Canadian Travel Hacking

Category: Point and Mile Bonuses

  • 35% conversion bonus to aeroplan miles from Hotel Miles (July 17-Aug 21)

    Aeroplan told me about a new bonus available.

    Starting today until August 21st, members can convert their hotel points and earn 35% more miles!

    The hotels include:

    • Starwood Preferred Guest
    • Marriott Rewards
    • Hilton Honors
    • Club Carlson
    • Best Western Rewards
    • Wyndham Rewards
    • Coast Hotels
    • Choice Hotels
    • Le Club Accor
    • Shangri-La

    Here is a great idea to try:

    • Transfer 180 000 Amex Membership reward points into 90 000 Starwood Points
    • Transfer 90 000 Starwood Points to 270 000 Marriott points
    • Use the travel package to get 120 000 miles + 42,000 miles aeroplan (promotion) + 7 nights certificate for a Category 1-5 hotel.

    Here is a link to the promo.

  • MBNA Best Western Rewards Mastercard – 60,000 points after $2k spend in first 3 months

    Take advantage of this special limited-time offer for new cardholders and earn up to 60,000 Best Western Rewards® points.

    There is also an offer for readers that can’t make the minimum spending to spend $2,000 first 90 days, you can get 40,000 free points after your first purchase (not too bad). 

    Apply for the Best Western Rewards Mastercard® credit card and if approved:

    • Get 20,000 bonus points†† after your first eligible purchase–that’s already enough points for at least ONE FREE NIGHT**

    • Spend $1,000 or more within the first 90 days of account opening and get an additional 20,000 bonus points†† OR

    • Spend $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of account opening and get a total of 60,000 bonus points††

    With 60,000 points, you could get up to 7 free nights (a whole week!) at some Best Western hotels or up to $225 in gift cards.**

    But hurry–this offer expires on August 31, 2017.

    **All redemptions of Best Western Rewards points are completed through the Best Western Rewards program. Free nights range from 8,000 to 36,000 points, depending on the property type and location. Best Western Rewards members must have the necessary number of points to redeem for a free night based on the hotel’s individual point tier level. Should you not have the required amount of points for the stay upon arrival, you will be required to pay the prevailing rate. 20,000 BWR points is enough for 1 free night at a level 4 Best Western branded hotel. 60,000 BWR points is enough for 7 free nights at a level 1 Best Western branded hotel, or up to $225 in gift cards. The Toronto-Dominion Bank has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of this promotion.

    ††To qualify for this offer, an applicant must be approved for the specific credit card account described in the offer and the account must be used within the first 90 days of account opening for at least one or more transactions that are not subsequently rescinded, the subject of a charge back request or otherwise disputed. 20,000 BWR bonus points will be awarded if eligible transactions total less than CDN$1,000; 40,000 BWR bonus points will be awarded if eligible transactions total between CDN$1,000-$1,999.99; and 60,000 BWR bonus points will be awarded if eligible transactions total CDN$2,000 or more. In each case, all eligible transactions must occur within 90 days of account opening. Please allow 150 days from the account opening date for the BWR bonus points to be posted to your points account. Limit one-time bonus point offer (no cash value) per new account. This promotion is offered by MBNA and Best Western and may be amended or cancelled at any time without notice.

  • 1,000 Free Aeroplan Miles or British Airways Avios when you join Marriott Rewards

    Marriott Rewards, has launched an attractive sign-up bonus, earning 1,000 Marriott points, for free, for signing up to Marriott Rewards.  No stay is required.

    The offer runs until September, 2, 2017.  The page to join is here.

  • Scotiabank Gold American Express Card – First Year Free with 30,000 points sign up bonus (Worth $300 in travel)

    The already great first year free offer for the Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has been upgraded to an even better offer of 30,000 points, worth $300 in free travel.

    Perks include:

    • Earn 4x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 you spend at gas stations, grocery stores, on dining and entertainment
      •Earn one point on all other eligible purchases
      • Extraordinary travel benefits
      • Flexible Point Redemption
      • Comprehensive travel insurance
    • Use your points to purchase travel online or over the phone through our full-service travel agency. Or book your own travel using your card and go online to redeem points for the purchase.
    • Receive discounts and other special offers on hotels, airfare, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages.
    • Complimentary Concierge Services
    • Low price airfare alerts
    • Receive up to 25% off qualifying car rentals
    • Travel emergency medical coverage is automatically provided for eligible persons for up to 25 consecutive days
    • Redeem points for merchandise and other rewards.

    Here is a link to get more information on this offer!

  • Airbnb 40$ off on first booking using Paypal

    AirBnb is giving you $40 off your first Airbnb stay so book your next adventure right away. Just pay with PayPal and use code PYPLSTAY40 at checkout.
    Offer ends June 30th.
    With homes in over 190 countries and 34,000 cities, there are endless places to explore. Plus, with fast and safer payment with PayPal, you know you’re in
    great hands.

  • Scotiabank Gold American Express Card – First Year Free with a $250 sign-up bonus!

    I love these first year free and high sign-up bonus offers that we have found this month!

    The Scotiabank Gold American Express Card has a new offer with no annual fee for the first year and a bonus of 25,000 points (worth $250 towards travel).

    This card offers a high earn rate of 4% on gas, grocery, dining and entertainment spend and 1% everywhere else.

    It also lets you redeem your cash equivalent points for ANY travel expense!

    The best use of Scotia Rewards is as a statement credit against a travel purchase.

    Either purchase your own travel and redeem for a statement credit against that travel or use Scotiabank’s full travel agency to make the booking for you. Redeeming for any non-travel purchase will be poor value.

    Since many things qualify for travel, you will likely have some eligible purchases on your card that you didn’t realize qualify, (think ferry, car rental, hotel, etc).

    The minimum redemption, however, is 5,000 points (i.e. $50).

    This offer is valid until July 31, 2017!

    It also includes these incredible extras for Insurance:

    • Travel Emergency Medical Insurance –  As the primary cardmember, you, your spouse and accompanying dependent children are each automatically covered for up to $1 million in emergency medical coverage for up to 25 consecutive days out of province.
    • Trip Interruption & Cancellation Insurance
    • Flight Delay
    • Delayed & Lost Luggage Insurance
    • Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance
    • Rental Car Collision / Loss Damage Insurance
    • Hotel / Motel Burglary Insurance
    • Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Insurance – personal items purchased on your credit card are insured against theft, loss or damage for their first 90 days after purchase!
    • Price Protection Service – Use your card to buy a new item that is offered for sale at a lower price within 60 days of purchase, the Price Protection Service, will pay you the difference up to $100.

    I would be most interested in this Price Protection Service as it helps you get the lowest price and purchase security is a nice feature I currently don’t have in my other cards.

    The travel medical insurance does stand out as it covers you for up to 25 days per trip which is somewhat higher than the majority of cards that offer the benefit.

    For more details or to apply for the card please click here.

  • New TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite offer: Up to 25,000 Aeroplan Miles & 50% off first year annual fee

    The TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite has a new offer (no longer first year free but a 50% fee rebate so $60 out of pocket).

    • Receive a Welcome Bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan Miles with your first Purchase
    • 10,000 Aeroplan Miles when you keep your Account open, active and in good standing for 90 days after Account approval
    • 5,000 Aeroplan Miles when you add an Authorized User to your Account by June 14, 2017 (Authorized User must call and activate their Card by July 31, 2017)
    • 50% Annual Fee Rebate for the first year (Primary Cardholder only) – that’s $60 in savings!
    • Offer Valid until May 4, 2017
    • Earn 1.5 miles for every $1 spent on eligible gas, grocery, drugstore and aircanada.com Purchases made with your Card.
    • Earn 1 mile for every $1 you spend on all other Purchases on your Card.

    One way to get this card for no annual fee is to have a TD account, all inclusive.

    For those interested in the all-inclusive account, the account has a $30 monthly fee, but it’s waived if your balance is greater than $5k.

  • CIBC Aventura Visa Card for Business – First Year Free, 25K Aventura Points

    First year annual fee rebate on your primary and up to 3 secondary cards for the CIBC Aventura® Visa* Card for Business.

    Plus, earn a Welcome Bonus of up to 25,000 Aventura®Points.

    • Save $120 on your primary card and $50 on each additional card (up to 3 cards)
    • Your welcome bonus is enough for a short flight worth up to $400
    • Earn 1.5 Aventura Points for every $1 spent on gas and travel purchases
    • No blackout periods or restrictions, and points that don’t expire
    • Find out the status of your application in as little as 60 seconds

    Includes some nice free insurances:

    • Flight Delay and Baggage Insurance for lost, stolen, damaged or delayed checked baggage
    • Purchase Security & Extended Warranty Insurance
    • Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance
    • $500,000 Common Carrier Accident Insurance

    This first year free promo ends March 31, 2017.

  • Aeroplan brings more moments to savour with new food & drink sponsorships

    Aeroplan is pleased to announce that it has partnered with some of Canada’s favourite culinary celebrations including Tourism Vancouver’s Dine Out™ Vancouver Festival, the City of Toronto’s Winterlicious and Summerlicious programs and Tourisme Montréal’s MTLàTABLE, in a move that will bring exciting dining opportunities for Aeroplan Members.

    “Great food is an integral part of the travel experience. At Aeroplan, our goal is to bring our members’ journeys to life. We’re here to connect people with their friends and family, to help our members share in meaningful moments,” said John Boynton, Chief Marketing Officer, Aeroplan. “Through these partnerships, we will help bring more people together with food and drink and inspire them on a journey with their taste buds.”

    Through some of these sponsorships and other food and drink initiatives throughout the year, Aeroplan Members will have exclusive opportunities including:

    • Extraordinary experiences such as chef collaborations from around the world and unique dining experiences;
    • Priority access to culinary events and reservations.

    Stay tuned for opportunities for members to earn and redeem miles for adventures as they taste the world at home with friends and family.

    Don’t forget, members can use their Aeroplan-affiliated credit card at each of these events to earn miles towards their next travel plans.

    Partnership information

    Aeroplan is the Premier Partner of Dine Out™ Vancouver, Canada’s largest annual food and drink festival (January 20 – February 5, 2017) and Presenting Partner of the Vancouver World Chef Exchange, Dine Out Vancouver’s most anticipated culinary event, featuring a series of collaborative dinners starring award-winning chefs from global culinary hubs, including London, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City and Galway.

    Aeroplan is the Official Premier Sponsor of Toronto’s Winterlicious (January) and Summerlicious (July) presented by YP Dine.  Now in their 15th year, Winterlicious and Summerlicious continue to be among the most prestigious and popular culinary events in Toronto. More than 200 of Toronto’s top restaurants participate per program, offering exclusive prix fixe menus. Winterlicious includes one-of-a-kind culinary events, featuring some of Toronto’s best cuisine and notable chefs.

    As Presenting Partner of Montréal’s restaurant week MTLàTABLE (November), Aeroplan will continue the cross-country culinary adventures through member access opportunities and unique Aeroplan-member experiences. MTLàTABLE provides an opportunity to explore the flavours of Montréal’s dynamic food scene, to discover new places to eat and to take advantage of table d’hôte menus in more than 150 restaurants and to participate in special events.

    Aeroplan will invite members to the table in 2017 – stay tuned for more details.

  • Earn 250 Aeroplan Miles – easy (Complete Travel Goals)

    Did you use your Aeroplan Miles towards a trip this year? Tell Aeroplan all about it and you’ll earn 250 Aeroplan Miles, just for sharing your travel story with them.