The Canada and US border crossing ban (for non-essential travel) began March 21, 2020 was set to expire on June 21, 2020. It has now been extended to July 21, 2020.
This has been a topic that has gone on for a while, but I have yet to chime in on this. I thought this was as good a time as any, since it has been dragging out.
Marriott Bonvoy is offering several initiatives to get its business going. If you are a fan of Marriott of have an upcoming stay with them, you may want to check out what additional options you have. Below are some exciting offers to watch for!
Off-Peak Rates
Marriott Bonvoy is offering a promotion for off-peak rates for bookings made before June 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020 for stays through July 31, 2020 at approximately 5,500 of their hotels. The idea is that during the stay period when the booking window is open, no hotel participating in Marriott Bonvoy will be priced at peak pricing.
I recently provided an aggressive cash back churning strategy. Today’s post is almost a continuation of that post. Basically, if you want to have a strong cash back strategy, you will want to continually keep track of new and ongoing offers that you can take advantage of.
Note that this post focuses on temporary offers. Our Top Cash Back Credit Cards page continues to list current offers that are not exclusive to limited time offers like this post.
Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, airline and hotel loyalty programs have paused/extended expiry policies to their miles and points. Today’s post is a current snapshot of the state of these programs.
Please note that we ongoingly update our COVID-19 updates page as well for most up-to-date information.
Very minor changes to this month’s list as most offers are running well into the summer. But you may want to take a closer look at the TD offers as they will be expiring before our next month’s list.
Top Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for May 2020
For the rest of the credit cards, I ranked the credit cards by the price of the annual fees (lowest to highest):
Starting today, Aeroplan members (Air Canada’s frequent flyer program) can accumulate and redeem miles with Etihad Airways.
Etihad Airways is the National airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who currently operates flights to 76 destinations around the world, but expecting service to resume on other previous destinations.
The Aeroplan eStore is having a 2-Day Mega Event where you can earn 5x the miles site-wide from May 30, 2020 to May 31, 2020.
Keep in mind that this is in addition to the 5x the miles per $1 spent promotion when using a co-branded Aeroplan card (American Express, CIBC or TD). So if you combine the two, you can top 10x the miles for online purchases.
If you have been looking for a way to give back but may not want to give away your hard earned cash, especially for anyone who is tight on money, there is an opportunity with Air Miles.
Earning rewards can be used on yourself, but they can also be a currency to use to donate to give back.
There are only a few days left to fast track to Air Canada elite status with the Travel at Home campaign. I say fast track because there is not a lot of work involved (i.e. no flying required) to earn Air Canada elite status.
Recap of Travel at Home
If you are looking for a quick suggestion, figured out how many eligible miles you earn between April 20, 2020 and today, then transfer whatever else you need from American Express Membership Rewards to top up your account. You will need to have earned the miles by May 31, 2020 to qualify.