Milesopedia team’s 2023 travel strategies

The Milesopedia team is often simultaneously in the four corners of the world, and it looks like this will be the case in 2023 too! We share with you our travel plans, our favorite credit cards and loyalty programs to get you there on a budget, and other tips that help us travel better.

Types of travel :

The same as Jean-Maximilien, including a few trips between Canada and France with the children

Dream and planned trips in 2023:

The year 2023 will be rich in travel! Here is an overview of our projects:

• ITB Travel Trade Show in Berlin in March to meet representatives from all over the world in tourism
• We plan the April vacations in Japan (to finish our 2020 Family World Tour)
• Long weekend in Romania in August at the Untold festival with Jean-Maximilien and friends
• A week’s vacation with friends from Canada this summer, as we love to be together with our children. With 15 people, renting a house via Airbnb is a must. For the destination: it will be the southwest of France in the region of Biarritz!
• Nice and other cities in France in September to attend Rugby World Cup matches
• As we are currently living in Europe, I would like to introduce our community to England with the Harry Potter theme, Vienna, the French Riviera and other parts of France during long weekends.
• Other dream destinations for couples: Jordan and French Polynesia.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® for no conversion fee, earning up to 6 points per dollar and for the $100 annual credit I can apply to my travel expenses.
• The American Express Cobalt^® Card to earn 5x points on dining and grocery spending, and for online offers.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• The Marriott Bonvoy application: An essential to prepare your hotel stay beforehand. I can find all the details of the services offered by the hotel, my reservation, my invoice, my points balance, etc.
• LoungeBuddy to find out which lounge is available to me. All the information is there: location, time, access.
• To travel better and adjust to jet lag, taking melatonin helps me a lot.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My wolf/eye mask and earplugs, essentials if I want to sleep anywhere.
• I now only travel with my AWAY carry-on suitcase, which is so practical, with my storage kits to keep my suitcase organized. This makes it much easier for me to get around.

Types of travel :

Business, music festivals, luxury getaways and travel with family and friends

Dream and planned trips in 2023:

The same as Audrey, and also in January:

• Dubai/Singapore to report on the Emirates B777 and A380 business class (now available with Aeroplan).
• Then Jakarta-Tokyo-New York-Montreal to travel aboard ANA’s new business class The Room.

I also do a lot of last minute travel, so that’s to be continued in 2023!

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® for no conversion fees; a must for me as I live in France and travel all over the world.
• The American Express Cobalt^® Card to earn and transfer my points to Aeroplan, my preferred points program for booking flights, and for the 5x point multiplier that also works abroad (including in France).
• The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card for the benefits it provides with Air Canada and the Aeroplan program.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• AwardWallet to monitor my reward program accounts
• Expertflyer to monitor flight status, especially regarding available seats since I often book at the last minute.
• Unlimited access to airport lounges worldwide with Priority Pass and my Platinum Card^® from American Express
• My NEXUS card allows me to cross the Canadian border in 2 minutes and to be in the taxi in 5 minutes when I cross the Canadian border, coming from the United States or going to the rest of the world

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My portable screen so I can work from anywhere as if I were at my home office
• A portable battery to recharge my devices at any time

Types of travel: Family and solo travel, mainly.

Dream and planned trips in 2023: Bahamas (Nassau) in February 2023 with my family

To be confirmed: Copenhagen, Amsterdam or Barcelona during the summer with my family

Wishes: Some “runcations” of 5 km:

• Rock N’ Roll Washington race in March
• WaltDisney World race (any race, if I ever manage to book one!)
• The famous Tamarack Ottawa race in May
• PEI or Niagara Falls in October
• Rock N’ Roll Las Vegas race in February
• Beat Beethoven 5k in Alaska in April or Kingston in June

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® for no conversion fee and the $100 annual credit I can apply to my travel expenses.
• The American Express^® Aeroplan^®* Reserve Card which gives me access to Maple Leaf airport lounges and earns Aeroplan points with my everyday purchases.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• The whole family has its own backpack to travel with cabin luggage only
• Reside in at least one hotel (preferably mid-trip) that has a laundry room accessible to guests

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My indestructible Lavoie backpack
• My sunscreen or I burn (yes, even when doing winter sports in the sun)!

Types of trip : Couples, for short stays or to see concerts

Dream trips planned for 2023: Dubai, Thailand, Hong Kong, France and New Orleans.

I also dream of going to Japan, Hawaii and Bora Bora.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Cardcard, one of the best cards to earn Aeroplan points (up to 2 points/$) and obtain Air Canada status with the benefit of 1000 SQM per $5000. Aeroplan is my rewards program of choice
• HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® : With no foreign exchange conversion fees to pay for my expenses there and to pay hotel fees (6X points) which are often in foreign currency.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• To be faithful in my choice of rewards program. The loyalty level offers significant benefits for traveling in superior comfort (e.g., eUpgrade Credits, Aeroplan Priority Awards), or getting free breakfast.
• Best price guarantee: offered by several programs including Marriott Bonvoy, this often allows me to save a lot
• Book my trips in advance to get the best price and availability.
• Check out the Milesopedia newsletter for the best reward program offers.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• An adapter
• An international SIM card

Types of travel :

• With family, friends and solo to eat well and enjoy the good weather
• We would like to try the cruises since we have never done any (except for the more special expeditions like the Antarctic and Galapagos cruises)

Dream and planned trips in 2023:

• I planned to go to Japan at the beginning of the year and possibly at the beginning of the sakura season.
• I would love to visit Bhutan and Central Asia (plans fell through due to the pandemic), but with our young child, I might plan more of a Caribbean or Pacific Island cruise.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® is a must-have for saving on travel conversions in addition to earning travel points that can be applied to our spending. So, we get points for expenses like independent hotels, AirBnB, cruises, etc.
• The American Express Cobalt^® Card, because it is the best accumulation card with its 5X earning at the grocery store and on all gift cards. In addition, the points are so flexible that we can accumulate points for any objective and destination.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• Stay flexible on dates and destination; I know we can dream of Greece, but sometimes, Ecuador is where the best prices (in points and money) and availability are. Be patient and open-minded about destinations, one day, the right prices for Greece will come up in your research!
• Take the time to review your credit card benefits and accrual/usage rates; they are constantly changing and you shouldn’t assume that the card offers the same multiplier in perpetuity for example. If there are changes, we adjust.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My travel journal to document all my adventures
• Dental floss, because I can’t find it everywhere

Types of travel: Long term working remotely, nature, couple and solo, and cultural

Dream and planned trips in 2023: I celebrated New Year’s Eve 2023 in Lisbon with friends, and here is what I would like to accomplish as trips this year.

• Remote work stay in nature in Quebec and Canada to work in calm, serenity and creativity.
• Languedoc-Roussillon in France at the end of August to participate in the harvest season.
• Hiking in the Massif Central in France
• Cultural visit in Mexico

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card to avoid conversion fees and for six free airport lounges worldwide.
• The American Express Cobalt^® Card for the high point accumulation rate on groceries, restaurants and convenience stores with the goal of using the points to reduce my travel expenses.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• I prepare all documents and notes in advance in the ‘Notes’ application on my iPhone. This includes airline, train, and car reservation tickets, gate numbers, wait times between each stop, locations to purchase sim cards upon arrival, and other pertinent notes. This allows me to reduce the stress of forgetting something and to travel stress-free. Everything is in order, and all I have to do is follow the steps in my notes.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My inseparable Swiss Army knife. Extremely useful, especially for nature trips and hikes. So inseparable that I forgot to put it in my checked luggage and it stayed in my backpack, and it was confiscated from me at the airport, oops! I’m getting a new one as soon as I get back to Quebec, I can’t live without it.
• A rain poncho. Staying dry is of paramount importance, for comfort and for all the electronic equipment I keep in my backpack.

Types of trip : Family, couple and short stays

Dream trips planned for 2023: Small family excursions to discover the beautiful region of Normandy (where we are newly established!), even pushing into Brittany. Maybe we’ll take a trip to the French Riviera.

We would also like to escape to Turkey as a couple or go back to Barcelona to see how far the Sagrada Familia has come since my last visit.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The American Express Cobalt^® Card for the advantageous accumulation of points and the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® for no conversion fees.
• We also use the TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card Card since we use the Aeroplan program a lot.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• Be flexible on our destinations and departure times to make significant savings, despite the limits imposed by school vacations.
• Plan well by reading the Milesopedia website and Facebook group, as well as BB Jetlag and our destination’s tourist offices, to identify good deals. We then make a list of must-do’s and must-see’s before placing the activities in a calendar/Google map. This allows us to manage everyone’s wishes and expectations, while controlling costs.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• A survival kit for children including: an audio splitter with 2 small headphones, water bottle and soft bars, pouch with pencils and paper, books/digital reader. The rule is that everyone is responsible for carrying their own bag; this helps them manage what they bring on their trip.
• A charger and the wires to connect my devices… because my colleagues will tell you that it happens often to me to be at 0%!

Types of trip : Solo, couple and to visit my family

Dream trips planned for 2023: Puerto Escondido in Mexico in March to learn to surf and speak Spanish. I will be staying in co-living style hostels for digital nomads, where I can work. This summer I will be visiting my family in Victoria.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The American Express Cobalt^® Card for its insurance and the accumulation and flexibility of points to use for travel. It was voted best credit card in several categories in Milesopedia’s 2023 list.

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• If I’m traveling solo, I like to stay in hostels or airbnbs with locals. It’s a great way to make friends along the way. I also like to stay in a place long enough to start to feel at home there. It’s nice not to feel rushed on a trip and to take your time to walk around without expectations.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• Clean underwear
• Pepto-bismol

Types of travel: Solo, with friends and long term working remotely

Dream trips planned for 2023: Colombia for two months this winter, then maybe back to Mexico in unexplored places for the end of the winter. Otherwise, I dream of going back to the Greek islands and Turkey, a trip that greatly influenced me ten years ago.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card Visa Infinite Passport Card to avoid conversion fees on long stays, and six free airport lounges worldwide.
• The Marriott Bonvoy^® American Express^®* Card card that has earned me status and enough points for several free hotel stays (not to mention the annual free night certificate!).

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• Draw from the following sources to collect valuable tips and recommendations for traveling with points and planning my trips: the Milesopedia newsletter, Facebook groups of digital nomads and my friends who travel as much as I do.
• Leave with a carry-on bag only to avoid the inconvenience of a lost bag and to move more quickly from one destination to another.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My WISE card to save on foreign currency withdrawals at ATMs
• My journal; I love to read about my adventures and my perspective of the places I visit years later

Types of travel: I will not be traveling this year as I am spending my budget on buying a house.

Dream and planned trips in 2023: I don’t have any planned trips, but my dream destination is South Korea.

Best credit cards to accomplish your travel plans:

• For now, I favor credit cards that offer cash back

Your best tips and tools for better travel:

• I like to travel with a loose plan; I want to know what the main attractions are, but my favorite part is exploring without a plan. Having guidelines but going with the flow allows me to pivot easily and spend more time at an unsuspected highlight. For example, during the holidays, if the city has a Christmas market I will visit it. Sometimes they are kitsch, but more often than not, it’s a very charming way to spend a few hours while sampling local food and drink.

Two essential items to bring with you on your trip:

• My headphones with good sound isolation (active noise cancellation is optional); my Shure SE215 have followed me on 4 continents already.
• A good multiport GaN charger. I don’t want to travel with 5 different USB chargers but rather one accessory that can charge my phone, laptop, mouse, and more without taking up too much space in my luggage.

And you, what are your destinations in sight for 2023? Your points and credit card strategies? Your essential items to pack? Come discuss it with us in our Facebook community.