Another year has passed and as always, there have been significant developments in the miles and points game for better and for worse.
Similar to our 2021 year in review, let’s look back on some of the best and worst occurrences in the travel and credit card rewards world in 2022.
Introduction: More Travel, More Devaluations
I think I can speak for most in saying that 2022 has been a net negative for miles and points opportunities, and while travel has returned, the industry is still experiencing some struggles and “re-growing” pains since it was affected by COVID and the associated economic downturns.
Nonetheless, we’re all happy just to be able to travel again and looking forward to what future opportunities 2023 will bring us!
Highs of 2022
There are three excellent events that stick out in our mind when we think of 2022: the partnership between Empire & Scene+ Rewards, the 45k CIBC Aventura offers, and the inaugural Frugal Flyer meetup.
Empire and Scene+ Partnership
While we’ve always cherished our Air Miles for their usefulness in redeeming towards Safeway and Sobeys’ purchases, the new partnership that replaced Air Miles with Scotiabank’s Scene+ Rewards program was a very positive change. Combined with the Scotia Gold American Express credit card, we can now earn 6X Scene+ points on purchases at all Empire stores, including Safeway and Sobeys.
The Scotiabank Gold American Express card earns Scene+ Rewards points and gives cardholders the opportunity to earn 5x Scene+ points on grocery, restaurant, and entertainment purchases. This card charges no foreign exchange fees.
Check out our Scotiabank Gold American Express card review for more details.
40,000 Scene+
$7,500
$280+
$120
No
Jul 1, 2024
Combined with the PayPower Mastercard, this becomes an easy way to generate Scene+ points consistently. We highly recommend signing up for the Scotiabank American Express Gold card with Frugal Flyer to start stacking points for your next vacation ASAP.
CIBC Aventura Points Galore
The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite is a consistently decent offering, but this year it has been especially lucrative for those paying attention. It all started with a special 45,000 welcome offer with no spending requirement.
The CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card earns Aventura points and offers cardholders benefits including a $100 NEXUS statement credit and four complimentary airport lounge passes annually.
40,000 Aventura
$3,000
$880+
$139 (FYF)
Yes
–
This combined with the “Shopping with Points” promotion allowed you to redeem Aventura at a 50% increased rate of 1.25 cents per point, which made for one of the most lucrative welcome bonuses we’ve seen on a no-fee credit card.
And the Aventura party isn’t even over! Currently, there is a 40,000 points offer on the card ($1,000 minimum spend requirement), and the “Shopping with Points” promotion has been extended once again to July 16, 2023. Get in while you can.
Inaugural Frugal Flyer Meetup
In August, Frugal Flyer was able to host its first-ever Miles & Pints meetup, at Situation Brewing.
The event was a success and we got to meet and share some great travel secrets over appetizers and drinks with the local Edmonton travel community. We are looking forward to hosting two more of these in 2023 and hopefully every year going forward!
Keep an eye on the blog for more information once we firm up dates and locations.
Lows of 2022
With the good comes the bad, and there are three “not so great” events that stick out in our mind when we think of 2022: the Aeroplan & TD crackdown, the fact that the travel industry as a whole is still struggling, and the loss of the MBNA Alaska Airlines credit cards.
Aeroplan and TD Crackdown
In July 2022 we started to see Aeroplan accounts being frozen for investigation. Initial reports generated mass confusion and worry among the travel hacking community, but it started to boil down to one common denominator: TD Canada Trust Aeroplan credit cards.
We personally think this whole scenario was a bit ridiculous, where Aeroplan was enforcing something that TD allowed (if the problem was excessive product switching). Simply put – if there was an issue with abuse and TD product switching, that should have been dealt with in-house at TD in our eyes and not outsourced to a third-party loyalty program to enforce. When American Express started to handle those who were abusing their programs and cards, they simply banned them from their financial products. Either way, the lack of communication and information has been frustrating at best.
Not to mention, now that the new Aeroplan terms and conditions are in place surrounding repeat welcome bonuses and earning bonuses on multiple cards, it will be interesting to see if the policy actually has teeth and how it pans out in the year to come.
Travel Industry Still Struggling
Travel this year has come with the unfortunate realization that the travel industry still isn’t quite back to normal. While consumer demand has become significant again, airlines are still struggling to meet this demand, likely due to the residual economic effects of the pandemic.
During several of my trips, I experienced unfortunate setbacks, including cancellations, delays, and baggage mishaps. This has motivated a lot of the content we’ve written this year on APPR, compensation, and insurance claims, including:
- Air Canada: Compensation for Delayed Flights or Lost Baggage
- WestJet: Get Compensation for Delayed Flights or Lost Baggage
- Ultimate Guide to APPR Compensation
- Credit Card Travel Insurance For Award Flights
Regardless of these struggles, I’m still optimistic about the progress that’s been made since the pandemic. And I’m optimistic that travel will continue to improve and get closer to normal in 2023.
MBNA Alaska Cards Discontinued
With seemingly no warning whatsoever, MBNA discontinued the Alaska co-branded credit cards: the MBNA Alaska Airlines World Elite Mastercard and MBNA Alaska Airlines Platinum Plus Mastercard. For years, these cards offered us lucrative and steady welcome bonuses of 30,000 and 20,000 Alaska Mileage Plan Miles, respectively.
Alaska Miles can be redeemed at favorable rates for first and business class redemptions with partner airlines such as Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Fiji Airways, just to name a few. I know these cards will be sorely missed by myself and many other miles and points fanatics.
Particularly because, aside from these two cards, Alaska miles are difficult to earn for Canadians. Your remaining options now include:
- Transfer Marriott Bonvoy to Alaska at a rate of 3:1 (not good value).
- Shop via the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping Portal (mostly US retailers).
- Spend on grandfathered MBNA Alaska cards which earn at a rate of 1 mile per dollar spent.
- If you have an ITIN and partake in the US credit card market, the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card (US) and the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Business card (US) are both still available and have hefty welcome bonuses of their own
But who knows, maybe MBNA/Alaska Airlines will surprise us with a spectacular return to the Canadian market in the future (wishful thinking, I know…).
Personal Takes: 2022 and Looking Forward
Reed
2022 was a decent year of travel for me. A major highlight was definitely my week long trip to Iceland and skiing in Alaska. That was supplemented by a plethora of fun weekend trips, including Las Vegas, San Francisco, Comox, and Kananaskis (twice!).
However, even with what I was able to do in 2022, I feel there was something left to be desired. Looking forward to 2023, I want more trips, longer durations, and farther destinations. And I’ve got some very healthy points balances to make it happen. On the menu: Hawaii, Ireland, Europe, and maybe Japan. And of course, lots more impromptu weekend getaways, starting with a Frugal Flyer business trip to Vegas in the coming weeks 😀!
Josh
2022 came out swinging with restrictions being lifted and travel being back on the table. I was able to take three international trips: Rome, Amsterdam, and the Maldives. The Maldives trip was the highlight of the year for me, complete with a solid Marriott Bonvoy redemption at the W Maldives and my first trip on QSuites.
Some of the smaller trips this year took me to Las Vegas, Orlando, Comox, Vancouver, San Francisco, and Kananaskis.
Looking forward to 2023, I’m kicking it off with a trip to Vegas with Reed. From there, I’ll be heading to Bangkok & Koh Samui in March on EVA Air with some unique redemptions on Koh Samui. I’ll be heading to Tokyo in July for a solo trip and am excited to finally make it to Japan for the first time. The rest of the year will be filled with smaller trips such as additional Vegas stays, Victoria, and more.
2022 was great, and I was happy with the variety of places I was able to visit. I felt like I am finally caught up on travel, and with that in mind, my plans going forward are to focus on longer trips at fewer destinations as my vacations felt quite rushed here and there. Hoping to continue to build my points balances to start planning redemptions for 2024 as well!
Conclusion: What’s Next for Frugal Flyer in 2023
2022 has been a big year for the website and we appreciate all of our loyal readers and those who have applied for credit card or bank account rebates through Frugal Flyer.
We recently launched a completely revamped rebates program with the addition of FlyerFunds (learn more here). We are working on building relationships with additional financial institutions to bring more credit cards and bank accounts to our program. We are also working on building out a membership component to the site so you will easily be able to see all of the rebates you have applied for and more.
Finally, we are looking to add a few more writers to our team – if you love miles, points, and travel and want a platform where you can share your knowledge and earn side income, reach out to us at [email protected] so we can chat.
If there is ever anything you would like to see on Frugal Flyer or have ideas for tools that would benefit your travel, let us know.
Thanks for coming on this adventure with us and we look forward to what 2023 holds!
Josh Bandura
Latest posts by Josh Bandura (see all)
- Definitive Guide: Booking Starlux Business Class on Points - Apr 12, 2024
- Earn Up to 40,000 Scene+ & $75 Cash Back - Apr 11, 2024
- Definitive Guide: Combining Hotel Loyalty Program Points - Apr 8, 2024
- Best Credit Cards for Dining Out for Canadians - Apr 1, 2024
- Review: Scotiabank Momentum Visa Infinite Card - Mar 30, 2024
Reed Sutton
Latest posts by Reed Sutton (see all)
- The Best Luxury Lodges for Wildlife and Wilderness Lovers - Mar 4, 2024
- Welcome to the Frugal Flyer Team, Andy - Feb 20, 2024
- Update on IRS Processing of Certified True Copies of Canadian Passports - Jan 20, 2024
- Best Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers in Canada - Jan 15, 2024
- Review: The Saint Hotel New Orleans French Quarter, Autograph Collection - Jan 4, 2024
When I read flyer/mileage blogs from other countries, I cannot help but notice the limited opportunities offered by banks outside the USA, including our friends directly north (or directly south if you live in Detroit). The article describes past bonuses of 20-30K for MBNA Alaska cards as “lucrative.” While I do enjoy and support Alaska Airlines, I would not describe a 20-30K bonus as lucrative. In the USA, the only Alaska card available is through Bank of America, and they are currently offering a sign-up bonus of 70K, with a small initial spend requirement of just $3,000 in 3 months.
Given Chase’s 5/24 rule, which is quietly followed by most other USA banks, I would not even apply for a card with MNBA’s (past) sign-up bonus. In the USA, those are the kind of bonuses offered to students and youngsters getting their first credit card. My wife and I constantly apply for as many cards as we can within the 5/24 rule. Between Chase, Citi, Capital One, Barclays, Bank of America, etc., there are so many options available that we would not even consider a card with a sign-up bonus under 50K.
Between myself, my wife, and our 20-something daughters, our family routinely generates 700K per year in sign-up bonuses alone. Coupled with our actual flights and purchases, we accumulate about 1 million miles per year. From what I have read, I do not think such numbers are even attainable in any other country. I would be curious to hear if anybody has been able to achieve such numbers in Canada, or any other country.
As I review my post, I know somebody will interpret this as some type of USA=good / World=bad stance, but nothing could be further from the truth. I honestly do not understand why international banks make certain credit card offers available in one country, but not in others. Any bankers out there?
Hi Rocco,
Appreciate the perspective.
I will comment that part of those particular offers being lucrative was that you could get them many times over. As aggressively as described in this article and even more.
In general, Canada has offers with lower amounts, but much higher churnability. Your 700K number attained by four people is actually attainable in Canada for just a single ambitious person. Couple that with the fact that Canadians are fortunate to be able to dip into both the Canadian and US credit card market, and things can get a bit ridiculous quickly.