Testimonial: A family trip to Asia with points

To the point Find out how Marie-Josée saved $9,455 on her trip for three to Asia with credit card rewards and loyalty programs.

Who are you?

Your travel project with the points : Asia Transportation Accommodation, activities and more

Credit cards used The benefits Tips to help you save more

Summary The final word

Through a series of testimonials from our readers, Milesopedia presents what you can achieve with credit cards and loyalty programs.

Here’s Marie-Josée and her family’s trip to Japan, South Korea and Thailand, and the savings she’s made with her reward points.

Marie-Josée's Testimonial - Who are you?

I’m 43 and I’ve been reading Milesopedia for about a year.

I love all kinds of travel! Every year, I stay in an all-inclusive and take at least two other trips (e.g. roadtrip to Iceland, ski trip in Western Canada, backpacking trip to Asia, semi-organized trip to New York).

However, I take far fewer luxury trips, as I prefer to do more.

Marie-Josée's Testimonial - Your travel project with the points : Asia

Our big trip to Asia will be a family affair with my partner and my 16-year-old son. In autumn 2023, we’ll be away for a total of 10 weeks, visiting Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

Here is our planned itinerary:

Japan:Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka
South Korea : Haeinsa, Jeonju, Gyeongju, Andong, Seoul
Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Phuket, Koh Samui

To put together this itinerary and to guide me through my accumulation of points, I used Milesopedia’s mentoring service.

Transportation

Most of my strategy with points was aimed at saving on transportation. All flights were paid for with points from 4 different loyalty programs (Aeroplan, CIBC Aventura, HSBC Rewards and Scene+).

I booked 8 different flights for 3 people. The following table summarizes my reservations:

Flight	Number and type of points used	Money saved
Montreal – Tokyo with Air Canada in Economy class	128,000 Aeroplan	$5,495
Fukuoka – Busan	23,265 CIBC Aventura	290$
Seoul – Bangkok	115,000 HSBC Rewards	575$
Bangkok – Chiang Rai	13,176 CIBC Aventura	165$
Chiang Mai – Krabi	100$ HSBC Annual Credit	$100
Phuket – Koh Samui	31 340 Scene+	175$
Koh Samui – Bangkok	25,000 HSBC Rewards	125$
Bangkok – Montreal with Air Canada in Economy class	146,400 Aeroplan	$2,530

Transportation savings

All in all,

274,400 Aeroplan points
140,000 HSBC Rewards points
36,441 CIBC Aventura points
31,340 Scene+ points

helped me save $9,455 on transportation for my family trip to Asia.

Accommodation, activities and more

Accommodation, meals and activities will be paid for in cash.

Testimonial - Credit cards used

For this project, I was the only one to sign up for credit cards. My partner doesn’t have the same discipline as me… but he’s trying his best!

Credit card	Accumulation period	Number of points used	Points redemption method
American Express Cobalt^® Card	1 year	46 200 Membership Rewards points	Transfer to Aeroplan
American Express^® Gold Rewards Card	3 months	70,000 Membership Rewards points	Transfer to Aeroplan
American Express^®* Aeroplan^® Reserve Card	6 months	150,000 Aeroplan points	Flight booking
TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card	1 year	50,000 Aeroplan points	Flight booking
HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®	6 months	140,000 HSBC Rewards points	Statement credit
CIBC Aventura^® Visa Infinite* Card	4 months	36,441 CIBC Aventura points	Statement credit
Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card	3 months	31,340 Scene+ points	Book on Scene+ by Expedia

The benefits

With our credit cards, we have several additional travel benefits such as:

Reimbursement of Nexus membership fees for 2 people with the Aeroplan^MD* American Express^® Reserve Card Express^MD (US$100 value).
3 accesses to the Odyssée Desjardins lounge at the Montreal airport with the Desjardins Odyssée Visa Infinite Privilege Card
Access to airport lounges for each of our flights with the Platinum Card^MD from American Express (an impressive total of 24 accesses!)
$100 travel credit and no conversion fees for foreign currency transactions with the HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^® HSBC World Elite^® Mastercard^®.

We can check baggage free of charge with Air Canada thanks to our TD^® Aeroplan^® Visa Infinite* Card. However, as we have chosen to travel with carry-on only, we won’t be using this option.

In addition, we are entitled to a 25% discount on meals purchased on board and free access to the new Wi-Fi service.

Tips to help you save more

My biggest piece of advice is planning.

I pay all my expenses with my credit cards and always pay the full balance each month. I plan signing up for new cards according to my actual future expenses.

To maximize point accumulation, I always buy gift cards at the grocery store with my American Express Cobalt^® Card for stores such as Amazon, SAQ, Decathlon, SAIL, Canadian Tire, etc.

I always try to pay with the most cost-effective credit card for the type of expense I’m making. I choose the credit card with the best accumulation rate for an expense category like restaurants and groceries.

To save more on my plane tickets, I shop more than a year in advance so that I know the market prices and when to buy. Even once my accommodations and car rentals are booked, I keep an eye on the prices and don’t hesitate to cancel and book again if the new price is lower.

Finally, my last piece of advice is to travel light, even if you’re going to an all-inclusive resort!

Summary

All in all, my savings for my trip to Japan, South Korea and Thailand for 3 people came to $9,455. In order to reach the amount of spending required to unlock the welcome bonuses, I estimate that I have put nearly $31,500 on my credit cards. The points accumulation phase lasted around 2 years. With all my efforts, I got a 30% return on my expenses!

To save so much money, the key is to diversify the type of reward points. It would have been more difficult to accumulate points and book our 8 flights in the same loyalty program. In total, I used 5 different programs:

The final word

I have an array of cards in my wallet for the many benefits they bring me… but if I had to keep just one, it would be the American Express Cobalt^® Card.