Thursday, October 7, 2021

Marriott Bonvoy Week of Wonders is here with bonus points, stay offers, discounted award nights & more

 


 

Marriott’s Week of Wonders kicked off today with a whole bunch of offers that are available through to the 14th of October. From bonus points on buying points, to award nights pricing at Off-Peak levels to hotel credits at select luxury brands there is something for everyone in this the second annual run of this promotion. Let’s dive into all the offers:

Top 5 Credit Card Sign Up offers for October - 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 October 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 two first year free cards on the list.

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

October 6 Update: Mandatory COVID vaccination for Air & Rail travellers will start October 30, receive a 50% bonus when converting Marriott Points to Etihad & more

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! 

 
Back in August the Federal Government stated that COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for air, rail and cruise ship travel. At the time they didn't put dates in place that this new rule would become effective. We now know from Justin Trudeau's announcement that it will be mandatory for "air travellers departing from Canadian airports, and travellers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains" to be vaccinated by October 30 however there will be a one month transition period "during which travellers not yet fully vaccinated will be able to travel if they can show a negative COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours of travel. This transition period will end on November 30, 2021." (Source Government of Canada)

New record high welcome bonuses on Tangerine Mastercards - 15% cash back for the first 2 months


 

Tangerine just launched what could be considered the bigger cash back bonus ever - percent wise that is!   Both the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card and the Tangerine World Mastercard have now eclipsed the world of 10% cash back welcome bonuses and have gone for the gusto with an awesome 15% back! From today through to November 30th when you apply for and are approved for either of these Tangerine cards you'll be able to earn 15% cash back on all purchases in the first 2 months. The 15% is capped on $1,000 of purchases for a total cash back reward of $150. After that 15% cap is hit or after 2 months the regular earn rate of up to 2% cash back kicks in. 

The revamped American Express Business Gold Rewards Card is now here with a 70,000 point welcome bonus

 


Early in September we provided our readers with details of the changes coming the American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card. Those changes are now here and along with the relaunch of the card comes an increased limited time welcome bonus offer of up to 70,000 Membership Rewards points.

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Get up to 12 months of DoorDash DashPass for free with RBC Credit Cards

 
A popular trend we have seen over the past year or so has been credit card issuers and loyalty programs teaming up delivery service companies to provide extra value for their members. One of those that emerged over summer that provides great value was the partnership between RBC and DoorDash. In August the two companies came out with an offer that provides a complimentary DashPass subscription for up to 12 months with an eligible RBC credit card. The offer was made available to both existing cardholders and also to any one who gets themselves a new RBC credit card.

WestJet continues Transatlantic expansion with new Toronto to Dublin flights in 2022

 

It was a little over a month ago that WestJet announced new flights from Toronto to Edinburgh and Glasgow and now they have added Dublin to that list. For the 2022 summer season WestJet will fly their Boeing 737 MAX aircraft directly from YYZ to Ireland. The flights will operate four times per week in May and October but during the busier summer months it will be operated on a daily basis.

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.