Canadian Travel Hacking

Category: Point and Mile Bonuses

  • RBC Visa Infinite Avion sign up offer – 25,000 bonus points and first year free!

    Apply for a RBC Visa Infinite Avion Card now, and you can earn 25,000 welcome points upon approval plus no annual fee for the first year – that’s a savings of $120.
    Note: Additional cardholder(s), as well as existing RBC Visa Infinite Avion or Visa Platinum Avion, Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum, British Airways Visa Infinite, RBC Rewards Visa Preferred, RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege and RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege for Private Banking cardholders, applying for or transferring to an RBC Visa Infinite Avion card as of the offer eligibility period, are not eligible for this offer. This offer may not be combined or used in conjunction with any other offer.
    This card is very flexible and offers some nice benefits:
    • Those 25,000 welcome points are equal to 25,000 British Airways Avios or 250 WestJet dollars.
    • Earn 25% more RBC Rewards points on travel related purchases
    • Book flights, hotel stays, cruises, vacation packages, car rentals with RBC Rewards site, powered by Orbitz
    • Transfer your RBC Rewards points towards other eligible loyalty programs (WestJet Rewards, British Airways Executive Club, American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. )
    • Instantly save 3₵ per litre on fuel & earn 20% more Petro-Points and RBC Rewards points when you link your Petro-Points card to any RBC Card online.
     Here is the link to apply.

  • Air Canada Conversion Card RIP April 13, 2018

    As of April 13, 2018, you will no longer be able to reload Canadian Dollars directly onto your AC conversion card. This change will not affect your ability to load any of the other supported currencies.

    After April 13, 2018, you will still be able access the Canadian Dollar wallet for unloads, ATM withdrawals, wallet transfers, and point of sale or online purchases.

    CIBC allows you to load up this prepaid card using your credit card (Visa or Mastercard only) to obtain other currencies. You add them to your card and the website will show you how much your desired currency will cost in Canadian dollars. You could then withdraw from the ATM for free (up to $400 per day).

    It was an easy way to meet the minimum spending (for some people that took advantage of this).

    Some cards now bill this as a cash advance!

  • Earn 20,000 ‘More Rewards’ Points (worth $85.80) when shopping at 4 partners – February 2018

    Shop with multiple More Rewards partners and earn bonus points over and above the base points. The more partners you shop with, the more bonus points you will earn.

    How many bonus points can I earn?

    • 250 bonus points = 1 qualifying More Rewards partner and at least 1 Overwaitea banner
    • 2,000 bonus points = 2 qualifying More Rewards partners and at least 1 Overwaitea  banner
    • 5,000 bonus points = 3 qualifying More Rewards partners and at least 1 Overwaitea banner
    • 20,000 bonus points = 4 qualifying More Rewards partners and at least 1 Overwaitea banner

    What is the value of my bonus points if I redeem for More Rewards Travel?

    • 250 bonus points = $1.07
    • 2,000 bonus points =$8.58
    • 5,000 bonus points = $21.45
    • 20,000 bonus points = $85.80

    Here is the easiest way to shop at 4 partners:
    1. Get the Carrot Rewards App (minimum of 30 More Rewards Points required). Use my usercode, stevenz8894, and get 125 points on signup!
    2. Petro-Canada (minimum of 30 More Rewards required, 1 point earned per $1). Link Petro-Canada to More Rewards card @ https://www.morerewards.ca/petro-points and spend $30 on gas.
    3. Panago Pizza (minimum of 1 More Rewards Point required, 1 point earned per $1).
    4. Vancouver Attractions (minimum of 1 More Rewards Point required, 1 point earned per $1). Just buy a cheap attraction (kids ticket for around $4).

    For all partners, excluding Petro-Canada and Carrot Rewards, you need to earn a minimum of 1 More Rewards points on a qualifying purchase for your transaction to qualify. At Petro-Canada and Carrot Rewards, you must earn a minimum of 30 More Rewards Points during the promotional period for either partner to qualify towards bonus points.

    Enjoy!

  • Earn Up to $60 Cash Back for Free From PayTM

    PayTM has created some nice promos that let you get $60 or more FREE (depending on who you need to pay).

    Download PayTM, where you can use credit cards for bills like property taxes, college tuition, and more! Use my code PTM7399557 to get $10 after paying $25 towards your first bill. Disclosure: I will also receive $10.  

    If you attend any of the following colleges/universities or have an alumni email, you can also earn a $20 reward which is deposited into your account within 48 hours of registering. This offer expires February 1, 2018.  You need to register with your university email account.

    • Carleton University
    • Dalhousie
    • McGill University
    • Queen’s University
    • Ryerson
    • Seneca College
    • Simon Fraser
    • Trent University
    • University of Alberta
    • University of Calgary
    • University of Guelph
    • University of Ottawa
    • University of Toronto
    • University of Waterloo
    • University of Windsor
    • Western

    You will receive an email to verify your account.  Confirm your email, and then download the PayTM app.  You can download the PayTM app on iOS and Android.

    Login to your PayTM account from the app, and confirm your cellphone number.  Now you’re ready to go.

    To set up your account, first enter a MasterCard as payment.  When using MasterCard, there are no fees to pay billers, and you’ll receive points/cash-back per your credit card.

    For the following billers, you’ll earn $10 after your first $50 bill payment.  If you have bills from more than one of the following billers, you can earn the promotional award more than once!

    Enter the corresponding promotion code on your first bill payment, which has to be $50 or more.  When you go to pay the bill, there’s a link to enter the promotion code.  This promotion ends January 31, 2018.

    BILLER PROMO CODE
    Enbridge ENBRIDGE
    Fido FIDO
    Hydro Toronto HYDRO
    Koodo KOODO
    Rogers ROGERS
    Telus TELUS
    Virgin VIRGIN

    For example, if you have a Telus cellphone bill, and have Hydro Toronto, you could earn $20!

    Finally, until January 31, 2018, you will earn 2% cash-back on all bill payments, to a maximum of $20.  If you pay at least $1000 in bills, you’ll get the full cash-back amount.  Remember that you can always overpay/pre-pay a bill.

  • BMO World Elite Mastercard – First Year Free, 35,000 Bonus BMO Reward Points (Worth $250) + 4 Prio. Pass

    I found a nice new offer for the BMO World Elite Mastercard (I have held this card previously – when I saw a 3 years free offer)!

    This card has an annual fee of $150 but it is waived for the first year. You also get 35,000 BMO Reward Points after meeting the minimum spend of $3000 in the first 3 months.

    These points are worth $250 towards any travel purchase on your card (so a great way to redeem your Membership Reward points or Aeroplan miles).

    It is a bit confusing the devaluation of BMO rewards recently:

    • 140 points = $1 of travel (used to be 100 points = $1)
    • You now earn 3 points per eligible dollar spent on travel, dining & entertainment purchases.
    • Any other spending will earn 2 points per dollar.

    The benefits are nice for this card as well:

    • You and your family are well covered should an emergency or unexpected event disrupt your trip, for car rental collision damage and out-of-country medical expenses up to $2 million. Unlimited-trips-per-year coverage for trips up to 21 days).
    • Save the cost of buying optional extended warranty insurance on your next purchase by paying with your BMO credit card. This coverage doubles the original manufacturer’s warranty period up to a maximum of one additional year.
    • Get added protection – items bought with your card are automatically insured against theft or damage for 90 days from date of purchase.

    It also comes with a nice bonus 4 Priority Passes to use at Airport lounges on your travels.

    One of the reasons I would keep this card is if I was a BMO customer I would check to see if they would waive the fee.

  • Important Information About Your Canadian Chase Marriott Rewards Credit Card

    By now you should have been notified that your MarriottRewards® Visa® Credit Card will be closing on March 15, 2018. I am upset as I love using this card for my non Canadian spending. I received this email today from Marriott/Chase.

    Here’s what you need to know:

    You will still be able to continue to use your Marriott Rewards Visa Credit Card and earn points on eligible purchases through March 14, 2018. After that date, you will no longer be able to make purchases or earn points on your Marriott Rewards Visa Credit Card.

    This does not impact your Marriott Rewards account. You will still be able to access and use any points and benefits that you have earned.

    The part of the email that I find interesting is this phrase:

    With change comes new adventures, and we’re here to reassure you that exciting news is on the horizon! 

    The rumour is that you should receive a pro-rated amount for the annual fee if you paid it this year and you will also receive your 2018 Annual Free Night Certificate and 15 Elite Night Credits.

    I am curious as to the exciting news!

  • Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card is Closing as of March 15, 2018

    My favourite no-annual fee credit card is closing as of March 15, 2018, Chase will be closing all Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card accounts.

    You will continue to receive your monthly statements until any outstanding balance is paid.

    The terms and conditions set out in the Cardmember Agreement for your account will still apply, and the annual interest rate on unpaid balances will not change once the account is closed.

    These changes will not impact accounts that have already been closed.

    As your account will be closed as of March 15, 2018, you will no longer earn cash back on your Amazon.ca Rewards Visa Card account after March 14, 2018. If you had unredeemed cash back points on your account prior to closure, we will apply a statement credit to your account for the cash back amount.

    It was a good card as it didn’t charge FX conversion fee (usually 2.5% on other Canadian cards).

  • PAYTM : An Important Announcement for Visa Cardholders – Pay Canadian Bills

    If you haven’t started using PayTM in Canada what are you waiting for? This free service lets you pay bills that normally don’t accept credit cards.

    For example, I can pay my property taxes (sobbing here), Shaw Cable, Fortis BC, BC Hydro (some of these don’t accept credit card so it lets me earn bonus American Express Membership Reward Points which I can then transfer to Marriott and use for travel!

    They first launched last summer and have been one of the best ways to earn additional miles.

    Download PayTM, where you can use credit cards for bills like property taxes, college tuition, and more! Use my code PTM7399557 to get $10 after paying $25 towards your first bill. Disclosure: I will also receive $10.  

    As of January 8, 2018, Visa transactions made on Paytm may be treated as a Cash Advance by the issuer of the Visa card. As well as, the transaction may also be subject to a cash advance fee and/or interest charges.

    You can still use Paytm Cash, your bank account and other credit cards as a payment method on Paytm at NO CHARGE.

    This is important if you were planning to use your Visa card to make bill payments (stick to American Express and Mastercard at this time).

    Enjoy!

  • Ontario Bans the Expiration of Reward Points – Starts January 1, 2018

    Ontario is protecting consumers from losing reward points based only on the amount of time passed since they were earned. Beginning on January 1, 2018, consumers will be protected against losing reward points that they have been saving up for larger purchases, and the change will be retroactive to October 1, 2016.

    Consumers who believe their points improperly expired will be able to request that businesses reimburse them, or may file a complaint with Consumer Protection Ontario.

    Banning the expiration of reward points is one of a number of changes the province has proposed to increase protection for consumers, including:

    • Adding new protections for new home warranties and condo owners
    • Strengthening rules and professional standards in the real estate sector
    • Increasing transparency in travel services pricing
    • Preventing event ticket fraud and excessive markups in ticket re-sales.

    Click here to read more from Ontario.ca in a new press release.

    I wonder if any other provinces or states will be following up with this? It is nice to hear that Ontario is being pro-active with the ticket bots and scalpers and points expiry but we shall see how this gets implemented next year.

  • Aeroplan Boxing Day promotions 2017

    Aeroplan has posted a number of promotions for Boxing Day currently live at Aeroplan.com.

    See full deals here: https://www.aeroplan.com/BoxingWeek2017.do?currentLanguage=en&cid=BAN30000819.

    Of interest, members can earn up to 7X the miles on select retailers at the Aeroplan eStore until January 2nd.   This includes retailers such as: Michael Kors, iTunes, Sephora, Nike and many more.

    In addition from Dec 18 – 28th, members can earn 4x the miles at Costco.ca.