Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Ethaniel

Looking at getting a new credit card and was Eye-Balling the Platinum Amex.

Is this one of the best cards to help assist in traveling? The Airmiles seem great and approximately 13 months for a 2 person round trip to Seattle for example, but I was wondering if the Travel Guru's may have a better option or opinion on this.

Thanks,

The best card around *used* to be the Starwood Preferred Guest from Mastercard. There was no annual fee, and it was incredible how quickly you could accumulate points on it. You could also transfer your points to virtually ANY rewards program. Even with modest usage we used to get 2 trips a year out of it.

There's people that research and scrutinize the cards to death, the best info is likely on RFD. Here's the 82 page thread regarding the Starwood card.

Unfortunately Starwood decided to terminate their relationship with Mastercard. When they did that, they allowed people that already had the card to switch over to a new one, forgoing the $89 annual fee for the first year. The new one isn't as good.

Here's a chart that compares all of the current ones available:

http://www.rewardscanada.ca/cccompare.html

and here's an article written in July 2010 from the same website with their picks for 'best travel card':

http://www.rewardscanada.ca/topcreditcard2010.html

There's so many cards and quite a few factors that come into play when deciding which is the best card for each person.

[cmyden]

Here's another article...

The Best Travel Rewards Cards in Canada

Choosing which credit card is the absolute best is a very difficult task because everyone has a different opinion on what makes something “the best”. Most people would agree that the value of the rewards you get in proportion to the amount of money you spend on the card is a good measurement of what is best, but determining that value isn’t always possible. We have taken a very systematic approach to determining what the best credit cards in Canada are by assigning each credit card a score based on four distinct categories: Typical Return, Maximum Return, Flexibility, and Insurance & Perks.

They list the Amex Starwood Preferred Guest as being the best travel card. The folks on RFD usually seem to agree on that one as well, but *only* if you shop at a lot of places where Amex is accepted.

For an overall card, I know the RFD crowd is really high on the MBNA Smart Cash Platinum.

In that article they do a nice job of explaining why it's tough to determine reward value for each individual purchase. And they also explain what values and assumptions they used to determine the 'best' card for most people.

[Eagle Eye]

Any other places that people would recommend going to? Think 10 year anniversary.

Would like it to be all inclusive (but would prefer the restaurant type more than buffet). Want something less family oriented and more couples (ie sandals). Nice beaches, not cheap but not crazy expensive either. Hoping to find something different than the usual Mexico trip we always do.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

Any other places that people would recommend going to? Think 10 year anniversary.

Would like it to be all inclusive (but would prefer the restaurant type more than buffet). Want something less family oriented and more couples (ie sandals). Nice beaches, not cheap but not crazy expensive either. Hoping to find something different than the usual Mexico trip we always do.

When it comes to all inclusive destinations that are inexpensive, you essentially have Cuba, the Dominican and Mexico to choose from. (typically $800-$1200/person after tax for something decent for a week)

Jamaica is next in line on the price scale (lots of all inclusive resorts), then Panama and Costa Rica (a few all inclusive resorts). ($1300-$1600)

After that it would be the Bahamas, then St Lucia, then Grenada, then Antigua, then Bermuda ($1500-$1800)

At the top of the all inclusive price list you'll find St. Martin, Turks & Caicos, Aruba, and the Grand Cayman. ($1900-$3000)

Of course these are just general price ranges, at the low end (good deal) for something decent. Within any destination there's obviously a wide range of prices.

cM

[cmyden]

Promo Code: WestJet: 10% off from anywhere to anywhere

This is an unadvertised promo code from WestJet that they released for people that submitted pictures of their halloween costumes, but it will work for anyone.

Enter the following on the booking page at WestJet.com to receive the discount:

Promo code: BOO10
Coupon code: KUNCRWG

I'm not sure when it expires.


Delta's flights to Austin, TX are cheap at the moment

Delta has dropped the price of their flights to Austin, TX down to $337 roundtrip after tax throughout their schedule.
Normally the cheapest flights to Austin are around $450-$500.

It looks to be mostly Tue/Wed to Tue/Wed flights. Dates around Christmas don't look to be cheap but pretty much all other times of the year seem to be.

Screenshot from Delta.com

[ikaris]

Any thoughts on the lowest airfare for Rio De Janeiro in April 2011?

Thanks

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by ikaris

Any thoughts on the lowest airfare for Rio De Janeiro in April 2011?

Thanks

The cheapest are the US Airways flights for $982 roundtrip after tax. April 6-20 for example.

Anything approaching $950-$1000ish after tax is about the bottom for Brazil these days.

They're not the fastest flights though, with 6 hours of layovers on the way there and 9 on the way back.

The Continental flights would probably be your best bet, $1008 after tax, with a 3 hour layover on the way there, 4 hours on the way back. April 6-21 for example.

cM

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by cmyden

The cheapest are the US Airways flights for $982 roundtrip after tax. April 6-20 for example.

Anything approaching $950-$1000ish after tax is about the bottom for Brazil these days.

They're not the fastest flights though, with 6 hours of layovers on the way there and 9 on the way back.

The Continental flights would probably be your best bet, $1008 after tax, with a 3 hour layover on the way there, 4 hours on the way back. April 6-21 for example.

cM

I paid about $1400 on Continental for a flight in August that went through Houston to Buenos Aires (and then from Rio through Houston back to Calgary) and let me tell you as far as 15+ hours of a travel go it was a dream. The flight times work out perfectly so that you can pretty much eat and then catch a nice sleep for the long haul and the layover in houston doesn't really seem that bad.

When you're flying that far, it's probably worth the few extra sheckles not to deal with 9 hour layovers.

My 2cents anyway.

[cheevers]

Hey Chris, wondering if you have seen any deals to Europe leaving this week for 7-10 days. Doesn't really matter where in Europe.

Thanks

[FCAV]

Any cheap flights on a weekend trip to Orlando anytime in November? Any planned seat sales?!?

Best I can find is WestJet with a round tripper of about $571.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by cheevers

Hey Chris, wondering if you have seen any deals to Europe leaving this week for 7-10 days. Doesn't really matter where in Europe.

Thanks

Hi Cheevers,

Air Transat or Thomas Cook to London (or Manchester) is about your only chance of finding something cheap to Europe from Calgary.

Have a look on AirTransat.ca (use the flexible dates grid) and see if there's anything cheap, or at CanadianAffair.ca for Thomas Cook flights.

The best time to buy November flights probably would have been around mid October when some came out for $529 roundtrip after tax on Thomas Cook.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by FCAV

Any cheap flights on a weekend trip to Orlando anytime in November? Any planned seat sales?!?

Best I can find is WestJet with a round tripper of about $571.

Hi Fcav,

Unfortunately seat sales can't really be predicted. There seems to have been a few good last minute prices lately to Florida, which is unusual on major carriers (usually last minute flights are quite expensive). Delta had some down to $325 roundtrip after tax.

If you can go Thu-Mon, Nov 18-22 is $433 roundtrip after tax on Delta.

[cmyden]

All Inclusive: 4* Gran Bahia Principe Coba - $777/person after tax

The November 17th departure to the Gran Bahia Principe Coba on the Mayan side of Mexico has dropped to $777/person after tax.

7 nights, all inclusive, flight, hotel, food, drinks, etc.

It also gets quite amazing reviews on TripAdvisor, with 88% of people recommending it.

Here's a direct link to this package.


cM

[fundmark19]

I have been to the tulum portion of this resort its all one big complex with 3 different "hotels" It is very nice. The coba is the closest to the swimming beach and brazillian bbq resturant. Great resort had lots of fun there for a wedding!

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

I have been to the tulum portion of this resort its all one big complex with 3 different "hotels" It is very nice. The coba is the closest to the swimming beach and brazillian bbq resturant. Great resort had lots of fun there for a wedding!

Yeah apparently it's a very nice resort, someone sent me this comment about it:

I have been to this resort 3 times over - AMAZING! Beautiful snorkeling right off the beach, great restaurants and access to two other surrounding resorts. Just a $5 taxi ride into Play del Carmen where you can take a ferry over to the Island of Cozumel, enjoy the fun waterpark: Xcaret, or take a taxi in the opposite direction to Tulum to visit Mayan Ruins. This is an FANTASTIC deal!!! I know of others paying up to $2,000 each.

And you don't see too many resorts on TripAdvisor with over twice as many 'excellents' as 'very goods' after 1900 reviews. (#1 of 17 hotels in Akumal)

[fundmark19]

When I went for a wedding in april we got a group discount of $1500.00 per person so this is a great deal! I forgot to mention coba is close to the 24 hour snack bar as well!

[Envitro]

I'm concerned with going to that side because of tropical storms and hurricanes wrecking my experience, and bad weather overall. Last year we went to Cancun and Ida pretty much ruined our vacation.

Anybody got any good ideas of what to expect there, although it's a little different than Cancun obviously.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Envitro

I'm concerned with going to that side because of tropical storms and hurricanes wrecking my experience, and bad weather overall. Last year we went to Cancun and Ida pretty much ruined our vacation.

Anybody got any good ideas of what to expect there, although it's a little different than Cancun obviously.

Akumal is pretty much next door to Cancun.




Hurricane Ida struck in early November. The National Hurricane Center defines the hurricane season as extending to November 30th.

Historically, September has had the most Atlantic hurricane activity I believe, followed by October. Things generally start to quiet down by November. Statistically, mid to end November should be pretty safe, but to really minimize the risk, early December would be better.

Here are the odds you'd be facing:

Atlantic Tropical Storm Tracking by Year
http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/atlantic/

2000 - 7 in September, 4 in October, 0 in November, none in December.

2001 - 4 in September, 5 in October, 2 in November (Nov 4 and 23), lasted until December 4th.

2002 - 9 in September, 0 in October/November/December.

2003 - 3 in September, 4 in October, 0 in November, 2 in December (lasted until December 11th)

2004 - 3 in September, 3 in October, 1 in late November (until December 5th).

2005 - 5 in September, 7 in October, 3 in November, 1 in late December

2006 - 5 in September, none in October/November/December

2007 - 6 in September, 1 in late October (until Nov 6th), 1 in December (ended Dec 16th)

2008 - 4 in September, 3 in October, 1 in November (ended Nov 14)

2009 - 2 in September, 2 in October, 1 in November (ended Nov 11)


Here's the NOAA's best guess for hurricane activity, issued August 5th:

http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/out...urricane.shtml

NOAA’s updated 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook calls for a 90% chance of an above normal season. There is only a 10% chance of a near-normal season, and no expectation the season will be below normal. Therefore, 2010 is expected to become the eleventh above-normal season since 1995. See NOAA definitions of above-, near-, and below-normal seasons. The Atlantic hurricane region (or basin) includes the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.
The atmospheric and oceanic conditions now in place over the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea are very conducive to hurricane formation, as was predicted in NOAA’s pre-season outlook issued in May. These conditions are expected to persist throughout the peak months (August-October) of the Atlantic hurricane season, in association with three climate factors; the tropical multi-decadal signal, La Niña, and very warm temperatures in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. In addition, dynamical model forecasts tropical cyclone activity continue to predict a very active season.

Apparently hurricane activity actually ebbs and flows in cycles that last decades.



http://www.magazine.noaa.gov/stories/mag184.htm

As a result, the North Atlantic experiences alternating decades long (20 to 30 year periods or even longer) of above normal or below normal hurricane seasons.

And we hit the upswing in 1995, so it might not be until 2015 when things start to calm down in terms of hurricane activity.

cM

[Envitro]

Thanks cmyden!

[billybob123]

If anyone takes advantage of this deal and wants to take the ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel, ride outside. Trust me. It's a pukefest inside. I puked - 50% from the seasickness, and 50% from the bags of puke that everyone seemed to be holding on to. Oh yeah, the line I took had clear plastic pukebags.

Tickets on each line are about the same price, so there's no benefit to one line over the other. Just sit outside. Even if it's raining.