ScrollRoll

ALERT: The 75K Points Welcome Bonus Is Back! Click here for more info..

Do you have questions, comments or suggestions? Please click here.

Click on any icon below for more information:

>

Thursday 30 November 2017

Last day for HOT Exchange--SPG to United

If you have SPG points, know that today is the last day to get a 30% bonus when switching your points from SPG to Marriott to United through their miles and nights program.
United does not charge fuel surcharges, including on Air Canada flights booked with United points.
19K SPG points will switch in your account to 57K Marriott points, and from there, you'll be left with 1K Marriott points leftover after the transfer, and 32.5K United miles.
If you transfer 90K SPG points, that turns into 270K Marriott points, and when you transfer them to United, you'll get 157K United miles and a 7 night stay at a Marriott property up to category 5.
Call Miles and Nights to put through the transfer by calling 1-800-321-7396.
Act fast!!

How My Family of 6 Travelled Around America A Month For "Free" + More Deals!!

Come tonight to the first ever Steve's Deals seminar and find out secret deals that cannot be posted online, due to the information being revealed publicly could pooch the deal in the future for me and others.
Find out how my family travelled around America last summer for 29 days for "free".
All tonight at the Steve's Deal Seminar in Thornhill.
Register here.
Like those who don't vote and then complain after, don't expect this information to be revealed to you in the future if you don't come to the seminar!

Wednesday 29 November 2017

Find Out About Secret Savings At Tonight's Steve's Deals Seminar!

Not only will you find out more about the deals I discuss on my website and be able to ask questions relevant to you and your vacation goals, you'll find out deals that are not given out to the general public, but only if you come to the Steve's Deals Seminar, in Thornhill, tonight at 8pm!
Included topics will be:

  • How to get basically free accommodations, using points, that will be large enough to host a family of 6
  • Rental Cars
  • General Savings
  • Grocery Savings
  • How to buy and where to ship products in the US
Did I not mention it's FREE?  If you don't come, you clearly want to overpay for vacations or think you know it all, but that can't be!!  Look forward to your registration for tomorrow night!
Register here.

Tuesday 28 November 2017

Two days left to sign up for the First Ever FREE Steve's Deals Seminar!!

The First Ever Steve's Deals seminar is on at Eitz Chaim Elementary School on York Hill Boulevard in Thornhill.  Find out how to score affordable vacations, save money towards vacations and how to diversify your points in the most lucrative way! 
Find Sign up for free registration here!

HOT!! Less Than 2 Hours Left For TWO SUITS FOR $150 USD Total!

Jos A Bank regularly has Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals and this year is no exception.
You can get clearance suits that sell as high as $699USD for $99.

First go to EBates.com to get 4% cashback for going through EBates to get to Jos A Bank's website.

Then, if you place two in your cart (the same or a different style suit), you'll be over $150--then use promo code "CYBER" to get an additional 20% off.

$699 down to $99 down to $79, and then with 8% cashback makes each suit around $80!

Here's the link to EBates.  Sign up if you haven't yet.  Then, go to Jos A Bank through the search bar of EBates-and you're on your way to a great deal!

You can have them shipped for free to a Jos A Bank store nearby, such as the one at Walden Galleria in Buffalo.  That way, if you're unhappy with it, you can return it right there in the store after trying it on!

Thursday 23 November 2017

ONE WEEK 'Til The First Ever Steve's Deals Seminar!

I'm having my first ever Steve's Deals seminar in only one week!  Click here for more info!  Registration is limited.  Book now!

Do You Wish You Had A US Address To Ship Things This Black Friday?

There are 3 options for those of us who don't live in the States but want to avoid shipping fees to Canada when taking advantage of Black Friday deals in the States.
1: Ship to a friend/family member-if this works for you--either because they're willing to bring back the items under their personal exemption when coming into Canada, then great.  If not, and you're planning a trip at some point, and nothing is time sensitive that you're buying (buying clothes or shoes that may not fit when you only have 30 days to return it for free with Amazon), then you can bring back $800CDN per person after being gone for 2 days or longer.  The exemption if $200CDN for an overnight, but with that one, if you buy, say, one item for $201, you MAY have to pay tax on all $201, while if you're gone for 2 days or longer, and you bring back one item worth $801CDN, you only pay tax on $1.

2: Ship it to a hotel-most hotels will accept packages and hold onto them for you even if you aren't slated to arrive for several weeks.  Check with the hotel first before you do this.  I've once come upon a Choice hotel in Buffalo that charges per package and more depending on how long they hold onto it.

3: A US address that is your own--e.g., NYAddress.ca.  They give you a suite number (not a P.O. Box number) that any company will send to, along with their address.  You have up to 4 months to pick it up at no additional cost, and then you only pay $2.95USD per package when you arrive there and show ID.

Sunday 19 November 2017

Another 1K Marriott Points For Free! ACT BEFORE 8PM!!

Answer the following NFL trivia question through Marriott's Twitter (click on the above pic to be taken to the Twitter page), and get 1K Marriott points!  The answer to provide is 16 #RewardsPoints .  Answer by 8pm ET tonight!  You must have a Twitter account linked to Marriott.  It's worth it considering they've been doing this 1K point give away for weeks and likely will for a few weeks more, as long as the NFL season is on, and perhaps right up to the Superbowl!

11 Days 'Til The First Ever Steve's Deals Seminar!

I'm having my first ever Steve's Deals seminar in only 11 days!  Click here for more info!  Registration is limited.  Book now!

Friday 17 November 2017

Toronto to Tel Aviv from $790 CDN Taxes In, For Passover from $841 CDN


Turkish Airlines, a highly rated Star Alliance airline, is offering flights from Toronto to Tel Aviv via Istanbul from $841CDN for a Passover visit.  The kosher food option is very good, with food made under the supervision of the O-K out of Istanbul and under a reliable certification out of Tel-Aviv and Toronto.  You get the typical 2 checked in bags, so though you can go WOW Airlines through Iceland for $700 on different dates, you have to pay for everything with WOW--possibly even the privilege of being seated in an aisle that has closed windows (LOL).

I've travelled on Turkish before and have felt safe in Istanbul airport, though since the terrorist bombing last year, my in-laws would likely kill me if I tried again to take that routing. :(

Cheaper prices are available for different dates.  Use the Google Flights engine to find the cheapest dates that work for you.  Click on the pic above to be redirected to Google Flights, click on the day I've pre-chosen and see the calendar open with prices for departure, and then after you click on one, prices for return.

Book FAST!

Thursday 16 November 2017

Countdown: 11 Days 'Til The First Steve's Deals FREE (For Now) Seminar

I'm having my first ever Steve's Deals seminar in only 11 days!  Click here for more info!  Registration is limited.  Book now!

WOW!! $278CDN return Toronto to L.A.!!

Westjet is having a seat sale from Toronto to L.A. for $278CDN, taxes in.  That deal is $70 less than Air Canada's current prices at the same time period. The deal are for select direct flights from November to February.
Book now by going to Google Flights, and then opening up their availability calendar by clicking on my pre-chosen departure date. You'll then see the prices for departures for every day of the month.   After choosing your departure date, you'll see the prices for returning dates.
Book Fast!!

SUPER HOT!! Flights from YYZ to Beijing for $559CDN!! Only 'til 11pm tonight!

If you're looking to get away, flying out and completing your flight between March 16th and April 18th, until 11pm tonight (though it seems the website countdown will take this deal 'til 1am Friday), you can book a flight for around $559 CDN taxes in! 

They're rated by Skytrax as a 5 star airline.
To get to the deal, click here to get to their flash sale deal out of Toronto!!

Melia Hotel & Resorts for THREE nights from $181.48+!


Click the pic above to be taken to the Melia website.
Melia Hotels & Resorts have locations worldwide, including 3 in the US (Miami, Orlando, and NYC).
Currently, they have a deal--sign up and get 2K points and an additional 30K points that you can use immediately towards your first stay.  The stays can be anytime, but the points will need to be used in the next 10 days, after which they expire.
The prices vary, even with the deal, but personally, I was looking at Orlando, and found they have several different types of rooms, from a classic room, to one looking over the pool, to 1 and 2 bedroom suites.
After you've signed up, click "Log In" and from there, "create account." Once you've completed your sign up, you can access the use of ALL 32K points by choosing the "points and cash" option, then moving the bar all the way across to using up all 32K points towards the deal.
For Orlando, you can get a one bedroom suite for $181.48CDN for three nights, plus all the points you just "earned" and used up for the booking.  There is a $20 resort fee charge per day on top of it.
The 2 bedroom would be $398CDN for 3 nights.  They are gorgeous and get good reviews on TripAdvisor.com.

VERY HOT!!! Buffalo to Miami for $40-$48USD Return, Taxes In? YES!!

Click on the pic above to be redirected to Frontier Airlines' website. Act FAST!!

Fly November 28-February 14th out of Buffalo Airport with Frontier Airlines, and fly for $20 each way on select flights!  This includes (of course) late January and early February!
Yes, with Frontier, you have to basically pay for air and a closed window (LOL) but seriously, you can take one bag with you on flights that can fit under a seat.  Checked luggage is cheaper than full size carry-on ($35 compared to $25) when you book it when you book your ticket.
A family of 7 would pay $324.80USD!!  It's cheaper if you're a member of their "Discount Den"-but for these prices ($4 more), it's may not be worth the $49.99USD to join--with it, you can fly 6 people out at the discounted rate, so for a family of 7, you'd save $48 for the return trip.  The membership is good for one year--but then, you'll also have bragging rights, to tell your grandchildren about the $20 flights you got out of BUF! ;)
Frontier has been around for years, but they expanded their routes with 4 new routes out of Buffalo back in July, and clearly they want to stay competitive!
A round trip bag, in CDN$, will cost you around $75 per bag.
The flights are at very reasonable hours too!
Act FAST!!!

Toronto to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Kelowna return from $202 Taxes In!

Westjet is selling tickets to Vancouver from $202 for dates departing Toronto from January 9th to early March 14. Tickets to all those cities (except Kelowna from $305) are $202-$203!
Lately, I've been finding the Matrix ITA Software search is quite inaccurate for prices, despite being powered by Google, while Google flights is more accurate.
Use Google flights to find the flight for you!
The flights seemed to be departing Mondays and returning between Monday and Wednesday.
Use this link to see not only one example but if you  click on a date on the January 9th date near the top of  the screen, the availability calendar with prices for all the dates will open up.


Tuesday 14 November 2017

Need Aeroplan Points For A Redemption? The 62.5% SPG Bonus Option, Marriott Option, & AMEX One

This post is partially a review of what you may or may not already know from Steve's Deals or other sources.

AMEX offers instant transfers of points in Canada from AMEX to Aeroplan.  A gold or platinum rewards card (personal or business) offer Membership Rewards points that on the AMEX website, you can make the transfer from.

SPG offers normally offers 25K Aeroplan points (a 20% bonus) for every 20K Membership Reward (MR) points you transfer, but until December 11th, you can get a further bonus that is equivalent to 62.5%!  You'll have to wait until as last as the end of January to see the bonus points post.

If you transfer 20K SPG points to Aeroplan, you'll end up with 32.5K Aeroplan points!  To get this 62.5% bonus, you MUST transfer SPG points in 20K point increments; otherwise, you'll lose out on the 20% bonus for increments of 20K that SPG normally offers.

Currently, there are no good deals with ANY Aeroplan cards out there other than the CIBC Privilege Visa, offering 50K Aeroplan points, but you need to have a household income of at least $200K for that one--and if you lie and they ask for proof, you could be BLACKLISTED by Visa.  Not to mention the hefty $399 fee. You're better off getting an AMEX Platinum Business card through my referral, getting 75K MR points, which transfer to 75K Aeroplan, and write-off the $399 annual fee. The regular bonus with that card through their website is only 40K--not worth it.

With the AMEX Business Platinum, you can lounge access, 1.25 points per dollar on EVERY purchase, and SPG Gold status when you call them at 1-88-625-4990.  Gold status with SPG gets you Gold status with Marriott when you link your accounts.  That gets you free upgrades when you arrive at the hotel, and if you call a general manager of a hotel, and book the stay on points, you may get them to agree to upgrade you ahead of time; especially if you're staying at a long-term stay property such as a Residence Inn or TownePlace Suites which have full kitchens and up to 2 bedroom suites.

I'll write more about the card again soon, but for an old post on it, you can click here to read the post and apply for that card.

The Chase Canada Marriott Visa card is being phased out, as SPG's card is three times more valuable per dollar at the same annual fee as the Chase card. Currently, if you apply for the Marriott card, you won't even get a welcome bonus for it--only the free anniversary certificate, for a one night stay at a  category 1-5 hotel. It was only really worth getting for the welcome bonus and certificate, not for actual spending on the card.

Marriott does offer a Nights & Miles program, but you'll need 270K Marriott points or 90K SPG points (transferred over to Marriott) to take advantage of it.  It's a superb way to get a free one-week certificate to stay at a Marriott, category 1-5 property AND a bunch of airline points for several different airlines, of which in Canada, there's no easy way to get those airline points (example: Southwest, Jetblue, United) without flying them and paying cash. Ewww.  Click here for more about the Marriott/SPG Nights & Miles program.  And no--you cannot use the Miles & Nights program in conjunction with any other bonus offer.





Thursday 9 November 2017

Seat Sale AND $60 Air Canada Giftcard!

Until November 19th, 11:59pm EST, if you purchase any flight on Air Canada's website, and check out with "Masterpass," you'll get a $60 gift card for Air Canada.  It CANNOT be used for paying the taxes on an Aeroplan ticket, as Aeroplan's checkout system does not allow for gift cards of any kind.

Look for the ad above just before you get to the checkout screen.  If you don't see it, the deal may be over.

You'd be wise to get 2 one-way tickets rather than 1 roundtrip ticket so that you can take advantage of the deal twice.  Don't let an Air Canada agent tell you that buying a round trip ticket is cheaper.  I confronted an agent on the phone today about their claim and proved them wrong.  In fact, in the scenario I was in, the ticket was $30 CHEAPER, despite the fare sale, and despite that it's one-way travel.

Masterpass is a lot like PayPal--after signing up, you can use any major credit card, INCLUDING AMEX, as your funding source.  So if you have AMEX points that you'd like to use towards a flight, you'll charge your AMEX card through Masterpass, use your AMEX points online to cover the costs, and get a $60 gift card for Air Canada mailed to you within 3 weeks of your online purchase.  This deal is limited to the first 12,500 people that take advantage of this deal.  It can be used in combination with up to one more gift card, along with a credit card to pay off any outstanding amount.  It can be used for on flight purchases and taxes too.

Apparently, as long as the ticket you used to get the gift card is still valid when you receive and use the gift card, it remains valid even if you have cancelled the ticket--well, what are they going to do if you've used it up and THEN cancel your flight?  Nothing, of course.

Air Canada has a seat sale that ends tonight, so you can double dip--though I find with their seat sales, that only the seats that are already reasonably priced are the ones that go on sale.

Oh, and NO--you cannot buy a ticket for a child unaccompanied, online, to take advantage of the deal.  And NO, purchasing a ticket with an AC agent does not lead to a Masterpass offer.

Monday 6 November 2017

Steve's Deals Seminar!


Click on the pic above to register!

Steve's Deals is having its first seminar, and of course, it's FREE to attend!
Learn the finer points of how to score affordable vacations, save money that you could use towards those vacations, and how to diversify your points wisely.
Registration is limited!
Feel free to bring a laptop or paper to take notes.  No recording devices please.



Sunday 5 November 2017

1000 Free Marriott Points-Act before 8pm EST

Today's Marriott Twitter question is How Long is Each Quarter in the NFL?
Click here to be taken to the Twitter page to respond.
Answer: 15 Minutes #RewardsPoints
Get 1000 Marriott Points, which you can convert to SPG and extend the life of your SPG points (worth 333 SPG points).
Act fast!