Pierre-Luc and Marie-Noël shared with us their testimony of the accumulation and use of points during a trip to Louisiana. All this made possible thanks to the advice found on milesopedia and in his community!
A 34-year-old tourist graduate, Pierre-Luc is a former tour guide for tourist groups in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Quebec City.
More than 50 countries visited, most in backpacks (youth hostels, camping and Couchsurfing)and through PVT stays, studies, adventures on the go and, more recently, through professional conferences.
For many years, he was a self-employed worker and micro-entrepreneur with uneven incomes. He works in economic development in Quebec (North Shore, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean). He has less free time for long trips, but a more robust financial situation.
Always on the lookout for deals and discounted tickets, the tricks to find the best prices at cost and generate alerts are no longer a secret for him. His greatest success story? Montreal – Tokyo – Seoul for less than C$500 in 2017.
38 years old, recently graduated from university after returning to school after several careers, Marie-Noël is curious to discover the world, but with limited income and credits.
She has only recently been able to follow Pierre-Luc on his adventures. She participates when she can in the collection of points through the joint spending offered by additional cards.
This is a typical situation of a couple: one of the two spouses is interested in travel hacking.
This person demonstrates to the other the usefulness of points & miles (often during a first trip: access to airport lounges, “free” hotel rooms, business class airline tickets…).
The other spouse then decides to take part in the point hunt!
Pierre-Luc knew different points systems, but never believed in their potential.
It wasn’t until early 2018, after seeing an American travel hacker report on social media, that he discovered the milesopedia page.
Since then, he reads all the articles and analyzes his best options according to HIS needs.
For this trip as a duo, Pierre-Luc single-handedly earned the necessary points… enough to convince Marie-Noël to embark on an adventure!
Pierre-Luc’s main objectives:
Between March 2018 and February 2019, Pierre-Luc accumulated all the points necessary to complete his trip as a couple to Louisiana.
In March 2018, Pierre-Luc first signed up for the Cobaltᵐᶜ American Express card to earn Membership Rewards points, which are extremely flexible.
His goal being the transfer of Membership Rewards points into Marriott Bonvoy points to finance his hotel stays.
The Cobaltᵐᶜ American Express card IS the preferred card in Canada.
The Membership Rewards it allows you to earn very quickly can be:
Here are the main features of the current offer on the American Express Cobalt Card:
After a year, Pierre-Luc was able to earn:
To maximize the earning of membership rewards via the category at five membership rewards/dollar (groceries, restaurants-bars, convenience stores), Pierre-Luc used the technique of gift cards.
The Marriott Bonvoy American ExpressMD card is probably the best credit card to earn many hotel points in Canada.
These points can be used for free nights at over 9,000 hotels worldwide, all members of the Marriott Bonvoy program.
Here are the main characteristics of the current offer on the Marriott Bonvoy American ExpressMD card:
There is also a card that is easily accessible to self-employed workers/SME owners: the Marriott Bonvoy™ Business American Express® Card. Enough to earn a lot of Marriott Bonvoy points!
In January 2019, through the welcome bonus and current spending on the Marriott Bonvoy American ExpressMD card, Pierre-Luc earned 53,208 Marriott Bonvoy points.
He also transferred Membership Rewards points from his American Express Cobalt™ Card and earned Marriott Bonvoy points via a hotel stay for work (2200 points) and via Marriott contests (2800 points).
Score: 148,828 Marriott Bonvoy points.
The Best Western RewardsMD MastercardMD is the card with the easiest bonus to earn: on your first purchase.
In addition, this card has no annual fee, year after year.
Here are the main features of the current offer on the Best Western RewardsMD MastercardMD credit card:
Every points & miles hunter has had the Best Western RewardsMD MastercardMD in their wallet at least once! To sign up now, click here!
In November 2018, Pierre-Luc accumulated 20,000 Best Western Rewards points, enough to get one night (or two nights depending on promotions).
History lovers, Pierre-Luc and Marie-Noël dreamed of visiting this region of the world which was at the same time a French and Spanish colony and an American territory.
In addition to being the cradle of the blues, its history of slavery deserves to be known. It offers an encounter with the Cajun culture of the bayous and the descendants of deportees from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick during the Great Upheaval.
So they went to visit Louisiana from March 18 to 28, 2019.
On a whim, Pierre-Luc bought 2 tickets on the AmextravelUS website for a flight from Montreal (YUL) to New Orleans (MYS) with a stopover in Charlotte, North Carolina for US$500, taxes included for 2 round-trip tickets.
Approximately CA$700 + 1,408 AMEX Membership Rewards points. The flights were in small regional aircraft with only economy class. However, it was possible to request a new seat on the emergency exit side to have more legroom.
On the car rental side, Expedia had a promotion with the DOLLAR company.
It was a long, slow service at the counter. The proposed vehicle was a Chevrolet Equinox for the price of a sedan.
The rate was CA$335, taxes included for 6 days and 670 Cobalt points. The American Express Cobalt™ Card covered the damage insurance on the vehicle, so it was a savings of US$20$ per day.
In addition, they used a portion of the Membership Rewards points from the American Express Cobalt™ Card to pay for this rental (10,000 Membership Rewards points = $100).
The trip was nine nights long, and the planned itinerary was about 1000 km.
Savings and location related to the route were the main selection criteria.
For the nine nights, they used 101,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for a value of US$851 or CA$1,137. That’s a value of $0.0112 CAD per Bonvoy point. A little above the value estimated by milesopedia.
The first 4 nights in New-Orleans were in the TownePlace Suites New Orleans Harvey/West Bank.
The chain offers functional mini-condos that are mainly intended for workers.
The rate was 12,500 Marriott Bonvoy points per night while the overnight stay was valued at US$114 or US$0.009 per Marriott Bonvoy point. Even more in Canadian dollars, if you add the savings on breakfast for 2 people and the availability of a fully equipped mini kitchen.
They were aware that it would have been possible to have a 5th free night, it was however time to leave for other places and visit the rest of the state. Public transportation is easy in New Orleans. Their vehicle was only needed to explore the backcountry and small towns.
During their stay in New Orleans, they had planned to go on guided tours and wanting to kill two birds with one stone, the Marriott Moment site was most useful.
Different options are offered for several activities to different destinations around the world.
Their choice ended on a themed minibus tour in different parts of the city. 750 Marriott Bonvoy points were awarded for a total expense of US$70 for 2 people.
By using the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card to book these packages, 400 Bonvoy Marriott Bonvoy points were added as an expense at one of the chain’s establishments.
Tip: use the Marriott Bonvoyᵐᶜ American ExpressMD card when spending at Marriott Bonvoy establishments (hotels, restaurants…) or with Marriott-provided travel services (such as booking excursions here). It’s a way to earn 5 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar (in addition to those you might earn through your status.
Head for Houma for 1 night.
The Courtyard Houma is conveniently located on the highway near the bayous in the heart of a region renowned for its alligator-infested waters and Cajun culture.
There was a “Golf Club” ambiance, with an outdoor swimming pool and spa, and rooms overlooking the inner courtyard. Nice welcome and good concierge service for activity recommendations.
7,500 Marriott Bonvoy points instead of US$107, i.e. US$0.0142/point.
They stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Lafayette South which had an excellent breakfast.
We were given a 2-bedroom suite (lounge and king bed) instead of a room with a double bed because we had written in the booking email that it was our couple’s anniversary.
12,500 Marriott Bonvoy points instead of US$106 per night. They stayed there two nights.
They stayed at SpringHill Suites Baton Rouge North/Airport.
Late arrival, basic room. However, the hotel offered them a glass of wine and a snack (almost enough for a meal) of rice and stew.
Well located, close to the airport. We enjoyed the pool.
7,500 Marriott Bonvoy points instead of US$87.
After this stay, they stayed at the SpringHill Suites Baton Rouge Gonzales.
They had selected this hotel simply for its location between Baton Rouge and the main sugar cane plantations they wanted to visit.
The retro motel experience in the Americas, with fluorescent carpets and colors, was authentic.
11,000 Marriott Bonvoy points instead of US$90.
The last night was short, a consequence of the city’s nightlife and the return by plane, around 5AM.
The airport is quite small and had only one lounge, the Delta Lounge. They had neither the time to take advantage of it, or the cards to access it.
N.B.: The American Express PlatinumMD card offers access to Delta lounges only if you have a flight on Delta Airlines.
To save money, not having only Silver status, hotels with breakfast included for all were selected.
The TownePlace, Fairfield and SpringHill Suites chains offer this continental breakfast formula… and that’s why our couple chose these banners!
Avoiding cash at all costs, it’s a good idea to have a small amount on hand when you travel.
We saved a lot of money by depositing funds in advance on the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card and then withdrawing the amount at a Scotia Bank branch, without having to take out a cash advance.
This allowed them to have foreign currency and to pay cash where there was no credit card terminal, without paying too much in exchange fees, transaction fees, etc.
Tip: there are credit cards that charge no conversion fees for all foreign currency transactions.
This is the case with the excellent Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card, whose current offer is very attractive.
The American Express Cobalt™ Card card has insurance that covers damage and collision for rental cars. However, as with all credit cards, civil liability is not included.
You will have to add this one either through the rental agency or through your private insurance in Canada.
A few remarks by Pierre-Luc:
Today, Pierre-Luc still has 48,000 Marriott Bonvoy points left. Not having any short-term travel plan, he expressed his regret at having transferred so many Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy.
Membership Rewards points are more flexible and could have been used for other purposes (such as travel credits for expenses paid directly to the American Express Cobalt™ Card).
Morale: transfer your points ONLY when you are ready to use them!
Many thanks to Pierre-Luc and Marie-Noël for sharing this very complete testimonial, showing that in less than a year, it is possible for a single person to earn enough points for a beautiful trip like this one!
Imagine the savings… and the possible travels when a couple embarks on a full adventure!
Would you like to send us a testimonial? Don’t hesitate to write us at temoignage@milesopedia.com
Savings are here:
