October 5 Update: Thank you for voting, Shangri-La Hotels extends elite status & an amazing business class fare from Toronto to the Maldives

 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 100,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year! 

I want to thank everyone who voted in Canada's Choice 2021! Voting has now closed. We will tally up the votes over the coming days and you can expect to see the winners announced soon!

Receive up to a 60% bonus when you buy Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles

The Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan buy miles bonus is back and once again we see it up at the 60% level which continues to be new normal for the airline.  The bonus is tiered in that if you buy 3,000 to 19,000 miles you’ll get a 40% bonus, 20,000 to 39,000 you’ll get a 50% bonus and the 60% kicks in at the 40,000 mile level.

HSBC brings back the 100,000 point & first year free offer on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard

 
HSBC has just matched their previous biggest and best offer yet of 100,000 points on the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® but have made it a little harder to achieve than last year's version. On top of the 100,000 point bonus on the HSBC World Elite Mastercard this current welcome bonus also provides no annual fee in the first year for the primary cardholder. Those 100,000 points are worth $500 towards any travel! Since Quebec doesn't allow the first year free waiver the offer there is a whopping 130,000 points worth $650 towards travel but you do have to pay the annual fee so you end up with $501 in travel value.

Last day to vote for your favourite credit cards and loyalty programs!

 

Today is the last day to vote for Canada’s Choice! This is where, you, the Canadian consumer get to vote for your favourite credit cards and loyalty programs in Canada!!

Voting is quite simple, once you click the icon or link below you will be asked to select one card or loyalty program (or none at all if you are not familiar with a certain category) in each one of our ten categories. If you don’t see your favourite card or loyalty program listed select the “Other” button and input the card or program name. These are the categories for this year:

Podcast Episode 83 - Big changes coming to the AIR MILES program

 

In this episode we take a look at the changes AIR MILES are making to their program. From enhanced flight redemptions, new methods for earning more miles, extra credit card benefits and more. We cover it all in this Podcast episode. 

Big changes coming to the AIR MILES program - find all the details here!

 
It didn't take long after AIR MILES unveiled their new look last week to reveal the changes to the program they were alluding to on their updated website. Rewards Canada had the opportunity to speak with AIR MILES at the end of last week to learn about some of the exciting changes coming to the program. Some of these have already taken place, some kick off today and others will be coming over the next few months. Read on to find out what is happening with one of Canada's largest loyalty programs.

Amex Referral Month - Best referral offers yet for those referring new cardmembers

 
If you've logged into your Amex account over the past few days you may have noticed an exciting new offer (or offers if you have more than one card) for Amex's Refer a Friend program. The Amex Referral Month promotion kicked off on September 29 and runs until October 27. The referral offers see some big bonuses not only for the person being referred but the referers will get a nice spending boost as well. This appears to be an offer from American Express both here in Canada and the U.S. (if you are playing the U.S. credit card game). We'll cover the Canadian card offers here.

Air France KLM Flying Blue Promo Rewards: save 25% on economy class reward flights between Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver and Europe

 We continue to see Air France KLM Flying Blue's Promo Rewards feature cities in Canada! This is the third month in a row that there are Canadian cities on tap with discounted award flight offers. For the month of October you can book Flying Blue award flights in economy class for 25% off out of Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver.

Amex bumps up the welcome bonus on the Platinum Card - now earn up to 100,000 bonus points

 

There is no stopping American Express as they just keep coming out with excellent limited time offers on their cards that are hard to beat! Today we see The Platinum Card offer boosted once again to where you can receive up to six figures in points. Right now when you apply for the card you can earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points.  Now there are also some amazing refer a friend offers that officially launched today as well that we'll cover in a separate post shortly. That offer provides up to 105,000 points for the Platinum Card

October 1 Update: Final days to vote for your favourite credit cards & loyalty programs, new Amex Offer for Lululemon and earn 7,500 bonus points in Las Vegas

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.

 
We're in the final homestretch for Canada's Choice! This is the last weekend to vote for your favourite Credit Cards and Loyalty Programs! Voting closes at 11:59pm ET on Monday October 4. Be sure to cast your vote alongside so many others who have already done so! Click here to cast your vote!