The Informed Traveler
The Informed Traveler
Holiday Air Travel Reminders & Squamish Canyon, BC
Tis the season for holiday air travel so on this week's show travel expert Onanta Forbes will pop by to offer some holiday air travel reminders. Then we'll head to the west coast of BC and talk with the GM of Squamish Canyon, an area that allows you to explore the rain forest through a series of bridges, walkways and viewing decks. And once a month we like to check in with Patrick Sojka from Rewards Canada to offer up the latest news and tips in the world of travel rewards. This month we'll get some tips on using your rewards to book and all inclusive vacation or cruise.
Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveler Podcast, a weekly travel podcast where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveler. I'm your host, Randy Sharman. Tis the season for holiday air travel. So in a few seconds, travel expert Onanda Forbes will pop by to offer some holiday air travel reminders. Then we'll head to the west coast of BC and talk with the general manager of Squamish Canyon. It's an area that allows you to explore the rainforest through a series of bridges and walkways and viewing decks. It's quite spectacular, so we'll learn more about that. And once a month, we'd like to check in with Patrick Soika from Awards Canada to offer up the latest news and tips in the world of travel rewards. So Patrick will be joining us this week to do that. This month we'll get some tips on using your rewards to book an all-inclusive vacation or a cruise. But first, let's kick things off. Chatting with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to discuss some of the travel news and travel trends. You can follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and ex at Onanta Forbes. OnantaForbes.com is her website. Hello, Onanta.
SPEAKER_00:Hi Brandy, how are you?
SPEAKER_02:I'm well, thank you. Uh tis the season for holiday travel. And uh with that in mind, I thought it'd be a good idea to throw some reminders out there. I'm sure lots of people already know about uh you know getting through airport security, but there's uh it's always a good thing to remind people that uh maybe this is the only time of year that they travel or something, right?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, right. And it's actually it's a busy time of year, and it actually is considered busy starting on December 15th. So still 10 days away from Christmas. Um and I think the number one, I think, reminder I could tell guests uh would be to check their flight status. Um and check it frequently because your flight times can change right up until departure. Um, as we talked about on my adventure to uh Puerto Vallarta, your flight aircraft can change as well. So that can change your seating and your um class of service. So that's probably the biggest thing to to keep in mind is when your flight leaves and sign up for the notifications.
SPEAKER_02:Mm-hmm. Well, I think that's a good reminder too. Uh it to me it it boils down to two things: things you can control and things you can't control. You know, you can't control uh the weather and whether your flight is on time and those types of things, but you can control uh how you prepare for this and and those types of things, right?
SPEAKER_00:Right, absolutely. And so when you're um packing um and uh thinking about what to take, um, it's always good to know what's allowed in your carry-on and in your check bags before you travel. Number one would be the weight of um your bags, the size dimensions, um, as also um what is permitted, what is restricted, and what is prohibited. And um there is there are websites that you can just google and find out what you can bring. So um you don't have to um you know be a rocket scientist for it. Just Google what can I bring?
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. Well, yeah, there's the uh Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, they have a great website. It's uh CATSA.gc.ca. You can just Google it. It's CATSA is the acronym for it. Uh they have a they break it down quite nicely of uh what to bring, what you can't bring, uh those types of things. And uh really it can get quite detailed if you want, but uh you know that's that's probably the the b the best place to start.
SPEAKER_00:That's it. That's it exactly. And then um with regards to, you know, planning to get to the airport, if you're being dropped off, if you're be parking, kind of factor that in as well. Um and also, you know, for budget purposes, if you are parking, where the best place at the airport is to park. Or there's always like uh uh Uber or transfer services that you can take tabs as as well. Hopefully you have nice friends and family off.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. Well, technology is great now because there are all kinds of apps, doesn't like just about every airport has an app now. And if it's an international airport, you can if you're flying internationally or domestically, it doesn't matter, you can check to see uh the airport security lines. Um one of like one of the advantages of of of Calgary is that they have numerous different uh places where you can go through security, so you can check which one is the has the least waiting time to get you through security.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, very good point. And I think you can even book a spot online from that website as well. Um, but you know, you could also get um expedited security, like enroll in TSA pre-check, or I always recommend having a Nexus card that expedites you, and that can set on saving time. And um also just to think about carrying what to carry in your carry-on your meds, your tigers, snacks. Um, especially some airlines um charge you like for meals on board. So you might want to, especially and kids too. Like if you have kids, they might be a little bit um not fussy, but want their their particular brand of treats, right? As as to adults. I should say it. I like my cheesies.
SPEAKER_02:Well, exactly. And then when uh uh in uh some airports now, uh again back to uh YYC in Calgary, they have the new uh CT X-ray scanners, which uh allows people to not necessarily take everything out of their bag anymore. Like you don't have to remove your laptop, you uh don't have to, you know, m remove those types of things uh because the uh x-ray scanners uh scan everything in your bag, which speeds things up.
SPEAKER_00:It does, it does absolutely. Um but I think also all those uh all those tips, all those um options, I think the best thing to is to arrive early. Give yourself the gift of time um for domestic, two hours for international, um, three hours, maybe even four, depending on traffic and and so on. And and you know, early in the morning, especially if you're going into states, there's there are lots of airlines that depart for the states, all around the same time. So keep that in mind.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. And traffic is an issue. Uh even uh in when you're coming home from the destination that you may not even be aware of, so give yourself uh time for that. I I the reason why I chuckled was I made a note here. Make sure you mention arrive early. This goes back to things that uh you can control. This you can control, and it uh just saves so much stress. Get there early. If you get uh happen to be lucky and get through security quicker than you think, then then you can have breakfast, lunch, have a coffee, uh whatever you want, and just relax. So uh that's one of the things you can control. And then you mentioned about the the the packing. Uh I learned this the hard way coming back from a destination that you don't realize how much stuff you're going to bring back, and your luggage is suddenly overweight. So maybe you might want to give yourself uh some extra space, especially if you're going uh someplace for the holidays and you might be bringing gift stocks.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. I think that's a really good point. Or you might have to end up paying um for oversized uh luggage weight or a second, which I've done in the past. I'm just gonna back up a little bit. Um, just a reminder that going through um US customs, you only are allowed, I think, two hours prior to your departure. So uh yes, you can get early and get through, but you might not be able to get through customs right away. Depending on your departure time.
SPEAKER_02:This is true. And um certain airports do have customs, uh US customs at the airport, some don't, so that depends on the airport you're going to. But yeah, there's a difference between security and customs. So yeah, if you're flying domestically, obviously you don't have to go through customs. Uh it's security you only have to worry about. And then if you're flying internationally, yeah, it's uh you do have to go through the customs uh lines.
SPEAKER_00:And this is the time of air the year that you may want to bring um some gifts for the people that you're going to go visit. Um if you have them in um your carry on, you know, leave them on runner. And then keep in mind that like uh liquids and gel are still a maximum of a hundred milliliters each. All must fit in one one-liter clearly sealable bag and larger containers going to your chair. But again, keep your meds with you because you never know if there's a delay.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. Anything you absolutely need, uh you might want to keep with you and just in case there is a delay. Because there that never happens. There's never any delays.
SPEAKER_00:Especially at busy times of year.
SPEAKER_02:Well, exactly. And we're getting into the you know nasty weather uh all over the place. It doesn't really matter where you go now. There's a chance of getting uh caught in some weather. So anything else? Any uh last other tips?
SPEAKER_00:Um, you know what? I think the most important one, and uh not always easy to do, stay calm, be patient with staff and other travelers. It kindness does go a long way.
SPEAKER_02:It does go a long way, and that just goes back to my point. If you get there early enough, then uh you won't be stressed out enough, and so that stress level uh just lowers, and then you can be nice to everyone. Onanda Forbes is a travel expert. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and X at Onanta Forbes. OnantaForbes.com is her website. Uh Merry Christmas, Onanta.
SPEAKER_00:Happy holidays, everybody.
SPEAKER_02:Let's head to the west coast of BC now and learn about Squamish Canyon, an area that allows you to explore the rainforest through a series of bridges and walkways and viewing decks. So joining me now to tell us more about it is Ken Bailey. He's the general manager of Squamish Canyon. Their website is squamishcanyon.com. Hi, Ken. Randy, how are you? I'm very well, thank you. Uh, looking forward to hearing all about Squamish Canyon. I have to admit, I know nothing about the area, but I was looking uh on your website. It looks like an amazing place. Uh first tell me about the area in general and then uh walk me through how it came about.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, for sure. I think that, you know, Squamish in general has been is is an area, um, certainly an area that's growing in popularity. Um, you know, as uh the lower mainland and Vancouver and surrounding areas grow in in population. Um, you know, people people tend to, and I think it's probably a bit of a, you know, a hangover from the COVID years. Um, people were looking for um, you know, activities that were outside. Um, lots of us were looking for um, you know, anybody that remembers that social distancing and um and getting back out into nature. Well, I mean, you know, Squamish is nature's masterpiece as far as um the amount of things that can be done um in a natural environment. So so Squamish itself has seen, you know, considerable growth over the last 10 years and accelerated within the last five years with people coming up. And, you know, people from the lower mainland do uh um, you know, whether you're rock climbing or hiking or or skiing or you know, just coming up into the natural mountain lakes, where you know, we're seeing a lot of growth. So so I, you know, a few years back, a number of years back, Robin Sherry, who's the visionary behind Squamish Canyon, saw a need to build um, you know, to create and build um some sustainable tourism infrastructure. Because as you get, as as locations, be it Squamish or or anywhere else within the province or around the world, um, to be able to host the people that want to see your area, you need to be able to provide safe, sustainable, environmentally, you know, sensitive infrastructure that allows people to venture and and see. Otherwise, you start to get into the areas of overcrowding in specific areas or perhaps people, you know, traveling into areas that they shouldn't um, or getting themselves, you know, unsuspectedly into um, you know, into precarious situations, especially when you're talking about, you know, the mountains and the rivers and the lakes and things of that nature. Um, and so he saw a need to um, you know, create another piece of infrastructure that would welcome tourists and and visitors and the local community and give people just a different experience, a different way to experience uh area.
SPEAKER_02:Well, yeah, I would agree. Uh it sort of opens up a whole new type of visitor, people that want to get out. I would put myself in that category. I like being in the outdoors, but I'm not a diehard hiker. And this is the the type of thing that I would enjoy. And I think uh a lot of people would enjoy uh more if there was more of it.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I think that what we, you know, sort of what we serve in in creating what we've done at Squamish Canyon is that middle ground, um, what we call the white sneaker wanderers, right? The people that will come up and they they don't want to necessarily pack a big backpack and and and go, you know, lugging a big backpack up, you know, 3,000, 4,000 feet of of uh uh vertical. They they just want to get out um of an urban environment. They just want to get out and you know, really smell the smell the rain and smell the trees and and uh you know hear the leaves crunch under their feet and and uh you know just sort of immerse themselves into a natural environment. And that's that's the kind of experience that we've created here.
SPEAKER_02:I am looking on your website, squamishcanyon.com. Uh so uh there's images of uh you know, there's walkways and and stairs and and those types and spots where you can look out. How would you describe it though? If you were at a cocktail party and someone said, I've never been, describe it for me.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, it's uh it's you know, to a certain extent, it's a little bit like a uh, you know, uh uh nature boardwalk on steroids. It's it's 1.5 kilometers of boardwalk um carved thoughtfully and sustainably through the forest. Um lots of people will come and they're they're amazed at the fact that, you know, the the walkway itself is not a straight line from point A to point B. Um, it is done um strategically weaving itself through the forest to have a minimum impact on the area. Um it's built around the trees. So in a number of areas you'll see trees, you know, the trees are still growing up through the boardwalk itself. Um and it allows you to get, you know, it allows you to get closer to the power of Mother Nature Um safely. You're you know, you're cantilevered out over Mamquam River and and right over top of Mamquam Falls. Um, and it just allows you to get closer to these elements um than you would otherwise. And it allows you to get closer to these elements um, you know, in a safe manner. That's at the end of the day, it creates an immersive experience in a safe environment.
SPEAKER_02:Let's talk about the location, uh, where Squamish Canyon is and just getting there, just the logistics and and uh how long a normal tour would take or a walk would take.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, we're we're um just south of Squamish. So if anybody that knows Squamish as you're driving in, you drive past the C to Sky Gondola on your right hand side, and before you get into, you know, sort of Squamish proper, if you will, um Mamquam Forest Service Road is on your right hand side. And so you travel up uh Forest Service Road for about uh 4.9 kilometers. Um and uh and you know the the just the drive in starts to give you a sense of the you know the rainforest that you're in, and you drive over some raging rivers, other smaller raging rivers, and and uh, you know, you see the the old growth trees and the the you know what a what a coastal rainforest looks like. Um so you really start to feel that experience um driving down the Forest Service Road. Um we're about four point kilometer, four point nine kilometers up Mam Forest Service Road. You turn onto Powerhouse Springs Road and immediately you'll start to see our parking lot. Um and you uh, you know, it's all a safe, safe, um maintained road. Um people ask us often if if the road is, you know, if the road is safe, and it absolutely is. Um lots of people use the road on a daily basis. So it's you know, it's this juxtaposition where you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, um, but you're pretty close to, you know, you're pretty close to humanity and society in general. So it's not like you're in the middle of nowhere, but it certainly gives you that immersive feeling.
SPEAKER_02:Uh-huh. Do you limit the number of visit visitors? Uh there's a lot of places now that have time tickets and those types of things. How does that work?
SPEAKER_05:No, we don't have time ticketing. We don't limit the number of visitors. Um, the nature of something like this is there's always a flow through. So you don't, you know, we have a front entrance, of course, that's that's gated, but the experience itself uh isn't the kind of experience that you would feel crowded anywhere. Um like I said, it's it's 1,500 meters of boardwalk spread throughout about 16 acres. Um and so you know, we we cover a a wide um area of uh of the forest. Um so it's it's not like you're ever um you know crowded or um we have to control the flow of people at certain times of day, things like that. The nature of the the nature of the experiences, you flow through it um, you know, pretty unimpeded by by others.
SPEAKER_02:Nice. Um so uh it's open year-round, I'm assuming, yes. And and uh I've I'll have to admit I haven't been through a rainforest in winter. It must be quite an experience. Uh what are some of the events you have coming up and and those types of things?
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, we are open. Um the only day we uh we close at at this point is Christmas Day um to give staff um you know time to spend with their families. Um and uh uh you know December's, I mean we're we're pretty excited about December because of course it's our first December. And uh and you know, I get not everybody loves Christmas, but there's lots of there are lots of people out there that really like Christmas. And so we've done it, um, we've done it upright. As opposed to, you know, the following the normal path of Santa and Mrs. Claus and the North Pole, we really embraced um, you know, what would the woodland creatures, how do our woodland creatures celebrate Christmas? So, you know, we've we've um we've created an environment that celebrates uh, you know, the natural, the natural residents of the rainforest, the squirrels and the bears and the bats and you know, animals of that nature. All of our activities around story time, um, you know. Gingerbread cookie decorating, holiday hunt. I mean, when little kids come, um, they can get a uh they can get an adventure pack at the front gate that allows them to look for different things along the boardwalk. Um we've got our forest lounge um all lit up with Christmas lights and a tree, uh, you know, a Christmas tree and things like that. So we've certainly embraced it, um, but at the same time um, you know, respecting uh the area that we're in. And so we're we're really celebrating that that woodland friends theme um as opposed to leaning on sort of the traditional Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.
SPEAKER_02:Nice. And there's uh there's facilities on site. I'm thinking like a restaurant. If I want to have lunch or something like that, I can do that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, we have so at the end, probably about 75% of the way through the experience, um, we have a forest lounge that's a 3,000 square foot um deck, elevated deck in the forest with uh food and beverage and retail and souvenirs. It's licensed. We have a uh playground there for the kids to play on. We have plenty of toys, um, you know, uh games like Connect 4 and and uh Cornhole and things like that to, you know, to to um entertain the family and entertain the kids. So you certainly can have, you know, uh kids' hot chocolate, an adult style hot chocolate. Um we have beer and wine and warm sandwiches and and things of that um available while we're um you know during uh opening hours.
SPEAKER_02:Mm-hmm. And what's been the feedback like? Like uh again, looking on your website, this is the kind of place I would that's meant for me. Like I like I said before at the beginning, I like being in the outdoors, and this is the perfect setting.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I mean, feedback, the the people that we've had visit us have been um, you know, the feedback's been quite good and it's been it's been um I think you know, inherit uh generally the feedback or the first comment that we get from people that visit is it's way more than they expect it, right? Um, which is always great. Um it's always a little bit concerning because you have to figure out, okay, well, what you know, what expectations are we creating? Do we need to do, you know, do we need to do a little bit more so people understand um what and who we are? Um but it's always very gratifying to have people come in and and say um that it's way more than what they expected. You always want somebody to be, you know, absolutely more impressed with your experience than less impressed with what they thought they were going to get. So that's always um something that's um you know super exciting for us to hear from our guests. Um you know, we uh we opened on August 1st um this year. So we're you know, literally going into our fourth month of of being open. Um and uh and things are evolving. We're we're adding, you know, we're adding things to the experience every day. So what I would say is, you know, if somebody came on August 1st or 2nd or 3rd and and what they saw, you know, the first week of operating um of of our operations of our opening is much different than what they're going to see if they come next week during uh Christmas.
SPEAKER_02:Uh you could do this uh as a day trip out of Vancouver, right? If I'm visiting Vancouver and want to just scoot up, you could you could do that, right?
SPEAKER_05:Certainly. You you you can certainly, and and we have uh, you know, a growing number of um people from the lower mainland that we see in Squamish that will come up to Squamish for the day. There's, you know, with other attractions and other experiences in in and around the area, you can easily uh make squamish a full day and see things that you wouldn't otherwise see in other jurisdictions, other, you know, other regions, or or for that matter, in you know, in and around the lower mainland. So yeah, it's absolutely, I mean, we're you know, from North Vancouver, we're probably 40 minutes um door to door. And um adding other, you know, we've got great restaurants and great shops and funky stores and uh an amazing main street, um, you know, coffee shops and microbreweries and um lots of other lots of other attractions and lots of other activities to do. So yeah, we're we're certainly um a fantastic uh day trip for people from the lower mainland.
SPEAKER_02:Well, it does look like a fantastic experience. Uh people can get to find more information on your website, squamishcanyon.com. Ken Bailey is the general manager of Squamish Canyon. Uh, I do appreciate your uh your time, Ken. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, no, thanks, Randy. I did want to mention one of the things through Christmas is um, you know, we also understand that people are a little bit stretched for, you know, at Christmas. You you we all tend to spend a little bit more money than what we thought we were going to. And so we're, you know, we're happy to uh to offer kids are free from December 13th to January 4th, just to give a little bit of value. And and the best thing to do is if you're gonna buy tickets, go to our website and uh and we have uh you know, we have a pre-purchase online discount of 20%. Perfect. Even better. Thanks, Ken. Yeah, thanks, Randy.
SPEAKER_02:This is the Informed Traveler Podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, the informtraveler.org. That's where you can find our contact page if you have any questions or comments about the podcast. You can also email me too with any questions you might have. My email address is Randy at theinformtraveler.org. And you can check out our social media pages too at facebook.com slash informeler, Instagram at informed traveler, or on X at Informed Traveler. That's where you'll find a number of videos and reels from our adventures throughout the year and audio clips from our past shows. Plus, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our December issue is available now. Just go to our website, theinformtraveler.org, click on the newsletter button, and it'll take you right there. Or better yet, you can subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each month. Well, once a month, we'd like to check in with Patrick Soika from Rewards Canada to offer up the latest news and tips in the world of travel rewards. This month, we're going to get some tips on using your rewards to book an all-inclusive vacation or a cruise. And Patrick's here now to do just that. His website is rewardscanada.ca. Hi, Patrick. Hey, Randy. So let's talk about uh how I can use my rewards for booking an all-inclusive vacation. And I think uh we'll even uh expand that to cruises. Is this something new where I could use my rewards, my points, uh to book an all-inclusive vacation, or has it been around and people just didn't know?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, so this has actually been around for uh a decent amount of time. I I don't have an exact date as to when they you know you could start using points for all inclusive vacations, but I think it does come down to you know, a lot of people don't know that you can earn and redeem points for all inclusive vacations and cruises because a lot of the marketing around even credit cards and loyalty programs is about the free flight. It's like, let's get this free flight, that free flight. But there's so much more to the programs, and there's actually decent value in them. Um, you know, like a lot of these, you and I have talked a lot about proprietary credit card programs, things like American Express membership rewards, things like that, where you can just book any travel you like and then redeem points against the charge. So even that works towards all inclusive vacations. There's a lot of different options out there, you know, for the all-inclusive vacationer, a cruise, you know, somebody who loves cruises, that you can use points and miles towards those.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think that's the issue too. There is so many uh different options out there that people just get confused. I get confused, and that's why you're here to unconfuse us. But uh, so how does it work? Like what kind of points, what kind of rewards are we talking about? Is it just about just about everybody that offers them? Because you know, I I I have Aeroplan, so I'm familiar with AeroPlan, and it's tied to my Amex card. So how does so is um I obviously I can use my AeroPlan, uh, but so what other rewards uh is it just across the board now?
SPEAKER_01:It it pretty much is across the board. Um so something like Aeroplan, you know, they give you a flat rate. It's a little different than just booking flights with Aeroplan. Aeroplan, they have their what they call dynamic pricing. So if the if a flight is cheaper, you pay less points. If it's more expensive, you pay more points. When you book vacation packages with Aeroplan, it's through Air Canada Vacations, and you're getting a flat, what they call a one cent per point. So you can redeem 50 points, or sorry, 50, you can redeem 5,000 points for$50 off or$100,000 points for$1,000 off, and you put that towards your vacation. And you can redeem anywhere from$5,000 to$500,000 points on a vacation. So you can save up to$5,000. So you're basically getting cash off your vacation package, redeeming aeroplan points uh through Air Canada vacations. Um and you said that you were gonna say we're gonna we'll touch upon cruises. They actually just added the redemption option to redeem for cruises through Air Canada vacations. So you can use your aeroplan points with the same redemption rates,$5,000 for$50 and up from there, um, towards flight and cruise or even cruise only, which is kind of cool. If you, you know, if you're I don't know, you have a totally different vacation plan and you're not going to use airplan points for flights, you can just use your airplane points towards a cruise. And that's that's kind of all across the board for a lot of the programs as well. I mean, you know, scene plus you can scene plus you can book trap any travel you want if you have one of their credit cards, and then you know you you the charge when it shows up, you're just reading points against it. Uh Air Miles has vacation packages. WestJet, of course, you can use your um Westjet points towards WestJet vacation packages. So yeah, it the there are so many different options out there.
SPEAKER_02:Well, that was I'm I'm chuckling because my next question was gonna be where am I gonna get the better value? If I'm gonna book, uh let's use a cruise, for example, because for us people here that are landlocked, we got to fly to get to a cruise. Exactly. Am I getting better value to use my points on flights and then pay for the cruise? Am I getting better value to use my points on the cruise and pay for a flight, or just a whole package all together? And I know that's a loaded question.
SPEAKER_01:That is a loaded question because say using something like Aeroplan, like you said, because they have dynamic pricing, in most cases, uh, and I'm saying most, not all cases, you probably will get a little better value for your points using them for the flights. Um, but if you have enough points to do both, absolutely, and you may want to do like a separate flight like booked through aircanada.com and then using points for the cruise by itself through Air Canada vacations. So these are all tricks you need to look at. But but a lot of things like you're getting there, yeah. Yeah, a lot of us don't have the time or the or or or you know you have to put the effort in to find all that. So that's where the beauty of a flight and cruise through Air Canada vacations works too. You may you may lose a little bit of value of your per point, but you know, like I tell everybody, you know, unless you're a a big time points and miles enthusiast and you are that value pusher, you know, you're your person who always uses coupons, who's always, you know, who is trying to maximize everything, that's something you'll be doing. But for a lot of Canadians, we're just happy being able to redeem points and get a vacation for free or get a vacation for half off for a discount or something. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So do what's do what's best for you, whatever makes you happy. And that's what I tell people the best redemption out there is the one that makes you happy. It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter the value, it doesn't matter if it is a holiday in in Lethbridge or flying business class on Qatar Airways. It you know, whatever makes you the happiest, then that is the best redemption out there. And that's what I tell people. It's like, you know, yeah, we can try and chase value, and and we talk about it a lot on our website about you know, you're getting this this amount of cents per point or cents per mile. Um but you know what it comes down to, you know, what's best for you, whether it's redeeming aeroplan points for a flight, a vacation, or even I've had people come back to me, they were so happy when they redeemed their aeroplan points for an iPad. So you know, it's whatever works for you.
SPEAKER_02:For a Starbucks gift card. Exactly. Um well the the point I was getting at just to expand on what on what you were saying using uh aeroplan, and I'm gonna keep using that example because it's the one I know. So it's tied to my American Express card. So if in theory, I could, you know, book uh if I had enough uh points to book flights for a cruise or or or pay for uh uh flights for a cruise. I'm re I'm getting points from my Amexed Aeroplan. I'm also getting points from the flights themselves that I could use for a cruise if I book it later.
SPEAKER_01:If you book it later, yeah. The flights probably not because if those flights are being used for that cruise, those don't post, right? Until you're actually traveling. But yeah, so the payment though is exactly the payment, absolutely, 100%. You know, if you're booking your flights eight months ahead and you're gonna book your cruise six months ahead, yeah, absolutely. You know, you can you can use those points that way. Um, same thing goes with the other, like the flexible cards. So like um we'll go with American Express again, but they're membership rewards cards. So the non-aero plan ones, but they're membership rewards. Those ones, same thing, you um you can book ahead of time, and then the the flexibility with that and and a program like C Plus membership rewards is you can actually pay cash for well, I'm saying pay cash, but use your credit card for your cruise for your flights, and they actually give you up to 12 months after that purchase posts to redeem the points towards it. Oh, really? Even when you're done your flight, done your vacation, if you still want to fund that vacation after the fact, you can with your shopping. So they give you those options. And the other good thing with American Press membership rewards is you you can convert those points to aeroplan too. So it's just a lot of flexibility there as well. Um, you know, so so there's just so many different options that you that you can use towards you know, cruises and all inclusives um, you know, and uh and earning too, right? Like a lot of the um, you know, you and I were just discussing how a lot of the hotel chains, the major hotel chains, have have bought up or partnered with all-inclusive resorts. You know, IEG has ibarrow star, uh, world of Hyatt has added a bunch. I think there's they have secrets and dreams are part of the world of Hyatt program now. Uh Marriott has their all-inclusive collection. Um, so you can be earning your Marriott points, your world of Hyatt points, and then vice versa, you can redeem. So the same, so this goes back to how you and I were talking about using your aeroplan points for a flight and then booking your crew separately. Same thing here. You can use your aeroplan points for a flight to one of those destinations, and then use your Marriott points for you know an all-inclusive West end, or we use your Hyatt points for Dreams. So there's so many different combinations you can use. Um, and I think just like and again, going back to what you and I were saying before, it it's just about the knowledge of knowing that you can use it for use loyalty points for more than just flights.
SPEAKER_02:Mm-hmm. Well, and also what about the whole booking process itself? Uh again, I'm gonna use American Express because this is the one I know. I can go on American Express and they have their own travel booking site. So um uh is that a way to do it easier, or can I phone my local travel agent? Because we like to promote promote travel agents. Absolutely. Um, and can they handle it as well?
SPEAKER_01:They they can handle it as well. I mean, your credit card's gonna earn the points whichever, whichever way, right? Um, and that's the beauty of the flexible programs like membership rewards, scene plus, uh, BMO rewards, TD rewards, they give you those options that you can go to your travel agent, you book it, and that travel agent, once the booking shows up on your credit card, you just redeem points towards the charge. Aeroplan, not so much because it's tied into Air Canada vacations only. But at least you'll earn, you can earn your airplan points. And that's the other, you know, the whole thing about earning too on a lot of all inclusives. Aeroplan uh a few years ago launched uh bonus points offers just for booking certain packages, seven nights here or and it's it's not just all inclusives. It's like if you're flying to California, they have packages. Europe, they if you give a tour, they have these bonus points offers. Um, so you can earn even more points, you know, booking like all inclusive vacations and cruises.
SPEAKER_02:Hmm. Well, it just makes me want to book a cruiser on all inclusive vacation now, or at least check how many points I have and what I can what kind of a discount I can get.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Anything else?
SPEAKER_01:Oh man, you know, I mean, we could go so so deep if we wanted to with this. But yeah, I think you just I think it's it's best that people know that you have that option. Um, you know, with the flexible credit card programs, the the value is pretty much equal across the board what you use them for. So it it you can use them for the vacation packages, you can use them for, you know, flights, cruises, you name it. Um we talked about aeroplan. It it's you might be able to get better value out of flights um because you're only getting one cent per point for the vacation packages. Um, but again, that's still a decent value. West's pretty much a flat rate program. You know, there's uh there's even the smaller programs that we we don't talk about too much. You know, like there's more rewards, which is the the grocery program for save on foods and uh, you know, at West here um for their grocery stores, they have more rewards travel, and you can redeem the points for for vacation packages through there as well. It's powered by Expedia. So it's the you know, this you're gonna get all the same packages that Expedia has, but you can use your more rewards points for that from from buying your groceries. Um and the one that's really interesting is Petrol Points. They have a partnership with iTravel 2000. So you can redeem your points booking packages through iTravel2000.
SPEAKER_02:You're right. There's so many points out there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Uh half the time I don't even know what kind of points I have, but I I do keep track my aero plan.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, I mean that's you know, when it comes to travel, it you know, it is it's aeroplan, it's WestJet, it's your Marriott Bond boy, you know, the there's you know, probably a I'd say for Canadians, there's you know, eight to twelve programs that are really the key ones for travel. Uh you know, some of them are credit cards, some of them are airline. Uh, and then you have, you know, uh we don't talk a lot anymore about air miles. We probably should be because they're they're on such a big comeback after you know being basically bankrupt two two years ago. Uh Bank of Montreal has pumped a lot of money into them and is still pumping lots of money into them. So it's a decent travel program as well, especially now that um come this January, they're finally because they have that split miles, they have cash miles, dream miles, those are all gonna be combined into one, so people don't have to worry about having whether they have enough miles to redeem for ten dollars off at shell or having enough miles for a travel vacation package. You don't have to worry about that anymore come January.
SPEAKER_02:Thankfully.
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:It is the ultimate guide to credit card and loyalty programs for the all-inclusive vacationer and cruises as well. Uh you can find it, uh, all the info on the Rewards Canada website, rewardscanada.ca. Lots of information on there. And the uh founder of Rewards Canada is Patrick Soika. Thank you so much for uh joining us again, Patrick. Uh, appreciate your time.
SPEAKER_01:Thanks again, Randy.
SPEAKER_02:And that is our show for this week. If you have comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a show idea, send that along as well. My email is randy at the informedtraveler.org. If you like what you heard, tell a friend. You can check out our website too at the informed traveler.org. In the meantime, thanks for listening. Travel safe and be an informed traveler.