June 15 Update: Credit cards that help you avoid those dreaded airline fees and Aeroplan providing some elites with status boosts next year

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! 

With travel slowly making a rebound and returning to many Canadian's radars to happen in the next 3-12 months you are going to have to start thinking about those dreaded airline fees again! With that we have updated our feature on Credit cards that help you avoid those dreaded airline fees. In this piece we look at cards that save you those baggage fees, seat selection fees and other fees that just seem to add up all the time. Check it out here.

Hyatt further extends points expiry, delays peak/off-peak pricing and a peek at the next bonus points offer

 Hyatt Hotels revealed today that they are extending their pause on points and expiry and will further postpone Off-Peak and Peak award night pricing. They also gives us a glimpse at the next iteration of their Bonus Journeys systemwide promotion.

Earn up to 5,000 bonus Aeroplan points on select Air Canada flights to sun destinations

We see a new flight bonus offer from Air Canada today that awards up to 5,000 Aeroplan points on select flights to sun destinations in the U.S., Caribbean, and Mexico. The offer is good for travel through to December 15 with the registration and booking window being from June 15 to June 28. 

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.