Testimonial: Western Canada with points & miles

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We are always happy when readers take a few minutes to share their experience with us! To complete this article, here is a 6 day itinerary and budget provided by Annie.

A family trip to Western Canada with points and miles

Caroline T. is a long-time milesopedia reader, who members of the“milesopedia – Credit Cards and Rewards” Facebook group will surely recognize!

Here is her “postcard” that she sent us:

So Caroline took things in hand in her relationship! It is often like that (after all, Audrey lets me manage everything in our couple, and we could see in the milesopedia mini-convention that many couples have designated – automatically – a person in charge of the points and miles in the family)!

But once you’ve discovered the benefits and the substantial gains you’ve made… the other spouse joins in the fun!

Airline tickets with Aeroplan Miles

For her Western Canada itinerary, Caroline decided to arrive in Calgary and depart from Vancouver. So she booked a multi-city flight for a cost of 25,000 miles and $170 per person.

Here is an example:

The cost for Caroline, her husband and their two children is 100,000 Aeroplan miles and $680. She was able to get those Aeroplan miles with 3 cards:

Access to airport lounges with credit cards

Caroline was able to take advantage of different airport lounges during her trip to Western Canada.

Note that it is also possible to access the National Bank lounge at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, whether it is for an international or domestic flight!

You can access it with the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard^® but also with cards offering Priority Pass access. The Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite*+ Card offers 6 annual accesses for example!

Free hotel nights with points

Here is a summary of the hotel nights paid for in large part with points and certificates obtained with credit cards:

To obtain these 140,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, Caroline signed up for 3 credit cards. The Marriott card – which no longer exists (50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) – and the two Marriott Bonvoy cards (which offered a different bonus at the time):

The Best Western Rewards MasterCard has a bonus that is very easy to earn with just one charge to the card. And the card is free, what more could you ask for? In addition, points can be combined into one account by simply calling Best Western Rewards.

Calculations of earnings with points and miles

Let’s make a detailed point by recalling:

Points used	100,000 miles	140,000 points
Market value	3 055$	2 500$
Taxes and fees paid	680$	$20
Cumulative contributions	399$	270$
Total Paid	1079$	290$
Net valuation	3,055 – 1,079 = $1,976	2,500- 290 = $2,210
Total	4,186 saved with points and miles

Bottom line

Caroline and her family were able to take a beautiful trip to Western Canada thanks to their points and miles: for 4 people, this trip cost $1,369 when it was worth $5,555!

The points and miles will have allowed them to save …. 75 %! Bravo Caroline!