Event Review: Sneak peek at Air Canada’s transformed loyalty program event in Montreal [Guest post] + MORE Aug 19th

 Today we welcome a new contributor to Rewards Canada as we collaborate with Anshul Singh of Points, Miles & Bling.  Based in Ottawa, Anshul is well known in the Canadian points and miles circuit hosting weekly virtual points & miles events, having presented at PointsU and much more. His first contribution to Rewards Canada is a look back at Air Canada’s event this past July announcing the new Aeroplan program. The timing for this post was perfect as Rewards Canada was not able to attend this event in Montreal. We look forward to more collab’s with Anshul! Now here’s his recap of the event:Having waited over a year for details on the new Aeroplan program, I was excited to receive an invitation from Air Canada, for a sneak peak into the new Aeroplan program. Without hesitation, I confirmed my availability for the media event, which was held in Montreal on July 29th, 2020. The event was to host a group of up to 20-25 people, including AC folks, in Montreal. The day of the event started with a scheduled pickup at the hotel…

 AIR MILES expanded their reward catalog offerings yesterday with some great new redemptoin options for digital services. You can now redeem Cash Miles to pay for your Spotify membership fees at the usual Cash Miles rate of 95 miles to $10. On top of this option there are now Dream Miles options to redeem for 12 month digital gaming subscriptions and those are Nintendo Switch Online, Xbox Live Gold Membership, PlayStation NOW, and PlayStation Plus. These are all welcome new additions to the AIR MILES reward catalog as travel is still curtailed and many collectors are looking for different options to use their miles on.  Learn more at airmiles.ca  No so good news for Canadians who were getting excited to go to Hawaii soon. After seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases the state has delayed its non-quarantine reopening to tourists from September 1st to at least October 1st. (Source State of Hawaii) Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, trans-Pacific travelers arriving in Hawaii from out-of-state will have the option to get a valid COVID-19 test prior to their arrival, and show proof of a negative test result, to avoid the 14-day quarantine…

 Here are the Rewards Canada Top 5 Cash Back Credit Card Sign Up offers for the month of August 2020! This is not a ‘best’ credit card list like our Top Cash Back Credit Card rankings but instead a look at cards that have very good acquisition (welcome/sign up) offers. As always when choosing a card you should always take other factors into account other than the just sign up bonus, but when some of these cards are first year free, they can and do pay off even when you grab them strictly for the sign up rewards. This month we see four of the five of the cards offering the first year free.Here are our top 5 cash back credit card sign up offers for August (in alphabetical order) BMO CashBack World Elite Mastercard  – 10% cash back on all purchases up to $2,000 (Apply here)Welcome offer cash back value: $200This card is offering 10% cash back on all spending during the first three months of having the card. The 10% is capped at $2,000 of spending for a maximum return of $200 cash back as your welcome bonus…