Big news! Visa Canada switching lounge access from Priority Pass to DragonPass (which means access to Plaza Premium lounges!)

 

Two weeks ago Rewards Canada broke the news of Mastercard Canada switching their business class lounge access membership program from LoungeKey to DragonPass and now we have learned Visa Canada will be doing the same! This appears to be the case for various Visa cards in Canada that provide lounge access, which are some Gold and Visa Infinite Cards and all Visa Infinite Privilege Cards. As of July 1, 2022 Visa Canada's new airport lounge program will be called  Visa Airport Companion (powered by DragonPass).

New welcome offer of 100,000 PC Optimum points on PC Financial Credit Cards

 
We see the return of the 100K offer for PC Financial Mastercards. You can receive this bonus when you apply by April 15, 2022 and it is good for any one of the three cards in their portfolio:

• PC Financial Mastercard
• PC Financial World Mastercard
• PC Financial World Elite Mastercard
  

The credit card to consider getting right now - April 2022

Today we kick off a new monthly feature where we recommend a card to consider applying for right away.  How do we pick which card should be highlighted? We'll look at numerous factors however in most cases it will primarily be due to the limited time offer on the highlighted card ending that month or shortly thereafter. In some cases, it may be different factors or a combination of factors and it is the latter, a combination which is the case for this first highlight post.

April 8 Update: Review of Brim Financial Mastercards, step by step guide to the American Express Shop Small Program & Canada Jetlines will launch from Toronto this summer

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. Be sure to subscribe to the Rewards Canada News email newsletter so that you don't miss out on any loyalty program news and offers! You can subscribe to the newsletter here

 
We added a new credit card review to the site this week. Rewards Canada contributor Jeff W. completed t the task of reviewing Brim Financial's Mastercard line up. At the time of providing this review he had the card for a few months and was able to test drive many of the card's features and provide this first hand review of the cards. Read the review of the Brim Mastercards here.

Receive a 100% bonus when you buy IHG Rewards Points by April 14

 
We see the return of an IHG Rewards' buy points bonus flash sale this week.  This time it is a flat 100% bonus for all members who  purchase 5,000 or more points at a time.For this promotion they have not raised the annual limit of points that you can buy which means you can buy 150,000 points (not including the bonus)

Japan's ANA All Nippon Airways are offering a status match in their Mileage Club program (s/b guaranteed matches for AA, DL, JL elite members)

 

Earlier this week Loyalty Lobby reported about a new elite status match offer from Japan's ANA All Nippon Airways Mileage Club. This status match is open to Canadian residents excluding those in Quebec who hold status with American Airlines, Delta, or  JAL Japan Airlines. They will potentially match other non Star Alliance airlines as well based on an 'other airline' option on the application form. The status match will see eligible elite members from other airlines receive Mileage Club Bronze or Platinum status and if you happen to get Mileage Club Platinum that means you'll have Star Alliance Gold status. For a lot of Canadians it will beg the question if ANA will match WestJet Gold or Platinum status because then you'd have ANA status that you can utilize if and when you fly on Air Canada.

April 7 Update: 20 new confirmed Cobalt 5x points Multiplier Locations, Plastk Secured Credit Card 10,000 point welcome bonus & BMO will switch to DragonPass on April 15

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. Be sure to subscribe to the Rewards Canada News email newsletter so that you don't miss out on any loyalty program news and offers! You can subscribe to the newsletter here

 

Another big update to the Rewards Canada American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations feature. Thanks again to FM providing this latest list of updates. Some of these were on the list already but it is always good to be reminded of all locations where you can earn the extra points. The locations that are new to the feature are in bold below. I also added one location in Calgary that coded as 5x for me on a purchase I made this week and that was Bolo Cakery.  Click here to visit the list of locations

Here's the list of locations that FM provided:

American Express continues to significantly expand acceptance of their cards in Canada

One comment I hear repeatedly from our readers is that they don’t want an American Express card because the cards aren’t widely accepted. They come to us for advice on getting a new credit card and this is one of the statements that I usually find in their initial email to us. I then proceed to help educate them on the truth surrounding the cards and why they should really consider adding an American Express card to their credit card portfolio. Two of the main reasons why I do is that American Express cards are some of the most rewarding cards in Canada - if you are looking to rack up lots of points that have value and are flexible to use, you want to go with American Express and the second reason is a continuing push for increased acceptance. 

April 6 Update: Aeroplan eStore offering up to 5x points with fashion retailers, National Bank CAA Mastercard discontinued & a Scotiabank Scene+ Update

Here's your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your near daily dose of loyalty program, credit card and travel news, bonuses, deals and more. Be sure to subscribe to the Rewards Canada News email newsletter so that you don't miss out on any loyalty program news and offers! You can subscribe to the newsletter here

The Aeroplan eStore is running another fashion event where you can earn up to 5x points for online shopping with select fashion retailers until April 17. Click here to learn more.

Top Travel Credit Card Sign Up offers for April - These cards provide the best value out of their welcome bonuses

 
Here are the Rewards Canada Top Travel Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of April 2022! This is not a 'best' credit card list like our Top Travel Rewards 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.