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Since 2015, we’ve written a lot of articles on milesopedia about points and miles: how to earn them and most importantly… how to use them the best way! We are always happy when readers take a few minutes to tell us about their experience!
Murielle D. is one of milesopedia’s most devoted fans, which the members of the Facebook group “ milesopedia – Credit cards and Rewards “will certainly recognize!
Here is her “postcard” that she sent us:
It all started with my husband’s idea that one day he would like to take his older brother to play golf in the South…he had in mind a little trip to Florida and renting a house in the Orlando area…in my head, I thought, been there done that! Knowing that Scottsdale is the “mecca” for golfers and that I had wanted to check out what Phoenix had to offer for a long time, the opportunity to make this dream come true came to me by chance from a milesopedia article which showed that sometimes Delta had good promotions with few miles on some destinations ….
So Murielle took matters into her own hands! A novice to points and credit cards in general, she learned by reading, reading, reading… and asking a few questions in the Facebook group.
The article Murielle mentioned above is about using Delta Skymiles for flights to Hawaii. But of course, this is possible for any North American destination.
Delta Skymiles can indeed be very interesting, as long as you plan your trip well: there is no fare grid like on Aeroplan, it is a dynamic grid. The rates can therefore be crazy… or very advantageous
Having a lot of Delta Skymiles (the company we had to use first for business trips when we were expatriates) it was a perfect opportunity to use 18,000 Delta Skymiles per ticket and invite the family!
18,000 Delta Skymiles round trip/person from Toronto to Phoenix… a real bargain! Murielle and her husband obtained these miles through business travel. But be aware that you can also earn Delta Skymiles in Canada in two ways:
If you want to learn more about the big benefits of the Marriott Bonvoy program at the airline partner level, check out this article!
I was able to use 72,000 Delta Skymiles to buy us 4 round trip airline tickets from Toronto to Phoenix. I made the reservations in August 2017 for a March 2018 trip. At the time of booking, these 4 tickets cost $1,600.
One thing leading to another, another couple from the family joined us and paid for their plane tickets but found the hotels really expensive…and yes it is really expensive because high season for golf in March! I was able to guide them to get the free nights with some credit cards. So here is my strategy to maximize my points and privileges that all our credit cards have to offer.
There are still travelers who do not read milesopedia and continue to pay full price for their air tickets and hotel nights? 😆
Knowing that 2 couples had to leave Quebec to go to Toronto, they had to sleep one night before the departure in Toronto. The Marriott Bonvoy card – since disappeared from the Canadian market – was useful when booking a night at the Towne Place Suite Marriott – 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points(that’s 5,000 starpoints) at the time of booking and free parking for the night. I keep it in mind for future trips…
15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (equivalent to 5,000 starpoints): a bargain for a hotel near an international airport like Toronto.
Since the demise of the Marriott Bonvoy card, the only way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points or starpoints is through one of the two American Express Marriott Bonvoy credit cards.
Each of them allows you to obtain 20,000 starpoints or the equivalent of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
We had 2 vehicles to park for the 8 days of the trip. We used the Park & Fly (valet parking) which gives 100 Aeroplan miles and with our discount coupons (order of engineers) it is cheaper to use this service. We will then apply for a $100 refund with our National Bank World Elite card as well as the reimbursement of the baggage fees for the golf bags.
The card offered by the National Bank allows you to use $250 of travel credits annually for specific expenses (and not interchangeable with each other):
It’s best to wait for a promotion (free first year and/or welcome bonus of NBC points) before signing up.
Our departure to Phoenix via Salt Lake city was at 5pm. It was the perfect opportunity to try out the new Priority Pass lounge in the terminal to the US. Small salon with little space and only one toilet dedicated to women and one to men so I think the salon can become full quickly! The food offer during our visit was excellent with a “basic” alcohol offer I would say. I’ve seen better at this level. Access to the lounge was possible with our BMO World Elite MasterCard.
Priority Pass lounges can be excellent(like this lounge in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam) or not so good. Everything will depend on how full the show is (this is particularly the case with the National Bank show in Montreal).
Murielle shared on the Facebook group some pictures of this show:
Premium Plaza Lounge – Toronto YYZ Premium Plaza Lounge – Toronto YYZ – Credit: Murielle D. Premium Plaza Lounge – Toronto YYZ – Credit: Murielle D. Premium Plaza Lounge – Toronto YYZ – Credit: Murielle D. Premium Plaza Lounge – Toronto YYZ – Credit: Murielle D.
And here is Murielle and her spouse with their friends in this Premium Plaza salon.
On our flight to Salt Lake city, I had fun trying out the quality of the Gogoflight wifi service offered with our CIBC Aerogold Infinite Preferred card. I was surprised at the great speed and even shared some photos from the above mentioned show on the Facebook group. We quickly become ” addicted ” to the privileges that credit cards offer us… a little running gag throughout our trip!
… or when your readers tell you about the benefits of certain credit cards! The free Wi-Fi with Gogoflight is interesting! This is a benefit that is not promoted at all by CIBC… and one that I could not find by reading all the pamphlets provided by CIBC! Murielle’s explanations:
It was part of a targeted promotion that offered 12 passes. We had obtained this credit card free of charge for one year from our CIBC investment advisor.
This offer expired in September 2017, but passes could be used for 1 year. Once again, well done Murielle!
We had 2 rental cars at Hertz. A minivan for golfers that we used at the end of our trip to Page. We chose to take advantage of the corporate rates my husband is entitled to with the company and by each having a TD Ultimate Travel Class Visa Infinite card we will be able to apply the car rental expenses easily.
Most credit cards linked with a “travel” loyalty program allow points to be applied to travel expenses (airfare, hotels, car rentals…). It’s a simple and effective way to find the best rate on your own! Discover our detailed article on this subject.
When we arrived in Phoenix we chose the Residence Inn Phoenix Desert View at Mayo Clinic near Scottsdale: 5 nights for 80 000 Marriott Bonvoy points (or 26 666 starpoints). Market value of 3100$ CAN in March…A bargain! Since it was a gift for the older brother, we used our Marriott Bonvoy points accumulated with previous business trips (Marriott being our2nd home!)
Excellent use of Marriott Bonvoy points in this scenario. Especially since for every 4 nights booked with points, the fifth is free – whether with Marriott Bonvoy or Marriott Bonvoy. Evidently, since his trip, the hotel moved up a category in Marriott’s latest annual change in March 2018: 5 nights there now cost 100,000 points. Always a bargain against the daily rate charged!
For the couple who added themselves, they found it very costly in money! So I guided them to a 50,000-point Marriott Bonvoy card – the one that no longer exists in Canada – and the Marriott BonvoyTM American ExpressMD card that offered 25,000 starpoints last summer. So they had the points for the 5 nights for only $120 in dues!
New converts to loyalty program benefits! The Marriott BonvoyTM American ExpressMD Card offers 20,000 starpoints, which is already a great deal considering all the things you can do with it. The promotion that took place during the summer of 2017 was exceptional.
Comments on the hotel: Absolutely perfect for the group that we were. Every evening we had access to the BBQ for grilling and a table where we could eat as a group on the terrace. Happiness! The people were so friendly. This was our favorite hotel of the stay! While our men were having a blast golfing…I had to entertain the rest of the camp…we got our money’s worth with a high level hike for the first day…after that we were more leisurely but made some wonderful discoveries towards the Apache Trail and the surrounding areas of Phoenix including Sedona.
Because there are not only planes, lounges, hotels and points in travel… It’s interesting to see how much can be done in this beautiful part of Arizona!
Once we finished golfing, we headed up to Page with a mandatory stop at the Grand Canyon. (3rd time for me) but still wonderful. The highlight of our visit was the next day at Lower Antelope Canyon (Dixie’s Lee Tour). It was a sure favorite of the whole group…and having spoken with several French visitors (and yes, our Quebec accent fascinates 🙂 ) it was unanimous.
Here are some pictures sent by Murielle:
Grand Canyon – Credit: Murielle D. Horseshoe Bend – Credit: Murielle D.
I agree with all of this: the Lower Antelope Canyon is not to be missed when visiting this area!
The 2 nights in Page were at the Best Western View of Lake Powell Hotel paid for with our BMO Rewards points. Hotel very well located for the visits of the surroundings. We had a fire alarm the last morning at 8am…a sharp awakening shall we say. We had reserved for a lake view…it was more of a parking lot and hydro dam view. For the price, 0$ we will not complain!
BMO Rewards points earned through BMO Rewards credit cards – such as the BMO World Elite MasterCard – must be used on the BMO Rewards travel portal. The rates are identical to what you would find on Expedia, Hotels.com or Booking.com.
If I were Murielle, I would have complained to the front desk about the view: it was definitely not the type of room reserved. Whether the reservation was made with points or cash is irrelevant here! There is still time to complain to BMO Rewards and earn some points for your trouble!
The last night before our flight home we stayed at a Holiday Inn paid for by our survey points that we do with e-rewards. This is an invitation-only survey site.
To conclude, I can’t thank enough the milesopedia website for which is a gold mine of information for us travelers. A special mention to my sister Caroline who made me discover your site. I can tell you that I have come a long way because I was always ‘tied’ to my husband’s credit card…So I had to build up my credit rating and then sign up for credit cards making several rookie mistakes…But I am now proud to say that I can put together trips with points and miles.
Thank you Murielle! If you would like to ask her specific questions about using her points & miles to put this trip together, head over to this dedicated post in the facebook group!
Next appointment for our trip to Thailand next January…and I hope to benefit from your expertise my facebook friends!
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