Media Room

CALGARY, September 13, 2010 – What is keeping Albertans from checking off destinations on their travel bucket list? Lack of money. According to the TD First Class Travel Infinite Visa Card poll, 77% of Albertans have a list of places they want to visit in a lifetime but they may not have the money to do it. In fact, even though eight in ten Albertans belong to travel rewards programs, only 54% of Albertans have taken a vacation that lasted a week or more over the last 12 months.

“Ninety per cent of Albertans say they would travel more if they could afford it. However, only 55% of those surveyed in Alberta have redeemed rewards points for flights, and only 19% have redeemed points for hotels,” says Stacie Pearson, Associate Vice President, TD Canada Trust Credit Cards. “By taking better advantage of travel rewards programs, Albertans may be able to go on more vacations.”

Western Europe, the US and Australia top list of popular dream destinations
More than three-quarters (77%) of Albertans have a list of places they want to visit in their lifetime. First on Albertans’ lists is Western Europe outside of the United Kingdom and France (35%) followed by the United States (30%), Australia/New Zealand/The Polynesian Islands (23%) Asia (22%), and the United Kingdom (22%).

Albertans prefer to travel in the Great White North
Interestingly, though many Albertans have a list of places they would like to visit outside Canada, two-thirds (66%) expect their next trip to be within Canada. Alberta residents are among the most likely in Canada to say they expect to stay in their own province (38%), and 28% of Albertans say they will travel to other provinces in Canada.

Researching before they go
Part of the enjoyment Alberta residents get from taking a vacation comes from the preparation that goes into it. Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed say they do at least some research when planning their vacation. Twenty-two per cent do extensive research, including reading specific online reviews and profiles of places they hope to visit; 34% do some research, including reading online reviews of popular travel sites and seeking the advice of friends and family.

“When researching vacations, Albertans should also research their credit card and rewards program and how it can help finance their trip,” says Pearson. “Keeping more money in your pocket can mean more of that needed time away. One tip I recommend is being flexible, because hotels in big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are often less expensive on the weekend, because they get so many business travelers during the week. Take advantage of this and hit the big cities on the weekends.”

About the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card:
The TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card allows cardholders to pay for any travel with their TD points – whether for hotel reservations, resort vacations, car rentals, train tickets, cruises, even airport parking and taxes. Any travel you charge to your card can be paid for with your TD Points. Unlike other travel rewards plans, you don't have to plan or book months in advance to use your TD Points. Because there are no advance booking requirements or seat restrictions of any kind, you can use your points any time, even during peak periods and seat sales. With the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card you have the flexibility to book your holiday on your card with the TD Travel Reward Centre or through any travel agency, website or airline and then use your TD Points to cover all or part of the cost of that travel. If you use your TD First Class Infinite Travel Visa Card to book your travel through the TD Travel Rewards Centre, you will earn triple the TD Points.

With the TD First Class Travel Card, redeeming points is simple and easy to understand. To book travel using TD Points, book your trip on your Card first and then call the TD Travel Reward Centre to redeem your TD Points. You may pay for all or part of your trip, even the taxes. For every $1.00 in purchases made using the card, cardholders earn three (3) TD Points and as long as you have a minimum 10,000 TD Points they can be redeemed towards any type of travel, any time to anywhere. New accounts will receive 20,000 Bonus TD Points upon approval that you can use right away. TD Points work like travel dollars with 10,000 points equaling $50 in travel savings.

When you book using your TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card, you are also covered for many different types of insurance, including Travel Medical, Trip Interruption, Trip Cancellation and Auto Rental Collision/Loss Damage Insurance and more.

For more information on the TD First Class Infinite Visa Card, including information on how to calculate TD Rewards points, visit www.tdfirstclass.com.

About the TD First Class Travel Infinite Visa Card poll
Results were collected through the Research House national omnibus study. A total of 1,001 completed surveys were collected with adults aged 18+, including 125 in Alberta. Interviews were conducted by telephone between August 1-11, 2010.

About TD Bank Financial Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Financial Group. TD Bank Financial Group is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 18 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Insurance; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 6 million online customers. TD Bank Financial Group had CDN$603 billion in assets on July 31, 2010. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

For further information:

Carolyn Abbass / Steve Presant
Paradigm Public Relations
416-203-2223
cabbass@paradigmpr.ca / spresant@paradigmpr.ca

Jacqueline Burns
TD Bank Financial Group
403-294-3328
jacqueline.burns@td.com