A closer look at the new Air Canada Aeroplan credit cards

 

On Tuesday we brought you details of the entire new Air Canada Aeroplan program that will be officially launching on November 8. In that first post we provided some detail on what the entire suite of Aeroplan co-brand credit cards will be offering but wanted to provide further information on each issuer's card offerings here in a separate blog post. 

Air Canada and the card issuers have broken down the cards into three levels for personal cards and two levels for small business cards.

Here are the Aeroplan benefits chart for the three levels of personal cards:

 

And the benefits for the two levels of business cards:

Those charts only show the Aeroplan benefits however the cards themselves have more to them so let's take a look at all the details:

Personal Cards

There are three levels of personal cards: your basic or entry level cards, mid-level hero cards (your mainstay cards) and premium cards. TD and CIBC who both invested money into buying Aeroplan back from Aimia will issues cards in all three levels while American Express will offer two personal cards. 

The cards and their new offerings come November are as follows:

The Mainstay Cards

All of these core cards will come with the following:

• Preferred Pricing - Holders of these cards will receive discounts when redeeming miles for Aeroplan reward flights
• First Checked Bag Free - Cardholders will receive their first checked bag free for themselves and up to 8 other travellers on the same reservation. This benefit works on both paid and award flights on Air Canada.
• Elite Status Earning - These cards earn 1,000 SQM (Status Qualifying Miles) and 1 SQS (Status Qualifying Segment) for every $10,000 spent on the card(s)
  

TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card
This is THE card that has been and will continue as the primary Air Canada Aeroplan card in the market. You notice right away that annual fees are being increased from $120 per year to $139 per year for the primary card and to $75 from $50 for additional cards. TD All-Inclusive Account holders will continue to receive a full rebate of the Annual Fee for this card. The increase in annual fee is not a welcome site however you do have to take into account the additional benefits the card will be getting over the current version like first checked bag free on all Air Canada flights, additional insurance, elite mileage earning, You'll also want to note however that additional cards are more expensive now but they also come with more benefits.

The earn rates change slightly on the card as of the November 8 date, the card will now earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada (any Air Canada purchase, prior to this it was only for Aircanada.com purchases) It will continue to earn 1.5 Aeroplan points for grocery and gas station purchases but it does lose the 1.5 points for drug store purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on the card. 

Here are some of the new benefits for this card: 

• Each Cardholder on the Account will receive a rebate of up to $100 CAD for a NEXUS™ application and/or renewal fee. 
• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance coverage up to $2,500 per occurrence for each Cardholder on the Account and eligible family members travelling with the Cardholder. 
• Mobile Device Insurance coverage up to $1,000 for eligible mobile devices in the event of loss, theft, accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown.
  

Some of the other insurance benefits on this card have been updated for the better including Purchase Security/Extended Warranty, Flight Delay, Trip Cancellation/Interruption and Lost/Delayed Baggage. 

Learn more about the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card here

CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card
First thing you'll notice is that the long time name 'Aerogold' has gone the way of the Dodo. Outside of that the changes to the card are very similar to the TD card. Like it's TD counterpart the primary card annual fee is being increased to $139 from $120 however this card's additional card fees will remain at $50 each. I suspect the main reason this card doesn't see the additional card increase is that it doesn't get the NEXUS benefit and doesn't see as many insurance benefit enhancements like the TD card.

The earn rates change slightly on the card as of the November 8 date, the card will now earn 1.5 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada (any Air Canada purchase, prior to this it was only for Aircanada.com purchases) It will continue to earn 1.5 Aeroplan points for grocery and gas station purchases but it does lose the 1.5 points for drug store purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on the card. 

Here are some of the new benefits for this card: 

• New Mobile Device (up to $1,000)
• Hotel Burglary (up to $2,500) 
• enhanced Trip Cancellation (up to $1,500) insurance

Learn more about the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card here.

 

American Express Aeroplan Card
This card replaces the American Express AeroplanPlus Gold Card as Amex simplifies their Aeroplan portfolio come November. You'll also notice a name change like CIBC, the Plus being dropped from AeroplanPlus in the nomenclature. American Express has also chosen not to reveal all the details on this revamped card until a later date. We know it will have the benefits listed above that all the mainstay cards get like First Checked Bag free, Preferred Reward Pricing etc. We will have to wait to see what the annual fee will be, what the earn rates are and what changes will happen on the insurance and benefits side.

The Premium Cards

All of these premium cards will come with the following:

• Preferred Pricing - Holders of these cards will receive discounts when redeeming miles for Aeroplan reward flights
• First Checked Bag Free - Cardholders will receive their first checked bag free for themselves and up to 8 other travellers on the same reservation. This benefit works on both paid and award flights on Air Canada.
• Elite Status Earning - These cards earn 1,000 SQM (Status Qualifying Miles) and 1 SQS (Status Qualifying Segment) for every $5,000 spent on the card(s)
• Maple Leaf Lounge Access - These cards offer complimentary access for the cardholder (Primary and additional) plus one guest to Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in North America.
• Priority Airport Services - These cards offer priority check-in, priority boarding, and priority baggage handling
• Annual Worldwide Companion Pass - This pass is provided when cardholders reach $25,000 in spending annually on their cards. The pass can be used for travel to anywhere Air Canada flies with companion paying only $99 for flights in Canada & Continental U.S., $299 for Hawaii, Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, $499 for Africa, Europe, Middle East and South America, $599 for Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Taxes and fees are extra on top of those amounts
• Rollover Status Miles - Primary Cardholders who also hold Aeroplan Elite Status can roll over up to 200,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) beyond the status level for which they’ve qualified, from the prior qualification year to qualify for status the next year.
• Rollover eUpgrade Credits - Primary Cardholders who also hold Aeroplan Elite Status and requalify for the next year, can roll over up to 50 unused eUpgrade credits, to be used during the following status year.

 

TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege*
Again we start off with annual fees being increased on this card. You'll see the fees go from $399 per year to $599 per year for the primary card and to $199 from $99 for additional cards. The increase in annual fee is quite big however you do have to take into account the additional benefits the card will be getting over the current version like lounge access, first checked bag free on all Air Canada flights, additional insurance, elite rollover and more. You'll also want to note that additional cards are more expensive now but they also come with more benefits.

The earn rates change slightly on the card as of the November 8 date, the card will now earn 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada which is a 0.5 points boost. It will now earn 1.5 Aeroplan points for Gas, Grocery, Travel and Dining purchases - with travel and dining being two new accelerators. It does lose the 1.5 points for drug store purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on the card. 

Here are some of the new benefits for this card: 

• Each Cardholder on the Account will receive a rebate of up to $100 CAD for a NEXUS™ application and/or renewal fee. 
• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance coverage up to $2,500 per occurrence for each Cardholder on the Account and eligible family members travelling with the Cardholder. 
• Mobile Device Insurance coverage up to $1,500 for eligible mobile devices in the event of loss, theft, accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown.
  

Some of the other insurance benefits on this card have been updated for the better including Travel Medical Insurance, Purchase Security/Extended Warranty, Flight Delay, Trip Cancellation/Interruption and Lost/Delayed Baggage.

The regular Visa Infinite Privileges such as complimentary Priority Pass membership with 6 annual visits, Priority Security Lanes at select Canadian airports, Visa Infinite Privilege Concierge, Visa Luxury Hotel Collection, Dining & Wine Country programs, and Entertainment and Sports benefits are all still included with this card.

Learn more about the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Card here. 

CIBC Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card
Also gone is the long time name 'Aerogold' as the card is simply rebranded as the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card. Once again the changes to the card are very similar to the TD card. Like it's TD counterpart the primary card annual fee is being increased to $599 from $399 however this card's additional card fees will only jump to $149 from $99. The main reason this card doesn't see the additional card increase is that it's NEXUS benefit isn't as valuable as it is only available for the primary card and it appears, based on CIBC's terms the one guest you can bring in to Maple Leaf lounges is only good for the first year of having the card.

The earn rates are the same as the TD version of this card and will be 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada which is a 0.5 points boost. Then it will earn 1.5 Aeroplan points for Gas, Grocery, Travel and Dining purchases - with travel and dining being two new accelerators. It does lose the 1.5 points for drug store purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1.25 Aeroplan points per dollar spent on the card.

Here are some of the new benefits for this card: 

• New Mobile Device (up to $1,000)
• Hotel Burglary (up to $2,500) 
• enhanced Trip Cancellation (up to $1,500) insurance

Learn more about the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege Card here.

American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
This card replaces the American Express AeroplanPlus Platinum and old Reserve Cards. You'll also notice a name change like CIBC, the Plus being dropped from AeroplanPlus in the nomenclature. American Express has also chosen not to reveal all the details on this revamped card until a later date. We know it will have the benefits listed above that all the premium cards get like First Checked Bag free, Preferred Reward Pricing etc. We will have to wait to see what the annual fee will be, what the earn rates are and what changes will happen on the insurance and benefits side.

The Basic/Entry Level Cards

All of these basic cards will come with the following:

• Preferred Pricing - Holders of these cards will receive discounts when redeeming miles for Aeroplan reward flights

 

TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Platinum* Credit Card
This card sees the least amount of changes within the portfolio of TD cards. The annual fee for the Primary Card will remain at $89 while additional cards go up slightly from $35 to $39. TD All-Inclusive Account holders will continue to receive a full rebate of the Annual Fee for this card.

The earn rates change ever so slightly on the card as of the November 8 date, the card will now earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent for grocery and gas station purchases as well as Air Canada purchases. The latter is a new addition to the card. It does lose the 1 point per dollar for drug store purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1 Aeroplan point per $1.50 spent on the card. 

Here are some of the new benefits for this card:

• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance coverage up to $2,500 per occurrence for each Cardholder on the Account and eligible family members travelling with the Cardholder. 
• Mobile Device Insurance coverage up to $1,000 for eligible mobile devices in the event of loss, theft, accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown.
  

Some of the other insurance benefits on this card have been updated for the better including Purchase Security/Extended Warranty, Flight Delay and Lost/Delayed Baggage.

Learn more about the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Platinum* Credit Card here

 

CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Card
This card will be one of only two no fee Aeroplan co-brand credit cards. The other is essentially the same card as this but for students.  As mentioned this card will have no fee for both the Primary and Additional cardholders. This is a $39 discount from the current iteration of this card the CIBC Aerogold Platinum Visa. Should you have this card and the annual fee is charged between August 24 and November 7 CIBC will providing a refund of the full annual fee.

The earn rates get a little better on this card as it will now earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent for grocery and gas station purchases as well as Air Canada purchases. All other purchases which all continue to earn 1 Aeroplan point per $1.50 spent on the card. 

Here are some of the new benefits for this card:

• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance coverage up to $2,500 per occurrence for each Cardholder on the Account and eligible family members travelling with the Cardholder. 
• Mobile Device Insurance coverage up to $1,000 for eligible mobile devices in the event of loss, theft, accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown.
  

Some of the other insurance benefits on this card have been updated for the better including Purchase Security/Extended Warranty, Flight Delay and Lost/Delayed Baggage.

Learn more about the CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Card here

Learn about the CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Card for Students here.

Business Cards

There are two levels of business cards that will be offered for the Aeroplan program. TD will only be offering one main level card to begin with, while CIBC has two base cards which both fall into the same category. American Express will be offering a higher end card that hasn't been revealed just yet.

The main TD and CIBC cards will come with the following:

• Preferred Pricing - Holders of these cards will receive discounts when redeeming miles for Aeroplan reward flights
• First Checked Bag Free - Cardholders will receive their first checked bag free for themselves and up to 8 other travellers on the same reservation. This benefit works on both paid and award flights on Air Canada.
• Maple Leaf Lounge Passes - 1 Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge Guest Pass for every $10,000 you spend, up to 4 passes per year
• Elite Status Earning - These cards earn 1,000 SQM (Status Qualifying Miles) and 1 SQS (Status Qualifying Segment) for every $5,000 spent on the card(s)
  

TD® Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card
The annual fees on this card will remain at $149 per year for the Primary Card and $49 per year for all additional cards. The earn rates change for the better on the card as of the November 8 date, the card will now earn 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada which is a 0.5 points boost. It will now earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent on Travel, Dining and Select Business Categories: shipping, Internet, cable and phone services. It does lose the 1.5 points for gas station purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on the card. 

Here are some of the new benefits for this card: 

• Each Cardholder on the Account will receive a rebate of up to $100 CAD for a NEXUS™ application and/or renewal fee. 
• Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance coverage up to $2,500 per occurrence for each Cardholder on the Account and eligible family members travelling with the Cardholder. 
• Mobile Device Insurance coverage up to $1,000 for eligible mobile devices in the event of loss, theft, accidental damage, or mechanical breakdown.
• Trip Cancellation Insurance and Trip Interruption Insurance: For Trip  Cancellation, up to $1,500 for each insured person (maximum $5,000 for all those insured on same covered trip) and for Trip Interruption, up to $5,000 for each insured person (maximum $25,000 for all those insured on same covered trip).

Some of the other insurance benefits on this card have been updated for the better including Purchase Security/Extended Warranty, Flight Delay,and Lost/Delayed Baggage.

Learn more about the  TD® Aeroplan® Visa Business Card here.

 

CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card
The earn rates change for the better on the card as of the November 8 date, the card will now earn 2 Aeroplan points per dollar spent with Air Canada which is a 0.5 points boost. It will now earn 1.5 points for every $1 spent on Travel, Dining and Select Business Categories: shipping, Internet, cable and phone services. It does lose the 1.5 points for gas station purchases which will now categorize as all other purchases which all continue to earn 1 Aeroplan point per dollar spent on the card.

The CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Business Plus Card is essentially tha same as above but has annual fees of $120 for the primary cardholder and $50 for each additional cardholder.

Learn more about the CIBC Aeroplan® Visa* Business Card here

The new American Express Business Reserve card will come with the following:

• Preferred Pricing - Holders of these cards will receive discounts when redeeming miles for Aeroplan reward flights
• First Checked Bag Free - Cardholders will receive their first checked bag free for themselves and up to 8 other travellers on the same reservation. This benefit works on both paid and award flights on Air Canada.
• Elite Status Earning - These cards earn 1,000 SQM (Status Qualifying Miles) and 1 SQS (Status Qualifying Segment) for every $5,000 spent on the card(s)
• Maple Leaf Lounge Access - These cards offer complimentary access for the cardholder (Primary and additional) plus one guest to Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés in North America.
• Priority Airport Services - These cards offer priority check-in, priority boarding, and priority baggage handling
• Annual Worldwide Companion Pass - This pass is provided when cardholders reach $25,000 in spending annually on their cards. The pass can be used for travel to anywhere Air Canada flies with companion paying only $99 for flights in Canada & Continental U.S., $299 for Hawaii, Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, $499 for Africa, Europe, Middle East and South America, $599 for Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Taxes and fees are extra on top of those amounts
• Rollover Status Miles - Primary Cardholders who also hold Aeroplan Elite Status can roll over up to 200,000 Status Qualifying Miles (SQMs) beyond the status level for which they’ve qualified, from the prior qualification year to qualify for status the next year.
• Rollover eUpgrade Credits - Primary Cardholders who also hold Aeroplan Elite Status and requalify for the next year, can roll over up to 50 unused eUpgrade credits, to be used during the following status year.

What we don't know yet are the annual fees, earn rates and insurance/other benefits the card will come with. American Express will also issue corporate cards for large business. 

Summary

 As you can see there will continue to be a lot of credit card options for the Air Canada Aeroplan program and the updates to all the cards are for the most part are better. Yes most of the cards are more expensive now but they also offer more benefits that can offset that increase in price. Consumers will have to run the numbers to see if paying those increased annual fees make sense for them especially seeing that the mainstay cards actually lose out on the mileage boost at drug stores but had no other category added to make up for it. 

You can aso see that they have really gone after the Air Canada Elite Members with the high end premium cards as Air Canada did let us know that only a small percentage of elites actually carry an Aeroplan co-branded credit card. By adding the rollover benefits and being able earn some elite status miles & segments Air Canada is hoping that a greater percentage of their elite members will choose to add a co-brand credit card to their wallets.  

Another welcome change to the portfolio of cards is the base level CIBC card becoming a no fee option. This is one area Aeroplan had not tackled as all their cards involved annual fees, by having this card move to a no annual fee card the program becomes a viable option to those just getting started in the world of credit and loyalty rewards. 

One thing we don't know just yet are what the new welcome bonus offers will be on these cards. Will they offer first year free on the mainstay cards right from the onset to encourage a larger uptake on the cards or will they go the other direction in hopes that they will get quality applications and consumers who aren't just going after the welcome points. Personally I think it will be the latter, offer a bigger bonus and maybe dangle some other carrot as well but charge the annual fee. We'll just have to wait and see what happens though!

Overall the entire suite of Aeroplan cards is pretty impressive and cover almost the entire range of the market. All that's left is an ultra premium card which just may be something that will be offered by the program sometime in the future. 

What do you think of the suite of new Air Canada Aeroplan credit cards?

Marriott Bonvoy – Earn 2,500 bonus points per stay + extra points after multiple stays

 

Today Marriott released their first systemwide bonus points promotion since the onset of the global COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s a nice simple bonus offer with very little restrictions tied to it. You’ll earn 2,500 bonus points on each and every eligible stay at Marriott Hotels around the globe. If you complete three stays during the promotional period they’ll throw in an extra 5,000 bonus points. These flat rate bonus offers are best for those one night cheaper rate stays as it doesn’t matter what you pay as long as it is an eligible points earning rate you’ll get the bonus points. That means a 1 night $80 stay will earn the same 2,500 bonus points as a three night $500 stay. Either way the extra points are always welcome no matter what your stay looks like.

Offer details:
2,500 Bonus Bonvoy Points per stay at any participating Marriott Hotel Worldwide. Plus earn a one time bonus of 5,000 points when you complete 3 stays. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Until Oct 18, 20

Here are some other Marriott Bonvoy bonus points opportunities that you can stack with this offer:

• 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points PER NIGHT for stays at all participating Courtyard Hotels in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Latin America Full details and online booking
• 1,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points per night for up to five nights at the Element Toronto Airport. Full details & online booking.
• See our complete list of Marriott Bonus Points offers here

Fairmont Hotels Zoomer offer - 20% off the daily rate and a $50 Dining Credit for those who are 55+

 

Another Fairmont Hotels offer to pass along! You'll want to compare this offer to their Stay Close promotion and  Take Your Time offer to see what provides a better deal. This offer is targetted to those who are 55+. I'm not sure if they'll check your ID when you check in so if you are under 55 you could always chance it and book this deal. Maybe have an excuse ready like "When you combine my partners age with mine we're 68!" or maybe dye your hair grey.... 😅

 Anyways this offer provides 20% off the daily rate for a minimum 2 night stay at most Fairmont locations in Canada and lots of locations in the Caribbean, US and Mexico. It also includes a $50 dining credit per stay which includes in-room dining if you are still wary of hitting up a restaurant.

The offer must be booked by December 31 for stays until March 31, 2021.

Here's a look at the rates for the Zoomer offer at the Fairmont Pacific Rim Vancouver:

 

Based on those rates above this is actually not a bad deal at all! It is close to $50 cheaper than other rates offered by the hotel and then you still get the $50 dining credit. The Canadian residents offer looks appealing as well though since it has parking, an upgrade and late check out.

Learn more about and book the Zoomer offer here

August 12 Update: A boatload of new confirmed Amex Cobalt 5x points locations, earn 50,000 bonus PC Optimum points for online purchases & 15% off TAP Air Portugal flights out of Canada

 

Thanks to an anonymous reader who commented on our American Express Cobalt Card Confirmed Multiplier Locations for giving a whole batch of locations that earn 5x points on eats and drinks. From Vancouver to Victoria to Honolulu and all the way to Taiwan this person provided an awesome list of locations that we have now added to the feature. You can see these new locations and all the others right here.

 

These week sees a bigger bonus from PC Optimum for shopping online for beauty products with Shoppers Drug Mart. The offer for today and tomorrow is 50,000 points when you spend $150 or more. Those 50,000 points are worth $50. Find out more here.

Image via Shoppers Drug Mart

Airline Schedule Updates
A summary 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!

Icelandair looks to be resuming service between Toronto and Reykjavik as of September 8 with 2 flights per week. That will be bumped up to 3x weekly as of September 15.. (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:

• Enterprise Rent-A-Car Plus Your Points is back! Double Points on rentals until January 31 + earn 20 points for free
    Enterprise has launched their annual Plus Your Points promotion for double points on rentals much earlier this year!…
• Earn 2,500 Aeroplan miles when you join the program and earn your first mile
    To celebrate the revealing of the new Aeroplan, the loyalty program is welcoming new members with 2,500 Aeroplan…
• August 11 Update: The new Aeroplan program revealed, new podcast episode on airline refunds & 12 new miles and points bonuses
    Not much news out today other than the huge news about the new Aeroplan program. Read our post…

Deals:

 

TAP Air Portugal released a new us 15% Discount Code for new bookings made between today and August 18. The discount applies for flights from Canada to Europe. The discount code MULTI15 is good for travel until March 31, 2021 (Black out from Dec 17 to Jan 10) and is valid on all fares except Discount and Top Executive. Bookings made with this promo code are allowed 1 free booking change should your travel plans change due to COVID-19. Find out more here.

If you aren't using the Ampli Cash Back app yet you can get $5 when you download the app and join today with promo code AMPLI5 Find out more here

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. Find out more here

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. 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

Aeroflot Bonus
- Earn up to 4,000 Bonus Miles when you rent with Avis for 3 or more days in in Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia and USA. More... Book by Sep 30 for rentals Sep 1 - Dec 31, 20

Air Canada Aeroplan
- 2,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the Aeroplan program and earn your first mile by September 30. More... Until Sep 30, 20

Choice Privileges
- Earn 50,000 Choice Privileges Points plus a free night, plus a future free night, resort credit and more when you book a stay at Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, and Secrets®, Breathless®, Dreams®, Now® and Sunscape® Resorts & Spas brands. More... For residents of the U.S. and Canada only Book by Sep 30 for stays until Dec 22, 21

Enterprise Plus
- Double Plus Points on all qualifying Enterprise Car rentals. Plus receive 20 points for registering for the promotion. More... Until Jan 31, 21

GHA Discovery
- Double Elite Night Credit for stays at participating GHA Hotels Worldwide. More... Until Dec 31, 20

Follow Rewards Canada:

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Enterprise Rent-A-Car Plus Your Points is back! Double Points on rentals until January 31 + earn 20 points for free

 

Enterprise has launched their annual Plus Your Points promotion for double points on rentals much earlier this year! Normally seen around October Plus Your Points will for almost half a year until January 31, 2021. For obvious reasons Enterprise released the offer earlier than usual to try to stimulate more rentals during this time of lesser demand.  Unlike previous versions right now the offer only provides double points plus  20 points just for registering for the promotion. All the additional points offers typically seen with the promotion that earned as badges have not been revealed yet. Enterprise states “we’ll let you know as soon as additional earning opportunities become available.”

Offer Details
Double Plus Points on all qualifying Enterprise Car rentals. Plus receive 20 points for registering for the promotion.. Register Online (Registration is required) and once registered you can book online at Enterprise.com Until Jan 31, 21

Earn 2,500 Aeroplan miles when you join the program and earn your first mile

 

To celebrate the revealing of the new Aeroplan, the loyalty program is welcoming new members with 2,500 Aeroplan Miles when they earn their first miles. This is perfect timing for any one who saw what the program brought across the news wires today and are now thinking of joining the program. It is also ideal for the new family pooling option! If your kids, spouses, partners and so on aren't part of the program now is the time to get them to join. Think about, if you have three kids sign them all up and use their Aeroplan numbers for shopping online via the Aeroplan eStore (this is the easiest method), at Home Hardware or wherever else you can earn Aeroplan miles and you have 7,500 more Points (miles will become points on November 8) when you create your family account in November!

Offer details:
2,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you join the Aeroplan program and earn your first mile by September 30. Full details and online registration (Registration is required) Until Sep 30, 20

Here are some other Aeroplan bonus mile offers to check out:

• Earn 500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for stays at Best Western Hotels in Canada, the United States, or the Caribbean Islands Full details, online registration & booking (Registration is required)
• 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you make 3 reservations, each for 2 nights or longer for any hotels booked via Rocketmiles Full Details & online booking

Find these and many more offers on our Aeroplan bonus miles page

August 11 Update: The new Aeroplan program revealed, new podcast episode on airline refunds & 12 new miles and points bonuses

 

Not much news out today other than the huge news about the new Aeroplan program. Read our post here about the new program and keep an eye for more posts over the next few days dissecting the various aspects of the program from credit cards to pros and cons and more. I decided to take more of a spread apart approach rather than post a dozen articles as once. It also gives me some more time to hear from our readers and take their perspective on the program into account. Stay tuned for those articles!

 Don't forget about the latest Rewards Canada podcast that came out yesterday where we discuss the airline refund situation in Canada. Give it a listen here!

Airline Schedule Updates
A summary 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!

American Airlines will be cutting their Dallas/Ft. Worth to Vancouver route from September to January. (Source RoutesOnline)

 

Posts since our last update:

• Less than a week left to score up to 60,000 points and have your first year free with the HSBC World Elite Mastercard
  HSBC's current offer for their World Elite Mastercard has been out since March and we have learned it will…
• The new Air Canada Aeroplan program revealed - it all goes live on November 8!
    It’s hard to believe it has been three years now since Air Canada announced they weren’t going to…
• Podcast Episode 70 - COVID-19 and the airline refund situation in Canada
  Episode 70 - August 10, 2020 COVID-19 and the airline refund situation in Canada In this episode we discuss…
• 1,000 Free Qatar Airways Privilege Club QMiles when you download their app and login
    Over on our global site I posted about an  offer where you can earn 1,000 bonus Qmiles when…
• August 6 Update: New Amex Offer for Wayfair, Air Transat cancels Western Canada flights to sun destinations (but offers refunds) & earn Skywards miles for online shopping
  A new Amex Offers deal came out this week. Once again we see a statement credit promotion for shopping…

Deals:

WestJet has launched a Fall/Winter Sun Destination seat sale where you can take advantage of savings on flights to Central America and the Caribbean. Book by August 15 for travel October 5 to April 30. Find out more here.

If you aren't using the Ampli Cash Back app yet you can get $5 when you download the app and join today with promo code AMPLI5 Find out more here

Fairmont Hotels Stay Close - Buy Night 1 Get 1 Night free at select hotels in Canada, U.S. and Mexico. Find out more here

SkipTheDishes - Sign up with this link to get $5 off your first order over $15. 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

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Other Bonus Offers

ALL Accor Live Limitless
- 4x ALL Rewards Points for stays at new Accor Hotels Worldwide. More... Book by Sep 18 for stays until Nov 8, 20

American AAdvantage
- Up to a 100% bonus when you buy or gift AAdvantage miles. More... Until Aug 31, 20

Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Double Guest Rewards Points on all qualifying Amtrak travel. More... Until Oct 31, 20

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- 1,500 Asia Miles when you book the Book the “Asia Miles X Victoria Dockside Essential Staycation” package at the Rosewood Hong Kong More... Until Dec 31, 20

Delta SkyMiles
- Earn up to 1,000 Bonus SkyMiles when you shop online via the SkyMiles Shopping portal. More... Until Aug 16, 20

Emirates Skywards
- 2,000 Bonus Skywards Miles when you make your first hotel booking via Emirates Skywards Hotels. More... Book by Oct 31 for stays until Jan 31, 21

Marriott Bonvoy
- 2,000 Bonus Bonvoy Points for stays at the Courtyard Kingston, NY More... Until Dec 31, 20

Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- 1,000 Bonus QMiles when you book your next Qatar Airways flight via their mobile app. More... Book by Aug 12 for travel until Mar 31, 21

Radisson Rewards
- 3,000 Bonus Radisson Rewards points when you book your first two-night stay or more via the Radisson Hotels app. More... Until ?

World of Hyatt
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana or the Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana More... Until Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Park Hyatt Auckland More... Aug 30 - Dec 30, 20
- 500 Bonus World of Hyatt points per night for stays at the Hyatt House Tempe / Phoenix / University More... Aug 31 - Dec 30, 20

Follow Rewards Canada:

Less than a week left to score up to 60,000 points and have your first year free with the HSBC World Elite Mastercard

HSBC's current offer for their World Elite Mastercard has been out since March and we have learned it will be changed back to their standard offer on August 18. This means you still have a few days to apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard and get up to 60,000 bonus HSBC Rewards Points along with having the first year $149 annual fee waived on the primary card.  The bonus is awarded as follows:

• 20,000 Point Welcome Bonus on your first purchase
• 40,000 when you spend $5,000 in the first 180 days

The 60,000 points once achieved are worth $300 in travel rewards but this card isn't just a travel points card, it is actually a Hybrid Card. This means points can also be converted to partners outside of HSBC Rewards. In this card's case, they can be transferred to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. The points convert as follows:

• 2.5 points to 1 Avios
• 3 points to 1.35 KrisFlyer Miles 
• 3 points to 1.2 Asia Miles 

This means the sign up bonus is worth 24,000 Avios in British Airways' Executive Club which if you have followed us for sometime now know that is a good amount for a lot of various redemptions.

Here are some options to check out with British Airways:

• How to get select Canada to U.S. award flights faster by utilizing British Airways' Executive Club 
• How you can easily get a free flight between Toronto and Dublin, Ireland (pre taxes/fees) or 4 flights for $240+fees 

The sign up bonus isn't the only good feature about this card however. It is one of only eight cards in Canada that has No Foreign Transaction fees, it also comes with a $100 annual travel enhancement credit (to use on bag fees, seat selection etc) and like most World Elite Mastercards in Canada it has airport lounge access membership via LoungeKey.

Recommend Reading: No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards for Canadians  & The Ultimate No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card Portfolio

Now, with travel being curtailed due to the Coronavirus pandemic you may be more interested in cash back options to help with your financial situation and this card does have that option. The points can also be redeemed for many other non-travel items like merchandise, experiences, gift cards, HSBC financial products and even for any purchases made on the card. HSBC calls this last option their Cash Back Rebate and is 25,000 points for a $75 statement credit. That works out to a 0.9% to 1.8% return (based on 3 points for everyday spending and 6 points for travel) and also makes the welcome bonus of 60,000 points worth $180 for cash back rebates. 

Learn more about and/or apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard here.

I would also recommend reading our review of the card. 

Here are the most current details for this card: