Author: Matt

Matt has been an avid points collector since 1992 (an elementary school student), when his dad signed up for the new (at the time) Air Miles program. Since then, Matt took a keen interest in learning how the miles and points world works. He quickly found out that there is a lot of value in leveraging miles and points to fund his passion for travelling.
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List of Airline Alliances (updated April 7, 2020)

ByMatt

It has been almost a year since I last updated this post. With so much “up in the air” for airlines, who knows who will survive the COVID-19 pandemic. So in the meantime, I would like to update the current list of members of each major airline alliance. I am hoping that we can avoid bankruptcies, and maybe see some mergers happen for survival. Mergers and acquisitions would probably save more jobs (not to mention salvage frequent flyer programs) than a flat out bankruptcies.

Another reason I triggered this update is the possibility of Alaska Airlines being added to Oneworld Alliance. Maybe WestJet should look into joining an alliance too?

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Air Canada Altitude Members Can Gift Their Status

ByMatt

You have probably read about different airlines and hotel chains extending their elite statuses. Now it is Air Canada’s turn. They are not only offering an elite status extension, but also the ability to gift your status to a family or friend. Below are the details of the initiatives.

Elite Status Extension

The 2020 Altitude status will automatically be extended through to the end of 2021.

Beware of Credit Card Interest Rate Drops

ByMatt

Looks like the big banks across Canada are looking to reduce interest rates on credit cards to provide relief to customers affected by COVID-19 pandemic.

Warning

Let’s just make this clear up front on this post. If you are someone who has no other options than to use a credit card to pay for bills during the crisis, and you are receiving an interest rate reduction, definitely take it.

Hotels Offer Free Showers and Breakfast to Truck Drivers

ByMatt

Not quite what I was trying to lobby in my previous post, but this might be even better.

Free Breakfast and Shower

Three hotels in Saskatchewan are being highlights in an article. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites North Battleford, the Western Star and Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Regina East Gate have been offering truck drivers passing by a free shower and breakfast (or even supper) at the hotels.

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Top Credit Card Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for April 2020

ByMatt

As mentioned in our previous post, we will be making some minor changes to our posts temporarily. Today’s post is a perfect example of such a change. All links to credit card companies are taken off as we are not trying to encourage people to sign up for credit cards. But if you do have the means to take advantage of rewards, this is what you can watch out for. 

If things keep dragging out, we may put a pause to our monthly top promotional offers posts and focus on other topics. So feel free to let us know what else you would like us to write about. Or would you prefer that we continue as is? Please let us know in the comment section below! 

Top Reasons to go on Road Trips (updated April 3, 2020)

ByMatt

I can’t be the only one who thinks that when this COVID-19 crisis is over that road trips are going to be more popular right? I predict that people will eventually get back to flying, but may be slow to do so. In the meantime, I think that road trips do satisfy some of the travel bug. Furthermore, it has been over 4 years since I last wrote my thoughts about road trips. So I think that it is due for an update.

See Also: Top Credit Cards to Use on Road Trips

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Ranking the Credit Card Portfolios of Each Canadian Financial Institutions (updated April 1, 2020)

ByMatt

It has been almost a year since we last updated this post, so no question this was due for an update. The reason why I waited so long is because there are very few changes to the rankings since then. However, there was a sufficient amount of changes to the industry to warrant an update. Most of the ranking movement occurred in the bottom third of the list. Furthermore, another common theme on this list is that the gap widen between some of the positions.

Every time I update the rankings, I have an overall theme throughout the post. For today’s post, the focus was on internal changes made by each financial institution which justify their position in the rankings.

Class Action Against Airlines Over Vouchers Instead of Refunds

ByMatt

It did not take long for the lawsuits to come in. We wrote a post a few days ago about the Canadian Transportation Agency saying that airlines are not required to refund passengers. This has become a heated topic because there is a legal argument to be made that airlines should be refunding passengers for cancelled flights. 

Legal Issues

For the purposes of this post, I think it’s best to keep it short with regards to the legal rights of each side. In short, passengers are arguing that the law entitles them to a full refund for a cancelled trip not under their control. While airlines are arguing that the cancelled trip was not in their control either, so they should not have to offer a refund, but a voucher for future travel or waive rebooking fees.

AIR MILES Partners with Uber Eats and Door Dash

ByMatt

Effective today, March 31, 2020, Air Miles collectors can use their Cash Miles to redeem for Uber Eats and Door Dash eVouchers. The redemption rate is 190 Cash Miles for a $20 eVoucher code. This is pretty much the benchmark rate of return I would suggest for Air Miles redemptions. You are getting 10.5 cents per miles ($20 / 190 points). In other words, you are ahead of the game if you can get more than 11 cents per mile in value, but you do not want to dip below 10 cents per mile if you want to optimize your miles.  

New Domestic Air and Rail Screening Measures

ByMatt

Seems like things change on a daily basis. Sometimes, it even feels hour by hour. Starting tomorrow, new measures are being taken by airlines and trains to screen people before they are able to travel. At the end of last week, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau announced that there will be no more domestic travel by plane or train for those showing coronavirus symptoms. So now airlines and trains have to increase their screening process, which would prevent people showing signs of the virus (e.g. cough, fever and difficulty breathing) from boarding.