Hi Friends,
We recently had a lovely weekend getaway to Toronto, Canada. It was meant to be a longer trip, but life happened and the trip was postponed.
On a random Monday, we were browsing flights to anywhere and we stumbled upon award flights available for the following weekend to Toronto at a very reasonable redemption!
| Points/Miles | Fees (paid in cash) | |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound (2 pax) | 8,000 (BILT) | $36.20 |
| Inbound (2 pax) | 16,000 (American Airlines) | $117.42 |
| Hotel (2 nights) | 38,788 (Capital One) |
*Average value is 10:1 for point-to-cash value.
For point-to-cash value, we spent about $390 (points + fees) on flights for 2, however, if we were to purchase the flights in cash, it would’ve been about $300-$400 per person!
We could’ve paid for the hotel in cash since there wasn’t a deal using points, but we really needed a getaway from Washington DC, and we didn’t want to pay a large upfront cost.
During our 3-day weekend in Toronto, including paying for Uber/Lyft to-and-from the airports, we spent around $600 between the 2 of us.
We are still trying to learn how to best utilize our credit card points. So far, it’s definitely a lot harder than we thought and very time consuming.
This was a small redemption, but it is a win nevertheless!
We also utilized our Venture X credit card to access the Capital One Landing (Cafe) at DCA for a light breakfast and coffee break.
We have shared the previous times we’ve used our credit points for hotels, flights, and lounge access in the Summer 2023 travel saving trips post.
If maximizing travel benefits on a travel credit card seems daunting to you, we have also written about beginner friendly credit card duos and our recommendations on how to get started!
We both had “free” credit cards for a few years before we opened up the credit cards with annual fees. Adulting is truly just taking one step at a time, and there is no rush to the finish line!
Maybe, one day, we hope to score one of those lucrative business or first class award tickets 😉 It’s definitely like reaching for the moon! It doesn’t hurt to dream!