World of Hyatt further extends pausing of points expiry, extends lifespan on earned awards, postpones peak & off-peak redemptions and more

Hyatt is the first hotel chain out of the gates with a new round of extensions to certain aspects of their World of Hyatt loyalty program. Most if not all hotel loyalty programs provided points expiry pause, elite status extensions, award extensions and more early on during the COVID-19 pandemic and most of those program modifications were for this entire year and some into the first couple of months of 2021. With yesterday's news from Hyatt they are the first major chain to make further adjustments to their program as they have realized they just can't see the light at the end of tunnel just yet with the current global travel situation.

Here is what Hyatt provided to us as to what they are doing:

To give members one less thing to worry about during this challenging time, World of Hyatt will further extend the following benefits for all members globally:   

• More time to use points: 
  Previously suspended through December 31, 2020, World of Hyatt is now suspending the forfeiture of points through June 30, 2021. As a reminder, the general policy is that points do not expire, but they will be forfeited if a member’s account is inactive for 24 months.  
• More time to use earned awards: 
  Awards with 2021 Expiration: All unused Suite Upgrade and Club Lounge Access awards with February 28, 2021 expiration dates will be extended to December 31, 2021. In addition, all unused Free Night awards that were earned in 2020 with 2021 expiration dates will be extended to December 31, 2021.
  

 Previously announced, but important reminders:

• Awards with 2020 Expiration: 
  All unused Free Night, Suite Upgrade and Club Lounge Access awards with expiration dates between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 will be extended to December 31, 2021. 
• More time for elite members to enjoy their status and benefits:
  Status and benefits have been extended for elite members without having to re-qualify. This means that whatever your status was as of March 31, 2020 – whether Discoverist, Explorist or Globalist – it was updated and now reflects a February 28, 2022 expiration date.

 

To provide members advance notice to plan ahead and get the most out of their points for free nights, World of Hyatt is making the following updates to its award chart: 

• Off-peak and Peak point redemption further postponed: 
  World of Hyatt is further postponing the introduction of Off-peak and Peak point redemption (originally planned for March 22, 2020) until July 2021. This means that free-night redemptions will continue to be at standard rates through June 2021.  
• Annual hotel award chart changes announced: 
  With only a few exceptions, World of Hyatt is suspending its 2021 hotel category award chart changes that typically occur each March. This means that most hotels will remain in their current categories and be redeemable for the same number of points in 2021 as they were in 2020, with a few current exceptions. You can view the list of current hotels shifting award categories here. 
  
  • 12 hotels will be shifting to a lower award category effective October 29, 2020. This means members will soon be able to enjoy free night awards for less points at Hyatt hotels including Grand Hyatt Vail (from category 7 to 6), Stonebridge Inn, A Destination Hotel (from category 5 to 4), The Lodge at Spruce Peak, A Destination Hotel (from 8 to 7), and Park New York (from category 6 to 5), and more. 
  • Four hotels will be shifting to a higher award category effective mid-March 2021, requiring more points to redeem for a free night award. You can view the list of current hotels shifting award categories here.

To summarize the changes we see  are points expiry due to account inactivity being pushed back another 6 months, free nights, suite upgrade and Club Lounge access awards with being extended to the end 2021, the introduction of off-peak and peak redemption rates being pushed back again and basically they won't have any hotel moving up or down in categories in 2021 save for 16 of them - 12 of which will go down a category and 4 will go up. None of their locations in Canada take part in these changes.

Click here to learn more.

Save up to 50% on British Airways Executive Club reward flights when you redeem by October 13

Launched yesterday, British Airways Executive Club has taken a note from Air Canada and launched their own up to 50% off all reward flights sale! With this promotion members of BAEC can book World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Club World or First cabins for only 50% of the normal amount of Avios required and Euro Traveller or Club Europe cabins for 25% off. The offer only runs for one week (must be booked by October 13) for flights until June 30, 2021 and those flights have to be on British Airways operated flights.

This promotion while looking good on the cover is being touted as a so-so offer for Canadians if you are looking to redeem for flights between Canada and the U.K.. The reason being is that British Airways imposes some hefty carrier surcharges on their award flights between North America and the UK or Europe and most everywhere else. There are options where countries regulate those surcharges where you wouldn't be spending as much cash on those award flights but given the current worldly travel situation it may be difficult to get onto some of those flights by next June. Some of the places that regulate surcharges include Hong Kong, Brazil, and Japan so you could look at departures from these regions to the U.K.

That being said, the value proposition for flying from Canada to the U.K. in Business Class isn't a terrible thing. Yes those surcharges suck the big.... you know what...  but when you compare such a redemption to the cash price of a ticket and if Executive Club is your main program (where you don't have tons of Aeroplan miles or other travel reward currencies) this sale is something to consider. For example here is a business class flights between Toronto and London Heathrow in March:

50,000 Avios (normally it would be 100,000) and $1,454.24 in fees and taxes. Yikes! Yes those fees and taxes are pretty insane but here is the same flight when paying cash:

 So those 50,000 Avios are saving you $3,416.97! That's a return of 6.8 cents per Avios which for many of us are earned via credit card spend. For example the American Express Gold Rewards Card's 2 points per dollar on travel, groceries, gas and drug stores would equate to a 13.6% return for this flight, the Platinum Card's 3 points on dining makes it a whopping 20.4% return. Think about it you would have only have had to spend as little as $16,667 in credit card spending to get this flight. And some will compare to Aeroplan - saying that as of November 8 you'll won't pay those carrier surcharges but in most cases would have to redeem 120,000 to 320,000 Aeroplan Points:

So let's look at the math if we compare credit card spending at the best possible rate which is the 3 Aeroplan Points or BAEC Avios with the Platinum Card's dining accelerator. The above British Airways redemption would require $16,667 in card spending and the $1454.24 in award flight fees and taxes. Total is $18,121,24. With Aeroplan you would need to spend $40,000 alone on the Platinum card not including the little bit of fees that would be on that award ticket. Based on this methodology even paying those $1454 in fees on BA makes this sale worth it. Even if you look at credit card sign up bonuses. Say you have earned 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points you could redeem for two round trip business class flights on BA versus not even one with Air Canada's Aeroplan (based on published rates of course) Of course every single person has different reward aspirations for their miles and points but don't be dissuaded by those out there saying you shouldn't redeem for this BA sale because of those high fees. Yes they are a bane to all of us and yes they shouldn't be charged but the reality is many programs do and you need to look at the whole big picture of how you have earned those points and miles and how you redeem them and make the comparisons as to what redemption works best for you.  

Click here to learn more about the BA 50% off reward ticket sale.

Looking to earn more Avios? Right now one of the best options is with HSBC World Elite Mastercard with it 100,000 point welcome bonus with no annual fee in the first year. That's 40,000 Avios not including your spend on the card to get the bonus.

Here are some more BAEC bonuses to check out:

• Earn up to 18,000 Bonus Avios when you subscribe to The Economist. Full details
• 20% Bonus Avios on your first transaction when shop online via the British Airways eStore. Full details
  

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

 

 

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Travel Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of October 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 three first year free cards on the list

Only one change this month and that is the MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard jumping up to second place thanks to its new $100 statement credit offer!

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 October (in order of welcome bonus value, calculated as minimum mile/points value minus annual fee)

HSBC World Elite Mastercard - 100,000 points (Apply here)

Minimum value: $500
This card offers a welcome bonus of 100,000 points, split between 20,000 on first purchase and 80,000 more when you spend $5,000 within 180 days of getting the card. The annual fee of $149 is waived in the first year as well meaning these points come to you at no cost other than card spend. The card has a lot of other good benefits like no foreign transaction fees to consider as well! Those 100,000 points are worth $500 in travel rewards but those points can also be converted to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
Minimum Income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household or $400,000 in assets at any Canadian Financial Institution

Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard - 30,000 Miles + $100 Statement credit (Apply here)
Minimum value: $451

This card offers a welcome bonus of 30,000 miles plus a $100 statement credit 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 and the statement credit are worth no less than $451 when redeeming for economy class flights and just go up from there.
Minimum Income: $80,000 Personal or $150,000 Household

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

TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card - 25,000 Miles (Apply here)

Minimum value: $300

After a few months hiatus the mainstay card for the Aeroplan program returns to the list with it's newest offer. The bonus is awarded as follows: 15,000 Aeroplan Miles when you make your first Purchase with your Card + 10,000 Aeroplan Miles when you spend $1,500 in the first three months of having the card.  Add in no annual in the first year on both the primary and 1st additional card and you get full value of the miles earned. Depending on how you redeem those Aeroplan miles should be worth no less than $300 but more likely closer to $800 or more! In fact if you take the per mile value from our post from late July 2019 this welcome bonus would be worth $1,800 or more.
Minimum Income: $60,000 Personal or $100,000 Household

 

TD First Class Visa  Infinite Card - 60,000 Points  (Apply here)

Minimum value: $240
THIS OFFER IS EXPIRED NOW. The First Class Visa Infinite Card makes it back onto the list this month with its latest offer as well. You receive 20,000 points on your first purchase and 40,000 more points when you spend $1,500 on the card in the first 90 days. The card also has rebates on the primary and first additional card for the first year. At a minimum the points are worth $240 towards any travel but are worth $300 if you choose to redeem via ExpediaForTD
Minimum Income: $60,000 Personal or $100,000 Household

If you went for all these cards you ultimately could end up with anywhere from $1,800 to well 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. 

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan buy miles mystery bonus – up a to 70% bonus

The much awaited Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan buy miles mystery bonus for October is here. The reason why this one is so highly anticipated is that for select members who happened to buy miles (30,000 or more) during the summer offer will now be offered up to 70% bonus! Everyone else including yours truly seems to have the 60% offer which is still an amazing deal. 

At 60%  you’ll be buying Mileage Plan miles for as little as 1.72 US cents each. If you received a different bonus from the 60 or 70% please let us know the details in the comments below and we’ll add it to the post.

 Here's an example of the savings it can provide - how about flying First Class with Emirates from Vancouver to Dubai. It is 150,000 Mileage Plan miles for one way + US$75.65

To buy this flight outright with cash would be over C$10,000  however by buying Mileage Plan miles you can cut that price by more than half:
 

 

You can buy 152,000 miles for US$2612.50 (+GST/HST) and if you add in the award flight taxes of just over US$75 you are looking at all in cost of around $3,600 to $3,700 Canadian dollars. Still a decent chunk of change but definitely a major savings of buying it outright. However for many of you it will come down to combining Mileage Plan miles earned on the MBNA Alaska Airlines Mastercard (which as we first reported comes with a $100 statement credit on top of the bonus miles right now)  with some miles that are bought via these promotions so that first class flight ends up being even cheaper.

Offer details:
Receive up to 60% Bonus Mileage Plan Miles when you buy or gift  miles. Buy Alaska Miles Here Until Oct 31, 20
Buy 3,000 – 39,000 miles, get a 50% bonus
Buy 40,000 – 100,000 miles, get a 60% bonus

Here are some more Mileage Plan offers to check out:

• 50% Bonus Elite Qualifying Mileage Plan miles when you fly on Alaska Airlines. Full details
• 500 Bonus Mileage Plan Miles on Hertz rentals of 1 or more days in U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico Full details & online booking
• Earn a minimum 10,000 Mileage Plan Miles when you fly on eligible Mileage Plan Global Partner flights between North America and a non-North America destinations. Full details.
• Find our complete list of Mileage Plan offers here.

New RBC Offers for Microsoft (up to $100 back) and Jewlr (10% back)

 

It's been less than a week since our last update of our RBC offers page and two new offers have emerged in that time! The best one is a really good offer for Microsoft purchases:

Get a $50 statement credit when you spend $499.00-$999.99 and pay with an eligible RBC Royal Bank credit card. Get a $100 statement credit when you spend $1,000 or more and pay with an eligible RBC Royal Bank credit card.

This offer is valid until December 30 so it is perfect for your upcoming Christmas shopping! You do need to load the offer to your RBC card so you'll have to login to your account and do so. Also the offer is only available online which correct me if I'm wrong is the only way to shop Microsoft directly as I believe they have closed down or in the process of closing down their physical stores in Canada?

The other offer added is from a merchant I have never heard of before, Jewlr:

Get 10% back when you spend $100 or more at Jewlr.ca. Offer ends December, 31 2020. Maximum statement credit of $50 for each transaction, up to 2 transactions*

Again this is an online offer only and it also has to be loaded to your RBC card.

These offers have been added to our Guide to RBC Royal Bank 'RBC Offers'. Here is the current list of all the RBC offers we are aware of at time of posting (if you know of any others please let us know!)

Merchant	Offer Details	Known cards to have this offer	Expires
	Get $15 off at Little Burgundy online or in-store with promo code when you spend $100 or more before taxes		Oct 14, 20
	Get a $10 statement credit when you rent a box for $99 on dresst.ca		Oct 15, 20
	Spend $40 at Indigo in-store or online using your eligible RBC Card, and you’ll get a $5 statement credit.		Oct 15, 20
	$35 off 1-800-GOT-JUNK services with promo code RBC35		Oct 30, 20
	Spend at least $199 at Petro-Canada on fuel, car wash or convenience store purchases in October and you will earn 2,500 bonus Petro-Points, or spend $399 or more on fuel, car wash or in-store purchases at Petro-Canada and earn 5,000 bonus Petro-Points when you pay with your linked RBC debit or credit card		Oct 31, 20
	Receive $50 off the cost of any Ownr service using the link via your RBC account		Nov 1, 20
	Get a 10% statement credit when you spend $15 or more		Nov 3, 20
	Get a $20 statement credit on any purchase over $100 online at www.altitude-sports.com		Nov 10, 20
	Spend $100 or more and receive a $10 statement credit when you dine in at The Keg Restaurant		Nov 15, 20
	Get a 10% statement credit at Ollie Quinn, in-store, when you make a minimum purchase of $150 in-store, including taxes.		Dec 17, 20
	Receive 10% off your next purchase at olliequinn.ca when you make a minimum purchase of $150, before taxes and shipping		Dec 17, 20
	Get a $50 statement credit when you spend $499.00-$999.99 and pay with an eligible RBC Royal Bank credit card. Get a $100 statement credit when you spend $1,000 or more and pay with an eligible RBC Royal Bank credit card.		Dec 30, 20
	Get 10% back when you spend $100 or more at Jewlr.ca. Offer ends December, 31 2020. Maximum statement credit of $50 for each transaction, up to 2 transactions*		Dec 31, 20
	Get 5% off at Hotels.com + Hotels.com Rewards. Book your hotels.com stay here (link has the RBC discount)		Ongoing offer

 

Key to the cards:

RBC Visa Infinite Avion

WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard

WestJet RBC Mastercard

For more details on or to apply for any of the RBC Cards listed above please visit Rewards Canada's RBC offers page.