5
• It has a 2% return for travel but note that you have to have the full amount of points required for that travel. No partial redemptions are allowed.
• From what I can tell you have to book the travel via their travel portal
• The gift card redemption rates actually look pretty decent. For example a $100 gift card is 10,495 points which would take just over $5,200 in spending or about a 1.9% return. A $25 gift card however drops down to about 1.6% which is still quite good.
• It has a pretty good insurance package with travel medical, trip cancellation, price protection and more. The only insurance it seems to be missing is flight delay insurance.
  

Learn more about the Envision World Elite Mastercard here

Hotel occupancy rates in Canada continue to rise slowly. For the week of July 19-25 the number rose to 35.4% from ~33% the week before. (Source HNN)

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!

TAP Air Portugal will be  increasing their flights between Toronto and Lisbon to 5x weekly as of September 1. Meanwhile the Toronto - Ponta Delgada route launch appears to have been pushed back to September 3 while Montreal to Lisbon will operate 3x weekly in August. (Source RoutesOnline)

Posts since our last update:

• This week's Marriott Bonvoy Escapes provide up to a 25% discount at 56 hotels across Canada until August 23
  This week's Marriott Bonvoy Escapes  see 56 locations in Canada participating where members can save up to 25% on stays…
• July 28 Update: Best Western Hotels makes face coverings mandatory, SCENE will donate to Boys & Girls Club for every point earned or redeemed and more!
  Another follow up to our post last week detailing the move that most major hotel chains made requiring mandatory…

Deals:

Hilton Whislter Lodge has a deal via Travelzoo where you can stay for as little as $149 per night including parking and resort fee. Find out more here.

If you aren't using the Ampli Cash Back app yet you can get $5 when you download the app and join today with promo code AMPLI5 Find out more here

Enterprise: Enjoy a free rental upgrade on rentals until August 28, 2020 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

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
- 5x Aeroplan Miles when you shop online at select retailers via the Aeroplan eStore. More... Until Aug 9, 20

Other Bonus Offers

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Earn up to 1,500 Bonus Mileage Plan miles when you shop online via the Mileage Plan Shopping portal. More... Until Aug 9, 20

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus AAdvantage miles when you shop online via the AAdvantage Shopping portal. More... Until Aug 17, 20

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn Double Avios on all British Airways flights Worldwide as well as British Airways flights operated by American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair when travelling between Europe and North America. More... Book by Aug 31 for travel Until Dec 31, 20

Etihad Guest
- Earn 1 tier mile for every mile transferred from participating Etihad Guest partners. Minimum threshold of 5,000 miles transfer and the Tier Miles will be capped at 20,000 tier miles. More... Until Aug 30, 20

GHA Discovery
- Receive Discovery Platinum Elite status when you complete a 2 night stay at GHA Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Aug 31, 20

Hilton Honors
- 100% Bonus when you buy 10,000 or more Hilton Honors points online. More... Until Sep 20, 20



Follow Rewards Canada:

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OFFER EXTENDED Enroll or renew an InterContinental Ambassador membership and receive a free night stay when you stay once at any InterContinental, Kimpton or Regent Hotel

If you are unfamiliar with InterContinental Ambassador it is a separate 'elite' program within the IHG Hotels umbrella. It is a paid membership program that costs US$200 or 40,000 IHG Rewards Club points per year and it provides extra benefits at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and for a limited also brings you benefits at Kimpton and Regent Hotels.

 

These are the benefits associated with InterContinental Ambassador

Guaranteed one category room upgrade
Extended 4pm check-out
Complimentary weekend night (Complimentary Weekend Night is also valid at Kimpton and Regent hotels globally--any day of the week-- from July 30, 2020 – December 31, 2021 (*excluding Greater China))
Platinum Elite status in IHG^® Rewards Club
Restaurant & bar credit of up to USD20 for every stay
Ambassador on-property benefits honored at Regent hotels from July 30, 2020 – December 31, 2021 (*excluding Greater China)
And more perks to enhance your travels

When you look at it those are pretty good benefits for that US$200 or 40,000 points as the complimentary weekend night that you receive can be worth more than that price alone. Then add in the extra benefits like room upgrades, restaurant/bar credit and IHG Rewards Club Platinum Elite status and you quickly get way more out of the paid membership. The key to this program however is where you can receive these benefits and those are for stays only at 200 or so InterContinental Hotels Worldwide and for a limited time at Kimpton and Regent Hotels as well.

So to encourage uptake to the Ambassador membership base IHG has come out with a limited time promotion whereby you can earn a free night stay when you enroll in or renew an Ambassador membership and complete one stay at any InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Resort, or Regent Hotels & Resorts by December 31, 2020. The free night reward can be used to redeem for a stay worth up to 40,000 IHG Rewards Club points and must be used by April 30, 2021.

Now the question for many Canadians will be, is it worth it to join and try to get the free night if I'm not planning on travelling outside of Canada for the foreseeable future. This is where you need to decide as the footprint of InterContinental, Kimpton and Regent Hotels in Canada is not large by any means:

• InterContinental Toronto Yorkville
  
• InterContinental Toronto Centre
  
• InterContinental Montreal
  
• Kimpton St. George Toronto
  

As you can see you have a full four hotels to achieve this promotion with if you are only planning on travelling in Canada - in reality if your planning on travelling to Toronto or Montreal.

Offer details
Receive a free night (worth up to 40,000 points) when you enroll in or renew an InterContinental Ambassador membership and stay once at an InterContinental, Kimpton or Regent Hotel. Enroll or renew IHG Ambassador membership here.  Enroll/join/stay by Dec 31, 20

Find many more IHG Rewards Club Bonus Points offers here.

Images via IHG

Terms and conditions:

InterContinental^® Ambassadors who enrol in the programme or renew their programme membership between 30 July 2020 – 31 December 2020 and then complete one Qualifying Stay at InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton^® Hotels & Restaurants, or Regent ^® Hotels by 31 January 2021 will be awarded a Reward Night redeemable for a Reward Night priced at 40,000 points or less. The Reward Night will be deposited into the Free Nights section of the member’s account within 72 hours after check-out from the qualifying, paid stay and will be valid until 30 April 2021. This Reward Night is in addition to the complimentary weekend night that is already included as an InterContinental Ambassador member benefit. Ambassador benefits are not honored at Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants globally or at Regent® Hotels & Resorts in Greater China. 

 

The Reward Night must be consumed by 30 April 2021 and cannot be extended or transferred. The number of points required for a Reward Night at IHG hotels varies by date, brand and individual hotel and is subject to availability. Taxes and fees apply and the member may be required to pay such taxes and fees even for a Reward Night. IHG^® Army Hotels, Mr & Mrs Smith properties, and Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas are excluded from this Offer. 

 

This Offer is not valid for InterContinental^® Ambassador membership enrolments or renewals obtained on a complimentary basis or using the IHG Employee discount. Ambassador members must be within their standard renewal window in order to take advantage of this Offer. A Qualifying Stay is defined as a paid, minimum 1-night stay booked under a Qualifying Rate, with total spend exceeding US $30 per night. Reward Nights do not count as Qualifying Stays. A Stay is defined per IHG Rewards Club Membership Terms and Conditions as one night or consecutive nights at the same hotel, regardless of frequency of check-in/out. Only one room per member per Qualifying Stay will be eligible to earn the member a Reward Night under this Offer. If more than one member checks into the same room, only one member may use it as his or her Qualifying Stay for this Offer.  No credit will be awarded for Stays completed prior to the member’s enrollment or renewal. 

 

This Offer is subject to standard IHG Rewards Club Membership Terms and Conditions and earning structure, which can be obtained here, as well as the InterContinental Ambassador Membership Terms and Conditions, found here. IHG reserves the right to remove a member's free night award or cancel a member’s account if fraudulent use of this Offer is detected. To the extent permitted by applicable law, IHG reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify this Offer at any time with or without notice, and IHG reserves the right of final interpretation of this Offer. Members must make any inquiries relating to this Offer by 60 days from the last date on which the Reward Night can be consumed (30 April 2021).