Earn 2x points on all IHG stays in Canada and worldwide (Register now for stays Feb 1-Mar 31)

IHG Rewards provided several pieces of news today – the first is a new systemwide global points bonus offer and the second are changes to the actual program. In this post we’ll cover the post offer and follow up with another with the program changes. This new global points bonus offer is a simple one, double points on all IHG Hotel stays completed between February 1 and March 31. You can register for the offer as today and must be registered prior to completing stays. There is no limit to the number of bonus points that you can earn.

PC Optimum now the official loyalty program for Esso as Esso Extra is retired

 
Yesterday marked the end of an era as a long running gas station loyalty program in Canada, Esso Extra was officially retired. The gas retailer has now implemented PC Optimum as its official loyalty program. First announced in June 2021 the switch to offering only loyalty program came as a bit of a surprise at that time but as Esso offered customers a choice of earning Esso Extra points or PC Optimum points on purchases the data must have shown more people choosing the latter. Now as of this week, that's your only choice for earning extra loyalty rewards at Esso stations!

January 18 Update: More confirmed Cobalt Card 5x points locations, Tims Rewards offering 2x points this week & Starbucks Rewards postpones Star expiration

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! 

We're happy to let you know that we've added even more merchants to our American Express Cobalt™ Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations feature. Thanks to Rewards Canada reader C with a T for letting us know of the following locations that all earn 5x points on the Cobalt Card which weren't on our list before:

Air France launching Quebec City to Paris route this May

 
On January 17th Air France announced the launch of a new route from Quebec City to Paris. This marks the airline's fourth Canadian city that they provide service from. The airline has long served Montreal and Toronto and more recently Vancouver, well kind of recent, it's been nearly 7 years since they started flying to YVR. The new Quebec City to Paris Charles de Gaulle flight will start on May 17, 2022 and operate three times weekly.

Podcast Episode 87: Canada's Top Travel Rewards & Cash Back Credit Cards 2022

It's that time of year again! Time for our annual travel rewards and cash back credit card rankings. In this the 14th edition of the travel rewards rankings and 6th edition of cash back rankings we take a look at the best cards to rack up points, miles, and cash back, receiving benefits and more. On the travel side we provide details on the top overall cards, the best travel points cards, no fee cards, hybrid cards, airline cards and once again Ultra Premium credit cards. For cash back we look at the top 5 cards overall. Listen in to find to find out all the details behind Canada's most trusted rankings! Check out the Top Travel Cards here and the Top Cash Back Cards here

CIBC Aventura offering a 50% discount when you redeem points for any travel you book yourself

Similar to a promotion that has BMO Rewards has been offering since December, CIBC is providing a discount for their Aventura cardholders when redeeming points against travel they book themselves. This is different than booking flights via CIBC Rewards and utilizing the Aventura Reward Chart or redeeming points against any travel booked with them. This is where you go out and buy travel with any provider like Air Canada, WestJet, Expedia etc. and then when the charge shows up on your account you redeem points against that charge.

January 17 Update: Best Western Rewards Pay with Points expanded, Rewards Canada Clash Standings & Paytm shutting down

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! 

 Catching up on some news that came out earlier this month. If you recall Best Western Rewards introduced a Pay with Points feature to the program in 2021 that was available only at select hotels in Canada and the U.S.. On January 5th Best Western announced an expansion to the Pay with Points feature to most of their hotels across North America. The feature allows you to redeem 5,000 points for $25 off your stay and goes up in increments of 1,000 points for an additional $5 off. Click here to learn more about Best Western's Pay with Points feature. 

Guide to Credit Card Emergency Medical Insurance Coverage - Updated for 2022

The one good thing about doing a website redesign and updating pages on a one by one basis is that it allows us to also bring the content of those pages up to date. Such is the case with this feature we first published back in February 2013. It has had a few updates along the way but definitely needed to be a thorough brushing up for 2022. 

TD Refer a Friend limited time offer: earn up to $300 in e-gift cards for credit card referrals

 
We've now seen several banks offer incentives for referring friends and family to their card products, with American Express being the most notable and now TD is in the referral game. Launching today, TD has a limited time offer whereby if you have a TD card you can refer friends and family to get a TD credit card and you'll receive a $100 e-gift card for each successful application up to three times.

New Amex Offers for Kinka Izakaya & Kinton Ramen

 
A couple of new Amex Offers were released on Friday and these are the return of statement credits for purchases as Kinka Izakaya and Kinton Ramen. Both offers are valid until April 15, 2022. Seeing that these are dining establishments you'll want to use your American Express Cobalt Card to earn 5x points or the Platinum Card to earn 3x points - so long as the offers show up for you on those cards!