How to Get Value from Travel Points and Loyalty in 2023

In 2023, we got value from travel points and loyalty

We were pleased with the value we received from loyalty and travel points in 2023.  Many of the great luxury hotels Trips booked for 2023Use points that we have accumulated through the years.  We loved the benefits of loyalty status, whether we paid or stayed on points.  

This year, it took more planning to maintain our loyalty with both Marriott BonvoyYou can also find out more about the following: Air Canada Aeroplan.  We have given up our loyalty status to IHG Rewards.  And started our loyalty voyage with Silversea Cruises Venetian Society Program.  

We tried to travel with our preferred partners but many of our trips didn’t allow this.  Visit the Sunshine CoastBritish Columbia (BC), also known as British Columbia AirBnbStays that had no loyalty program  And on our Travel around Sicily for five weeksWe only found a few places with MarriottGroup hotels  Our non-brand stays were generally at great local spots.  We didn’t get points or enjoy the benefits of loyalty status.

Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty Status Regained in 2023 Took Some Effort

We started 2023 by Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador EliteWe hoped to maintain our status throughout the year.  Our Bonvoy American ExpressThe card gave us 15 nights towards the required 100 for Ambassador Status.  Unfortunately, in Canada, this was the only card that got us. Marriott Bonvoy status nights.  In the U.S.A. Marriott BonvoyMembers can stack credit card nights to get up to 40 nights.  

Throughout the year we have made several Sunshine Coast holidaysIn BC to visit family.  We stayed at a variety of hotels, including some small motels. Airbnb properties.  This was the property. 49 Airbnb nightsIt did not add anything to our hotel loyalty. It did, however, give us some great places for us to stay!

When we considered a Sicily 5 Week TripWe thought that this long road trip could add a lot of excitement. Marriott hotel night stays.  When we did our Planning for Sicily & MaltaWe soon found out that only a handful of locations had Marriott hotels.  Almost all of them were members of other hotel loyalty programs. IHG Rewards program.  On a 59-day journey, we only added a total of 28 nights. Marriott BonvoyProgress for the Year  

Our itinerary is updated throughout the year with new excursions. Marriott Bonvoy status night count.  As we approached the fall, it seemed that we would not be able to spend the dollars or nights necessary to renew our status. Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite status.  When we booked late in the year, we received a Caribbean cruise on the Ritz Carlton yacht EvrimaWe finally achieved Ambassador loyalty status.  

It took a great deal of planning to get us to our destination. Marriott BonvoyStatus targets  Even with all the We travelled 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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