IHG Hotel Point Breaks Are Out!

Today, IHG posted it's IHG Point Breaks.  It means stays cost (in cash value) about $30USD per night for any stay listed on their list.  Click here for the newest list of IHG Hotels around the world that are allowing one to stay for only 5K IHG Points per night!
Included is the Holiday Inn Finger Lakes region this time!
IHG allows for up to 200 reservations per hotel, for as long a stay as you would wish between May 1 and July 30th.  Each IHG member can make up to 2 reservations per hotel.
Through the Daily Getaways website you can purchase IHG points at a discount.  Through this link, you can purchase 15K IHG points for $89 USD.  With Point Breaks, that's just under $30USD per night for a 3 night stay, and through Daily Getaways, you can purchase more points if you wish.

HOT Deals, Including $30USD per night for a Hotel Stay

Every year for about a month, dailygetaways.com offers deals to Canadian and US customers.  Many of these deals sell out with minutes, even seconds.  The sales begin at 1pm EDT so be ready to go to the website and click "Buy" as soon as the 1 o'clock hour hits!
Click here to see all the deals involved by week, including the current IHG deal, getaways to NYC, Busch Gardens park discount passes, Best Western point purchases, Marriott e-gift card purchases at a 20% discount, fancy Lowes hotel stays in Miami, Santa Monica, San Fran', and other cities.  Also throughout the month, they'll be deals for Caesar's Entertainment, Universal Studios Hollywood Front of the Line with 1 day admission passes, Omni Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Hotel point discounts, Avis car rentals, some of the Choice Privileges group of hotels including Comfort Suites (be careful as sometimes the deals are POINTS you are buying that may NOT be enough to stay for the number of nights they advertise), an Orbitz promo code for $650 worth $1K, Hertz, Hyatt and Fairmont hotels in Hawaii and San Fran'.
Currently, an IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group) deal is live and has not sold out.  This is not a surprise as Americans have access to an IHG credit card to receive a welcome bonus and accumulate points with, while in Canada, Capital One discontinued its IHG card several months back.
The deal involves buying IHG points at a discounted rate.  If you are not part of the IHG family, or even if you are but are not aware of "IHG Point Breaks," IHG point breaks is a way to stay at different IHG properties for 5K IHG points per night.  Regularly stays can be upwards of 60K a night depending on where you are staying.
The deals on Dailygetaways.com start at 15K IHG points for $89, which works out to about $30USD per night on a point break getaway!  This is your foot in the door to taking advantage of IHG point breaks!
The IHG Point Breaks tend to get released on their website on the last Monday of every third month.  The next one being this month.  The hotels that are advertised as being part of the IHG Point Breaks will offer up to 200 reservations per hotel at the 5K IHG point break rate. It's only a standard room, but if there's availability, they will upgrade you, and some of the hotels on point breaks include long term stay suites such as the Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites, which include 1 and 2 bedroom suites in many of their properties (Staybridge has the 2 bedroom ones).
The deals are all over the world.  Holiday Inn is the best known chain in the IHG family. Holiday Inn hotels outside North America can be quite fancy so don't get thrown off by your North American experience.  Even then, there are decent Holiday Inns in North America.  ALWAYS go to TripAdvisor.com to get advice for any particular property you plan on staying at.
I find that IHG Point Breaks is a great way to discover new places to go.  Last year, my family spent a few nights in the summer in Canton, OH, at a relatively new Staybridge Suites, and got upgraded for free.  The room with a full kitchen was superb, with 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms.
DON'T expect to find NYC, Miami--basically any hot vacation town on sale during peak travel times, but that still might work out fine for your vacation plans!

Fiix did it again!

I had Fiix auto repair come to my home and replace my brakes and switch my winter to all seasons.  The mechanic called before he came, was on time for me (considering I was running late), and was totally professional.

Fiix will come to your home at a time that is convenient, and they are able to do over 20 different type of repairs right in your own driveway!

I was concerned that they could not fix rotors if they needed fixing--that they could only replace them.  Well as it turns out, both my front and back rotors were fine, and the brakes, while not on their last leg (but one), cost a reasonable price.  They even let you choose (if you wish) which brand of parts you want to use on your vehicle, be it original manufacturer or after market but well-rated (or a different after market brand).  The price was several hundred less than the dealership was going to charge me for the same work.  Though the dealership would use original parts, that's not always the best, as some items ARE rated higher that are after market.

I went with Raybestos after market brand, as they got good reviews on Amazon.com.

My neighbour needed help getting their tires switched over so after he was done with me, he helped them out too (I'm sure it wasn't free but they were expecting to pay).

He even threw in the tire change and switched the windshield wiper that I'd bought at Costco (Michelins in all sizes for $9.99--you can't beat that).

I thought that perhaps they could not be trusted like the dealership, but considering he took the time to show me the brakes, rotors, and show how the rotors were fine (so they didn't make more money on it), I will be calling them again!

Use the link in the pic above for $10 off any work with Fiix!

Last Minute: St. Kitts/Nevis for $230CDN return on Air Canada Rouge

Yes, it's Rouge (eww) but it's direct from Toronto to St. Kitts/Nevis for $230CDN return for the dates of April 1-8.
Air B&B is a good place to find reasonable accommodations there.
Go to AirCanadaVacations.com and the price you'll see will be for two (the default).  Change it to one if you wish to see the $210 price!
Under "Vacation Search," choose "Flights."
Then place in the April 1-8th dates.
Book fast before the rates go up or they sell out!

What the Perfect Credit Card SHOULD Look Like

With Tangerine blowing it by taking away lucrative benefits beginning April 29th (see that post here), it got me thinking what it would take to make for a great credit card.  Speaking to an agent for a while at Tangerine this afternoon, I gave him several suggestions.  The Canadian credit card market is awash in mediocre offerings.  Whether it requires you to use the bank's travel agency to book a flight rather than a great deal that you can find online, cashback cards that don't give back enough, or aren't accepted everywhere, THIS is what should be part of the "perfect" credit card:

The perfect no annual fee credit card:
No annual fee--ever
A choice of points for travel that you can book yourself based on a dollar per point value (1%) or as 1% cashback.
A 9.99% rate on balances not paid in full
NO foreign exchange fee (if Chase Canada cards can offer it, anyone can)
A rotating spending threshold--that means you get a bonus for every time you spend a certain amount on the card.  For every $10K you spend on the card in a year, you get a bonus $25 or the equivalent in points.
A welcome bonus that is only available once every 24 months to reduce (not totally kill) churners (people who cancel and reapply for credit cards).
90 day coverage in case of lost, damaged or stolen purchases
Double the warranty up to a year

The perfect premium credit card
Everything offered above, but for $120 annual fee, waived the first year (and then you can downgrade if you REALLY want to)
1.5% cashback or for travel
2% cashback for travel related expenses--restaurants, gas, transportation, hotels/motels
A $50 bonus for every $10K spent on the card (equivalent to 0.5% more for a total of 1.5%)
An increase to 1.25% for every dollar spent over $10K in a calendar year
A concierge service such as that offered to AMEX platinum business/personal card holders that allows them to call and get assistance finding a hard to find item or service or just booking travel for them.

Let's see if any banks bite at my suggestions!

Tangerine blew it, for now...No Annual Fee card comparison

Tangerine began offering a Mastercard back in 2016.  I decided to get this card only last month, as I was looking for a no annual fee (AF) Mastercard that would be my go-to card, so that when I was not trying to hit a spending threshold on another card, or I was shopping somewhere that only Mastercard was accepted, I would have a card I could use at places such as No Frills or Costco.  The Capital One Costco cashback Mastercard is good for gas (2%), restaurants (3%) and 1% for everything else, but what drew me towards Tangerine was being able to choose 3 different categories of 2% and still get 1% on all other purchases, making this a superior card in cashback to the Cap 1 card.  It even offered only a 1.49% foreign exchange (forex) fee compared to many other out there that charge 2.5% or higher.

Well, the letter dated March 24th came right after a call I had placed to Tangerine credit card customer service, where I advised them on how to make their card even more lucrative, and instead of listening to my thoughts, they did the opposite.

Here's what the card's "changes" spell out to, effective April 29th, 2017 (one month's notice):

• No longer will you get 1% cashback on all other purchases--it will only be 0.5%.
• Their "competitive" forex fee is going up to 2.5%, a full percentage increase.

There is nothing positive that can be said about these changes--it's pure greed, and coming from Tangerine, which prides itself on no fee (or minimal fees), they should be holding their heads in shame.

There are three no annual fee cashback cards that are worth talking about comparing:

• Capital One's Mastercard with 1% cashback on all "other" purchases, 2% on gas and 3% on restaurants

• Tangerine's Mastercard (see details above)

• Chase Canada's Amazon.ca card.  It offers a $20 gift card upon approval, 1% on all "other" purchases, 2% on Amazon.ca purchases, and NO foreign exchange fee.

If you don't mind carrying more than one Mastercard in your wallet, I would ONLY use the  Tangerine for your three 2% categories (you get to choose from a select list of categories--only two categories to select from the list if you don't have a savings account with them). The categories are: groceries, furniture, restaurants, hotels/motels, gas, recurring bill payments, drug stores, home improvements, entertainment, and public transportation/parking.

I would use the Cap 1 card for restaurants, gas (Tangerine offers gas as a category, but don't use it up with Tangerine--save it for the Cap 1 card) and everything that is NOT from your Tangerine 3 (or 2).

Use Amazon.ca for Amazon.ca purchases (not Amazon.com for 2% cashback--it doesn't qualify though you will be saving on the forex fees) and for all other forex purchases.

For normal people, I don't believe I'm suggesting this, but unless the 2% in 2-3 categories is REALLY lucrative, get the Cap 1 Costco Mastercard and close your wallet to any other no AF Mastercards.

YYZ to Fort Lauderdale for $212.95 CDN return

Sunwing is offering flights, but it seems to be limited to April 1st-9th for $53CDN more but 2nd-8th for $212.95 for their direct flight from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale. Sunwing only flies between the two cities on Saturdays and Sundays. Go to Sunwing's website to get this rate.  NOT available on FlightNetwork or Googleflights.  Book soon!