Air Miles introduces a new Elite Status level: Onyx + MORE Jul 9th

For a price, lenders are willing to forget your old credit sins, as long as you have enough income to prevent any new ones

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Dean Del Mastro has taken the stand in his own defence at his election overspending trial in Peterborough, Ont.
The Independent MP has yet to discuss the 2008 federal election campaign — the period of time during which Elections Canada alleges he broke campaign spending limits and rules for personal contributions.
But Del Mastro says that during the 2006 campaign he drew on his personal line of credit to bolster his run for office, although he kept his contribution within spending rules.
Del Mastro also says he was part of the Conservative party’s so-called “blue plan” in 2006, a centralized voter identification calling program the party used to target select ridings.
He says he didn’t find being part of the plan particularly useful and employed his own campaign volunteers to target potential voters.
Del Mastro’s stance on the “blue plan” is noteworthy since a key Crown witness noted earlier in the trial that the MP was “disappointed” to not be part of the program in the 2008 federal election…

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Dean Del Mastro has taken the stand in his own defence at his election overspending trial in Peterborough, Ont.
The Independent MP has yet to discuss the 2008 federal election campaign — the period of time during which Elections Canada alleges he broke campaign spending limits and rules for personal contributions.
But Del Mastro says that during the 2006 campaign he drew on his personal line of credit to bolster his run for office, although he kept his contribution within spending rules.
Del Mastro also says he was part of the Conservative party’s so-called “blue plan” in 2006, a centralized voter identification calling program the party used to target select ridings.
He says he didn’t find being part of the plan particularly useful and employed his own campaign volunteers to target potential voters.
Del Mastro’s stance on the “blue plan” is noteworthy since a key Crown witness noted earlier in the trial that the MP was “disappointed” to not be part of the program in the 2008 federal election…

Perhaps as a reaction to Aeroplan’s Distinction program, Air Miles soft launched a new elite status level earlier this week. Called Onyx, the new level is the highest elite level Air Miles members will be able to achieve. For years Air Miles has had only one elite level, Gold which offered those who reached it discounted flight reward offers and other benefits. This new level promises even more than Gold and while it adds a few more ‘travel’ benefits the majority additional benefits it has over Gold tend to be shopping and experience related. Granted the number one benefit I see from this new level is the promise of “Greater access to airline seats” which hopefully doesn’t mean more seats at more miles like we tend to see from many frequent flyer programs.  Good news for those of you who hold the American Express Air Miles Reserve card, you’ll automatically get this elite status without having to meet the 6,000 miles earned in a calendar year requirement!I reached out to Air Miles for more details and here is what they passed on to me:Onyx is a new way to reward our best Collectors with exclusive benefits, such as discounts on flight and merchandise rewards, as well as priority customer service…

Three years after big banks started pulling the plug on debit card rewards programs, many small banks and credit unions are finding surprising success in offering similar rewards to their customers