February 2007

I am going to Dubai next week- and have just found out that my return journey will include a 14 and a half hour flight!

As such, I thought it was appropriate to share some tips on taking these very long flights.

• If you are flying economy (as I am), try to get a seat near the back of the plane. These are generally the seats that fill up later, and you will have a greater chance of having an empty seat next to you.
• Bring something else to do. This could include books to read, your ipod, sudoku puzzles, etc… Remember that any flight longer than 10 hours is very long and you will have plenty of time to be sick and tired of watching the in-flight movies.
• Don’t forget to make adjustments for different time zones, read Time Zone Tips for more
• Don’t drink too much alcohol- on this length of flight you have enough time to get drunk, sober up, and be hung over!
• I have some other tips which can come in handy: Airplane Tips- Before Flying, and Airplane Tips- On the Plane

Any other ideas?

As part of my effort of trying to consolidate my points earnings- I have just applied for the CIBC Aerogold card. This will be replacing my CIBC Aventura card which I have been using for the last couple of years.

Why am I making this change? There are three main reasons:

Firstly, I do a lot of my travel on Air Canada, so if I am collecting miles for my flying, I thought that I might as well also collect some using my credit card.

Secondly, if you apply for this credit card now now you get a bonus of 15,000 Aeroplan miles, which is more than half of what is needed for a economy fare inside North America. But you must apply from the CIBC website.

Finally, you now get 1.5 miles for every dollar spent for at gas, grocery, and drug stores. This will allow me to accumulate Aeroplan miles much faster.

I am not the biggest fan of Aeroplan- for some destinations I find that the number of miles needed are a much more than the use of other airlines- but for use in Canada- Aeroplan is the only real choice in frequent flier miles.

For more information on Aeroplan offers, check my Aeroplan page

Yesterday I posted about Rewards Network, the dining program which gives you extra frequent flier miles.

If you are an Air Canada Aeoplan member you probably noticed that they are not part of the rewards network. Why? Because they have their own program.

It is called Advantex and it is done with CIBC. It is a similar idea to Rewards Network only that it works for restaurants in Canada, gives you less benefits (usually 1 or 2 miles per dollar spent) , and you can’t choose which credit card to use; you have to use specific ones- either the CIBC Aerogold card or the CIBC Aventura card.

However, if you do live in or visit Canada a lot- the selection of restaurants in canadian cities is much better than Rewards Network.

If you have the CIBC Aerogold card, the website you can check to learn more about this is http://www.aerogold-advantex.com/

If you have the CIBC Aventura card, the website you can check to learn more about this is http://en.aventuraadvantex.com/

This is a post for those of you who are always looking to increase your frequent flier miles. Take a look at Rewards Network

Rewards Network is a dining program which allows you to get Cash Back or frequent flier miles at many restaurants across the US and canada.

When you join the program you initially qualify for 3 miles per dollar spent, but if you go to a lot of Rewards Network restaurants (more than 12 in one year), you get an incredible 10 points for every dollar spent. This can be a great bonus if you are taking clients out to dinner.

There are three things I really like about this program

1. The extent of points earnings. On the rewards network you can earn points from Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways.

2. The ease of use of the program. Once you are signed up, you give them one or several credit card numbers that you will use at the restaurant- and your points will automatically be sent to the airline of your choice.

3. The range and selection of restaurants. It is very easy to find a restaurant on the rewards network website. The number of member is good, and there is a wide variety of tastes and prices for any occasion.

Try it, it is free. Rewards Network

As of January 2007, Aeroplan miles now expire. As a result, Aeroplan collectors must be aware of the changes and how they can be affected. The rules related to expiry are the single most important thing to know about Aeroplan, because if you are not careful, all of your miles can be taken away.

There are two aspects of expiry that you need to be aware of, keeping your account active and making sure your miles don’t expire.

First, for those who are not active Aeroplan collectors, it is important to note that in order to keep your Aeroplan account active, you must make a transaction on the account every 12 months. This used to be every 36 months so make sure that you do something with miles at least once a year. For example, if you collected Aeroplan miles today, February 19th, you would have to do something else by February 18th of next year. Keep in mind that any activity on the accounts does count, which means that you can add miles or redeem some to keep the account active. If you are not planning a trip, check out my Aeroplan page to give you ideas about how to collect them elsewhere.

The second element of expiry is that now all Aeroplan miles expire after 7 years. The rules are slightly different from the rules regarding keeping the account active, as they are considered earned in a year of their accumulation. All miles that are collected in 2007, for example, will be removed from the account if they are not used by December 31st, 2014.

You can find out all of the details about expiry on Aeroplan’s help page.

Well, I just had an interesting weekend. On Valentine’s day my girlfriend announced that she was taking me to the Ice Hotel, I knew this was going to be a very different experience.

The Ice Hotel, as the name implies is made of completely of Ice. It has around 30 rooms for guests, two bars, a chapel, and an area with a sauna and hot tubs for the hotel guests. During the day- until 8 o’clock, visitors are allowed to walk through the entire facility, but after 8 the guest rooms and sauna area are off limits.

Once you have checked in, you are given an information session which explains how the sleeping works.  When you enter your room you find a bag which contains four items: your sleeping bag, a pillow, a blanket, and another thin nylon bag. First, you get into the nylon bag, then you get into the sleeping bag.  Then you go to sleep. The sauna and hot tubs are open all through the night so if you do need to warm up you can go back there.

In each room there is a bed made of ice. On top of this is a thin mattress, reminiscent of a gym mat. On top of the mat there are a couple of furs. That’s what you put your sleeping bag on.

I slept very soundly. The combination of fresh air and the warmth of the sleeping bag were magic. My girlfriend on the other hand did not fare so well. She woke up several times complaining about the cold. Then finally, at around 6 am, went to the hot tub.

Would I recommend the experience- yes. Would I do it again? Not for a while…

Check out my photos of the place here.

For the hotel website go to http://www.icehotel-canada.com/

I just logged into the Marriott Rewards website and saw that Marriott has a new Megabonus promotion which you can register for. This Megabonus lasts from March 1st until May 31st.
The way it works is that you get a certain number of bonus points for a certain number of stays. In my case, I got offered 5,000 bonus points for every third stay. Every time you check-out, one stay is counted- regardless of the actual number of days stayed at the hotel. This can add up pretty fast, especially if you are going to be staying at several different Marriott hotels.

It costs you nothing and takes a couple of seconds to sign up for this offer, I strongly suggest signing up.

There are a few new limited time hotel offers from Aeroplan

Hotel Offer #1

At Intercontinental hotels- Between January 15 and April 30, 2007, earn 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles for every third qualifying night—up to 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles at any InterContinental^®, Crowne Plaza^®, Hotel Indigo^TM, Holiday Inn^®, Holiday Inn Express^®, Staybridge Suites^® or Candlewood Suites^® Hotel worldwide.

Hotel Offer #2

Earn up to 500 Aeroplan Miles every stay with two new partners Sofitel and Novotel. Better yet, celebrate this new partnership with Double Aeroplan Miles at eight hotels in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa until June 30, 2007! That’s 1,000 miles per eligible stay at the Sofitel Montreal and 500 miles per stay at all Canadian Novotels

Hotel Offer #3

Triple Aeroplan Miles with Choice Hotels

Earn triple the miles for every eligible stay** starting with the second one between February 1 and April 30, 2007. That includes stays with Choice Hotels^® at:

• Comfort^TM, Comfort Suites^®, Quality^®, Sleep Inn^®, Clarion^®, Cambria Suites^TM or MainStay Suites^® hotels in Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean or Mexico
• Econo Lodge^® or Rodeway Inn^® hotels in Canada

As it happens, I will be staying at a Comfort Suites hotel next week so I will make sure to sign up…

For more Aeroplan offers check out my Aeroplan page

Aeroplan has a new offer with Rogers Magazine Service. The ad says that you can choose from over 100 of Canada’s top magazines including Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Men’s Health, Today’s Parent, Canadian House & Home, and Moneysense. The prices are pretty good, You can save up to 83% when you subscribe to magazines through this offer. If you subscribe to one magazine you get 350 Aeroplan miles, with two subscriptions you get 1,000 miles, and with three you get 1,350 miles. Click here for more info.
The offer is valid until the end of 2007. It may be worthwhile if you buy some of these magazines.

When I went shopping last week I bought some Quaker oatmeal. It was only when I got home that I noticed that it was a box where I could register for the 10 free Aeroplan miles.

So, I went to breakfastcentral.ca, put in my Aeroplan number and last name, put in the pin that I found on the inside of the oatmeal box, and asked for the miles to be deposited immediately in my account.

I found the miles were deposited two days later. The breakfast central website says that miles are deposited twice a month so you may have to wait up to 2 weeks to see them.

Altogether a painless experience, though I still think that 10 miles is not really enough to sway me to buy a Tropicana or Quaker product.

There is a lot of talk about valuing points and as with any kind of discussion there are a variety of opinions on this.

Aeroplan is one of the programs I use and collect a lot- so what is the value of Aeroplan Points?

One way to value points is to look at what you can buy for an equivalent cash value. 60,000 Aeroplan for example can get you a 500 dollar gift certificate at Future Shop. This works out to less than one cent per point (around 0.8 cents per point). Not a great value but better than nothing.

A one hundred dollar card for Futureshop will cost you 13,000 points, which is an even lower value- around 0.7 cents per point.

The best value is usually to look at the number of points it will take you to fly somewhere. Last year I took a trip to Scotland which cost me 80,000 points + 350 dollars in airport taxes. This same flight would have cost me 1,600 dollars if I had bought the ticket at a regular price. So in this case my points were worth 1.5 cents per point. If you are redeeming points for flying, you usually get best values when you fly further.
On average, the rule of thumb is that you should get more than one cent per point. Two or more points is really good. If you are not getting that much you should pay cash. But this rule of thumb ignores the fact that you may not always have cash for a trip.

The best advice I can give is that if you are a member of a points program, look everywhere for opportunities to collect them, because at some time in the future they may add up to be enough for that trip you have always wanted.

Check out my Aeroplan page for some ideas.