Canadian Websites to learn how to maximize travel points

[skatie]

Now that I'm retired, we are traveling more and I'm wanting to learn more about how to gain and maximize travel points with credit cards, airline/cruiseline loyalty programs, car rentals and hotels etc.   I have a Visa credit card that's good for gaining Air Canada aeroplan points and I join a lot of the hotel loyalty programs and focus on the Hilton Chain when I can.  I've been researching to try to find the websites or podcasts for tips and tricks to gain points faster and how to utilize points to maximize their value and do things like bump yourself from economy to Business class seats etc but most sites I find are focused on US credit cards or US loyalty programs.   Does anyone know of good Canadian focused websites that I can learn from?    Thanks

[phabric]

I have Visa Travel Infinite card, good to redeem for any kind of travel - cars, hotel, cruises.  I use my Visa for everything and the points add up to redeem.

[lx200gps]

4 hours ago, skatie said:

Now that I'm retired, we are traveling more and I'm wanting to learn more about how to gain and maximize travel points with credit cards, airline/cruiseline loyalty programs, car rentals and hotels etc.   I have a Visa credit card that's good for gaining Air Canada aeroplan points and I join a lot of the hotel loyalty programs and focus on the Hilton Chain when I can.  I've been researching to try to find the websites or podcasts for tips and tricks to gain points faster and how to utilize points to maximize their value and do things like bump yourself from economy to Business class seats etc but most sites I find are focused on US credit cards or US loyalty programs.   Does anyone know of good Canadian focused websites that I can learn from?    Thanks

How about The Prince Of Travel?  Ricky used to be very good at providing tips on maximizing Aeroplan benefits et al, churning credit cards to obtain multiply sign up bonuses etc. etc.  Before the credit cards companies really started to clamp down on abuses, it was quite possible to collect hundreds of thousands of points easily, not sure how easy it is these days.

 

https://princeoftravel.com/

[phabric]

21 minutes ago, phabric said:

I have Visa Travel Infinite card, good to redeem for any kind of travel - cars, hotel, cruises.  I use my Visa for everything and the points add up to redeem.

You might get more points if you switch to TD Travel Visa Infinite and redeem for any type of travel - air, hotels, cars, cruises.  I get points for every transaction plus acceleration points on groceries and restaurants (I don’t know why they picked groceries /restaurant to get more points).  If you book travel through TD Travel, you get 9 points vs regular points.

[skatie]

1 hour ago, phabric said:

You might get more points if you switch to TD Travel Visa Infinite and redeem for any type of travel - air, hotels, cars, cruises.  I get points for every transaction plus acceleration points on groceries and restaurants (I don’t know why they picked groceries /restaurant to get more points).  If you book travel through TD Travel, you get 9 points vs regular points.

I do have the Visa Infinite Privilege card and am racking up as many points there as possible.  I didn't know about TD Travel - I'll check that out.  Thanks

[phabric]

13 minutes ago, skatie said:

I do have the Visa Infinite Privilege card and am racking up as many points there as possible.  I didn't know about TD Travel - I'll check that out.  Thanks

My card is TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

21 minutes ago, skatie said:

I do have the Visa Infinite Privilege card and am racking up as many points there as possible.  I didn't know about TD Travel - I'll check that out.  Thanks

TD visa also uses Expedia for travel 

[lx200gps]

20 minutes ago, skatie said:

I do have the Visa Infinite Privilege card and am racking up as many points there as possible.  I didn't know about TD Travel - I'll check that out.  Thanks

If you can, make sure you take advantage of the VIP card's annual AC buddy pass, particularly for travel inside North America. Second person flies for only $99+tax, which can mean huge savings depending on the ticket class. I've been pricing R/T flights to FLL and the buddy pass brings the cost down by almost $1K.

[skatie]

5 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

If you can, make sure you take advantage of the VIP card's annual AC buddy pass, particularly for travel inside North America. Second person flies for only $99+tax, which can mean huge savings depending on the ticket class. I've been pricing R/T flights to FLL and the buddy pass brings the cost down by almost $1K.

Thanks this is our first year getting the buddy pass which i have to use by May 2025.  I'm trying to figure out a good value location to use this (have heard Hawaii is a great value, but not sure if all seats apply or if you have to book really early to use the pass?).  Also do I need to call Aeroplan to use this pass and make sure it gets applied?  

[bookbabe]

Flytrippers are Canadian.  They have a whole section on Travel Credit Cards, and often do posts about hotel loyalty programs.  Their goal in life seems to be to travel all over in style but as cheaply as possible.

 

https://flytrippers.com/travel-resources/

 

 

[lx200gps]

25 minutes ago, skatie said:

Thanks this is our first year getting the buddy pass which i have to use by May 2025.  I'm trying to figure out a good value location to use this (have heard Hawaii is a great value, but not sure if all seats apply or if you have to book really early to use the pass?).  Also do I need to call Aeroplan to use this pass and make sure it gets applied?  

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/aeroplan/credit-cards/companion-pass.html#/

 

Looks like Hawaii is $299+tax.  The pass is available within a few weeks of you renewing and paying your annual fee for the card. Officially, they say "...up to 10 weeks" but I got this year's in about 3-4 weeks. If you currently do have the buddy pass, then it will appear on the AC site when you make a real or mock booking.  Log in to your account and enter the desired itinerary, dates etc. You will see a box titled "Your Booking Benefits", click on it and it will show you the details. Note that it only applies to cash bookings, not rewards bookings.  Absolutely no need to contact AC/Aeroplan to use it, it's all built-in to the booking engine and gets applied immediately. Very easy to use.

 

 

Edited August 21 by lx200gps

[gnome12]

40 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

TD visa also uses Expedia for travel 

And I hated them for it. Expedia doesn't show all the possible air classes, for example. And you aren't even on the actual Expedia site; you are stuck with Expedia for TD, which actually doesn't show all the same choices.

[Tango99]

23 hours ago, skatie said:

Now that I'm retired, we are traveling more and I'm wanting to learn more about how to gain and maximize travel points with credit cards, airline/cruiseline loyalty programs, car rentals and hotels etc.   I have a Visa credit card that's good for gaining Air Canada aeroplan points and I join a lot of the hotel loyalty programs and focus on the Hilton Chain when I can.  I've been researching to try to find the websites or podcasts for tips and tricks to gain points faster and how to utilize points to maximize their value and do things like bump yourself from economy to Business class seats etc but most sites I find are focused on US credit cards or US loyalty programs.   Does anyone know of good Canadian focused websites that I can learn from?    Thanks

Aeroplan is great for accumulating points and they’re redeemable at 1point = 1 mile which is great value especially that international flight connections are still more expensive post-pandemic, but more economical than others.  Especially on flights to/from Florida for cruises in low season. You can earn points, sometimes double and triple points, at hotels, retail stores, restaurants, Avis/Budget and LCBO (Ontario). And when you use your card at grocery stores most are associated with other points accumulation … Scene is my current go to as that can be used for groceries and movies with the grandkids. CAA also has discounts at restaurant chains in Ontario. And Air Miles can be redeemed for The Keg and other restaurants, and merchandise. Costco on line is a great way to purchase larger items too but you have to be a member. They don’t accept my visa in store…I think it’s all Mastercard.
My other half has the TD card and it’s great as well but I’ve collected Aeroplan since Nordair was in business….yes 1970’s….and saved thousands as the plan evolved. You still can if you’re just starting out now. Enjoy! 

[Tango99]

On 8/21/2024 at 9:04 AM, skatie said:

Now that I'm retired, we are traveling more and I'm wanting to learn more about how to gain and maximize travel points with credit cards, airline/cruiseline loyalty programs, car rentals and hotels etc.   I have a Visa credit card that's good for gaining Air Canada aeroplan points and I join a lot of the hotel loyalty programs and focus on the Hilton Chain when I can.  I've been researching to try to find the websites or podcasts for tips and tricks to gain points faster and how to utilize points to maximize their value and do things like bump yourself from economy to Business class seats etc but most sites I find are focused on US credit cards or US loyalty programs.   Does anyone know of good Canadian focused websites that I can learn from?    Thanks

Aeroplan is great for accumulating points and they’re redeemable at 1point = 1 mile which is great value especially that international flight connections are still more expensive post-pandemic, but more economical than others.  Especially on flights to/from Florida for cruises in low season. You can earn points, sometimes double and triple points, at hotels, retail stores, restaurants, Avis/Budget and LCBO (Ontario). And when you use your card at grocery stores most are associated with other points accumulation … Scene is my current go to as that can be used for groceries and movies with the grandkids. CAA also has discounts at restaurant chains in Ontario. And Air Miles can be redeemed for The Keg and other restaurants, and merchandise. Costco on line is a great way to purchase larger items too but you have to be a member. They don’t accept my visa in store…I think it’s all Mastercard.
My other half has the TD card and it’s great as well but I’ve collected Aeroplan since Nordair was in business….yes 1970’s….and saved thousands as the plan evolved. You still can if you’re just starting out now. Enjoy! 

[Tango99]

Oh…and you can sign up with hotel chains and their points can also be converted to Aeroplan….

If you google Star Alliance you’ll find a list of all airlines that belong there. So if you use their routes, regardless if you booked through Air Canada, your Aeroplan points also accumulate. Happy saving! 

[gnome12]

7 hours ago, Tango99 said:

If you google Star Alliance you’ll find a list of all airlines that belong there. So if you use their routes, regardless if you booked through Air Canada, your Aeroplan points also accumulate. Happy saving! 

That was what I thought until my last flight from Frankfurt on Lufthansa. I found myself with a fare code that didn't qualify for points. I had booked it directly on the Air Canada website (I chose it because it was the most convenient departure time) and nothing ever said that it didn't qualify for points.

[Tango99]

16 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

That was what I thought until my last flight from Frankfurt on Lufthansa. I found myself with a fare code that didn't qualify for points. I had booked it directly on the Air Canada website (I chose it because it was the most convenient departure time) and nothing ever said that it didn't qualify for points.

If you’d booked with Aeroplan on the phone you likely would be much happier with the outcome. But if you have a CIBC Aeroplan card you’d have earned points from that.  And maybe from the TD one as well. 

In Canada we’ve had so many flight routings and tax saving options via US that were scuttled due to the pandemic. And unless you're already close to or in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver the perks from skipping over to the US to link to flights abroad have affected how me and many more peeps travel. In Ottawa we have one international flight per week, to and from France. And we will have one flight a week to London starting next March. 
I will never see the time when I will go first class from Ottawa>Chicago> Narita>Bangkok (then Thai Air to HoChiMinh return using and earning points) then Bangkok>Shanghai>Detroit or Chicago)>Ottawa. 6 weeks travel….$238 and 120,000 points. The Vietnam visit was about $120 and 45,000 points. It now costs that much to Florida….

 

[gnome12]

On 8/21/2024 at 9:04 AM, skatie said:

Now that I'm retired, we are traveling more and I'm wanting to learn more about how to gain and maximize travel points with credit cards, airline/cruiseline loyalty programs, car rentals and hotels etc.   I have a Visa credit card that's good for gaining Air Canada aeroplan points and I join a lot of the hotel loyalty programs and focus on the Hilton Chain when I can.  I've been researching to try to find the websites or podcasts for tips and tricks to gain points faster and how to utilize points to maximize their value and do things like bump yourself from economy to Business class seats etc but most sites I find are focused on US credit cards or US loyalty programs.   Does anyone know of good Canadian focused websites that I can learn from?    Thanks

Try looking at https://www.rewardscanada.ca