Travel

Black Friday is known for providing deep discounts to customers at retail and entertainment centres. Airlines may occasionally also provide cheaper rates on Black Friday, but it is really dependent on each airline and may only be provided on specific routes that the airline flies. To be sure that you are getting a good deal, it is always a good idea to check airline websites or social media pages. Airlines will usually start promoting such discounts a few weeks earlier to stimulate customer demand, and you can take advantage accordingly.

There are a few ‘travel hacks’ that you can utilize to ensure that you are getting the best rates on your airlines and occasionally, you may even be able to score free travel! Rewards points that can be converted into travel incentives such as Air Miles are a widely used tool to gain rewards and redeem them for free tickets, class upgrades, and other perks. However, this requires significant effort and discipline to rotate through multiple cards each year and take advantage of sign-up bonuses and other promotional programs offered by credit card providers. For customers that don’t have the time for these credit card hacks, it is best to use a flight comparison tool to evaluate prices for the same routes across different platforms and make the best choice for yourself.

Plane tickets generally do not get cheaper closer to the date of departure. In fact, they may even get pricier depending on the time of the year. The pricing cycle usually starts with the lowest fares months in advance in order to start filling seats before getting progressively higher closer to the date of departure as seats start to fill up.

The advent of the Internet has made it much easier to source cheap deals for plane and other travel tickets even at the last minute. In Canada, there are several cost-effective travel apps that automatically find the best deals for you at any given point in time and/or simplify your journey by offering integrated packages including accommodation, car rentals and more.

In Canada, there are several cards that offer free travel insurance as part of the benefits package for customers. American Express has several of these cards that offer travel insurance coverage such as travel accident insurance, trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay/theft insurance and more. However, not all AmEx cards may offer travel insurance and the degree of coverage varies from card to card. As such, it is important to read the credit card documentation that you receive when signing up for the card.

Airbnb is an online platform that facilitates property owners (hosts) renting out their properties to travellers looking for a place to stay in a location away from their home. Depending on the traveller’s needs and budget, they can either book a shared space or the entire property. The traveller gets charged through Airbnb’s secure online payment system when the booking is made and funds are transferred to the property owner 24 hours after the traveller checks in. Given the peer-to-peer nature of the platform, it is often cheaper for travellers to stay in an Airbnb property as compared to a hotel, and it also provides an opportunity for hosts to monetize their property beyond just renting it out for long-term leases.

Similar to plane tickets, you can get discounts on hotel rates or free stays using your credit card. If you hold a co-branded credit card (such as the Marriott Bonvoy American Express card, for example) or a card that enables points to be converted into accommodation rewards, you can earn points that can be redeemed for rewards such as free accommodation, priority late checkouts, etc. Alternatively, you can also use a hotel comparison tool to evaluate different options available to you in the area and get the best deal for your needs.

It is generally to book a hotel online. To ensure that you are getting the best rate, it is always advisable to use a trusted hotel comparison tool to understand the rate differences across various platforms. You can then view the hospitality institution’s website or call their front desk as well to see if there is a fare difference if you were to go through them directly.

Flair Airlines is a low-cost airline company based out of Edmonton, Alberta that primarily flies domestic routes across Canada. The company is recognized for its ultra-cheap fares and no-frills travel experience, and has been certified to be able to fly commercial travel passengers by its regulator, the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Canceled trips happen all of the time. At times, a customer cancels a few days in advance. But at other times, the passenger may simply not show up to the airport. For both of these instances, overbooking the flight ensures that each seat is generating revenue and more importantly, maximizing profit for the carrier. Ultimately, each airline is incentivized to fly with as few empty seats as possible. Overbooking the plane helps take into account the normal rate of ‘no shows’ and ensure that as many flight seats as possible are filled.

In Canada, TD Bank and Expedia have a partnership that enables TD credit card holders exclusively to browse Expedia’s offerings across flight, hotel, vacation and rental car packages, and redeem points directly on the ExpediaForTD.com platform. Once a TD Travel Rewards user acquires enough points to redeem travel rewards, some items that can be redeemed through Expedia include flights from airlines worldwide, accommodations, tourism experiences, and all-inclusive vacation packages.

Porter Airlines, one of the best airlines in Canada, is a regional carrier with a hub at the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport located in downtown Toronto. The airline primarily flies to Canadian destinations from coast to coast including Fredericton, Halifax, Moncton, Mont Tremblant, Montreal, Muskoka, Ottawa, Quebec City, Sault Ste. Marie, St. John’s, Stephenville, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins and Windsor. The airline also flies to a limited number of destinations in the USA, including Boston, Chicago, Myrtle Beach, New York and Washington D.C.