How to Keep Your Passport Safe When Traveling

Where to Keep Your passport When Traveling | Follow This Strategy to Keep Your Passport Safe

When you travel, this is the one single most important travel strategy you are not following – that’s what I will talk about today.

Your most important travel document is your passport, and you should be guarding this with the utmost security. However, most of us throw our passport in the carry-on luggage in the overhead bin and forget about it for the rest of the flight.

I have seen people lose their passports at airports and on planes. Imagine landing in a foreign country with no passport … you don’t want to be that person.

My recommendation is to use a sling bag or any small, similar bag and keep it attached to your body at all times, even when you go to the washroom or sleep on the plane. This type of bag is small and doesn’t count as a personal item in the airlines’ terms, so flight attendants will never ask  you to remove it and put it in the overhead compartment during landing and takeoff.

When you are wandering around the airport, pay attention to your passport bag and keep it close to your body. I use anti-theft sling bags (I have 4 or 5 of those) which cannot be slashed or cut; they have steel netting and wiring. I am extremely cautious about my passport. You don’t have to have a superior anti-theft bag, any sling or shoulder bag will do the job.

To visualize this type of bag, watch my video below. I have shown a few of these and you can use anything similar, as long as it works for you.

Where to Keep Passport When Traveling

What You Need to Know About Tim Hortons Refreshed Rewards Program

Tim Hortons New Rewards Program

Tim Hortons just updated their rewards program, which will be effective starting Feb 21, 2023. Today, we will look at the changes and if the new Tim rewards programs is better or worse than before.

Tim Hortons Old Rewards Program

Here is a quick look at the current rewards program that will be obsolete starting Feb 21.

- Every purchase earns 10 points

- 50 cents minimum

- 30 minutes interval in between purchases to get points again

- To get free a Coffee and Donut you would require 70 and 50 points

Tim Hortons New Rewards Program

- Every $1 purchase earns 10 points

- 10 cents minimum

- Points will be converted from the old to the new program by multiplying 6.2

- To get free Coffee and Donut you would require 400 and 300 points

- No points buying or reloading Tim Cards

- Points expire after 1 year

Tim Hortons Devalues Its New Rewards Program

I will do a demonstration to prove that Tim Hortons new Rewards Program deteriorates from the old. Assuming you are spending $10 under the new program and $10 under the old program and ignoring the fact that you need to wait 30 minutes under the old program to get points again:

New Program – you would have to spend $40 to get a free coffee (400 points) and $30 to get a free donut (300 points).

Old Program - you would have to spend $3.50 to get a free coffee (70 points) and $2.50 to get a free donut (50 points).

For more details on how I derived these numbers, visit my video here:

New Tims Rewards Program - What You Need to Know Now

Even though the new program is not as lucrative as the old one, I will continue collecting points (instead of wasting them) and recommend doing so to make the most out of it.

Do You Need a License to Drive a Boat in Canada? | How to Get A Boating License (PCOC)

What is Required to Operate a Boat in Canada | Who Can Drive A Boat?

What Is A Boating License (PCOC)?

In Canada, the term boating license, boat operator card, or card refer to PCOC, which stands for Pleasure Craft Operator Card.

PCOC looks like a driver's license or a credit card and has the same thickness and made of the same material as a credit card, except it doesn't have an expiration date.

Who Is Required to Carry a PCOC?

Any person operating a powered watercraft on any Canadian waters is required to carry a PCOC. The term “powered watercraft” means any watercraft that has any kind of motor, so as long as your watercraft has an electric motor or any type of motor you have to carry a PCOC. This is the law in all Canadian provinces.

How to Get My PCOC

There are two aspects of it. You have to finish an online course provided by Transport Canada-accredited course providers and once you finish this course, you have to take the PCOC exam provided by Transport Canada.

You will get a link to the PCOC exam from your course provider and usually it's under one package, both the course and the actual exam.

How Much Does It Cost to Get a PCOC?

If you search online by PCOC, you will come up with many results. There are many course providers who can give you the PCOC and they're all accredited by Transport Canada. The prices range from $20 to $50 and some of them give you just one attempt on the exam and some of them give you as many attempts as you need.

So when you're purchasing the course, just make sure that it meets your needs and you are getting the best value because at the end it's the same PCOC.

PCOC Pro Tips

You can get a PCOC just by studying online and taking the exam, even without putting a foot on a boat. But what I recommend is that to finish the intro to boating or intro to power boarding course, because this course teaches you how to operate a boat and the basics of the boat, which you definitely require.

Taking the PCOC doesn't really mean anything because it doesn't teach you how to drive a boat; it only teaches you the rules and regulations you need to follow on the water and the basic elements of a boat.

My recommendation before renting any boat is that you take the intro to powerboating or intro to boating course where they offer this type of course and it's not too expensive. This course will teach you how to operate a boat, how to turn, how to stop, how to park your boat, how to reverse a boat and all the basics you need to know before you actually rent or buy a boat and start exploring.

How to Credit Avios Points On Qatar Airways Flights

How Can I Use British Airways Avios On Qatar Airlines

I was looking to credit my British Airways Avios account for my upcoming Qatar Airways flight. I called Qatar Airlines, as I couldn’t see any option to credit Avios on my flight details page. Qatar Airways had no idea and transferred my call to their rewards department. I hung up on the call after holding for a while.

Then I found out searching online that recently Qatar Airways joined the Avios Loyalty Program, which opens up endless possibilities for Avios collectors. Qatar Airways is one of the best airlines in the world and this new partnership will make it even more attractive to fly.

To credit Avios, you need to have a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account. Once you are in your account, there should be prompt to link your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account. If you don’t see this prompt, you can link your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account and British Airways Avios following the link below:

Link Qatar Airways and Avios

Transferring and combining my Qatar Privilege Club account and British Airways Avios was a breeze. Within minutes, it showed me my combined points and Qatar Privilege Club account.

This new partnership opens up endless possibilities for Avios collects, as they can now have access to all the other partners Qatar Airways offers, which are non-oneworld partners. You can visit the link below to know about Qatar Airways partners.

oneworld and Qatar Airways Partners

You can book Qatar Airways with Avios points from other oneworld partners and of course, from Qatar Airways’ own portal. I have a video on this, which can be accessed here:

How to Claim Avios Points On Qatar Airways

How to Buy Qatar Airways Super Wi-Fi | Does Qatar Airways Offer Free Wi-Fi?

What Is Qatar Airways Super Wi-Fi?

For my upcoming flight to Asia on Qatar Airways, I was searching for its Wi-Fi information and this is what I gathered. Qatar Airways is one of the best airlines in the world and they provide Wi-Fi that is unparalleled by any other airlines.

Qatar Airways recently announced a new type of Wi-Fi, called Super Wi-Fi which is expected to be 10 times faster than standard Wi-Fi. Super Wi-Fi uses GX satellites to provide in-flight, high-speed Internet.

All Qatar Airways Boeing B777 and Airbus A350 fleets currently have Super Wi-Fi available. You can check the link below to find if your flight or what other flights have Super Wi-Fi available.

Qatar Airways Super Wi-Fi

What’s striking is that the cost at which Qatar Airways is providing Super Wi-Fi. I was expecting Qatar Airways to charge a lot for this better version of in-flight Wi-Fi. However, as of this writing, Super Wi-Fi is only $10 US for the entire flight and it is unlimited. There is even a 20% discount and you can pay only $8 US when pre-purchasing during check-in online through the Manage My Booking portal.

I find the Super Wi-Fi unreal and it provides a lot of value. I will definitely try Super Wi-Fi and will share my Qatar Airways Super Wi-Fi experience when I fly in August 2022.

I have posted a video about Qatar Airways providing Super Wi-Fi and will keep you updated and post more videos on this playlist.

Qatar Airways 101 - Tips, Tricks, & the Basics

For the most updated info, search Qatar Airways Wi-Fi and visit the Qatar Airways website link I provided above.