November 15 Update: WestJet Rewards becoming a real contender, YYC to YYZ via AMS on Air France KLM & 2 new Canadian Marriott stay bonuses

This is just me thinking out loud here….. WestJet Rewards and Air France KLM Flying Blue finally announced reciprocal redemption from their respective reward programs today. We covered using WestJet dollars on AF KLM earlier today
and this is great news that I wanted to talk about more. The ever
expanding capacity of WestJet Rewards is making the program that much
stronger and a contender. It is one to watch out for and to consider
joining. With redemption possibilities on WestJet, Delta, Air France,
KLM and soon Qantas, there isn’t much of the world left that you won’t
be able to get to. Yes it is only in economy class (for the time being )
but the reality is that is what most Canadians redeem for. Even Aeroplan
let us know that redeeming for business class isn’t a major award goal.
When they raised the amount of miles required for business class flights
to Europe and several other award categories a few years ago, they
themselves stated that this affected only about 2% of their members
. As
someone living in Calgary it really has me starting to reconsider my
strategies for some of my family’s travel patterns. Yes we have the
WestJet cards for the companion fares but now I need to crunch the
numbers on regular spending as well for all these member exclusive fare
options. I would love to hear what others are contemplating!

On the flip side, Air France KLM Flying Blue lists
that you can spend miles on WestJet now however the flights don’t show
up online so chances are you will have to redeem via the phone if you
wanted to redeem today! We tried a booking between Calgary and Toronto
and this is what we got – not that we would mind going through Amsterdam
on a 787 and 747 to get to Toronto but not really practical!

We’re going to keep this reminder going in each update until Christmas:

Check out the Give A Mile Flight Hero campaign! The
charity can really use donations of miles to help provide flights to
those who otherwise would be unable to travel to visit terminally ill or
critically sick family and friends. Rewards Canada has pledged to raise
100,000 miles and we are half way there! We are putting the call out to
all of our fans, readers and even new visitors, if you can give please
do so. It can be as little as 1,000 miles! You can find out more and donate here.

Posts since our last update:

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

Marriott Rewards

– Earn up to 7,500 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the TownePlace Suites London. More… Until Jan 31, 18


5,000 Bonus Rewards Points for stays at the Courtyard Waterloo St. Jacobs. More… Until Jan 31, 18

RBC Rewards

2 Bonus RBC Rewards Points per dollar spent when you rent with Thrifty
Car Rental in Canada. Must use an RBC Rewards earning credit card for
payment. More… Ongoing

Other Bonus Offers

American AAdvantage

– 5,000 Bonus AAdvantage Miles when you spend $200 or more on your first booking with Rocketmiles More… Until Dec 31, 17

Avianca LifeMiles

– Quadruple LifeMiles on your first rental with Sixt that is 3 or more days. More… Until Jan 31, 19

SAS EuroBonus

– 6,000 Bonus EuroBonus Points on Avis rentals of 2 or more days in Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, USA and Canada. More… Book by Nov 30 for rentals until Dec 31, 17


4,000 Bonus EuroBonus Points when you rent with Sixt Worldwide for 2 or more days. More… Book by Dec 22 for rentals until Jan 15, 18

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

-Triple Flying Club Miles on Sixt rentals of 3 or more days Worldwide. More… Book by Dec 15 for rentals until Dec 31, 17

Voila Hotel Rewards

– 30% VHR Points Discount when you redeem for award nights participating VOILÀ network hotels Worldwide. More… Until Jan 31, 18Follow Rewards Canada:

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