June 3 Update: New minimum valuation for Aeroplan points and Marriott adds six more All Inclusive resorts to earn and redeem points at

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your daily dose (or near daily dose) of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. This update is brought to you by the HSBC World Elite Mastercard which is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 70,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year! 

We've bumped up our valuation of Aeroplan points to 1.5 cents per points from 1.2 cents per point. We have used that 1.2 benchmark for some time now as the lowest value you should get when redeeming for an economy class ticket. Recently in some of our searches we are finding any tickets that low anymore. In fact they are running with much better values so it seems time to boost that rate! We don't publish a set chart of valuations but we do use them in a lot of our calculations on the website and for the value of credit card welcome offers and earn rates. Learn more about the new Aeroplan program here.

Air Canada and Marriott team up with discounts to explore Canada in 2021

 

Air Canada and Marriott have joined forces to present a Flash Sale that offers discounts on flights and hotel stays within Canada. This sale is available until June 6 for travel right through to the end of 2021. The Marriott offer is good for stays at 224 of their hotels in Canada and the Air Canada offer is good for all flights across Canada.

The best credit card in Canada doesn't just beat the competition - it destroys them now

With this week's multiple news events from American Express we got to say that the issuer is attacking the Canadian credit card market from all angles again. If any card company has it in them to make cards more rewarding it's American Express and they showed it by flexing their muscles this week. While the two pieces of news cover a wide gamut of American Express cards that makes all of them better, they really make Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card stand out even more. That card is the American Express Cobalt™ Card - it has already been the best travel card since 2017 and it just got even better this week. The first piece of news was American Express enhancing their Use Points for Purchases redemption rate (essentially cash back) making this card one of if not the best cash back cards in Canada and then revealing their next limited time conversion bonus to their hotel partners.

AIR MILES Elite Members can earn extra miles for shopping online via AIR MILES Shops

 

Playing catch up on offer that's been out for a few weeks now but is still good to the end of this month. Right now through to June 30th, AIR MILES elite members can earn extra miles for shopping online via AIR MILES shops. 

Alaska Airlines and Emirates partnership will come to an end on July 31

 
Undoubtedly one of the most aspirational flight awards that Canadian points and miles enthusiasts strove for was to redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for flights in business and first class on Emirates. By buying miles during Alaska's frequent bonus promotions to churning the MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard, you name it, a lot of it was done to fly on Emirates. Well sad news emerged today that this long sought after award option will be coming to an end. As of July 31 the partnership between Alaska Airlines and Emirates will be dissolved.

100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Points by June 10

 

We see the return of IHG Rewards Club’s buy points bonus offer as a Flash Sale for the start of June. The promotion is the a 100% bonus when you purchase 15,000 or more points at a time and once again the annual purchase limit has been raised to 250,000 points before the bonus.

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for June - These cards provide the most value out of their welcome bonuses

 

Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Travel Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of June 2021! 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

Best ever! 30% bonus when you convert American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy points

 American Express' bonus for transferring Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy has returned. For the month of June when you convert Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy you'll receive 30% more Marriott points. The regular conversion ratio is 1 Membership Rewards Point = 1.2 Marriott Bonvoy points but with the bonus that is now 1.56 Marriott Bonvoy points. This is best ever bonus seen for converting Membership Rewards points to Marriott points!

June 1 Update: When earning 5x points isn't the same as earning 5x points - a loyalty lesson, more TD card offers extended & SiriusXM Amex offer

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your daily dose (or near daily dose) of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. This update is brought to you by the HSBC World Elite Mastercard which is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 70,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year! 

 

There are several credit cards in Canada that award 5x points on purchases at select merchants but surprisingly those 5x points aren't all equal. We've updated our very popular article When earning 5x points isn't the same as earning 5x points - a loyalty lesson as the negative changes from BMO kicked in last month and now we have the positive change from American Express that happened yesterday. Read that post here!

American Express increases the value for Use Points for Purchases for non-travel purchases - 1,000 points = $10 and it's permanent!

An offer that was heralded as one of the best during the first waves of the pandemic in 2020 and helped many Canadians out for over 5 months has returned! The big difference is that it isn't for a limited time - this time it's permanent!! That offer, which we can now say is a feature or benefit is the increased value in redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points for non-travel purchases. As of today when you utilize Amex's Use Points for Purchases redemption option you'll receive a $10 credit for every 1,000 points redeemed - whether its for travel purchase or any other eligible purchase for that matter!