February 11 Update: Wait. What? Diners Club actually sent an email? Plus Swoop announces a major domestic expansion

Rewards Canada Team Uncategorized

 Here’s your Rewards Canada Daily update! Your bear 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 100,000 bonus points
worth $500, has no foreign transaction fees and no annual fee in the
first year! 

 
I received a bit of shock in my email inbox yesterday. BMO actually
sent a Diners Club email that wasn’t strictly an automated statement or
payment reminder! First thing I thought is “What is going on?” I haven’t had an email from BMO or Diners Club like this in years! And by
years I’m thinking nearly a decade if not more. Are they actually
starting to pay some attention to the card and the Club Rewards program
now?

 Perhaps they read my mind as at the start of this week I was starting
to plan posts about the next five cards that need an overhaul and
those thoughts really gravitated to the Diners Club card in my wallet. I
was thinking how BMO has shown very little support for the brand since
they took it over for North America. I kind
of get it as to why BMO wouldn’t want to promote it here in Canada, the
Diners Club card even after being ignored for so long would prove stiff
competition to BMO’s own proprietary rewards cards. It is a hybrid card
after all, a straight 1.5% return when redeeming for any travel (and
this is any travel – not having to go through the card’s travel agency)
or you can convert to over a dozen airline and hotel programs. Then,
Diners has their own lounge membership program with free access to
lounges for the primary and any additional cardholders – no US$32 fee
that the BMO cards see after you use up the annual free passes you get.
It has one of, if not the best car rental CDW coverage in Canada. It is the card I use for car rentals as it does not have an MSRP
cap. Yes, there are cars you can’t rent like a Ferrari but a few years ago in
Hawaii we got an upgrade to an luxury SUV that even Amex, Visa Infinite
Privilege or several other cards wouldn’t cover with their C$85,000 max
MSRP. Diners on the other hand, not a problem.

Anyways, I’ve already rambled on way too long here but I think you
can see how I really like this card, even if it is for more so for
posterity sake. However, getting this email from them has given me a faint
glimmer of hope that they may actually be planning on doing something
with the card! Or maybe I’m just reading into this way too much as it is
only one email.

Image via BMO/Diners Club

—

WestJet’s ULCC subsidiary Swoop announced a
significant domestic expansion this week as they will be adding six new
planes to their roster. Perhaps seen as a preemptive move as well
towards the latest ULCC newcomers such as Lynx and Jetlines this Swoop
expansion is primarily focused on the Maritimes and Prairie provinces.
Examples of some of the new flights including Edmonton to Moncton,
Halifax to Ottawa, and Saskatoon to Winnipeg. Click here to learn more.

 Image via Swoop

Posts since our last update:

Deals:

Hilton Hotels at Disneyland offer! Take 5% off
Disneyland tickets, receive a $20 Disney dining gift card, and enjoy
breakfast or premium Wifi when you stay at select properties in the
Anaheim, Orange County and Los Angeles areas between January 17th and March 1st! Click here to book this offer.

Radisson: up to 30% off your stay at participating
Radisson Hotels Americas locations across the United States, Canada,
Latin America, and the Caribbean.This offer is valid on stays from April
10 to June 30, 2022 when you book by February 27, 2022. Click here to book this offer

Canadian Bonus Offers

N/A

Other Bonus Offers

Copa ConnectMiles

–
Receive a 50% bonus when you buy or gift 5,000 or more ConnectMiles. Until Mar 31, 22 More…

Miles & More

– Earn up to 5,000 Miles & More Miles on Hertz rentals in Germany,
the Netherlands, the UK, Spain (mainland), France, Luxembourg, Belgium,
Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, the US and Canada. Book by Apr
30 for rentals until Jun 30, 22 More…

Advertisement