Podcast Episode 86: 2021 Year in Review. A look back at what happened in the world of loyalty programs, credit cards and more

 

TD Aeroplan cardholders can receive a 20% rebate on eligible travel redemptions

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles isn't the only program to have an award ticket sale! Air Canada Aeroplan in conjunction with TD have their own they launched today. TD Aeroplan co-brand cardholders can receive a 20% rebate when they redeem their Aeroplan Points for eligible travel rewards. These include flight rewards, car rentals, hotel bookings, Air Canada Vacations and Air Canada gift cards. 

Award Availability Alert: 30% discount on Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles award tickets out of Canada (and worldwide)

Turkish Airlines has brought back another one of their really good award flight sales. You can book trips this month for travel through to the middle of May and receive a 30% discount in the numbers of miles required. Availability and routing do play into account here so it's not like every award ticket is discounted. You'll have to search for those discounts!

Top 5 Small Business Credit Card Sign Up offers for December - These cards provide the best value out of their welcome bonuses

 
Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Small Business Credit Card Sign Up offers for this month! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards for small businesses 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 three first year free cards on the list! And remember this list is based on minimum value towards travel which we calculate as the minimum value of the welcome bonus less the annual fee. It is entirely possible to receive more value out of the welcome bonuses on all of these cards since they earn Aeroplan points or Marriott Bonvoy points - both of which can provide some huge outsized value rewards!

Earn 2,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points for stays at Delta Hotels in Quebec in the new year

 
There are several new Canadian stay bonus offers for Marriott Bonvoy members and the first we'll cover is this one for a quartet of hotels in Quebec. You can earn 2,000 bonus Bonvoy points per stay at any one of four Delta Hotels in the province between January 9 and March 27, 2022. The bonus offer prices the same as the best available rate so in most cases it can be worth it to book. You can see more in the example we provide below the offer details.

December 9 Update: Air Canada reveals their annual Christmas video, more airlines added to AIR MILES flights & Hilton Honors improves their points expiry rule

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 worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

 
Air Canada released their annual Christmas video this week which a nice whimsical animation about bringing people together

Air Canada is embracing the magic of the season with a new spot that shares a message of togetherness for the first holiday many Canadians will spend together in two years. Just like so many of us that have been apart, feeling like we have been living in a bubble, the video shows a story of two people who are separated by their glass snow globe.

WestJet providing a further extension on companion and other vouchers set to expire Dec 31 (You must register to have them extended!)

 

Good news came out this week from the team at WestJet Rewards as they have announced a further extension for most vouchers set to expire on December 31.  This is a wide ranging extension covering a wide variety of vouchers that are issued by the frequent flyer program from Companion Vouchers to Lounge Access Vouchers to Seat Selection Vouchers and more. The key factor this time however is the extension are not automatic. The onus has been put on the member to check their account to see if they have any vouchers with a December 31, 2021 expiry date and if they do they must register to have them extended.

Disappointment abounds in the new AIR MILES Flights booking platform

 
Now that the new AIR MILES Flights booking platform has been out for a couple of weeks and more people including ourselves have been able to test it out further it does seem like the general consensus is that it is bringing disappointment - at least for our readers that is.

December 8 Update: SCENE unavailable at select restaurants until December 13, stay 2 nights in Mississauga and get a $100 prepaid card, Finnair launching Seattle to Helsinki flights

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 worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the first year! 

 
One further Scene+ update made its way through our email. As a follow up to last week's news about Scene being unavailable the program let members know as well that as they prepare the upgrade members will not be able to earn or redeem points from today to December 12 at the following restaurants:

Swiss Chalet®, Harveys®, Montana’s BBQ & Bar®, East Side Mario’s®, Kelseys Original Roadhouse®, Bier Markt®, The Prime Pubs®.

Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for December - These cards provide the best value out of their welcome bonuses

 

Here are Rewards Canada's Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of December 2021. This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Cash Back 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.