June 13 Update: Sobey’s buying Safeway, Alaska Airlines adds more partners to one way award bookings, 25% Bonus on buying Mas Rewards points + MORE Jun 13th

Now more than half way through the week here is what Thursday June 13th has brought us: News, Tips & Tricks Potentially big news on the shopping side of loyalty programs coming out late yesterday with the announcement of Sobey’s buying the Canadian operations of Safeway. No word yet on what exactly is going to happen to the 200+ Safeway stores out west but chances are they will eventually be re-branded as Sobey’s which would also mean the integration of the Club Sobey’s program into all these stores. If this happens the big loser will be Air Miles as Safeway has been the place to be for earning hundreds if not thousands of Air Miles Rewards miles since 1992! In fact Safeway has been the one of if not the most lucrative partner for Air Miles Rewards Miles. Back in the day it wasn’t unheard of to earn hundreds of Air Miles when buying a few dollars worth of Safeway brand dish sponges! I’ve scoured the news sources and such but have not heard mention of what will happen to the Safeway stores and as a result the Air Miles earning…

For the most part, I think Canadians have the advantage over Americans. Our housing economy didn’t crash (completely), our banks don’t appear to be failing, and medical care is downright affordable. One place where our southern friends do have the advantage, however, is when it comes to credit reports.
Everyone knows that they should be checking their credit report. A credit report is very, very important when it comes to maintaining your financial health.

Checking your credit report will allow you to quickly and efficiently challenge incorrect reports, find potential identity theft, and ensure that financial institutions give you the best deal possible when doing business. Not checking your credit report is like never going to the dentist. You may not feel like you have a problem, but if you wake up one day with a tooth ache you’ll wish you did some basic maintenance rather than a massive root canal.
In America, at least, you can get 3 free “checkups” every single year from the 3 major reporting agencies…

Capital One’s Aspire Travel World MasterCard still top in Rewards Canada annual rankings, but much depends on how you use your cards.

Do you have an employer sponsored pension plan? Consider yourself lucky. Today fewer than three in 10 Canadians have a company pension plan – and those who do face an uphill battle with their savings. While low interest rates are welcomed if you’re paying off debt like a mortgage or credit card, they pose a challenge for retirees and company pension plans who depend on interest rates for decent returns.
Despite the low rate environment, though, new developments are in store for pensions in 2013. The Mercer Pensions Health Index reached 91 per cent for May, up from 86 per cent in April and 82 per cent at the beginner of 2013.
Behind the Numbers
So why is the solvency of pension plans all of a sudden improving? “Pension plans are getting a boost from three key sources: buoyant equity markets, rising long-term interest rates and plan sponsors making contributions to fund the deficits,” says Manuel Monteiro, a partner in Mercer’s financial strategy group. “For many plan sponsors, getting back to a fully funded status is now clearly in sight…

It has been a little over a month since I wrote the first ‘Travel Hacking 101′ post and at that time I showed you how to earn 50,000+ Aeroplan Miles or British Airways Avios for free* Now two new offers have come along in the past week that up the potential Aeroplan Miles that can be earned for free outside of credit card spend to 82,000+! The two new offers are limited time, so they should done first and as such are listed as steps 1 and 2. The remainder of the steps can be spread out over time all dependent on how many hits you want on your credit rating at once and how soon you want the free miles. I recommend reading my post from back in May for background information or if you are new to this and then you can get the ball rolling by following the steps below.How do you get the 82,000+ Aeroplan Miles? It all revolves around credit card sign up bonuses from cards that either have no annual fee or where the first year fee is waived.  The only ‘costs’ associated with this method are putting your everyday credit card spend onto these cards to meet the minimum requirements for getting the sign up bonus…