How to Access the Airport Lounge for Free | Best Canadian Credit Cards to Access the Airport Lounge

Which Canadian Travel Credit Cards Offer Free Lounge Access

You don’t have to fly business class or pay a premium membership plan to enjoy airport lounges. Today, I will talk about a few Canadian travel credit cards that offer free lounge access programs and passes to enter.

There are other more expensive annual fee credit cards that offer lounge access, but I will only discuss those have an annual fee of $150 or less.

BMO World Elite MasterCard

- Lounge Access Program Membership: LoungeKey
- Free Lounge Visits Per Year: 4
- Annual Fee: $150

CIBC Aventura Gold Visa

- Lounge Access Program Membership: Priority Pass
- Free Lounge Visits Per Year: 4
- Annual Fee: $139

CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite

- Lounge Access Program Membership: Priority Pass
- Free Lounge Visits Per Year: 4
- Annual Fee: $139

Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite

- Lounge Access Program Membership: Priority Pass
- Free Lounge Visits Per Year: 6
- Annual Fee: $139

Also, some travel credit cards only provide a lounge access program membership such as Priority Pass or LoungeKey, but do not provide any free lounge visits; you will have to pay for those on your own. I skipped discussing those cards above.

All these travel cards have many other perks and features, including travel insurance. Before choosing any card, do your research and determine what other features are most important to you.

I do have a mini series featuring tips and tricks on Canadian travel credit cards, which can be viewed here: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards Canada Shorts by Ahmed Dawn

Everything You Need to Know About Tim Hortons Rewards Program

Tim Rewards Program – What You Need to Know

Tim Hortons is a popular Canadian coffee retailer that has revamped its rewards program. Today, we will look at what you need to know about Tim’s Rewards.

Tim Rewards Program – The Basics

-          10 points per transaction - $0.50 minimum, no maximum

-          30 minutes interval – buying again within 30 minutes won’t generate points

-          Points expire after 12 months

-          20K maximum points limit

-          Free Birthday gift

-          Weekly deals on app (always check before heading to the Tim Hortons)

Tim Rewards Program – How to Collect

-          Install app from your phone’s play/app store

-          Scan app whenever you buy

-          If you have a physical card, it has to be linked

-          You can’t redeem physical card if it’s not linked

-          I recommend not using a physical card

Tim Rewards Program – How to Redeem

-          4 categories & 13 levels to choose from

-          Auto redemption applies if you don’t change it on app

-          70 points for a beverage – default auto redemption level

-          Stop auto redemption or change to other level on app

Tim Rewards Program – How to Get the Best Value Out of Tim’s Rewards

-          Default 70 points for a beverage provides great value

-          Better Values - These items provide better values and try to redeem for these: Hash Brown, Specialty Donuts, Baked Goods, Tea, Coffee

-          Not So Great Values - These items provide so-so values and try not to redeem for these: Specialty Drinks, Soup, Sandwiches, Donuts, Timbits

-          By far, Hash Brown provides the best value

Visit the link below to watch my Tim Hortons Rewards Video:

Tims Rewards Program - What You Need to Know

How to Connect to Wi-Fi on An Air Canada Flight | Does Air Canada Provide Free Wi-Fi?

How to Get Wi-Fi on A Plane | How Much Does Air Canada Wi-Fi Cost?

 Air Canada offers Wi-Fi on select North American, Caribbean and international flights. On my recent flight from Calgary to Toronto, I had an opportunity to find out more on Air Canada Wi-Fi prices on flights.

To use Air Canada’s Wi-Fi, you need to have a supported browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. Air Canada’s website has a full listing of all browsers that are supported. Also, you can check if your flight will have Wi-Fi up to 5 days ahead of your trip.

You can connect to Air Canada’s Wi-Fi in 2 ways: by typing in aircanadawifi.com or rougewifi.com (on Air Canada Rouge flights) in the search bar of any supported browser or by starting the Wi-Fi connection process from the Air Canada app.

I saw Air Canada offering a variety of packages. There is no free Wi-Fi service on Air Canada flights. The below options are what I saw on Nov 18, 2021, YYC-YYZ Flight. For the most updated info, search Air Canada Wi-Fi and visit the Air Canada website.

 1 Hour Browse Pass (CA$7)

Full Flight Browse Pass (CA$9.75)

 1 Hour Stream Pass (CA$10.25)

Full Flight Stream Pass (CA$15.50)

 1 Hour Ultimate Pass (CA$13.75)

Full Flight Ultimate Pass (CA$20.75)

 Air Canada North America Plan $65.95

Air Canada GlobalPlan $89.95

Prices seemed to be very reasonable and on par with other airlines. I tried connecting via the Air Canada app, which I installed before boarding the flight.

Most of the time, the process seemed to work fine. There were some glitches and sometimes I had keep pressing the same button a few times to get to the next section.

I didn’t buy any of the plans, but the process to connect and use Wi-Fi on a plane looked simple enough and I don’t mind buying it on my next flight.

Limited Time Opportunity: Download Credit Card Hacks For Free on Amazon

Credit Card Hacks:

What Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know By Award-Winning Author Ahmed Dawn

This is a special post to let you all guys know that my latest book Credit Card Hacks has been published and currently available on Amazon.

There is a promotional free download offer, which will expire on December 12, 2020 midnight. Grab your free copy here:

mybook.to/CreditCardHacks

Credit Card Hacks is a must-have guide for digital-age credit card users and delivers simple steps to use credit cards for savings and travelling the globe for free or paying very little.

If you are not using the right credit card, you are losing an opportunity to earn a free point or mile. To help you get started with credit card benefits, this book will show you:

 - How to Pick the Right Credit Cards

- How to Use Promotional Rate Offers

- What Credit Card Feature You Should Never Use

- The Hidden Credit Card Perk No One Uses

- How to Travel for Free/Fly Business Class Using Credit Cards

- And much more

How Not to Get Dinged by Air Canada on Aeroplan Rewards Flights

Avoid Aeroplan Carrier Surcharges

First Published Date: April 10, 2016

A lot of us avoid collecting and utilizing Aeroplan miles because of the many horror stories that lead us to believe that it’s not worth going through all the hassle to pay hefty carrier charges (also known as fuel surcharges or taxes, fees and surcharges) to enjoy what are supposed to be free rewards flights.

However, this fear (paying hefty charges) should not stop you from enjoying free flights, especially on business class. With a few tips and careful planning you can fight back against Air Canada and other airlines that charge you fees on Aeroplan rewards flights.

There are some airlines that charge nothing to enjoy your rewards flights, some that charge skyrocketing surcharges, and some that charge little surcharges. Before you book your next reward flights, keep this list handy and avoid those airlines that charge you.

Avoid – Skyrocketing Surcharges

Air Canada, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Lufthansa, Thai Airways

Little Surcharges

Air New Zealand, LOT, TAP

No Surcharges

Aegean, Air China, Air India, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa, Croatia, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Eva Air, SAS, Shenzhen, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss, TACA, Turkish Airlines, United

Here is an example to illustrate. I searched today, April 3, 2016, for a business class one-way flight from Toronto to Singapore on November 1, 2016. This journey is covered by Air Canada and Thai Airways, requiring 77,500 Aeroplan miles. Because both of these airlines charge surcharges, this free flight is going to cost you a staggering $943.06 to pay surcharges.

Now, if you have taken the same trip on Turkish Airlines, which does not charge surcharges, your cost will be only $61.56.

If you have taken the same trip covered by Air Canada and Singapore Airlines, your cost will be $583.86 because Singapore does not charge anything for its portion, but Air Canada is charging its fees.

So there is no reason to avoid the Aeroplan rewards program. All you need to do is know how this program works and use careful planning to get the most out of it.