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Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel

  • Family
7 min read
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Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel
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After discussing accommodation and transportation, the « Travelling with a large family » series looks at food while travelling. We’ll discuss several conditions, strategies that will make you smile and of course the common sense that prevails at all times.

A word from the expert


Food makes up an important part of the budget, which can quickly become a sinkhole for large families. With children, you can be imaginative in order to save money, whether it is thanks to airport or hotel buffets, or by being clever in earning points for your groceries while travelling!


Jean-Maximilien Voisine - Président-Fondateur de milesopedia


Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel - Voyage avec enfants 09

Eating while travelling

Every day, three times a day, excluding snacks… that’s several meals to budget for. For a family of five, that’s 210 meals over two weeks. For eight, it’s 336. And we can agree that the age of the children will have a big impact on the budget.

You know teenagers…

Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel - Jm Burger

Buffets in airport lounges.

Airport lounges, which are available with certain credit cards, are a must for parents who maximize their use of these lounges, in order to fill their ever-hungry tummies for free, especially those of teenagers in front of a buffet!

These lounges have been used many times during departures, stopovers and even arrivals, for example in Orlando on the way to Disney.

Review: Bidvest Sky Lounge - Johannesburg - Domestic - 29

Depending on your subscription to lounges and the age of the children, the access may be free or counted towards the number of visits allowed. Read the fine print in the booklet that comes with your credit card! Otherwise, you risk paying the same price in cash or admission for an adult as you would for a four-year-old child.

Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel - tribu-marilyne-4

Snack bags when travelling

Another solution to avoid buying food at airports is to prepare bags FILLED with snacks, or small dishes for the duration of the flight. On the way there and on the way back.

Each child receives a big bag, explains one mother, which contains a gold mine of snacks: small bag of « Gold fish », bag of peanuts, cereals, cookies, ramen noodles, chips, a packet of gum, a chocolate bar, chewy bars, fruit bars, fruit compotes, muffins, etc.

They eat what is perishable first and of course they drag their water bottles to fill.

This allows children to manage their loot without the parents having to spend a fortune before boarding or during the flight.

Wet wipes must be included in the bag!

Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel - tribu-kawine-2

Breakfast at the hotel

Our best tip to save money for breakfast: choose hotels with breakfast included. For example, most of the Best Western chain include breakfast. This is also the case for Marriott Bonvoy with Residence Inn. Go eat breakfast later than you usually would.

Some families say they bring items from the breakfast buffet (e.g. cheese, fruit, muffin, chewy bar, bread and peanut butter/jelly) as afternoon snacks. Then all they have to do is plan an early dinner.

It should be noted, however, that several hotels have begun serving portions in large dishes to avoid this practice. For example, yogurt is in a large jar rather than in small containers, jams are served in bowls and juices in pitchers, etc. Of course, there will still be some options such as a fruit or a muffin, but they are scarcer than before.

Some chains like Marriott also offer hearty free breakfasts if you have the status to do so. Some bills easily exceed a hundred dollars when you are a family of five or more.

Finally, when breakfast is not included in the accommodation, our families buy the groceries the night before. The fridge in your room, although small, can be very useful.

Few families go to the restaurant for breakfast.

Review : AC Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Waterfront | Marriott Bonvoy - 83

Hotel lounges

Some hotels also offer lounges where you can go, with your family, in the evening! It’s ideal for saving on dinner, since their buffets are often very well stocked!

Review : Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel | Marriott Bonvoy - Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel 34

Restaurants

These families are good at planning! Let’s see what they do at the restaurant.

If you must eat at a restaurant, then do it for lunch, as the menus are often cheaper.

Ordering two plates for three children is more than enough. You can even order three bigger meals for 6, and that’s plenty,

Avoid combos: try ordering a dozen hamburgers at the restaurant and then buying juice and side dishes at the grocery store. The family chicken meal offer is also well appreciated as well as two extra large pizzas for everyone.

Local Groupon offers are also worth checking out, as well as the websites for the restaurants you visit. It is even possible to find buffets where younger children can eat for free.

Cambodia - Siem Reap: Family Travel - -srresto---

Cooking for yourself

Cooking for the family is a way to save money in itself that can be improved.

First of all, sign up for loyalty programs in the country’s grocery stores such as Leclercin France or Safeway in the United States, including Hawaii to take advantage of discounts. Don’t forget about Costco, when available.

Favour picnics on the road: buy bread, cheese, fruit, nuts at the grocery store, and go enjoy it in a park.

Depending on where the holiday takes place, you can compromise between cooking yourself on site and going to a restaurant:

  • Stock up on deli or home-cooked meals such as shepherd’s pie or macaroni and cheese that are popular with the crowd;
  • Get some cooking boxes delivered;
  • For the parents, order boxes of ready-to-eat meals from chef Jérôme Ferrer, while the children eat their macaroni.
Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel - invitation-par-l-habitant-maude

Mystery Shoppers

This trick is a funny one.

Try experimenting with mystery shoppers missions in restaurants at YUL, such as Rôtisseries St-Hubert, which allows you to save money and keep the children entertained, if they’re old enough to take the role of secret agent very seriously.

Kids see it as a game of observation:

  • did the waitress say Bonjour first in English or French?
  • Did she introduce herself?
  • Did she offer a drink?

In short, the questions that the agency requires you to ask. Just subscribe to an agency like Lanla. The missions are personalized and you are free to accept them or not.

The clients to be investigated are diversified and adapted to your situation: restaurants, eyewear stores, pharmacies, senior citizens’ residences, etc.

One of our families got three « missions » at YUL last year for restaurants and parking.

Travelling With a Big Family : Food | Family travel - tribu-marilyne-2

A $25 allowance was paid to them after they ate and completed the online questionnaire within 48 hours. Parents filled it out with the children at the airport before boarding. Then they sent the picture of the invoice with the said questionnaire. They were then reimbursed.

Tip: Each parent requested this mission and they provided two separate invoices. They got $50 back.

They also did this for the parking at the airport with a $100 refund. Great savings!

The expert's opinion


When you’re travelling, there are many ways to save money when eating through loyalty programs (for hotels) and credit cards (to access airport lounges and earn more points at the grocery store)! And a saving that is often forgotten: the saving on conversion costs!


Jean-Maximilien Voisine - Président-Fondateur de milesopedia


Airport lounges

Being able to access airport lounges represents a significant savings right from the start. Some credit cards offer unlimited access for the cardholder and one guest: but for large families, this will require paying for each additional access. So the bill can add up quickly!

We can then use several credit cards in order to obtain many passes:

The hotels

As Brigitte said, some hotels offer free breakfast. For others, it will be necessary to reach a high status in the loyalty program: Platinum or Titanium status at Marriott Bonvoy or Gold status and beyond for Hilton Honors.

Some credit cards allow you to earn 15 Elite Nights to allow for faster progression to the next level, such as the Marriott BonvoyTM American ExpressMD Card.

Others offer Marriott Bonvoy Gold status, which in some hotels allows you to upgrade to a room with access to the hotel lounge! This is the case of the Business Platinum Card® from American Express for example.

But if you want direct access to free breakfasts, with the American Express Platinum Card® you can obtain Hilton Honors Gold status. Enough to get a free breakfast in most Hilton hotels.

South Africa - Cape Town: Family Travel - mtm-route vignoble spier vaga

The grocery store

For groceries, we recommend having a credit card that earns more points for these expenses.

In Canada, for example, we use the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card, or the American Express Cobalt® Card which offer 5 points per dollar at the grocery store.

Conversion fees

Finally, if you’re traveling abroad, take a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign currency conversion fees.

In my opinion, the best choice is the HSBC World Elite Mastercard: being a Mastercard, it will be accepted anywhere in the world!

Bottom Line

After accommodation and transportation, we thought about what tips we could give you with regards to food when travelling. We found some good tips, mixed in with some parental common sense. And they apply to all families, regardless of how many children they have.

You must admit that the mystery shopper missions can help you save, both for restaurants and activity-wise! Then the idea of taking advantage of lunch menus at the restaurant, subscribing to loyalty programs at local grocery stores and looking for the breakfasts included with the accommodation rounds it up nicely. .

They say there are no small savings.

American Express Cobalt® Card

American ExpressAmex Membership Rewards
Annual fee
$191.88
Our valuation
$255
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$255Total$255Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 15,000 points
Apply Now

on American Express's website

Apply with confidence — no impact on your credit scoreApply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).

The American Express Cobalt® Card is the best credit card from American Express, whether you want points for travel or cash back.

American Express Cobalt® Card welcome offer

The welcome bonus is paid out monthly over your first 12 months. You earn 1,250 Membership Rewards points for each monthly billing period in which you charge $750 in net purchases to your card, in any category (1X, 2X, 3X or 5X). That adds up to 15,000 Membership Rewards points over the year, a welcome offer we value at $255.

Earning the full bonus means $9,000 in net purchases spread across 12 monthly billing periods. This offer rewards steady monthly spending rather than one large purchase.

You can use these points as statement credits on everyday or travel purchases, at the same rate either way: 1,000 points = $10.

You can also transfer them to Aeroplan, Avios (British Airways and Qatar Airways), Flying Blue, Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors. With the full welcome bonus, that is a choice between:

  • 15,000 Aeroplan points
  • 15,000 Avios points
  • 15,000 Flying Blue Miles
  • 18,000 Marriott Bonvoy points

If hotel points are what you are after, our ultimate guide to Marriott Bonvoy and our complete map of Marriott Bonvoy hotels by category show what those points can actually buy.

American Express Cobalt® Card benefits

Here is what the card gives you, starting with the benefits cardholders use most.

  • 5X points on eligible eats and drinks in Canada: groceries, restaurants and bars, home food delivery and convenience stores. A spend cap applies.
  • 3X points on eligible streaming subscriptions in Canada.
  • 2X points on eligible gas, public transit and ride sharing purchases in Canada.
  • 1 additional point on eligible hotel and car rental bookings made through American Express Travel Online.
  • 1X point per dollar on everything else, with no category restrictions.
  • Points that hold the same value either way: 1,000 points = $10 as a statement credit, or a 1:1 transfer to several airline and hotel loyalty programs.
  • No minimum income requirement, as with every American Express Canada card.
  • Additional cards at no extra cost: the first and every other supplementary card is $0.
  • The Hotel Collection: a room upgrade when available, 12pm check-in and late check-out when available, and up to $100 USD in hotel credit on amenities charged to the room for a stay of two or more consecutive nights, booked through American Express Travel.
  • Front Of The Line® presale and reserved tickets for concerts and theatre performances, plus offers and events curated for cardmembers through Amex Experiences.
  • A soft credit check before you apply: you can see whether you will be approved with no impact to your credit score. This applies to American Express personal card applications.

To see how it compares with the rest of the line-up, read our round-up of the best credit cards from American Express in Canada.

The 5X categories and where they apply

The 5X rate is the reason most people carry this card. In Canada it covers four kinds of merchants:

  • Groceries: Metro, IGA, Sobeys, Super C, Safeway, Whole Foods.
  • Restaurants and bars: sit-down meals, takeout and drinks.
  • Home food delivery.
  • Convenience stores: Couche-Tard, 7-Eleven.

The 2X rate covers gas stations such as Esso, Shell and Petro-Canada, along with public transit and ride sharing.

With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you earn between 1 and 5 points per dollar:

Category Points per dollar
Grocery (Metro, IGA, Sobeys, Super C, etc.) 5
Home food delivery 5
Restaurants and bars 5
Convenience stores 5
Streaming services 3
Service station 2
Transport 2
Travel 1
Other 1

That works out to a 1 to 5% return on those purchases. For example, if you spend $1,000 per month across groceries, restaurants and food delivery, you earn $50 back per month, or $600 per year from that category alone. Transfer the points to a program such as Aeroplan instead and the return can be higher.

You can also stack these categories with the hundreds of stores that offer 5x points.

American Express Cobalt® Card insurance coverage

The card comes with a broad insurance package. The amounts below are the coverage limits; conditions, age limits and exclusions are set out in the certificate of insurance linked in the Insurance section above.

Travel insurance

  • Emergency medical: up to $5,000,000 for the first 15 days of a trip.
  • Travel accident: accidental death and dismemberment of up to $250,000 for you, your spouse and dependent children under age 23 when travelling on a common carrier (plane, train, bus or ship) and the tickets are charged to your card. Supplementary cardholders and their families are covered too.
  • Flight delay: up to $500 for necessary hotel, meal and sundry expenses bought within 48 hours when you are delayed or denied boarding for four hours or more and no other transportation is available. This $500 is an aggregate limit per occurrence, shared with missed connection and delayed baggage coverage.
  • Delayed baggage: up to $500 for essential clothing and sundries bought within four days when your outbound luggage is delayed six hours or more. This $500 is an aggregate limit per occurrence, shared with missed connection and flight delay coverage.
  • Lost or stolen baggage: up to $500 per occurrence for all insured persons combined, for checked or carry-on baggage and personal effects in transit, when the airline tickets are charged to your card. Within that limit, jewellery is capped at $300 per occurrence and golf clubs, including golf bags, at $250 per occurrence.
  • Hotel and motel burglary: up to $500 against the loss of most personal items if your hotel or motel is burglarized, when the stay is charged to your card.

Rental car insurance

Theft and damage coverage is included for a rental car with an MSRP, for its model year, of up to $85,000 excluding all taxes, for rentals of up to 48 days. To use it, decline the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) or any similar option from the rental company and charge the full rental to your card. There is no cost for this coverage, and it replaces the daily insurance the rental company charges, usually $16 to $23 per day.

Mobile device insurance

Your device is covered for up to $1,000 per occurrence when it is charged to the card, for up to two years from the date of purchase. The payout is based on the depreciated value of the device, which falls by 2% of the purchase price for every completed month, less a 10% deductible. Theft and accidental damage coverage starts on the 91st day after purchase, because the first 90 days are covered by purchase protection.

Purchase protection and extended warranty

Eligible items charged to your card are insured against accidental physical damage or theft for 90 days from the purchase date, up to $1,000 per occurrence for all items combined. The card also extends the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year on eligible items, with indemnification limited to $10,000 per insured item and $25,000 per Cardmember per policy year for all items combined.

American Express Cobalt® Card fees

  • Card fee: $15.99 per month, which equals $191.88 per year, for residents outside Quebec. Quebec residents are billed $191.88 per year.
  • Additional cards: $0.
  • Purchase interest rate: 21.99%.
  • Cash advance interest rate: 21.99%.
  • Foreign transaction fee: 2.5%.
  • Minimum income required: none.

Because the fee is billed monthly rather than in one annual charge, you can stop and restart the cost in step with how much you are actually using the card.

Legal

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.

Annual fee

Primary card$191.88
Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xRestaurants
  • 5xGroceries
  • 5xConvenience
  • 3xStreaming
  • 2xTransit
  • 2xGas & EV
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,828
2nd Year Value$799

Transfer partners

  • AeroplanAirline
  • British Airways ClubAirline
  • Cathay Asia MilesAirline
  • Etihad GuestAirline
  • Flying BlueAirline
  • Hilton HonorsHotel
  • Marriott BonvoyHotel

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
Travel AccidentUp to $250,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionUp to $1,000 / 90 days
Extended Warranty+1 years
Mobile DeviceUp to $1,000 / 2 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

Our featured card

Featured

Marriott Bonvoy® American Express®* Card

American ExpressMarriott Bonvoy
Annual fee
$120
Our valuation
$990
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueWelcome bonus$990Total$990Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
Up to 110,000 points
Ends Sep 22, 2026
Apply Now

on American Express's website

Apply with confidence — no impact on your credit scoreApply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).

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

New Cardmembers can earn up to 110,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points with the current offer:

  • Earn 80,000 points after you spend $6,000 on your Card in your first 6 months of Cardmembership.
  • Plus, earn 30,000 points by making a purchase during your 15th month of Cardmembership.

This offer ends on September 22, 2026. 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 110,000 point welcome offer is worth about $990, 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.

Legal

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.

Annual fee

Primary card$120
Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xMarriott Bonvoy hotels
  • 2xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,437
2nd Year Value$312

Travel insurance

Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
Travel AccidentUp to $500,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+1 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

Our editorial integrity

Our reviews and rankings are based on an objective assessment. Advertisers do not influence our content. We may receive compensation through some links; our analysis and opinions remain independent.