Flight Review: Air Canada AC215 Calgary to Vancouver - There is nothing like that new plane smell

It's time for another Bill W review for you! Bill is a true road warrior, his work has him driving and flying across Western and Central Canada every week while staying in a variety hotels from a variety of chains.  Bill has been reading, following and even giving Rewards Canada tips and updates for a very long time so let's welcome him back with this contribution!  COVID-19 put a stop to much of his travels for awhile but he's back at it now!

I am on my first Air Canada flight of 2021 and was booked on Air Canada’s newest aircraft, the A220-200. For this flight I was able to upgrade to Business Class which on this aircraft is 3 rows, 12 seats.  

WestJet providing elite tier status extensions to December 2022

 

On top of the earlier news of WestJet providing up to 2x qualifying spend on WestJet flights, the airline also announced today that they are going to extend current member's elite status to December 31, 2022.

WestJet elite members can earn up to 2x qualifying spend on WestJet flights for the remainder of the year

WestJet is looking forward to travel returning this year and to encourage their elite members to fly with them they launched this pretty sweet offer! For the remainder of the year all WestJet Rewards elite tier members (Silver, Gold, Platinum) can earn up 2x qualifying spend when they fly on WestJet. If a member has already reached Platinum there is an additional offer to earn some business class companion vouchers. Read on to find out more.

Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for June - These cards provide the best value out of their welcome bonuses

Here are Rewards Canada's Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of June 2021. This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Cash Back Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition (welcome/sign up) offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the just sign up bonus, but when some of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when you grab them strictly for the sign up rewards.

Wyndham Rewards summer promo: Earn a free night when you stay 2 or more nights

Another summer hotel promotion to take into account for your travels across Canada!

Wyndham Rewards summer promotion is here and it is similar to their offer seen last fall in that it provides 6,500 bonus points which when added to your base earn will provide at least 7,500 points which is enough for a free night at a good selection of their hotels. You can earn the bonus up to three times which you boost you free night options even further as the next redemption level is 15,000 points followed by 30,000.  The main difference between the last promo and this one is that this time you have to complete stays of two or more consecutive nights whereas the old promotion was for two separate stays.

Offer details:
Earn 6,500 Bonus Wyndham Rewards Points when you complete a stay of  two consecutive nights at participating Wyndham Rewards Hotels Worldwide.  Bonus can be earned up to 3 times. Full details, online registration & booking. (Registration is required) Valid for stays until Sep 6, 21

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June 3 Update: New minimum valuation for Aeroplan points and Marriott adds six more All Inclusive resorts to earn and redeem points at

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your daily dose (or near daily dose) of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. This update is brought to you by the HSBC World Elite Mastercard which is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to 70,000 bonus points and no annual fee in the first year! 

We've bumped up our valuation of Aeroplan points to 1.5 cents per points from 1.2 cents per point. We have used that 1.2 benchmark for some time now as the lowest value you should get when redeeming for an economy class ticket. Recently in some of our searches we are finding any tickets that low anymore. In fact they are running with much better values so it seems time to boost that rate! We don't publish a set chart of valuations but we do use them in a lot of our calculations on the website and for the value of credit card welcome offers and earn rates. Learn more about the new Aeroplan program here.

Air Canada and Marriott team up with discounts to explore Canada in 2021

 

Air Canada and Marriott have joined forces to present a Flash Sale that offers discounts on flights and hotel stays within Canada. This sale is available until June 6 for travel right through to the end of 2021. The Marriott offer is good for stays at 224 of their hotels in Canada and the Air Canada offer is good for all flights across Canada.

The best credit card in Canada doesn't just beat the competition - it destroys them now

With this week's multiple news events from American Express we got to say that the issuer is attacking the Canadian credit card market from all angles again. If any card company has it in them to make cards more rewarding it's American Express and they showed it by flexing their muscles this week. While the two pieces of news cover a wide gamut of American Express cards that makes all of them better, they really make Canada's Top Travel Rewards Credit Card stand out even more. That card is the American Express Cobalt™ Card - it has already been the best travel card since 2017 and it just got even better this week. The first piece of news was American Express enhancing their Use Points for Purchases redemption rate (essentially cash back) making this card one of if not the best cash back cards in Canada and then revealing their next limited time conversion bonus to their hotel partners.

AIR MILES Elite Members can earn extra miles for shopping online via AIR MILES Shops

 

Playing catch up on offer that's been out for a few weeks now but is still good to the end of this month. Right now through to June 30th, AIR MILES elite members can earn extra miles for shopping online via AIR MILES shops. 

Alaska Airlines and Emirates partnership will come to an end on July 31

 
Undoubtedly one of the most aspirational flight awards that Canadian points and miles enthusiasts strove for was to redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles for flights in business and first class on Emirates. By buying miles during Alaska's frequent bonus promotions to churning the MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard, you name it, a lot of it was done to fly on Emirates. Well sad news emerged today that this long sought after award option will be coming to an end. As of July 31 the partnership between Alaska Airlines and Emirates will be dissolved.