Travel Hacking, a way to save on your travels

Travel Hacking is probably the best-known way to save on all your travel expenses:

transportation (plane and train tickets)
car rental
accommodation (hotels, Airbnb…)
and even the cost of tours and activities

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Travelling isn’t free. However, travel hacking makes the bill much less painful.

The travel hacking is the practice of using points and miles accumulated in various loyalty programs to travel while saving money.

So it’s not, as its name might suggest, something illegal. But to get the most out of travel hackingyou need to understand the basic rules so that you too can become a true travel hacker.

Travel Hacking – The travel hacker defines his goals

Being a travel hacker means setting goals!

You don’t start collecting points without a specific goal(s):

Is it an all-inclusive trip or Disney World?
A mini round-the world trip?
A trip to Asia with multiple hotels?
Simply save money with cash back?

Once the objectives have been defined, the learning process begins.

Travel Hacking – The travel hacker learns every day

The web provides numerous English resources on the subject of travel hacking.

Milesopedia has been the ONLY reliable French-Canadian source of information on the subject since 2015. And best of all, milesopedia has the largest community of travel hackers in Canada via its Facebook group!

So you’ve come to the right place to learn more about each of Canada’s loyalty programs! To do this, we recommend you start with the beginner’s guide, and in particular the numerous articles identified by subject.

Travel Hacking – The travel hacker identifies his expenses for the year

Being a travel hacker means planning ahead for your personal (and/or business) expenses for the coming year.

We all have different lives, however there are annual fees that join :

each and every one of us (groceries, electricity, cell phones, internet, gas)
or most of us(municipal taxes, school taxes, insurance, tuition fees, daycare, renovations, dentist, car purchase…)

Here’s an article packed with tips to help you improve your point earnings.

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Travel Hacking – The travel hacker calculates the profitability of his travel hacking

Being a travel hacker means knowing how to calculate.

There are many credit cards available with no annual fee. But are they really advantageous?

Many credit cards with an annual fee of $120, $399 or even $699 will allow the travel hacker to save far more on his travels… than those who swear by the no-fee option. However, many of them offer promotions during the year, with the first year free of charge.

Travel Hacking, a way to save on your travels! - Calculator

A family of travel hackers like ours (10 years of practice…) can rack up $2,000 in credit card subscriptions in a year. But these will save us $5,000 – $10,000 or even $20,000 on our family trips this year!

A card that costs $120, but saves you money on 4 to 15 hotel nights a year, isn’t that interesting?

For us, the “annual fee” line on a credit card is more like “travel expenses”. We prefer profitability.

Travel Hacking – The travel hacker strategizes

Being a travel hacker means having a game plan.

The game plan will be much easier once :

the objectives are set
the main rules of the program in question are understood
monthly/annual expenses will have been identified
the credit cards needed to achieve the objectives will have been listed

At that point, the game plan becomes crystal clear:

I want two Montreal – Magdalen Islands round-trip plane tickets
According to my research on Air Canada, it costs 20,000 points per person, so I need about 40,000 Aeroplan points.
I checked that there was availability on several of the dates we were considering.
I estimated that my expenses would be $1,000 per month for the next 6 months.
The TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card offers 50,000 Aeroplan points as a welcome bonus after a certain amount of spending.
I sign up for the card and make the required purchases on time.
I receive the points and book my flight on the Air Canada website

FeaturedCompare

TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card

TD Aeroplan First-Year Annual Fee Rebate

Annual feeNo annual fee the first year: $0 $139
Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,000Annual fee rebated$139Total$1,139Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.: $1,139
Welcome offerAfter $12,000 in 12 months: Up to 50,000 points

With this offer for the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card, you can get up to 50,000 Aeroplan points^† as well as an Annual Fee rebate for the first year^†.

Earn a welcome bonus of 10,000 Aeroplan points when you make your first Purchase with your new Card^†
Earn 15,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $3,000 within 90 days of Account opening^†.
Plus, earn a one-time anniversary bonus of 25,000 Aeroplan points when you spend $12,000 within 12 months of Account opening^†

This card also allows you to enjoy travel benefits, such as a free first checked bag for you and up to 8 travel companions on the same reservation^†, as well as a rebate on the NEXUS program application fee (up to $100 CAD per eligible cardholder) every 48 months^†.

With the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card, you earn 1.5 points^† per $1 spent on:

Grocery purchases
Gas and electric vehicle charging purchases
Purchases made directly with Air Canada^® (including Air Canada Vacations^®)

You also earn 1 point^† per dollar on all other eligible purchases made with your card.

Legal

^†Terms and conditions apply.

Annual fee

Primary card$139

Additional card$75

Annual income required

Individual$60,000

Household$100,000

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

1.5xGas
1.5xGroceries
1.5xAir Canada flights
1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,714

2nd Year Value$425

Card benefits

Concierge service24/7

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $2,000,000 / 21 days

Travel medical (55-64)Up to $2,000,000 / 21 days

Travel medical (65+)Up to $2,000,000 / 4 days

Trip CancellationUp to $1,500

Trip InterruptionUp to $5,000

Delayed BaggageUp to $1,000

Lost BaggageUp to $1,000

Flight DelayUp to $500

Hotel BurglaryUp to $2,500

Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded

Extended Warranty+1 years

Mobile DeviceUp to $1,000 / 1 years

Auto Rental CollisionUp to $65,000 / 48 days

Travel Hacking – The travel hacker resists temptation

Being a travel hacker means being responsible for your personal finances.

To become a travel hacker (and, more importantly, to stay one for many years), you don’t go into credit card debt.

This is the golden rule of travel hacking. Everyone must go at their own pace.

If you can only spend $500 a month on a credit card (and pay it off in full every month), you shouldn’t sign up for a credit card that asks you to spend $5,000 in 3 months when you can’t afford to.

Similarly, we avoid deviating from our game plan by subscribing to any offer that comes along.

Travel hacking is a marathon, not a sprint!

Travel Hacking, a way to save on your travels! - money

Travel Hacking – The travel hacker shares his knowledge with the community

Being a travel hacker means helping budding travel hackers!

By reading and learning, you too can become an expert in loyalty programs and share your knowledge with the community.

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Travel Hacking – The travel hacker keeps a low profile

Being a travel hacker means being discreet.

Anything that might arouse suspicion of an abnormal attitude risks putting an end to an advantage that the travel hacking community uses!

For example, you don’t sign up for a credit card and cancel it immediately after receiving the welcome bonus. Normally, credit cards are kept for a year, and their usefulness is re-evaluated at renewal time.

Some cards are worth keeping for the benefits they bring, while others can be cancelled.

Or you don’t call your credit card issuer if you haven’t yet received the bonus you were promised… even though you know you may not be entitled to it!

But above all, when a flaw seems obvious, we don’t shout it from the rooftops.

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Bottom Line

You don’t have to earn 6 figures a year or spend thousands of dollars a month to become a travel hacker. Just be smarter than the rest.

Are you interested in travel hacking? Join Canada’s travel hacking Facebook community!

Compare

Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card

American Express Marriott Bonvoy

Annual fee: $120
Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$600Total$600Plus $100 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.: $600
Welcome offerAfter $3,000 in 3 months: Up to 70,000 points

The Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card is the best credit card in Canada for free hotel nights.

New Cardmembers can earn up to 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy^® points with the current offer:

Earn up to 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership.
Plus, earn 10,000 points after you spend $500 on your Card in your 13th month of Cardmembership.

The annual fee is $120, and there is no annual fee on Additional Cards, so you can add a partner or a family member at no extra cost.

Every year after your first Card anniversary, you receive an Annual Free Night Award good for a redemption of up to 35,000 points at eligible hotels and resorts worldwide. At a valuation of 0.9 cents per Marriott Bonvoy point, that certificate is worth roughly $315, which on its own more than covers the $120 annual fee. That is the main reason to keep this Card year after year instead of cancelling it.

To get the most out of the certificate, aim it at a night that would otherwise price close to the 35,000 point ceiling.

The Card also gives you 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year and automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver Elite status. Those credits count toward the next Elite tier, so you begin every year 15 nights ahead of where you would otherwise start.

You move up to Gold Elite status automatically when you reach $30,000 in purchases on the Card in a year, or when you combine 10 qualifying paid nights within one calendar year with the 15 Elite Night Credits from your Card.

Marriott Bonvoy points are generally valued at 0.9 cents each. On that basis, the 70,000 point welcome offer is worth about $630, and an Annual Free Night Award used at its full 35,000 point ceiling is worth about $315.

Marriott Bonvoy points pull their weight on free nights rather than on gift cards or merchandise, which is why this Card should be judged on the hotel stays it produces.

You earn 5 points per dollar on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels and 2 points per dollar on all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for free nights with no blackout dates at more than 7,000 hotels around the world.

The Card carries a solid package of coverages: $500,000 travel accident insurance, flight delay, baggage delay, lost or stolen baggage and hotel or motel burglary at $500 each, car rental theft and damage up to $85,000 for rentals of up to 48 days, Purchase Protection for 90 days and a one year Extended Warranty.

Two things to plan around: the 2.5% foreign transaction fee on purchases made in a foreign currency, and the 21.99% purchase interest rate, which makes this a Card to pay in full every month. Like all American Express Canada Cards, no minimum income is published for this Card, and you can see whether you would be approved before you apply, with no impact on your credit score.

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American Express is not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details and current product information, click the Apply Now link. If you apply and get approved for an American Express Card, we may receive compensation from American Express, which can be in the form of monetary payment.