KLM Flash Sale - Fly Business Class between Calgaryand Europe from $2699 all in!

KLM has launched another one of their amazing Business Class sales for travel from Canada to Europe and beyond! This offer is pretty great although about $200 more than the last time we saw the sale. Still getting to Europe in Business Class for as little as $2699 all in is something to write home about or present as a gift under the Christmas Tree! Oh and if you just happen to fly on the KLM flight out of Edmonton instead of YYC before the end of February you can score 5,000 Bonus Flying Blue miles! (See here for details on the YEG offer)

This business class offer needs to be booked by December 6th for travel between January 11 and April 30th. You can book this offer online right here.

 

Security Training Exercise at YYC tonight!

If you find yourself at YYC in the terminal tonight don't be alarmed if you hear gunshots!

"Calgary, AB – The Calgary Airport Authority, and key airport and emergency response agencies will be conducting a security training exercise at Calgary International Airport (YYC) on Wednesday, November 4 from 9 p.m. until approximately midnight.

The exercise will take place within the terminal building, in an isolated area; however, passengers arriving or departing YYC during this time may hear unusual noises, including simulated gunfire. Emergency agencies will be arriving to the terminal at this time to respond to the mock scenario. There will also be a number of volunteers who will be in makeup with simulated injuries within the terminal building during this period.

The safety and security of all those who visit and work at Calgary International Airport is the Authority’s number one priority and exercises of this nature are an important part of the airport emergency preparedness program. It ensures all partners have the opportunity to practice their extensive emergency response plans."

Using WestJet Rewards Dollars and Diners Club Reward Points for WestJet flights out of Calgary

Highlights from our SFO trip
(www.instagram.com/rewardscanada)

Back in July the Rewards Canada family took a vacation to San Francisco. This was quite a last minute decision on our part, it was late July and we really wanted to get away before our busy August. It was Sunday night and could travel later that week. Without going into all the search details on places we haven't been and within a few hours of home seeing we only had 3 full days we decided on San Francisco. The Rewards Canada family had never set foot in San Francisco unless you include the airport for connecting! This was an ideal location seeing that we had done Los Angeles (three times) Palm Springs and San Diego in the previous 14 months or so. Yes this is the power of miles and points, many of those trips were funded in part with loyalty programs!

Seeing that we only had three full days we wanted to ensure that we got to SFO in a short amount of time so it was decided that we would fly on WestJet's direct flights so we could use up some our WestJet dollars. As we were redeeming WestJet Dollars from multiple accounts I actually had to call in to WestJet to book the flights as you cannot redeem from multiple accounts online at the same time. The process was really simple as I just had to supply our WestJet Rewards numbers and told the agent we wanted to use our dollars for the flights. The cash portion was put on my Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard so we could also utilize Club Rewards points for a portion of the costs to make what would be an expensive flight purchase more reasonable.

WestJet Rewards redemption

Diners Club Club Rewards redemption

What initially began with flights costing $3,014.36  ended up only costing us $1,824.36. A great example of 'flexible' reward programs like WestJet Rewards and Diners Club Club Rewards. You don't have to wait until you have the full amount of points or miles. WestJet does require a balance of $25 to redeem if you don't hold one of their RBC MasterCards and that is why you only see three WestJet redemptions for the four of us travelling as my older daughter only had $24 in her account at the time of booking. You can also see however that we earned WestJet Dollars on the cash portion of the tickets which explains why my youngest daughter actually earned more on her flights than my wife or I as she redeemed less dollars. Also you may see that our Diners Club redemption was actually done nearly two months after the trip. Again another bonus of flexible credit card programs, you can continue to earn points on purchases and use them towards a past purchase. Depending on the card you carry you have anywhere from 90 days to 12 months after the charge is posted to use your points or miles!

Could we have utilized another reward program? Well I looked at using Aeroplan miles and all options required a connection with a lot longer travel time than the direct WestJet flights. With only 3 full days in San Francisco and this being a vacation, not business, we wanted to ensure we had the most time possible in SFO so the decision was made to go with the direct flights and enjoy more time in the Golden Gate city on the actual travel days.

Unfortunately the Diners Club Club Rewards MasterCard is not available for new applications but you could use some of the following cards to do the same type of partial (or full) redemption towards the travel charge:

• American Express Gold Rewards Card
• mbna Rewards World Elite MasterCard
• Scotiabank Gold American Express Card
• TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card
• and more. Simply look for "Any Travel Provider" in the Redemption Centre row of this chart: Travel Points comparison chart

Save 20% on WestJet Plus Fares - Exclusive offer on our Rewards Canada site

As many of you know I run the site, RewardsCanada.ca and I wanted to pass along an exclusive offer that is currently running on RC!

You can save 20% on WestJet Plus Fares for anywhere they fly if you book by Oct 5, 2015 (9:59PM MT) for travel Sep 21 - Dec 10 (Oct 8-13 are blacked out)

For complete details on the offer and the promo codes you must use visit this post on the  Rewards Canada blog!

Air Canada to place 787-9 on Calgary-Frankfurt route for April 2016

Just for the month of April you can experience flying on Air Canada's newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 between Calgary and Frankfurt. According to airlineroute.net the new planes will be on Calgary and Toronto to Frankfurt for April.  This will be a great time to try the plane out! Might have to look at doing a family trip to Europe in April just to try it out and also burn some Aeroplan miles.

Calgary – Frankfurt
AC844 YYC1750 – 1055+1FRA 789 D
AC845 FRA1330 – 1505YYC 789 D

Air Canada’s Destination Bonus Event - Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select flights worldwide

Air Canada has launched a massive new bonus Aeroplan mile event for flights across the globe. Whether you are flying within Canada, to the U.S., Europe or Asia there is a good chance you can earn extra miles on those Air Canada flights.

Offer Details
Earn up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on select Air Canada flights within Canada, to the U.S., Europe or Asia. Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Nov 15 for travel until Dec 13, 15

Earn 50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights within Canada in Flex or Latitude fares. Calgary flights are Terrace, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg
Earn Double Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights within Canada in Business Class, Premium Economy and Premium rouge. Calgary flights are Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg

Earn 50% Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and the USA in Economy Class. Calgary flights are Houston
Earn Double Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and the USA in Business Class and Premium rouge. Calgary flights are Las Vegas

Earn 5,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Europe in Economy Class. Calgary flights are Frankfurt, London
Earn 7,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Europe in Business Class, Premium Economy and Premium rouge.  Calgary flights are Frankfurt, London

Earn 7,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Asia in Tango or Flex fares. Calgary flights are Tokyo
Earn 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles per round-trip on select flights between Canada and Asia in Business Class, Premium Economy, Premium rouge and Latitude. Calgary flights are Tokyo

 

WestJet to serve London Gatwick from Calgary, Edmonton, St. John's, Toronto, Vancouver & Winnipeg

Earlier this year WestJet announced they will start flying to London Gatwick in 2016 with their new 767s. What they didn't reveal is which cities in Canada they would fly from. Thanks to Airlineroute.net we now know they are making an aggressive launch by serving LGW from 6 cities. WestJet have not revealed this themselves although it looks like they will be doing so tomorrow as they have press conferences scheduled in all 6 cities.

Here is the planned operation:

eff 06MAY16 Calgary – London Gatwick 5 weekly
WS001 YYC1855 – 1049+1LGW 76W x16
WS002 LGW1055 – 1355YYC 76W x16 (eff 08MAY16)

eff 06MAY16 Toronto – London Gatwick 1 daily
WS003 YYZ2105 – 0925+1LGW 76W D
WS004 LGW1315 – 1628YYZ 76W D

eff 06MAY16 Vancouver – London Gatwick 6 weekly
WS022 YVR1750 – 1124+1LGW 76W x6
WS023 LGW1255 – 1540YVR 76W x6 (eff 08MAY16)

eff 07MAY16 Edmonton – London Gatwick 2 weekly
WS026 YEG1905 – 1044+1LGW 76W 16
WS027 LGW1055 – 1338YEG 76W 16

eff 07MAY16 St. John’s NFLD – London Gatwick 1 daily
WS024 YYT2335 – 0800+1LGW 73W D
WS025 LGW0920 – 1137YYT 73W D

eff 07MAY16 Winnipeg – London Gatwick 1 weekly
WS028 YWG2100 – 1102+1LGW 76W 6
WS029 LGW1250 – 1551YWG 76W 6

Based on this schedule it looks like WestJet will have at least three of their 767's in service by the time the routes launch as the YVR, YYC, and YYZ flights all depart on the same day within 15 minutes of each other. The St. John's flight starting the next day will operate with a 737. Although it is only one flight per week I'm sure Winnipeggers are happy to see they get London service!! All of the other cities currently get year round or seasonal London service from other airlines. Still to launch from 6 cities to London Gatwick it sure looks like WestJet wants to take a bite out of the competition!

Thoughts everyone?

Save up to $1,000 on Emirates flights out of Calgary via Seattle + earn up to Triple Mileage Plan miles

Emirates may not fly to any cities in Western Canada but they have agreements with WestJet and Alaska Airlines to bring connecting passengers out of the west to the gateway cities. This promotion is for the latter, flying on Alaska Airlines out of Western Canada and connecting to Emirates' flights out of Seattle you can save up to US$1,000 on these flights not to mention you can earn up to Triple Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles! The savings are as follows: $1,000 off all First Class fares, $500 off select Business Class fares and $50 off all Economy Class fares. Book online at emirates.com with promo code ALASKA5 to take advantage of this deal.

Bonus Miles Offer details:
Earn up to Triple Mileage Plan Miles when you fly Emirates from the U.S.. Earn Triple Miles when you fly in First Class, or Double Miles when you fly Business or Economy Class non-stop between  Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Seattle, or Washington D.C. and Dubai, plus onward connecting Emirates flights from Dubai. Register Online  (Registration is required) then book online at emirates.com with promo code ALASKA5 to save $1000 on First Class fares, $500 on Business Class fares or $50 on Economy Class fares.

Bonus miles: Register and book by Sep 7 for travel Jul 15 - Nov 30, 15
Fare Discounts: Book by Sep 15, 15 for travel until Feb 28, 16

Here is an excerpt from the  terms of the promotion that mention the offer of flying out of Western Canada:
When you book a round-trip flight using promotional code ALASKA5 in the search box on this page, you can fly Emirates and save $1,000 off all First Class fares, $500 off select Business Class fares and $50 off all Economy Class fares....
...Book by September 15, 2015 to take advantage of this incredible offer. Travel available through February 28, 2016.
*US gateways include Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD) Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), Washington D.C. (IAD) and Orlando (MCO) and the following interior Canadian cities for travel over (SEA) only - they are YVR (Vancouver), YEG (Edmonton), YYC (Calgary), YYJ (Victoria) and YLW (Kelowna).

British Airways delays the return of 787 service to YYC

British Airways has delayed the return of their 787 for the Calgary - London Heathrow route until December 5th. The daily service will continue with 767 service until that date. (Source airlineroute.net)

Air Canada: Up to 7,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles on flights between Calgary and Europe

 Yet another summertime bonus for flying on Air Canada! So far we've seen a London bonus, a biz class within Canada bonus and now this bonus for almost all of Air Canada's Europe routes and Vancouver to Osaka

Offer Details
Earn up to 7,500 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for round-trip flights to select destinations in Europe and to Osaka. Book with Air Canada in a Tango, Flex, Latitude or Premium Economy fare, or with Air Canada rougeTM in a Tango, Flex, Latitude or Premium rouge fare. Register Online (Registration is required) Register and book by Jul 31 for travel until Sep 30, 15

WestJet Rewards: Double WestJet dollars on select routes between Calgary and British Columbia

Even more WestJet route bonuses to let you know about!

Offer Details
Double Westjet dollars when you fly on WestJet on routes to/from select cities in British Columbia.  Full details and online registration (Registration is required) Until Aug 31, 15

Air Canada: Double Aeroplan Miles for flights in Business Class or Premium Rouge within Canada

Air Canada launched a new premium class bonus offer today for travel solely within Canada. The offer is for Double Aeroplan Miles for each round-trip or two one-way flight segments in Business Class or Premium rouge. The bonus is strictly on flight miles and does not double the class of service or Altitude bonus. Simply register and book between today and July 19 for travel until September 30th.

Offer Details
Double Aeroplan Miles for each round-trip or two one-way flight segments within Canada. To be eligible, book a Business Class fare with Air Canada, or a Premium rouge fare with Air Canada rouge. Full details, online registration and booking (Registration is required) Register and book by Jul 19 for travel until Sep 30, 15