Cross-border Target shoppers’ personal information stolen + MORE Jan 21st

An Aeroplan customer has noticed that fuel surcharges on so-called “free tickets” booked using reward points seem to have crept up each year.

TORONTO – Target is warning its Canadian customers that a massive security breach at the retailer over the holiday season may have led to their personal information being stolen.
An email sent to some customers by the retailer on Monday said it believes cross-border shoppers who went to U.S. Target stores between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15 were affected.
Target said its investigation found that personal information, like the names, addresses, emails and phone numbers of some Canadians may have been stolen.
The breach does not extend to payment data for the debit and credit cards of Canadians, which is what was taken from U.S. customers, it said.
“Target Canada stores were not impacted by the payment card breach,” added president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel in the message.
Spokeswoman Lisa Gibson says the email was only sent to Canadian shoppers who Target believes could have had their information stolen.
However, the message also went to at least some Target Canada card holders who weren’t in the United States over the affected period…

MCALLEN, Texas – Two Mexican citizens who were arrested at the border used account information stolen during the Target security breach to buy tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise, according to a South Texas police chief.
But a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday that an investigation is ongoing into the possibility of a link between the Target data breach and the arrests in Texas.
One day earlier, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Mary Carmen Garcia, 27, and Daniel Guardiola Dominguez, 28, both of Monterrey, Mexico, had used cards containing the account information of South Texas residents stolen from Target. Rodriguez said they were used to purchase numerous items at national retailers in the area including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.
“They’re obviously selling the data sets by region,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday.
In an email, Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said: “The U…

The health care overhaul’s reach stretches far beyond the millions of uninsured Americans it is expected to help. It also could touch everything from the drug choices to doctor bills of people who have insurance through work.
The law isn’t expected to prompt sudden, radical changes for workers. So you probably won’t lose your job due to the overhaul, despite claims by the law’s opponents. But benefits experts say there are several other ways the law can leave fingerprints on the benefits of the roughly 149 million people who are covered through their jobs.
IS MY JOB SAFE?
Republicans have called the overhaul the “Job-Killing Health Law.” This is in part because of the law’s requirement that companies with 50 or more workers offer full-time workers — defined as those working 30 hours or more — health coverage.
Some companies have said they are cutting part-time workers’ hours to keep them below that threshold. Texell Credit Union in Temple, Texas, is one…

Welcome to another of travel rewards and more on Rewards Canada! News, Tips & Tricks WestJet released their 2014 summer schedule which sees the airline is adding five new routes, increasing frequency on 20 existing routes across the network, while five seasonal routes move to year-round service. Inlcuded are WestJet Encore’s first foray into to the East with flights between Toronto and Thunder bay, Thunder Bay and Winnpeg. It also sees the Calgary-Newark flight being replaced with Calgary-New York JFK where WestJet partners American Airlines and Delta have a greater presence. Full details can be found here.Petro Points is offering a 1,000 point bonus when you redeem 12,000 points in-store for a fuel savings reward card by Jan 28. Europe Airpost a small French charter carrier has announced a new weekly service from Halifax to Glasgow and Paris for the summer season. Of course there are no frequent flyer options for this airline but you can use a travel points credit card like the American Express Gold Rewards Card, TD First Class Visa Infinite, BMO World Elite or others for flights on this airline…