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Tagged Pages Archive | St Johns
2012
25
September
Don't fall for the '$128 for 2 roundtrip flights' OneStopTravel scam
25
September
Over the past little while, I've had a lot of people ask me about a deal they've seen pop up on a variety of those 'daily deal' type sites (you know the ones, the Groupon-esque clones that were all the rage last year, and initially had some legitimately great deals but have now all turned into a wasteland of spa treatments and massages you can never get an appointment for).
The offer I'm referring to specifically is the one claiming that you can buy '$128 for 2 roundtrip flights', usually to somewhere like Europe or Hawaii. The offer will claim that this is a '$1100 value' and you're 'saving 90%' off the usual airfare cost.
Here's a real-life example from DealTicker:
You just know there has to be a catch right? Outrageous taxes and fees tacked on? It's true that the airport taxes & fees are not included, but that's not the real catch here. Let's take a look at the terms & conditions...
The key part to this scam (it doesn't deserve to be called a 'deal') is that you also *must* book your accommodations through the website specified (usually escapetheordinaryonline.com) and that you're required to purchase a minimum number of nights.
People that fall for this scam will find themselves forced to book accommodations at rates that are vastly inflated to what the hotel would normally cost. In the end, once they've done the math, they'll find that they actually ended up paying more than they would have had they booked their flights + hotel on their own.
Of course, it's the headline that suckers people in. The headline could read '2 free roundtrip flights' and it would still be a bad deal for you in the end. But of course, that would be a little too obvious that something wasn't right, making people more suspicious before purchasing. Giving it a price like $128 is an attempt to give it an air of legitimacy.
The purveyor of this scam seems to be a company claiming the name of OneStopTravel, apparently based out of Orlando, Florida. Googling around, you won't even find a website for them. Unless it actually is the site located at OneStopTravel.com (I wasn't really sure), in which case, the look of it should set off enough alarm bells already.
The site they force you to book your accommodations through is listed as escapetheordinaryonline.com, and has a contact e-mail address using the domain myholidaybreak.com (another dodgy looking site).
Run, don't walk.
Hit Like if you like this public service announcement! Click Share to warn your friends on Facebook.
2012
4
September
Is it possible to get a good deal on a flight within Canada ?
4
September
2011
8
December
Crazy price drops to Central America!! From $484 roundtrip after taxes
8
December
There are some huge unadvertised price drops on American Airlines to Central America at the moment from cities across Canada, including St. John's. Perhaps the largest overall drop, ever.
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2011
31
October
St. John's to Amsterdam - $734 roundtrip after taxes - affecting fares up to May 2012
31
October
There's a huge fare war to Amsterdam (AMS) going on at the moment. It's extremely rare to see the major airlines drop a price to Europe like this from Halifax.
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2011
18
October
St. John's to Phoenix, Arizona - $367 roundtrip after taxes
18
October
There are some very rare airfares to Phoenix on United at the moment that are down to $367 roundtrip after taxes, nearly half of the usual bottom price.
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2011
11
June
St. John's to Toronto - $298 roundtrip after tax
11
June
There's a flight from June 22 to 29 from St. John's to Toronto for $298 roundtrip after tax. That's about 43% cheaper than the cheapest flights on Westjet, Air Canada, or Porter at the moment.
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2011
13
May
Incredible, an Air Canada sale that really is a sale
13
May
Update: Westjet looks to have just matched the Air Canada sale. Today looks to be an amazing day for inter-Canada travel prices.
Westjet doesn't seem to have an official page up yet about their sale, they're probably scrambling to get their prices changed to match Air Canada.
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2011
5
May
Yes, you can now be notified of YYT Deals by e-mail
5
May
I've had a fair number of requests over the last few months, especially from people that aren't on Facebook, asking if there was any way they could be notified by e-mail when I post a deal.
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2011
21
March
Response from Air Canada: 'Our fares aren't guaranteed'
21
March
On Thursday I received a reply from the Air Canada executives regarding the deal to South America via airfare.com that didn't pan out. Here's what they had to say:
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2011
28
February
Why you should *never* use airfare.com to book a flight - and my apologies for a deal that didn't pan out
28
February
So on Thursday evening I reported a deal to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile - both were showing up on airfare.com for an incredible price of $530 roundtrip after tax.
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