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🇨🇦 Canadian FareDrop is officially HERE!!
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For decades now (actually just a couple of years, but it feels like more), we Canadians have been grappling with a crippling case of FOMOOGFD, or “Fear of Missing Out on Great Flight Deals.”
Our neighbors to the south have had the luxury of FareDrop sending out these crazy deals while we sit in the cold trying desperately to wipe away our frozen tears.
Well, this is all in the past, because Canadian FareDrop is officially here.
Now when you sign up for FareDrop, you can select a Canadian airport as your home base and receive amazing deals all across the world. Current users can also add or change their departure airports accordingly and even change which currency your flight deals are displayed in.
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But there’s another special treat. Actually, TWO special treats.
Treat number one: FareDrop is also offering FREE domestic deals for Canadians. So whether you’re flying from Vancouver to Seoul or from Montreal to Winnipeg, FareDrop has got you covered.
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And now, for special treat number 2…
To celebrate this joyous day, I’m giving away 6 one-time guest passes to Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges. These are my personal passes that I want to share with you, and I’ll be giving them away in pairs… You know, so you don’t have to make your special someone wait by the gate while you sip on champagne in a recliner.
Maple Leaf Lounges are in 16 different airports, so Canadians (or anyone else who might be flying through Canada) shouldn’t have trouble putting them to good use.
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This is a photo of the Maple Leaf Lounge in Montreal |
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If you want to be entered to win these passes, click here. I’ll contact the winner directly and provide the rest of the details like expiration dates, entry rules, restrictions, etc.
As an American-Canadian and a proud resident of Toronto, this announcement is really exciting for me on a personal level. I hope that many of you will get as much value as I plan to get from this.
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🏨 Capital One launches new hotel collection
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We haven’t spent much time talking about banks’ hotel programs, but they are really important to know about.
Chase and American Express have both had programs like this for a while now. Basically, banks partner with hotels to offer guests extra perks and benefits when booking said hotels through the banks’ portals.
For example, the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program offers guests a $100 property credit, free breakfast, complimentary room upgrades, and more when booking stays through the Amex travel portal. It’s a great way to get some extra value without needing to have hotel elite status.
That’s why it’s so exciting that Capital One is jumping into the mix with its new Premier Collection, playing out a Battle Royale-style fight to the death with its competitors, the winner of which will get the most valuable treasure in the land - the time, attention, and money of the travel hacking community.
Okay, it’s not quite that dramatic, I’ve just been watching too much Game of Thrones lately (I just watched Season 4 Episode 8… I’m absolutely devastated).
Anyway, while the new program is not currently live, the details have all been confirmed by Capital One spokespeople, so you’re getting the inside scoop.
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Here are some of the key benefits of booking through this new program:
- Complimentary breakfast (for two)
- Complimentary Wif-Fi
- Early check-in and late checkout
- $100 property credit (to be used on food, spa services, parking, or more)
- Complimentary room upgrades
These benefits put Capital One right on par with the other big-boy programs, which I think is awesome.
But there’s one thing that makes Capital One stand out from the crowd - the ability to earn loyalty points and elite nights at hotels booked through the portal.
Here’s what I mean:
Typically when you book through a travel portal like this, the booking is technically made by a 3rd party (in this case Capital One).
Because of that, you typically can’t earn points or elite nights at hotel chains like Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, or Marriott, whose terms strictly state you need to book directly with the hotel in order to get these benefits.
Capital One’s portal is (allegedly) different in this regard, which would pretty easily put them at the head of the pack.
So who has access to this new program?
While any Capital One cardholder can access the travel portal, only holders of specific premium credit cards will be able to use the new Premier Collection benefits. Holders of those cards will also earn 10x points when booking through the portal, which means you’re also getting a hefty return on your spending.
Overall, this is really exciting. I love when big programs compete against each other like this - it usually leads to better outcomes for us travel hackers.
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✈️ Changes to Southwest Companion Pass (😭)
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In some unfortunate(ish) news, Southwest has decided to make some changes to their program beginning in 2023, specifically regarding the Companion Pass.
The Southwest Companion Pass is the highest level of their version of “elite status.”
When you earn this status, a companion gets to fly free on all Southwest flights you take for the duration of the status period. In other words, it’s very, VERY valuable - which is why it’s typically so difficult to earn.
Unfortunately, this pass just got a little more difficult to earn…
As of January 1st, 2023, Southwest is upping the requirements of Companion Pass by 10,000 points.
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Thankfully, there’s also some good(ish) news. Holders of a certain Southwest credit card will receive 10,000 qualifying points at the start of the year, and new cardholders will receive 10,000 points upon signing up.
So in 2023, people who hold the credit card will essentially have the same status requirements as in 2022.
The other piece of good news is still a bit murky. Southwest announced that in 2023 there will also be more ways to redeem Rapid Rewards points, though they still haven’t specified the details.
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This is welcome news, especially considering the wide range of ways you can already earn points toward status, including:
- Spending on Southwest co-branded credit cards
- Welcome bonus points on credit cards
- Spending through the airline’s shopping portal
It’s always a bummer to see airlines making elite status more difficult to attain. But overall, I think Southwest played this really well. They’re making the first year of these changes easier for credit card holders and adding new ways to make use of Rapid Rewards points for the rest of us.
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That’s all for today. I don’t know about you, but I’m still feeling that adrenaline rush from Canadian FareDrop launching so I can finally save some money on that dream trip to Winnipeg… or, you know, anywhere else…
Are you excited about Canadian FareDrop? Are you upset about the Southwest news? What is your favorite Game of Thrones episode? Let me know by replying to this email or reaching out on social media.
,مع السلامة
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