Canadian Travel Hacking

Category: Point and Mile Bonuses

  • Hotel Elite Status for just $150 US?

    Have you ever stayed at a hotel in the Leading Hotels of the World group?

    It is a collection of more than 400 properties worldwide that offers a great set of perks that you can buy (I think for some it is a great deal)!

    Purchase Elite Hotel Access
    Purchase Elite Hotel Access

    For just $150 US you can get the following:

    • Receive complimentary continental breakfast for two each day.
    • Enjoy even more luxurious accommodations with a one-category room upgrade.*
    • Earn one complimentary night at any Leading Hotels for every four or five stays completed before your anniversary date.
    • With free Internet access, we enable you to be as far away or as linked in as you desire.
    • Special rate privileges available only to Leaders Club Members
    • Early check-in, late check-out considerations**
    • Unique welcome gift for you at each Leading Hotel
    • Invitations to Leaders Club Events held near your hometown
    • Invitations to Leaders Club Events held at properties during your stay
    • Enjoy the exclusive advantages of the Sixt Platinum Card which include up to 15% discount and an upgrade on all offline and Internet private customer rates of Sixt rent a car valid at time and place of rental.
    • Luggage Free – Send your luggage ahead to nearly any destination, worldwide, to avoid the inconvenience of carrying, checking and claiming bags — even going through customs. Leaders Club members can take advantage of this door-to-door service to over 130 countries worldwide.
    • Leaders Club members will receive a complimentary two (2) year Leaders Club Unlimited membership with the purchase of your first 25-hour Marquis Jet Card, NetJets Share or NetJets Lease.
    • Leaders Club members can upgrade their travel experience to nine major cities in Italy on Italo trains to Club Class when purchasing a Prima Class ticket. In Club Class, you will enjoy the comfort of fine leather seats and free Wi-Fi, as well as complimentary food and beverage during the journey.

    Not bad for $150 considering breakfast in these cities can be expensive!

    They have a better package at $1200 which includes a Priority Pass membership and even airport transfers but I am not sure it would be worth it.

    Here is a link to their program.

  • Canadian Shopping Promos: Shop.ca 15x Aeroplan, eStore, and AIR MILES

    Shopping Online + Extra Frequent Flyer Miles = My life story.

    Wait until I post my bathroom renovation to see all the frequent flyer miles I earned by renovating.

    Here is the summary of the current promos to stock up:

    1. The Aeroplan Estore has the promo for up to 5x the points (I see less and less about the Estore from Aeroplan).

    aeroplan-estore-sale
    Estore PROMO

     

    2. Shop.ca 15x the Aeroplan Miles for your first purchase (Until July 15).

    shop-promo
    Shop.ca July 15 promo

    3. Air Miles e-store promotion.

    Air Miles promo

    airmilesshops.ca Base Offer: Earn 1 AIR MILES® reward mile for every $20 CDN that you spend per transaction per online store excluding shipping, handling and taxes. Base offer may vary, click on online store logo on airmilesshops.ca for offer details. All online stores are subject to change and may be withdrawn without notice at anytime. Collector must sign in at airmilesshops.cabefore purchasing in order to earn reward miles. Reward miles will appear in your Collector Account within 60 days.

    LIMITED TIME OFFER. AIR MILES reward miles multiplier offer applies to the total base reward miles earned on qualifying purchase amount excluding shipping, duty and taxes. Online store offers are subject to change without notice. See specific online store for offer details and any restrictions. Bonus reward miles will appear in your Collector Account within 75 days.

    I actually bought 2 vanities and they turned out nice (I will share in a future post) and I earned over 20,000 Aeroplan miles!

    Any shopping promos I missed?

  • Scotiabank Gold American Express Card – Sign up bonus increased to $300 of free travel

    Earn 30,000 bonus points with your first card purchase – worth $300 in travel. This card awards Scotia Points where basically when you redeem 1000 points you get $10 towards any travel related expense. So 30,000 would be worth $300 in free travel. Keep in mind that the annual fee is $99.

    cds

    Scotia Bank American Express Gold

     

    Here is a rundown of the benefits:

    • Earn travel rewards up to 4x faster Earn 4x Scotia Rewards points for every $1 you spend at eligible gas stations, grocery stores, on dining and entertainment
    • Extraordinary travel benefits Receive discounts and other special amenities at hotels, on airfare, car rentals, cruises and vacation packages
    • 24/7 Full Service Travel Agency Book online or call Scotia Rewards Travel Service
    • Flexible Point Redemption Purchase travel on your card from any travel provider, then call or go online to redeem your points for the travel purchase.
    • Comprehensive travel insurance Includes travel emergency medical (up to 25 days)
    • Complimentary Concierge Services 24/7 assistance with your travel and lifestyle bookings
    • Access to Priority Pass Lounges Worldwide

    This is what they show based on my monthly spending (I would probably just get this card for the one-time bonus and apply it to a ferry trip or something I can’t use my Aeroplan or other points for!):

    ScotiaBank benefits analysis
    ScotiaBank benefits analysis

    For my overview it is a great secondary card with the category bonuses for grocery and gas and the free lounge access with Priority Pass. The $99 annual fee is reasonable with the great benefits and insurance that you get. I still like the bonuses for other cards more but it is a good card to have in your wallet!

    Here is a link to the application.

  • Hertz: Up to 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan miles and 35% off rates

    Aeroplan sent us a nice little promotion to earn 1,000 bonus miles per day (up to 5,000 miles) on qualifying rentals in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. That’s in addition to the base miles you normally earn with Hertz.

     

    Hertz Promo.
    Hertz Promo.


    Plus, save up to 35% when you rent a car with Hertz.

    Simply reserve and provide:

    • Aeroplan Discount CDP #221417
    • Promotion Code #198284
    • Your Aeroplan Number

    Offer valid through October 31, 2014.                   

  • Aeroplan members can continue to earn miles at Rexall pharmacies in Alberta

    Big news today from Aeroplan!

    Following a request for a judicial review of the Alberta College of Pharmacists’ resolution to prohibit patients from collecting reward points on prescription purchases at pharmacies, Aeroplan Members can continue to earn Aeroplan Miles on prescription purchases at Rexall in Alberta until the Court’s hearing in January 2015.

    i-earned-it

    Aeroplan continues to be confident that the Court will not support the Alberta College of Pharmacists’ resolution. Aeroplan is in support of the Coalition for Consumer Choice that has been formed to provide consumers with a strong and united voice proclaiming that consumers have the right to earn rewards with their prescription purchases at pharmacies.

    The Coalition knows that Albertans want to continue to earn loyalty points. If you would like to support the right to earn miles and help the Coalition send this message to your Alberta MLAs, visit www.iearnedit.ca to sign the petition.

    Members can also continue to earn Aeroplan Miles on non-prescription products at any participating Rexall™ and Rexall™ Pharma Plus stores in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, North West Territories, Manitoba and the region of Thunder Bay, Ontario. This does not include any outpatient or specialty clinics.

  • Review of Delta Hotels and Resorts Loyalty Program

    Delta Hotels and Resorts is a completely Canadian hotel brand, with 40 different locations across the country. The hotel chain also have a loyalty program called Delta Privilege.

    Delta Loyalty Program
    Delta Loyalty Program

    Here is a nice graphic that shows the benefits in each group.

    Delta Benefits
    Privilege_Rates

    Delta Privilege members staying on a non qualifying rate are not entitled to receive tier level benefits, including stay credit for the duration of that stay.  Nor will members receive Aeroplan miles when staying on these rates.

    Gold, Platinum and Platinum Plus+ members are not entitled to redeem for an upgrade, but can redeem their credits towards their stay (room charge or upgrade portion only) as well as for dining charges.

    The elite statuses have the following benefits:

    Gold Member

    • Earn this status after 5 stays or 10 room nights
    • Earn a $200 hotel credit to be used towards dining, guest rooms, meetings and events
    • Earn 2 room upgrades at time of check-in (based on availability)
    • Nightly turn-down service (upon request)
    • Enhanced partnership savings and rewards with Avis

    Platinum Member

    • Earn this status after 15 stays or 30 room nights
    • $300 hotel credit to be used towards dining, guest rooms, meetings and events
    • Unlimited upgrades at time of check-in (based on availability)
    • Nightly turn-down service (upon request)
    • Complimentary full American or continental breakfast
    • 48-hour guaranteed availability
    • Personalized choice of welcome snack (Fresh, Savoury and Inspired) or 250 Aeroplan miles
    • 500 frequent flyer miles (on qualifying rates).
    • Enhanced partnership savings and rewards with Avis

    Platinum Plus+ Member

    • Earn this status after 25 stays or 50 room nights at three or more Delta properties
    • $500 hotel credit to be used towards dining, guest rooms, meetings and events
    • Upgrades will be upgraded to the best available room type at time of check-in, including Signature Club and suites, based on availability
    • Nightly turn-down service (upon request)
    • Enhanced partnership savings and rewards with Avis, exclusively for Platinum Plus+ members
    • Complimentary full American or continental breakfast
    • Personalized choice of welcome snack (Fresh, Savoury and Inspired) or 250 Aeroplan miles
    • 2 one-time guest passes to any Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge

    Here is where you can register for free.

    Have any readers status matched to Delta Hotels?

  • Canadian Vanilla Re-loads equivalent

    We don’t have any Vanilla re-loads in Canada but we have some great tools to meet minimum spending for the great credit card bonuses.

    Currently the AMEX Gold Rewards card and the American Express Aeroplus Gold have bonuses of 25,000 Membership reward points and 30,000 Aeroplan Miles with minimum spending of $500 over the first 3 months of the card.

    Reloadable PIVOT Visa Prepaid Card
    Reloadable PIVOT Visa Prepaid Card

    For some people they would pre-pay some expenses like utilities or cable/Internet but another idea is the Vanilla Reload/Petro-Can Pivot VISA. If you don’t have high expenses each month it could be difficult to meet the requirements.

    To meet the minimum spending quickly for the bonuses for these cards, this is an idea you could use:

    Here are the fees associated with this account:

    PIVOT™ Visa® Prepaid Card Cost       $10
ATM Domestic Cash Withdrawal Fee    $3 x2 (Max. weekly ATM Withdrawal   $250)
-----------------------------------------
Total                               $16

    This is almost 3% of the balance in fees! I would rather pre-pay expenses but I wanted to share an alternative for Canadians.

    Another nice benefit of the card is the 5 cents off per liter you get at Petro Canada for every $1 you load on the card but at today’s gas prices it is not worth a lot (better to get a Target Red Card and get 5% cash on gift card purchases and buy a Petro Canada or Esso card).

    I don’t think it is worth it but here is our Canadian re-load equivalent!

  • Aeroplan Connections – Earn up to 15,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles

    I received this email promotion from Aeroplan (so YMMV), they have a refer a friend promotion on right now where as a new member you can earn up to 15,000 bonus Aeroplan Miles.

    Aeroplan Bonus.
    Aeroplan Bonus.

    You’ll earn 1,000 bonus miles for joining Aeroplan, which only takes a few minutes. If you don’t have an account and join I appreciate it!

    Joining Aeroplan will allow you to earn miles with a network of over 75 world-class partners, representing more than 150 brands in the financial, retail and travel sectors. And you will be able to redeem those miles for travel to more than 1,300 destinations worldwide.
    Then, you can earn an additional 1,000 bonus miles for each flight segment you fly with Air Canada (up to a maximum of 14,000 bonus miles).

    Here is my invitation link to join.

    1. Gain 1000 miles for suggesting contacts (1,000 bonus miles for inviting one or more of your contacts.)

    2. Gain up to 7000 miles for those who join (1,000 bonus miles per contact who joins Aeroplan).

    3. Gain up to 7000 miles for those who book (1,000 bonus miles for every roundtrip or two one-way segments flown on Air Canada by your Connections contacts.)

    Enjoy!

  • Introduction to Asia Miles for Canadians

    You can earn Asia Miles by flying on any of the Oneworld alliance flights. But for the most part, Asia Miles is associated with the Cathay Pacific airline.

    Asia Miles Guide
    Asia Miles Guide

    Earning Asia Miles:

    The reason why Asia Miles can be valuable for Canadians is because you can use these points to fly on any Oneworld alliance member flights, even Alaska Airlines.

    As a Canadian, you can earn Asia Miles through:

    1. If you have American Express Membership Rewards point, you can transfer a minimum of 1,000 Membership Rewards Points for 750 Asia Miles, and increments of 100 thereafter.
    2. Whenever you fly on a paid ticket with a partner airline, quote your Asia Miles membership number on your reservation. Points are earned as follows:
      • First Class = 150% x actual miles flown
      • Business Class = 125% x actual miles flown
      • Premium Economy Class = 110% x actual miles flown
      • Economy Class = 100%, 50% or 25% x actual miles flown (depending on which type of ticket you bought)

      For example, if you flew on a round-trip between Hong Kong and Toronto on Cathay Pacific, you would earn the following number of points:

      • First Class = 23,388
      • Business Class = 19,490
      • Premium Economy Class = 17,152
      • Economy Class 100% = 15,592
      • Economy Class 25% = 3,898
    3. If you collect Petro Points, you can transfer your points to Asia Miles. Conversions must be in blocks of 10,000 PETRO-POINTS at a ratio of 10:1. 10 Petro Points to 1 Asia Mile.
    4. Earn a 10,000 sign up bonus with the RBC Cathay Pacific Visa Platinum. You will also earn 1 point for every $2 spent on Catha Pacific plane tickets purchases on their website and 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases, (though this card comes with a $150 annual fee).
    5. Convert your RBC Rewards® points (earned through RBC Visa Infinite Avion, RBC Royal Bank® Visa Platinum Avion, RBC Royal Bank Visa Business Avion) to Asia Miles at a ratio of 1 RBC Rewards point to 1 Asia Miles.
    6. You can transfer Starwood Preferred Guest points at a 1:1 ratio.

    Problems with Asia Miles:

    Asia Miles expire 36 months after the day it was deposited into your account. So you will need to use your points within 36 months of when you earned them. That could be a major pain if you cannot accumulate points quickly enough.

    I recommend on using Asia Miles for certain trips but in many cases it would be better to use AAdvantage miles. A trip from YVR to LAX on Alaska would be 20,000 Asia Miles.

    I found that Asia Miles charged 15,000 miles to go from Victoria to Seattle, unlike 9,000 with Avios. So not the best value, it gives you other options if you are an RBC Rewards customer and it is always good to have options when redeeming frequent flyer miles.

    Asia Miles are earned in the OneWorld alliance so you can have some good values.

  • Luftansa Miles & More, 50% off Award Ticket Sale – Montreal to Europe for only 30,000 Miles in Economy Class

    If you are looking to go to Europe for a fall trip, Luftansa’s Frequent Flyer program, has a sale on trips to Europe from Montreal, using Air France.

    Miles and More promotion.
    Miles and More promotion.

    Simply book your tickets by June 30 for travel between October 1-31.

    Remember that you can always transfer miles from Starwood (1:1 ratio) but the points may not transfer in time for the sale.

     

    Here is more information on the sale.