Podcast Episode 88 - February 21, 2022 BMO, What are you doing? Part II

Who would have thought that almost exactly a year after we had a podcast "BMO, What are doing?" we release this episode, BMO, What are you doing? Part II. Yes, BMO is at it again, changing their best travel rewards card and for the most part it is getting worse. The BMO World Elite Mastercard will become the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard on May 3, 2022 and will undergo changes in the points earning category that make this card drop down in the ranks of cards in the Canadian Market. Listen now to learn more and hear our thoughts on these changes.

Stay with Coast Hotels and earn 2x Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

 
Coast Hotels now has a couple of loyalty bonuses on the go for those who are planning to stay at any of their hotels in Canada or the U.S.. The first bonus is for those collecting Coast Rewards points and has been in market since the start of the year and that offers double points on all stays. You can learn more about that offer here. As of this past week they added another offer and this is one that is perfect for those who don't frequent Coast Hotels enough to earn a useful amount of Coast Rewards points. 

February 18 Update: TD cards receive 6 months of Instacart Express for free + a $15 credit & fly Aer Lingus between Toronto and Dublin for as little as $459 r/t

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your 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! 

 
TD has teamed up once again with Instacart to offer a special on Instacart Express memberships. If you have a TD Access Card with Visa Debit or a TD Travel Rewards Credit Card (not Aeroplan) you may be eligible to get 6 months of Instacart Express for 6 months. TD cardholders will also get $15 off their next Instacart order. This offer is available until August 22, 2022. Click here to learn more.

You can buy British Airways Executive Club Avios for as little as 1.3 cents with a subscription to The Economist

 
There are a few times per year when British Airways Executive Club and The Economist provide a increased bonus for subscribing to the latter. That bonus has returned and awards up to 18,000 Avios for new subscriptions. Unlike some other frequent flyer programs that team up with The Economist, BA's offer is available to Canadians. Why is this noteworthy? It's actually a way to 'buy Avios' cheaper than truly buying Avios through BA! Although you are limited to earning only up to 18,000 Avios with this offer rather than being able to purchase hundreds of thousands of Avios in one go. That being said this is a good way to top off an account for an award, to keep your account active or even for a short haul redemption as we show below.

February 17 Update: Double Status Miles & HON Circle Miles on Lufthansa Group flights, Swoop announces big U.S. expansion & Lynx adds more Canadian routes

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your nøear 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! 

 If you are planning on flying any of the Lufthansa Group airlines out of Canada to Europe and beyond or any of their flights for that matter be sure you include your Miles & More number on the reservation. The reason why is they are now offering Double Miles & More Status and HON Circle miles on all flights until Jun 30, 22 (and it is retroactive to January 1) Click here for more details. No registration is required, simply make sure your Miles & More number is on your reservation.

Introducing the new HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard®: No annual fee, up to a $100 welcome bonus & 1.5% back for online purchases

 

HSBC continues to expand their presence in the Canadian market as they have now added a cash back card to their portfolio of credit cards. That new card is the HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® and it becomes the fourth card from this issuer that is available to the general public. It also marks their first foray directly into the cash back market. This entry level card carries no annual fee much like the recently released HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard® and has an introductory offer of 5% cash back on up to $2,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of having the card.

Award Availability Alert: Montreal to Paris round trip business class for only 106K to 112K American Express Membership Rewards points

 
At the beginning of the month we brought you the details of the latest Air France KLM Flying Blue promo rewards which included economy class flights between Montreal and Europe. Turns out that even though they have only listed it as 'Economy' on the Promo Rewards page they are also offering discounted business class tickets! A few U.S. blogs noticed this over the past week or so for U.S. departures (I believe Frequent Miler may have been first?) and I have been meaning to check it out for Montreal. And sure enough there are some days that you can book for 39,750 miles each way in Business Class.

Rewards Canada Special Offer: Free Club 1 Hotels Gold Membership (US$395 value) with savings of up to 60% at 1.5 million+ hotels

 

Rewards Canada is excited to bring you another special offer with Club 1 Hotels! You may recall that several times over the past few years we have collaborated with them to provide our readers with free memberships and we are happy to bring you another one! You may ask what is Club 1 Hotels? Club 1 Hotels are a global luxury hotel travel club that offers its members guaranteed savings of up to 60% off at over 1.5 million hotels and resorts worldwide. On top of this they also provide exclusive discounts on flights, private charter jets, golf, car rentals, luxury villas and more.  

February 15 Update: Neo Financial now offers a secured rewards card, new Amex Offer for Pizza Nova & ANA changes Vancouver flight to Tokyo Narita

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your 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! 

 
Neo Financial has released a secured version of their Neo Mastercard that will earn the same rewards and discounts as their standard card offer. The only difference is your credit limit is set by what you have set as your security limit in your Neo Savings account. And the great thing is Neo only requires a $50 minimum security balance and you can adjust that amount as you please by moving funds to your security balance. Check out the new Neo Secured card here.

Up to a 50% bonus when you buy Marriott Bonvoy Points until March 23

A buy points bonus for Marriott Bonvoy has returned and this time it is a tiered offer providing up to a 50% bonus.  The bonus is awarded on purchases from 2,000 to 100,000 points and that 100,000 is a doubling of the typical 50,000 point annual limit for buying points.