Travel. Holiday. Getaway. With travel restrictions now loosening and/or lifting worldwide, we still kind of can’t believe that we get to use these words more and more regularly now. And what’s better than booking your first holiday in years? How about getting money while doing it? Singapore site ShopBack lets you browse, click, and buy from more than 10,000 online and in-store merchants via their website. Within 72 hours, you’ll get real cashback into your ShopBack account which you can deposit into your bank account to use for your travels.
The best part about ShopBack is that because they’re partnered with hundreds of stores, they have everything you could need for your trip – a one-stop, virtual shop.
First things first: you need to book a flight and a place to stay. Luckily, ShopBack’s upcoming Extravelganza campaign lets you get up to 20 percent cashback on a number of travel deals. The campaign is in partnership with sites like Expedia and Hotels.com, as well as specific airlines including Emirates and Malaysia Airlines, and covers cars, flights, and hotels. Whether you want to splurge a bit (in which case, have a browse through Luxury Escapes) or are looking to backpack your way around (hello, Hostelworld!), Extravelganza will make planning your trip as breezy as possible, regardless of your budget and plans.
If you’re the kind of person who is always being accused of overpacking (hey, we get it, it’s important to look cute while you’re on vacation!), then travel cubes will become your new best friend. This set is waterproof, and comes with seven cubes of varying sizes so you can divide up your wardrobe and know where everything is. Getting an electronic luggage scale will also let you weigh your bags at home and make sure you don’t get charged with exorbitant fees at the airline check-in counter.
Unfortunately looking like it’s going to rain during the one week that you’re at your destination? Get a waterproof luggage protector to keep, you know, everything you own safe and dry. And stay dry yourself when venturing around – this foldable umbrella comes in four colors, and is super compact so you can just toss it in your bag while you’re roaming the streets.
When it comes to headphones for a plane/bus/train, our opinion is that it’s noise-canceling or bust. This pair is wireless and comes in three classic colors. If you’re traveling with children, these children’s headphones are also wireless and also come in a variety of fun color options.
As much as we’d all like to completely unplug while we’re on holiday, sadly work emergencies are still a thing. If you’re going somewhere where wifi is spotty to nonexistent and especially if you don’t want to pack your entire laptop, then back up your folders to an external hard drive — it’s lighter, more convenient, and if a work task does arise, all you’ll need is to ask your hotel for access to a computer. If you are bringing your laptop though (or any other electronic devices), nothing is a bigger pain than realizing your chargers aren’t compatible with the local charging ports. You’ll be grateful you got a travel adapter — this comes in a handy case and works for multiple countries, so no need to worry about making sure you’ve brought the correct one.
Although obviously we all have smartphones and Instagram stories, if you ask us, there’s something about polaroid photos that makes them more fun and heartwarming to look back at through weeks/months/even years after the trip is over that your phone’s camera roll just can’t quite capture. Fujifilm makes mini polaroid cameras that don’t take up a lot of space and that have a ton of fun frame options for you and your friends to go wild with!
Speaking of going wild, as much fun as it is to explore a new city and see and do things that you never would back home, sometimes a chill night in is much-needed even when you’re on holiday. As a back-up, pack some card games for those evenings where you’re completely exhausted and just want to order in some takeout. We personally recommend bringing both a classic option like Uno and something more lively like Exploding Kittens.
And if you don’t want to go through the hassle of sorting out a sim card after a long flight, ShopBack even has sim cards available for several destinations including Europe, Australia, and the Maldives. Just purchase online and pick it up when you check in at Changi Airport.
Appropriately hyped up now? Extravelganza is only ongoing between April 26-30, so we suggest you start doing your preliminary research now to figure out where you want to jetset off to this summer.
Bookings and purchases can be made via the ShopBack website, or alternatively, click here to download the ShopBack app!
