Points and Miles: Annual Update, Part 2

Last fall, in Points 4: Double-dipping, I described how you can often earn points in at least two different programs for any transaction (My personal record is a quintuple dip). The principles I outlined still apply, but as I mentioned in Part 1, the specific example I gave of converting points earned with the Club Sobeys MasterCard to Aeroplan miles is no longer valid.

The reasons for joining multiple airline and hotel rewards programs that I explained in Points 5: U.S. Airline Frequent Flier Programs still pertain. So does my opinion about the value of Points.com. Personally, I don't use Points.com to track the balances in my programs any more. I've found another free site, AwardWallet, which is easier to use, works faster, and is more accurate. It will even keep track of flight, hotel, and car rental reservations for me, which I've found very useful. It doesn't allow me to swap points the way Points.com does, so I still use the latter occasionally.

I don't have the Amex Starwood Preferred Guest card anymore, so I'm not earning SPG Starpoints the way I described in Points 6: Starwood Preferred Guest Program. But, if I want to, I can convert Amex Membership Rewards to Starpoints. All the virtues of the SPG program remain. Ben Schlappig, who writes the One Mile at a Time blog, recently explained the best ways to realize the value of Starpoints in this piece on travelsort.

Since the beginning of the year, I've also collected a fair number of Club Carlson (formerly goldpoints plus) points. You can read about that and my legendary quintuple dip in this post from back in May. I'm hoping to pull off something similar this fall. I'll let you know if it works out.

Marriott Rewards was a program I hadn't paid much attention to in the past. There hadn't been many Marriott properties in Canada, and I generally find Marriott's rates higher, both for paid stays and points redemptions. But recently a number of reasonably-priced Fairfield Inns have opened in Canada that compete with Hilton and Intercontinental in the Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express space. Currently, there's also a stay twice, earn a free night offer and a 15K sign-up bonus for a $75 annual fee Chase VISA card that have me planning some Marriott stays this fall. And speaking of Hilton, a double points offer this summer meant our week in D.C. earned a nice bunch of points in a program that also had not been a focus for me in the past.

As I described in Points 7: Priority Club, this is where my hobby/obsession began about seven years ago, and it remains a favourite program for its ease of earning points (lots of bonus opportunities) and plentiful locations. I mentioned that there wasn't a way Canadians could earn PCR points with a credit card, but that will change this November when Capital One will launch $120 annual fee and no-fee versions of a PCR MasterCard. You can be sure I'll be signing up and letting you know which is the better value, depending on your circumstances.

If you want to know more about points and miles collecting and how to get the most out of redemptions, check out the resources in Points 9: The End of the Trail.

And one final point: unless you're able to pay your credit card balances in full each month, the interest you pay will far exceed the value of any points or miles you earn.

You can now follow me on Twitter: @AeneasLane

Spring 2011 Travel and Points Offers

Lately there has been a raft of offers as the spring travel season approaches. Here are some of them.

Until December 31, you'll earn 100 bonus Aeroplan miles when you join Park 'n Fly Rewards. You'll also earn 50% more Aeroplan miles each time you use Park 'n Fly.

Most airline miles expire unless you have activity in the account every 12-24 months. Delta Airlines recently announced that it has eliminated mileage expiration. Good news for the casual traveler. And remember, you can earn up to 2,000 Delta miles for a three-night stay at most Hilton hotels until March 31. All the details are in my January 6 post.

And while I don't usually recommend exchanging miles using Points.com because of the steep commission they extract, it can be worthwhile, if for example you need to keep points in a program alive, need only a few points to reach an award level, or have points in an "orphan" program. Until March 31, exchanges for Delta SkyMiles get you 50% bonus miles, which makes the pain a little less. Some of the programs you can exchange with are Esso Extra, Hbc Rewards, and Priority Club.

You do intend to participate in Earth Hour don't you? This year, it's between 8:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. And you won't just turn off your lights, right? You'll put on a sweater (better yet, snuggle with a friend) and turn down the thermostat a degree or two? To reward you for your virtuous behaviour, Starwood Preferred Guest will give you 100 Starpoints.

Country inns and Suites by Carlson has a Spring Getaway offer good until April 30 at participating hotels in Canada and the U.S. Stay two or more nights and receive a certificate code provided via email post-stay to redeem online for a US$30 Amazon Gift Card* or a C$30 Amazon.ca gift certificate, a T.G.I. Friday's offer (US hotels only), and 3,000 bonus Gold Points.

Choice Hotels' offer to triple your points after the second stay continues until April 13. Find the details here.

Best Western has been on the move lately. Though the world’s largest hotel chain, it lacked a clear image in many travelers’ minds because, unlike all other major chains, there was no way to differentiate among different quality levels of its properties. That’s all changed. Best Western has now rebranded itself into three quality tiers: Best Western, Best Western Plus, and Best Western Premier.

Not a member of Best Western Rewards? Join by April 11 via this link and get 250 American Airline AAdvantage miles when you set your earnings preference to AA. Then earn up to 1,000 AA AAdvantage miles per stay. There’s a similar offer for Aeroplan members here. Or, register and stay three times by April 11 at any Best Western in Canada or the U.S. and earn a free night with this offer.

You can also earn Best Western Rewards with a no annual fee MasterCard from MBNA. You may need to quote the code CJ4A to get a 20,000 sign up bonus. You can apply here.

And finally, need a way to keep track of all your points and loyalty programs in one place? I use Award Wallet. The basic service is free, and it securely tracks all your program balances and will even warn you about point expiry for the first three programs. For a small fee, it will monitor the expiration dates of all your programs. It even creates a trip itinerary for you by linking the numbers of your airline, hotel, and car rental loyalty programs. Very neat.

Happy trails.