Success Story: Using Miles & Points to Bookend a Group Tour with Aspirational Flights

Ever since my safari and gorilla trekking trip to Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda in 2023, I’d been itching to go on another exotic vacation.

Sri Lanka had been on my radar since COVID times – while being stuck at home, I went down the YouTube rabbit hole watching hours of travel videos and Sri Lanka stood out as a hidden gem. Close to India yet offering its own unique character, Sri Lanka captured my interest with its natural landscapes, peaceful Buddhist heritage, diverse national parks, and beautiful beaches.

Having been in the Miles & Points space for several years now, The Maldives has adorned my travel vision board for quite some time. With its short proximity to Sri Lanka – a mere 90 minute flight away – I thought it would be a missed opportunity if I didn’t take advantage of exploring it while I was so close by.

Here’s a breakdown of how I leveraged points to book a trip to Sri Lanka and The Maldives for a fraction of the cost.

Booking My Trip & Getting to Sri Lanka

While my partner and I often explore the world together, our adventure thresholds differ.

My journey into small group travel began in 2019 with G Adventures. These small group tours have allowed me to visit more exotic destinations with other like-minded travel companions and the comfort of a local guide.

I find that they provide a good balance of adventure and convenience, with all the logistics taken care of, which lets me satisfy my adventurous side even when not traveling with my partner.

Having previously done nine tours with this company, naturally, I looked at their trip catalogue and quickly booked this 14-day Sri Lanka and Maldives itinerary, which included eight days in Sri Lanka and six on their Maldives Dhoni Cruise boat.

With my home base in Vancouver, I knew that one of my best options would be to fly from Seattle on Singapore Airlines. I took a short Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Seattle and stayed overnight at Marriott’s newly acquired Skybridge Seattle Airport Hotel.

I chose this hotel based on its proximity to Seattle Airport– I could easily walk directly there. While this hotel is undergoing renovations, it didn’t affect me as I arrived around 10:30pm and left the next morning around 5:30am for my morning flight to Singapore.

I started by flying from Seattle to Colombo via Singapore on Singapore Airlines business class for 110,000 Aeroplan points and $87 in taxes and fees, for a cash value equivalent of approximately $8,000.

I took advantage of the Book the Cook service and pre-ordered the salmon filet, which was delicious.

Shortly after I set up my bed, a flight attendant who was passing a drink over me to place it on the table close to the window accidentally spilled the remaining drinks on her tray all over me and my bedding.

She and the Cabin Service Director were extremely apologetic, and after I changed my clothes and they changed my bedding for me, they offered me a $75 (SGD) gift card to Singapore Airlines’s onboard shop. It was a very nice gesture, and didn’t affect my opinion of the flight whatsoever and I appreciated their concern.

Coincidentally, I had the same thing happen to me on an Air Canada flight last year, so now I always have a change of clothes close by when I travel.

Group Tour in Sri Lanka

After a four-hour layover in Singapore Changi Airport, I slept most of the way on my second leg flight to Colombo and arrived in Negombo, just north of the capital city of Colombo, a few days before the tour started.

Since the ancient lion fortress rock of Sigiriya was not included in my itinerary, and I had seen a number of YouTube videos that showed me that this was not-to-be missed, I arranged for a local guide to pick me up at my hotel and take me to Sigiriya about a three-hours’ drive away.

After this, I returned back to Negombo to meet my group. There were 14 of us in total, consisting mostly of Canadian, British, Australian travelers.

There were a few couples, however like many of my previous trips with this company, there were many solo women travelers in their 30s, 40s and 50s. We gelled immediately and quickly became like a traveling family as we toured Sri Lanka together.

Highlights included the Instagram-famous mountain town of Ella and seeing baby elephants in Udawalawe National Park. I knew that it was going to be good, but Sri Lanka completely surpassed my expectations as one of the cleanest and safest-feeling countries that I have ever been to.

Yacht Tour in the Maldives

After this portion of the tour ended, three of us carried on to The Maldives portion of the tour with the flight arranged by the travel company on Sri Lankan Airlines.

We were picked up by a tender boat at the Malé airport and transported to our yacht, where nine new travelers joined us. Our group of 12 was accompanied by six crew members.

I had my own spacious air-conditioned cabin with an attached bathroom, which I found to be very comfortable.

We spent the week sailing between the atolls and reefs, with two daily snorkeling excursions and other activities, such as exploring inhabited and uninhabited islands, beach picnics and sunbathing on sandbars.

The most shocking part of my observation of The Maldives was how far apart everything is– we would oftentimes sail for three or four hours and not see another boat, island, or sandbar.

Many of the resorts that we did see, including some of the famous luxury resorts, were quite tiny and built over a very remote sandbar with nothing else in sight.

I am really glad that I chose to see The Maldives via boat, as I believe that I saw so much more than most people would have seen. Despite the beauty of the resorts, I know that I would be bored and feel quite isolated after a day or two.

Flying Back Home with Qatar Airways

On the way home, I flew from Malé to Seattle via Doha on Qatar Airways.

I had an eight-hour overnight layover in Doha, and took advantage of the quiet rooms in the new Al Mourjan Garden Business Lounge, where I was given a private room to rest for a maximum of six hours.

The chair in the room was quite uncomfortable, which is something I was expecting from reading previous reviews, so as I was being led to my private room by the attendant, I made a mental note of where they kept the extra blankets so I could go back and grab some if I needed to sleep on the floor– which I ended up doing.

After a few hours of sleep, I made my way to the departure gate and got to experience the infamous Qatar Airways QSuites – widely recognized as the best business class product in the world.

I used 85,000 Avios and paid $484 in taxes and fees for this entire journey home from Malé, worth a whopping cash value equivalent of $10,000+.

Here’s a breakdown of how I booked the flights:

• I earned a welcome bonus of 50,000 RBC Avion points on the RBC® Avion Visa Infinite*, awarded after spending $5,000 in the first six months
• I took advantage of a 30% transfer bonus to transfer these points from Avion to The British Airways Club (Avios), bringing it up to 65,000 Avios
• I transferred 20,000 American Express MR points to my British Airways account to top up the difference
• I linked my British Airways Club account to my Qatar Airways Privilege Club account, and booked the flight directly with Qatar Airways

Once I landed in Seattle, I had a quick two-hour layover and hopped on my short flight back to Vancouver with Air Canada, which I paid with cash.

Although I didn’t spend an exorbitant amount of money, I was able to recognize incredible value by leveraging the power of Miles & Points, providing me with the cash equivalent of $18,000+ in flights for this trip alone.

Conclusion

Looking back, this journey stands among my most memorable travel experiences.

The flights were exceptional, Sri Lanka captivated me completely, and exploring the Maldives by yacht proved to be a wise choice to complement my travel preferences.

What began as a tour with strangers evolved into meaningful friendships, and I’m looking forward to planning my next trip with G Adventures to another part of the world.