vacations posts

The new kids on the "plastic" block - let me introduce you to the world of prepaid credit cards, travel and gift cards.

All these cards can create confusion as to their use, value and costs. But search no further - I have the answers for you! Well, most of them, anyway.

RBC's Visa gift card. You can choose the value you wish to buy and use as you wish. If they're registered, you're protected against theft and generally used as if it were a regular credit card (in person or for purchases over the phone or via the Internet). There's no fee to use your card, however, if you don't within six months, you'll be charged a $1.50 a month fee until the balance runs out.

Summer has to be the favourite season of Canadians - long weekends, family reunions, festivals - all lures for us to enjoy time away from work and happily be on vacation.

For those of us who are more spontaneous planners and haven't confirmed time at a cottage, there are deals to be found for those who want to spend time in the confines of a hotel where the bed is always made and there are always clean fluffy towels in abundance.

A few things to remember - if you're a member of an association like the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), military or retired, remember to mention this when booking as it will generally mean a discount on hotel accommodation.

For the deals from five favourite hotel brands - here's the list:

Travelocity.ca in-house travel expert Brian Simpson says even though the economy was sluggish, Canadians still enjoyed taking vacations.

With the strength of the Canadian dollar against the US greenback, many Canadians are looking at exotic locations like Hawaii for a vacation.

To listen to the entire interview, click below:

Save money for you and your employer, be a more productive worker and get a cheap vacation out of the deal, all at the same time? It does sound a little fairytale-ish, but if you approach business travel in the right way, all of this is possible.

A lot of people, see business travel as something of a perk. Personally though, I find business travel to be a bit grinding. Don't get me wrong – it's fun to get out of the office and it's fantastic to see other places when somebody else is footing the airfare bill. That said, on business trips work seems to extend and expand from taking up the usual eight to 10 hours to being a thing that consumes nearly every waking moment until you set a wake-up call at the front desk and crash back into bed at the end of each night.

But oh, there are certainly much better ways to do such things!