Canadian Travel Hacking

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  • 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!

  • Marriott Ottawa Trip Report

    Our stay on Canada Day at the Marriott Ottawa was one of our families favourite hotel stays all year.

    I have never felt so welcome during a hotel stay, the hotel really catered to it’s guests for the special long weekend.

    The hotel had many activities all weekend (dance party, bouncy castles, and even cotton candy and face painting for the kids).

    The room was perfect for us, a nice king bed with pull-out sofa with a nice desk area to work on.

    Luckily we had a high room so we had nice views and the hotel is conveniently located near Parliament hill, Sparks street at a walkable distance. We loved our stay here. We even found a nice playground (attached to a Tim Hortons and Beer Store) within a 20 minute walk with our kids that they loved.

    As a Marriott Elite member the hotel provided many special activities for the weekend and the views from the revolving restaurant were amazing (my kids didn’t realize how lucky they were seeing the fireworks from the comfort of our room). They even created a candy bar for everyone!

    One thing that stood out in this hotel was that they even had a convenient Kids Activity room (with games and toys). Even an arcade to play foosball, table top hockey and ride on trains/horses.

    The room contained many any appropriate toys like blocks and a little play kitchen (great for rainy weather on Canada Day).

    We would definitely recommend staying here for the convenience but also because this is a Category 5 Marriott meaning the redemption value for our 5-night stay was outstanding at only 80,000 Marriott points.

  • 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.

  • San Diego Natural History Museum Review (The Nat)

    I had the pleasure to take my family to the San Diego Natural History Museum located in Balboa Park in November 2017.

    One of the reasons we love visiting San Diego is that they have many family-friendly things to do.

    We were able to take advantage of the CASC reciprocal admission agreement with the San Diego Natural History Museum to get in at no charge. I thought that the museum still offered a lot of value (included a 3D theatre with three films included in the cost of admission).

    We were anticipating a stay of only 1 to 1 1/2 hours but we all had a great time.

    It was interactive for pre-schoolers and toddlers and we enjoyed our 2 1/2 hour visit at the museum. Many exhibits were hands-on which made it perfect for toddlers.

    My daughter enjoying some of the interactive displays (showing where the water comes from in California).

    My daughters touching the amethyst.

    Showing my girls the plates of the earth and how the continents separated over time.

    My girls admiring the big teeth of the sharks.

    I particularly enjoyed the Foucault Pendulum that showed the rotation of the earth (their pendulum is huge – 2 stories tall).

  • Residence Inn Maui Wailea Trip Report

    We had the pleasure of redeeming several Marriott reward points for a wonderful 7-night stay at the Residence Inn Maui Wailea.

    We were upgraded to an ocean-view (we loved this view nightly).

    This is one of the more expensive Residence Inns (in terms of points redeemed – Category 8) I have stayed at but was great with my family of 5. For larger families a studio (2 queens and a sofa bed) fit 6 people so it is a nice option to have in this expensive island.

    It is not on the beach but within a 15-20 minute walk and there is a free shuttle available. (we usually walked to enjoy the morning). The hotel is less than 2 years old and it really shines compares to our previous stays in Kannapalli.

    Positives:

    Lots of fun activities for kids after breakfast (Giant Lego Blocks and Jenga game). We enjoyed our relaxing time after breakfast letting the kids play.

    Sport-court and putting green to play basketball at the end of the day.

    Nice pool with lower level for younger kids (3 feet).

    A host of lovely beaches, including Wailea, Ulua and Makena also are nearby. Nice balconies so you can enjoy breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. All of the rooms feature fully equipped kitchens and complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi for your convenience.

    It was nice to have the standard free breakfast (typical American buffet style) with oatmeal, eggs, breads/muffins, yogurt, and cereals.

    The hotel does not charge a resort fee (unlike many hotels in Maui) and has a free shuttle within 3 miles of the hotel. We opted to not even rent a car (as a family of 5 we would need a van – very cost prohibitive).

    We just shopped for groceries at the Shops at Wailea (as using Instacart was just as expensive). We also ate at the Monkeypod (just around the corner) which was an awesome happy hour surprise for us.

    I would recommend this hotel for a redemption in expensive Maui for larger families with the nice breakfast provided and cooking facilities (6 BBQs on-site).

  • WestJet, Air France and KLM launch reciprocal frequent flyer redemption

    WestJet, Air France and KLM today announced the redemption phase of their reciprocal frequent flyer agreement. Flying Blue Miles can now be redeemed for WestJet flights and WestJet dollars can now be redeemed for flights within the Air France and KLM global network.

    The announcement comes on the heels of the airlines’ successful launch of the earn phase of the reciprocal frequent flyer agreement and further complements their long-standing code share cooperation.

    WestJet Plus

    “We are very proud to be partnered with airlines of the caliber of Air France-KLM,” said Ed Sims, WestJet Executive Vice-President Commercial. “This is a fantastic step for our WestJet Rewards members and reflects our commitment to expand WestJet’s network reach and offer Canadians the world. We also look forward to continuing to welcome Flying Blue members on board to experience the growing WestJet network and caring guest experience.”

    “We are thrilled to have come full circle reciprocity-wise with the Flying Blue and WestJet Rewards programs, which now jointly offer our members the possibility to earn and redeem tickets on our combined networks worldwide,” said Jean-Noël Rault, Vice-President and General Manager of Air France-KLM Canada. “It’s a new milestone in our relationship with our Canadian partner, providing direct benefits for our customers and guests.”

    Members of WestJet Rewards can now redeem WestJet dollars on Air France-KLM destinations in Europe, Africa, Asiaand the Middle East. Members of Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program can now redeem their Flying Blue Miles to WestJet destinations throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America.

    More information on WestJet Rewards Member Exclusive fares can be found at westjet.com.  Flying Blue members are invited to visit flyingblue.com for information on how to redeem Miles on WestJet flights.