June 14 Update: Save 25% when you redeem TD Rewards points for gift cards or merchandise & Travel Hacking 101 earn up to 147,000 Aeroplan points updated

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! 

TD is offering a 25% discount when you redeem TD Rewards points earned on cards like the TD First Class Travel Visa card for gift cards and merchandise. This offer runs until July 30, 2021. There is an additional offer of an extra $10 back if you redeem for Home Depot gift card by June 18. Learn more here.

WestJet introduces new Calgary to Amsterdam flights!

 

If there was a new European flight to be expected to be announced from WestJet this was it. The Calgary based airline announced today that they will be starting direct non-stop flights to Amsterdam on August 5, 2021.  The reason why it was expected was WestJet's ties with Amsterdam based KLM. WestJet has been partners with KLM (and Air France) for many years now and while KLM already flies between Calgary and Amsterdam, their schedules have been reduced due to the pandemic. It appears that WestJet may be filling the gap now and the two airlines will serve the route together for the summer season.

Up to a 50% bonus when you buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

Alaska Airlines has launched a new buy miles offer that runs until June 25th. This time the bonus once again ranges from 40% to 50% depending on how many miles you buy. Ideally you want to buy so you get that 50% bonus which means you’d have to buy 15,000 or more miles. We see the 50% bonus quite frequently now from Alaska but have even seen 60% (some lucky members got 70%) as part of a targeted mystery bonus over the past year.

WestJet expanding service to Hawaii including new direct flights from Calgary to Kona and Lihue

 

WestJet is banking on Hawaii for the upcoming winter season with an announced expansion of flights to the islands in the Pacific! With an increase of flights by over 25% WestJet will offer 57 weekly flights out of Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to four Hawaiian destinations. While flights from Vancouver have already resumed we see the return of Calgary and Edmonton in November and December respectively. On top of the usual routes the airline has flown we see new direct non-stop flights out of Calgary to Kona and Lihue! This is exciting news as Calgarians will no longer have to connect in Vancouver to get to the Big Island or Kauai.

American Express is planning something for their travel cards but we don't know what it is!

You may have seen some ads from American Express that started showing up on our site over the past few days. Those ads state "Your future is about to get a whole lot more rewarding" and shows five of American Express' travel cards. When you click on the ad (or the link below) all that is revealed is a form to complete to "get information on American Express^® products, offers and more". The form asks for your first name, email address, which benefit (reward) appeals to you the most and how much you plan to spend on your card annually. That's it. Nothing else.

June 10 Update: American Airlines extending pause on AAdvantage miles expiry & save 20% on Shangri-La Hotel stays in Toronto and Vancouver

 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! 

American Airlines has further extended their pause for expiring AAdvantage miles. Miles will now be current until December 31, 2021. Learn more here. 

"If your miles are scheduled to expire on or before December 31, 2021, they will now expire in January 2022, if there’s no additional activity in your account before then. You can find the expiration date of your miles in the Wallet section of your AAdvantage® account."

Earn 2x elite qualifying Flying Blue XP on all Air France & KLM flights for the last half of 2021

Similar to an offer seen for the last half of 2020 we now see a great offer from Air France KLM's Flying Blue program for the last half of 2021!  While travel isn't really in the cards for most of us just yet, it is looking more like reality in the coming months so if your travels will take to you Europe or beyond by connecting in Europe you could consider utilizing Air France and KLM. From July 1 to December 31 all Flying Blue members will earn Double XP elite status credits on all Air France and KLM marketed flights which means you may be able to reach that next level of Flying Blue elite status sooner. Both airlines have been serving most of their Canadian cities with limited frequencies but you could expect that to be increased as more European countries open up to vaccinated travelers and if Canada does go ahead with changing the requirements for those returning to Canada.

June 9 Update: Mandatory hotel stay and quarantine requirement to be dropped for fully vaccinated Canadians & 35,000 bonus points on more Avion cards

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! 

News emerged today from our federal government that we can expect to have the mandatory hotel stay and 14 day quarantine requirements when returning to Canada to be dropped for Canadians and permanent residents who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Travellers who meet the criteria will still be required to have a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding a flight back to Canada and will have to take one more test upon return and quarantine until those test results are received and are negative. It is hoped that these new rules will be in place by the beginning of July so long as our COVID-19 numbers continue to drop. (Source Canadian Travel News)

What happens to points & miles when a person passes away?

 

This week sees the return of a not so often talked about topic in the points and miles world and that is "What happens to your points and miles after a person passes away?" Global BC's Consumer Matters reached out to me for an interview (see the piece here) as one of their viewers contacted them when her husband passed away and all his Canadian Tire Money was lost. In the end it was good news for her as they provided her with a gift certificate worth more than the points that were lost but it still stands to bring forth the details and to discuss this subject.

Summary of global hotel systemwide bonus points promotions – June Edition

 Here is your monthly update of all the global hotel bonus points promotions that are available. One of the easiest ways to rack up lots of hotel points is to take advantage of these systemwide bonuses that come from many of the big chain programs and also from the lesser known programs. In fact, right now it should be rare for you NOT to earn a bonus. Unless you are staying at a boutique hotel or perhaps an independent hotel most other hotels out there have a bonus. So take advantage of it! These systemwide bonuses simply require you to register beforehand and they do not affect hotel pricing as long as you book a point eligible rate which are most rates out there. Of course booking through a third party site like Expedia or Rocketmiles does not count as most chains only award points on bookings that are made directly with them.  Here are all the current promotions that are available to everyone this month: