WestJet Rewards elite status policy update - select members whose status expires in June will have it extended

As the end of the month approaches we reached out to WestJet Rewards to see if they have plans to further extend their policy for elite status members as it only covered March, April and May. The current policy was put in place on March 24th and provided elite status extensions and upgrades to those who were on track to achieve or re-qualify status in March, April and May. WestJet has confirmed to Rewards Canada this policy will be continued for the month of June meaning members whose status expires next month and were on track to achieving status once again will have it extended.

The key wording in the policy is "who were on track" - that means if you have or had spending with WestJet up until the widespread travel shutdown that can be extrapolated to reaching an elite status level. So if you were someone who took advantage of one of WestJet's predominant status match offers but never flew WestJet or only did so in early to mid 2019 to keep your status, chances are you will not be offered an extension. In fact I'm pretty sure you won't have it extended based on personal experience. I saw that the status of all my family members has not been extended as it expired on April 30 despite having had a good amount of spend coupled with recent trips in late December and February and had another WestJet trip booked in April. Mine is due to expire at the end of the month so I'm not holding up any hopes that it will be extended. Not that we need the status over the next few months but it would be nice to have it for when we do get ready to jump on a plane. In fact it wouldn't be a bad idea if WestJet followed Air Canada's lead and provide ways to earn or retain status from home for those who weren't or aren't being considered for elite status extensions.

You can learn more about WestJet and WestJet Rewards Coronavirus policies here.

(At the time of posting this article the extension to WestJet Rewards elite status policy had not been published on their website yet)

May 22 Update: Tomorrow only - earn 15x miles sitewide on airmilesshops, Air Canada Jetz all business class configuration to fly Eastern Triangle routes & more!

AIR MILES Happy Any day returns to airmilesshops.ca for one day tomorrow. You can earn 15x miles on any qualifying purchase amount made in a single transaction, excluding shipping, duty and taxes with any retailer on airmilesshops.ca. This offer is only available on May 23. Visit airmilessshops.ca here.

On June 1st Air Canada will start flying some of their Air Canada Jetz A319 aircraft on Eastern Triangle routes. If you are unfamiliar with Jetz, these are Air Canada's planes that are typically chartered by sports teams, political parties etc. as they are configured with a business class only cabin. The cabin configuration has 58 seats and provides more comfort and personal space with a recliner seat with a 42-49-inch pitch. For these fligtht there is On board Wi-Fi available for purchase and passengers will receive two complimentary checked bags. The planes will be flying between Toronto and Montreal as well as Toronto and Ottawa. You can see the exact routes they are flying on on this page on Air Canada's website.

Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature for the foreseeable future in our daily update posts as we summarize Canadian operations based on data from RoutesOnline and other sources. Remember that many of these route plans are subject to change and right now they are changing frequently!

Check out our separate post regarding Air Canada's latest schedule updates

China Southern has scheduled 1 flight per week between Vancouver and Guangzhou in June. (Source RoutesOnline)

Copa Airlines is hoping to restart 2 flights per week between Toronto and Panama City as of July 3. (Source RoutesOnline)

Xiamen Airlines is looking to fly 1 flight per week between Vancouver and Xiamen in June. (Source RoutesOnline)

Remember to visit and bookmark our COVID-19 resource page where we are keeping you up to date with all the latest airline, hotel, lounges and loyalty program news, policies, closures and more.

Posts since our last update:

• New RBC Offers for Adidas, H&R Block and 1-800-GOT-JUNK
  American Express isn't the only card issuer in Canada boosting exclusive offers from merchants for their cardholders. RBC has…
• Awesome new Amex Offers offer - Spend $80 with Instacart and get a $20 statement credit
  American Express has yet another awesome promotion in their Amex Offers program that was released today. Select cardmembers will…
• Air Canada announces summer flight schedule and updates booking policy allowing cancelled tickets/vouchers to be converted to Aeroplan Miles
  Air Canada made a major announcement today that provides details on the summer flight schedule and further changes to…
• American Express Business Edge™ Card Review
  I figured since we launched the American Express Business Edge Confirmed Multiplier Locations feature a few days I might…
• May 21 Update: 30x Be Well points at Rexall this weekend and the Alberta Government imposes extra screening measures for international arrivals
  Rexall is offering 30x Be Well points when you spend $30 or more in store this weekend. The offer…

Deals:

Fairmont's Canadian mountain resort hotels offering every 2nd night or 2nd room free for the rest of 2020!

Travelzoo and Whistler's Summit Lodge Boutique Hotel are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers that provide up to a 40% savings and includes breakfast & parking. Stay in a Deluxe King Studio, with a king bed, balcony, fully equipped kitchenette and dining table for two $139 (one night, check in June 1 - July 2; Aug. 30 - Sept. 30) Stay in a spacious Executive Studio, with a king bed, balcony, fully equipped kitchenette and dining table for four $149 (one night, check in July 3-31) $299 two nights, (check in Aug. 1-28) Find out more here. 

Travelzoo and Brewster's Mountain Lodge in Banff are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers for starting at $179-$199 each for June, $199-$239 for July and $269-$319 for August & September. Based on these numbers looks like they are anticipating a decent return to travel in late Summer. We did a quick check for a mid-week stay in June and Brewster's wanted $339 for the same room and the cheapest 3rd party rate we could find was $209. Sot the $179 voucher definitely provides some savings. Find out more here. 

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)

Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Alitalia MilleMiglia
- Double MilleMiglia Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21
- Triple MilleMiglia Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 21

Emirates Skywards
- Triple Skywards Miles, room upgrades and up to 20% for stays at Anantara Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. More... Until Feb 28, 21


Follow Rewards Canada:

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New RBC Offers for Adidas, H&R Block and 1-800-GOT-JUNK

American Express isn't the only card issuer in Canada boosting exclusive offers from merchants for their cardholders. RBC has doubled the number of offers in the past week or so with the addition of three new promotions and the return of the Style Plan by Frank & Oak offer. These offers have been added to our Guide to RBC Royal Bank 'RBC Offers'. Here is the current list of all the RBC offers we are aware of at this time (if you know of any others please let us know!)

The new and returning offers are as follows:

• Style Plan by Frank & Oak: Check out to receive $35 off your first Style Plan box + the style fee waived. Until June 30, 20
• 1-800-GOT-JUNK: $35 off 1-800-GOT-JUNK services with promo code RBC35. Until Jul 31, 20
• Adidas: Get a 5% statement credit when you shop online at www.adidas.ca and make a minimum purchase of $150. You'll continue to receive 5% statement credit on each subsequent transaction. Statement credit limited to first $2,000 of total spend.  Until Aug 12, 20
• H&R Block: Get 25% off when you file your 2019 taxes with H&R Block ‘Do it Yourself’ Tax Software, $10 off an Expert Review, where your return is reviewed by an H&R Block Tax Expert or save $20 when you have your taxes prepared and filed remotely by an H&R Block Tax Expert

The one that interests me the most is the Adidas offer. Being a statement credit from RBC you can easily shop at Adidas.ca and use any promo codes and/or sales they have and still receive this 5% off - so long as you spend $150 on that first purchase. And to receive the statement credit all you have to do is load the offer to you card which means you can go to an online shopping mall like the Aeroplan eStore or airmilesshops.ca to initiated and complete the purchase all the while earning those extra miles.

You can see these and all the other current RBC offers here.

Awesome new Amex Offers offer - Spend $80 with Instacart and get a $20 statement credit

American Express has yet another awesome promotion in their Amex Offers program that was released today. Select cardmembers will receive a $20 statement credit when they spend $80 or more with Instacart - and it can be cumulative! If you recall, we had a big feature a couple months ago about how you can use Instacart to bypass Loblaw's group of grocery stores non-acceptance of American Express cards so this offer is extremely handy if this is something you have been doing. I know in our household we have now been ordering from Real Canadian Superstore via Instacart since March thanks to Instacart now coding properly with Cobalt cards at 5x points!

In our household we received this offer on our Platinum Card from American Express and American Express Cobalt Card. Both cards have been registered and I will be adding the Platinum Card to our Instacart account so that we can receive a total of $40 in statement credits. This offer is only open to the first 20,000 cardmembers who register for the offer and is valid until July 31.

It has now been added to our Guide to American Express Canada 'Amex Offers'

Air Canada announces summer flight schedule and updates booking policy allowing cancelled tickets/vouchers to be converted to Aeroplan Miles

Air Canada made a major announcement today that provides details on the summer flight schedule and further changes to their flight booking & cancellation policy.  We covered some of the schedule plans yesterday in our daily update but today's announcement provides even more details. The airline is moving in a positive direction with the addition of more flights but do remember schedules are very fluid right now and being adjusted on a very frequent basis so these are subject to change. In terms of the re-booking and cancellation policy flights booked up to June 30 can be changed without fees and if you choose to cancel your flight (and it's a non-refundable fare type) you can choose to take a voucher which no longer have any expiry date or take Aeroplan miles with a 65% bonus.

Here are the excerpts from Air Canada's press release:

Summer Schedule:

Due to COVID-19, Air Canada has had to abridge its selling schedule for summer 2020, with 97 destinations down from 220 last year, which nonetheless offers wide opportunities for travel and connectivity. Within Canada, the schedule will increase from 34 routes in May to 58 routes in June, with more routes added in August and September.  Air Canada has also updated its schedule until the end of July with resumption of some services to the U.S., Caribbean, South American, European and Pacific markets.

As part of the new schedule, in accordance with provisions for air travel to the U.S. for Canadians, Air Canada will resume service to the U.S. on May 22, with six destinations being served by May 25, including New York-LaGuardia, Washington-Dulles, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago. This is a reduction from 53 U.S. destinations served last year. There are tentative plans to resume more U.S. service as of June 22, pending regulatory changes and demand. For information on travel to the U.S. please see https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-1596?language=en_US

Internationally, Air Canada will continue to operate from its major hubs to key global destinations in June. This includes service from Toronto to Frankfurt, London, Zurich, Tokyo and Tel Aviv; from Montreal to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Brussels; and from Vancouver to London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul.

International services will expand further starting in June and early July, including: Montreal to Athens, Rome, Geneva; Toronto to Munich, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Rome and Athens; Calgary to Frankfurt; and, subject to government approval, Vancouver to Shanghai.

 Updated booking and cancellation policies:

Under a revised goodwill policy, new bookings made up to June 30, 2020 can be changed without fees for original travel between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
In cases where Air Canada cancels flights due to COVID-19, customers with refundable tickets will continue to have the option of refunds. Since January 1, 2020, Air Canada has refunded nearly $1 billion to customers.  Both customers with refundable and non-refundable tickets will have two new options to choose from:

• An Air Canada Travel Voucher for the remaining value of their ticket that has no expiry date, is fully transferable and retains any residual value or;
• The ability to convert the remaining value of their ticket into Aeroplan Miles, with 65 per cent more value versus the normal rate for buying Miles.

For voluntary changes, customers with refundable tickets will continue to have the option of refunds or the above new options. For Air Canada customers with non-refundable tickets making voluntary changes on tickets issued up to June 30, 2020, with an original travel date between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 inclusive, they have the option to choose from the two above new options of an Air Canada Travel Voucher or Aeroplan Miles.

The new goodwill policies and cancellation options are retroactive for customers with original travel between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. Customers whose flights have been cancelled due to the impacts of COVID-19 and who have already received travel credit valid for 24 months, will be able to select one of the applicable options depending on their fare at aircanada.com beginning June 15, 2020. Customers with Aeroplan Flight Rewards can continue to cancel their redemption bookings free of charge through June 30, 2020. 

The two key changes in the booking and cancellation policies see Air Canada Travel Vouchers move from a 2 year lifespan to having no expiry date, being fully transferable and you can retain unused value for further future travel. The other change is now having the option of having your flight value being converted to Aeroplan Miles along with 65% more value. Now the wording around the Aeroplan miles option is a bit confusing. From the press release it states 65 per cent more value versus the normal rate for buying Miles which leads me to believe when you convert the ticket value to miles they are taking the standard buy miles price as the value of your miles plus 65%. For example if you have a ticket that cost $300 before taxes and fees the equivalent amount of miles would be 10,000 as $300 would buy that amount. Then you would get the 65% extra above that meaning your $300 ticket would net you 16,500 miles.  However on the actual webpage Air Canada has for this option it doesn't mention anything about 'buy miles' value rather just it states:
"Convert and transfer the remaining value of all tickets and associated services in a booking, minus any taxes, into Aeroplan Miles, and get an additional 65% bonus miles." So does this mean you would get the equivalent miles of your said flight if it was an Aeroplan redemption? For example if you have a North America long haul economy class flights do you get the Classic Flight amount of 25,000 miles + 65%? I have a feeling it is the first option but have reached out to Air Canada for further clarification as we couldn't find any terms and conditions or clarifications on Air Canada's website.

UPDATE: I have confirmation from Air Canada that it will the first example in that it is based on buy miles value. So for every 3 cents of ticket purchased you will get 1 Aeroplan mile

It is good to see Air Canada moving to operating more flights over the coming months and as much as we all hate the vouchers and are fighting for refunds Air Canada has taken a step in a better direction by making the vouchers much more flexible and by having the option to convert to Aeroplan miles where you could potentially get more value than a voucher.

Let us know what you think of these changes!

American Express Business Edge™ Card Review

I figured since we launched the American Express Business Edge Confirmed Multiplier Locations feature a few days I might as well get in a review of the card at the same time and kill two birds with one stone. What you have below is just an excerpt from the complete review on the main Rewards Canada website:


The American Express Business Edge™ Card was first introduced to the Canadian Market in October of 2019. It came storming onto the market and literally blew away the competition for small business credit cards. A strong welcome bonus, very strong points earning rates (and they're valuable points) and an easily manageable annual fee make this card stand out. The card mimics it's personal card brethren the American Express Cobalt Card in bonus categories for points and earning Membership Rewards select points and in Rewards Canada's mind it is the best small business card in the Canadian market.


The card makes up one of half a dozen small business cards in American Express Canada's card portfolio. It is the first American Express small business card to earn Membership Rewards Select points which aren't very different from Membership Rewards - the main difference being that you cannot convert directly to airlines like Air Canada's Aeroplan and British Airways Executive Club like the Membership Rewards Cards. That being said everything else about the Membership Rewards select program is the same.

Continue reading the entire review here.

May 21 Update: 30x Be Well points at Rexall this weekend and the Alberta Government imposes extra screening measures for international arrivals

Rexall is offering 30x Be Well points when you spend $30 or more in store this weekend. The offer runs from May 22 to 24 and represents a 12% return on your spending.

Image via Rexall

The Alberta government has put in place additional screening measures for travellers arriving at Calgary and Edmonton's airports from abroad. These new checkpoints will be after Canada Customs and will include thermal screening of travellers and those travellers must provide a detailed isolation plan including location, how they plan on obtaining food and who will be providing support to them during the 14 day period. (Source Calgary Herald)

Image via Calgary Airport Authority

Airline Schedule Updates
This will now be a standard feature for the foreseeable future in our daily update posts as we summarize Canadian operations based on data from RoutesOnline and other sources. Remember that many of these route plans are subject to change and right now they are changing frequently!

Even though the closure of the Canada-U.S. border has been extended to June 21 it does appear that Air Canada is going ahead with a few select flights between Canada and the U.S. as of tomorrow. Mind you they have not updated their schedule page since May 15 (prior to the news) but I checked today and these flights can be booked on Air Canada's website. Those flights are Vancouver to Los Angeles and San Francisco and Toronto to Washington Dulles as well. On Monday Toronto to Boston and Chicago look to start. The remainder of their planned schedule is set to launch on June 22 . (Source Air Canada)

Remember to visit and bookmark our COVID-19 resource page where we are keeping you up to date with all the latest airline, hotel, lounges and loyalty program news, policies, closures and more.

The latest update to our COVID-19 page sees the details of Choice Hotels Privileges elite status extensions and upgrades and we have added Iceland's entry requirements to the Travel Resumption News, Articles & Information section.

Posts since our last update:

• American Express Business Edge Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations Feature
  You are probably familiar with a feature on our site entitled 'American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations' and…
• AIR MILES Bonus Boom is now live - earn bonus miles with participating partners until May 27
  The latest AIR MILES Bonus Boom event kicked off today with a whole bunch of bonus miles offers for various…
• Choice Privileges announces elite status extension and upgrades, further pause of expiring points & more
  Choice Hotels has finally provided an update for their Choice Privileges program in regards to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Early…
• May 20 Update: 50,000 bonus PC Optimum points with $150 online Shoppers purchase, CIBC Holidays for Heroes initiative, Qatar Airways modifies amazing re-booking policy
  Another big bonus from Shoppers Drug Mart! Earn 50,000 bonus PC Optimum points when you spend $150 or more…

Deals:

Fairmont's Canadian mountain resort hotels offering every 2nd night or 2nd room free for the rest of 2020!

Travelzoo and Whistler's Summit Lodge Boutique Hotel are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers that provide up to a 40% savings and includes breakfast & parking. Stay in a Deluxe King Studio, with a king bed, balcony, fully equipped kitchenette and dining table for two $139 (one night, check in June 1 - July 2; Aug. 30 - Sept. 30) Stay in a spacious Executive Studio, with a king bed, balcony, fully equipped kitchenette and dining table for four $149 (one night, check in July 3-31) $299 two nights, (check in Aug. 1-28) Find out more here. 

Travelzoo and Brewster's Mountain Lodge in Banff are selling discounted vouchers for future stays that are 100% fully refundable. You can buy vouchers for starting at $179-$199 each for June, $199-$239 for July and $269-$319 for August & September. Based on these numbers looks like they are anticipating a decent return to travel in late Summer. We did a quick check for a mid-week stay in June and Brewster's wanted $339 for the same room and the cheapest 3rd party rate we could find was $209. Sot the $179 voucher definitely provides some savings. Find out more here. 

WealthSimple Trade:  Receive $5 when you deposit and trade at least $100 worth of stock with WealthSimple Trade. Find out more here (We will also receive $5 when you receive $5)

Rewards Canada receives a small commission when you use any of the above offers. You don't have to chose to use our links but we thank you in advance if you do.

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Air China Phoenix Miles
- Double Phoenix Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 20
- Triple Phoenix Miles for stays at all participating World Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Mar 31, 20

Marriott Bonvoy
- 500 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at the Four Points by Sheraton Atlanta Airport West. More... Until Jun 20, 20

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Double Miles + 600 Bonus ROP Miles on Budget rentals of 3 or more days in the USA, Canada, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. More... Book by Jun 30 for rentals until Jul 31, 20


Follow Rewards Canada:

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American Express Business Edge Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations Feature

You are probably familiar with a feature on our site entitled 'American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations' and we have now created the same thing here for the American Express Business Edge Card. If you aren't familiar with that page, it is a list of merchants that have been confirmed by our users as locations to where and how you can earn points on the card. In the case of the Cobalt card it is 5x points for Eats & Drinks, 2x points for rides, travel & gas and then 1x points for everything else. We have to thank our reader Reed Sutton for the idea as he asked if there was a similar chart for the American Express Business Edge card and since there wasn't we decided to make it, albeit 3 months after I first promised it, but it's finally here!

You can visit the full feature here and just like the Cobalt multipliers page we encourage you to contribute any merchants that aren't listed, merchants that show up in the wrong category and so on!

AIR MILES Bonus Boom is now live - earn bonus miles with participating partners until May 27

The latest AIR MILES Bonus Boom event kicked off today with a whole bunch of bonus miles offers for various AIR MILES partners. Most of the bonuses are available between May 21 and 27 although several like the AIR MILES Hotels have already been in market and will continue to be in market past the main promotional period.

There is the potential to earn over 1,000 bonus miles with all the offers but in reality most collectors will be earning 50 to several hundred miles. It really depends on what shopping you need to get done - for example if you do need something like a Samsung phone you can earn up to 500 bonus miles just with them. Most other offers are in the 50 bonus miles or 3-5x miles range. For example BMO AIR MILES Mastercard holders can earn 50 bonus miles when they spend $50 at any AIR MILES participating grocery store.

There's even an offer where you can earn 10 AIR MILES for free. Simply download the airmilesshops.ca Assistant Google Chrome extension and sign in for the first time to receive those 10 miles.

Overall these version of Bonus Boom seems less rewarding than the one we saw in February but no matter what it is nice to be able to score some extra miles over the next week.

Learn more about Bonus Boom and check out your province's offers here

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Choice Privileges announces elite status extension and upgrades, further pause of expiring points & more

Choice Hotels has finally provided an update for their Choice Privileges program in regards to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Early on they had only chosen to provide the pausing of the expiration of points until May 31. We now have an extension of that along with reduced elite requirements, elite status upgrade and extensions and bonus points for Diamond members:

• Flexible Points Redemption: Pausing the expiration of loyalty points until Dec. 31, 2020, for all members.
• Reduced Elite Status Requirements: Reducing the number of nights members are required to stay in 2020 to qualify for elite status in 2021. They can now achieve:
  • Gold status after staying seven nights, as opposed to 10 nights.
  • Platinum status after staying 15 nights, as opposed to 20 nights.
  • Diamond status after staying 25 nights, as opposed to 40 nights.
• Upgrades and Extensions for Gold and Platinum Members: Upgrading the status of current Gold and Platinum elite members, effective June 1 – Dec. 31, 2020. Gold members will be upgraded to Platinum and Platinum members to Diamond.
  • Upgraded members who stay at least five nights by Dec. 31, 2020, can maintain this enhanced status through Dec. 31, 2021.
  • Upgraded members who stay less than five nights by Dec. 31, 2020, will revert to their original status, prior to the upgrade, and maintain it through Dec. 31, 2021.
• Extensions and Bonus Points for Diamond Members: Extending the status of current Diamond members through Dec. 31, 2021, and offering a 10% bonus – in addition to their existing 50% bonus – on points earned through Dec. 31, 2020.

I am a little surprised that is has taken Choice Hotels this long to provide this package of expanded benefits to their members. Most other hotel chains have already had similar polices in place since April if not sooner. Much like their competitors Choice will not be expiring points until December 31 of this year and very similar to IHG Choice has reduced elite qualification requirements by up to 30%. The best news in the new policy is that all current elite members will be upgraded by one level for the remainder of the year. Gold members will get Platinum status while Platinum will receive Diamond status. Those members will get to keep that status for 2021 if they simply complete 5 nights by the end of the year. If you don’t complete those 5 nights you’ll be reverted to your original status level for 2021. If you are Diamond however you get to keep your status right through to December 2021 and since you can’t have your status boosted any higher Choice if giving you an extra 10% bonus on the points you earn from stays until the end of the year.

Choice Hotels also stated that their elite status match offer continues so it may be possible that you could try to get a match right now and then be boosted an extra level with today's announcement.

Learn more about Choice Privileges here.