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.

[INTERVIEW] D’Arcy McDonald (Scotiabank SVP of Day to Day Banking)

ByMatt

Today we feature D’Arcy McDonald, a Senior Vice President at Scotiabank who will talk to us about the new Ultimate Package. More specifically, how we can earn more SCENE points and Scotia Rewards. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions D’Arcy! 

Please tell us about yourself. What is your role with Scotiabank?

I’m D’Arcy McDonald, Senior Vice President of Day to Day Banking, Retail Investments and Advisory Deposits. I oversee products that our customers use day to day including chequing, savings, GICs and registered investment plans.

Rundown of Asia Miles for Canadians (updated January 6, 2020)

ByMatt

The frequent flyer program, Asia Miles, made a significant change to its expiry policy this year. This change has increased the value of its program and I think it’s worth a deeper look. Furthermore, it’s been a while since I last updated this post, so it was due for one.

Expiry Policy

In the past, Asia Miles has a frustrating expiry policy whereby your miles expire within 36 months after they are deposited, regardless of activity. Effective January 1, 2020, there is a new expiry policy, but there is a transition period.

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

ByMatt

It’s already 2020! You will notice that most offers are rolling over from 2019, but at many are expiring sometime this month. The rest are expiring in March for the most part. So if you are thinking about certain cards, you will want to jump on them sooner rather than later before it expires. I expect new offers to come up by next month’s list, but if you are considering current offers, now is the time.

Top Higher than Normal Sign Up Bonuses for January 2020

Carrot Rewards 2.0?

ByMatt

Remember the popular Carrot Rewards?

Carrot Rewards was an App that began in British Columbia and slowly expanded to other provinces. The App allowed members to earn rewards by achieving daily “steps” goals, including bonus points by teaming up with another member. There was also an amazing referral system, as well as earning rewards by completing surveys. But what I felt was the best benefit of Carrot Rewards was the ability to choose different loyalty program to bank your rewards to, such as: Aeroplan, More Rewards, Petro-Points, SCENE, etc. 

Rundown of WestJet Rewards (updated January 3, 2020)

ByMatt

It has been almost a year since we last updated the WestJet Rewards rundown post. One of my family member has been using WestJet more extensively, which means I did a little more deeper research about their rewards program. Furthermore, several changes were made (mostly positive) to its elite status program, so this is a good a time as any to provide an updated post.

Also note the RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard is offering a higher ($350 instead of $250) sign up bonus that expires on January 6, 2020, which I will provide more details below.

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My 2020 Predictions for the Miles and Points World

ByMatt

Back in 2016, I began a new tradition of trying to predict the travel / rewards market in Canada. The first year was rough, but it got better over the years. How did it go this year though?

Below are my previous scores:

Happy New Year! 2020 Wish List

ByMatt

Happy New Year!!

A new year means a new wish list! Below is my 2020 wish list for the rewards world. Note that I generally provide a mid-term report on Canada Day (July 1) and a final report on New Year’s Eve.

To be fair, all wishes need to be a win/win/win scenario for everyone involved in the transaction, which includes the loyalty company, the retailer and the customer.

I also ranked what my most pressing wish is in order.

New Year’s Eve! Recap of 2019

ByMatt

As we close out 2019, we continue with our year-end series to recapping out wish list from the beginning of the year. This report card is a continuation from our mid-term report back on Canada Day.

Keep in mind that all wishes are generally a win/win/win scenario for everyone (loyalty company, retailer and customer) involved in the transaction.

Here’s a quick recap of the grading system:

Rundown of United Airlines’ MileagePlus for Canadians (updated December 30, 2019)

ByMatt

I was waiting for a few more updates before working on this post. But it has been long enough, especially with their change in expiry policy. With the uncertainty surrounding Air Canada’s Aeroplan program, I’m sure that I am not the only Canadian considering switching to another Star Alliance program to bank my miles to.

That being said, if you are a Canadian considering MileagePlus, I would consider the highlights below to help you optimize the program.

Rundown of Royal Caribbean for Canadians (updated December 27, 2019)

ByMatt

I recently took a cruise with Royal Caribbean and posted my thoughts about reasons to take a cruise (and not). Also, I haven’t written an update on Royal Caribbean since 2014, so I think I am way overdue for an update.

This post will focus on Royal Caribbean’s operations in Canada and its Crown & Anchor loyalty program.