6 Must-Know Tips For Renting Out Your Cottage + MORE Jul 2nd

Now that we’ve had a few days to let the new Aeroplan changes digest in our minds, here are some of my thoughts, comments and such:7 Year Expiry RuleFirstly, the 7 year expiry rule is over and done with . A good move in my opinion. A couple of other programs have already done this, Delta SkyMile and more recently JetBlue TrueBlue. However with Aeroplan they still have the inactivity rule in place which means if you don’t use your Aeroplan account at least once every 12 months (either earn or burn) you will lose your miles. Now if you read any other frequent flyer blogs or forums the removal of the 7 year rule is not a big deal. True for frequent flyers or big time credit card spenders it’s not, they earn enough miles quickly to redeem well within 7 years. But for the average Canadian Aeroplan member who is neither a frequent flyer or big time crest spender this is great news. Just look at all the comments from people on numerous articles in the Canadian media when the rule was introduced or even when it hit the airwaves for a second time just before Christmas 2011…

If you’re like me, you love cottage living. But, if you don’t own a cottage, renting is the way to go in order to experience a taste of northern living this summer. As well, if you’re a cottage owner, renting out your cottage to others when you’re not there can help rake in a few extra bucks.
However, renting can be a tricky business; both sides want to get great value without too much fuss. Here are a few suggestions for maxing out your cottage rental potential.
Editor Tip: Trekking out of the city to a cottage can be pricey for your gas tank. Cut your costs with a gas rewards card like the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard. You’ll score five per cent cash back for the first six months on gas and grocery purchases (a great way to fund that summer bbq, too!) Click here to learn more about this special offer.
What To Know About Renting Your Cottage Out
Owning a second property is expensive and renting out your cottage, farm or chalet when you’re not using it makes good financial sense…

First day of full updates in July brings us: News, Tips & Tricks Carlson Rezidor Hotels’ Club Carlson program decided to change their points to miles conversion rate yesterday with no prior announcement. The devaluation is quite big, over 44% at the top level as the redemption option moves from an incremental tiered basis to a flat rate. Previously the rates were as follows:2000 Gold Points = 250 Airline Miles 50,000 Gold Points = 8000 Airline Miles100,000 Gold Points =18,000 Airline MilesNow the new flat rate is 10 Club Carlson Points to 1 Airline Mile. So at the top level that same 100,000 Gold Points will only equal 10,000 Airline Miles. I can see a number of reasons that Club Carlson did this. They had a couple of big promotions in the past couple of years where you could earn 50,000 Points for a one night stay and while the best use of those points would be for a free nights within the Club Carlson hotel portfolio, I’m sure many members converted them to airline miles and the same goes in the U…

The best hotel credit card in Canada (and one of the best travel cards overall) will feature a higher sign up bonus for the next six weeks or so. Normally, the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express comes with a 10,000 Starpoint sign up bonus but with this limited time offer the sign up bonus will be 20,000 Starpoints after you charge $1,000 in purchases to the Card in the first three months of Cardmembership. This offer will go live sometime today and runs until Sep 25, 2013.Some features of the card include• Earn 20,000 bonus Starpoints® after you charge $1,000 in purchases to your Card in your first three months of Cardmembership – that’s enough for 5 free nights! Offer ends September 25, 2013.• Earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases charged to the Card• Annual interest rate 19.99% on purchases and 21.99% on funds advances• Enjoy a Free Weekend Night Award when you reach $40,000 in purchases each year• Experience Starwood Gold Preferred Guest status when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year• Redeem Starpoints for Free Nights with no blackout dates at over 1,000 of the world’s most desired hotels in nearly 100 countries• Use Starpoints for flights on over 350 airlines with no blackout dates with SPG Flights• Experience once-in-a-lifetime events with SPG Moments• Get Front Of The Line®* access to tickets for some of the most popular concerts, theatre and special events• Enjoy the flexibility to pay balances in full or over time •  American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website…