There’s a common misconception that when it comes to points and miles, the only way to get any value out of loyalty programs is to be the kind of person who has 10 credit cards in their wallet and a complicated spreadsheet to keep track of benefits. While that’s certainly one-way to approach points and miles (many TPG staffers, myself included, have 10-plus credit cards), it’s not the only strategy that can help you save money.
What if I told you that just one credit card could save you more than $1,000 on your next international getaway?
I recently used my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to book a three-night trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, saving $2,667 in total (while also elevating my experience with my cardholder benefits). Here’s how I did it.
Flights
My home airport is Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), so I was able to book a nonstop, round-trip flight to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) with Air Canada (operated by United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner).
Air Canada’s loyalty program, Aeroplan, is a Capital One transfer partner, so I had two options for using my Capital One miles to cover the cost: booking with cash and using my miles at a 1-cent-per-mile value or transferring miles to book with Aeroplan points. Booking through Aeroplan would have cost nearly 60,000 points plus taxes and fees for my round-trip economy tickets. The cash price was $610, including taxes and fees, so I elected to use my Capital One Venture X to buy the flights and just used 61,000 miles to offset the entire cost via Capital One’s travel purchase eraser feature.
Total saved: $610
Hotel
Capital One has two hotel collections that Venture X cardholders can access: the Premier Collection and the Lifestyle Collection. Both collections offer elitelike perks during your stay, with the Premier Collection being more exclusive with more perks, while the Lifestyle Collection has a larger selection of properties with slightly fewer perks.
The Pan Pacific Vancouver is a Lifestyle Collection property, which came with a great lineup of benefits that made my stay more memorable and more affordable:
- Upgraded room choices at booking
- Early check-in and late checkout
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Club Pacific lounge access
- Daily free breakfast (via the Club Pacific lounge)
- Daily snacks, including afternoon tea service (via the Club Pacific lounge)
- A $50 experience credit to use at the hotel
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I absolutely loved my stay. The location is excellent, the room was comfortable, the Club Pacific lounge had fantastic food (do not skip the afternoon tea service — the scones are incredible), and the view was legitimately one of the best hotel room views I’ve ever had.
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The Pan Pacific is an iconic Vancouver hotel located right on the water in downtown. MADISON BLANCAFLOR/THE POINTS GUY
Another benefit of the Capital One Venture X is a $300 annual credit that can be used for Capital One Travel bookings. My three-night stay totaled $1,864.64, so I used my annual credit and 156,464 miles to cover the remaining cost at a 1-cent-per-mile rate.
My Lifestyle Collection benefits also saved me money on food and Wi-Fi costs. The standard breakfast buffet at the hotel costs 44 Canadian dollars (about $31) per person, per day, which means I saved around $90 on breakfast alone. Add in another $50 for the experience credit I used on lunch, $20 for assorted snacks and afternoon tea at the Club Pacific Lounge and $12 for complimentary Wi-Fi (which is usually CA$5.25 per day), and my Venture X saved me an additional $172 throughout my trip.
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MADISON BLANCAFLOR/THE POINTS GUY
Total saved: $2,037
Bonus: Priority Pass lounge access
U.S.-bound passengers have to go through U.S. customs in Vancouver before takeoff, so I allowed myself a lot of extra time at the airport just in case lines were long. That fear ended up being for naught, and I breezed through the Global Entry kiosks in under a minute … meaning I had nearly two hours to kill before boarding and only a small U.S.-bound section of the airport to explore. Thankfully, the U.S. departures area of the terminal has a Plaza Premium Lounge that I was able to access via my Capital One Venture X.
I was able to grab free food from the buffet, relax and finish a book in relative peace while I killed time before my flight.
Assuming I would have otherwise bought some food before my flight home, let’s estimate I saved $20 by having lounge access (though not having to fight for an uncomfortable chair near my gate was definitely priceless).
Total saved: $20
Related: 10 credit cards that offer Priority Pass airport lounge access
Bottom line: I saved $2,667 with my Venture X
Vancouver had been on my bucket list for a long time, and my trip was such a fantastic getaway. I’m talking “I’m officially plotting a move here” kind of loved my trip. Three nights was the perfect length of time to explore all the must-do items on my itinerary, and thanks to my Capital One Venture X, my out-of-pocket costs were really low.
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Capilano Suspension Bridge Park is a must-do. Pro tip: Book a late afternoon ticket for fewer crowds. MADISON BLANCAFLOR/THE POINTS GUY
Saving money on my flights and hotels meant I had the budget to splurge on a few of the pricier activities I had my heart set on, like whale watching (I highly recommend Prince of Whales tours) and sushi at Miku Vancouver. It also meant I had room in my budget for some shopping on Granville Island and in Gastown.
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Getting to watch a pod orcas in the wild was a true bucket-list experience. PRINCE OF WHALES
The Capital One Venture X is a great all-in-one card for trips like this. It’s easy to rack up a lot of miles because you earn at least 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase; your redemption options are flexible, as you have access to a solid selection of transfer partners and Capital One’s travel portal, plus the ability to redeem miles at 1-cent-per-mile as a statement credit for travel purchases; and you get a lot of great benefits for a modest $395 annual fee (which is low compared to other premium credit cards).
Thanks to just one credit card in my wallet, I was able to save $2,667 on an amazing international trip — proving you don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars in annual fees for multiple premium credit cards in order to get a lot of value out of points and miles.
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