Episode 50 of Miles Ahead: The Canadian Points Podcast has Daniel, Jeff, and Josh from FrugalFlyer.ca talking about the latest news in miles and points, including the details of the finally revealed Blue Rewards and Porter Airlines VIPorter partnership.
They cover the high-level changes coming to Canadian Aeroplan credit cards (complete with new benefits and higher annual fees), a new World of Hyatt promo, and the surprising launch of the Capital One Quicksilver cards in Canada.
Several specific hotel promotions are discussed, including Stay Vancouver and a Scene+ Travel bonus earning opportunity, and three frequent flyer and hotel programs currently have points on sale that could be worth consideration.
The episode wraps up with listener questions, including one about the best next choice after American Express US and one about how the Frugal Flyer team would approach flying out of a smaller Canadian city.
(01:10) Blue Rewards Meets VIPorter
The official announcement has come out for the Blue Rewards and Porter Airlines VIPorter partnership, and the details are interesting. Members of both programs can now earn bonus points once their accounts are linked, and in later 2026, Blue Points will be transferable to VIPorter points at a rate of 2:1.
- Link Your Blue Rewards & VIPorter Accounts Here
(08:45) Canadian Aeroplan Card Refresh Highlights
We talked about the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan Card changes in a previous episode, and many of those changes are now coming to Canadian Aeroplan cards, plus some additional benefits. Annual fees are also increasing across the board. We will take a deeper dive into these changes in our next episode.
(16:20) World of Hyatt Bonus Points Fall Promotion
Until December 15th, World of Hyatt members will receive 3,000 bonus points for every three eligible nights stayed worldwide. Make sure you register if you want to participate.
- Register for this World of Hyatt promotion here
(17:11) Citi ThankYou Card – New Bonus Language
The popular Citi ThankYou cards used to have welcome bonus language that excluded cardholders from receiving a bonus if they had already gotten one in the last 48 months. This has now shifted to lifetime language.
(20:16) Capital One Quicksilver Cards Live in Canada
Capital One has unexpectedly launched its Quicksilver Cards in Canada, and wow, they are excellent. With no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and 3% on groceries, gas stations, and EV charging, this card strongly competes with many of the existing cash back cards in Canada.
(27:26) Air Canada Bookings New Phone Fee
Unrelated to Aeroplan bookings, but there is now a fee for calling Air Canada to book flights. Chances are this wasn’t something you were doing in the first place, and it looks like this fee is a way to discourage customers from calling in about purchases that can be entirely self-served.
(29:22) TD Rolling out Visa Infinite “+” to Some Cards
While there has yet to be official communication, TD is starting to contact cardholders about changing their Visa Infinite Card to a Visa Infinite + Card. This minimally impacts cardholders, with the biggest change being that they will now have access to the GigSky benefit.
- Read More: What Canadian Credit Card Tiers Mean
- Read More: GigSky Benefit on Visa Infinite + Cards
(31:21) Scene+ Hotel Earning Boost
Until November 3rd, Scene+ members can earn an additional 3 Scene+ points when booking hotels through the Scene+ Travel Portal.
- Read More: The Scene+ Travel Portal
(33:56) Stay Vancouver Gift Card Promotion is Back
The “Stay Vancouver” promotion is back, where travelers can earn a $250 gift card upon completing a stay when booking through the Stay Vancouver travel portal.
- See the finer details of this promotion here
(38:46) Buy Hilton Points With a Deep Discount
Until November 21st, when purchasing over 5,000 Hilton Honors points, members will receive a 120% bonus (on up to 240,000 points purchased). While this is the best deal we have ever seen for Hilton Honors points, it might highlight concerning news down the road.
(41:32) Atmos Points On Sale
Until October 19th, Atmos points are on sale at an effective cost of 1.8 cents per point USD when purchasing at least 30,000 Atmos points. This is a pretty good deal, provided you have a use case in mind for these points.
- Buy Atmos Points Here
(45:56) LifeMiles Bonus Sale
Until October 20th, Avianca LifeMiles are available to purchase with up to a 145% bonus, depending on what level of promotion you are targeted for.
- Buy Avianca LifeMiles Here
(48:02) Listener Question: Next US Institution After American Express
Fanny asks about the best next option for US credit cards after establishing a healthy connection with American Express US.
(52:02) Listener Question: Booking Flights From Smaller Cities
Rachel asks about planning flights from smaller cities or communities, and how the Frugal Flyer team would handle working those into their award travel bookings.
(56:48) Conclusion
If you have any episode-specific questions, leave a comment below. If you have any questions you want answered by the Frugal Flyer Team in a future episode, submit a question to the Miles Ahead podcast.
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