Shoutout: YYZ Deals - Finding You The Best Flight Deals From Toronto

Everyone loves a good travel deal. And we like to brag when we get one. How often do you hear a friend, family member, or coworker describe their upcoming vacation with building vigour until they hit the climax – “…and you won’t believe what I paid for it”.

A travel deal is a badge of honour. It feels like we’ve won against the industry, gamed the system, and karma is finally on our side after being exploited so many times in the past;  paying $50+ for being an extra kg over the bag weight limit; shelling out 4x the price for a last minute flight because they know we’re desperate; and blatant marketing ploys promising cheaper flights that end up even more expensive once all the taxes and extras are added in… thanks for wasting my time.

But what irks me is that I can never find a deal when I’m booking a predetermined trip. While I’m very aware that there are deals out there for other destinations at any given time, I don’t have the time, patience, or mental fortitude to dive into the underground world of travel cost comparison.

Given that it’s almost Canada Day (July 1st) and I’ve been known to be just a little bit patriotic, I wanted to give a shoutout to one of my favourite local resources – YYZ Deals. Founded by Chris Myden, YYZ Deals is an online platform that provides readers and followers with breaking travel bargains out of Toronto’s Pearson Airport (YYZ). Myden also provides similarly unbelievable deals out of 26 other Canadian airports such as Vancouver (YVR), Montreal (YUL), and Halifax (YHZ).

YYZ Deals incorporates Myden’s intersecting passions for travel and technology and scours the interweb to find Torontonians the absolute best flight deals across all airlines throughout the myriad of online search engines. I’ve been a subscriber to his email list for sometime now and have been particularly struck with how dedicated he is to finding the best deals for his readers. He’s like a digital age Robin Hood.

What I love about YYZ Deals is that it only shows up in your email, Facebook and Twitter feeds when Myden has found a steal worth sharing. Here are a few of these gems that some of his 250k loyal followers were able to take advantage of:

• New York to Milan to Prague to Tokyo or Bangkok | $130-$177 after taxes
• Toronto to Great Exuma Island, Bahamas | $187 roundtrip including taxes
• Toronto to Lima, Peru | $431 roundtrip including taxes

Or the 2:30am email that I received with breaking news that Delta had some possible mistake fares to Asia. Five hours later, I had booked a round trip flight from Toronto to Hong Kong for $480 return for January 2015. I’m still bragging about that one to anyone who will listen.

When there’s a deal to be had, Myden provides clear and detailed guidance on how to generate the same price for his readers. The passionate community he’s cultivated comment on whether they’ve been able to book the same deal or whether they’ve tweaked it for other dates or destinations.

While I often can’t act upon all of the bargains that YYZ Deals shares, it’s nice to know that they’re out there. But the ones that I do follow through with will be part of my travel stories for many years. Because who doesn’t appreciate a great deal?

Have you used YYZ Deals before? If you’re not from Canada, are there local resources that you use for finding good flight deals? Let us know!

Photo courtesy of Flickr; abdallahh (CC BY 2.0); iamkevb (CC BY 2.0)v