Earning Stories: 540 AIR MILES Rewards Miles for buying Gift Cards at Safeway

Welcome to the next post in the Earning Stories series right here on Rewards Canada. For years we have provided you with the details on earning points and miles (both regular earning and bonus opportunities) and these stories show the actual offers in action.

Screenshot from Rewards Canada's Instagram account on Nov 27

Back in November and December we shared with you two great AIR MILES Reward Miles earning offers from Safeway. Actually there were more than two great offers from Safeway during the holiday but the two in question here are these posts about the bonus miles for buying gift cards at Safeway.

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

Dec 29: Huge Air Miles Bonuses for Gift Card Purchases at Safeway - 1.4 Reward Miles per $1 spent (until Jan 1, 15)

Anytime bonuses come up for gift cards you should really consider jumping on the offer if retailers you regularly shop at are included (sometimes Safeway has offers on any gift cards except their own). Don't go out of your way to get them if you won't use it (or gift it!)

In the case of these two sets of offers I found retailers that we use so I went ahead and printed the coupons so I could earn the bonuses. Two simple trips to Safeway, first one I was driving by and had the coupons on me so I stopped quickly and grabbed these six cards. Each with 55 AIR MILES Rewards Miles bonus. Total time spent was less than 5 minutes!

The second time, I had to grab a couple of small items at Safeway on our way to a New Year lunch and printed off coupons for the places I knew I would be using soon. Total time spent was only about 10 minutes

For about 15 minutes of my time I earned 540 AIR MILES Rewards Miles or more than a third of the miles required for a short haul flight. On top of that I put all these purchases on my American Express Gold Rewards Card which earns 2 points per dollar on Grocery Store purchases which means I received 900 Membership Rewards Points (equates to 900 Aeroplan Miles or British Airways Avios) for buying these gift cards. Had I not bought the gift cards and chose to use my Gold Rewards Card at any of the above retailers I would only earn 1 Membership Reward point per dollar. (This is that one trick we always talk about around holiday shopping season that can be applied anytime of the year! Buy gift cards at category bonus merchants for retailers that don't offer your credit card a category bonus)

Tips for Shopping Bonuses
- When taking advantage of shopping bonuses that are not gift card related make sure you do some price checking first, you don't want to be spending more on a product than you could be elsewhere (the bonus would have to really be worthwhile!)
- Always check the flyer at the front entrance of grocery stores. More often then not they have bonus offer coupons for hitting a certain spend level.
- Use a credit or charge card that offers category bonuses when shopping at Grocery Stores, Drug Store, Restaurants etc. and don't forgot to swipe your other loyalty cards if the retailer participates in programs like Aeroplan, Air Miles, SCENE, etc. 

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Have your earning story featured!
Not only are Rewards Canada Earning Stories featured in this series, we want to feature your stories as well! Have you earned a lot of points or miles by utilizing offers posted on Rewards Canada? We would love to hear about them and potentially feature them here on Rewards Canada. Tell us your earning story by emailing us the details of what you earned, screenshots if possible of those points/miles posting and what offer on Rewards Canada you took advantage of. Email it to us info@rewardscanada.ca

Jan 21 Update: Kaligo added to Rewards Canada, Hyatt award changes kick in tomorrow, KLM Africa seat sale

Here is the mid-week round up for you!

News, Tips & Tricks
A new bonus offer page has been added to the main Rewards Canada site! The page is for Kaligo, the newest third party hotel booking site that awards miles on bookings. Similar to PointsHound and Rocketmiles, Kaligo launched last Fall and has been covered here on the RC blog and their partner pages since then. Now that they have added more partners (such as United MileagePlus) and have a decent amount of offers running we knew it was time for them to get their own page listing those offers. You can find the page at http://www.rewardscanada.ca/kaligo.html

Just a reminder that the Hyatt Gold Passport Award night changes we brought you back in early December. will kick in tomorrow. If you are planning any award nights at Hyatt Regency Toronto you should book them today before the hotel goes up a category but if you are planning any award stays at the Hyatt Regency Montreal you should wait until tomorrow as the hotel will be moving down a category. See here for the complete list of hotel changes.

The latest WestJet schedule update shows them cancelling their summer seasonal Vancouver to Chicago route. If you are booked on this they should provide you with alternate routings or a full refund. They are also reducing flights between Vancouver and LAX to 14 flights per week from 19. (Source: Airlineroute.net)

Travel Deals
KLM has launched a seat sale for travel between Canada and Africa. Flights start as low as $875 with all taxes and fees included. Book by Feb 5 for travel until May 6. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Book by Feb 28 for stays until Dec 31, 15

Bangkok Airways FlyerBonus (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to 6x FlyerBonus Points for stays at the Springfield @ Sea Resort & Spa or Springfield Village, Golf & Spa. More... Book by Feb 28 for stays until Mar 31, 15
- Earn up to 5x FlyerBonus Points on Hertz car rentals in Thailand. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Czech Airlines OK Plus
- Double OK Plus Miles when you fly Czech Airlines between Prague and Bilbao or Cork. More... Register and book by Jul 31 for travel May 14 - Aug 31, 15
- Triple OK Plus Miles for stays of 2 or more nights at over 160 participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
- Double Mileage Bank Miles on all eligible Bangkok Airways flights systemwide. More... Feb 1 - Apr 23, 15

Shangri-La Golden Circle
- Double GC Award Points for stays at the new Shangri-La Hotel, Nanchang. More... Feb 8 - Jul 31, 15

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Earn up to Quadruple Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Full details Until Feb 28, 15

United MileagePlus
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus MileagePlus Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More...Book by Feb 28 for stays until Dec 31, 15
- 7,500 Bonus MileagePlus miles when you book a Mexico vacation and travel before June. More... Book by Jan 29, 15

Virgin Australia Velocity Rewards (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple Velocity Points when you fly Virgin Australia to or from Abu Dhabi and any eligible Etihad Airways operated flights with an EY flight number. More... Register by Feb 1 for travel Feb 9 - May 31, 15



Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Jan 20 Update: Update to the TD Visa $100 Statement Credit offer, WestJet sale on their new routes, new bonus for joining Asia Miles

Today is a bit quieter than yesterday! Primarily bonuses to pass along to you.

News, Tips & Tricks
We updated our post on the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite $100 Statement Credit offer for Air Canada purchases as it is a targeted offer that is not available to everyone. Read the update here.

And our tip of the day is this post from yesterday: Reminder: Always register for promotions as soon as you learn about them

Travel Deals
Yesterday we let know about all the new routes that WestJet is introducing in the coming months and for a limited they have some great sale fares for trying them out! Some of these need to be booked today while the Houston route has to be booked by the 26th. Find out more here.

In the bonus offers section there is a new sign up bonus for Cathay Pacific's Asia Miles, the offer is small but should be taken advantage of if you are not a member yet and plan on flying Cathay Pacific before the end of May.

Bonus Offers
airAsia BIG (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Earn up to Triple BIG Points when you stay at Hilton Hotels and Resorts Worldwide. More...   Until Mar 31, 15

American AAdvantage
- 30 Bonus AAdvantage Miles for every dollar you spend with FTD. More... Until Feb 15, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 500 Bonus Asia Miles when you join Asia Miles then book online for travel on flights marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific Airways or Dragonair Worldwide. More... Register and book by Mar 31 for travel until May 31, 15

Finnair Plus
- Double Plus Points for Finnair flights between Helsinki and Seoul. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Hilton HHonors
- 500 Bonus HHonors Points when you spend more than £20 at The Larder Restaurant during your stay at the Hilton London Croydon. More... Until Dec 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- 1,500 Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points on your next stay at IHG Hotels Worldwide. Stay must be made within 90 days of registering. More... Until ? Targeted Offer - May not work for everyone

Le Club accorhotels
- Triple Le Club accorhotels Points + free breakfast for stays at the Ibis De Panne. More... Until Mar 31, 15

MEA Middle East Airlines Cedar Miles
- Triple Cedar Miles when you fly from London to Beirut on flight # ME204. More... Until Mar 22, 15

Miles & More
- 1,000 Bonus Miles & More Miles when you join Heathrow Rewards and spend £25 or more in a single day. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Reminder: Always register for promotions as soon as you learn about them

For as long as I can remember, well not really, but since mid 2005 when I posted our first ever article on Maximizing the Miles and Points you earn, I have stressed that you should register for each and every promotion right when you become aware of it, even if at the time you may not think you can take advantage of it. I reiterate it time and time again and even in our 2011 update of the Maximize your Miles article.

Screenshot from our 2005 article

And here is proof of why you should do so. In September 2014 American Express sent out emails to members offering a $100 statement credit when spending $500 or more in a single Fairmont Hotels transaction. I registered for the offer right away (on both my American Express Gold Rewards Card and The Platinum Card from American Express) not knowing if and when I would be able to use the offer since some of my Fairmont stays are below the $500 level for this promotion. Well December rolls around and I still need to get one more stay at Fairmont to earn Platinum Status (via the accelerated offer provided by The Platinum Card from American Express) and we decide as a family to stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs once again just before the New Year. This is a busy season and the rates aren't cheap but we took advantage of the Alberta Residents Rate offer that gives 30% off and booked the Terrace Suite at the Banff Springs as the price was only slightly higher than the regular rooms or Fairmont Gold rooms. By this time I had totally forgot about the offer I had registered for via American Express and since the Banff Springs charges you ahead of time for stays during the Christmas/New Year season the full amount of the stay was charged to my card on December 16. Then on December 17 the following showed up on my Amex Statement:

 The $100 statement credit!! I had just saved another $100 off the 30% off the suite even during a major peak season at the hotel.

So take this as a reminder, always sign up for a promotion when you learn about it. If you wait you may forget about it and not earn bonus miles/points, statement credits or other benefits that loyalty programs and credit cards offer to their members! Luckily for me I did register right away then forgot about the offer but since I did register I got the $100 credit.

Screenshot of our Instagram post of the holiday stay in the Fairmont Banff Springs Spa/Terrace suite

Jan 19 Update: Visa Infinite Privilege adds benefits at YOW, WestJet announces Calgary-Houston service, Etihad Guest is still an Amex transfer partner

A busy Monday to start off the latest week of updates here on Rewards Canada!

News, Tips & Tricks
Visa Infinite Privilege cardholders (RBC, CIBC, TD) now get special airport benefits in Ottawa (YOW). Cardholders can now use a Dedicated VIP Priority Lane entrance at the Domestic/International checkpoint in the airport and also get dedicated parking spots on a first come first serve basis. Cardholders also receive 15% off standard parking rates.

WestJet announced some new routes today for flights in Canada and to the U.S.. First WestJet Encore is expanding further out East with new flights between Halifax and Deer Lake, Gander and Sydney Nova Scotia and out west they will add Calgary-Terrace and Edmonton-Abbotsford routes. Additional new summer routes include Halifax to Ottawa and St. Johns as well as Ottawa to Moncton. There will also be new Toronto-Gander service and possibly the biggest and most interesting route out of the announcements is Calgary to Houston starting this September! (Source WestJet)

For the next three days you can earn 80 bonus Air Miles when you spend $40 or more at Rexall. Print the coupon here.

Don't worry Etihad Guest has not been removed from American Express Membership Rewards. Last week when I logged into my account and went to the transfer points page Etihad was gone. Funny thing is a few days later I get an email from one of our readers stating the exact same thing! It appears that when logged in there is a technical glitch that removes Etihad from the page however if you log out and go to the transfer points page Etihad is there. I notified American Express of this issue last week and they are working to resolve it!

Travel Deals
Air France has an amazing deal on Vancouver-Mauritius flights, you can fly for as little as $1199 all in and include a stopover in Paris! Simply book by Feb 5 for travel until May 6 or between Oct 16 and Dec 10. Book online at  airfrance.ca

 
Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- Miles&Bonus Elite Status Match for all Cyprus Airways Elite Sunmiles members. More... Until Mar 1, 15

Air Canada / Aeroplan
- Earn 50,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles after you spend $3,000 in your first three months of Card membership with the American Express AeroplanPlus Reserve card. More... Ongoing

Best Western Rewards
- Double Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at participating Best Western Hotels in Spain and Portugal. More... Various Dates in 2015
- 500 Bonus Rewards Points on all qualifying stays at participating Best Western Hotels in Spain and Portugal. More... Various Dates in 2015

Iberia Plus
- Triple Avios for stays at the Claris, Granados 83, Gran Derby Suite, Derby, Balmes and Astoria in Barcelona and hotels Urban and Villa Real in Madrid. More... Until Feb 28, 15
- Double Avios for stays at the Caesar of London and Banke Hotel of Paris. More... Until Feb 28, 15
- Double Avios for a 3 night stay at participating Hoteles Andaluces con Encanto. More... Until Feb 28, 15
- Earn up to 2,000 Avios on Avis car rentals Worldwide.More... Until Mar 31 15

Miles & More
- Double Miles & More Miles when you fly Austrian between Vienna and Mauritius. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Triple Miles&More miles for stays at the tMeliá Paris la Défence and Meliá Doha More... Until Jun 30, 15

SAS EuroBonus
- Double EuroBonus points for stays at all Scandic Hotels in Europe. More... Feb 1 - 28, 15

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- 25% Bonus Miles&Smiles Status Miles when you fly on Turkish Airlines between Turkey and Singapore. More... . May 1 - Jun 30, 15

Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Scotiabank Gold American Express Card Review

(This feature is a duplicate from the main the Rewards Canada site)   Launched in September of 2012 the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is now veteran of our loyalty credit card market. It was the first American Express card issued by a bank other than Amex Bank of Canada since CIBC tried the partnership in 2002. Now that the card has been around for over two years we figured it was time to give it a review since this partnership between Scotiabank and American Express has lasted longer than the CIBC effort and it appears that it isn't going away soon. Overview The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card is the middle of a suite of three American Express cards issued by Scotiabank and is by far the most popular version of the trio. When launched they took hints of their Momentum Visa Infinite Cash Back card which has some very high category spend bonuses and applied them these suite of cards. Depending on how you use the card it can be give you a return of 1% to as high as 4% on travel rewards. The card(s) fall into our Travel Points With Annual Fee category, which means points are earned into the credit card issuers proprietary reward program. It gets further categorized as Travel Anywhere card which means you don't have to book via the credit card issuers proprietary reward, you can book any travel how you want when you want and when the charge shows up on your statement you can redeem points against the charge. The two other versions of the Scotiabank American Express cards are a lower cost Standard version and a higher cost Platinum version. Sign up Features The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card comes with a 20,000 Scotia Rewards Points sign up bonus that is awarded when you reach $1,000 in spending in the first three months. They are also offering the first year free (the $99 annual fee is waived) for applications made by February 28, 2015. Costs The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card comes with a $99 Annual fee which is lower than many of its comparable competitors which charge around $120. Supplementary cards run $29 which is also lower than most comparable cards that charge $50. The interest rate on the card is19.99% which is in line with most of the cards at this level. The Platinum Card carries an annual fee of $399 ($99 supplementary) and the standard card runs at $39 ($15 supplementary) Earning The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has one of the highest earn rates on specific category spending with 4 points per dollar awarded on gas stations, grocery stores, on dining and entertainment. That equates to a amazing 4% return on that spending! The 4 points per dollar is limited to $50,000 per year in those categories which should be more than enough for the majority of Canadians who use this card. On all other spending the card earns 1 Scotia Reward Point per dollar spent which equates to a 1% return. If you choose to get the Platinum version that $50,000 cap on the category bonuses is increased to $100,000 while the regular card has the earn rate dropped to 2 points per dollar in those bonus categories. Related: Credit Card Showdown: American Express Gold Rewards Card vs Scotiabank Gold American Express Card

Redeeming Being the Rewards Canada "Travel Points" category in our annual credit card rankings means the points earned are part of the credit card's proprietary reward program, in this case Scotia Rewards and not a co-brand program like Aeroplan or Air Miles. For the vast majority of Canadians this is a good thing since you are not bound by the restrictions and limitations that frequent flyer programs and programs like Air Miles put on flights and in fact you are not limited to only flights but any travel. This card falls into the book any travel anywhere category of Travel Points cards which means you don't have to redeem via Scotia Rewards. All you have to do is book your travel whether it be aircanada.com, westjet.com, expedia.com or anywhere else including your trusted travel agent and when that charge shows up on your statement you simply call up Scotia Rewards or go online and redeem points against the charge. Points are redeemed at a rate of 100 points for $1 with a minimum redemption of 5,000 points for $50 off your travel. That is the beauty of this card and many like it, you don't have to have the full amount of points to begin to enjoy the rewards! If you buy an airline ticket for $600 and have 30,000 points you can choose to redeem those points for a $300 credit which means your flight only cost $300. You also get 12 months after the travel charge posts to your account to redeem points so you can continue to pay off that vacation with points up to a year after! Another benefit of this' book travel on your own' is you can be on vacation and buy travel on the card (say a rail ticket) and then redeem points when you get home. It can't be done with cards that don't have this feature such as the BMO Rewards World Elite MasterCard or CIBC Aventura Visa since you need to redeem the points ahead of time. Essentially the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card falls into the category of most flexible travel rewards cards.

Features and Benefits The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card comes with the usual slate of insurance and benefits that are seen on Gold, Platinum and Infinite cards. On the insurance side the card comes with wide range of coverage as including travel accident insurance, flight delay, trip interruption and cancellation insurance, travel medical insurance, lost/damaged baggage insurance, car rental CDW coverage, hotel burglary insurance, purchase protection and extended warranty. The travel medical insurance does stand out as it covers you for up to 25 days per trip which is somewhat higher than the majority of cards that offer the benefit. Related: Travel Reward Credit Card Medical Insurance Coverage The primary Non-insurance benefits include a discount on annual Priority Pass Business Class lounge membership and price protection. The latter is where if you buy something on the card and the price drops within a certain period of time you can claim it to get the difference refunded to your account. What is good about this card The 4 Points per dollar earned for gas, grocery and dining and entertainment categories is what's good about this card! That earn rate is huge as it translates to a 4% return. At the time of writing I know a lot people's investment portfolios weren't making this much! The insurance package that comes with the card is also very strong and carries some better options than its competitors like 25 day out of province medical insurance and price protection. The 35% discount on the Priority Pass business class lounge access is decent but isn't as good as when the card first launched when the full $99 fee was covered. If you travel lots and enjoy business class lounge access other cards offer better options in this case. Related: Rewards Canada's Guide to Business Class Lounge Access What is not so good about this card There are two things that are not so good about this card. First we all know that American Express is not widely accepted like its competitors and make it hard to use this card everywhere you shop. Yes it earns 4 points per dollar on Dining and Entertainment but outside of major chains and high end restaurants, the American Express brand is tough to use. The good things is that more and more merchants are accepting American Express everyday but their coverage is still lower than Visa or MasterCard. Also with the upcoming changes to the Visa/MasterCard interchange rate we may see some retailers drop American Express Acceptance. Related: 2015: The Year Credit Card Rewards Come Crashing Down to Earth? The second issue we have with the card won't be a huge issue for most Canadians and that is the ability to convert points to other programs. When you compare this card to cards like the American Express Gold Rewards Card or the RBC Avion Visa Infinite card which are both Hybrid Cards that allow you to redeem points via their proprietary rewards programs and/or convert them to numerous other loyalty programs. Scotiabank unfortunately doesn't have relationships with loyalty companies like Amex or RBC in Canada. They do have SCENE which isn't travel rewards related and in the Caribbean they are the primary issuer of American Airlines AAdvantage cards but AA is tied in with RBC and their Avion card right now. Conclusion If you are someone who goes out a lot to eat and drink, goes to a lot of movies and/or theatre this card rewards you handsomely. If you have little to no ties to major loyalty programs like Aeroplan and Air Miles and know you can use this card a lot for the category bonuses it should be in your wallet. What is also advantageous is that Scotiabank also offers the Scotiabank Rewards VISA card, which has no annual fee and will cover those merchants that don’t accept American Express. This allows you to earn Scotia Rewards points on both cards, rather than having to collect points in two different programs. Also, if you want to have no restrictions on how, when and where you can use your points towards travel, then this card is also for you. However if you want flights in business or first class at the best possible return on your credit card spending (business and first class redemptions made via a frequent flyer program represent the best possible value out of any loyalty program) and you collect a lot of miles or points from sources other than credit card spend getting this card may not be the best first choice but could make sense as a secondary or tertiary card if you are willing to cover the annual fee each year after your first year free. Granted if you only used the card on category bonus spending so that your return was strictly 4% this is actual a pretty decent value towards redeeming those points for a business class ticket. If you spend the full $50,000 a year on the card in category bonuses so that you have $2,000 in points you could use this towards a hefty discount on a business class ticket. For example Air France and KLM are well known for running great Business Class sales to Europe from Canada. My parents flew Calgary to Prague for $3,500 each in the new KLM Business Class so if you had these $2,000 worth of points that ticket would only cost you $1,500. If you did an Aeroplan redemption for the same route it would be 90,000 Miles or a minimum of $45,000 with the American Express Gold Rewards Cards but for most people it would be much higher than that (probably around $60,000 with the TD or CIBC Aeroplan cards) and you would be looking close to $1,000 in taxes and fees. So what would you rather spend $50,000 on your card + $1,500 for the remainder of a ticket with little to no restrictions like Aeroplan or spend $60,000 plus $1,000 in taxes and fees and be at the whim of Aeroplan availability and routing problems. Remember however this example is based on spending in category bonuses. Once you use your Scotiabank Gold American Express card at other non-category bonus locations you start eating away at that 4% return and lose value for Business Class redemptions. Ultimately if you are tied into Aeroplan, Air Miles or another loyalty program as you primary travel rewards source then this card should not be the primary card in your credit card portfolio. Overall when Scotiabank launched this suite of Amex branded cards they needed it. The Scotiabank Gold Passport Visa had fallen way behind the competition and to this date has stayed behind its competitors. The Scotiabank Amex branded cards had a difficult first 8-10 months with less people jumping on the card than Scotiabank had hoped but it does seem to have turned the corner thanks to some very heavy advertising at airports, city transit and more. For some Canadians this should be the primary card in your wallet while for a good majority of you it can make a really good back up card to your primary card and only use it at places where you earn the category bonuses. Care to comment? Do you agree or disagree with us? Tell us what think about the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card by commenting below! Related Links: Scotiabank Gold American Express Card on scotiabank.com Rewards Canada's All Travel Rewards Credit Card Comparison including the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card Rewards Canada's Travel Points Only Credit Card Comparison including the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card Other cards to consider if you are looking at this card: American Express Gold Rewards Card BMO World Elite Master Card CIBC Aventura World MasterCard CUETS Platinum Class MasterCard Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard National Bank of Canada World MasterCard RBC Visa Infinite Avion Scotia Gold Passport Visa TD First Class Infinite Visa

Jan 16 Update: Tip for dealing with less knowledgable Customer Service agents, British Airways Flight+Hotel deals, new Kaligo bonuses

Here is what we have for you in our final update of the week:

News, Tips & Tricks
Here is our tip of the day:
 On our mbna Alaska Airlines MasterCard Review blog post, we recently received a comment stating that you couldn't use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles unless you were flying from an Alaska Airlines hub city. We know this was not correct and weren't sure why someone from Alaska Airlines would tell the commenter this wrong information. This is a good example of an agent who may not know all the rules and tips and tricks of their own program and if this happens to you, one of the best things you can do is simply to call back and get another agent. We hear stories on such a frequent basis of the a huge difference in knowledge of customer service agents that this is one of the most powerful tools you can have in your pocket. If you have an agent who doesn't seem to be able to help you, seems to lack knowledge, is indifferent in trying different routings on award bookings etc. when trying to book reward tickets etc. simply thank them for their help, hang up and call back. The key is not to be rude or angry with any of these agents as they can add notes to your account which may affect the way the next agent will help you.

Travel Deals
British Airways has some good flight+hotel deals out of Canada. You can fly to London and get 5 nights in a London hotel for as little as $1109 all in! Simply book by Jan 28. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
Aeroflot Bonus
- Earn up to Quadruple Bonus Miles when you stay at properties within the Hilton HHonors portfolio Worldwide. More...  Until Mar 31, 15

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn up to 3,500 Bonus Avios for stays at participating Hilton properties throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More... Until Apr 30, 15

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Up to a 50% Asia Miles Discount on Standard Awards in Economy Class between Hong Kong and Seoul. More... Book by Jan 19 for travel Feb 1 - Mar 15, 15
- 20% Asia Miles Discount on Standard Awards in Business, Premium Economy (Taipei only) and Economy Class on selected flights between Hong Kong and Taipei or Kaohsiung. More... Book by Jan 31 for travel until Jan 31 and Mar 1-31, 15

Emirates Skywards
- 2,000 Bonus Skywards Miles and 4th night free for stays at the Jumeirah Vitavelli and Jumeirah Dhevanafushi. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Double Skywards Miles for stays at participating Shangri-La Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 15

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Triple GarudaMiles for stays at Aerowisata Hotel & Resort in Indonesia. More... Until Jun 30, 15

Gulf Air FalconFlyer (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double FalconFlyer Miles when you fly on Gulf Air between Bahrain and Gassim or Taif. More... Until Mar 10, 15

Jet Airways JetPrivilege
- Earn up to 5,000 Bonus JetPrivilege Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Until Jan 31, 15

Thai Airways Royal Orchid
- Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Royal Orchid Plus Miles when you book hotels via Kaligo. More... Full details Until Mar 31, 15

US Airways Dividend Miles
- Triple Dividend Miles per stay at La Quinta properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. More... Until Mar 15, 15
- 3,000 Bonus Dividend Miles on your very first Rocketmiles booking More... Book by Jun 30, 15


Today's Daily Update has been brought to you by

Jan 15 Update: 3x Air Miles at Rona, Use Avios to jump on KLM's U.S. flash sale, IHG Rewards Club UK/Europe Flash Sale

News, Tips & Tricks
Rona is offering 3x Air Miles on purchases of $80 or more until January 28th. Which means you should earn a whopping minimum of 12 Air Miles on those purchases instead of 4. Find all the details here.

Travel Deals
KLM has launched a flash sale out of the U.S. to Kilimanjaro. From New York the flight is as low as US$798 all in. This is a great deal and one of those that although we are here in Canada we can jump on it by taking advantage of British Airways Avios for flights between Eastern Canada and New York (only 9,000 Avios roundtrip in economy class, see this post on how to do that). The KLM flights need to be booked today. Find out more about the Flash Sale on our global site's blog.

Another Flash Sale to let you know about. Yesterday on our UK site we previewed the details of IHG's 48 Hour Flash Sale for stays in the U.K. and Europe. The sale was supposed to start on January 16 but it has been launched early! The sale offer discounts at over 600 participating IHG® Hotels across the UK and Europe with rates starting as low as 29GBP. These need to be booked by midnight on January 17th for stays January 24 to February 14 For more details or to book please visit here!

 

Bonus Offers
Aegean Miles&Bonus
- 50% Bonus Miles&Bonus Miles on Aegean Airlines flights to and from Cyprus. More... Must be a member of Miles & Bonus as of Feb 28, valid for flights until Dec 31, 15

Alaska Airlines MileagePlan
- Quadruple Mileage Plan Miles & Save Up to 35% on all vehicles and any length rental at participating Hertz airport and off airport locations in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. More... Until Jun 30, 15

American AAdvantage
- Earn up to 12,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you purchase and fly on a First or Business Class ticket on American Airlines, US Airways or eligible partner flights marketed by American or US Airways. More... Until Dec 31, 15
- Double AAdvantage Miles when you book the Linger Longer rate at participating Langham Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 15

BinterCanarias BinterMas (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double BinterMas points for stays at Barceló Hotels & Resorts in the Canary Islands. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- Double BinterMas points for stays at Iberostar Hotels & Resorts in the Canary Islands. More... Until Jan 31, 15
- Double BinterMas points for stays at the R2 Rio Calma. More... Until Jan 31, 15

Emirates Skywards
- Earn up to Triple Skywards Miles when flying on Emirates out of select citiies in the Middle East. More... Register and book by Jan 31 for travel until Mar 25, 15

Iberia Plus
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia on select routes Worldwide. More... Register by Jan 15 for travel until Feb 28, 15
- Receive a 25% Avios Discount when redeeming for award tickets on select Iberia flights Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 15
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Express To / From Madrid to Hannover or Stuttgart. More... Register by Jan 15 for travel until Feb 28, 15
- Double Avios when you fly Iberia Regional Air Nostrum on select routes. More... Register by Jan 15 for travel until Feb 28, 15

La Quinta Returns
- Earn up to Triple Returns Points for stays at participating La Quinta locations in the U.S. More... Until Feb 5, 15

Meridiana Club (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Avios on all Meridiana flights systemwide in eligible Avios earning booking classes. More... Until Mar 31, 15
- Double Avios on all British Airways flights Worldwide. More... Jan 15 - 31, 15

Starwood Preferred Guest
- OFFER EXTENDED Double Starpoints, Up to 35% Off and 5th night free for stays in Hawaii, Tahiti or Bora Bora. More... Until Dec 31, 15

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TARGETED: Receive a $100 Statement Credit when you spend $100 or more with Air Canada on your TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card

FEBRUARY 26 UPDATE: Back to being targeted! Apparently the response below to Paul M on the TD Aeroplan Community has been updated saying it is for select cardholders only.

FEBRUARY 25 UPDATE: Apparently it is not targeted!!!! Thanks to Paul M for sending this to us:

I contacted TD regarding the $100 statement credit offer if you spend 100 on an Air Canada flight.  They seem to indicate that it is not a targeted offer and is available to all primary card holders. See below.  The question and response is copied from the td aeroplan community website

 Question: I found this promotion on a search but it is unclear whether it is available to all TD Aeroplan Visa infinite Card holders or alternately that it is a targeted promotion to some cardholders only. Can you let me know whether all card holders are eligible for this benefit? Receive a $100 statement credit: From January 8, 2015, to April 30, 2015 Receive a $100 credit on your credit card statement when you use your TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card to make a minimum $100 Air Canada purchase.

SabrinaTD Moderator:  Great question, paulme. It might seem too good to be true, but it's true! When you make an Air Canada purchase of at least $100 on a single transaction with your TD Aeroplan Credit Card between January 8 and April 30, 2015, you'll be eligible to receive a $100 statement credit. You must be the primary cardholder on the account to be eligible for this offer. The credit will appear on your account statement within ten weeks after your purchase.

JANUARY 20 UPDATE: Thanks to our reader Ron for doing some more digging on this promotion and finding out that it is a targeted offer. When we came across is on the Aeroplan site the T&Cs were vague and didn't mention anything about being exclusive, targeted or for the recipient of the email only. Ron reached out to Aeroplan and they sent him the full terms and this indeed is a targeted offer. If you did not receive the email there is a very high likelihood that you will NOT be eligible for this offer.

There is obviously a big push from TD happening right now to get more people to jump on their TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card and as a consumer why wouldn't you?!? Right now it is being offered with its first year free so you have time to decide if you like the card and want to keep along with a sign up bonus of up to 25,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles. Now add this offer into the mix and you can see why maybe right now is a good time to get this card. The offer in question provides a $100 Statement credit when you make a minimum $100 Air Canada purchase. That $100 minimum purchase could be actual Air Canada flights, it could be baggage fees if you already have travel booked or it can even be Air Canada gift cards if you don't have any Air Canada travel planned. Essentially if you go with the last option you could just buy $100 Air Canada Gift Card and get it for free. Find out more about the $100 statement credit offer here.

If you don't have the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card yet you have until May 8th to get it with the First Year Free option and 25,000 Bonus Miles. Of course you'll want to get it even sooner for this $100 statement credit as that offer runs out on April 30. Find out more or apply for TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card here.

Technically speaking you can get the 25,000 Aeroplan Miles and $100 Air Canada Gift Card absolutely free! (other than the required credit card spend to get the bonus)

Jan 14 Update: Save 20% on Alaska Airlines flights, Amex FHR adds Free Wi Fi benefit, Save 20% on United Award tickets between Canada & Hong Kong

A nice small mix of bonuses, news and travel deals for you today!

News, Tips & Tricks
American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program that comes with the The Platinum Card from American Expressis adding free in-room Wi Fi as an additional benefit for bookings made via FHR. (Source One Mile at a Time)
In the bonus offers section check out the United MileagePlus discounted mileage redemption on flights between Canada and Hong Kong. Always good to be able to save some miles if the opportunity arises and you can take advantage of it!

Travel Deals
Save 20% on Alaska Airlines flights! Use Discount Code FUELSAVINGS when shopping at alaskaair.com and you'll save 20% when you travel on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, or 10% for travel Thursdays through Mondays, between January 21, 2015, and May 13, 2015. Must be booked today. Find out more here.

Bonus Offers
AeroMexico Club Premier
- Earn up to 6x Club Premier Kilometers on Hertz rentals in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Spain, USA, France, Italy, Holland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. More... Until Mar 31, 15

airBaltic PINS (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- 3,000 Bonus PINS on all stays at the St. Barbara Hotel. More... Book by Feb 13 for stays until Mar 31, 15

airberlin topbonus
- Quadruple topbonus miles for stays Iberostar Hotels. More... Book by Feb 28 for stays Apr 1 - May 31, 15
- Double topbonus miles for Hertz rentals Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Mar 31, 15

Gulf Air FalconFlyer (on FrequentFlyerBonuses.com only)
- Double Falconflyer Miles for stays in a Club Rotana Room at Rose Rayhaan. More... Until Mar 20, 15
- Double FalconFlyer Miles on rentals of 3 or more days at participating Hertz locations Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Mar 31, 15

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn a Free Night when you stay twice in Holiday Inn Express hotels in China (at least one of these two stays must include a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday). More... Until Mar 31, 15

Le Club accorhotels
- 4X Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for stays until Feb 28, 15
- Earn up to 1,800 Bonus Le Club Accorhotels Points for stays of 3 or more nights at participating Accor Hotels in Linz or Vienna. More... Book by Feb 28 for stays May 1 - 31, 15

Ritz-Carlton Rewards
- Double Elite Stay Credit for each night stay at participating Ritz-Carlton hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 15

Scandic Hotels Friends
- Double Scandic Friends Points for stays at any one of twenty one Scandic Hotels in Sweden. More... Until Feb 15, 15

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at participating Kempinski Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 15, 15
- Double Miles&Smiles Miles for stays at the Zorlu Grand Hotel Trabzon. More... Until Feb 28, 15
- Triple Miles&Smiles Miles on Hertz rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More... Book by Jan 31 for rentals until Mar 31, 15

United MileagePlus
- Save 20% on Saver Awards in Economy Class between the U.S. or Canada and Hong Kong. Valid for flights between Monday and Friday only. More... Book by Feb 1 for travel Mar 2 - Apr 20, 15

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