Through a series of testimonials from our readers, Milesopedia presents what you can achieve with credit cards and loyalty programs.
Here’s Kim and her partner’s (now fiancé!) plan for a trip to Greece, and the savings they’ve made thanks to their points.
I’m 43 and have been a Milesopedia reader for about a year and a half.
I’m a pretty versatile traveler. I’ve walked the Camino de Compostela with a backpack, slept in 100-person dormitories, stayed in a 5-star hotel in Abu Dhabi, visited all-inclusives in the South… I don’t have a specific style, as long as I travel!
I took this trip to Greece with my partner, who proposed to me on the island of Naxos!
Our 10-day trip to Greece took place in the spring of 2023. Among others, we visited :
With three different types of points, we saved on flights, car rental and ferries in Greece. In summary, we used :
In total, points saved us $1,070 on transportation.
We made our biggest savings on accommodation. We booked our hotels with a combination of 69,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and 11,930 Dream AIR MILES. Here are the details of our bookings:
The money saved on lodging totalled $2,200 for nine nights.
As for activities and meals, we paid these expenses in cash.
I was the only one earning points for this trip. I made 4 card rounds in one year. In the end, I took out a total of 6 different credit cards during this period.
With our credit cards, we have obtained some additional travel benefits such as:
We were also entitled to checked baggage with Air Canada with our TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite* Card, but since we were traveling in a carry-on suitcase we didn’t take advantage of it. We also had a 25% discount on meals purchased on board, as well as the new free Wi-Fi service!
To save even more on my trip,I’ve been tracking airfares in Google Flights for 2-3 weeks. I love this tool for finding the cheapest options and was flexible on dates and duration (between 8 and 11 days).
All in all, our $8,635 trip to Greece only cost us $3,908, a savings of $4,727! Here’s a breakdown of the amounts saved in each category:
Diversifying the type of reward points is the key to spend less on travel. In all, we used 6 different programs:
For this trip, the National Bank’s World Elite Mastercard® was the most lucrative. Although my AIR MILES saved me a lot, I’ve pretty much given up on this rewards program now.
Since my return, I’ve moved on to another stage: I FINALLY applied for the American Express Cobalt® Card. It’s as if I didn’t believe it… my only regret is that I didn’t take it before!
After a year, I’m at the stage of closing cards and ordering new ones. I’m beginning to understand the principle more and more. My next goal is to learn the Aeroplan program and start using my points.
Finally, my next trip will be my honeymoon in Western Canada in the summer of 2024. Thanks Milesopedia!
Read on for more testimonials from members of the Milesopedia community:
Savings are here:
