The longer this pandemic (COVID-19) drags on, the more some people may be wondering whether they should take a pause with earning airline miles or hotel points. So what’s the alternative? Cash Back?
If you are thinking about constructing a cash back portfolio, there are some options to work with in Canada. I am going to provide a general strategy.
Airlines and hotels have been putting together some positive videos together on YouTube, so I wanted to give them a shout out for putting these videos together. The videos range from: Thank you message Giving passengers assurance message (e.g. being…
Aeroplan’s current expiry policy was coming to an end on April 30, 2020. But they just announced an extension.
Cancelling Aeroplan Reward Flight
The current cancellation policy is being extended to June 30, 2020. That means that members can cancel their reward flights free of charge and receive all of their Aeroplan Miles back in their account, plus a full refund of any associated taxes, fees and surcharges.
Porter Airlines has extended all of its cancelled flights to June 28, 2020. So flights are expected to return on June 29, 2020 (instead of the original June 1, 2020). Tickets for travel beginning June 29, 2020 are available for purchase. Part of the reason is the boarder restrictions to the United States, as many of their flights are cross boarder. And it’s not like there is a lot of domestic travel at the moment anyway. So it probably makes sense to continue shutting down their flights.
This is not exactly a good look on the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) who is now backing away from their previous position that airlines are not required to refund flight cancellations. Their position was that airlines have the right to issue travel credits instead of refunding cancellation trip. Even though their position is not a binding decision, it was their position.
The card that I would like to highlight for this month is the Brim World Elite MasterCard, which is waiving its $199 annual fee. This might be the highest public offer annual fee waiver I’ve ever seen. The promotion expires on April 30, 2020, so if you are thinking about getting the card, do not think too long about.
Ongoing First Year Fee Waived Offers
The reason I post a separate list of ongoing offers (i.e. not temporary) is because there are up is that there are 2 permanent first year fee waived offers. So they are worthy of being highlighted. Meridian Bank is the only company willing to do this at the moment. Every other company has first year fee waived offers during a specific promotion period.
With the majority of air travel grounded for the time being, airlines are probably working around the clock to see how they can change their business models.
It is highly likely that some current changes to the travel industry will be be sticking around even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
IHG is the latest hotel chain to extend its elite statuses and expiry policy, which rounds out the majority of the major hotel chains. Note that we also have an ongoingly updated page found on our menu bar.
Below is a current recap of the elite status and points expiry extensions offer by some of the major hotel chains.
Best Western
Air Canada continued to operate two loyalty programs, but the integration is coming together. Basically, there is Air Canada Altitude, which is the elite status program, while Aeroplan is the miles collection. They used to be the same company, but then Air Canada sold off Aeroplan, and then bought it back.
Just setting up the context so that there is less confusion when I explain the promotion. So right now, Aeroplan has an offer starting today (April 20, 2020) that runs until May 31, 2020. Aeroplan members who earn 50,000 miles will receive an Air Canada Altitude Prestige 25K status valid through 2021.
Air Miles announced that Air Miles Gold and Onyx members will receive an extension on their elite status. Furthermore, there is an extension the waiver period for travel change fees.
You may have received an email from Air Miles that looks like this: