June 25 Update: WestJet adding 10+ new routes within Canada, Amex Shop Small returns soon & Air Canada's amazing new safety video

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! 

 
WestJet announced the return of many of their flights within Canada today - so much so that it's too much to list here. On top of so many domestic flights restarting they have also announced a slew of new routes within Canada seeing that most Canadians will still only be traveling domestically this summer. Here are the new routes that will be starting up:

Big Changes to the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard - now earns 5 points per dollar in select categories + 10% annual bonus points

 
File this one into the category of "nobody saw this one coming"- well until we were notified about two weeks ago and then when the details were leaked onto Red Flag Deals a few days ago. The next bank to be making some major changes this week is TD's subsidiary MBNA. Today they are officially announcing changes to their premium proprietary rewards card product the MBNA Rewards World Elite® Mastercard®. There are also some slight changes happening to this card's entry level partner the MBNA Rewards Platinum Plus® Mastercard® which I'll touch upon towards the end of the article.

Radisson Rewards offering double elite status stays/nights for 2021

 The new Radisson Reward Americas program will be awarding double elite stays/nights to all members for all of 2021. Although just announced they will be crediting it for stays right from the beginning of January to the end of December. All stays worldwide that were made up to June 16th will count and then due to the splitting of the programs and the launch of Radisson Rewards Americas on June 17th only stays in the Americas count from that day to the end of 2021.

Earn Double Flying Blue Miles on all Air France & KLM flights out of Canada (Targeted offer)

 

Here is a targeted offer I received in my email earlier in the week that is for double Flying Blue Miles across the entire Air France KLM network. The link to register only works from the email, the link below is only for informational purposes. You’ll have to check your in box (be sure to check your spam folder) to see if you have received this offer as well.

June 23 Update: Airline & Hotel loyalty programs that you can earn miles or points with credit cards updated, WestJet everywhere sale & save at 99 Marriott Hotels in Canada

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 have updated our Complete list of Airline & Hotel loyalty programs that you can earn miles or points in with Canadian Credit Cards due to the changes in the Hilton Honors program we let you know about a few weeks ago (Read about that here). Gone completely off the list are Finnair Plus, Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles and Philippine Airlines Mabuhay. There a no Canadian credit cards that will now provide an avenue to earning points or miles with those three programs. There are still well over 60 airline and hotel programs that you can earn with though! See the feature here.

Earn 2x points for stays at Radisson Hotels in Canada and the rest of the Americas

The first promotion for the recently split Radisson Rewards program launched this week. This offer is for the Radisson Hotels Americas programs and offers double points on all stays in the U.S., Canada, Latin America & Caribbean. The offer runs until September 12 and does require registration (See link below) and doubles the base earn rate from 20 points per dollar spent to 40 points.  Although it seem like countries are opening up to vaccinated Canadians every day I would believe for most Canadians these points will be earned domestically for stays at one of the chains 26 locations from coast to coast.

June 22 Update: New Ivanhoe gift card Amex Offer and the Centurion Lounge opens up at New York La Guardia

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! 

Another gift card Amex Offer came out this week and it is the return of the statement credit offer for buying gift cards to use at malls operated by Ivanhoe. I received the offer on my n Platinum Card but be sure to check all your cards to see if you received it as well.

Aeroplan extends the expiry date on Buddy Passes earned from co-brand credit cards

 
Great news for those of you who are holding on to Buddy Passes or have been considering applying for an Aeroplan co-brand card that offers a Buddy Pass. Those booking window for passes have been extended by Aeroplan to December 31, 2022 for travel into December 2023. Rewards Canada reader Josef H. alerted us to this news this past Friday afternoon and are happy to pass it along to all of our readers.

Fully vaccinated Canadians will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival as of July 5

 

Great news today from the Government of Canada that sees the current travel restrictions for returning to Canada being eased. As of July 6th (well 11:59pm ET on July 5) Canadians who are fully vaccinated will no longer have to quarantine upon arrival and this includes the stay at a government authorized hotel. All other re-entry requirements do remain in place which means you'll need to have a negative COVID test prior to returning and you'll have to test upon arrival as well. 

Canada's Top Cash Back Credit Cards 2021 - A new champion is crowned as the best card for putting cash back in your wallet

 

Welcome to Rewards Canada's fifth annual Top Cash back Credit Card rankings!

June 2021 Update

We have crowned a new champion for the Top Cash Back Credit Card in Canada! While technically not known as a cash back card the top card's cash back component places it ahead of even the best of the best  cash back cards in Canada! That card that now sits atop the throne is none other than the American Express Cobalt Card. This card has been Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card since 2018 and now thanks to American Express adjusting the redemption rate for using points towards any purchases on the card (not just travel) to 1,000 points = $10 the Cobalt Card jumps ahead in the cash back market now as well. The card itself earns 1 to 5 points per dollar spent which translates to a 1% to 5% cash back return when utilzing Use Points for Purchases. Based on our calculations the card earns more cash back per year than any other cards (utilizing our spend breakdown, as listed below) which makes it the number one cash back card in Canada.