Today we bring you an incredible reader success story from one of our Travel Miles 101 community members, John from California; not only did John put together a trip that would have retailed for over $13,000 including two round-trip business class tickets from LAX to London and eight free nights at a swanky Marriott, but he used a little-known perk called the Marriott Hotel + Air packages to earn another 110,000 United Airlines miles!
Aside from enjoying John’s success story, you’ll get a lot of value out of this article as he gives you specific knowledge on:
- How to change American Airlines award flights for free
- The Marriott Hotel + Air Packages that earned him an extra 110,000 United Airlines miles
- Tips for getting to/from LHR Airport plus how to get around London
John’s Travel Miles 101 Success Story
Since finding Brad and Alexi, reading their blogs and following Travel Miles 101, I’ve learned how to accumulate points and miles from credit card sign-up bonuses, everyday spending, and some other fun methods.
My goal has been to fly my wife and I in business class to Europe using frequent flyer miles and to stay at Marriott hotels using points. This is a pretty specific goal but having it that way has kept me focused on the credit cards I get and my spending.
I’ve also had a long time relationship with Marriott, long before I learned all the other ways to fly and stay for free. The result is I know the Marriott program very well and have maintained Platinum status for several years. That status guarantees me a room anywhere as long as I book 48 hours in advance, free room upgrades, and access to the lounge for free breakfast and more.
By having this goal and following a system, we have been to France, Italy, and London in the last 24 months plus a trip to Moscow-Copenhagen-Dublin is already booked for July 2016.
The system is very simple and easy to follow and I go by two rules:
Rule #1: Don’t worry about the hotels until after you have booked your plane tickets.
Business Class awards are harder to find than economy and takes some effort. I maintain a list of places we want to visit on my desk. Nearly every morning I log on to AA, United, Alaska, and Delta looking for flights 9 to 10 months out. I’m always looking for the Saver awards and as direct as possible (preferably non-stop or one stop max).
When I find one that fits my criteria I book it right then. In the beginning I would wait and think about it. More often than not I would go back later and they would be gone.
Rule #2: If you see it book it.
Remember, the airlines give you the ability to change award flights without cost or for very little cost. If you find something better down the road you can always change it.
Two Business Class Flights from Los Angeles to London
I’ll use our recent trip to London as a real life example of how we were able to change already booked award seats two times for $0 in fees. In May of 2015 I was at the American Airlines site and found business class flights from LAX to LHR with stops in Dallas for travel in February 2016
At the time these cost 50,000 miles one-way in business class for a total round-trip for the two of us coming in at 200,000 miles.
The great thing about these flights is that they were on American Airlines planes not British Airways, which is often the case when using AA miles to LHR, so no fuel surcharges.
I booked these flights immediately.
Now the fun part. AA has a rule that says as long as you do not change your departure and destination airports, you can change awards flights as often as you want without a charge. Knowing that, I kept looking and a month later found direct flights between LAX and LHR. I called and made the change.
Still not happy with our proposed February trip, a few weeks went by and the same direct flights were available for a late March/early April vacation. I called again and now we had the perfect flights and time of year. $0 in fees for these two changes and there was still plenty of time for hotels and destination planning.
For 200,000 AA miles (that we earned by each opening the Citi AA personal and business cards when they had a 50,000 miles bonus) and $78 in fees we got these direct flights from LA to London that would have cost $9,200 if purchased.
Eight Nights in the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Plus 110,000 United Miles
We stayed for eight nights at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House which is across the street from Hyde Park and in the middle of Mayfair. The Marble Arch bus stop and subway station was a block away.
This is a Marriott Category 9 hotel which costs 45,000 points per night and therefore would have cost us 360,000 points for the 8 nights we stayed there. The cost for those eight nights would have been $4,368 plus taxes and fees.
Marriott also has a little-known perk called Hotel + Air packages that lets you book a package that not only earns you a number of free Marriott nights but a significant number of airline miles as well. As you see below, it costs 370,000 Marriott points for 7 free nights at a Category 9 hotel plus 110,000 United Airlines miles.
We wound up booking our eighth night separately at this hotel for the standard 45,000 Marriott points, so altogether it cost us 415,000 Marriott points for eight nights plus we banked 110,000 United miles.
In other words, instead of paying 360,000 points for eight nights, we had to pay only 55,000 more Marriott points to earn 110,000 United miles (which are nearly enough for two round-trip tickets to Europe in economy). If you value United miles at 2 cents per point these are worth $2,200.
The number of points needed for these packages is large, but you can often find Marriott and Ritz-Carlton credit cards with huge bonuses to stack together for the necessary points.
Tips for Getting Around London
My biggest concern about the whole trip, however, was the LHR airport itself. I had heard it was huge and complicated getting in and out of. That was not true at all, with just a little planning.
Inbound you
deplane, go through entry (they check passports and ask a few questions), then walk to the Heathrow Express train. Ticket agents are there to help and bought 2 roundtrips. There is also a Heathrow Express app for your smart phone and you can buy the tickets from the app and have them emailed to you. The high speed train was 20 min, through the outskirts of London, to Paddington Station. At Paddington you have the choice of the tube, bus, or taxi to your hotel.
The first day we rode the hop-on/hop-off bus that covers the entire city with a live commentator explaining much about the city. This gave us a feel for where things are. After that all we needed was an Oyster bus pass to get around at very reasonable costs. These double decker buses have the upper level covered so it’s warm and we could see everything. We planned what we wanted to see, used Google Maps, which gave us the bus route to take and when it would arrive. Very simple and a fun way to get around.
After 8 days it was time to come home.
Shortly before leaving the hotel AA emailed that our flight was going to be 5 hours late departing. I called AAdvantage and asked for help. They put us on an earlier flight at no cost and were very happy to do it.
The return to LHR was on the same train back to the airport. Once we reached LHR, AA had an express check in and bag check for business/first class which included fast check. That is their version of TSA Precheck. From the time we left our hotel it took only 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete everything and then we were off to relax in the Admirals club.
Closing Thoughts:
I realize that this system will not work for everyone. Our trips in business class and in Category 9 hotels take a lot of points but there are just two of us. We also use the less busy off-peak months when flights are easier to obtain. On the other hand, if you have children in school you won’t have the flexibility we have. If you’re fine flying coach, there are many more options available. Just for fun as I was writing this article I found four AA coach tickets LAX-LHR in August. Non-stop direct on American Airlines planes (no fuel surcharges). That’s a very good flight for a family of four in the summer.
In closing, I also wanted to mention a few other things I’ve learned about travel rewards: Points from Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards are the most flexible in general.
I know all the professional travel bloggers love Hyatt and Starwood hotels but I think Marriott is just a good. Once the Marriott acquisition of Starwood closes they will have properties everywhere for all spending levels and will be even better.