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When you get the chance to spend a week at an all-inclusive resort down South, it’s already pretty amazing. What would be even better?
In fact, credit card rewards points can make your all-inclusive trip practically free!
It’s easy to earn $1,500 in travel rewards to pay for an all-inclusive trip every year. How?
In the world of points hunting, there’s no such thing as the best credit card: you have to build up a portfolio of credit cards to optimize each type of purchase (groceries, restaurants, gas, travel, etc.).
For example, the Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard defines reward categories as follows:
As a result, it’s possible to accumulate between $700 and $1,000 in BONUSDOLLARS by spending between $50,000 and $100,000 a year.
What to do when you don’t have a large purchase volume? Turn to credit card sign-up bonuses to afford a vacation in the South.
In fact, it’s possible to collect over $1,500 in rewards for our all-inclusive trip.
Travel point strategies that can be applied to the travel package and cash back are preferred for all-inclusive vacations.
Here’s an example of a strategy:
$150 for Quebec
or $155.88
*by maximizing the minimum monthly spending requirement in the 5 points per dollar category.
This strategy accumulates $1,778 in net worth ($2,084 – $306) on $19,000 in expenses, for a return of 9%!
This all-inclusive credit card strategy uses four types of rewards points to offset the cost of a sun vacation.
Admittedly, this requires some credit card management, but you’ll be on the beach much more quickly and easily than waiting to spend $50,000 in order to get enough points. It’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth it!
Finally, if you really have $50,000 or more in annual spending, why not collect a lot more points for several all-inclusive tripsa year?
There are many ways to pay for an all-inclusive trip with credit card travel points.
With a travel rewards credit card, you can use your reward points to cover part or even all of the cost of your Southern vacation.
Here are some examples of how travel points can be used for sunny destination packages.
With a limited-time promotion, you can redeem 35% fewer Aventura points when you book any trip with your credit card, such as an all-inclusive trip.
If you’ve signed up for our exclusive offer on the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card or CIBC Aventura® Gold Visa* Card, and earned the welcome bonus of 45,000 points, that’s $450 towards any travel purchase! Like an all-inclusive trip.
And if you get both credit cards during the promotion (and via our exclusive offer), that’s over $900 toward any travel purchase… like an all-inclusive trip. If there’s more than one of you in the household, each of you can sign up for this card and save points on your travel bill!
Not bad for credit cards with no annual fee in the first year (and each offering 4 airport lounge visits).
With the National Bank’s À la carte Rewards program, travel points can be used in two ways.
You can book an all-inclusive package with your travel points through Voyage À la Carte: 10,000 points per $100 and top up with cash if you don’t have enough points. This is the best way to use National Bank Rewards points. What’s more, your purchase will also earn you extra points!
In this example, we can see a $200 discount when using 20,000 points on the price of the all-inclusive trip for two people.
On the other hand, if you have found a cheaper all-inclusive trip on another platform, it is also possible to use your points as a Statement credit.
You can also use these rewards points when you use a travel agency(Voyage à Rabais, Voyages Bergeron, independent agency, etc.) for the all-inclusive package!
At TD, TD Rewards points are used in a similar way as National Bank on the TD platform: Expedia for TD.
Currently, the TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card has a sign-up bonus of up to 85,000 TD Rewards! This equals $425 in travel discounts on All-inclusive vacations in the South booked through Expedia for TD.
TD Rewards points can also be applied as a Statement credit if you book your all-inclusive stay in the South in any way, such as through a travel agency. The value will be slightly less.
With your TD First Class Travel® Visa Infinite* Card, you earn 6 TD Rewards points per dollar on your grocery purchases. Think of their gift card display!
If you buy $100 directly at the SAQ with your card, you’ll earn 200 TD Rewards points ($100 x 2 points). If you buy an SAQ gift card at the grocery store, you’ll earn 600 TD Rewards points ($100 x 6 points) – triple!
It’s a great way to collect lots of points on other types of spending (Walmart, gas, clothing, SAQ, Amazon, etc.).
The American Express Cobalt® Card is one of the best credit cards in Canada for earning lots of points fast.
In fact, the main attraction of this card is that it gives 5X points on everything categorized as restaurants, food deliveries and groceries. These membership points have a cash back equivalent to 5% at the grocery store.
When redeemed, reward points appear as a Statement credit on the credit card statement. The credit is applied in the same manner as a payment from you towards the account balance: 30,000 Membership Rewards points = $300.
Reward points can be used to cover the cost of all-inclusive trips or on everyday purchases! By saving money every day, a part of your budget is freed up for vacations!
Aeroplan points can be used for a vacation package in the South with Air Canada Vacations only. Its a travel discount that will be deducted from the final amount when booking your all-inclusive.
In this example, the number of points to be redeemed is 200,000 Aeroplan points for a discount of $2,000. For a step-by-step guide, read our article on How to use your points Aeroplan for an all-inclusive vacation.
Milesopedia gives a current valuation of 2.0¢ to an Aeroplan point. This is a benchmark figure when considering whether to book a flight with cash or with Aeroplan points. So according to the formula for valuation the calculation is as follows:
2,000/200,000 = 1¢ per Aeroplan point
So using 1¢ per Aeroplan point is lower than its estimated value of 2¢ per Aeroplan point.
So, while it’s less worthwhile to use Aeroplan points for an all-inclusive compared to what we aim for at Milesopedia, money saved is money saved on the all-inclusive trip to be used elsewhere!
All cash-back credit cards are also excellent for saving on an all-inclusive trip to the South.
Cash back is best for those who don’t want to juggle different booking platforms.
There are also some great welcome offers going on!
At Montreal airport, five VIP lounges are available to passengers departing from the international zone.
Simply being a National Bank World Elite Mastercard® credit card holder means unlimited free access for the primary cardholder, one guest and two children under 12!
For lounge Odyssée Desjardins, Odyssée cards provide up to 12 accesses per year.
The Air Canada and Air France KLM Maple Leaf lounges are also open to southbound travellers!
For the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, you can access it by holding the American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card or TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Credit Card.
For the Air France Lounge and the Aspire International Lounge, you can access them with the American Express Platinum Card®. Or one of the credit cards offering access to the Visa Airport Companion Program lounges, such as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card or the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card. CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card.
As for Quebec airport, which also serves several sun destinations, the only lounge is the lounge V.I.P by Club Med. There are several ways to access it, including status, business class tickets, credit cards, etc.
In short, many credit cards offer paid or complimentary access to airport lounges to get your All-inclusive trip off to a more comfortable start. You can also access these lounges in the South before you return home.
Many credit cards offer comprehensive travel insurance. So, in most cases, there’s no need to buy a new one.
If your suitcase is lost or delayed, you’ll be able to go shopping for a new swimsuit straight away and start your vacation while you wait for your luggage.
This luggage insurance protects you if you have paid for your trip with your credit card.
Then, in the event of a sudden health problem, emergency medical insurance will have your back! In most cases, simply being a credit card holder makes the whole family eligible for insurance.
Finally, credit card trip cancellation and interruption insurance offers peace of mind in the event of a problem. For example, if a flight segment is canceled or delayed during your trip to the South, many additional costs incurred may be claimed from credit card insurance. Conditions vary according to each card’s insurance policy.
When you arm yourself with the best credit cards for your spending habits, it’s easy to earn points toward an all-inclusivetrip to the South.
Credit cards and travel points allow us to travel better and more, even if it’s not always budget travel based on a low cost of living!
Read on with our guides to all-inclusives:
Yes, most credit cards cover All-inclusive packages if the trip is paid for with the card. Always check the specific conditions, especially for cancellation insurance and baggage delays.
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