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Testimonial: Visit Switzerland as a family with points

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Testimonial: Visit Switzerland as a family with points
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À travers une série de témoignages de nos lecteurs, Milesopedia vous présente ce qu’il est possible de réaliser grâce aux cartes de crédit et aux programmes de fidélité.

Voici le projet de voyage en Suisse de Jessica et sa famille ainsi que ses économies réalisées grâce aux points.

Jessica's Testimonial – Who are you?

I’m 35 and the mother of three children. This trip to Switzerland will be our first adventure together!

When it comes to travel, I like variety, alternating between all-inclusives, backpacking and roadtrips. I’ve been a Milesopedia reader for over a year now.

Testimonial: Visit Switzerland as a family with points - temoignage-jessica-famille

Jessica's Testimonial – Your travel project with points: Switzerland

In May 2024, my partner, I and our three children will travel to Switzerland for 10 days to visit family.

Testimonial: Visit Switzerland as a family with points - suisse-jura-unsplash

Transportation

We chose British Airways and its Executive Club loyalty program for our flights. We travel with two adults, two children and a baby. With points, we have booked :

  • 5 round-trip flights Montreal-London for 225,500 Avios and about $1,000 in taxes
  • 5 round-trip flights London-Geneva for 77,900 Avios and $10 in taxes
Testimonial: Visit Switzerland as a family with points - BritishAirwaysExecutiveClub-Guide-2400x1260

We have made two separate bookings for the Montreal-London and London-Geneva segments. This way, we could use different cards to pay taxes and enjoy more privileges.

We used our 50,000 CIBC Aventura Points to reimburse $500 in taxes and fees for the first segment. In addition, we used the National Bank World Elite Mastercard® ‘s $150 annual credit on the second booking to cover baggage fees.

Transportation savings

In money terms, our flights with British Airways would have cost nearly $8,000. If we had paid for all five tickets in cash, we would probably have chosen Air Canada’s direct Montreal-Geneva flight for over $6,000.

Taking into account the annual fees paid for credit cards, I estimate our savings on transportation at $5,155.

Jessica's testimonial – Credit cards used

I made a few beginner’s mistakes and didn’t quite follow the beginner’s guide. I highly recommend that you follow it, as I would have achieved the same result, but with even more points!

Also, I took quite a few more cards than suggested for a first year. Fortunately, it didn’t affect me personally, but maybe it won’t for others.

I accumulated all these points with the help of my partner. Over a period of about a year, here are the credit cards we used to finance this trip:

Credit cardAccumulation periodNumber of points usedPoints redemption method
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card (x2)3 months110 000Transfer to British Airways Executive Club
HSBC World Elite Mastercard® (x2)3 months175 000
American Express Cobalt® Card11 months60 000
Our credit card selection
Credit cardAnnual feeWelcome offer
Annual fee$120Welcome offer
Up to 70,000 pointsEnds Nov 25, 2026
Apply Now
Annual fee$191.88Welcome offer
Up to 15,000 points
Apply Now
Annual fee$150Welcome offer
Up to 35,000 pointsEnds Nov 1, 2026
Apply Now

Tips for earning more points

Before transferring our RBC Avion Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club, we waited for a transfer bonus. So our 110,000 RBC Avion points turned into 143,000 Avios with the 30% bonus.

Our American Express Membership Rewards points and HSBC Rewards points have also been transferred, but at the base rate. In the end, we obtained 273,000 Avios by combining the points accumulated on five cards (143,000 + 70,000 + 60,000). Not bad!

The benefits

With our other credit cards, we can take advantage of many travel benefits, including :

Our credit card selection
Credit cardAnnual feeWelcome offer
Annual fee$150 $0Welcome offer
No welcome offerEnds Nov 4, 2026
Apply Now
Annual fee$139 $0Welcome offer
Up to 60,000 points
Apply Now

Bottom Line

In the end, we saved $5,155 on transportation for our trip to Switzerland, but that’s not all! We still have 260,000 Marriott Bonvoy points in the bank for a future trip, as well as HSBC Rewards points.

If I only had one card to keep in my wallet, I wouldn’t be able to choose. Like a Swiss army knife, all my credit cards are useful for different things! However, I’m partial to the National Bank World Elite Mastercard®, the CobaltMD American Express Cobalt® Card and the Marriott BonvoyMD American ExpressMD* Card.

Thanks Milesopedia!

Exclusive
Annual fee
$0 $150
No annual fee the first year
Our valuation
$150
Milesopedia first-year estimateFirst-year valueAnnual fee rebated$150Total$150Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
Welcome offer
First Year Annual Fee Rebate
$150 annual fee rebated
Ends Nov 4, 2026
Apply Now

on National Bank's website

With Milesopedia, take advantage of an exclusive offer: your first-year annual fees are refunded with the National Bank World Elite Mastercard. This offer is exclusively available on the Milesopedia network, from June 30 to November 4, 2026.

  • Refund of the first-year annual fee (a $150 value) for the primary cardholder. This fee is charged to your new card account, then refunded as a credit on your statement within five months of opening your account, provided it remains open and in good standing.

The National Bank World Elite Mastercard is the best Mastercard credit card offered by NBC.

With this card, you earn up to 5 points per dollar on your purchases:

  • 5 points per dollar for groceries and restaurants
  • 2 points per dollar on gas and electric recharge purchases
  • 2 points per dollar on recurring bills
  • 2 points per dollar on À la carte Travel
  • 1 point per dollar for all other purchases

And since it’s an NBC mycredit Mastercard, you can use it at Costco.

With this card, you have access to a $150 annual travel credit that you can use in any of these categories:

  • Airport parking
  • Baggage fees
  • Seat selection
  • Access to airport lounges
  • Airline ticket upgrades

What’s more, you can enjoy access to DragonPass airport lounges and unlimited access to the National Bank Lounge at Montreal-Trudeau.

Finally, Milesopedia has named the National Bank World Elite Mastercard as the Best Travel Credit Card in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Annual fee

Primary card$150
Additional card$50

Annual income required

Individual$80,000
Household$150,000

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xRestaurants
  • 5xGroceries
  • 2xTravel
  • 2xBills & recurring payments
  • 2xGas & EV
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$778
2nd Year Value$923

Card benefits

Airport lounge access$400
Travel creditsIncluded

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 60 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 31 days
Travel medical (65+)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Trip CancellationUp to $2,500
Trip InterruptionUp to $5,000
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $1,000
Flight DelayUp to $500
Travel AccidentIncluded

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionIncluded
Extended Warranty+2 years
Mobile DeviceUp to $1,000 / 2 years
Auto Rental CollisionUp to $65,000 / 48 days

Our featured card

Featured
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.

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.