Air Canada has developed an app for the recently unveiled Apple Watch designed to make it even more convenient for customers on-the-go to obtain important travel information and initiate tasks such as checking-in.
“Air Canada is excited to offer customers the convenience of our new Air Canada app for Apple Watch. The app will allow customers to easily check their flight status and boarding times. They will also be able to save precious time with notifications that prompt them to check-in and board. The app further advances Air Canada’s mobile strategy of innovating with the latest technology to provide customers a wide variety of options for managing their travel using their preferred personal device,” said Craig Landry, vice-president of marketing at Air Canada.
With the Glance feature, the Air Canada app for Apple Watch readily provides customers with personal and relevant information about flights departing within a 24-hour window. Essential information can be displayed on the user’s Apple Watch and is frequently updated during the day of travel, including Actionable Notifications for check-in and boarding.
The app also includes a hand-off feature to enable customers to begin more complex tasks, such as checking-in, that can then be completed either on an iPhone or Mac computer. The Air Canada app for Apple Watch will be available in the Apple Watch App Store on April 24.
For a limited time, earn 2X the miles during the Aeroplan Double Miles Event at Esso stations.
From March 31 to May 25, 2015, earn 2X the miles on all eligible* purchases at Esso stations across Canada.
This special offer applies to all eligible* purchases including Esso premium grades of gasoline. You’ll earn:
2 miles for every $3 spent on Regular Grade gasoline and other eligible* purchases
4 miles for every $3 spent on Esso Extra Grade gasoline
6 miles for every $3 spent on Esso Supreme Grade gasoline
To earn Aeroplan Miles, just remember to swipe your Aeroplan Card or your Speedpass™ linked to your Aeroplan Account at the pump or in store with every transaction you make.
Visit an Esso station near you to earn 2X the miles – until May 25 only.
After living in Victoria, BC for the last 5 years I finally had the opportunity to do one of the top best things to do in Victoria British Columbia – have afternoon tea at the grand Empress Hotel!
Every person we’ve had come visit from out of town raves about experiencing high tea at the Empress. They either know someone that has been or takes it upon themselves to visit the Empress Hotel. Although I’ve lived here for awhile it’s not something we residence tend to do regularly.
In fact if we do get the chance it almost always is because we either take someone (from out of town) or we are celebrating a special occasion. In my case it was the week Victoria BC promotes the locals attractions. “Be a tourist in your hometown.”
Residents of Victoria get offered a passport booklet filled with discounts and freebies. This weekend we were offered 50% off afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel. It was still expensive, if you ask me for a cuppa but it’s all about the atmosphere and experience. After all it’s a grand and impressive historical building that is located in the Inner Harbour.
Toddler enjoying the sweets!Enjoying my treat!
Making a reservation is encouraged, as no matter what day it is it’s always a busy place. The service was outstanding! We arrived, were seated and served within minutes. A great thing when toddlers accompany you. I noticed some highchairs, lots of baby strollers and toddlers sitting up high on their comfortable furniture. Even with the elegance offered every parent looked relaxed enjoying their visit with their young kids. There were lots of older people too as well as groups of University students. Making the Empress Hotel a place for everyone to come and enjoy afternoon tea along with their 3-tier tray of treats.
Over the years I’ve heard their special tea blends that were described as like no others, some of the best tea ever tasted. Regular tea drinkers have described the tea as “out of this world”. The tea comes from six estates, including Kenya, Tanzania, South India, Assam, Sri Lanka, and China.
Since we were considering our toddler we stuck with the herbal Kea Lani Orange Pineapple blend. A bold and bright orange pineapple tea made from all natural herbs and dry fruit. This is not my toddlers first time drinking herbal tea, she is a regular afternoon herbal tea drinker! She obviously agreed with the taste because she had no problem downing a cuppa.
2 year old drinking her own tea!
Along with the tea experience comes the treats. Starting with fresh strawberries and Empress cream. This followed a 3-tier tray that included sandwiches, scones and sweets. Needless to say we ended up taking the sweets home because it was so much food.
One extremely fine touch that impressed me was the 10-bag box of Empress tea to take home that came with the bill. Now that is what you call serve with a smile!
Next time we have guests there is no doubt I too will rave about afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel. Having experienced it now first hand – I will be recommending it with the hope that I might be asked to join, of course!
I enjoy staying in nice hotels but I hate paying full price for them! I have been using this website for years.
Priceline.com lets you bid for a hotel room. Priceline® has access to the excess hotel room inventory that hotel chains have. These are rooms that they believe they will not be able to book for a certain date. Priceline® is able to acquire these rooms at a low price, and allow you to bid on this inventory.
This type of booking is called opaque, because you will not see which hotel you are staying at until the purchase is confirmed.
I have some great tips in this guide that will help you get the rock-bottom price for your room. Before I explain some of my Priceline® bidding tips, I wanted to show how the Priceline.com works.
There are three main ways to book a hotel room on Priceline®:
List View
The results of your city search criteria are shown on this view. You can see the name of the hotel, and the exact price is displayed. You are able to sort by hotel name, distance from city center, price, and overall popularity.
Express Deals
The hotels listed on this tab show the price of the hotel, location, ratings, and amenities, such as a pool, restaurant, fitness center, or free Internet. You will not see the name or precise location of the property.
I have discovered that often you can figure out the identity of the hotel by the description and amenities listed. For example, this listing lets you choose your bed type, and based on the specific names of the room, the hotel is likely to be the Delta Vancouver.
If you book a Priceline® Express Deal and find a cheaper rate for this hotel, any time until the day before check-in, Priceline will match that price and give you an additional $25, with some conditions, of course.
There is no bidding involved using Express Deals, so it lets you find the location and amenities you need. If you are not comfortable bidding on a hotel room, I suggest using this alternative, to save some money over the standard room rate.
Name Your Own Price®
This option lets you bid on a hotel room. This option can potentially save you the most on your hotel room. Two main caveats: reservations are almost never refundable, and you do not have choice in the hotel amenities (hotel may not have a pool or restaurant). Additionally, the bids are always for two adults (so you may get stuck with a king-size bed for three adults). I always make sure that if I used the Name Your Own Price option that my travel dates will not change. Do not use Name Your Own Price if you only prefer to stay at Hilton brand hotels, or if your room must have a coffee maker.
When you bid on a hotel on Priceline®, the website will ask you specifically where you want to stay inside the city based on zones.
Here is a sample example of the available zones in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Look carefully at the map, and understand each zone, and how close you need to be to the airport or city center. Staying outside the city may or may not be worth it to you.
Clicking on the detail map hyperlink next to each zone will show a larger view of the area.
You can choose one zone or multiple zones where you would like to stay. As soon as at least one zone is selected, you can choose which star level of hotel you would like to bid for. When you choose a star level, you are bidding on every hotel at that level and above. If you select a zone, sometimes you will notice that not all star levels are available to be chosen. This means the zone does not have any star levels in that zone to bid in.
No hotels available above 3.5 stars in Langley, BC on Priceline bidding.
One of the first questions most people ask when they start to use the Name Your Own Price® option on Priceline® is, what should I start the bidding at?
My experience tells me that I need to see what general prices for hotels are available elsewhere on other websites. I look first at the Express Deals option to see what is available to purchase as opposed to bidding. If the city is full for a sporting event or convention, expect prices to be higher.
I go on Hotels.com to see what the four-star hotels are selling for, and it will sometimes tell me how many rooms are left at certain hotels so that I can see the demand. If many hotels are not available on Hotels.com, this tells me that availability is low, and that I should have a higher starting bid.
Another resource is The Bidding Traveller. This website lets you see the past successful bids for the city you are bidding on. It lets you see what hotels were available at a certain star level, and the price range of successful bids. This is a nice resource to have, as it lets you know the successful bid history for that city for Priceline. It also gives you an expectation of the hotels available for a certain star level in a city, based on past bids.
Another forum that shows past Priceline® successful bids is Betterbidding.com. They have each major city broken down by thread, and help give you a feel of what price you should be bidding.
Typically, if Priceline® does not accept your offer, you can change the star level or area you requested, and try again immediately. Or, you can try your exact same request again 24 hours later.
If you had a successful bid, your hotel will be shown immediately after purchase. Your hotel will be from either a national hotel chain or a preferred independent hotel partner.
Remember, that hotels are non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-changeable even if the reservation is not used.
Bidding Strategy
Even though I am getting a discount for my hotel stay because I do not know what the hotel name, I want to make sure that I maximize my discount.
Before you start to bid for a room, it is best to first do some research. Find out the current retail prices using other websites before you start to bid.
I always start my bid at 40-50% off the lowest Express Deal in the zone where I am looking to stay. As an example, if the Express Deal for a four-star hotel in Downtown Vancouver is $101 per night, I would start my bid at around $60-65, depending on my urgency to get a room reservation. The maximum I recommend bidding is $10 less than the same star rating in the zone that I am bidding on. In this case, I would bid up to $90 per night.
Free re-bids
I have a trick that will get you a free-rebid. Remember, earlier where I showed that not all star levels are available to be chosen in a zone? If you wanted to stay at a four-star hotel in Zone 4 (Downtown Vancouver) and the first bid was rejected, simply increase your bid and add a zone that doesn’t have a four-star hotel in its zone. You can continue this pattern of bidding until you have an accepted bid or you run out of re-bids. If you run out of free re-bids, just wait 24 hours.
Priceline® Change Requests
On one of our first trips together to Hawaii, my wife and I booked a hotel on the island of Oahu, when we were actually going to the Big Island. We called Priceline® to get this exception, but we had to rebid again for the right dates and location. You will typically only receive a refund if you win another bid. We still had to pay a service charge for cancelling the reservation (around $30 Canadian), but it saved us hundreds.
Use a cash back website like Ebates
If you use a cash back website, you will receive up to 5% cash back when you book any Priceline Name Your Own Price Hotel using Ebates.
Triple check your dates. The date selectors on the Priceline® home page tend to get a little bit slippery, and it’s easy to choose the wrong month. Check the month and day on every page, over and over again. You may be booking the right date in the wrong month.
Priceline® tips
Here are some tips before you start bidding on Priceline®:
If you stay at a resort in Priceline®, expect to pay resort fees, which can be around $10-20 per day per person. These fees are not a part of your winning bid.
When looking at the map for a city, pay extra attention to the zones. In Miami, the South beach zone has hotels that can be a considerable distance from the actual South Beach. In Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip Vicinity North zone has hotels that can be off the main strip by a fair distance.
Parking is also extra, so be aware that you could pay up to $20 per night, as this fee is not included as part of your winning bid.
Taxes are also not seen until the payment page, and this could be significant in some cities (tourism tax, hotel tax, and general state or provincial taxes).
Priceline® bids are non-refundable, and you must input your credit card information before making a bid. Make sure that you double-check your zones, desired star-rating, and final price on the confirmation page.
If you get a successful bid, place a call to the hotel to confirm your reservation with the type of room and/or bed you want.
Try not to bid below a four-star hotel. I find that the best deals are for four-star hotels and higher. Also, the quality of the hotel can be questionable at the lower star-levels. Some hotels that Priceline considers three and a half star, I consider a three or lower.
I found a nice offer on the TD First Class Visa Infinite credit card 40,000 Bonus Points and first year free.
With the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite* Card, you’ll receive a Welcome Bonus of 20,000 TD Points, if your application is approved. Once approved, if you spend $1,000 in Purchases on your Card within the first 90 days of Account opening, you can get an additional 20,000 TD Points AND the Annual Fee for the Card for the first year will be reimbursed by TD!
You must apply by May 8, 2015 to be eligible for this offer.
Depending on the type of card you have, you can learn more about the value of your rewards points through the TD Rewards website found at www.tdrewards.com.
TD Points are another way for you to pay for all or part of your travel. You can redeem TD Points online through Expedia For TD for flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages and activities. To complete a travel purchase, you’ll still use your TD Credit Card. When you use TD Points for all or part of your trip, you’ll receive a credit on your TD Credit Card statement equivalent to the TD Points redeemed for your travel purchase.
You’re able to use TD Points if:
Your TD Credit Card is in good standing
You have at least 10,000 TD Points
You, the primary cardholder, or an authorized travel arranger, book the travel
Every 10,000 TD Points equal $50 off the cost of travel purchases with Expedia For TD. All you need is a minimum of 10,000 TD Points to start redeeming. TD Points must be redeemed in increments of 10,000 TD Points.
So there you have it – free $200 of value for Expedia.ca
Unless you are flush with points in another program and need Aeroplan miles, I would not take advantage of this promotion.
From March 30 to April 27, 2015, convert points from a wide selection of partner loyalty programs to earn up to 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles.
Maximum 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles can be earned per Aeroplan Member. Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be issued by Aeroplan as follows: 1,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be deposited into the member’s account when the total Aeroplan Miles earned by converting points from any combination of eligible partner programs during the promotion is between 5,000 and 9,999 Aeroplan Miles; OR 2,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be deposited into the member’s account when the total Aeroplan Miles earned by converting points from any combination of eligible partner programs during the promotion is between 10,000 and 19,999 Aeroplan Miles; OR 4,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be deposited into the member’s account when the total Aeroplan Miles earned by converting points from any combination of eligible partner programs during the promotion is between 20,000 and 49,999 Aeroplan Miles; OR 10,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be deposited into the member’s account when the total Aeroplan Miles earned by converting points from any combination of eligible partner programs during the promotion is between 50,000 and 99,999 Aeroplan Miles; OR 25,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles will be deposited into the member’s account when the total Aeroplan Miles earned by converting points from any combination of eligible partner programs during the promotion is 100,000 Aeroplan Miles or more. Bonus offer valid only on conversions made between March 30 and April 27, 2015 (11:59 EDT). POINTS.com: Aeroplan Miles procured via a Trade transaction with another member on Points.com are not eligible towards the conversion bonus threshold. Conversion of Membership Rewards® points from American Express Cardmember accounts into Aeroplan Miles are not eligible for this promotion. Although eligible CIBC Aventura cardholders as of October 1, 2013, can convert their Aventura points to Aeroplan Miles, these conversions are also not eligible for this promotion. Please note that conversion from Diners Club Rewards Points to Aeroplan Miles are eligible to the bonus miles promotion currently in market. BONUS MILE CREDITING: Bonus miles are credited 7 10 days following successful receipt by Aeroplan of a conversion transaction from the partner. Note that some partners may take up to 2 weeks to submit point to mile conversions to Aeroplan. Miles accumulated through conversion from other programs are not eligible for Distinction status.
Aeroplan Members can now earn miles for the purchase of tickets to every major sports, concert and theatre event in North America.
Until Sept. 1, 2015, Aeroplan Members can earn two miles for every $1 spent at FanXchange, while Aeroplan Distinction members will earn three miles for every $1 spent.
Additionally, Aeroplan Members will earn bonus reward miles for their first ticket purchase of $250 or more at FanXchange. The bonus is 500 miles for members and 1,500 miles for Distinction members.
We found a great deal from Air New Zealand to visit the most beautiful country in the world (my opinion) at a great discount.
For three days only you can save up to $300* per adult on round trip airfares between Canada and New Zealand, Australia and Cook Islands booked on this website. Using promo code 75TH300
Don’t miss out – this offer expires on Thursday 2 April, 2015 at 11.59 P.M. (PT).
Wyndham Hotel Group has just announced a new loyalty program that turns the industry on its head by bucking the devaluation trend and offering members real, attainable rewards. The new Wyndham Rewards eliminates complication and allows members to earn more and redeem faster than any other program in the industry.
The new program, amongst other things, will deliver:
· ‘Go Free’ – 15,000 points = Free Night… Anytime, Anywhere: The first global program of its scale to introduce a single, flat redemption rate, allowing members to easily redeem for a free night at more than 7,500 Wyndham Rewards hotels around the world – from value-oriented hotels to beachside resorts.
· Flexibility to ‘Go Fast:’ At 3,000 points, members can redeem with points plus cash for an award night at the majority of Wyndham Rewards hotels.
· 1,000 point minimum earned every stay: Regardless of room rate, all stays will result in a minimum of 1,000 points earned.
Beginning on May 11, 2015, members will see their existing points automatically transferred into the new program. Following the launch of the program, a new updated mobile app will be launched to provide a simpler, more streamlined member experience. Finally, new and updated world-class elite membership tiers for the program’s most loyal members are expected to roll-out later this fall.
To launch the re-imagined program, Wyndham Rewards has invested in a multi-million dollar advertising campaign starring actor Kristofer Hivju, consisting of TV commercials, print, radio and digital, which will roll out throughout the United States starting on May 11 and then Canada shortly thereafter.
The new Wyndham Rewards program was unveiled before more than 6,000 franchisees at the 2015 Wyndham Hotel Group Global Conference in Las Vegas. For more information on the new program, visitwww.wyndhamrewards.com.
What are your frequent flyer goals with Aeroplan? Do you have a dream destination in mind?
I just finished an amazing 6-week trip with my family booked with Aeroplan to Sydney and 2 stopovers in New Zealand all for under $1,000 for my family of 4!
The flights would have cost nearly $8,500 if I used Google Flights.
Aeroplan will be introducing a campaign that will encourage all Aeroplan Members to share how they want to use their miles.
My next Aeroplan goal is to visit Melbourne for the Australian Open (big tennis fan)! I am not sure I can handle the heat but it would be fun.
Thanks to Aeroplan, I am having a contest where the only requirement is to comment and share your Aeroplan goal.
Someone will win 1,000 Aeroplan miles!
Just name where is your dream destination with Aeroplan.
This contest will end April 10, 2015.
Here is a link to the Aeroplan goals promotion. Once the member has shared their goals with Aeroplan, they will use this important data to create a more personalized experience for them with targeted opportunities for members to engage with the Aeroplan program.
