Travel Hacking the Canadian Rockies

A four-night, four-star trip for next-to-nothing.

I’ve been so eager to tell you how we took second-honeymoon style trip to the Canadian Rockies for pennies on the dollar.? We started travel hacking about 2 years ago and using points and miles has definitely helped with our travel game.

After booking our trip to Australia last year, I had a bunch of American Airlines miles left.?? Reading Bryce’s blog about how to use the Fairmont VISA gave me an idea- I’d been dreaming of staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise since I was a teenager- travel hacking the hotel was the ticket!

First, I booked our flight from CMH -> Calgary using 75,000 AA miles.? Here’s what I would have paid using the same flights but paying cash.

Instead, here’s what I paid:? 75k miles + $123.60 in taxes and fees

Savings on flights:? $1,232.40

You can accrue AA Advantage miles by signing up for 2 Platinum Select Citi AAdvantage cards- if you got the business card and the personal card, you’d immediately have enough miles.? More info HERE.

Our first night of the trip was at Emerald Lake Lodge (review).? Not only was the place exquisite, it’s very pricey.? One night was $329 CAD + taxes.? Our bill at check out for one night + dinner in the lounge and breakfast in the dining room was a whopping $497.89 CAD!

Before we left home, the Barclaycard Arrival + was offering a sign-up bonus for 50,000 miles after spending $3k in the first 3 months.? We used the card for all of our expenses on the trip, plus? all of our personal expenses and my husband’s business expenses.? After less than 2 months, we hit the minimum spend on this card- giving us 50k points/ $500 in travel credit.

The charge at Emerald Lake Lodge converted to $375.82.? See how I erased the purchase below:

So for 2 nights and 2 great meals: FREE

A savings of $375.82

Next we spent 2 nights at the aforementioned Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.? This travel hack involved signing up for the Fairmont Visa Signature Card.? (This card is no longer available.? I recommend signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and booking the hotel through their travel portal.? You could also use the Barclaycard Arrival + to erase an overnight stay). We applied for this card over a year ago in order to have time to earn the miles and have open availability for the resort.? The Fairmont card also requires spending $3000 in the first 3 months, but with that comes a bonus of 2 FREE nights!

After achieving the minimum spend I called Fairmont and booked the two nights at the Chateau Lake Louise (you must book directly with Fairmont resorts to use your free nights).? The resort quoted me a resort fee of $13/night, but I wasn’t charged it at checkout.

Here’s what our nights would have cost without credits:

$669 CAD is currently $501 USD per night!!? Just having this credit card saved us $1002!

Earning Premier Status also gives you breakfast and dining credits at the resorts.? We were able to use 2 of these at check-out. The parking was $30/night.? Here’s our first bill from the resort and then a second one showing what we paid after the credits were applied:

We had horrible weather while at Lake Louise (our mountain view room became a fog-view room), so we really just enjoyed the resort and the room service (YES!).? Our bill at check-out (after Fairmont dining credits) was $163.12 CAD.? This came to $123.13 USD and we were able to erase the entire stay using the Barclay points.

Total cost of 2 nights at the Fairmont + Dining if paid for out of pocket and without credits:? $1002 + $216 USD ($288.12 CAD) = $1218

Total spent for 2 nights at Fairmont + gluttony and room service after HACKS = ZERO

The last night of our trip was in Banff.? I had prepaid for the hotel through AAA.? In hindsight, I could have also booked the hotel with the option to pay at check-out and used the Barclay points to cover it.? However, it was the least expensive option by quite a bit- we stayed at the Banff Aspen Lodge for $133 USD.? The room and amenities were just fine, but I would recommend this more for budget travelers or families.

Total for air and 4 nights before Travel Hacking: $3082.82

Total for air and 4 nights after Travel Hacking: $256.60

Savings: $2,826.22

Bam!!? The Canadian Rockies was one of the most magical places we’ve ever visited.? I think I’ve covered everything, but if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section. I’m not the final authority on all things travel hacking- I recommend reading 10xtravel.com for more info!? I love them so much, I wrote a blog for them!

Have you done any travel hacking?? Maybe you’ve been the Canadian Rockies?? Maybe you cry, too, when you see a dream come true?

** I’m undeniably one of the world’s biggest haters of debt.? We only use these credit cards with the premise that the uses are already budgeted for and the cards are paid off EVERY month.? I don’t recommend using a credit card if you lack self-control.? My husband is also self-employed so we can easily hit the minimum spends just by charging his gas and other work expenses along with our household expenses.? More HERE.? End sermon. **

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