Five Favourites

This is a travel site that deals in all-inclusive vacations, flights, hotel, and car rentals.  I have booked many family vacations through them.  I like the site because I can narrow down my search to specific dates but they always present me with alternative dates that may have a cheaper price.  As well they have an option that includes tax so that I am aware of the actual price.  With travel taxes can vary and it is frustrating to find your price go up.

One of the difficulties of the site is that it is difficult to book for a family of five and you need to call them directly to make a reservation. (they are always available and helpful)  I have tried other sites and experienced the same difficulty so I assume it is a problem with the industry.  The other problem for me is that the site has changed its looks twice in the last three years.  I like the predictability of plugging in my criteria and not having to reacquaint myself with a new search engine.  It is making me consider other sites.

Wow Costco online has everything from gift baskets to furniture to automotive to electronics to gift cards.  I love to shop in actual stores.  I love to touch, smell, and hear the sounds of the mall but as a working mom whose husband works away I sometime need products that present a challenge to get home.  I also have most of my family living outside the province which can be problematic when sending holiday gifts or just giving a hand to my elderly mother.  For example my mother was moving and I ordered her a new t.v. that was delivered to her new address in Ontario.  For my mother in law in a remote area in B.C. I ordered flowers.   For myself I was able to order garden furniture in the summer and I didn't have to worry about how to get it home.  I love the set up of Costco's site it has an easy drop down menu.  It allows you to narrow down your search and it has key word search that I like.  Also the on line Costco is partnered with Aeroplan which I use and can collect even more points.  I get frustrated at the checkout point when they ask for billing and shipping address however when I am sending it to another province it works.  Another frustration is that sometimes what they have in the store is not available online but on the whole I have really enjoyed the Costco site.



iTunes products include movies, music, television shows, and books.  My relationship with iTunes is probably my longest running online relationship.  I'm not sure I even realised that I was online shopping when I first started purchasing from them.   Probably the best thing about iTunes is the ability to purchase something and have everyone in the family have access to it.  Music and books will be added to everyone's iPhone or iPod,  movies and t.v. programs will be added to all the apple t.v.s and computers. They have set the site up so that I can easily manoeuvre it on any of the apple devices I may have as well as the computer.  I am also a big fan of being able to download audio books.  Many trips across Canada have been spent in our vehicle listening to a good book.  We opted out of the video players and spent many happy hours listening to Harry Potter.  When we finished a book it was easy to download another.  Perhaps my only frustration would be that not all my favourite shows are carried on iTunes.  I would like to see them expand that part of their available products.

I hadn't originally thought of the Royal Bank as online shopping but it really is for me.   The products include mortgages, line of credit, etransfers, bill payments, and insurance.   Again with family living in other provinces it is easy to transfer money for any number of reasons.  I have children who travel and I am always able to put money in their accounts.  Much like iTunes RBC allows me to use my computer or mobile device easily.  I have booked apartments in Toronto and been able to etransfer the money immediately.  It is the immediately that is the best part of banking online.  Recently we had a family trip booked and in the chaos of planning had forgotten to go to AMA and get travel insurance.  I had noticed the bank offered it and went online and was finished in five minutes with an email to print off the policy.  It saved me a trip to Edmonton.  The site is incredibly easy to use but it is overwhelming for me in all that it does which is the only detriment so far.  I do still prefer to go into the bank for some of the purchases that are available on their site.

You may have noticed the interest in travelling and I use many sites for flights but I have booked predominately with FlightHub.  They have cheap airfares and hotel rates but I admit that I have never booked a hotel through them.  I find the site easy to use and like iTravel2000 it allows me to narrow my search while providing me with good alternatives.   The alternatives give me the option of lowest price, flexible dates, shortest route, and most popular route.  Two other great features are that they list the price with the tax included and they have a feature that allows you to sign up for alerts.  With this feature they send you an email every day to check on the price for the flight you're interested in so you can track whether prices are going up or down.  You can cancel the alert at anytime.  I love this site and use it often and my only frustration is that I can not use them on my iPhone.