Three of Canada’s loyalty powerhouses captured eight out of the ten categories in Canada’s Choice 2023. Rewards Canada’s annual survey of Canadians had a record breaking turnout of over 82,000 votes cast over the course of two weeks which saw Aeroplan, TD Bank and PC Optimum dominate the rankings. Detailed results and more can be found at https://rewardscanada.ca/canadaschoice/.   “In general the results do show the prowess that the large loyalty programs and credit card issuers have,” says Patrick Sojka, founder of RewardsCanada.ca.  “In many categories the results were much closer this year with RBC, WestJet, Scotia/Scene+ and Best Western making strides to challenge last Read more

Popular areas of West Maui that have been closed since the devastating Lahaina fires in early August will reopen on Wednesday, November 1, the Maui government says. “The phased reopening of West Maui accommodations began on October 8,” Maui officials said a press release. “Today, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen announced that the rest of West Maui north of Lahaina — Phases 2 and 3 from Kahana to Kā‘anapali — will begin reopening on Wednesday, November 1.” The decision was made following discussions with the Mayor’s Lahaina advisory team, the Red Cross and other partners, and the community feedback following the Read more

I’m heading to the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Lana’i next week, with five days scheduled for Molokai and three on Lanai. (Also perhaps four days on Maui to report on how things are going as they recover from the dreadful fires). I love both Molokai and Lana’i. Both are laid-back and super quiet, but they are quite different in many ways. Molokai is larger and has a good deal more geographic variety, including a moist east side, towering mountains, and the world’s tallest sea cliffs. About 7,400 people live on the island. Lanai is about one-half the size of Read more

Time Out has just issued its annual list of the world’s 40 coolest neighborhoods. Of course, it’s entirely a judgment call; what I call cool might be considerably different from what you like. Still I enjoy these lists. So here are some highlights that include some of my fave countries and U.S. states to visit. UNITED STATES California impressed with two spots in the top 30. The vibrant and funky Arts District in Los Angeles was 13th overall and second in the U.S. only to the Mid-City district of New Orleans. Here’s a Vancouver Sun story I wrote that talks Read more

We’re on the first hole of the quirky, delightful, 12-hole Shiskine Golf Course on Scotland’s Isle of Arran. I’ve been set up to play a round with three members of this fiery green links course on the west side of the island, and I hit a slow putt that has absolutely zero chance of making it to the hole. “When we hit a putt that’s short of the hole, Canadians yell, ‘Skate, skate,” I tell them. “That’s great” one of my partners, Alice Anderson, says with a laugh. “When we hit a putt like that we yell, “Taxi!” For the Read more

If you’ve noticed air fares are more reasonable these days, you’re definitely onto something. The latest StatsCan report states that consumers paid less for air transportation (21.1%) in September on a year-over-year basis. That coincides with a gradual increase in flights offered by airlines over the previous 12 months, the agency said. Robert Kokonis, president and managing director at AirTrav Inc., told me that the StatsCan figures estimate the average change of airfares within Canada and between Canadian cities and international destinations. “I am not surprised given the growth of seat capacity recovery over the past 12 months, particularly in Read more