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26Sep 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Credit Card Travel Benefits: Frequent Flyer Points

Credit Card Travel Benefits: Frequent Flyer Points

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
This blog post is the second of my Credit Card Travel Benefits Series and continues on from Credit Card Travel Benefits: The Basics. Frequent flyer points are a great reward for anyone who loves travelling and they build up quickly when using your credit card for every purchase. However, when I received my first credit card, I did the math and realised that it would take me about 2-3 years of spending to earn enough frequent flyer points for a short haul flight across Canada. This wasn’t good enough for so I began to play “The Credit Card Game”. The Credit Card Game is something I invented to help me maximise my frequent flyer point’s earnings. The game is played by me, against the major credit card companies (although they…
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12Sep 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
2010 Roundup

2010 Roundup

BUCKET LIST, GENERAL, LESSON
Over the past several weeks I have been posting the stories and lessons that I have learned from my bucket list adventures in 2010. In the inaugural year, I managed to complete six items from my bucket list and each one taught me a valuable lesson. My bucket list progress from year-to-year can be tracked using the graph I have created. In case you have missed any of the stories or lessons from my bucket list adventures, here is a roundup. #86 Go for a Polar Bear Swim Completed on 1st January in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. [#86 Lesson] Just Start!   #9 Give Blood Completed on 28th January in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. [#9 Lesson] It Feels Good to Help Others   #97 Become Vegetarian for a Week Completed…
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29Aug 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Shark Cage Diving Stewart Island, NZ

Shark Cage Diving Stewart Island, NZ

BUCKET LIST, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
This particular bucket list adventure was not from my list, it was actually from my girlfriend’s list. When Lexi told me she wanted to go shark cage diving, I made sure to invite myself along. This was not an adventure I was going to miss out on. It was getting late in the season when we decided to book it but we managed to get on the second last trip of the season, on 2nd June. We flew down to Invercargill the day before, where we had booked accommodation. It was a beautiful day across the whole country when we flew down to the tip of the South Island. As we were flying between Christchurch and Invercargill we were in awe of the incredible views of the Southern Alps and…
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15Aug 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
Land, Sea and Sky Birthday Extravaganza

Land, Sea and Sky Birthday Extravaganza

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
After 21, there are not many birthdays to get too excited about until you turn 30. I am still a couple years away from that milestone but this year I wanted to do something awesome for my birthday. One day I came up with the idea of the Land, Sea and Sky Birthday Extravaganza. For those of you who don’t know, New Zealand is the outdoor capital of the world! And with that kind of reputation, I intend to take full advantage of it. I told my mate, Jesse, my idea for the LSSBE, which involved going away for the weekend and doing three different adventure activities to conquer these three environments. The destination… Taupo! I have a group of friends, here in New Zealand, that share my addiction for…
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01Aug 2018 by Monika Giacca Millar No Comments
How to See Iceland for FREE: Planning a Stopover

How to See Iceland for FREE: Planning a Stopover

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
Iceland is known as The Land of Fire and Ice … and the best place to relive your Game of Thrones fantasies as a lot of their “North of the Wall” scenes were shot there! The appeal of Iceland is its vast untamed beauty, and arctic delights like the Northern Lights, glaciers, and hot springs. It straddles the Atlantic tectonic plates of North America and Europe, meaning it also has active volcanoes and hundreds of hot springs to explore. When flying between North America and Europe, adding in a stopover in Iceland is an absolute must for those who love adventure, culture, and food. The national airline, Iceland Air, and their local budget airline, WOW Air (both based in the capital city Reykjavik), operate multiple daily flights to the East…
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18Jul 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#95 Lesson] Always Assess the Information Source

[#95 Lesson] Always Assess the Information Source

BUCKET LIST, LESSON, TRAVEL
This life lesson relates to my previous blog #95 Swim with Dolphins. Before booking our trip to Cuba, my dad did his homework. There are thousands of resort destinations scattered throughout the Caribbean but the main countries most people consider are Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Jamaica. We had been to Mexico and Jamaica as a family before and my parents had also been to Dominican Republic. However, none of us had been to Cuba so it seemed like it would be an interesting adventure. Leading up to the trip I told many people about our plans because I was very excited to go to Cuba. However, the responses I received were very mixed. Some people mentioned that they had been to Cuba before and it was great but others…
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04Jul 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
#95 Swim with Dolphins

#95 Swim with Dolphins

BUCKET LIST, TRAVEL
This bucket list item was completed on 22nd April 2011 in Varadero, Cuba. Going to the Caribbean in the spring of the year is a very popular thing for North Americans to do. The Caribbean is our little place of sunshine and warm water that we yearn for after enduring a cold, dark winter. In 2011 my parents decided that we should go to the Caribbean as a family because we had not had a family vacation since my brother and I started our university studies. My dad had done his research and determined that Varadero, Cuba looked like a great spot for us to explore. When going to the Caribbean, it is common to book a travel package and stay at an all-inclusive resort. We booked our package through…
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20Jun 2018 by Dave Macleod 1 Comment
BucketLaunch is Growing!

BucketLaunch is Growing!

GENERAL, INFORMATION, TRAVEL
For the last eight months, I have been slaving away behind my computer to deliver my bucket list stories and life lessons to you. I have received some great feedback from my readers and this has helped me to refine some of the content that I will be posting. I have travelled many places and have a lot of experience to share with the world. However, I am only one man and my knowledge is finite. That is why BucketLaunch will be taking on a guest writer. Allow me to introduce Monika Giacca Millar! Monika comes to BucketLaunch with a unique perspective from inside the travel industry. Monika has been working in the travel industry for the last 10 years. Her career began with running student tours across Canada and…
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06Jun 2018 by Dave Macleod 1 Comment
Winter Bucket List 2018

Winter Bucket List 2018

BUCKET LIST, TRAVEL
In The Value of Seasonal Bucket Lists I shared my summer bucket list. I was successful at crossing off four out of the five items on my list. Riding the Bridge to Nowhere Mountain Bike Trail will have to wait until next summer. I also promised that I would make a winter bucket list when the temperatures began dropping in New Zealand. Well, it’s officially winter in New Zealand, so I figured it would be a good time to share my list. Check out the five items I have planned for this winter. Get back into skiing Get at least 6 days on my ski pass at Mt. Ruapehu Go shark cage diving ✔ Get back into skydiving Compete in the Peak 2 Powderkeg Race I first learned how to…
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23May 2018 by Dave Macleod No Comments
[#50 Lesson] Don’t Show All Your Cards When Bargaining

[#50 Lesson] Don’t Show All Your Cards When Bargaining

BUCKET LIST, LESSON
This life lesson relates to my previous blog post #50 Take a Punch by a UFC Fighter. Looking back on how I accomplished this goal, it is clear that easing into it was the best way to approach it. I wanted TJ to do something out of the ordinary for me and sending an email from someone he had never met, requesting to be punched in the face would have most likely gone unanswered. The initial email was used to get my foot in the door and helped to arrange a time and date for the real conversation to take place. During the days leading up to 23rd July I found myself trying to figure out how to actually bring up the topic. Although I had the meeting arranged, I…
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