Airlines (Reward Programs)

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American Express Membership Rewards 25% Avios Transfer Bonus

ByMatt

It has been 18 months since the last time we saw an American Express Membership Rewards transfer bonus to British Airways’ Executive Club. Personally, I thought that we would never see a transfer bonus like this again from American Express, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a 25% transfer bonus. 

Transfer bonuses are my favourite way to boost my loyalty accounts. 

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Aeroplan Offering 35% Conversion Bonus (Highest Ever!)

ByMatt

Aeroplan is really making an effort to step up their game, as their contract ends with Air Canada. I am uncertain what their long term plans are at the moment, probably trying to find new partners. However, in the meantime, they are definitely trying to make a splash.

How the Offer Works

They are currently offering their best conversion bonus ever. You can now receive a 35% bonus for transferring your hotel points. They normally offer a tiering system where you earn anywhere between 20%-30% transfer bonus.

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Aeroplan Adds Budget Car Rental Award Booking

ByMatt

Aeroplan has added a new reward car rental redemption partner. Members can now redeem for Budget car rentals online. Avis has already been available.

Budget

Budget has over 3,000 rental locations in Canada, US, Latin America, and Europe. As an added bonus, members can currently earn 100 miles every time they redeem for a Budget car rental.

Here is a screen shot of a 1 week car rental:

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Aeroplan eStore Adds 20 new Retailers

ByMatt

With all the negativity surrounding Aeroplan lately, it is always nice to see some positive news. Aeroplan has a shopping portal called eStore. Shopping portals are ways to earn bonus miles and points through online purchases. For instance, if you happen to want to buy something from Michael Kors, instead of going to the physical store or online, you can go through a shopping portal like Aeroplan’s eStore. The eStore redirects you to the same Michael Kors website, when you proceed with making your purchase online, you will earn bonus Aeroplan miles for something that you were going to buy anyway. Furthermore, double dip when there are 3x or even 5x the bonus miles earning opportunities.

Rundown of WestJet Rewards (updated July 3, 2017)

ByMatt

With all the negativity surrounding Aeroplan, Canada’s current largest frequent flyer program, it may be time to take a closer look at Canada’s second largest frequent flyer program, WestJet Rewards. Let’s do a quick rundown of the highlights of the program.

Expiry Policy

Expiry policies are always a hot topic, as it is often a deal breaker for someone deciding whether to bother becoming a member.

Aeroplan Members now have Access to Star Partner Locator

ByMatt

When selecting seats on an Aeroplan reward flight, members now have access to the Star Alliance partner site online. This feature eliminates the need to call the Aeroplan Contact Centre to select seats when flying on a Star Alliance carrier. Instead, members can now go directly to the Star Alliance carrier site using the Star Alliance record locator to select their seat.

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Review of Carrot Rewards

ByMatt

Carrot Rewards has become quite a popular App since expanding outside of British Columbia, where it originally started. Carrot Rewards has expanded to Ontario, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador. Seems like they have some plans to expand to more provinces, so be on the lookout for that!

Tip- If you have a family or friend living on one of those provinces, you may be able to borrow their postal code. The precaution I would take is whether the postal code on your loyalty account matches.