Cost is often a prohibiting factor for many families when it comes to travel. Plus, the more kids you have, the more quickly the costs add up.
When planning a family trip, your financial options are often to either diligently save up and then wait for good prices on flights and hotels, or to just to bite the bullet and spend a ton so that you can just go when you want and how you want.
However, there’s also a third option: Travelling on points can help reduce your costs significantly, and with a bit of effort, it can allow you to elevate your travel experience as well.
While it may take more leg work to earn the points needed to book for a whole family of travellers, and redemptions can be trickier to come by when you’re looking for multiple seats on a flight or for a larger hotel room, the cost savings and experiences are well worth it.
In this article, which is the first in a series, we’ll give you an overview of how Miles & Points can help offset your family’s travel costs and elevate your travel experiences.
In the next parts of this series, we’ll go over how to get started on your family-oriented Miles & Points journey, and how to best earn and redeem points when you’re planning trips for three or more people.
What Are Miles & Points?
We’ve written a full Miles & Points for Beginners series, and this is a great place to read up on the basics around Miles & Points and all that they have to offer.
Generally speaking, miles and points are currencies created by airlines, hotels, and banks to reward customers for their loyalty to the brand. These miles and points can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, experiences, and more, or can be used to offset the cost of travel or other purchases.
Getting the greatest value from your points often comes from redeeming them for travel. You can use your points to reduce the overall cost of your family’s flights and accommodation, and in addition to this, you can also make use of the unique features that come with specific credit cards to elevate your family’s travel experiences.
Offsetting Costs for Family Travel
Points can help offset the cost of flights, hotels, car rentals, and a lot more. By redeeming your collected miles or points, you can access trips and experiences that may have otherwise been out of reach due to their cash cost.
To better understand the value of points and how they can save you money on your travels, let’s take a look at two examples comparing the cost of a points redemption to that of a cash purchase; the first example will look at redeeming points for a flights and the second will look at redeeming points for a hotel stay.
Example 1 – Redeeming Points for Flights
Let’s say a family of four from Toronto wishes to plan a trip to Europe, flying into Paris and then back to Toronto out of Copenhagen. The cost of this particular multi-city flight in economy is $1,410.47 (all figures will be in CAD) per person.
That means that for this family of four, it would cost a total of $5,641.88 for their flights alone.
If we were to book this same flight using Aeroplan points instead, this multi-city journey would cost a total of 63,200 Aeroplan points and $119 in taxes and fees per person, for a total of 252,800 Aeroplan points and $476 in taxes and fees.
Just looking at the out-of-pocket cash portion of the trip, using points gives you a substantial savings of over $5,000. With the money you save on the flights, you can put it towards other parts of your trip to make it more memorable.
When redeeming points, it’s always a good idea to take a look at the type of value you’re getting for your redemption. At Prince of Travel, we regularly update our valuations of points to help give you an idea of what you can aim to get for your collections of miles and points.
We currently value Aeroplan points at 2.1 cents per point, and with this example redemption, you would be getting 2.0 cents per point – so that’s pretty good. If you’re able to redeem your points near or above our valuation, you’ll know you’re getting a really good deal.
Example 2 – Redeeming Points for Hotels
In this example, let’s imagine a family of four would like to stay three nights on Jeju Island in South Korea. On a cash rate, it would cost 916,300 (KRW) per night inclusive of taxes, or the equivalent of about $935.
Alternatively the family could redeem 46,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night, which at our valuation of 0.8 cents per point would be the cash equivalent of $368, making this an amazing redemption.
By using Bonvoy points instead of spending cash, this family would be saving $1,700 over the three-night stay.
Plus, the 46,000 Bonvoy points needed for one night could easily be earned by signing up for the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card which often comes with a welcome bonus of around 50,000 Bonvoy points or more.
As you can see from these examples, planning ahead and using points can save you and your family a significant amount of money on both flights and hotels.
Elevating the Travel Experience
Another great aspect of Miles & Points and the credit cards associated with earning them is their ability to help you and your family enjoy elevated travel experiences.
Oftentimes people will sign up for a credit card because they were attracted by its welcome bonus, which can help kick start their points journey. However, there’s more to a credit card than just the welcome bonus and the points you earn from your day-to-day spending.
Many cards also offer travel perks and benefits that can make your travel experience a little more comfortable and affordable.
These benefits can include some of the following, and a lot more:
- Travel credits and no foreign transaction fees, which means more money in your pocket
- Complimentary airport lounge access, which means having space to unwind before a flight, and a way to ensure the kids are well fed and stocked up on snacks before you take off
- Complimentary hotel status, which can offer complimentary breakfast, lounge access, and potential room upgrades (all the way up to suites) to make your family’s stay more comfortable
- Complimentary car rental status, potentially giving you larger and more spacious vehicles for less money
Take for example, the American Express Platinum Card which offers a $200 annual travel credit, a $200 annual dining credit, unlimited access to a number of airport lounges, and Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Honors Gold, Avis Preferred, and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star statuses.
By holding just this single card, you can access all of the benefits listed above to help save money and make your family’s travel experiences that much better.
Another way to elevate your travel, especially if you want to experience a bit of luxury, is to redeem your points for a business class flight. This can represent a huge financial savings while enjoying maximum travel comfort.
Sure the kids may not need it, but if you like a touch of luxury in your travels, flying in business class is a game-changer.
With a business class ticket, the comfort begins before you even stop on the plane. You’ll enjoy dedicated lines at the airport for an expedited check-in experience (and sometimes even an expedited security line as well), extra baggage allowance, complimentary access to business class lounges to enjoy drinks and food prior to boarding, and priority boarding.
On the plane, the amenities will vary depending on the routing and airline, but they can include spacious seats that can often lie flat, large entertainment screens, amenity kits, slippers, pajamas, and blankets and bedding for the seat should you want to catch a few zzzs.
Let’s also not forget the complimentary elevated food and beverage offerings, which include alcohol, snacks, and multi-course meals for the duration of your flight.
Business class seats can also be particularly beneficial if you’re travelling long-haul with a lap infant (child under the age of two). Not only will you enjoy enhanced food and beverage offerings, but you may also have a lie-flat seat where both you and your child can sleep.
Plus, there is usually minimal cost, if any, to add a lap infant with these redemptions.
Conclusion
Travelling as a family can get expensive, but Miles & Points can help offset that cost and can add a bit of luxury to your travel experience.
With so many points programs and credit cards out there, figuring out where start on your Miles & Points journey can seem challenging; however, with a bit of time and dedication, the outcome will be worth it and you’ll be on your way to better travels in no time.
In the next parts of this series, we’ll show you how to start earning miles and points as/for a family and how to plan and strategize redemptions when you’re booking for three or more people.
In the meantime, if you’d like a bit of assistance with Miles & Points, feel free to reach out on our Facebook group or book a consultation with one of our expert team members.