Fast 5 Travel Tips: Why you should buy the professional photo

1. Because this is what it looks like when a family member takes a photo of me, in paradise.

2. Because the photo is missing you when you are always behind the camera. 

3. Because this is what it looks like when you try to take a selfie. Not a lot of paradise in that photo. But the giant shoulder shot is great. Ugh. And nobody's teen wants to be in a selfie with their mom. 

4. Because equipment failure can ruin a once in a lifetime pic. 

5. Because it's a small price to pay (usually $10-20) for a print of resort or cruise photo that is ready for you to frame. No on-line ordering, no picking up at the mall AND, perhaps most importantly you are helping contribute to someone's employment and their family all while you & your family get to enjoy a vacation together. 

Great flight prices on now!

If you plan to fly by the end of summer, or in September, I'd encourage you to take a few minutes today and check out the prices at Westjet and Air Canada. Both are having a sale right now and are offering pretty great prices.

My rule of thumb is any domestic flight under $400 is a good deal. Any flight to the USA under $500 and any overseas flight in the $750 range.

Right now, both AC & WJ are offering YWG to YYC under $300. So, if you need to go from Winnipeg to Calgary this fall, you should look at booking now.  Under $300 is fabulous.

Since the Canadian dollar is weak,  (6 year low) I would encourage you to book a package that includes your hotel whenever possible and pay in advance, with Canadian funds. For example, if you are going to Vegas, pay the Canadian package price with Westjet rather than using a US supplier or paying for each separately.  The package prices certainly have not jumped drastically in price so in my humble opinion you can still travel to the USA.  Anytime I can go to Vegas for $500, is good enough for me.

Of course, prices are subject to change at any time. Bargains won't last forever. Sadly, you can't ever expect a last minute airfare bargain.  Booking 6-8 weeks before you intend to travel, will offer the best prices.  Also, do look into your airline's policy on price drops or price matching.  The industry has changed in this regard in the last year or so. Never hurts to look.

Fast 5 Travel Tips: When to book that flight

1.  Any time you are locked into dates, and the price hits your comfort zone.  The odds of you getting a bargain, on the dates you NEED to travel are slim. Just bite the bullet and book it now.

2. Six to eight weeks before you travel, statistically presents the best price.  Plan today for your September travel.

3. Immediately, if you see an anomaly or a price that seems too good to be true. Once Twitter and the travel forums spread the word, it will be snapped up by others.

4. Planning to travel at Christmas? Book in July.  It's not going to get any cheaper. Hunting for last minute Christmas deals..... is enough to give you nightmares. And, the 'leftover deals' at Christmas can be worse than buying your gifts at 7-11 on Christmas Eve.

5. If your budget and your travel dreams align.... book. You will regret the things in life that you didn't do, more that the mistake you made.

Fast 5 Travel Tips: All time best bargains

My personal list of travel bargain jackpots. All from the last 7 years.

5.  We added 4 nights in Florida to a hockey trip to Minneapolis for $275 per person. So we drove to MSP, watched my son play hockey, left the car at the hotel, then got on a plane to Florida for 4 days/nights at at amazing Hyatt resort.  Flew back to MSP and drove home. Would have been over $1000 per person if we'd flown from home.

4. Kids fly & stay free. A bargain found post-strike with Air Canada back in 2012. We took the kids to the Turks n Caicos Islands. Was under $$900 per person for a family of 4. Amazing value considering the regular price is about $6000 per family of 4 at a modest resort there.

3. Air Canada had Olympic specials in 2010 when Canada hosted the winter Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler. One such special landed me a $99 flight (& taxes)  to the Bahamas. So I went for a 3 day weekend. That was awesome.

2. Found a First Class Delta flight to Maui at Christmas, for $495 tax included, roundtrip. Yes, First Class at Christmas. Amazing! So, even with hotel and food we spent about $3000 for 8 days in Maui over the busiest holiday time of the year for a family of 4.  I think that was 2009.

1. $283 round trip flight from Minot to Nassau, on Delta. In transit, the airline offered us $600 per person (family of 4)  in future travel credits to bump & catch the next flight out. Yes! Hell yes, we took that deal.  So we then had 1 year to use the travel credits. We had 6 free flights to California out of those $2400 in credits in 2013/14.  Unbeatable travel bargain luck!

Fewer miles than a snazzy toaster

This week's Air Miles travel deals include 40% off flights to Montreal, Vancouver or Calgary for Onyx status collectors. (30% off for Gold level collectors)

That means, you could cash in 1980 Air Miles and just pay the taxes ($126) to have a round trip flight (direct flight that is!) to Montreal or Vancouver.

Or, you could go to Calgary from Winnipeg for 1320 Air Miles.  Flights from now until September 6th, 2015 and subject to availability.

Pretty great deal eh?  Or you could cash in 2500 of your Air Miles for this snazzy red toaster. Toast for 2? Or a flight for 2? Your choice.

Well that's a nice selection of rooms, Caesar

You like choices, do you?  Well check out this list of room options from Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas.

However, my tip to you is this.... book the cheapest room offered. At the hotel check in desk, be your best self. Be best dressed, best mannered and the new best friend of the desk clerk. Charm him or her in the first minute of arrival and then when you present your credit card and ID for authorization, also include a nice crisp $20.

What's the $20 for? So your new best friend can use their talents and favour to choose a nice room for you.

But does this work? Yes. Yes it does. The desk clerk or their supervisor has the authorization to put you in a room of their choosing, equal or greater to what you have selected and paid for with the reservation. And believe me, you are not the first person to do this, nor will you ever be the last.

What do I say?  Clearly express your preferences or reason for 'being extra special.'  For example, you might say, "this is my first time at Caesar's Palace. This is a dream come true for me! My wife booked this trip for our anniversary. We're heading out for dinner and then to the Rod Stewart concert tomorrow night. It would be fantastic if we could have a room with a view or nearby the concert forum."

What you've told the desk clerk here is that you are celebrating and (the most important part) spending additional money on their property (concert & dinner) so they should look favourably upon your request.

When doesn't this upfront gratuity work?  1) When the hotel is full or near capacity.  2) You booked the room off Hotwire, Trivago or another cut rate site. 3) You are pushy or have a black mark on your hotel record with the chain. (Tell off a Hilton employee and be sure that note is on your account for all future Hilton reservations) 4) At the Best Western in Saskatoon. This is a Vegas thing.

And if it does not work in your favour, it was still one of the better bets you'll make in Las Vegas. C'est la vie! You're there to gamble and leave a little money behind anyway. Be sure $20 (or $10 per person - as shown in the booking chart below)  is FAR less than you would have paid through your travel agent for a room upgrade.

Yes. I do speak from experience. I've been placed in a suite at both Caesar's & Bellagio at check in. Also at the MGM and Tropicana, but really, it's the Bellagio Suite (3 bathrooms & a dining room) that is the real jackpot upgrade. Though I'll likely never hit that jackpot again, I sure intend to give it a shot.

Wow yourself in Europe

There's a new budget airline on the market and they are out to WOW you, literally.

Wowair.com is a new airline from Iceland that is connecting Europe to the United States, through 2 east  coast cities. They are flying direct to several European destinations from BOS (Boston) & BWI (Baltimore) airports.

Their introductory prices are burning up the Internet. $99 from Boston to Amsterdam?  Wow!
They are also showcasing their fares in really nice visual graphs to show you at a glance when the best deals are. I definitely like the ease of finding the bargain fare. It's like they want you to find it.... which is, of course, quite contrary to the big airlines and how they present their deals.

There are low cost add ons for insurance and extra baggage.

But Cathie... I don't live in Boston!  These deals aren't relevant to me. 

Well, did you know it only takes 2500 Airmiles & $150 to get a roundtrip ticket from Winnipeg to Boston? Maybe you'd like to add an NFL football game to your itinerary while you're in Boston?  Now you're thinking like an adventurist!

Where do you want to go now?