Visa Canada

Visa payWave It Forward #Giveaway

August 30, 2013 By Lena 197 Comments

Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

It may have already happened before your very eyes.

Here’s the scenario: You’re in a checkout line, and the person ahead of you is waiting to pay for her purchases.

“That’ll be $37.50,” the cashier says.

The woman reaches into her wallet, and pulls out her trusted Visa. Then, instead of swiping her credit card or inserting one end into the chip reader, she simply waves the card over the terminal and “BEEP!” – her card is authenticated and her purchase is complete. No secret codes, no wobbly signature, no hassle.

Of course, if you have a Visa card with the payWave feature… perhaps that woman is YOU.

Here’s the deal. Go hunt up your Visa card. (It’s okay, I’ll wait.) Now take a look at it. If you see this symbol (pictured right) on the front of the card, great news! You’re already eligible to pay with Visa payWave for transactions of $50 or less, including taxes. So it’s ideal for places like fast food restaurants, gas stations, movie theatres, pharmacies and convenience stores.

And now, you can shop and be charitable at the same time with Visa Canada’s payWave It Forward program.

The fact is, many of us donate to charities quite often throughout the year. However, according to a survey commissioned by Visa Canada, 71 per cent of Canadians donated money to charity last year, but over half (56 per cent) wish they could have given more.

To help Canadians contribute to important causes, Visa Canada and key retailers are teaming up to support charities with the Visa payWave It Forward program. For a set period at participating retailers, for every payment made with Visa payWave, Visa will donate one dollar to the retailer’s charity of choice (up to a maximum donation amount). With Visa payWave It Forward, cardholders can simply “wave and go” to make their payment and the associated donation, without needing to key in a PIN, sign a receipt or look for change.

Canadians can join the Visa payWave It Forward movement at the following participating retailers:

ESSO (in-store) – August 19th to September 1st. Charity: United Way
Marshalls – August 19th to September 15th. Charity: Kids Help Phone
Metro (ON) – August 19th to September 8th. Charity: Green Apple School Program
Metro: (QC) – August 19th to September 8th. Charity: Food Banks of Quebec

So… of course I had to lend my support to a good cause… and if the cause just happened to involve a little shopping, how could I say no? Off I went to Marshalls… I was feeling particularly charitable!

I was greeted by a gorgeous display of furniture and decor inspired from India –

As tempting as it was to add a little intricate styling to my mostly modern and minimalist decor, I came to Marshalls in the hopes of finding two things: a) a black blouse to pair with my blue skinny jeans and short, high-heeled boots, and b) a denim shirt to pair with my black leggings and riding boots. Now I’ve been fortunate enough to uncover random, great finds at Marshalls in the past, but because I was looking for two things in particular, I wasn’t holding my breath….

Back to School 2013: Let’s Go Shopping! #Giveaway

August 17, 2013 By Lena 233 Comments

NOTE: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

As a year-round savvy shopper, the concept of “Back to School” shopping isn’t really a big deal chez Lena. After all, chances are I’ll find better prices on fall/winter clothes during the after-season clearance, and often, Friends & Family Events and other shopping promos offer just a good a deal.

However, I do believe that there’s something magical about starting off the school year with some new threads, so I always make it a point to supplement my boys’ wardrobe with some on-trend pieces at a great price. Of course, there’s no shortage of Back to School sales at the moment; everything from supplies to clothing to (gasp) spray tan. Yes, apparently one needs to have a golden glow while converting fractions to percentages.

Not surprisingly, a Visa Canada survey shows that Canadians are being more frugal in their back-to-school shopping, and are looking online for better prices and deals. In fact, 90% of Canadian shoppers will be setting a back-to-school budget, and 87% of shoppers surveyed admitted to “showrooming” – looking at items in store before buying them for less online. As a long-time advocate of online shopping, I’m thrilled to see that more and more folks are catching on to the money (and time) saving benefits of shopping from the comfort of your home.

This morning was no exception. Armed with a cup of my favourite French roast coffee in the wee hours of morning, I was delighted to take advantage of Old Navy’s Jeans Sale. Until August 29th, you can grab jeans starting at just $10 for the entire family! It’s a great way to stock up for back to school – for less.

Of course, being a money-saving ninja means that I do have a few additional tips for you:

1) Before you start shopping, sign up online for Old Navy’s mailing list (found at the bottom of the home page). You’ll instantly receive a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase! While the coupon did not work for the $10 jeans, it did work for those priced $11 and up. So, I was able to grab a few pairs of jeans regularly priced at $19.50 for just $8.80! That’s a savings of 55%!

2) Check out the SALE section for amazing discounts on swimwear, tees and shorts. Ladies bikini bottoms can be grabbed for as low as $1.99, and I even found some sweet swim trunks for both my little guys for next year. And remember, you’ll receive an extra 20% with your mailing list promo code…. start the car!

3) When you shop at Old Navy until September 4th, you’ll earn SUPER CASH towards a purchase made between September 12th and 18th. (Find full details here.) So, because I spent $50 online today, I received a coupon for $20 off a future purchase of $50 or more. If you whip out your calculator, you’ll see that translates to a whopping 40% off if I spend exactly $50 during the week of September 12th and 18th. WOWZERS.

4) If all that wasn’t enough… you’ll score FREE shipping on purchases $50+! It’s the epitome of awesomeness….

Back to School with Visa Canada! #Giveaway

August 30, 2012 By Lena

Note: The following giveaway is open to Canadians only.

If you’ve been following my blog posts and tweets, you’ll know that this is – GULP – the first “back” to school shopping I’ve ever experienced… yup, my little guy is starting JK next week!

(Sit tight… I feel an emotional moment coming on. False alarm, it was just a sneeze.)

Hence, it’s been pretty surreal for me – because let’s face it, I really don’t know what I’m doing with this whole school shopping thing. Clothes? Shoes? Lunch box? Do they still make lunch boxes? Or is it all about the lunch bags now?

( ← This was the lunch box I wanted when I was small. Pretty sure I never would’ve used that flask, though.)

As you know, 99% of the time I’m on online shopping ninja, preferring to surf in the comfort of my own ~~yoga pants~~ home. I’m not alone; according to a July 2012 survey of Canadian online shoppers commissioned by Visa Canada for back-to-school, a whopping 72% of Canadian shoppers plan to take their shopping online.

This number does not surprise me at all. I mean, who wants to brave the mall crowds? And, it’s not like Christmas shopping when adults go alone; this time, they’re dragging their whiny kids with them! It’s actually quite daunting….