Testimonial: A wedding in Costa Rica with points

I’m 45 and have been a Milesopedia reader for two years.

Before becoming a parent, I backpacked for several months at a time. I’ve been all over South America, Europe and South-East Asia.

Since becoming a mom, I’ve mostly been on camping trips in Quebec, Eastern Canada and the United States. I’ve also stayed in all-inclusives, in addition to a few trips to France, Mexico and Tunisia for work.

Since I’ve been reading Milesopedia, I’ve started travelling frequently again, and I can’t get enough of it! I prefer a combination of these types of trips:

• Frequent getaways nearby, like a weekend in Quebec City.
• Getaways alone with a child. I took my son to New York for his 18th birthday and my daughter to Philadelphia for her birthday.
• Couples getaways, to Mexico for example.
• Larger family trips, including this three-week trip to Costa Rica, the first of many.

As a family of five, we prefer economy-class flights. Our aim is to travel more often.

We went to Costa Rica for three weeks during the 2023 holiday season. We traveled as a family: my husband, our children aged 7, 14 and 19, and myself.

The heart of our trip was a small, simple family wedding (also known as an elopement). We wanted to visit a few regions of Costa Rica, but without spreading ourselves too thin or getting exhausted.

As far as accommodation was concerned, we wanted to experience several different types: tree house, mini-home, etc. We were looking for accommodations with kitchenettes to keep within our budget, as the cost of living is quite high in Costa Rica. In the end, we decided to rent a car for the flexibility it brings.

Our three-week itinerary began and ended in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. In total, we visited three regions and visited the following places:

• Central Pacific coast: Manuel Antonio National Park, Nauyaca Falls, Quepos and Uvita
• North of the country: Monteverde, La Fortuna, San Carlos, Curi-Cancha, Selvatura Adventure Park and Sloth’s Territory
• Guanacaste and Nicoya Peninsula: Rincón de la Vieja National Park, Playa Grande, Montezuma and Santa Teresa

Flights for five people were booked with Aeroplan points.

With 100,000 Aeroplan points, we saved $5,900 on our five round-trip tickets to Costa Rica. As we traveled during the high season (holiday season), the cash price of flights was very high. Points allowed us to fly for way cheaper!

In total, we saved $6,194 on transportation during our trip.

With Airbnb Experiences, we booked a guided tour. We then applied 25,000 HSBC Rewards points for a $125 statement credit.

With our credit cards, we enjoy additional benefits such as :

• Free checked baggage with the TD^MD Aeroplan^MD Visa Infinite* Card on flights operated by Air Canada, as well as travel insurance for flights paid for with Aeroplan points.
• Unlimited access to airport lounges with the Platinum Card^MD from American Express. We took advantage of it in Quebec City, Toronto and San Jose.
• Our Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card and CIBC Aventura^MD Visa Infinite* Card also give us lounge passes.
• No conversion fees for foreign currency transactions with the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card.
• A $200 annual travel credit with the Platinum Card^MD from American Express.
• An annual travel credit of $150 with the National Bank World Elite Mastercard^®.
• An annual $100 travel credit with the TD First Class Travel^® Visa Infinite* Card.

To accumulate all these points for my trip and to save as much as possible, I adopted various strategies:

• First, I booked the cheapest flights on points I could find from Montreal, even if they involved very long and inconvenient stopovers. I only had 100,000 Aeroplan points available for five people during the holiday season. Flight schedule changes allowed me to change my reservation with flights that suited me better, even changing the departure point to Quebec City instead of Montreal, at no charge.
• I took advantage of a 25% transfer bonus for American Express Membership Rewards points to Marriott Bonvoy, a bonus that usually comes back on an annual basis.
• For parking in Montreal, I found a 14-day parking package with an overnight stay at the Courtyard Montreal Airport that was cheaper than paying for parking at YUL.
• To withdraw local currency, I used my Wise account, which minimizes transaction fees when withdrawing from ATMs.
• Since our return flight was delayed by more than three hours, I also filed a claim with Air Canada. This enabled me to recover $2,000 ($400 per person).

Combining all expenses, we achieved significant savings of $10,156! Here are the details of the amounts saved by category during our three-week wedding and family trip to Costa Rica:

Our points portfolio is varied, and we used seven different loyalty programs for this wonderful trip. Here is a summary of the points used:

• 100,000 Aeroplan points
• 91,000 NBC Rewards points
• 64,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
• 115,200 TD Rewards points
• 70,000 HSBC Rewards points
• 70,600 Scene+ points