It has been over a year since I last updated this post, especially with OneWorld, so I thought it was due for an update as there were several changes to update.
Personal Airline Alliance Portfolio
As usual, here is a quick recap of my personal portfolio, which has not changed much. I was expecting to shake things up due to the Aeroplan and Air Canada break up, but that does not seem to be happening anymore.
Avianca’s LifeMiles is offering discounted reward flights within, as well as to and from Canada on certain Star Alliance routes. Redemptions must be made between September 14, 2018 and September 30, 2018.
There are two primary ways for Canadians to earn LifeMiles. First of all, Avianca is a Star Alliance member, therefor, you can bank all your Air Canada miles towards Avianca instead. Otherwise, there is a current bonus promotion (buy 1 mile and get 2 bonus miles) when purchasing LifeMiles that runs until September 18, 2018.
Very few changes this month, as most promotions until the end of October.
Keep in mind that we also have an going Top Cash Back Credit Cards page which consists of permanent and temporary offers, while this post focuses on temporary offers only.
Note that we also have two other types of recent monthly lists going on:
Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards
Top Higher than Normal Sigh Up Bonus Offers
Aeroplan is offering a 35% conversion in bonus miles, along with another 5,000 bonus miles (up to) offer (for every 60,000 points exchanged) when converting Marriott, SPG or Ritz-Carlton loyalty points into Aeroplan miles. The offer is valid between September 13, 2018 and September 17, 2018.
Below are some samples of mile earning potential:
*Please note that we receive compensation for affiliate links.
One of the easiest ways to earn rewards in Canada is by joining an online survey community. These are websites that pay members (usually in points redeemable for gift cards or PayPal) for simply completing surveys on topical subjects relating to Canada. Requested feedback can range from sharing opinions on politics, social issues, product feedback, world views and more. The longer or harder a survey is to qualify for, the more you will earn for your time. Your responses are never personally identifiable back to you.
In light of the one-time fee increase (from $27 to $32 for American Express cardholders), I thought it was an appropriate time to update this post. Priority Pass continues to increase their inventory, including many more restaurants added to the portfolio. There is also over 1,200 lounges worldwide (up from 1,000 last time). Furthermore, several credit cards needed an update regarding their lounge access.
This post will list the Canadian credit cards that provide a free Priority Pass membership, along with lounge access specifics.
For one day only, today (September 8, 2018), AIR MILES is having a “Happy Any Day” celebration by showing their appreciation to its 11 million members across Canada by giving away over 5,000 promotions.
The theme is guerilla-style all—day giveaway events across major Canadian cities. Rewards include:
Effective October 1, 2018, Priority Pass is increasing its one-time lounge visit fee of $27 to $32 for American Express credit card holders. Priority Pass explains that it has been over 10 years since there has been an increase. As far as increase in fees are concerned, this is a fair one in my opinion. It does not devalue the program is a very negative way and it maintains most of its value.
Here are my two ways of looking at the fee:
Quite a few cards came off the list from last month (e.g. TD, RBC), so it is currently very slim pickings. I was hoping that we would see some momentum this fall as we close out the year strong. Hopefully things will pick up next month.
Note that we also have two other types of monthly lists going on:
Top Cash Back Credit Card Offers
Best Current First Year Fee Waived Cards
There have been quite a few changes since my last post Comparing Canadian and U.S. SPG American Express; namely the merger between Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest. As a result, this post is definitely due for a major update.
One major change is that 1 Starpoint (in my previous post) is now worth 3 Marriott points. So we need to factor in this correlation if comparing to the old versions of the cards. However, for today’s post, I will focus on comparing the Canadian and U.S. version as they are currently, rather than worrying about the past.