New Orleans is attracting more and more general interest from Canadians and Quebecers.
We took a family trip there last summer and enjoyed the destination!
But to get there, we had to make a connection in Toronto or the United States.
In our case, we used our frequent flyer miles to travel with Americans via Philadelphia.
Air Transat has therefore felt the market to take and decided to open a direct flight between Montreal and New Orleans starting November 3, 2019, for the winter season.
” Given the sustained demand for New Orleans, Air Transat is pleased to be the only airline to offer a non-stop service to this vacation destination from Montreal and to enhance its offer for next winter with this specific proposal. The addition of this route reinforces Air Transat’s status as Canada’s leading vacation travel company, while offering increased flexibility to business travelers visiting Louisiana, who can choose to extend their stay “explains Annick Guérard, Transat‘s Chief Operating Officer.
Air Transat is not part of a loyalty program like Aeroplan.
So, to save on Air Transat tickets, you’ll need to use travel points, as explained in this game plan and below!
Here are 3 loyalty programs and their credit cards that allow you to save on your Air Transat ticket:
To use your BMO Rewards points, you must book your flight directly on the BMO Rewards reservation platform. The rate is identical to what you would find with other online agencies.
Here is a simulation for a round-trip ticket from November 3-14, 2019:
Here, the airfare from Montreal to New Orleans costs $469.34.
By using 41,000 BMO points earned through the BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard®* welcome bonus:
…you can save $292.74! Not bad for a card that:
For information, the value of BMO points is fixed: $0.0071/point. To learn more about the BMO Rewards program, visit this page.
If you want to have the freedom to book your flight with your preferred online agency, American Express membership rewards points are for you.
All you have to do is make a flight booking on the website of your choice. Personally, I always prefer to book directly on the airline’s website: in case of a problem, we avoid an intermediary.
For example, here is a booking made directly with Air Transat and charged to my American Express Cobaltᵐᶜ Card:
In the case of the $469 flight to New Orleans, up to 46,900 Membership Rewards points would have to be used to offset the airline ticket purchase completely.
You could also use only 10,000 points to save $100.
The American Express Cobaltᵐᶜ Card is undoubtedly the favorite credit card! Its points accumulation is exceptional for many everyday purchases like groceries or restaurants: 5 points / dollar (that’s a 5% return when you use your points against travel purchases like this plane ticket with Air Transat!).
Finally, Scotiabank’s Scene+ program is also very interesting: you can apply your points directly to the purchase of Air Transat tickets charged to your card.
The redemption ratio is simple: 10,000 bonus points = $100.
A card like the Scotiabank Visa Infinite PassportMD is offering right now:
This is great news for passengers in the Montreal area! And as you’ve seen, even if Air Transat isn’t part of a loyalty program like Aeroplan, that doesn’t mean you can’t save with points.
And did you know that you could also save a lot of money on your stay in New Orleans, whether it’s in a hotel… or an Airbnb!
For more information, check out our two strategies to save money:
Source: Pax
Read Kristian’s report on the Review: JW Marriott New Orleans and our tips for going to New Orleans with its points and miles.
Savings are here:
