Travel hacking 101 for average Canadians

All smiles in First Class with Thai Airways, from Tokyo to Bangkok.

Travel hacking – a term you’ve probably heard many times on the internet. A term that made you so interested because hey – FREE FLIGHTS! – that you googled it excitedly but became somewhat discouraged because a) most of the information online is aimed at Americans and b) a lot of the credit cards on offer for Canadians had high income levels as a prerequisite.

I felt the exact same way when I started doing my research into travel hacking. And there are definitely decent sources for Canadians. However, I found that I did not qualify for half the cards that were advertised because a) I did not make 60k or 100k a year b) I am single, so the “household income” factor did not help.

But that did not mean I was exempt from being a newbie travel hacker.

Bunch of pillows by my lie-flat seat, and a very nice amenity kit filled with L’Occitane products.

With that said, less than a year later I was on my one-way business/first class flight from Toronto to Tokyo to Bangkok to Krabi – all on points/miles (see pic above). A sweet kick-off to my indefinite travel plans. Looking up the “retail” cost of the flight ($8000), the fuel surcharge of $400 did not bother me. I mean, I had personal greetings from the flight attendants, seats that folded down flat for wondrous sleep, beautiful amenity kits, access to lounges in YYZ, HND and BKK, really GOOD food, pyjamas, turn-down service… the list goes on. I wasn’t even surprised when I landed in BKK and a man was standing outside our gate with a sign with my name on it. He personally drove me throughout the airport, walked me through security, immigration and brought me to the lounge where I sat in a comfy chair and had fresh fruits and sandwiches while I waited for my next flight. Would you get that with your economy ticket that you paid out-of-pocket for?

One of the many meals I had on the 7 hour flight.

Now, I am writing this post because I want YOU to have the same experience as me. There is nothing wrong or illegal with travel hacking. Before I go ahead, I must say, travel hacking is for people who have GOOD CREDIT and who pay their credits cards off EVERY MONTH (meaning you don’t carry a balance). If you do not fit into both of these categories, please read another one of my articles instead 🙂

Here is a “plan” on how you could get a free first class/business ticket in just a few months:

1.) Get the right cards (see below).

2.) Put everything, and I mean EVERYTHING on your credit cards – your phone, cable, car insurance, groceries, gas… EVERYTHING!

3.) Pay off your cards every month.

4.) Accumulate points/miles.

5.) Book your flight and GO!

Which cards should you get? Here are my recommendations below:

1.) American Express Gold Rewards Charge Card

This is one of the best cards for Canadians right now. You start off with 25,000 AMEX points when you spend $500 within the first 3 months of receiving the card (equivalent to $250 through the AMEX rewards program – but I recommend you transfer them to Aeroplan instead). You receive 2 points for every $1 you spend on travel, groceries, gas and drug store purchases and 1 point for every $1 on everything else. The card comes with a suite of insurance benefits such as travel medical insurance, car rental insurance and extra protection on items you’ve placed on your card (so you don’t have to buy additional insurance when you book a flight or train or cruise ticket, rent a car or when you put the new iPad on your card). You can also refer a friend and receive a referral bonus (note: my link above is my referral to you!) It is usually $150 a year for this card, but your first year is completely FREE! It is definitely a no brainer to get this card (note: this is a charge card, not a credit card, which means you have to pay off the balance in full every month – something you should be doing anyways!)

Your points balance so far: 25,000 AMEX points or 25,000 Aeroplan miles + any additional points incurred upon spending

2.) American Express Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Credit Card

Yes, another AMEX. Why? They provide some of the best sign-up bonuses, flexibility and insurance benefits. The SPG card is a favourite among the travel hacking community and the $120 annual fee should NOT put you off from getting this card. You receive 20,000 Starpoints when you spend $500 in the first 3 months of receiving the card (equivalent of up to 5 nights stay in a Starwood hotel) OR you can transfer your Starpoints to nearly every airline rewards program 1:1. If you choose to do this, you will receive another 5,000 miles/points.

Also, the more you spend, the more points you get – 1 Starpoint for every $1 you spend on the card and of course, all the usual insurance benefits from American Express.

Your points balance so far: 25,000 Amex points or 25,000 Aeroplan miles + 20,000 Starpoints or 25,000 Aeroplan miles (assuming you transfer everything to Aeroplan, right now you would have 50,000 Aeroplan miles before any point accumulation from spending!)

3.) Marriott Rewards Premier Visa from Chase

This card gives you 30,000 Marriott Rewards bonus points after your first purchase (no minimum spend!) and an e-certificate for a free night in a Marriott category 1-4 hotel. You can also accumulate points with spending on the card however I find it low and just got this card for the bonuses. The card gives you Elite status and is FREE for the first year ($120 value). This card doesn’t seem to have insurance benefits, but I put nearly all my spending on my Amex’s anyways. The 30,000 bonus can be transferred to airline reward programs mostly at 3:1 so 30,000 Marriott points = 10,000 Aeroplan miles – for free! Alternatively, you can use your points for hotel stays at Marriott locations, but I think transferring to Aeroplan is a better deal.

Your points balance so far (assuming you are targeting an Aeroplan redemption): 50,000 Aeroplan miles + 10,000 Aeorplan miles from transferring from Marriott Rewards = 60,000 Aeroplan miles + 1 free night in a Marriott category 1-4 hotel! At this point you only paid $120 for the SPG card!

4.) TD Aeroplan Visa Platinum/Infinite/Privilege Card

Depending on what your income level is, the TD Aeroplan Visa Cards can get you either a 20,000/30,000/55,000 bonus miles sign up on top of your spending accumulation. This is more than what I received when I got this card last year, though I got the annual fee waived but now they don’t seem to be offering the first year free (FYF) right now. I got the Platinum card and received 15,000 Aeroplan miles when I spent $1000 in the first 3 months – more than AMEX’s spending minimum for the bonus but I’m sure you have something that is at least $330 a month combined (example – car insurance + phone + internet + groceries + gas would definitely = more than that a month!). If you make more than 60k annually you qualify for the Infinite card which gets you 30,000 bonus points after the minimum spend and when you add an authorized user on your account. And if you want to get really fancy, the new Privilege card offers much more if you qualify for it — and are willing to cover the $399 annual fee.

Your points balance so far (assuming you are targeting an Aeroplan redemption): 60,000 + 20,000 or 30,000 = 80,000 or 90,000 Aeroplan miles + free hotel night at a Marriott on top of any point accumulation from spending on the cards!

5.) Best Western MBNA Mastercard

This is a free credit card that comes with 20,000 Best Western points (one night stay) with first purchase (no minimum) which converts to 4,000 Aeroplan miles. If you frequent BW hotels, then getting this card is a good idea as you get more points by booking your stays on this card. If you don’t really stay in BW hotels getting this card is a no brainer because you can make a small purchase and get 4,000 Aeroplan points to top off your balance.

Your points balance so far (assuming you are targeting an Aeroplan redemption): 80,000 or 90,000 + 4,000 = 84,000 or 94,000 Aeroplan miles + free hotel night at a Marriott on top of any point accumulating from spending on the cards!

To give you an idea: 25,000 miles is a economy roundtrip flight (usually with addiitonal taxes) from Canada to the US. My one way redemption from YYZ-HND-BKK-KBV was 105,000 miles plus about 400$ of fuel charges/tax. Yes, 400$ is quite a bit of money but the retail price of my flight was $8000. Now I could have chosen a route in which I had to pay very little for fuel/tax but I wanted to stop in Tokyo. To give you an idea, Turkish Airlines from Toronto to Istanbul-Bangkok business class was only 75,000 miles one way with about 60$ in taxes, but I did not want to stop in Istanbul and would much rather go to Tokyo and experience a mix of business and first class. You will have many options but I would recommend redeeming Aeroplan miles with the airlines that do not have fuel surcharge (Air China, United, Turkish, Singapore, EVA Air, just to name a few).

Worthy non-Aeroplan cards:

6.) Alaska Airlines MBNA Mastercard

Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan is one of the travel rewards industry hidden gems. The reason being is that even though you may never fly on Alaskan Airlines, they are partnered with some pretty sweet airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Qantas, American Airlines, KLM, Japan Airlines… should I keep going? So this means that any points you accumulate from this card can be used with these partner airlines. You get 25,000 miles on approval and if you frequent Alaska Airlines, you get 3 miles per dollar spent. Other spending gets you 1 mile per dollar, which yes, is a bit low but you can easily build points by using this Mastercard as a backup for any places that don’t take AMEX (which should be the first card you use).

You can also use your SPG points and convert them to Mileage Plan miles, so assuming you have 20,000 SPG points + the 5,000 bonus you get from converting to airline programs + 25,000 miles upon approval with the Mastercard = 50,000 Mileage Plan miles. This enough to redeem a roundtrip business/first class ticket from Canada to the US. It is also enough for a one way business ticket to Asia or roundtrip coach ticket to Korea or Japan, to give you some ideas. Of course, this is all before spending on the card(s) which obviously gives you more points!

Business class on Air Canada, Toronto to Tokyo Haneda, 13 hours. Lie flat beds and a very nice screen. Also a decent amenity kit.

So there you go, these were all the cards and programs I used to rack about my points/miles. I had a very pleasant and comfortable trip from Toronto to Tokyo and then to Thailand AND I have points left over for another comfortanle (ie. business/first class) trip home, whenever I choose to do it.

Don’t be afraid to get a few credit cards at once. It won’t “ruin” your credit nor will it make a big impact. I applied and was approved for a few cards all within a few months and my credit only dipped a few points, and went up again pretty quickly. I don’t consider 4-5 credit cards as credit card “churning” as many people in the US do.

Let me know if you have any questions! Happy travel hacking and rack up those points!