I love travel hacking – part of smart travel is getting elite status. If you are looking for elite status, this is a perfectly easy way to achieve status.
American Express has a targeted promotion for its European cardholders that includes free Club Carlson Gold Elite status through February 28, 2015, but it appears that anyone can register as long as they have a European address. Be sure to use your real name but use your real alternate Europe address.
Benefits include discounts on food and beverage, free internet, room upgrades, a 35% earning bonus, early check-in, late check-out, welcome amenity, and guaranteed availability 72 hours in advance.
Remember that you can status match this with other chains.
If you’re in the market for a new car, take a look at the 2014 Volvo S60, XC60, or XC90. Because until May 31, 2014, you’ll not only get the exceptional safety and stylishness that Volvo is known for you’ll also drive off with 25,000 Aeroplan® Miles. Plus, if you upgrade one of these models to the R-Design package, you’ll earn an additional 15,000 bonus miles, for a total of 40,000 miles.
This is the highest premium card in Canada (and a charge card). It charges $699 for an annual fee.
This sounds pricey but let me explain why this was a good deal.
Incredible travel benefits:
1. $200 Annual Travel Credit = $400 credit over 2 years.
The American Express Platinum Card comes with an annual $200 Travel Credit that can be used towards any single travel booking of $200 or more charged to the card through the Platinum Card Travel Service.
$200 Airline Credit American Express Travel.
So basically, you get $200 each year to use of credit so if you apply now, you will get $200 in 2014 and another $200 in 2015.
This is $400 in total credit that can be used!
2. Exclusive Toronto Pearson International Perks
The Platinum Card offers several benefits for travellers flying from or through Toronto Pearson:
Complimentary Valet Service at Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. The $25 Valet service fee is waived when you present your Platinum Card upon car pick up.
15% Discount on parking when you use the Platinum Card to pay for the parking at the Express Park in Terminal 1 and Daily Park in Terminals 1 and 3.
Access to the the Pearson Priority Lane when clearing security at Terminals 1 and 3.
Great little bonus for travellers connecting or living in the GTA.
3. Elite Statuses and Complimentary Memberships
American Express Platinum Card holders will be awarded the following Elite Statuses and memberships:
Starwood Hotels: Starwood Gold Preferred Guest
Carlson Hotels: Club Carlson Gold Elite Status
Accor Hotels: Le Club accorhotels Platinum
Fairmont Hotels: Accelerated earning of Fairmont Presidents Club Platinum (requires 5 stays to achieve)
Hertz: Hertz #1 Club Gold
Avis: Avis Preferred
Here is a nice summary table for the hotel elite statuses:
Remember once you get your status, you have the status for at least a year (unless you cancel before the 2nd year). I recommend trying to status match based on these high statuses in other programs like Hilton and Marriott.
4. Complimentary Lounge Access
Through the Canadian Platinum Lounge Benefit enjoy complimentary lounge access across most major Canadian cities regardless of airline or fare booked. When traveling with participating airlines in The Airport Club Program, enjoy complimentary airline club access across the US and Internationally. What’s more, as a Platinum member, you have complimentary access to the American Express Lounge – a private lounge reserved for our most valued Cardmembers. The American Express Lounge is located at Gate B, Domestic departures at Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
Premium Complimentary Lounge Access
Also, as a Platinum member you can receive Complimentary Membership in Priority Pass– one of the world’s largest independent airport lounge programs. For complimentary entry, simply present your Priority Pass membership card and a ticket valid for travel on that day on any airline, regardless of class of service.
If you’re travelling with a guest, he or she may accompany you free of charge. For each additional guest, a nominal fee of $27 USD per person per visit will be charged to your Platinum Card.
This is a nice perk and works great for travel hackers like myself that don’t have paid tickets and use miles!
5. Access to book Fine Hotels & Resorts
With a newly enhanced selection of over 700 locations around the world, Platinum members have even more Fine Hotels & Resorts to choose from than ever before. When a Platinum member is ready to book, they can simply let Platinum Card Travel Service know and enjoy enhanced value services such as a complimentary breakfast for two, a 12 noon check-in, a late check-out, and a room upgrade or a complimentary benefit such as a lunch for two or a spa credit (subject to availability). I can’t wait to use this service.
6. Car Rental Upgrades
When a Platinum member rents a car with Hertz, they are entitled to a Complimentary Car Upgrade (subject to availability), fast-track service, and up to 15% discount on the best available rental rates.
When a Platinum member rents with Avis, they enjoy faster rental and reservations and up to 25% discounts on rentals in North America and 20% discounts Internationally.
Remember that 60,000 Aeroplan miles is a return ticket to Europe (and includes a stopover), or 2 round trip-tickets anywhere in North America.
If you chose not to transfer, 60,000 American Express Membership Points is equal to $600 of travel booked on your card. How the points work is that once you earn points you simply use your outstanding points towards any travel purchases you may have. You simply do this online or call them.
Use a travel agency, tour operator or even an online travel website to book your travel. Charge last-minute flights, seat sales, car rentals, cruises, and more to your Card. Then call American Express to redeem your points to cover the charge – including fees and taxes too.
This is a great idea if you do not want to use Aeroplan, Avios or other great programs but just want to use them right away. This works for families that travel via ferry or take cruises or other types of holidays to help reduce the cost.
8. Rewards and Insurance Benefits
This card comes with Concierge service, American Express Front of the Line service and the same insurance benefits as before such as Trip Cancellation, Out of Province Medical, Flight Delay/Interruption and more.
9. International Airline Program
Anytime you purchase a qualifying Business or First Class ticket for international air travel with your eligible American Express Card on over 25 participating airlines*, you can enjoy savings on a ticket for a companion.
*Airline-imposed fuel and security surcharges and fees and government taxes and fees on international air transportation are the responsibility of the Card Member. See terms and conditions for details.
10. High Earning Ratio
On the earning side it offers 1.25 Membership Rewards points for every $1 spent on the card. This is similar to the American Express Starwood Card (after the transfer bonus).
As you can see from my previous posts, I am a big fan of big sign-up bonuses and annual fees.
The deal is that until June 9, 2014 only you can earn up to 24,000 points which is enough for up to 3 FREE hotel Nights at over 1,500 Choice Privileges locations across North America. By the way this card has no annual fee. Plus earn 2 points for every $1 spent on the card.
You also get automatically upgraded to Elite Gold status, which gives you:
The ability to book free nights 50 days in advance instead of 30 days.
We all need an eye exam – might as well earn miles while getting the exam!
Meet Aeroplan’s newest partner.
FYidoctors has everything you need for a complete eye care experience, including: • Comprehensive eye exams • Advanced diagnostics • Exclusive custom lens manufacturing • A wide selection of premium and exclusive frames • And much more Plus, new patients will also earn 500 bonus miles. That’s in addition to the 1 mile per $1 spent on purchases year‑round.
To celebrate the arrival of Aeroplan’s newest partner, until April 30th, earn 3X the miles when you complete an eye exam and make any eye wear purchases, such as frames, lenses, contact lenses, coatings and sunglasses.
You could win 1 of 6 prizes of 150,000 Aeroplan Miles!
Test your knowledge by answering each question and you could win 1 of 6 prizes of 150,000 Aeroplan Miles. You’ll earn points for every right answer and, the more you earn, the more chances you’ll get to win!
If travelling to Europe is part of your summer plans, then be sure to register to earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan® Miles for just one round-trip or two one-way segments on Air Canada or Air Canada rouge!
Here’s how to earn them:
Eligible routes, including four new summer destinations:
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to accumulate Bonus Aeroplan Miles for your upcoming European travel! Simply register and book between February 18 and April 1, 2014 for travel between April 22 and December 14, 2014.
To qualify for this offer, you must register online and book between February 18 and April 1, 2014. A one-time registration is required and can be completed online at www.aeroplan.com.
Bonus Aeroplan Miles for eligible flights flown will be awarded for new bookings only made between February 18 and April 1, 2014, for travel between April 22 and December 14, 2014. In order to qualify as a new booking, the booking must have been created for the first time with a new booking reference number during the eligible booking period of the promotion. Any booking made prior to the start of the promotion that is subsequently changed to include travel dates within the qualifying travel period will not be considered a new booking that is eligible for the promotion. Valid on eligible scheduled non-stop direct flights operated by Air Canada rouge between Canada and any one of the following destinations: Nice/Lisbon/Barcelona/ Manchester/Milan/Edinburgh; eligible scheduled non-stop direct flights operated by Air Canada between Canada and London/Paris/Frankfurt/Munich/Geneva/Zurich for travel between April 22 and December 14, 2014. A maximum of 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be issued per round-trip or 2 one-way segments. To qualify for 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles, a minimum of 2 one-way flight segments must be travelled in the following eligible fare options (booking classes): Tango (W, S, T, L, K); Flex (M, U, H, Q, V); Latitude (Y, B). To qualify for 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles, a minimum of 2 one-way flight segments must be travelled in the following eligible fare options (booking classes): Premium rouge/Premium Economy (O, E, N); International Business Class Lowest (C, D, Z, P); International Business Class Flexible (J). Valid on published fares and Flight Passes which are eligible for Aeroplan Mile accumulation. Offer is not valid when traveling on an Air Canada Unlimited Flight Pass. Bonus Aeroplan Miles are not Altitude Qualifying Miles and do not count towards Air Canada Altitude. Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be credited up to three weeks after the qualifying flights are completed. Upgraded flight segments (eUpgrades, Last minute paid upgrades, Star Alliance Upgrade Awards, etc.) will be tracked for this promotion based on the eligibility of the original Economy Class fare purchased and will not be eligible to earn the 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles offer for travel in Premium rouge, Premium Economy, and International Business Class. Aeroplan Flight Rewards are not eligible for mileage accumulation. Bonus Aeroplan Miles cannot be sold and are non-transferable. They have no cash value and cannot be converted to cash or refunded if unused. Offer is subject to change at Air Canada’s sole discretion without notice; other conditions and restrictions may apply. Click here for full terms and conditions.
I am a big fan of no-fee chequing accounts and I have used PC Financial for years but this is an intriguing offer.
Here is how the offer works.
Earn 20,000 Aeroplan Miles when you open an All-Inclusive or Unlimited Personal Chequing Account at TD by March 31, 2014 and complete two of these three transactions through that account: Direct deposit, Pre-Authorized debit, Online Bill Payment, by May 19, 2014.
Earn a further 5,000 miles when you set up overdraft protection on that account by May 19, 2014.
I recommend keeping this open for at least 6 months (early termination fee of $15).
Air Canada Vacations wants to help you escape with this fantastic limited time offer! Book an Air Canada Vacations package and you can earn 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan® Miles per traveller when you spend at least $1,250 (per person, before taxes). That’s on top of the miles you will be earning with Air Canada or Air Canada rouge on your flight! Hurry, book with Air Canada Vacations by February 17, 2014, for travel by December 31, 2014.
Limited to first time customers and subject to investigation post-purchase. Limit one per customer. Limit one per stay. Promotional offer can not be applied to existing bookings or retroactively applied to bookings not made using the link above. Promotional offer CANNOT be combined with ANY other bonuses or offers. Rocketmiles reserves the right to retract a bonus AT ANY TIME if it detects fraud, stacking of bonuses, technical errors, cancel/rebooking activity (defined by identical search criteria), or ANY other deceptive behavior attempted to circumvent the limits expressed above.
