Tagged Pages Archive | Toronto
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.
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2012
17
September
Last minute flight from Toronto to Santa Clara, Cuba - $244 roundtrip after taxes
17
September
2012
11
September
Fare war to Copenhagen, Denmark ? - From $717 roundtrip after taxes
11
September
2012
11
September
Last minute flight to Nassau, Bahamas - $238 roundtrip after taxes
11
September
2012
4
September
Is it possible to get a good deal on a flight within Canada ?
4
September
2012
21
August
Toronto to Dallas, Texas - $268 roundtrip after taxes
21
August
UPDATE: Looks like United has put their fares back up this morning.
Read more
2012
14
August
Toronto to Santiago, Chile - $567 roundtrip after taxes
14
August
Similar to the deal to Panama last week, COPA Airlines just loaded some pretty crazy fares to Santiago, Chile (SCL).
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2012
13
August
Let's Talk Turkey - A how-to guide for planning your trip
13
August
Back in mid June, KLM Canada held a little contest that resulted in some temporarily amazing prices to Istanbul from across the country. Judging by the number of e-mails, Tweets, and Facebook messages I received, I think it's safe to say there will be thousands more Canadians than usual visiting Turkey later this year and in the spring of 2013.
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2012
8
August
Toronto to Panama (Central America) - $359 roundtrip after taxes - up to May 2013
8
August
Copa Airlines looks to have just dropped their fares to Panama City, Panama (PTY) by about 50% on a variety of dates between September 2012 and May 2013. The flights are non-stop each way.
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2012
27
July
Toronto to Phoenix, $349 roundtrip after taxes - throughout schedule
27
July
Just a heads up that United & Delta look to be engaging in a bit of an unadvertised fare war to Phoenix. They've just dropped their prices throughout most of their schedule between August 2012 and all the way up to June 2013 !
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