Am I getting a better deal if I use Shopback to book a hotel room? (Part 2)
In my previous blog post, I was reviewing booking hotels via online booking agents such as, Agoda on Shopback that would allow me to get cashback and attractive hotel rates at the same time. Then, I concluded booking on Agoda directly offers a better deal than linking it through Shopback. On the other hand, booking.com offers a better deal with Shopback, as the price does not change before and after the activating cashback function of the app. Expedia has the most expensive rates with or without Shopback.
This week, I noticed Shopback has upsized cashback for booking.com and Expedia but normal cashback rate for Agoda. So first, I visited the booking.com app on my phone to check out the rate without the Shopback tracking activated. I used Vista LIC Hotel, Best Western Premiere located in Long Island, New York, USA, as an example. Before Shopback tracking, the price for one king bedroom non-smoking that comes with free cancellation and no upfront payment at the time of booking is $441 per night. After I activated Shopback, the price remained the same. Similarly, I did the same thing on Expedia. Both returned the same price at $513 per night. Do note that to earn cashback, one has to book within the Shopback app environment. In the case of Agoda, I encountered the same phenomenon, where the price increased after Shopback has been activated.
From the comparisons above, Expedia is generally more expensive among the online booking agents. On the other hand, booking.com remains the best site/app cause it offers one of the cheapest rates with cashback. However, one should not rule out Agoda. Besides Agodacash as a form of rebate for booking a hotel stay with them, it now provides cash rebates. In the example below, I booked a room at Swissotel Stamford at a recent weekend, which I will do a review in the next blog post. I noticed Agoda will give me a cashback reward 60days after I have completed my stay. My room cost $848 and the offer, which would be about 6% cashback. Even though on Shopback does offer upsized deals of up to 10% on certain days, it is still more worth it to book direct with Agoda.
There you go, a better deal may come from booking directly on the online booking agents rather than on Shopback. Sometimes, it always good to do a comparison with or without Shopback activated.
Do I get a better deal if I use ShopBack to book a hotel room?
I am going on an overseas trip and I was looking for hotels on popular hotel booking apps like Agoda, Booking.com and Expedia. After looking at the prices on these apps, I decided to turn on the Shopback app on my phone, hoping that I could snuff out a better deal with cashback on the same hotel booking apps.
Screenshot of the main page of the ShopBack app.
How does Shopback gives you rebates for making a hotel booking? First, you need to open the Shopback app on your phone or go to the Shopback website on your laptop. Find the hotel booking link in the app or website to activate the tracking. In order to ensure Shopback knows you have made a genuine booking, one has to stay within the link to complete the booking.
Usually, it would take two days or more for Shopback to send you an email to notify you that the cashback has been tracked successfully. Do note that you will not get the cashback immediately but a number of days after you stayed at the hotel. For example, Shopback credits the cashback 100 days after you have stayed at the hotel - one way for them to reward for genuine stay.
I noticed something interesting when I saw the price before and after I activated Shopback. Take for example, this hotel in New York is advertising on Agoda their 1 king bed - Non smoking for $435 a night. It comes with free cancellation up until the day before the stay and do not need to pay anything from now until three days before the stay. After I activated Shopback, which was having an upsized 6.5% cashback for Agoda at the time of writing this blog, the price of the same room type has increased by $75! Even if you take into account the 6.5% cashback you can get after the stay, it’s only a $33 discount.
However, doing the same thing on Booking.com before and after Shopback activation, which has a basic 5% cashback, for the room with similar cancellation policy like Agoda costs the same at $373 a night. In this case, it seems you get a better deal if you use Shopback when making a hotel booking on Booking.com.
For Expedia, Shopback needs you to use the website only to qualify for cashback. Similar to Booking.com, the price for the hotel’s 1 king bed - non smoking costs the same but more expensive at $511 a night. They also offer an option to pay directly to the hotel. But be mindful of the credit card you planned to use to pay for the booking. Some cards like UOB Krisflyer card only give three times bonus miles (provided you have spent $800 on air tickets from any Singapore Airlines group in a card membership year) on online transactions on these hotel booking apps/websites. Hence, card payments at the hotel does not count as an online transaction. Pairing with an Amaze card could count as an online transaction but will not qualify for the bonus miles. So please check your card’s terms and condition before deciding the mode of payment.
In addition, the difference here is, there is an upsized cashback for Agoda but not for Booking.com and Expedia at the time of writing this blog. Typically, the percentage of hotel booking cashback on Shopback range between 5 and 5.5%. I will follow-up with another blog to show if the price changes whenever there is an upsized cashback on Shopback for Booking.com and Expedia.
What could we see from the comparison above? Agoda does offer the most competitive price for booking a hotel room without using the Shopback cashback option. On the other hand, Expedia offers the most expensive option. With the Shopback cashback option, Booking.com offers the most rewarding and competitive rates. The conclusion for now is, you may not get a better deal using the Shopback option, possibly with an upsized cashback running on the app. It is always best to compare the price, in this case before and after activating the Shopback cashback, cause you never know if the best deal happens to be the one without the cashback. Do note I also see the prices are generally better on the apps than on the websites.
Then you may ask how to deactivate the tracking if the better deal is without the Shopback cashback on the phone? Be patient and wait out for around two to three hours or try closing the Shopback app. If you cannot wait, you can access the websites directly instead.
CDC vouchers (June 2024)
It’s the time of the month, Singaporean households are now able to redeem the 2nd tranche of CDC vouchers in Jun-2024.
The 2nd tranche of CDC vouchers are now available to claim. (Image screenshot from www.cdc.gov.sg)
Before going into the details of how to redeem the CDC vouchers, let’s look at the background of why the government gives Singaporeans these vouchers.
The CDC vouchers were first launched in Jun-2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is to help lower-income families to defray expenses and supporting merchants and hawkers to tie over the challenging period. The CDC vouchers were later expanded to all Singaporean households to thank them for their cooperation during the pandemic, and to give a boost to the heartland merchants’ business recovery.
The latest tranche of $300 CDC vouchers with the amount divided evenly between local merchants and hawkers, and selected supermarkets, comes on top of the first tranche of $500 CDC vouchers that was given to Singaporean households in Jan-2024. These vouchers are part of the Assurance Package (enhanced in 2024) that the government announced at the Budget in 2023 and 2024. All in, each Singaporean households would have gotten $800 in CDC vouchers this year.
Tap on the CDC Vouchers 2024 (June) to claim the vouchers. Screenshot from go.gov.sg/cdcv.
How to redeem the CDC vouchers? First, head over to the CDC website: go.gov.sg/cdcv and tap on CDC Vouchers 2024 (June). If you have not claim the CDC Vouchers 2024 (January), you can do that on the same page too. In addition, eligible households are able to claim $300 climate vouchers. These are for purchasing environmentally friendly electrical equipment like fans, aircon and LED light bulbs. I will cover that in another blog.
This is the next page after tapping on the CDC voucher 2024 (June). Screenshot from go.gov.sg/cdcv.
Second, you will need to prepare to use your Singpass to log in. After confirming your personal details, it will ask for your mobile number. You will receive a link in a SMS to go and retrieve your CDC vouchers. The sender of the SMS will be Redeem SG if you claim your vouchers before 1-Jul. After 1-Jul, the sender of the SMS will be from gov.sg. This is part of the government efforts to combat spam and fraud messages claiming to be a legitimate sender. You could copy the entire message in the SMS and paste and share with the rest of the family in WhatsApp group chats. You will also be brought to a page with the link to get them. So it is very straightforward. Do remember to use all the vouchers before they expire after 31-Dec-2024.
You will receive a SMS from either Redeem SG (before 1st July) or gov.sg (from 1st-Jul). Screenshot from cdc.gov.sg/cdcv.
Third, as an added incentive, selected supermarket chains are offering return vouchers to shoppers, who use their supermarket CDC vouchers. Fairprice is issuing $4 voucher for every $50 spent, Giant is issuing $6 voucher for every $60 spent, and Cold Storage, CS Fresh and Jasons Deli are issuing $8 voucher for every $80 spent. The promotion is only until 30-June for Giant and Cold Storage, and 1-July for Fairprice. You will get return vouchers if you use the CDC vouchers to pay for the purchases. Do take note of the validity of these return vouchers, as different chains may have different expiry dates.
CDC voucher promotion at Fairprice. Screenshot from Fairprice.com.sg.
CDC voucher promotion at Giant. Screenshot from giant.sg.
CDC voucher promotion at Cold Storage. Screenshot from coldstorage.com.sg.
Lastly, all Singaporean households would have received $800 worth of CDC vouchers this year. CDC vouchers for supermarket chains would prove to be the most popular and used up first. As of 27-Jun-2024, more than 650,000 Singaporean households have already claimed the $300 CDC vouchers. Thus, remember to claim them soon.
Below is a video clip about the CDC voucher scheme and how to claim them.
My experience with a cyst
I had a cyst on my left back shoulder for the longest time and it had not given me any problems.
How does a sebaceous cyst look like? It could be a round or dome-shaped lump, with a dark dot in the centre. It could range from very small (0.5cm) to big (5cm). There could be skin discolouration such as redness, tender or warm to touch and sometimes, it could move easily.
What causes a sebaceous cyst? According to Cleveland clinic, it is formed when there is a pocket created just underneath the skin, which allows dead skin cells and a protein called keratin that are present to help form our skin’s outer layer (epidermis), to be trapped in there. The pocket could be caused by a skin trauma or an injury like a scratch or a condition like acne, which could disrupt and pushes the skin cells below the epidermis into the second layer called dermis.
Different layers of our skin. Image from VectorStock.
In my case, I discovered I got two such cysts side-by-side. One of it was about the size of a 20-cent coin and white with a dark dot in the centre. The other one, which I recently found out through this episode, was already swelling badly and it was painful. Normally, such type of cysts is asymptomatic. It usually does not cause discomfort to the person unless it becomes swollen and gets infected like in my case. It can also become itchy, which could be a sign that the cyst has ruptured and pus could be observed.
The infected cyst on the left was swollen red with the ruptured site exposed. The uninfected one right beside it.
At this point, it would be better to seek treatment at a GP soon. The reason being a ruptured cyst exposes you to bacteria. In my case, a swab test on my ruptured cyst found there was Staphylococcus epidermidis, a common type of bacteria normally found on the skin. The doctor will prescribe antibiotics and would refer you to a general surgeon for the next steps. You can either choose to wait and see if the swelling goes away (not applicable if it has ruptured), or you can ask a surgeon to get it removed completely. This is because the cyst resides in a capsule, which has to be removed surgically to prevent a recurrence.
By Photo Credit: Janice CarrContent Providers(s): CDC/ Segrid McAllister - This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL)
Where else can a sebaceous cyst form? It can form on the face, chest, back, scalp, neck, legs, arms and genitalia.
As my condition was pretty bad - an infected ruptured cyst and a not yet ruptured one beside it and vulnerable to getting infected as well. Therefore, the doctor recommended me to have it removed completely.
Surgical excision of a sebaceous cyst can be done under local anaesthesia. The surgeon would inject anaesthetic around the area where the cyst is. Thereafter, the surgeon would carefully make a small cut over the cyst to drain out the collection of fluid and remove the capsule, which is critical to prevent a cyst from growing back. If you are interested, there are many clips on YouTube that show you how it is be done. Here is one of them below for you to watch. I think it is helpful, as it allowed me to understand how it is usually done.
For my case, I chose to undergo general anaesthesia for this procedure. The surgeon told me it is a simple procedure that will take about 30 minutes to complete. I don’t think I could stay still lying on the operating bed on one side for such a long time. Moreover, I was not prepared to hear the whole procedure happening behind my back that may make me more nervous than I already am.
The procedure went smoothly and I felt alright with some tightness and pain around my left back shoulder. There will be a small scar after the skin heals, which could take about month, but I think it is not an issue for me. In my situation described earlier, I would opt to remove it completely for a peace of mind.
In summary, a sebaceous cyst could form on almost any parts of our body and that is usually due to a skin trauma, injury or condition. It is not contagious and can opt to remove it surgically in a simple procedure. If it becomes infected, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics and monitor your condition. You must never self-treat an infected cyst as you could expose yourself to bacteria infection. Removing the capsule that forms in the pocket surgically is essential to prevent it from growing again.
There will be a follow up blog to cover how much this procedure cost. So be sure to come back to The Frankly to find out.
More info on sebaceous cyst: Click here
More info about keratin: Click here
More info on types of bacteria found on our skin: Click here
Free-flow Beef Buffet in Telok Ayer
All you can eat beef buffet in Telok Ayer, a perfect place for all beef lovers out there.
It was Father’s day and my wifey booked a table at a restaurant called Boeuf. It is located at 159 Telok Ayer Street and opens daily from 12 noon to 10.30pm, and for the weekends, 11.30am to 3.30pm and 5.30pm to 10.30pm.
Boeuf is a beef specialty restaurant with a selection of wine to choose from. They pride themselves on exclusive quantities of 21 to 60 days grass and grain fed prime ribs, which are dry aged entirely in-house.
My wife knows I like eating beef and found the restaurant is running the Free-FLow Argentinian Black Angus Ribeye Steak for only $48++ per person on weekends only. They have four seatings - 11.30am, 1.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm. It also comes with three unlimited sides - sourdough with butter, crispy fries and cream spinach.
Free-flow beef and sides are available on weekends with four seatings. Advance reservation is highly recommended.
My wife and I went to the last seating on Father’s Day evening. I observed the restaurant located on the ground floor of a heritage shophouse has limited seating. They have two sets of outdoor seatings that could seat up to 4 persons each. At the time, I noticed there were diners having a drink outside the restaurant. While inside the restaurant, there were at least tables for 28 persons. When we arrived, we noticed there are many diners waiting at the door. At about 7.30pm, one of the waiting staff started to check if diners have made a reservation. Those without a reservation were asked to wait at a corner but they were later turned away, as it was full house that night. Thus, I would highly recommend to make a reservation. I have a feeling it would be difficult to get a reservation during the weekend after a famous local competitive eating influencer graced the restaurant and managed to chew down 25 plates of ribeye.
Lots of diners could be seen waiting to enter the restaurant.
The service was pretty fast after we confirmed our orders with the waiter. For doneness, my wife opted for Medium well and I chose Medium. My wife’s medium well ribeye was quite on point, with a bit of pinkish colour on the inside of the beef. My medium steak is unfortunately is a little rarer than expected. I later ordered medium rare for my second round to compare the doneness and it was about the same. The sides were served generally warm but the sourdough was cold and hard. I would prefer it o be served warm. The cream spinach was ok but the fries taste surprisingly good and true to its crispiness. The buffet does not include sauces and we topped up $11 for steak butter and mushroom sauces. I would recommend the steak butter, as the mushroom sauce tend to make your steak saltier than it already is.
Both my wife and I have two rounds of ribeye. First round of meat was succulent with evenly sprinkled black pepper over it, and not too oily. On the other hand, our second round of meat was savoury and buttery, which I thought was too much. No amount of cream spinach could help to remove the salty feeling in our tastebuds. In the end, we drank more water in the second round than the first round.
Overall, we spent around we felt the buffet is a perfect opportunity for beef lovers to eat lots of meat. They may not offer the best for this buffet but their marketing efforts paid off with a full house on a Sunday night. The price point was also quite fair especially if you can chow down up to 25 plates of ribeye per person or in total. Do remember to make a reservation as walk-ins would have a low chance of getting a seat. A credit card is needed to guarantee your reservation and a no-show fee equivalent of the buffet price if you did not cancel one day in advance or did not turn up on that day.
Location of restaurant: 159 Telok Ayer Street
Reservation: Boeuf via Oddle