Hilton Honors next systemwide promotion has been revealed – Double Points & Elite Nights + MORE Aug 25th

 Aeroplan added a third new airline partner is just as many months that members can earn and redeem miles with. That airline is Vistara which is based in New Delhi India and it flies mostly to  destinations within India but does have service to Bangkok, Colombo, Dubai, Kathmandu, and Singapore. They are also launching flights between London and Delhi later this week that will run for only a month as part of a special travel bubble but hopefully that opens up the option for the airline to serve London on a full time basis sometime in the near future. If you will be flying on Vistara in the future on a paid ticket and are crediting that flight to Aeroplan here is what you can expect to earn:On the redemption side you can redeem miles to fly on Vistara according to Aeroplan’s Fixed Mileage Reward Chart which you can find here. As of November 8 those mileage amounts will change when the new partner reward point requirements kick in. Aeroplan let us know that Fuel Surcharges do no apply to Vistara operated flights which will become standard on all Aeroplan partners as of November 8 as well…

 Loyalty Lobby broke the news just over a day ago that the details for Hilton Honor’s next systemwide promo had been revealed. There isn’t a registration landing page available yet but the FAQ page is what went out on the web which astute searchers have found. The new promotion called Double Rewards will net Honors members who register for it double Honors Points and Double Elite night credits for each stay at a Hilton family hotel from September 8 through to December 31, 2020. When you have a ‘double’ offer versus say the current flat rate bonus of 2,000 bonus Honors points you have a promotion that is more valuable for those more expensive stays – whether its one night at a high end expensive location or a multiple night stay at less expensive locations. It’s those one night $80 rates that will be earning less of a bonus for the fall but when you think about it this type of promotion makes sense from the hotel chain’s perspective. Many hotel rates are grossly discounted right now due to a severe lack of travel happening so in terms of preserving revenues it makes more sense for Hilton to offer this double points and double elite night credit promotion…

 Rewards Canada’s fourth annual Top Cash back Credit Card rankings are now up on the main Rewards Canada site! They are out later than usual when compared to the past and this due to the fact that I changed the way we rank the cards and also how we’ll update it. No longer will the rankings be a once a year set list not to be touched until the following year. They are now dynamic and will be updated as required based on the various cards welcome offers, earn rates and benefits. If one of the top card changes and say comes out with a super strong welcome bonus chances are it will move up the list and vice versa. The other big change is how we rank the cards as based on feedback we put a heavy focus on the actual cash back earned, especially in the first and second years. This really changed the rankings as there are cards right now that are being offered as first year free and have a 10% welcome earn rate. Those cards all do well in the rankings thanks to those offers but as I already mentioned once those offers disappear or another great offer comes out the rankings can and will change…

WestJet’s accelerator offer for their two credit cards issued by RBC has now been extended to September 30. Initially slated to end on August 31 the 2x rewards on grocery and restaurant purchases can now be enjoyed by cardholders (both existing and new) for another month. If you missed our initial post from the end of June about this promotion you’ll want to read on to how this offer differs from some of the others in the market right now. The main difference is that WestJet and RBC are giving you three options to choose from on how you want to receive your double rewards.  Those options are double your WestJet dollars (the regular type of earn for these cards), a statement credit (cash back) or a donate those rewards to help support your community.When you go to the offer registration page you will be asked which reward you want and you’ll need to  input your 16 digit card number as well as your WestJet Rewards ID. This was a smart move by WestJet and RBC to offer the various reward options due to the uncertainty of travel for many Canadians right now and have been holding back on using their WestJet cards for purchases…

The benefits of owning a vacation property are obvious. A cottage, cabin, condo or trailer a short drive from your home can provide a quick weekend recharge. A property down south can serve as a regular vacation destination or extended winter stay for a snowbird.
There are many emotion-driven reasons for buying a vacation property, or not. I like to evaluate a property purchase from a financial point of view—and here’s how. 
Say a property’s purchase price is $500,000. Whether you use cash, a mortgage/home equity line of credit, or a combination, there are other costs to consider. If you purchase with cash that you could otherwise invest at a 4% return (to use a conservative assumption), there is an opportunity cost of not investing that money. If you borrowed money, despite current mortgage rates being around 2%, over the long run the interest rate is likely to go higher. On a $500,000 property, there may therefore be an initial cost of 4%, or $20,000.
Property taxes, utilities, insurance, condo fees and maintenance could easily add another 2% to 4% per year in costs…