WOW Air Ceases Operations TODAY
WOW Air launched 3 years ago with great fanfare and shut down without any notice. Remember when they offered fares as low as $99 (plus fees and taxes) between Canada and Ireland.
Airlines (Reward Programs)
Aeroplan Conversion Bonus
Aeroplan is once again offering a 30% bonus miles for converting hotel loyalty points between March 25, 2019 and April 22, 2019. We have seen a 35% conversion bonus, but 30% is still decent, especially since they stopped doing the tiering…
Air Canada Renews Partnership with American Express
Air Canada and American Express Canada have come to a new agreement to renew and expand their partnership. The plan is for American Express to continue beyond 2020 when Air Canada launches their new loyalty program, as this is a new 10-year deal.
If you read the news release closely there are some hints to some positive news.
Rundown of British Airways Executive Club for Canadians (updated February 19, 2019)
For Canadians, after Air Canada’s frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, I would say, British Airways’ Executive Club Avios miles are the most accessible to earn through is various credit card partners. There years where I actually earn more Avios and Aeroplan miles depending on what offers are available.
Expiry Policy
As usual, let’s start with their expiry policy, as this is generally a deal breaker for me on whether I will put more energy towards a specific program. Fortunately, Executive Club offers one of the best frequent flyer program expiry policies. Your miles stay active so long as you have an activity once every 36 months. This is much more generous than the 12 or 24 months that we generally see with other programs.
Rundown of United Airlines’ MileagePlus for Canadians (updated February 8, 2019)
It has been over 2 years since I last updated this post, so I think that it is a good time for a review. I was strongly considering switching my Star Alliance earnings to United Airlines’ MileagePlus program, instead of continuing to bank with Aeroplan (when I thought Air Canada was dropping Aeroplan). But with Air Canada buying out Aeroplan, looks like I will continue to use Aeroplan as my primary Star Alliance program. The main reason is because Aeroplan has many partners in Canada to earn miles with, which makes them valuable at the moment.
Current Aeroplan eStore Bonus and Costco Update
Earning bonus miles through shopping portals is a great way to rack up more miles in a hurry. Personally, I do my best to delay a purchase until I see a multiplier bonus on the shopping portals. I usually try to double dip buy purchasing items that are also on discount.
Rundown of Porter Airlines’ VIPorter (updated January 23, 2019)
It has been a while since I last wrote (over 3 years, gasp) a significant post about Porter Airlines’ loyalty program VIPorter, so I think this post was due for an update.
What triggered this post idea is the negative changes to the lounge at Billy Bishop. Basically they discontinued offering snacks and coffee. Compounding with Aeroplan no longer teaming up with Porter, that is why I delayed writing this post as I do not like writing about negatives. I also wanted to see if Porter would make any additional changes in the New Year before providing an updated rundown of the program. So here it is!
Air Canada Completes Acquisition of Aeroplan
It’s official. Aimia (owner of Aeroplan) is now sold to Air Canada for approximately $497 million (Press releases: Air Canada, Aimia).
Deep down inside, I had still hoped that the deal would fall through, because I was excited for all the initiatives that Aeroplan was planning in my interview with their CEO, for life after Air Canada. I really wanted to see Aeroplan compete with Air Canada, as competition is usually a positive for consumers.
Rundown of WestJet Rewards (updated January 8, 2019)
In celebration of the newly added Platinum status to WestJet Rewards, I thought this post was due for proper overhaul to include more details regarding its rewards program overall.
There is actually a lot of value to be had with WestJet Rewards. However, my hope is that they will either expand more towards the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program or eventually join a major airline alliance.
Air Canada (Aeroplan) | Air Canada (Altitude) (Merged with Air Canada Aeroplan) | American Express (AMEX) | Brim Financial | Reader Question | Scotiabank
My 2019 Predictions for the Miles and Points World
Back in 2016, I began a new tradition of trying to predict the rewards world. The first year was rough, but it got better (2017, 2016). Let’s see how I did this year and my predictions for the following year.