March 1 Update: Amex Offer for St. Louis Bar & Grill, Cobalt Card 30,000 point welcome bonus & American AAdvantage does away with 500 mile upgrades

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! 

One new Amex Offers offer came out this week. For us this time we got it on the Cobalt Card which is great since this is a dining offer however there are no St. Louis Bar & Grill locations in Calgary but maybe if I make up to Edmonton I could utilize it.

Spend at least $50 in qualifying purchases using your registered Card at participating St. Louis Bar & Grill location(s) or at www.stlouiswings.com by 28/05/2022 and earn a one-time $10 statement credit. Registration cap applies. Terms apply.

New American Express Aeroplan Card offers: Earn up to 110,000 bonus Aeroplan Points

 

American Express released new welcome offers for their trio of Aeroplan co-brand cards today. You'll see that all cards have moved away from offering the bonus Buddy Pass to now offering bonus Aeroplan points for Air Canada, Air Canada Vacations, hotels, and car rental purchases on top of the other points bonuses these cards have been offering for the last little while. With the switch from the Buddy Pass to just a bonus containing points solo travellers can rejoice as you'll be able to take full advantage of any of these welcome offers.

Starbucks and TD expand relationship to reward virtually all TD credit and debit cardholders

In late 2020 when the new Aeroplan program was revealed there was one piece of the news that didn't garner too much of the attention. This wasn't surprising given the sheer breadth of everything that came out from Air Canada and its partners in regards to the new Aeroplan program. That piece of the news was a limited time bonus that only the TD Aeroplan co-brand credit cards had with Starbucks. All of those cards would receive 50% bonus Aeroplan points on Starbucks purchases for a whole year and then that promotion kept being extended until February 14, 2022. And now we know why that was the end date - that's due to this becoming a permanent benefit not only on the Aeroplan cards but virtually all TD debit and credit cards as of today!

February 28 Update: Aeroplan extends flight reward change fee waiver, Canadian North adding Toronto-Iqaluit route & Flair Airlines adds more flights to Kitchener-Waterloo

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!

Aeroplan has further extended their waiving of all change fees on Aeroplan flight rewards through to March 31, 2022. As of April 1st bookings made by March 31 will be able to be changed once with no fee while bookings that are made from April 1st will return to the standard policy based on the fare option purchased. Click here to learn more.

IHG Hotels & Resorts New Hotel Openings in Canada for 2022 - 7 hotels in the works including the avid hotel Toronto - Vaughan Southwest

Welcome to the fourth and final part of our series on new hotel openings in Canada for 2022! In this part we take a look at IHG Hotels & Resorts who are planning on opening seven new hotels in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. So let's see what they have in store for this year!

Shoppers Drug Mart PC Optimum Bonus Redemption Event - up to an extra $100 in value for your points

PC Optimum's bonus redemption event for shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart has returned. PC Optimum members will receive up to an extra $100 in value for their points when they redeem them for online or in-store Shoppers Drug Mart purchases.

Lounge Review: Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge - Vancouver International Airport Domestic Terminal

Today we are pleased to present the latest Rewards Canada Business Class Lounge Review! This review is provided by Dee who has contributed to Rewards Canada in past with the articles  A look at the great value provided with the Annual Worldwide Companion Pass from Aeroplan's Ultra Premium Credit Cards and Earning Stories: An elite status boost and nearly 20,000 bonus points thanks to Aeroplan's credit card promos and more. This is his first lounge review for Rewards Canada and he has more travel reviews coming our way in the very future. 

Recently, I had a flight to Toronto and decided to check-out the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in the Domestic Terminal at Vancouver International Airport. The lounge is located by gates C29 and C30, just a short distance after security in section C. Currently, there is a a Lululemon pop-up shop by the lounge and you might miss it if you don’t keep you eye out for it. It is located to your right as you head down and the entrance is between the rock walls with a glass door.  

New Welcome Bonus of 20,000 points and first year free with National Bank of Canada's top three travel rewards credit cards

 
This week has seen the return of limited time increased welcome bonuses on several cards from National Bank of Canada. The offer provides 20,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year when you spend $3,000 in the first three months on either the Platinum, World or World Elite Mastercard. With National Bank's A la carte rewards those 20,000 points are worth up to $200 towards travel and the first year annual fee savings ranges from $89 to $150 depending on which card you get.  On top of this, if you get the World Elite Mastercard you can enjoy a refund of up to $250 per year on seat selection, airport parking and baggage fees.

Up to 100% bonus Aeroplan points on Air Canada flights to Vancouver + up to 5,000 bonus points for hotel stays in the region

 

 Wish I had found this offer sooner as it came out last week but there are still a few days left to book it so hopefully some of you can take advantage of it! Right now when you book Air Canada flights to Vancouver you can earn up to 100% bonus Aeroplan points on those flights. Plus if you book hotels in Vancouver, Richmond or Whistler via Air Canada you can earn up to 5,000 bonus points on those hotel stays. 

February 24 Update: CIBC Aventura offering $50 gas and grocery gift cards for 5,000 points, one new Amex Cobalt multiplier & 2,500 bonus points at Alberta Sandman Hotels

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! 

There are several good gift card redemption promotions right now from CIBC Rewards. Until May 4, 2022 you can redeem 5,000 Aventura points for a $50 Pioneer, Fas Gas, Ultramar or Chevron gift card or you can also redeem 5,000 Aventura points for $50 Save-On-Foods gift card. The Save-On offer is valid until February 1, 2023. Redeeming 5,000 points for $50 gift card works out to 1 cent per point in value and if you earned those points with an accelerate earn rate on one of the CIBC Aventura card it could translate to a 1.5% return. While the value and return is potentially lower than if you redeemed for travel via the Aventura Airline Reward Chart (where you can get up to 2.28 cents per point for up to 3.4% return) it's not a bad deal to consider for these cash equivalents. Click here to learn more about these offers