We Got Value From Travel Points And Loyalty In 2023
We were happy we got value from travel points and loyalty in 2023. Many of the great luxury trips we booked in 2023 used points we accumulated over the years. Whether we stayed on points or paid for a stay we loved the benefits we got from loyalty status.
It took more planning this year to retain our loyalty status with both Marriott Bonvoy and Air Canada Aeroplan. We gave up our loyalty status with IHG Rewards. And started our loyalty journey with Silversea Cruises Venetian Society program.
While we tried to travel using our preferred travel partners, many of our trips provided no options to do this. Visits to the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia (BC) meant AirBnb stays which had no loyalty program. And on our travels around Sicily for 5 weeks, we found only a few locations with Marriott group hotels. Our non-brand stays generally were at great local spots. But we missed both getting points and enjoying the benefits that loyalty status brought.
It Took Some Effort To Regain Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty Status In 2023
We started 2023 with Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite status and hoped to maintain it through the year. Our Bonvoy American Express card started us with 15 nights towards the 100 required for Ambassador status. Sadly in Canada this was the only credit card that got us Marriott Bonvoy status nights. In the U.S.A. many Marriott Bonvoy members got as many as 40 nights through stacking credit card nights.
Through the year, we made several trips to the Sunshine Coast in BC to visit family. While there were some very small motels in this area, all of our stays were at Airbnb properties. This meant the 49 Airbnb nights added nothing to our hotel loyalty status. But it did give us some great places to stay!
When we originally considered a 5 week trip to Sicily, we thought this long road trip would add lots of Marriott hotel night stays. But when we did our planning for Sicily and Malta, we soon discovered that only a few locations had Marriott hotels. And virtually none were members of our other hotel loyalty groups the IHG Rewards program. So on a 59 day trip, we only added 28 nights to our Marriott Bonvoy progress for the year.
Throughout the year different trips added to our Marriott Bonvoy status night count. But as we approached the Fall, it appeared that we would not have the nights or dollar spend to renew our Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite status. When late in the year we booked a Caribbean cruise on the Ritz-Carlton yacht Evrima, we finally achieved the Ambassador loyalty status targets.
It took a lot of planning to reach our Marriott Bonvoy status targets. But even with all the travelling we did in 2023, we did not reach any IHG Rewards loyalty status. So for 2024 we lost our Diamond Elite status. The few IHG Reward hotels we stayed at kept our status alive so we did not lose our accumulated points. One day we will book a luxury escape on these IHG Reward points!
Meeting the targets for hotel loyalty status required careful choices in 2023. We enjoyed the value from travel points and loyalty in 2023 and were glad we maintained at least our Bonvoy Ambassador Elite status for another year.
We Almost Missed Our Air Canada Aeroplan Status Level Increase
In 2023 we started with 35K Air Canada Aeroplan status. At the beginning of the year, Air Canada removed several great benefits from this status level. The big one we hated to lose was access to the Air Canada and Star Alliance lounges. When we booked travel in Business Class we got lounge access. But for many shorter trips and domestic flights in Canada to visit family, we did not splurge on Business Class.
When we booked our 8 week trip to Malta and Sicily, our flight mileage with the bonus miles for business travel pushed us well over the 35K status target. The 50K Air Canada Aeroplan status was potentially within reach.
When we added up our projected flight SQMs, we were just short of the 50K level. We had 3 ways to add the required Status Qualifying Miles (SQM): flights, bonus SQM every time we spent $10,000 on our TD Aeroplan credit card or special bonus SQM offers. We moved some of our spending in the second half of the year to our TD Aeroplan credit card. But we were still short.
In the summer Air Canada Aeroplan put out a targeted offer to get SQM for booking hotels using Aeroplan points. Since we had a lot of non-Marriott hotels to book in Sicily, this was a perfect way to get the small number or SQM we needed to reach the 50K level. But even after we confirmed the offer before booking the hotels, the SQM never showed up in the Aeroplan account. This is still under dispute but Air Canada and Aeroplan continued to pass the issue between them.
We considered a short flight late in the year. But late in the year to pick up just 200 SQM on 50,000, we prepaid some 2024 travel expenses on ourTD Aeroplan credit card for the bonus SQM. Finally we both reached 50K status. We almost missed the new Aeroplan status level and would definitely have missed the Aeroplan value from travel points and loyalty in 2023 when we lost lounge access!
Using Marriott Bonvoy Points For Great Luxury Stays
Each year we get Free Night Certificates with our Bonvoy American Express credit cards. And when we reach certain status levels within the Marriott Bonvoy program we chose another Free Night Certificate. Free Night Certificates combined with points we earned were put to great use on our travels in 2023.
There were many sites that helped us to understand how to get the best value from our Marriott Bonvoy points. From experience we found two strategies. When we used the points on high end luxury properties we got much better value. And when possible we booked longer stays in 5 night increments. Using the Marriott Bonvoy program, we only paid for 4 nights with points when we booked 5 nights. This started us with at least a 20% better rate on the points. Even if we still had to pay resort fees and parking on all booked nights!
On our travels in 2023 we enjoyed some amazing stays on points at luxury properties around the world. Our favourite luxury resort close to home let us prepare for our Antarctica cruise with a mid-week winter escape to the JW Marriott Muskoka.
A 5 day stay in Rome at the St Regis Rome was the perfect base to explore this great city and enjoy the special St Regis rituals. And we enjoyed more of the St Regis luxury when we stayed at the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort outside San Juan in Puerto Rico before our Caribbean cruise on the Ritz-Carlton Yacht.
When we stayed in Malta for over 2 weeks, we booked 15 nights on points at the Malta Marriott and paid for only 12 nights. A great value for this lovely spot overlooking the water in the St Julian area of Malta.
While we typically got great points rates for high end hotels, when we did a summer road trip to New York and Vermont we got an amazing point value for a one night stay in the Fairfield Canton hotel. A great way to save some money on road trips in 2023. On our travels in 2023, we got great stays from using hotel travel points and loyalty in 2023.
Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty Got Us Some Great Upgrades
One of the best perks with hotel loyalty was getting upgrades. At the Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite level, we were eligible for upgrades and this included upgrades to suites. The big caveat for getting an upgrade was that the upgrade needed to be available at time of check-in and for the full duration of the stay. This often meant that shorter stays often had a much better chance of getting upgraded. And we also learned that many hotels took certain room types out of the supply of upgrade rooms.
We also got upgraded rooms when we used “Suite Night Awards (SNA)”. When we reached certain levels in the Marriott Bonvoy program we chose SNA as our bonus. This let us request upgrades in advance using our 5 SNA we held in 2023.
So while upgrades were never guaranteed, we did amazingly well on our travels in 2023 with getting stunning upgrades. We loved the one bedroom suite upgrade we got at the JW Marriott Muskoka. Ritz-Carlton hotels often did not do suite upgrades so we were delighted with the great suite we got on our Santiago stay at the Ritz-Carlton Santiago. And a one night stay in Buenos Aires got us an amazing suite at the Park Tower Hotel.
On our 5 week stay in Sicily we were disappointed at how few Marriott Bonvoy hotels we found. But we were delighted when we found a few luxury treats that earned us travel points and loyalty in 2023. On a stay just outside of Taormina we loved the large penthouse suite we were upgraded to at the Delta Giardini Naxos. Staying in the Ortigia area of Syracuse, we were delighted with the upgraded suite we got in the stunning Ortea Palace Hotel.
When we booked a long 15 day stay on points at the Malta Marriott we knew that getting an upgrade would be challenging for such a long stay. And the hotel was far busier than we expected. We got an upgraded view when we first arrived. And when occupancy dropped a little during our stay, we were upgraded to a suite. A lovely surprise on our long stay in Malta.
When we visited Rome in the early Fall, we booked a 5 night stay on points at the St Regis Rome. We knew that an upgrade when we arrived might be a challenge. So we used our SNA and successfully got a great upgraded suite for our stay. We enjoyed the St Regis Hotel brand so much we booked a short stay at at the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort outside Puerto Rico when we headed to the Caribbean. And even though we again booked on points, we got a lovely upgraded room.
We have learned from past experiences to always book the room we are happy with staying in for the entire time of a stay. But getting upgraded rooms with our travel points and loyalty in 2023 was one of our favourite ways to elevate our travels.
Great Benefits From Value From Travel Points And Loyalty In 2023
While upgraded rooms was one of the great perks of travel points and loyalty in 2023, it was not the only one we looked forward to. We enjoyed free breakfast for Elite members at most hotel brands. This not only saved us money on our stays but it also ensured we did not need to chase down breakfast every day.
In many of the hotels, we also often got a welcome amenity. The amenity was always a great treat. Often we got wine. Or local products. And hotels knew we loved chocolate for the amenity.
When we travelled for our birthdays or other special events we often got a special treat or recognition when we travelled with hotel loyalty status. And sometimes the hotels really went over the top!
We got lots of special perks when we travelled with elite status in 2023.
Air Canada Aeroplan Status Sometimes Got Us Seat Upgrades
Over the years we continued to add to our Air Canada Aeroplan points. Many of our points came from spending on our co-branded TD Aeroplan credit card. We got points from our flights and the points were higher if we booked more premium seats. Although we learned in 2023 that many Aeroplan partners (e.g. Swiss Air and Lufthansa) did not give the same high point rates.
Right now we are generally not using our points. Unlike our Marriott Bonvoy program, using points for flights adds nothing to our current year status. So we built our flight credits and points to get increased Aeroplan status level.
Most of our perks from travel points and loyalty in 2023 came from hotel programs. But each elite status level with Air Canada provided some bonus perks. When we reached 35K status we took the Upgrade Certificates as our bonus. Depending on the fare we booked and the upgrade we wanted, we used up a different number of Upgrade Certificates.
We often saved our Upgrade Certificates for flights between Toronto and Vancouver to see family. We booked Premium Economy and submitted Upgrade Certificates to move to Business Class. In previous years, we were quite successful with this strategy. In 2023, we booked the lowest rate Premium Economy tickets and that seemed far less successful in getting flight upgrades.
We generally buy the airline ticket we are prepared to travel with. But flight seat upgrades are always a treat. So this is a strategy we will keep using in 2024.
Starting New Loyalty Status With SilverSea Cruises
We have loyalty status with Oceania Cruises and got great perks from this status. But when we planned our amazing trip to Antarctica we chose to do this amazing trip with SilverSea Cruises. Many of the perks from our Oceania Cruises status came as part of the all inclusive pricing for our cruise. This included welcome champagne and paid gratuities. But we missed other perks like the welcome reception and free laundry!
Perhaps the biggest missing element when cruising without elite status was the lack of familiar faces and that “returning home” feeling we got on our cruises. But this first SilverSea Cruises trip starts our path to adding SilverSea Venetian Society status.
Our amazing Antarctica trip started us with 20 nights towards the first tier at 100 nights. But it would still be a long way to any meaningful status level. But we sure missed cruising with travel points and loyalty in 2023.
There Were Many Ways We Got Value From Travel Points And Loyalty In 2023
We got good value from travel points and loyalty in 2023 with our Marriott Bonvoy elite status. We used our points for great hotel stays. And enjoyed the wonderful suite upgrades we got. Elite status perks like free breakfast and welcome amenities always enhanced our stays.
We were less successful using our Air Canada Aeroplan benefits in 2023. We did not use points to fly as we tried to improve our elite status level. And we were sadly unable to take advantage of Upgrade Certificates. But we reached 50K Aeroplan status for 2024 and will love retaining our lounge access.
When possible, there are many reasons to consolidate our travel choices to the travel brands where we have loyalty and points. But when we chose non-brand hotels and Airbnb stays we had some lovely experiences too.
Did you get value from travel points and loyalty in 2023? What are you doing differently in 2024?
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I am always impressed at your skills using several loyalty programs. I usually sign up for different cards and use them only once or twice. Most of the time I just book the cheapest option. Well done!
We travelled for many years and did not look at travel loyalty programs seriously. Now we are sorry it took us so long to get real value from the programs.
I always read with awe and admiration how you gain all those points. I do participate in a couple of loyalty programs but apart from two or three free flights, very few hotel stays, and a six-pack of high-quality sparkling wine, I never collected enough points. I’m always going for the cheapest offers, making it difficult to put all my eggs in one basket. I guess you guys can teach me a lot 😉
Each year we learn a little more about how to do better with points and loyalty. And the benefits we do get from the programs. But the rules change all the time so I am always looking for new tips!
Can I earn points on stays booked through third-party websites or only through direct bookings with Marriott? Are there specific types of purchases or activities that earn more points? Thanks for these tips!
You need to book directly with Marriott to get points on stays. The higher the status you have, the higher the points you get. And Marriott runs promotions through the year too for more points. My final option is to use a Marriott Bonvoy credit card for points.
I have absolutely no skills with reward/loyalty points. I did dabble a little in this back in 2015 on a seven week trip but had since forgotten about this aspect of travel. I will take another look, thanks to you. 🙂
It took us a long time to really focus our travel spend to get the value from points and loyalty. And things change year over year. Good luck with trying a new strategy.
Wow, you really have a knack for getting the best deals. I’m learning a lot. Sadly, I lost my silver status with British Airways and went down in my IHG rewards status for the same reason as you, lack of hotel options, or the locations aren’t suitable. I hope you get your SQM points from Air Canada for the hotel booking, even though you made the 50k!
We are sadly still waiting for Air Canada and Aeroplan to stop passing the buck on the failure to award us the SQMs we expected. Sadly if applied to the previous year, resolving it now will get us nothing. It is hard to keep multiple programs going at the same time. But we are watching to make sure we don’t lose our IHG points. They are still worth a lot on a great IHG trip.
I do very badly on point collection I’m afraid and even lose track of the expiry dates. Living in Europe meant no great credit card point collections and this became progressively difficult to do any collection on hotel stays alone. Still glad that you are faring well and able to use the points to your advantage. I guess rewards really do go to people who plan.
I have heard that Europe is even worse than Canada for points and loyalty programs. And it sure does take some planning to really get value.
Your strategic use of Marriott Bonvoy points and loyalty status in 2023 for luxury stays is impressive. It’s great that you managed to maintain the Ambassador Elite status and enjoyed perks like suite upgrades. Despite challenges with non-brand stays, your experiences showcase the value of loyalty. Looking forward to your 2024 adventures!
We were delighted with how well we did with our Marriott Bonvoy points and loyalty in 2023. Still working on our 2024 plans.
Like some of the other commenters, I am so impressed with how you navigate the system and get so much out of it! It sounds like we should sign up for TD Aeroplan credit card! We have the RBC card, but really it just means we can pay for one flight a year with points. You manage to do sooo much more!
We are glad we finally paid attention to the value we could get from points and loyalty. A little planning is needed. But we sure got the value.
I am a Hilton Honours member and I find it very hard to maintain my status, since the pandemic hit. Before that I used to have a corporate account with a specific hotel, as I would stay there every couple of weeks for business. But now I moved, and the stays have dropped. I had the same issue – there were no Hilton hotels in many of the places I travelled to this year. And if they were, the location was not central. I did get an upgrade in Toronto, but as my flight landed at 2 am, I didn’t get too much time to enjoy it.
I have the same issue with my Hyatt loyalty status. Since we don’t travel as much in the US, I hardly ever have enough stays to count. I am back to focusing mostly on Marriott until I hit the status i want and then look to other programs.
I am always amazed at seeing people like you who build up travel points. I don’t think I’m good at tracking everything or making sure that this will add a point, that won’t. Unfortunately, not every place in the world you can build the points. But you still got amazing services from your points in 2023.
We sure did learn this year about the lack of loyalty locations on our visit to Sicily. We had the same issue on a previous trip to Spain. But when we did get a points or loyalty stay we were sure glad we had some status!
It is indeed impressive that you have used your Marriot Bonvoy points for top class hotel stays.I am not very good at this except the use of miles on Emirates airlines which we use frequently. It must be fun staying at places like St. Regis Rome, and Ritz- Carlton Santiago. The best hotel I remember staying and enjoying the perks is the Fairmont group in Canada. We used it while traveling through the Rockies in Jasper, Banff and Vancouver. Enjoyed reading your blog post.
We do like to save up our points for great splurge hotels like the St Regis and Ritz-Carlton. A nice treat that may not be totally free but always a great experience.
It’s so lovely to see the welcome amenities they prepared for you, especially for special occasions! I think I would have appreciated that more than anything else. But it’s frustrating when you fail to maintain a status tier. Last year, I traveled quite a lot, but sadly the airline that I have loyalty with doesn’t fly to those places.
We were probably most disappointed in our airline status. We too flew a lot but did not get as much value from that loyalty. But in Canada we don’t have a lot of choice so focusing on one airline makes sense. It is some of Air Canada partners that provide far less benefit. It means a lot of checking on connecting flights before hitting “buy”.
Wow this is holidaying at its best. All hotels are absolutely fantastic. I too have received many benefits through my membership with Citicard Premiermiles credit card with free flights and one of the airlines here in India. But that’s about it. I truly appreciate your skills in using loyalty points and saving as well as room upgrades. Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty looks like a great program.
Once we finally started to focus our travel spends we started tor realize the value of travel points and loyalty. Getting value back makes some of the trade-offs worth it.
This is so inspiring! I’m in the UK and I always think that points and loyalty are things that don’t really work here – but maybe I need to look into it more carefully!
I heard that travel points and loyalty are not are great outside of North America. Certainly Canada is nowhere near as good as the U.S. Hope you find some options that give you some real value.
This is so informative and detailed! I have status with a couple of hotels and airlines as well, and have been showing my boyfriend the way. He ended up having so many points from work travel that he had no idea he had!
I am glad to read that you have having some success with travel points and loyalty. And discovered how quickly the points can add up to real value.
I do love a point plan. We have used a few hotel reward and airline point schemes but these days tend to use booking.com for larger properties to fit in room for teenagers.
We waited too long to really start our travel points and loyalty journey. But glad we are finally see real value.
Very impressive use of travel points and way to do it!
Thanks! We sure did get some amazing value from our travel points and loyalty.
I’m impressed by the quality of hotels that you find with your points. We also use Marriott; we tend to use our points mainly in the US and UK, but have not been able to find as many deals in Europe in particular.
It was great to find some amazing point values for luxury hotels on the Marriott program. Europe was always a bit harder to find both hotels and great values.
Well done juggling the different loyalty reward programs!
It was definitely worth the effort.
You’re very strategic in planning, earning, and using your loyalty points and maintaining your loyalty status. And awesome amenities and perks you received. I appreciate our companion fares and seat upgrades with Delta and complimentary hotel rooms with Hilton.
It is good that you are earning some value from Delta and Hilton. Adds a little special treat to travels.
I really enjoyed this. I am currently working on a post about Lounge Privilege perks from our Capital One Credit Card, but this is a whole different level of travel awards. I learned a lot.
Glad you learned something from this post. We keep learning and each year get a little more value from our travel points and loyalty.
I’m always slightly “jealous” when I see the point systems in North America! In Europe we don’t have (m)any of these loyalty plans and it’s hard to save. I used to fly a lot and never got to use my points! In other places I’ve been lucky enough to get my 10th coffee for free 🤣 and if I want to have better deals on my credit card I have to pay more interest, so makes no sense…. So inspiring to hear how it works for you as you always stay in such beautiful hotels!
We are happy we have the chance to get value from our travel points and loyalty programs. And yes, we chase our coffee card benefits too!
Wow, that is impressive! You really know how to make the most of your points and loyalty programs! I learned a lot of new things and I should start implementing them asap!!
I am glad you learned some things about how to get more value from travel points and loyalty. Good luck!
You are amazing! Not everyone has the skills to maximize all of these perks but you truly inspire me. I find airport lounges really important so, I am glad that you were able to make it work.
Hope you get to resolve the issue with Air Canada and Aeroplan.
I am hoping we really get to see more value from our Air Canada Aeroplan loyalty this year. Just one of the great ways we enjoyed benefits this year.
Travel points are a good way to enjoy vacations.Whether the points are earned from using credit cards or miles for booking flight tickets, travel points make any trip an exhilarating adventure.
We were happy we got so much value from our travel points and loyalty in 2023.