Friday, November 21, 2014

Nov 21 Update: Up to 7,500 Bonus Points for Marriott stays in Canada, Air Miles Gift Card Bonus, Expedia.ca's new loyalty program

Three news tidbits and a great Marriott Rewards bonus for stays in Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
All the news items for today had their own blog posts, here are the links in case you missed them!


Bonus Offers
Alitalia MilleMiglia
- 2,000 MilleMiglia Miles for stays of 7 or more nights at the Golf Hotel Campiglio or Atahotel Planibel Residence. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- Triple MilleMiglia Miles for stays of 2+ nights at participating NH Hotels in Europe. More... Until Jan 6, 15
- Triple MilleMiglia Miles for stays at Star Hotels in Italy and Paris. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Double MilleMiglia Miles for stays at UNA Hotels & Resorts e UNAWAY Hotels. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- Double MilleMiglia Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at over 250 participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 15

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to Triple AAdvantage Miles when you stay at participating Okura Hotels & Resorts, Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15

Marriott Rewards
- 1,500 Bonus Points PER NIGHT when you stay includes at least one night Thursday to Sunday at Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard and Residence Inn across Canada. More...Dec 15 - Mar 1, 15 

- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at one of eight Marriott resorts in the Caribbean. More... Until Dec 19, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT at the SpringHill Suites Denver North/Westminster. More...Until Dec 19, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard Houston NW/290 Corridor. More...Until Dec 18, 14

Stash Hotel Rewards
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays of 2+ nights at The Cliff House at Pikes Peak Manitou Springs. More... Until Dec 28, 14
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays of 2+ nights at the Magnolia Hotel Denver. More... Until Dec 30, 14
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the Inn at Saint Mary's South Bend. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 15 Stash Rewards Points per dollar for stays of 2+ nights at the Magnolia Hotel Houston More... Dec 1 - Jan 15, 15
- Triple Stash Rewards Points for stays at the The Resort at Port Ludlow. More... Until May 31, 15


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Huge Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway - 1.1 Reward Miles per $1 spent Nov 21-27


Don't delete that Safeway Air Miles email that came in your inbox yesterday or today! There is a small part of it with a link stating you can up to 825 Bonus Miles and those miles are for buying gift cards! This is a perfect time to buy those gift cards with Christmas coming up! The offer is for 55 Bonus miles per $50 Gift Card purchased which equates to 1.1 miles per dollar! That's pretty awesome if you are an Air Miles Reward Miles collector. You have to print out the coupons and you can find them here.
The merchant gift cards included are Golf Town, Spafinder, Bass Pro Shops, Roots, Chapters/Indigo, Sears, the Keg, Ultimate Dining Card, West 49, La Vie En Rose, La Senza, Sport Chek, Moxies, Garage and American Eagle.

I know I'm going to grab at least at four or five of these and pay for them on my American Express Gold Rewards card as it earn 2x points on Grocery Store purchases. Definitely grabbing Chapters/Indigo, Sport Chek, The Keg and maybe American Eagle for my tween daughter!
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Expedia Canada launches their new loyalty program - Expedia+


Expedia, the third party travel booking site or OTA (Online Travel Agency) has had a loyalty program for their U.S. based site for at least two years and now they have launched a program for us Canadians for booking via Expedia Canada. The program looks likes and runs much like the U.S. version (in fact the Expedia+ page on .ca is pretty much the same as the Expedia+ Rewards page on .com, the only difference is the C in front of the Dollar Signs and the U.S.'s ability to donate points to St. Jude Hospital!)

With out rehashing all the details of the program, here are screenshots of the earning and redeeming options and benefits:


As you can see the basic earning is 2 points per dollar on hotel bookings, packages with a hotel, activities purchases and some car rentals. For flights you only earn 1 point for every $5. If you happen to earn all your points at the 2 points per $1 rate then you'll be getting a return of 1.4% on that spending based on the C$25 voucher for 3,500 points. Of course if you add in gold, silver or +VIP bonuses that rate of return increases.

One big caveat you have to remember though is that the majority of hotel bookings made via Expedia.ca do not earn points in frequent guest programs like Hyatt Gold Passport, Starwood Preferred Guest and almost all other major hotel chains. As well the stays may not count toward elite status qualification but if you hold elite status you may or may not enjoy those elite benefits on your stay booked via Expedia.ca. If you count on hotel points and status this program may not make much sense to you but if you are price conscious and switch brands willy nilly or stay at hotels that don't have loyalty programs then the Expedia+ program can definitely make sense for you.

Flights are a different story, as long as an airline is running some sort of bonus whereby you have to book via the airline itself you can definitely try to funnel your bookings via Expedia since you'll earn you frequent flyer miles and elite status qualification (as long as it is an eligible fare class) and you'll enjoy your elite status benefits if your are a member of that airline or airline alliance program.

To earn +silver status you have to spend C$5,000 on eligible bookings or stay 7 qualifying hotel room nights, and +gold status after spending C$10,000 on eligible bookings or staying 15 qualifying hotel room nights. +blue is the level everyone gets right when joining the program.

Overall it's finally nice to see Expedia Canada follow in the footsteps of their U.S. parent. Is this a great reward program? Not really. Is it a bad reward program? No, not that either. If you use Expedia.ca semi-frequently then it can be a nice fit for you but if it is a site you only once a year it may not be worthwhile to join the program. The rewards aren't huge but if you spend enough and get that 1.4% return coupled with any rewards you earn on your credit card for those bookings this program can definitely fit nicely into your reward program portfolio.

To find out more or the join the program click here.




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IHG PointBreaks Sneak Peek for stays Nov 24 - Feb 28

Here is a preview of the new PointBreaks from IHG that will launch on Monday!

This sneak peek list will post after midnight tonight for bookings and stays from Nov. 24 - Feb. 28, 2015 (subject to availability). Each Reward Night at these participating hotels will be only 5,000 IHG Rewards Club points during the above mentioned dates.

The full list isn't out yet but at this time it appears only two hotels here in Canada (Ft. St. John and Fredricton) will be included which is the least we've seen in a long time (normally there are between 5 and 10 hotels)

Here is a sampling of the more than 150 properties that will be featured:

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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Nov 20 Update: Air Canada 10 Millon Aeroplan Miles Contest, more MileagePlus changes, Marriott bonus for stays in Alberta

Thursday proves to be not as slow as the last two days with a bit more news for you!

News, Tips & Tricks
Air Canada launched The aircanada.com 10 Million Aeroplan Miles Contest two days ago. In this contest you can earn one entry for each new flight booking made on aircanada.com only The contest runs until Dec. 8th. Find out more here.
Prizes include:
Grand prize of 1 Million Aeroplan Miles
90 prizes of 100,000 Aeroplan Miles.


American Airlines has expanded their codesharing with WestJet. You'll now find AA codes on WestJet's flights between Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg and Phoenix. (Source Airlineroute.net)

COPA Airlines is planning to launch their own FFP in July 2015 which means United MileagePlus will not be the airlines primary program. The airline however will remain a MileagePlus partner which means MileagePlus members will still be able to earn and burn miles on COPA flights however MileagePlus Elites will lose some benefits such as access to preferred seating and complimentary upgrades on COPA flights. (Source: Copa)

More bad news for United Elites, the premier benefits are changing and sees the loss of third bag three for Gold members and the free Global Entry for Premier Platinum and Premier 1K members nixed as February 1. (Source: United)


Travel Deals
WestJet has Florida on sale! Book by November 26, 2014 (11:59 p.m. MT) for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays until February 12, 2015. Blackout dates from December 17, 2014 to January 7, 2015. Book online here.


Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Double Business Extra points when you travel on American or American codeshare (AA*), operated by Japan Airlines between the United States and Asia. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 1,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you stay at select JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Gaylord Hotels®, and Marriott Hotels in the U.S., and Canada. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 15

Carlson Hotels Club Carlson
- 5,000 Bonus Gold Points when you book the Snack and Points Package at the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Lake City. More... Until Dec 31, 14

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn a Free Night after every third night spent at any IHG® hotel in India and Nepal. Maximum of 3 free nights awarded. More... Until Apr 30, 15

Marriott Rewards
- 1,000 Bonus Points for stays at the Courtyard Calgary Airport, Residence Inn Calgary Airport or the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort. More... Until Dec 15, 14
- Earn up to 4,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard by Marriott Amsterdam Airport. More... Until Dec 16, 14
- 2,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Beach. More... Until Dec 18, 14
- 1,000 Bonus Rewards Points PER NIGHT for stays Sunday-Thursday at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Cumberland. More... Until Dec 17, 14
- 2,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the JW Marriott Houston Downtown. More...Until Dec 16, 14

Orbitz Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- $20 Bonus Orbucks when you book any round-trip flight with at least a 4-day length of stay from departure to return date. More... Book by Dec 3, 14

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Miles&Smiles Discounted Award Tickets when redeeming for a MIles&Smiles award ticket on virtually any Turkish Airlines routes. Amount of discount is unknown. More... Until Dec 15, 14



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Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Nov 19 Update: No Membership Rewards transfer limits like the U.K., Double Aeroplan Miles for Langham stays, Avianca Buy Miles bonus

Wow we thought Tuesday was quiet but Wednesday proves to be even quieter in the travel rewards world!

News, Tips & Tricks
Last week on our newly revamped U.K. site (FrequentFlyerBonuses.co.uk) we broke the news that Membership Rewards in the U.K. will begin limiting mileage transfers with three airline partners: Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Emirates. I reached out to Amex Canada to see if anything like this will transpire here and luckily there are no planned limitations on partner transfers other than those that Delta SkyMiles announced on October 1st whereby they will only allow a maximum a 250,000 miles to be transferred into a SkyMiles account yearly as of January 1st, 2015.
Screenshot of the Membership Rewards UK change

In the bonus offer section you'll see the return of Avianca LifeMiles 100% bonus on buying miles. Even with their recent devaluations the purchase of these miles can turn out to be very lucrative for saving money on business class and first class travel on Star Alliance airlines.


Travel Deals
KLM is ramping up the deals for their new Edmonton to Amsterdam route that launches on May 1st 2015. Right now you can fly for as low as $739 all in from Edmonton to Europe! Book by Nov 23 for travel in 2015! Book online here.

Bonus Offers
Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Double Aeroplan Miles and up to 20% off when you stay two nights or more at participating Langham properties Worldwide.More... Until Feb 28, 15
- 3x Aeroplan Miles with every UPS shipment sent via the UPS Store. More... . Dec 1 - 24, 14

Air France KLM Flying Blue
- Triple Flying Blue Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Avianca LifeMiles
- 100% Bonus LifeMiles when you purchase LifeMiles. More... Until Dec 19, 14

Delta SkyMiles
- 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles when you stay at select JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Gaylord Hotels®, and Marriott Hotels in the U.S., and Canada. More... Book by Dec 31 for stays until Jan 31, 15

Miles & More
- Double Miles and More Miles when you ski at Alpen Plus Ski Area partners. More... Dec 1 - 24, 14

SAS EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus points for stays at all Elite Hotels in Sweden. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- 4,000 Bonus EuroBonus points for Avis rentals of 4 or more days in Europe. More... Book by Dec 7 for rentals until Mar 31, 15


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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Nov 18 Update: Delta eliminates stopovers on award tickets, KLM Edmonton seat sale, Delta Toronto Hotel opening offers

Tuesday turns out to be a bit quiet...

News, Tips & Tricks
If you like to give out gift baskets for the holidays you can order them Costco.ca and earn double Aeroplan miles on them until November 24. Find out more here.

Delta SkyMiles has made it official that they will be removing stopovers on award tickets as of January 1st, 2015, see here for details



In the bonus offer section you'll see an Aeroplan rebate for stays at the new Delta Toronto Hotel. Now that this hotel is open we're seeing more offers like these. Amex is offering select cardmembers a $100 statement credit if you spend $500 at the hotel and now there is this Aeroplan offer.

Also don't forget to check out the fourth annual Canada's Choice results! www.rewardscanada.ca/canadaschoice

Travel Deals
KLM is ramping up the deals for their new Edmonton to Amsterdam route that launches on May 1st 2015. Right now you can fly for as low as $739 all in from Edmonton to Europe! Book by Nov 23 for travel in 2015! Book online here.



Bonus Offers
Air Canada Aeroplan
- 1,500 Aeroplan Miles Rebate when you redeem Aeroplan Miles for stays at the new Delta Toronto Hotel. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays between Nov 27 and Apr 10, 15

airberlin topbonus
- Double topbonus Miles on Finnair flights within Europe. More... Until Feb 28, 15

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles for stays at Radisson Blu and Park Inn by Radisson hotels in Beirut, Alexandria, Cairo and Muscat. More... Book between Dec 1 and Jan 15 for stays Dec 1 - Mar 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- 4,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points for stays at the The Venetian® and The Palazzo® in Las Vegas More... Until Dec 28, 14

Le Club accorhotels
- Quadruple Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Nov 30 for stays until Dec 31, 14

SAS EuroBonus
- Triple EuroBonus points for stays of 2 or more nights at participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 14

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 12,500 Bonus MileagePlus when you shop via iGet.it. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 250 Bonus MileagePlus for every $150 you spend via the MileagePlus Shopping portal up to a maximum of 1,250 bonus miles. More... Until Nov 25, 14

Virgin America Elevate (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Elevate Points on all purchases made via the Virgin America Elevate Fly Store online shopping portal. More... Until Dec 21, 14

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Monday, November 17, 2014

Earn up to 5,000 TAP Portugal Victoria Miles for free


Have you been a member of TAP Portugal's Victoria program for at least six months and have earned at least 1 mile (ie some activity in your account)? If so you can earn yourself up to 5,000 Victoria Miles for free when you refer friends to the program. Unlike other airline refer a friend programs that usually require the referee to complete a flight this promotion does not have that requirement. You simply earn 1,000 miles for each person you refer to the program who signs up! Simple as that and you can earn that bonus five times. 

Offer details
1,000 Bonus Victoria Miles when you refer friends to the TAP Portugal Victoria program. Referrer must be a member for at least 6 months and have account activity to earn referral miles. Maximum of 5,000 referral miles awarded. Full details Until Dec 31, 14

Can't make use of this offer? Visit our Victoria Bonus Miles page for many more bonuses!
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Nov 17 Update: The Canada's Choice results are out, Emirates free stopover in Dubai offer, SPG buy Starpoints discount

The results are out!

News, Tips & Tricks
We asked and you voted Canada! Today we released the results of our 4th annual Canada's Choice for Travel Rewards Credit Cards. We thank you all for coming out to vote as we once again had a record turn out with more than 18,000 votes! Amex took back the spots they lost last year to RBC and took 4 out of 5 categories however the RBC WestJet World MasterCard held onto top spot in the Airline category. Find all the details and rankings at rewardscanada.ca/canadaschoice

Emirates is offering a complimentary stopover at the JW Marriott Marquis, Dubai when you book a round-trip ticket in First Class or Business Class from Toronto to Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Algiers, Cape Town, Casablanca, Conakry, Dakar, Durban, Entebbe, Harare, Johannesburg, Lagos, Luanda, Lusaka, Nairobi, Tripoli, and Tunis in Africa or Bangkok, Beijing, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Phuket, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo in Asia. The free stopover is good for up to 2 nights at the JW Marriott Marquis. This offer is good for travel until December 31st. To find out more or to book see here.


In the bonus offers section, there are 3 promos you really should take a look at. The first is the free night offer from NH Hotels (read more on FFB about this offer), the TAP Portugal refer a friend bonus (more on this coming later right here on the RC blog) and Starwood's discount on buying points. The SPG buy points offers see the points come down to 2.625 U.S. cents each plus GST/HST. Not a great deal but not bad either if you can make it work for the right redemption via Cash+Points or the redeem for 4 nights get the 5th free option.

Travel Deals
Earn up to a $50 hotel credit for stays at select Marriott Hotels in the U.S. and Canada. Receive a $20 hotel credit at Courtyard®, $25 at non-resort hotels and $50 at our most relaxing resorts. Simply book by January 1st for stays between November 14, 2014 and January 19, 2015. There are 29 Canadian properties participating in this promotion. Full details


Bonus Offers
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Double Asia Miles along with 20% off Best Available Rate and RMB100 food and beverage credit per stay at participating hotels in Beijing, Guangzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xiamen. More... Until Feb 28, 15
- Double Asia Miles for stays participating Swissotel Hotels & Resorts in Europe and Asia Pacific. More... Until Feb 24, 15

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- Earn up to Quadruple Fortune Wings Miles for stays at Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Dec 1 - Feb 28, 15

Hilton HHonors
- Fast Track to Gold Status for Amazon employees when you complete seven qualifying stays at Hilton Hotels Worldwide within 90-days of enrolling in this offer. More... Until ?

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Loyalty Club
- Double Loyalty Club Points for stays at the The McCormick Scottsdale. More... Until Feb 28, 15

NH Hotels NH Rewards
- Receive a free Night when you complete a stay at any NH Hotel Worldwide. The free night is good for future stays of 2 or more nights between Jan 1st and Mar 31 , 15. More... Until Dec 31, 14

S7 Airlines Priority (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 500 Bonus Priority Miles on your first S7 flight between Moscow and Voronezh.  More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 300 Bonus Priority Miles on your first S7 flight between Moscow and Ufa. More... Until Dec 31, 14

Starwood Preferred Guest
- Up to a 25% Discount when you buy or gift Starpoints. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- 500 Bonus Starpoints for stays at the Sheraton Needham Hotel. More... Until Nov 30 and Dec 19 - Jan 4, 15

TAP Portugal Victoria
- Double Victoria Miles when you book the “Double Miles” rate with a minimum two-night stay at Worldhotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- 1,000 Bonus Victoria Miles when you refer friends to the TAP Portugal Victoria program. Referrer must be a member for at least 6 months to earn referral miles. Maximum of 5,000 referral miles awarded. More... Until Dec 31, 14
- Earn up to 25,000 Bonus Victoria Miles when you register for Language Direct courses. More... Until Dec 28, 14

Wyndham Rewards
- Earn up to 30% Bonus Wyndham Rewards Points every time you buy or gift points. More... Until Dec 19, 14


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Canadians Pick their Top Travel Rewards Credit Cards for 2014 - Results of our Canada's Choice Vote!

For the fourth year in row RewardsCanada.ca, the country’s leading source for frequent flyer and travel reward information, asked Canadians to rank their favourite travel reward credit cards as part of its ‘Canada’s Choice’ Awards.

More than 18,000 users of the popular website responded. The results were not even close. Amex dominated four out of the five travel reward categories to reclaim its spot as Canada’s most admired portfolio of travel reward credit cards.  It is a significant honour given the more than 85 travel rewards credit cards Canadians can choose from.

“After RBC knocked AMEX off its perch last year, the credit card company responded with a noticeably stronger marketing presence,” said Patrick Sojka of Rewards Canada. “While Amex has a reputation for its strong reward options and ease of redemption, I suspect their savvy marketing campaigns are resonating with consumers and helping to create top-of-mind presence.”

Perhaps the most surprising result of the ‘Canada’s Choice’ Awards poll was TD’s lack of traction.  After shocking the industry last year when it scooped up the Aeroplan portfolio from CIBC, Canada’s largest bank has failed to move the needle on its travel reward credit card offering.

“It’s a classic case of the blockbuster not living up to its over hyped movie trailer,” add Sojka. “Consumers were looking for more and so far TD simply hasn’t delivered.”

Canada’s Choice Awards:

Travel Points (with annual fee): American Express Air Miles Platinum Credit Card
Travel Points (with no annual fee): American Express Air Miles Credit Card
Hybrid: American Express Gold Rewards Card
Hotel: The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
Airline: WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard

A complete list of the rankings can be found at www.rewardscanada.ca/canadaschoice


What are your thoughts on Canada's Choice?
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