Air Canada’s loyalty program, Aeroplan, has been involved in so much drama in the last few years, any telenovela would be jealous of the twists and the turns.

For about 25 years, Aimia Inc. operated Aeroplan independently of Air Canada. The Montreal-based carrier planned to launch a new program but eventually bought Aeroplan back from Aimia for 450 million Canadian dollars in 2018. Now that Aeroplan has returned to Air Canada, the program underwent many changes, and we have the final result.

The program has migrated to a new system, but luckily everyone’s miles are intact.

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? Or are you just gearing up for the busy holiday season? In any case, read this before you buy anything else and you’ll see your points and miles balances grow thanks to the things you were going to buy anyway.

It always surprises me how many people haven’t heard about the shopping portals or don’t maximize all the opportunities available today. So I am on a mission to stop people from leaving money, or points and miles, on the table.

There are two major parts of planning your credit card strategy. One part, and the primary focus that many people take, is focusing on sign up bonuses that fit your immediate needs. This is a very important part of credit card strategizing, but it’s not the only thing to consider.

In addition to sign up bonuses, it’s important to build a long term strategy with the cards you select. There are lot of things to consider when deciding to keep a credit card long term.

You might be wondering why do you need business credit cards? Or maybe you think you can’t qualify for one because you don’t own what most people would perceive as business? There are a lot of misconceptions about what qualifies as a business, who is eligible and how to apply for these cards.

However, business cards often come with some of the most attractive welcome offers and have the most generous earning structure. They can prove to be extremely rewarding for anyone who is willing to learn and understand the rules.

Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.

2020 has been quite a year! Most of us haven’t been able to travel much, but we sure have had a lot of great points and miles earning opportunities. There were increased welcome bonuses and improved bonus categories and last week we wrote about the great American Express 3X referral offer.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Credit Card both have made a few waves in the ocean of rewards credit cards recently. Both earn flexible points, have comparable annual fees and charge no foreign transaction fees.

However, are these two cards really that similar? Let’s go over their differences and similarities to help you decide which choice suits your needs best.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® CardCapital One Venture Credit Card5X points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠3X Ultimate Rewards points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs).

Colombian air carrier Avianca might not be on your radar, but its loyalty program, LifeMiles, should be. It’s got pretty solid award redemption rates (when you can find ’em) and no fuel surcharges on partner bookings.

The program is a transfer partner of several flexible reward programs, which means your account can be topped off at any time.

LifeMiles uses a region-based award chart, yet still offers opportunities to book awards at promotional rates.

Avianca Partners

Avianca is a Star Alliance member, the largest airline alliance in the world.

It’s no lie that there’s some great ways to redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

When it comes to earning points and miles, having a foundational understanding of credit is imperative. Unfortunately, many Americans don’t actively keep up with their credit.

Most people don’t even understand how credit works. There’s a reason why the number one question I get when explaining points and miles to people is “doesn’t that hurt your credit?” Even people who I would consider financially savvy tend to ask me this question, and it is simply because people don’t understand how credit works.

If you’re new to credit, let me start off with some calming words.

The purpose of this post is not to tell you whether or not you should be traveling. Rather, I’d like to share my experience and my impressions of what it’s like to travel right now. I’ll share my experience with booking flights, what it’s like to fly and stay at hotels during the pandemic and my overall impressions of the precautions taken by hotels, airlines and tourist attractions.

Planning the Trip and Finding Award Space

At the beginning of September, my friends and I felt safe enough to travel abroad and decided to take a trip to Turkey.