Summer savings

After a year’s worth of strategic shopping, having collected the maximum number of points with your choice of loyalty programs, you are now ready to cash in all those points with a view to maximizing savings as you head off for summer vacation. But where can you use those points, and how far will they get you?

If you’ve been loyally amassing Air Miles, WestJet will let you cash them in for round trip airfare. If you’re planning on vacationing within Canada, for as little as 1,100 Air Miles, WestJet will take you from Vancouver to Calgary and back. For a few Air Miles more (1,800) you’ll be able to fly from Toronto to St. John’s.

WestJet flights to the USA start at 2,800 Air Miles, allowing you to fly to places in Florida, Vegas, San Francisco and other hot spots. Other options are also available. Check the WestJet website for details.

Not planning on flying? You can always cash in those Air Miles to buy gas at Shell. Redeem 175 reward miles for a $20 fuel certificate or 75 reward miles for a package of two car wash certificates. If you collect points with other oil companies like Petro-Canada, Texaco, Esso, etc., they offer similar programs that allow you to redeem their brand of points for free fuel, car washes, oil, convenience store purchases, and more.

Some hotel chains offer rewards to those who stay with them regularly when travelling. If you’ve managed to accumulate points with one of these hotel chains while away on business this past year, you’ll be able to use the points to pay for accommodations when vacationing this summer.

With the InterContinental Hotels Group, for example, you can use your Priority Club points to reserve a free night at any one of their more than 3,600 locations worldwide. InterContinental owns Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and other well-known brands.

As for dining, you can opt to cash in some of your PC points (if you’ve been collecting them with your PC Mastercard) for free groceries at supermarkets across Canada where President’s Choice products are sold.