Earn 5x AIR MILES for shopping online at select retailers via airmilesshops

From now until the end of the month you can 5x the AIR MILES Reward Miles for shopping online at select retailers via the airmilessshops.ca online shopping portal. From Amazon to Club Monaco to Microsoft, there is an option for everyone. With this 5x the miles offer it means that you now earn 5 miles per $20 spent at most of these retailers instead of 1.

Find out more about the offer here.

Here is a small selection of the participating retailers:

Receive WestJet Rewards Gold Elite Status with one business class flight between Calgary or Toronto and London Gatwick

WestJet has brought back another fast track elite status offer for trying out their business class cabin on their new Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Similar to the offer we saw this past spring, you just have to take one business class round trip flight between Calgary or Toronto and London Gatwick. You must register for the offer first and the flight must be booked by September 30 for travel between October 23, 2019 and March 15, 2020. Once you meet the criteria (ie complete your flights) you will be upgraded to Gold Status within 14 days and you will get to keep the status until September 30, 2020.

Click here to register for this offer

Once you have Gold Status you can enjoy perks like a 5% return on WestJet flights, unlimited lounge access for you and your family, first and second checked bags for free and much more. Here is the full list of flight benefits for Gold and other elite tiers:

If this is an offer you won't be able to take advantage of (or can) we also recommend getting the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard as it offers first checked bag free benefits, annual companion vouchers, 2% return on WestJet flights, Mastercard Airport Experiences and more.

(HT: Points Miles and Bling)

Images via WestJet

Earn up to 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles for travel between Canada & China

Another flight bonus is now available from Air Canada’s Aeroplan. With this offer you can earn up to 30% bonus Aeroplan Miles on Air Canada and Air China flights between Canada & China. As is usual, the terms with these promos are not the greatest, only new bookings made on or after September 19th count and only the first Aeroplan member on a reservation will receive the bonus miles. That means if you want a family of four to each earn the bonus you’d have to make separate reservations for all four people. You must register and book by December 13 for travel October 11 to December 13, 2019.

Offer details:
Earn up to 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly on Air Canada or Air China between Canada and China. Bonus is awarded on both one way and round trip flights. Full details, online registration & booking. Register & Book by Dec 13 for travel Oct 11 – Dec 13, 19

Here are some other Aeroplan bonuses to check out:

• Double Aeroplan Miles for stays at all participating IHG Hotels Worldwide. Full details, online registration & booking. (Registration is required)
• Air Canada Earn Your Wings 8th Edition - Earn Thousands of bonus Aeroplan Miles for completing Air Canada flights and other travel related tasks. Full details
  
• Earn up to 60,000 Aeroplan Miles (equivalent to 2 business class short-haul roundtrip flight rewards) with the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card

Find our complete list of Aeroplan bonus offers here!

Using the IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Flash Sale to save up to 60% or more on hotel stays in Canada and around the globe

Earlier in the week we brought you details of the IHG Rewards Club Buy Points Flash Sale. This offer provides a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Club points until September 24.  The best price on a per point basis is when you buy 26,000 or more in one transaction. For example, buying 60,000 points (120,000 total with bonus) will cost you US$600, which means each point will only cost you 0.5 cents. That’s up to 24 nights at IHG hotels if redeeming via the PointBreaks 5,000 point level, 12 nights at 10,000 and 8 nights at the 15,000 point level. Even at that highest level it is like you are buying each night for only US$75.

The question some of you might ask, is how can buying these points with the bonus work to your advantage. The best way to show you is with some examples!

Let's start with a 5,000 point PointBreaks deal!

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Saskatchewan is part of the current PointBreaks list and is available for 5,000 points per night until the end of October:

The same room would cost you anywhere from $94.05 to $103.55 per night.

Seeing that you can buy the 5,000 points for as little as US$25 (when buying 26,000 or more points) you would be getting this room for around C$34 per night. That's a savings of at least C$60 per night.

Another Canada stay example with a 15,000 point PointBreaks option

This is for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Halifax Airport which is also part of the current PointsBreaks discounted room night offer. With this offer, the hotel is 15,000 points per night until October 31:

And the price for the same room runs from $165.99 to 189.90 plus taxes and fees.

To buy the 15,000 points with this buy points flash sale it would cost you US$75 or just under C$100. Right away you can see that by buying points you would be saving no less than $65 per night in this example.

How about a stay at a nice resort in Thailand?

The InterContinental Koh Samui Resort - this hotel does not currently have PointBreaks offers so it runs its standard 50,000 points per night.

And the cash rate runs from 8,810 to 10,615 BAHT per night (about C$380 to C$460)

To buy 50,000 points would cost US$250 or about C$330. Which means you are looking at saving $50 per night.  Since you can buy up to 200,000 points with this deal you could redeem for four nights at this resort and save about $200 in total.

We could go on and on with more examples but I think these three examples show the range of what can be achieved with a buy points bonus like this one!

Click here for more details and/or to buy IHG Rewards Club points with a 100% bonus by September 24

All images via IHG

30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert hotel loyalty program points extended to September 25

The Aeroplan hotel loyalty program conversion bonus released earlier this month has been extended to September 25 from the original end date of September 22. This bonus offer is a good way to use up some of those orphaned hotel points you may never use if you are a frequent Aeroplan redeemer.

The great news for this version of this bonus is that Marriott Bonvoy is included again. Marriott (and its subsidiaries) have the best transfer ratio to airline programs at a rate of 3 Marriott Rewards points to 1 airline mile but they also add in 5,000 more miles when you convert 60,000 points at a time. That means with this promotion 60,000 points transferred to Aeroplan will net you 32,500 miles (20,000 miles at 3:1 + 5,000 miles from Marriott + 30% bonus). The easiest way to earn Marriott points in Canada outside of actual hotel stays is with the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card which at the time of this post is offering 50,000 points as a welcome bonus. Now chances are you won't have the points post from the card in time for this iteration of the Aeroplan transfer bonus but you can start banking on the summer bonus which typically comes around August. This is also a good time to convert points from something like the Cobalt Card to Marriott to Aeroplan!

Most of Aeroplan's hotel partners are participating in the promotion so you can convert from any of the following to add to your final tally.

Offer details
30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert Hotel loyalty programs points to Aeroplan Miles.  Click here for full details Until Sep 25, 19

Additional bonus offers:

* Radisson is offering an extra 50% conversion bonus, meaning members will earn a total of 80% more miles if they convert their Radisson Rewards points during the campaign

* Coast Hotels is offering a bonus of 4x the miles when you convert your Coast Rewards points to Aeroplan Miles during the campaign

Hotel partner loyalty programs eligible for this promotion are: Marriott, IHG, Hilton Honors, Best Western, Radisson, Wyndham Rewards, Shangri-La, Accor Hotels, Choice Hotels and Coast Hotels.

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Earn Triple Aeroplan Miles for Coast Hotels stays in October & November

Normally we don't get details of Coast Hotels' airline bonus miles offers until the actual launch date but this time Coast Hotels has revealed details of their next Aeroplan promo early! You can now prepare and book your Coast Hotel stays for October and November with the plan to earn Triple Aeroplan miles! If you have stays coming up still this month you can choose to earn double HawaiianMiles for those stays.

Offer details:
Triple Aeroplan Miles for stays at any Coast Hotels location in Canada or the U.S. Full details & online booking Oct 1 - Nov 30,19

Here are some other offers to also check out!

• Earn up to 250% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you fly on Air Canada within Canada and from Canada to the U.S.. Full details, online registration & booking. 
• 30% Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you convert Hotel loyalty programs points to Aeroplan Miles.  Click here for full details
• Earn up to 3,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on qualifying rentals at participating Avis locations worldwide. Full details or simply use AWD H522500 when you book online at Avis.com 

Find many more Aeroplan bonus offers here

Earn double points & double elite night credit for stays at Radisson Hotels Worldwide

Offer details:
Double Radisson Rewards points & Double Eligible Nights/Stays for stays at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide.  Full details, online registration and booking. (Registration is required) Register & book by Sep 26 for stays Sep 26 – Dec 29, 19
Maximum of 120,000 bonus points awarded per member during the promotional period.

Once registered you can simply book your stays online at: Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, or The Radisson Collection.

Earn Double Avios on all British Airways flights from Canada to London (and all other BA flights worldwide)

The British Airways Executive Club Double Avios on all flights offer is back! Just like the previous iteration the double Avios is limited to 10 sectors or flights however this time the actual flight period is quite long as flights until June 30, 2020 count for this offer. This means if you are flying point to point it would be valid for up to five round trips however if you are say flying Toronto-London-Milan-London-Toronto that would count as 4 sectors alone. Simply register and book by December 13.

Offer details
Earn Double Avios on all British Airways flights from Canada to London and beyond. British Airways flights operated by American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair when travelling between Europe and North America are also included. Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)
Register and Book by Dec 13 for travel Until Jun 30, 20
Bonus will be awarded for up to 10 flights (one way sectors, round trip counts as two)

Here are some more ways to earn even more Avios:

• Earn 50% Bonus Avios for stays at all participating Accor Hotels Worldwide  Full Details and online booking
  Select automatic conversion to convert your Le Club AccorHotels points into Executive Club in your Le Club AccorHotels account preferences
• 30% Bonus Avios when you buy or gift Avios online. Full details 
• 30% Bonus Avios when you covert American Express Membership Rewards points to Avios. Full details

Find many more bonus Avios offers here 

One of the best ways to earn British Airways Executive Club Avios in Canada is the American Express Gold Rewards Card which at the time of posting offers a bonus of 25,000 Membership Rewards Points which can then be converted to BA at a 1:1 rate however until Oct 31, 19 that will be bonused by 30%!

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Vancity introduces new Visa Infinite and Visa Infinite Privilege Cards with decent earn rates, lounge access and more

Vancity, the British Columbia based credit union has added two new cards to their portfolio of card products. Previously offering a base Visa card and Gold Visa they have now moved into the premium and ultra premium market with the Vancity enviro Visa Infinite Card and Vancity enviro Visa Infinite Privilege Card.

A quick look at the cards shows they are some strong offerings and we'll be sure to provide more in-depth coverage here on Rewards Canada in the near future. But for now here is a quick overview of what each card looks like and what you can expect from them:

Vancity enviro Visa Infinite Card

• $120 Annual Fee - $0 for first additional card, $50 for each card after
• No welcome bonus points
• 2.5 points for every $1 spent on groceries
• 5 points for every $1 spent on public transit and ferries
• 10 points for every $1 spent at select local businesses
• 1.25 points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Earn double the points when you use your enviro Visa card to book travel through the Vancity Rewards program
• Priority Pass membership (a US$99 value)
• Decent Insurance package including price protection and mobile device insurance but no out of province medial insurance, trip cancellation or interruption insurance
• 100 points = $1 towards travel and other redemption options

Vancity enviro Visa Infinite Privilege Card

• $245 for Vancity members ($395 for non‑members) $0 for first additional card, $50 for each card after
• No welcome bonus points
• 3 points for every $1 spent on groceries
• 5 points for every $1 spent on public transit and ferries
• 10 points for every $1 spent at select local businesses
• 1.5 points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
• Priority Pass membership (a US$99 value) with six complimentary airport lounge visits (US$192 value)
• Extensive Insurance package including 22 day out of province travel medical coverage, price protection and mobile device insurance
• 100 points = $1 towards travel and other redemption options

Seeing that the cards offer a nice and easy 100 points to $1 redemption ratio it quickly tells us that the Visa Infinite card earns a base rate of return of 1.25% (1.25 points per dollar) up to 10% for the 10 points per dollar at local businesses. It also appears the multipliers of 3, 5, and 10 points are not capped at a set dollar value like we see on many other cards. TheVisa Infinite Privilege card is similar however the base earn rate is 1.5 points (a 1.5% return) and also has 3 points on groceries for a 3% return in that category.

The 10 points per dollar on both cards is currently limited to these three local businesses in B.C.: Modo Co‑operative carshare, JJ Bean Coffee Roasters and Fresh Prep meal kit delivery

The Vancity Rewards site looks easy to use and I did a quick flight booking search between Vancouver and Calgary to see how the results come up:

As you can see it works to the 100 points to $1 redemption ratio as mentioned above and it allows you to easily redeem points for the flights. As with many other proprietary credit card programs you can also do partial redemptions. Say you only have 30,000 points, you could redeem them for $300 towards one of the flights above and pay the rest with your credit card (and earn double points while you're at it since it is a Vancity Rewards booking)

You can also use points towards cash back (Pay with points or a statement credit) or convert points to be cash deposited in savings accounts, TFSA accounts and more. Finally you can also redeem points for gift cards and the great news is the redemption rates for gift cards aren't devalued like lots of other programs - it still works out to 100 points to $1.

The insurance package on the Visa Infinite card is weaker than many other Visa Infinite cards in the market place, to get a really good insurance and benefits package you have to go to the Infinite Privilege card which also costs more. The latter though, if you are a Vancity member has a lower annual fee than other Privilege cards in the market and this one includes Priority Pass with 6 lounge visits, worth nearly US$300. 

Some things you need to be aware of to get a Vancity card - you must be 19 years and you must also be a B.C. resident which is too bad as it really limits the possibility of these cards making in roads in the Canadian market. That being said, if you are 19 and live in B.C. then these new offerings from Vancity are something you may really want to take into consideration when picking a new credit card.

September 18 Update: Case Study of a Fixed Return Travel Card versus a Reward Chart Travel Card, Hilton Hotels partners with iHeartRadio & more!

We wanted to pass along the details of a case study we completed a few years ago that still holds true today. It compares credit cards that have a flat redemption rate versus those that have the traditional award chart style redemption rate. This is a very useful article for those wanting to see how the value of cards like the RBC Visa Infinite Avion who have award charts compare to cards like the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard who simply give you a flat 'cash back' option towards travel. You can read the case study here.

Air Canada announced today a new year round route between Montreal and Bogota, Colombia, The three times weekly service will launch in June 2020 and will be operated by Air Canada Rouge with a Boeing 767-300. (Source Air Canada)
 

Hilton is expanding the services provided via their Hilton Connected Rooms by adding iHeartRadio to them. Currently there are 15 hotels in the Hilton portfolio that offer Connected Rooms but that is being expanded. (Source Hilton)

Hilton today announced a new integration with iHeartRadio to allow guests to stream live radio stations, thousands of music playlists and podcasts directly from their TVs through Hilton’s high-tech Connected Room guest technology platform..... With iHeartRadio, guests who stay in Hilton Connected Rooms will be able to play exclusive audio content and have instant access to thousands of live radio stations from across the country, customized music stations based on their favorite artists and top podcasts across all categories including travel, business, sports, entertainment, comedy and more. Travelers can use either their Hilton Honors app or the in-room remote to access the content on their guestroom TV.

Posts since our last update:

• Credit Card Showdown! CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite Card vs. RBC Visa Infinite Avion Card
  It has been a few years since we last had a credit card showdown but are ready to make…
• FLASH SALE – 100% Bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Club Points until September 24
  Another buy points flash sale from IHG Rewards Club and it is at the highest bonus level again. You…
• Earn Double Aeroplan Miles for IHG Hotel stays until the end of the year
  The fall Aeroplan IHG Double Miles offer is back! This is the exact same offer we saw this time…
• A look at how the current TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card sign up offer of up to 40,000 miles can provide huge value!
   Earlier this month TD came out with an amazing new offer for the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card. The offer…
• Best Western Rewards: Earn a Free Night when you complete 2 stays in the U.S., Canada or Caribbean
  Best Western’s next big promotion sees the return of their free night voucher being awarded after you complete two…
• Earn up to 6,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club points per stay at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts
  IHG Rewards Club has a great new offer for stays at their top brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts. Right…
• Save 30% when you buy Marriott Bonvoy points until Oct 18, 19
  Last seen in April we now have the second buy points discount from the Marriott Bonvoy program since taking…
• September 13 Update: Reminder that Marriott Bonvoy Peak/Off Peak pricing comes tomorrow along with other changes, up to 100 Bonus AIR MILES at Rexall & more!
  A friendly reminder that today is the last day of flat rate redemption awards for Marriott Bonvoy. As of…

Travel Deals

Remember to visit Rewards Canada's Travel Booking site to book travel directly with many of your favourite airlines, hotels and more!

Canadian Bonus Offers

Air Canada Aeroplan
- Double Aeroplan Miles for stays at all participating IHG Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 19

Best Western Rewards
- Earn a Free Night when you complete 2 eligible stays at a Best Western® branded hotel in the United States, Canada or Caribbean. More... Until Nov 17, 19

British Airways Executive Club
- Earn Double Avios on all British Airways flights Worldwide including those out of Canada as well as British Airways flights operated by American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair when travelling between Europe and North America. More... Register and Book by Dec 13 for travel Until Jun 30, 20

Radisson Rewards
- Double Radisson Rewards points & Double Eligible Nights/Stays for stays at all Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels worldwide including Canada.  More... Register & book by Sep 26 for stays Sep 26 - Dec 29, 19

Other Bonus Offers

American AAdvantage
- 25% Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you convert points from Best Western Rewards, Choice Privileges, IHG Rewards Club or Marriott Bonvoy to AAdvantage miles. More... Until Oct 30, 19

Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings
- 50% Bonus Fortune Wings Points when you fly on Hainan Airlines or Grand China Airlines international routes to or from Shenzen. More... Until Dec 20, 19

IHG Rewards Club
- Earn up to 6,000 Bonus IHG Rewards Club points for each stay at any participating InterContinental Hotel or Resort Worldwide. Bonus awarded for up to 5 stays. More... Sep 26 – Nov 30, 19
- 100% Bonus IHG Rewards Club Points when you buy points online. More... Until Sep 24, 19

Le Club AccorHotels
- 4x Le Club AccorHotels Points for stays at the Ibis Le Touquet Thalassa or the Novotel Thalassa Le Touquet. More... Book by Oct 21  for stays until Dec 8, 19

Marriott Bonvoy
- Receive a 30% discount when you buy 2,000 or more Marriott Bonvoy points. More... Until Oct 18, 19
- 2,000 Bonvoy Points on Hertz rentals of 2+ days in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. More... Ongoing

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- 30% KrisFlyer Miles redemption discount on selected destinations across the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir network. More... Book by Sep 30 for travel Oct 1 - 31, 19

Turkish Miles&Smiles
- Earn up to Triple Miles&Smiles Elite Status Miles when you fly on Turkish Airlines one-way or round trip international flights in Economy Class or Business Class between Turkey and select cities in Europe, Africa or Asia. More... Book by Sep 30 for travel until Oct 31, 19

World of Hyatt
- Up to a 25% World of Hyatt Points Discount when you redeem for award nights at any one of 14 locations in Greece, Italy, Spain or Mexico. More... Until Nov 30, 19
- 25% Discount when you book a Points + Cash award at participating hotels Worldwide. More... Until Oct 31, 19


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