State 50 out of 50 before I turned 30 was a special treat. Hawaii, also the last state to be admitted into the union, was also the most expensive. To partially offset the cost of the trip, I used points for the hotel stay and inter-island flights.
It was the first time I had used the Marriott fifth night free offer and the first time I flew on an antique McDonnell Douglas aircraft painted in the livery of an airline that no longer existed.
Useaton of points on Sheraton
The fifth night free offer doesn’t actually discount the last night of the stay, Marriott offers its members the cheapest night for free if they book five consecutive nights with the chain’s Bonvoy points. I received 110,000 points from the Bonvoy credit card welcome offer by holding the card for two years and meeting minimum spend. I got another 40,000 points from spending and staying at Marriott properties.
The cheapest Waikiki property was the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani. The basic, no view room cost 156,000 points for the five nights I wanted to visit in May. I transferred American Express Membership Rewards points over to Marriott Bonvoy to make up for the 6,000 difference.
I still had to pay about US$250 in destination fees, but still saved over US$1,300 over the five-night stay.
First class on a defunct airline
Mauna Kea is the world’s tallest volcano and the world’s tallest mountain from undersea bottom to above sea top. So, I hopped a flight to Hilo airport on Hawaiian Airlines. When I bought these tickets, Hawaiian Airlines was still an independent airline. But by the time I boarded, Alaskan Airlines had fully taken over control. I even had to call Alaskan Airlines to get a new booking reference number.
The round-trip price for two in first class was US$800. I paid C$240 and 15,000 RBC Avion points each way instead, saving about US$450, or about C$600. I had the top-tier RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege; its superpower is redeeming premium cabin tickets at a flat-rate of 2 cents per point regardless of award availability, yielding the $600 savings for 30,000 points.
Overall, I still had to pay for the flights to get to Hawaii and pay for food and attractions, but saved US$1,750 on the trip, or about one-third of the total trip cost, by saving up on points.
0 Comments