Rewards Canada: Your premier points, miles & credit cards resource

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Nov 19 Update: American & US Airways to offer reciprocal FFP benefits in the new year, United shopping bonus, Virgin Atlantic Buy Miles bonus

Today is a bonus offer day! Just a little bit of news to pass your way otherwise are you bonusing?

News, Tips & Tricks
Last week we mentioned that the American Airlines-US Airways merger is back on track and according to this USA Today article the airlines will begin offering reciprocal FFP benefits on each others flights as of January 7th. This is good news for flyers in each program as now you can expand your choice of flights to earn miles in either the Dividend Miles or AAdvantage programs.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Earn up to 100 Bonus Aeroplan Miles each you time you fill up with gas at Esso stations across Canada. More... Until Dec 8, 13

airberlin topbonus
- Double topbonus Miles for stays at select Lindner Hotels in Europe. More... Dec 1 - 21, 13 and Jan 5 - 31, 14

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple Boomerang Miles on your next hotel booking made via HRS.de. More... Book by Nov 24 for stays until Feb 28, 14

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Double Mileage Bank Miles on all eligible Bangkok Airways flights systemwide in eligible fare classes. More...Dec 1, 13 - Feb 28, 14

United MileagePlus
- MileagePlus Shopping Earn up to 2,500 Bonus MileagePlus miles when you shop via MileagePlus shopping. More... Full details Until Dec 31, 13

US Airways Dividend Miles
- 5x Dividend Miles on rentals of 1 day or more at participating Avis airport locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico (excluding Alaska). More... Until Apr 30, 14
- Quadruple Dividend Miles qualifying rentals of 1 or more days at participating Budget airport locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico (excluding Alaska). More... Until Apr 30, 14

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Earn 20% Bonus Miles Flying Club Miles on Miles Booster Purchases for Virgin Atlantic flights. More... Until Dec 12, 13
- Earn up to 20% Bonus Miles Flying Club Miles when you buy, gift or transfer Flying Club Miles online. More... Until Dec 12, 13

WestJet Rewards
- Earn 5x WestJet Dollars when you fly on WestJet Encore between Calgary or Vancouver and Ft. St. John. More... Until Feb 7, 14
- Earn 5x WestJet Dollars when you fly on WestJet Encore between Vancouver and Terrace. More... Until Jan 31, 14

Another small devaluation to tell you about, this time it's Alaska Airlines (although its not as bad as the others!)

The last 10 months haven't been too great in the Frequent Flyer and Frequent Guest world as programs from Aeroplan to United and many in between have announced changes to their award/reward charts. A few weeks ago when we discussed the negative changes to the United MileagePlus program we had crossed our fingers that Alaska Airlines wouldn't follow suit. Unfortunately they have. Last week they announced some changes to their award tickets that will take effect on January 14, 2014. This changes really only affect Mileage Plan members in British Columbia and Alberta. Why? The increases are only for flights on Alaska Airlines metal and they only serve cities in B.C. and Alberta. Of course those of you in the East can be affected if you fly with them within the U.S. however most Mileage Plan members outside of Alberta/B.C. I would imagine are redeeming for Mileage Plan partner flights and those awards were not affected as they only account for 16% of their total flight redemptions. With all the being said, the actual changes to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan award ticket chart are minor in comparison to what we saw from Aeroplan, Delta and United.

Here are the three Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan award charts that will see the changes in January. Remember these are for flights on Alaska Airlines only, not their partners.

Award tickets for travel within the U.S. and Canada

Award tickets for travel between the U.S./Canada & Hawaii

Award tickets for travel between the U.S./Canada & Mexico

Essentially the best award flights (essentially saver tickets at the lowest level) for travel between Canada and the U.S./Alaska/Hawaii/Mexico or or within the U.S. have not changed for coach class. Only the refundable awards in all those areas and better availability coach awards to Hawaii will see slight increases of 2,500 miles each way and we even see a part of the award chart get better, First Class award tickets that come with restrictions to Mexico drops by 2,500 miles each way!

All in all this is what award devaluations should look like. Very minor and acceptable in our minds and we believe that most Mileage Plan members would feel the same.

5x WestJet Dollars on Encore's new Ft. St. John and Terrace routes

The WestJet Rewards program continues to evolve into a FFP each and every day. According to my discussion with WestJet at last week's Mega Event conference in Vancouver, 2014 will the be year of the partner. We can't wait to see to what and who are brought into the program. Also part of the evolution into a full fledged FFP is the whole domain of bonus offers and WestJet has jumped onto this train especially in regards to route launch bonuses. Late last week the latest set of route launch bonuses came out of the WestJet campus for their new Encore routes to Ft. St. John and Terrace.

Here are the offers as they will appear on RC's WestJet Rewards Bonus Dollars page later today:

Earn 5x WestJet Dollars when you fly on WestJet Encore between Calgary or Vancouver and Ft. St. John. Full details. Until Feb 7, 14

Earn 5x WestJet Dollars when you fly on WestJet Encore between Vancouver and Terrace. Full details. Until Jan 31, 14

Can't make use of this promotion? Be sure to visit our WestJet Rewards Bonus Dollars page for other flight, hotel, car rental and other mileage bonuses!

Monday, November 18, 2013

Nov 18 Update: Hyatt Gold Passport Enhancements, Scandic Flash Sale, 4x Starpoints on Sixt Car Rentals

Welcome to a new week here on Rewards Canada! After the short week of last this one will be 5 days of updates on all the latest in the travel rewards industry in Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
National Car Rental Emerald Club is offering a free 12 month Regus preferred membership including 15 visits. Regus offers over 1,500 Business Lounges worldwide for people to utilize when they are not at their home city office or don't have access to other business facilities when they travel. Find more details here. (Thanks to long time RC reader, Bill W for sending this over)

Hot on the heels of their devaluation notice last week, Hyatt Gold Passport are adding two new features to the program and also changing their points expiry rule. The two new features are Discounted room rates for elite members (essentially a 20% discount off the daily rate that is refundable), Cash and Point Awards (Half price points for an award stay plus a fixed dollar amount depending on the category, this does represent an really good value for Categories 2-6 according to Gary Leff. These stays will count towards Elite Status) and finally they are extending their point expiry rule from 12 months of inactivity to 24 months.

Travel Deals
Scandic Hotels is running another flash sale. For 72 hours only, you can book hotel rooms at bargain prices at all their hotels in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Belgium! Book by 24:00CET on November 20 for weekend stays in December and January. Full Details and Online Booking

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you purchase two items of $500 or more each at Maison Birks. More... Until Nov 30, 13

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 2,500 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you shop online via the AAdvantage eShopping mall. More... Until Dec 2, 13

Garuda Frequent Flyer (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 2,000 Bonus GFF Miles when flying Executive or Economy Class between Indonesia and Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore Sydney, Taipei or Tokyo. More... Until Dec 31, 13

IHG Rewards Club
- 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays of 2 or more nights at the The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas. More... Until Jan 5, 14

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Earn Double Mileage Bank Miles when you stay at Okura Hotels & Resorts properties in Japan. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14
- Earn Double Mileage Bank Miles for stays at participating Peninsula Hotels Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14
- Earn Double Mileage Bank Miles for stays of 2 or more nights on a Make it A Winter to Remember rate at participating Regent Hotels Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn Double Miles & More Miles for stays at participating Hyatt Hotels in Europe, Middle East, Asia & Africa. More... Until Jan 31, 14

Shangri-La Hotels Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays in a Horizon Club Room and an Executive Suite at the Shangri-La Hotel, Shenzhen. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 14
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the Shangri-La Hotel, Changzhou. More... Nov 23 - Feb 28, 14
- Triple GC Award Points for stays at the Al Waha, Al Bandar and Al Husn hotels at the Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa.More... s Dec 1 - Jan 31, 14
- Triple GC Award Points for stays of two or more nights in a Horizon Club room at Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Tainan.More... Nov 23 - Jan 27, 14

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Quadruple Starpoints and 10% off all Sixt rentals Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13

IHG Rewards Club Reward Night Flash Sale Now Live! (48 Hour sale this time!)

Friday, November 15, 2013

IHG Rewards Club Reward Night Flash Sale returns on Nov 18 (48 Hour sale this time!)

There is no doubt that IHG is hitting it out of the park with their Reward Night Flash Sales as it returns for the third month in a row this coming Monday! The sale starts on Monday, Nov. 18 for 48 hours beginning at 10 am ET (ends 10 am ET Wednesday, Nov 20). You can find a preview the full list of the properties participating this time via the IHG Rewards Club Connect online community's promotion board: http://community.ihg.com/ and once Monday comes along you'll be able to book the award nights via this link

Complete Details:
Booking Period: November 18 and 19 (48 hours starting at 10 am EST)
Stay Period: US Hotels - December 1 to 20, 2013; All Other Regions - November 20 to December 20, 2013
The hotels in the flash sale are up to 75% off the points required for a Reward Night

Some highlights:
InterContinental Bali, Indonesia - 25% off (will be 35,000 points)
Holiday Inn Resort Half Moon Bay, Saudi Arabia - 75% off (will be 6,250 points)
Hotel Indigo San Jose, Costa Rica - 75% off (will be 5,000 points)
Crowne Plaza Resort Mazatlan, Mexico - 75% off (will be 5,000 points)
Holiday Inn Paris-Elysees, France - 25% off (will be 26,250 points)
Holiday Inn Express Myrtle Beach, SC - 25% off (will be 22,500 points)
Staybridge Suites Calgary Airport, Canada- 75% off (will be 7,500 points)
Candlewood Suites Philadelphia-Willow Grove, PA - 66% off (will be 5,000 points)

WestJet to launch Ireland service!!

We all knew that WestJet would eventually launch International service beyond the current sun destinations they serve and the thoughts were always the U.K. or Ireland since their 737's can make it that distance. Well it has become reality which means WestJet will be taking on Aer Lingus who will also be starting Canada-Dublin service next year! Rather than rehash the press release here it is directly from WestJet:

Flights from St. John's and Toronto to the Emerald Isle
CALGARY, Nov. 15, 2013 /CNW/ - WestJet today announced Dublin, Ireland**, as the airline's first transatlantic destination with seasonal daily service from June 15, 2014, to October 5, 2014, with non-stop flights to Dublin from St. John's, Newfoundland, direct (same-aircraft) flights from Toronto and connections from across WestJet's network.

Highlights of the new service include:

New daily non-stop flights between St. John's and Dublin
New daily direct (same-aircraft) flights between Toronto and Dublin
New daily non-stop flights between Ottawa and St. John's connecting to Dublin
Daily connections between Dublin and Halifax, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and other cities across WestJet's network

All Dublin service will operate using WestJet's Boeing Next-Generation 737-700 series aircraft.

"It is an exciting time for WestJet as we bring our unique brand of low fares and award-winning guest experience to a whole new market," said Chris Avery, WestJet Vice-President, Network Planning, Alliances and Corporate Development. "WestJet's innovative foray into the European market represents a willingness to do what it takes to connect Canadians to the world while bringing the world to Canada. From Dublin, guests can access low-cost flights to more than 100 cities in Europe."

WestJet's first transatlantic route will cut the current travel time from St. John's to Dublin by nearly half, and in just about the same time it takes to fly from Toronto to Calgary, guests are able to experience ancient castles, cobblestone roads, and the Cliffs of Moher.

WestJet's new daily Dublin service is as follows:

Flight	Departure	Arrival	Type
WS 16	St. John's at 11:15 p.m.	Dublin at 7:00 a.m. (+1)	Non-stop
WS 17	Dublin at 8:20 a.m.	St. John's at 9:55 a.m.	Non-stop

Flight	Departure	Arrival	Type
WS 16	Toronto at 5:15 p.m.	Dublin at 7:00 a.m. (+1)	One stop
WS 17	Dublin at 8:20 a.m.	Toronto at 1:21 p.m.	One stop

Introductory one-way fares starting from:

Departing	Arriving	Air transportation charges (ATC)		Taxes, fees and charges	Total one-way price from
Departing	Arriving	Base fare from	Other ATC	Taxes, fees and charges	Total one-way price from
St. John's	Dublin	$143	$7.50	$48.50	*$199.00CAD**
Toronto	Dublin	$237	$7.50	$54.16	*$298.66CAD**

*Some restrictions apply. Please see westjet.com for full details.
**Subject to government approval

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Nov 14 Update: American Express & Aeroplan extend their agreement, Up to Triple Avios for Hyatt stays, Qantas Status Credits on award flights

Not too much to pass along today as I was speaking at the Mega Event here in Vancouver today on the Canadian Co-brand credit market.

News, Tips & Tricks
On the topic of Co-Brands, Aimia, Aeroplan and American Express today announced a new multi-year agreement for American Express to continue to offer Aeroplan card products. The biggest take away from the press release is the following

"The new agreements extend the long relationship between the three companies and will include enhancements to the existing suite of premium AeroplanPlus co-branded charge cards with a unique new premium travel credit card launching next year"

It looks like American Express is taking a proactive approach to the upcoming new TD Aeroplan cards as they are planning to launch a new premium card next year! There are lots of different rumours floating around here as to what TD is going to offer such as taking care of your Nexus application and others so no doubt American Express will want to make sure they don't lose customers to TD and as such they will be coming out with this new card.

Bonus Offers
British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to Triple Avios for stays at participating Hyatt Hotels in Worldwide. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 14
- Double Avios for stays at participating Mandarin Oriental hotels when booking suites at Best Available rates worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- 1,000 Avios per stay together with an exclusive 10% discount off retail rate at Radisson Blu and Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels throughout the United Kingdom. More... Until Dec 15, 13
- Double Avios for stays at all Swissôtel and Raffles Hotels & Resorts worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- Earn Double Avios for stays at any Shangri-La hotels, resorts, Traders hotel or Kerry hotel Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- Double Avios for stays at all Swissôtel and Raffles Hotels & Resorts worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13
- Double Avios for stays at any of nine Taj Group hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Cathay Pacifc Asia Miles
- Earn up to Triple Asia Miles for at selected Mandarin Oriental hotels worldwide. More... Until Nov 30, 13

Marriott Rewards
- OFFER EXTENDED Earn up to 5,000 Rewards Points rent any car at participating Hertz locations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. More... Until Feb 28, 14

Philippine Airlines Mabuhay
- Double Mabuhay Miles when you rent a car with HERTZ for 5 days or more at participating locations in the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain Mainland. More... Until Jan 31, 14

Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Earn Status Credits when redeeming your Qantas Points for economy Classic Awards on Qantas. More... Book by Dec 31 for travel until Jan 31, 14

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Save up to 40% GC Award Points when redeeming for award night stays any Shangri-La city hotel, Kerry hotel, or Traders hotel Worldwide. More... Book by Feb 9 for stays Dec 10 - Feb 10, 14

TAP Portugal Victoria
- 50% Discount when you buty or gift Victoria Miles online. More... Until Dec 18, 13

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 3 MileagePlus Miles on paid qualifying hotel stays booked through united.com/hotels. More... Until Nov 30 ,13

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Nov 13 Update: US Airways-American Airline merger back on, 50% Bonus Points at Petro Canada, Shangri-La Golden Circle Game Week 3

First full day of the Airline Information Mega Event here in YVR. Great turn out this year with over 450 attendees from around the globe representing airlines, hotels, credit card companies and loyalty/ancillary suppliers. Still managing to provide with the daily updates straight from the conference!

News, Tips & Tricks
Don't forget to enter week 3 of Shangri-La's Golden Circle 3rd Annivesary contest to earn up to 1,200 free GC Award Points. Although they state it can take 3-4 weeks to get the points, my points from Week 1 have already shown up in my Golden Circle account!

The biggest news to come out in the last day is the settlement of the suit brought against the proposed US Airways-American Airlines merger by the US Department of Justice. What does this mean? It means merger talks can continue between the two airlines with hopes that the American Airlines bankruptcy judge will approve it and then it shouldn't be too long before the two airlines merge barring any other unknown hurdles that may be put in front of them.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert points from a wide selection of Aeroplan partner loyalty programs (hotel, car rental, and points.com). More... Valid until Dec 9, 13

Executive Hotels Executive Rewards
- Earn up to Triple Executive Rewards Points for stays at select Executive Hotels in Canada and the U.S. More... Until Nov 30, 13

Germanwings Boomerang Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 250 Boomerang Miles when you complete a short online survey. More... Until Nov 30, 13

Hilton HHonors
- 1,000 Bonus HHonors Points when you refer friends to HHonors. Bonus awarded after every stay they complete, for up to 25,000 Bonus Points. Plus, they'll get 1,000 Bonus Points after their second stay. More... Until Dec 31, 13 Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

IHG Rewards Club
- 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points (For Ambassador members only) for stays at participating InterContinental Hotels Worldwide More... Until ?

Miles & More
- Triple Miles & More Miles on all Europcar rentals Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 13

Petro Canada Petro Points
- 50% Bonus Petro Points on every purchase you make at any Petro-Canada location. More... Until Jan 6, 14

Preferred Hotel Group iPrefer
- Double iPrefer Points for stays at the El Mangroove Papagayo. Stays between April 13 to 20 require a four night minimum stay. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays until May 15, 14
- Double iPrefer Points for stays at the Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore. More... Until Jan 31, 14

Sun Country UFly Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple UFly Points on flights to or from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport or Lansing and the following airports: Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston , New York, Washington D.C. More... Until Nov 24 and Dec 3 - 19, 13

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Transfer points to Aeroplan to earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles

Aeroplan has once again brought back their partner transfer bonus that we saw in April, last November and last spring. Basically what it entails is transferring points out of other select loyalty programs into your Aeroplan account. Just like in April, the offer is once again cumulative across all participating partners however the bonus maxes out at 25,000 miles instead of 40,000 and there are no financial partners involved this time as well. Basically you can transfer from partners like Starwood, Hertz and more (see the last graphic) and as long as the total Aeroplan miles deposited from all of them reaches one of the bonus target levels you will be awarded the respective bonus miles.

And just like the last two versions of this offer, American Express Membership Rewards is unfortunately not included. so chances are I will not use the promo this time (again).

If you are a Starwood Preferred Guest collector you can really up the bonus by taking advantage of their 5,000 Mile bonus offer when you convert 20,000 Starpoints into Aeroplan. Which means in this promotion you can get 29,000 Aeroplan Miles for 20,000 Starpoints or if you transfer 20k four times, you'll get 125,000 Aeroplan Miles for 80,000 Starpoints. Of course I like to keep Starpoints for award nights or cash+points stays within the Starwood family but some of you may like this transfer option.

Here is the offer as it will appear on Aeroplan Bonus Mile Promotions page tomorrow:

Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert points from a wide selection of Aeroplan partner loyalty programs (hotel, car rental, and points.com). Bonuses are as follows and are awarded on a cumulative basis. Convert Points to
5,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 1,000 Mile bonus
10,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 2,000 Mile bonus
20,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn 4,000 Mile bonus
50,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 10,000 Mile bonus
100,000 Aeroplan Miles to earn a 25,000 Mile bonus
Full details Valid until Dec 9, 13

TRENDING
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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Nov 19 Update: American & US Airways to offer reciprocal FFP benefits in the new year, United shopping bonus, Virgin Atlantic Buy Miles bonus

Another small devaluation to tell you about, this time it's Alaska Airlines (although its not as bad as the others!)

5x WestJet Dollars on Encore's new Ft. St. John and Terrace routes

Monday, November 18, 2013

Nov 18 Update: Hyatt Gold Passport Enhancements, Scandic Flash Sale, 4x Starpoints on Sixt Car Rentals

IHG Rewards Club Reward Night Flash Sale Now Live! (48 Hour sale this time!)

Friday, November 15, 2013

IHG Rewards Club Reward Night Flash Sale returns on Nov 18 (48 Hour sale this time!)

WestJet to launch Ireland service!!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Nov 14 Update: American Express & Aeroplan extend their agreement, Up to Triple Avios for Hyatt stays, Qantas Status Credits on award flights

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Nov 13 Update: US Airways-American Airline merger back on, 50% Bonus Points at Petro Canada, Shangri-La Golden Circle Game Week 3

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Transfer points to Aeroplan to earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles

Top 5 Travel Cards in Canada

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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Monday, November 18, 2013

Friday, November 15, 2013

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

TRENDING
Scene+ is not just for movies anymore - it's become a versatile powerhouse for all types of rewards