Canadian Travel Hacking

Month: September 2019

  • 5 Travel Hacking Tips

    n Canada, travel hacking appears to be a real big challenge due to the fact that there are much fewer options when it comes to credit cards. That is in total contrast to what happens in neighboring countries where there is a bigger variety of card options, airline taxes and surcharges are much lower. The good news is that there are working strategies that can be used to get these rates down. These are money-saving tips that you’ll need to consider before booking your next casino cruise holiday.

    #1. Have you set up price alerts?

    Top travel companies offer price alerts on their websites to enable you to keep track on the flights that appeal to you. You will receive email notifications whenever prices go down. Google and Skyscanner are currently the most popular platforms to keep an eye on, and with thousands of partners under their wing, that could be just enough to track the cheapest airfare. Given, these prices tend to fluctuate under given circumstances; it is advisable to book yours immediately you receive something that interests you.

    #2. Be flexible and get the best deals

    Perhaps you’ve come across travel agencies and websites offering crazy fares, and you’re wondering if they are real. Chances are, they are using a unique KAYAK explore tool where you’re required to select departing airport, set a flexible date and duration, and a budget you’re comfortable with. KAYAK then displays all the available prices within your budget for you to pick. If you can get this tool, you are sure to get the best travel deals with minimal effort.

    #3. Work with rewarding travel cards

    A dime saved on your trip can go a long way to balance your books. Why would you pay for a hotel or flight where you are getting nothing in return, whereas there are cards that generate redeemable points? Get reviews of different travel cards available in Canada and choose one that guarantees you the best rewarding system. You might get fantastic travel perks or even win yourself free travel.

    #4. Consolidate earned points with transfers

    If you understand how much value your points are, travel hacking becomes a walk in the park. Different service providers allocate a variety of transferring options from where you can redeem your points. American Express Membership Rewards are believed to be the most valuable in the market and can be redeemed for free travel. Find out some ways you can transfer the same points to other platforms such as Marriott.

    #5. Have you signed up for a mailing list?

    If you have not signed up for every travel mailing list for fear of your inbox getting spammed by dubious emails, you don’t know how much you are missing. It is one of the fastest ways of securing a travel deal, and would cost you nothing to subscribe to a list. Top travel websites are always punctual in alerting customers in their funnel about upcoming hot deals. Who knows, you might get yourself an irresistible offer for your next vacation.

  • Save 10% on gas purchases until December 30, 2019 with linked Mastercard

    Now through December 30th, get a 10% discount when you register your Mastercard below and fuel up for $50 or more at any Shell Gas Station

    Shell Bonus

    This also includes non-gas purchases. I will try this my next fill-up (have a big Dodge Caravan to fill-up)!

    Here is a link to the promotion.

    Ends December 30, 2019.

  • Open a Scotiabank Ultimate Package and Earn $350

    Scotiabank has posted a new offer for their Ultimate Package which features:

    • Unlimited debit transactions
    • Unlimited Interac e-Transfer transactions
    • No monthly Overdraft Protection fee
    • Your choice of SCENETM or Scotia Rewards®,
    • For a limited time, earn up to 3.10% on your MomentumPLUS Savings Account
    • Ultimate rates on select GICs
    • 10 free equity trades at Scotia iTRADE in your first year (approximately $100 value) and 5 free equity trades every year after
    • Up to $139 ongoing annual fee waiver on select credit cards
    • Unlimited free Global non-Scotiabank ABM withdrawals
    • Free personalized cheques and drafts

    This account costs $30.95/mth or no monthly account fee by maintaining a minimum daily closing balance of $5,000 in your Ultimate Package, or a combined balance of $30,000 across your Ultimate Package and your MomentumPLUSSavings Account.

    Here is a link to the promotion.

  • Aeroplan Bonus – 30% more miles on hotel point conversions now until September 22, 2019

    Aeroplan Members can now earn a bonus 30% more miles when they convert hotel loyalty points to Aeroplan Miles until September 22, 2019.

    With Aeroplan’s conversion option, members can get more value out of their unused loyalty points. By combining points from other programs and converting them into Aeroplan Miles, they can get to their travel goals faster since Aeroplan Miles can be used to book flights, car rentals and more.

    During this promotion, Aeroplan Members can convert as many hotel loyalty program points as they want from any of the participating hotel partners, including Marriott Bonvoy, IHG, Hilton Honors, Best Western, Radisson, Shangri-La, Accor Hotels, Choice Hotels and Coast Hotels.

    For the full list of eligible hotel partners and details on how to convert, visit this page:  https://www.aeroplan.com/sept-conversion-campaign-2019.do

  • CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite and Platinum 10% cashback up to $2k MSR, FYF

    CIBC has some great first year free offers on their cashback cards (Dividend Visa)!

    • CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite – Get 10% cash back for 4 statements on total purchases of $2,000 and FYF (Net gain=$200)
    • CIBC Dividend Visa Platinum – Same offer as Infinite, also FYF, but the income threshold is only $15k (Net gain=$200)
    • CIBC Dividend Visa regular – Get 5% cash back for 4 statements on total purchases of $2,000 and $0 AF (So net $100)
    • CIBC Dividend Visa for Students – Same offer as the regular and $0 AF if you also add a bill payment, and no income threshold! (Net gain=$100)

    This is not a bad gain for a first year free card.

    Thanks to ChurningCanada for the notification on these promos.

    The promo ends October 31, 2019.

  • How to stay sane during an airport layover

    The only thing worse than not giving yourself enough time at the airport and having to leg it to the gate is having too much time to spend. Being stuck in the terminal during a long layover or delayed flight is every traveller’s worst nightmare – but it doesn’t have to be. By following some of the tips below, you can turn your layover into the perfect opportunity to get a ton of stuff done and even enjoy yourself in the process. After all, there actually is a lot more to do in an airport than simply spending money shopping in duty free and getting lost (and anti-social) in social media.  

    Plan your itinerary

    If your layover or delayed flight happens during your outbound journey, you’ve got the perfect opportunity to plan out the itinerary of your dreams for when you reach your destination. Unless you’re super organised, you probably won’t have done much planning beyond where you’re going to stay and the big attractions or events that you want to check out during your trip. Well, with many empty hours ahead of you there really isn’t a better opportunity to get cracking! You could even do a similar thing during your return journey; there’s nothing like returning from a vacation feeling prepared to tackle the week ahead.   

    Broaden your (mental) horizons

    A chunk of 4, 5 or more spare hours is the perfect time to delve into a new topic by reading an interesting book (or two). Get inspired for success by reading a nonfiction book about people who are the best in their field – Lance Bradley’s The Pursuit of Poker Success is a great one since it contains short interviews with top pros that you can dip in and out of. You could sort your life out with a psychology paperback – Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life is perfect – or finally read a classic novel that you’ve never had the time to before – War and Peace, anyone?

    Get productive

    If you’re lucky enough to access a free WiFi connection during your lengthy layover then you can really be productive and get stuff done. This is the time to read and reply to those emails that have been stacking up, set up meetings for the weeks ahead or just take care of some housekeeping like clearing out your inbox, rewriting or removing your out-of-office reply and generally getting your brain back into work mode. Think of it as a way to soften the blow of being back at your desk on Monday morning! 

    OK, OK, work or anything to do with real life is probably the last thing you want to think about on the way home from a super trip abroad. You can still be productive with your time and live out your holiday for a couple of hours longer by organising your holiday snaps. Edit out the bad ones, move the good ones to a new folder and select a few envy-inducing ones that you can instantly upload to social media. If you’ve got a lot of time to spare, you could even upload your favourite ones as a full album to Facebook. And don’t forget to back them up by saving copies to DropBox, MEGA or any other cloud storage platform. 

    Explore your surroundings

    If your layover stretches into 10 hours or more, it’s the perfect opportunity to leave the airport and explore the city that you happen to be in. Think of it as a bonus day during your vacation! Whilst we wouldn’t recommend doing this if you only have a couple of hours to spare, if you have enough time to travel to and from the city and you can find something interesting to do there then do it.

    If you’re feeling tired from your flight then walking around and seeing some new sights can be both refreshing and energising. You could even just head into the city to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the airport. You don’t even need to do anything when you get there, just find a spot to relax and unwind in order to prepare you for the next part of your journey. Just make sure that you arrive back at the airport with plenty of time before your flight is due to leave – set an alarm on your phone to remind you to be back within a couple of hours of your departure time.