Booking the St Regis Goa

The idea of Goa started off in the dining room with my uncle, aunt and two cousins. This would have been my uncle and aunt’s first vacation in their life, so me and my cousins wanted to ensure a unique experience. We agreed to do a small vacation using my small stash of Marriott Reward Points.

I opened the app, and came across the following three options:

• JW Marriott Goa: 40,000 Marriott Reward Points or INR30,000 / night (~C$500)
• W Goa: 57,000 Marriott Reward Points or INR35,000 / night (~C$600)
• St Regis Goa: 72,000 Marriott Reward Points or INR29,000 / night (~C$500)

The currency conversions are not exact. They are the currency conversion I used in my head as I was determining the best use of points.

I immediately booked the JW Marriott Goa as it was the newest hotel that opened just a month prior to our stay. I booked the JW Marriott Goa using 160,000 Marriott Reward Points for 4 room nights. For the remaining 2 room nights I used my 2 Free Night Certificates, one each from the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card (Personal) and American Express Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card (Business). However, when I presented this option, my family suggested that not having a beachfront resort in Goa defeats the purpose of going to Goa.

Beachfront Hotel – Finding the Best Deal

On my previous stay at the St Regis Mumbai, the butler was in Goa training the staff to the St Regis standard, at the then newly opened St Regis Goa. I also recalled hearing about the St Regis Goa through Ajay reading his blog when he identified it was a re-flagged Leela. While I have great respect for the Leela brand, staying at the St Regis Goa for 3 nights for 2 rooms, would cost me over 400,000 Marriott Reward Points. I did not want to spend that many points.

We compared the pricing of the St Regis Goa and the Taj Goa as alternative resorts. Although the St Regis Goa was more expensive, we felt my Titanium Status would make up for the added costs with a complimentary suite upgrade for my uncle and aunt. We decided to pay cash for one room and points for the second room. This was a horrible use of points, but I also did not want to spend C$1,500 for a three night unplanned vacation.

When booking any St Regis resort, the Marriott STARS rate provides complimentary breakfast, US$100 room credit in addition to any other offers. I reached out to my agent, who realized the Senior’s rate was the cheapest rate, even after accounting for the room credit through Marriott STARS. We proceeded to book the Senior’s rate (on the account of my uncle and aunt traveling as well).

Transportation to and from St Regis Goa

All of us landed at Goa through an Indigo flight, and we decided against using the airport transfer from the hotel. St Regis Goa was charging INR5,000 (~C$100) for an airport transfer and we felt like we could find something at the airport instead.

This was a horrible idea. We only saved about $50, for an hour long journey, and in that journey had to deal with an old vehicle that had a barely functioning air conditioner. As the family vacation expert, I got the back seat of the van, in the last row, and only I know how relieved I was to walk through the doors of the St Regis Goa.

On the way back, we got a vehicle through St Regis Goa and it was money well spent.

If you want to save a few bucks, you could actually do a short walk to the Holiday Inn just a few minutes down the road and get their vehicles instead. However, because they compete with the St Regis, their cars could not actually drive up to the St Regis. Had we just been cousins, this would have been an easy option, however, with my uncle and aunt, we decided it was worth just booking the car through the hotel.

Check-In at the St Regis Goa

As we got out of the vehicle, there was a team of a few colleagues to greet us, led by Kanika. Immediately, they applied a bead-garland on everybody’s head. My uncle and aunt went to the lobby, while me and my cousins went to the reception to check ourselves in.

Reception at St Regis Goa

During check-in, all of us received a cold coconut water. After the hot car journey in, all of us requested for re-fills which was generously provided by the hotel.

Fresh coconut water as the welcome drink

We had two room reservations; one for the basic King room for two adults, and a Premier Conservative Room with 2 Twins, that could accommodate three adults.

A water feature as you walked into the lobby

Lobby and Reception at St Regis Goa

Lobby and Reception at St Regis Goa

Concierge at St Regis Goa

Flower display at the lobby of the St Regis Goa

Lobby and Reception at St Regis Goa

On the way to the room, we came across a Bloody Mary display. For those that do not know, the St Regis has an unique Bloody Mary at each hotel. My cousin immediately asked for three Goan Mary to be delivered to our room to start off what would be an epic Goa vacation.

One of us may have been too excited to get the vacation started

Suite Upgrade

As a Titanium guest, I was eligible for one room to receive a complimentary suite upgrade. Initially the hotel upgraded the Premier Conservative Room to a Suite, however, we wanted the base king room to get the suite upgrade. This way, my uncle and aunt would be staying in a suite which was very important to everyone. It was an unexpected request for them, so the hotel kindly let us have both rooms until the twin room had been cleaned up by housekeeping. They also promised me to setup an extra bed as well for the entire stay.

Not many hotels would give away a second room to freshen up while the main room is being prepared. That was a very kind gesture by Kanika and her team.

Base King Room at the St Regis Goa

Lagoon Superior (Basic) King Room

Bathtub at the Lagoon Superior (Basic) King Room

Toilet at the Lagoon Superior (Basic) King Room

Sink at the Lagoon Superior (Basic) King Room

The base king room at the St Regis Goa was as cookie-cutter as it got; it came with a King size bed, a walk-in shower, and separate bath-tub. In a luxury hotel, there were two features that I felt were lacking: a his and her sink and a larger full size bath-tub. The room also had a corridor to place the luggage as well. I am also glad that the bathroom contained single use shower amenities. Although I understand the sustainability requirement, from a hygiene perspective, there is something comforting about using the single-use amenities.

Welcome Amenity at the St Regis Goa

There were also three very delicious tarts as a welcome amenity in the room. I’m glad we received three tarts, otherwise, we would have an interesting time dividing two tarts by three people. In addition to the tart, I found a small chocolate bar, and what appears to be a chocolate hammer. This was the first time I saw a hammer to break the chocolate.

Chocolate Hammer

Finally, the room also had a nice patio overlooking the water feature. Although it would have been a great place to relax, the weather was extremely hot, meaning that patio would have gone essentially unused.

View of the patio at the St Regis Goa Lagoon Superior (Basic) King Room

Premier Twin Conservatory Room

Conservatory Premier Twin Room at the St Regis Goa

Conservatory Premier Twin Room at the St Regis Goa

As you walk in, once again you will find a long corridor with a baggage rack. I do find it interesting, in most places in North America, the standard is 2 Queen beds, but in Asia, I typically see 2 Twin beds. Ironically, the twin beds were quite close together.

Covered patio of the Conservatory Premier Twin Room at the St Regis Goa

We also had a bit of a covered patio in the room. The extra bed was ultimately placed here. Between me and my cousins, we had to decide who would be sleeping on the extra bed. Unfortunately, the in-room air conditioning at the St Regis Goa was not that great. However, the air conditioning on the covered patio was amazing. This made our sleeping decisions far easier; do you want to sleep on a nice bed in a warm room, or a bad bed in a cold room. Ultimately, I took the proper bed closest to the window (that’s my preferred bed in a two-bed setup).

Full sized bathtub of the Conservatory Premier Twin Room at the St Regis Goa

His and Her sink of the Conservatory Premier Twin Room at the St Regis Goa

Walk-in Rain Shower of the Conservatory Premier Twin Room at the St Regis Goa

The bathtub was actually a full sized deep soaking tub which made for a very comfortable bathing experience after a long day in the sun. This room also came with His & Her sinks, which, okay, we were three guys, so it really wasn’t used as that, but the two sinks are always appreciated. The walk-in rainfall shower head also provided a nice water pressure, once again for a comfortable shower after a long hot day outside in the city.

Standard Suite for Platinum Upgrades at the St Regis Goa

The St Regis Suite Living Room at the St Regis Goa

I did not get a chance to take a peek around the standard suite since my uncle and aunt had made themselves comfortable by the time I visited the suite. But the Suite living room was very spacious, enough to accommodate the five of us during our evenings. It also had a guest bathroom and the guest bathroom even contained an extra make-up table with a chair. After all, a St Regis guest, cannot be standing up and putting on their make-up.

Champagne Sabering

How can there be a discussion of the St Regis Goa without experiencing the champagne sabering event. As Napolean said:

“Champagne: in victory, one deserves it; in defeat, one needs it.”

Here is the champagne sabering video of the St Regis Goa.

In addition to the video, here is the beautiful venue of the champagne sabering event including a gorgeous sunset view.

Wine glasses for the champagne Sabering with a sunset view

Champagne Sabering Sword

Champagne Sabering Bottle

Dining at the St Regis Goa

We had most meals at the St Regis Goa, including breakfast every day at the resort.

I must also recognize the entire dining team across the various outlets. They were all friendly, helpful people, who made the dining experience at the hotel, perfect.

Indian Dining Options

Let’s start off with the most important meal picture; Bhature Choley and Paneer at the St Regis Goa.

Bhature Choley and Paneer Bhurji

The Indian food options were beyond delicious. I still remember the taste of a masala kulcha full of onions and cheese. It was so delicious, all of us ate the kulcha with just pickle.

Their stuffed paratha selection was also delicious. I believe there was a two day rotation of the stuffed paratha variety at the St Regis Goa:

Western Dining

An important part of breakfast

Half-eaten Pasta Dish

There were two weak points in their dining though, their Italian food could have been better. But also, you shouldn’t be traveling to Goa for Italian food, so I cannot put any fault on the chefs at the St Regis Goa.

Dessert Selection

Their dessert selection was always on point. I will give credit to the staff at the St Regis Goa, as vegetarians, buffet do not excite us that much, due to a large selection of non-vegetarian food. But the dessert was extremely attractive. The staff allowed us to order a la carte off the menu and then allowed us to go to the dessert section for the buffet to enjoy the variety. We even asked for one of the dessert menu items to be repeated, and the chef made a separate batch for us the night prior to our check-out.

A small selection of desserts

White Chocolate Pudding – Pictures do not do it justice.

We may have over-indulged on White Chocolate Pudding

More dessert selections

Bread and Pastries

This is a video of the breakfast pastries on offer at the St Regis Goa.

During every buffet, their breakfast, lunch, or dinner, they also had a variety of warm breads. Every bread selection I tried was delicious.

Bread Selection

Bread Selection

Freshly Squeezed Juices and Smoothies

Finally, their selection of freshly squeezed juice could have improved drastically. I asked for a strawberry and banana smoothie, but the server let me know there are no fresh strawberries in the restaurant. For a hotel of this caliber, I expected a larger selection of higher quality smoothies.

Selection of juices

High Tea at the St Regis Goa

As part of our dining, we also had an opportunity to enjoy the high tea at the St Regis Goa in the Drawing Room.

Drawing Room

High Tea Setting

Top Level of High Tea

Middle level of high tea – the only level that was not re-ordered

Bottom level of high tea

Their Gol Gappa and Patty were absolutely delicious. I’m sure even the chef got tired of serving us extras after a while. I don’t think anyone even had any tea with their high tea, all of us were too engrossed in eating their Gol Gappa (Dahi Puri) and Patties.

More sweets

We couldn’t get enough of these savory dishes

The extras kept on flowing

Dining near the St Regis Goa

St Regis Goa is incredible in a way that as you leave the resort through the beach, on the right side, you will enjoy a typical Goan food shack with beer and seafood. I don’t consume either, but certain members of my family do, so it was a daily ritual during sunset to walk from the resort onto the shack to enjoy a daily beer. There is also a nice restaurant located just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel. Once again, I did not really try much there, also because of the food safety standards at these locations, but my family were very happy for a change from the regular St Regis dining menu.

Swimming Pool

The best part about the Swimming Pool was the caves behind the waterfall. As I approached the waterfall to enjoy the water pressure on my head, I noticed that I could actually go “behind” the waterfall. It was very cute and we definitely enjoyed the experience of going there.

Waterfalls at the pool

Swimming Pool

In addition to that, there was always a server walking around the pool area for any additional food & beverage options, which we indulged in thoroughly sitting on the beach beds. I’m also glad that the server also re-arranged some furniture so all five of us could sit together, since most of them are designed for couples.

Beach

The thing I still can’t get over at the St Regis Goa is the sunset. It was beyond gorgeous.

Sunset view. Let’s go to Maldives again?

Or how about Bali?

Beach view from the beach beds

The beach was also very interesting. There is a private beach component guarded by a security team, but there is also a public beach right in front of the hotel. The best way to realize which part is the hotel beach and the public beach is to look at the color of the sand. I don’t know the reason behind that, but that was a great indicator. The public beach sand color was much darker and a lot dirtier than the beach that was part of the St Regis Goa.

Property Upkeep

I wanted to add another section for this report. The overall property was absolutely gorgeous. It was full of greenery and overall felt like an amazing place to be spending time in Goa.

The video below shows the buggy ride from our room to the beach. So much greenery that it was absolutely beautiful.

Circular rings to walk through to access one of the restaurants

Swings for kids and the kids at heart!

Greenery

More rings

Sunrise view from the Italian Restaurant

St Regis Welcome

Butler Service

To be honest, I totally forgot about the complimentary morning coffee or tea extended through the St Regis Butler and nobody reminded me either.

I did take advantage of the packing service, as I had a busy travel schedule ahead of me. And I’m glad the butler packed it just the way I would have liked.

Service – Failure and Recovery

Unfortunately, I experienced a few service failures at the beginning of our stay.

Extra Bed Delivery Timelines

The first snafu happened between check-in and the second room being ready. The staff told us that when the second room will be ready, they will also setup the extra bed for us as well. When we got to the room in the evening, there was no third bed at all. That’s typically not a problem one quick phone call, and it gets resolved quite quickly. Except, we waited for 20 minutes. Then 30 minutes. Then 40 minutes. Finally, someone comes over with bedding but no extra bed.

That was rather absurd, there was no sofa bed in the room. There was a chaise at best, and the staff were going to prepare the third bed on the sofa chaise, which doesn’t really reflect well on the St Regis brand.

We asked them to come back with an extra bed. That took another 50 minutes. So, after coming back to the room, it took the staff 90 minutes to get an extra bed well past midnight. Although I was not sleeping on the third bed, suffice to say, my cousin was extremely upset at that experience.

Housekeeping Service

The next day, we enjoyed a leisurely day at the hotel. We came back in the evening to notice that neither of the two rooms had housekeeping service at all. Many hotels across the world are relying on reduced housekeeping as an environmental initiative, but I never imagined it would have a significant impact at the St Regis brand.

I called up the butler service, and they said we can do housekeeping right away. Except, we are now in the room. I actually wouldn’t think any housekeeping staff to be comfortable being observed by people in the room as they clean up the room, so I told them that they will have to do it when we leave the room for dinner. The butler service later told me that we had declined housekeeping which was why the room was not serviced. However, none of my cousins had any interaction with the housekeeping team.

When we got to dinner, we met with my uncle and aunt, and they genuinely assumed this hotel does not come with housekeeping service either because their suite was not made up either. I would understand if one room was not serviced because someone mis-spoke, but to have both rooms not serviced, seemed like housekeeping dropped the ball in a very big way that day.

Ultimately, my cousin and my uncle/aunt, who I had raved so much about the St Regis brand, at this point assumed housekeeping is not a brand standard, and the typical turn around time for any request by the butler team would be in the 60-90 minutes range.

Service Recovery

I did let the front desk team know of my displeasure, and more importantly, how my family now perceives the luxury brand to be a rather budget brand in terms of their service. During our day trip to experience the city of Goa, we got a call from Kanika, the front desk associate. She mentioned that your concerns were raised in a management meeting, and to make up for it, we would like to extend the High Tea service to you and your family.

That gesture was greatly appreciated by everyone even though we never asked for anything to make up for the service failures. I will also give credit to the high team dining team, my uncle and aunt came very late after taking a nap, and despite them coming well after high tea service had ended, the chef still served them what would turn out to be a delicious high team.

We also received a delicious selection of chocolates and a bottle of wine to make up for the service issues. Me and my cousins had finished the chocolates in about 10 seconds.

Chocolate with a letter

Bottle of wine

Conclusion

Overall, the stay was incredible. Yes, there were service issues, but once they were made visible to hotel management, they were rectified immediately which I appreciated.

I look forward to my next relaxing vacation in Goa. Hopefully on my next trip, I’ll be able to actually step outside the hotel to see the city!

Wait, what? You might ask.

Conditions of a Basic Fare

For those of you who already know, there are two main conditions with the purchase of any basic fare on Air Canada or WestJet:

1. Your fare is non-refundable.
2. Your fare is non-changeable.

WestJet and Air Canada both also provide a warning prior to selling you a Basic Fare ticket, because of the number of restrictions on the ticket. The pop-up for WestJet is shown below:

WestJet Basic Fare Conditions

Or really, if you purchase a ticket, you fly the ticket as-is. There are no loyalty benefits. You pay extra for seat selection. And I suspect, they will be very happy to give you a last row middle seat for the privilege of booking Basic Economy.

Why I Book Basic Fares

I love booking Basic Fares because it saves me money. Ultimately, that is the most important part of my travel philosophy.

Strategizing Booking Basic Fares

I typically find Air Canada and WestJet do a schedule change, every three to four months. Most of the schedule changes are by a few minutes. I have discovered, a few minutes is long enough to ensure that both airlines will allow you a complimentary one-time change. You can either change your flight or obtain a full refund back to the original payment method.

Schedule changes are most likely to occur on flights with an arrival time that does not round to the nearest five minutes. As an example, the following picture shows all the upcoming Air Canada flight arrivals into Vancouver (YVR). All the international long-haul destinations have an arrival time rounded to the nearest five minutes; Auckland lands at 6.15am and Bangkok lands at 6.35am. The other flights, from Toronto (12.03am), Fort St. John (6.49am), Victoria (6.56am), Seattle (6.58am), and Honolulu (6.59am) are all arriving rounded to a specific minute.

In my experience, flights that are rounded to a specific minute, are most likely to have a schedule change. Because it does not take much for a flight arrival time to go from 12.03pm to 11.59am. Typically, that is sufficient to warrant a one-time change on your reservation.

Flights from Shanghai, Bangkok, Auckland, and Hong Kong are rarely likely to have any drastic flight schedule changes, so I avoid them.

There are some domestic flights, like Naniamo (6.40am) and Maui (7am) that are landing rounded to the nearest 5 minute. I think that is just a co-incidence personally, as other flights of similar duration, are landing at a particular minute. So, I would also be comfortable booking those flights hoping for a schedule change.

Why I love Air Canada and WestJet Basic Fares

When booking travel more than four months out, on either Air Canada or WestJet, I immediately book Basic tickets for my family. I am virtually guaranteed a schedule change that will allow me to cancel or change my flights as we approach our departure date.

So far, I have always been able to convert my Air Canada or WestJet basic fare, to a refundable fare, every single time, due to the frequency of schedule changes.

Caveat… A Really Big One

It’s not supposed to be this way. When a minor flight schedule change occurs, your reservation is not officially eligible for a one-time change. However, in my experience, IT systems do not actually prevent you from making a one-time change. In many cases, it is about convincing an agent to try and make the change on your behalf. Most of the times they are pleasantly surprised, which means everyone is happy at the end of the day.

However, it is important to note, I will never know when the IT bug is resolved. Once the bug is resolved, changes with very minor schedule changes will no longer be a viable solution.

Conclusion

If you are booking travel, far out in advance, it is okay not to have the most optimal flights. As long as you have a flight that is likely to be impacted by a schedule change, a Basic Fare could provide a significant savings while maintaining the flexibility you might require when booking far in advance.

For me, receiving a schedule change email like this:

Dear Mr. Moli,

We’re sorry, as a part of your itinerary has changed.

This change also affects any customers you are traveling with on this booking.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Is one of the best emails I receive in my inbox.

Many of us are frustrated with the idea of receiving a schedule change email, especially during COVID when flight reliability decreased drastically. As a result, this email often causes fear in the minds of the people. I have a reverse strategy, I absolutely love schedule change email, especially as someone who purchases a lot of travels using miles.

Peak Season Travel – Leveraging Schedule Changes Effectively

Finding award redemptions, in Business Class, between the second week of December and the first or second week of January, is the hardest redemptions in the world of points. However, over the years, I have used schedule change emails to travel on the perfect itinerary, between any two destinations.

Schedule Change Email

I was looking to find a flight home, from Bangkok to Vancouver, however, I struggled drastically. I just could not find any award availability, in the first week of January to take me home.

Eventually, after many hours of going through countless route permutations, I ended up with the following itinerary, from Bangkok to Boston, via Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and London:

It’s a long way home…

Now, even though I absolutely love flying, I do not love flying so much to end up on such an itinerary. I had booked this itinerary in June 2022, and was confident, that there will be at least one flight change from June 2022 and January 2023.

Much to my excitement, on November 2022, I woke up to that email in my inbox!

It had the exact wordings I was looking for. One of my flight schedule changed, causing me to miss my connection. I jumped on a call with Air Canada immediately.

Finding the Perfect Flight

My current flight route, prior to the schedule change email. Picture obtained from GC Map.

My phone call with Air Canada was quite straightforward. They told me that I was re-booked and everything is sorted out, but I shared with them two concerns:

1. My change of flight from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi is causing me to miss some appointments in Abu Dhabi
2. I also need to get back to Vancouver instead of Boston

My agent offered me one of two routings home:

1. Bangkok to Vancouver on the Air Canada non-stop flight
2. Bangkok to Vancouver, via Delhi, on the Air India flight
3. Refund my flight for a complete refund

The first two options were exciting for me, however, going via Delhi, where I can meet my brother on the way was more exciting. In this situation, option number 2 was only offered due to existing award availability. If there was no Option 2, Air Canada would have routed me on their non-stop flight from Bangkok. That would have been the perfect itinerary, for my journey home. Typically, an itinerary like that, flying the non-stop from Bangkok to Vancouver, would typically go for in excess of 400,000 Aeroplan Points in Business Class. As my change would have been through a schedule change, I would not have paid any difference in Aeroplan points at all.

New Route Home. Picture obtained from GC Map.

Conclusion

This travel hack is extendable to any destination that Air Canada flies. If there is a schedule change, even a small schedule change that has no material impact to your schedule, Air Canada will allow you to rebook on any Air Canada flight within the same week. This even extends to last seat availability on any Air Canada flight.

How do I make use of this? Quite simple, when I want to fly from Delhi to Vancouver, I will find the most complicated itinerary. As long as I have booked my flight more than six months in advance, I can typically expect to receive a schedule change email that will allow me to re-book on Air Canada for no price difference. Once I get the email, it only takes a few minutes to be rebooked on the Air Canada flight home.

Air Canada is happy because I am happy. I am happy because I just booked a flight that typically goes for 400,000 miles, one way, in Business Class for just 90,000 to 110,000 miles.

What’s the beauty in traveling on WestJet Economy Class?

Let us be honest, not a lot.

Nothing glamorous about flying on a WestJet flight

In the world of credit card rewards, there is a lot of content around aspirational awards that allow you to travel places that are reserved for the top 1% of our population. However, for many of us, traveling like that could take years of effort, and success is never guaranteed.

Realistically, if you want to travel during peak holiday season with your family, Economy Class redemptions might represent the best opportunity for redemptions.

Recently, I found myself in a similar predicament.

Trip Background

As I have written about in the past, there are three main travels that I focus on:

1. Solo trips around the world,
2. Regional trips with my parents,
3. Annual marquee vacation, for the entire family

I have access to travel agent rates, and stumbled upon an amazing discount for one of the most luxurious hotel brands across the world; Ritz Carlton Reserve. With a large travel agent discount, I also noticed that they were selling rooms during some peak travel dates, including around my father’s birthday.

For personal reasons, December 2023 will be an important occasion. I always planned on making it a celebration to be remembered, so I thought, let me make refundable reservations, and hope that we can make this trip a reality.

I started off with booking the Zadun, Ritz Carlton Reserve in Los Cabos on my desired dates.

Imagine having Bhature Choley at the Ritz Carlton Reserve

Booking Air Canada to Los Cabos

Once the hotel was booked, I noticed Air Canada was offering an award ticket in Economy, with a guaranteed upgrade to Business Class for two people for frequent flyers of Air Canada. I immediately booked that for the outbound.

For the third person, I booked a fully flexible Economy Class ticket, which would give us one of top priority for a potential upgrade on the day of departure. My total cost so far was 90,000 Aeroplan Points + $309 on flights. The cherry on top, two of us would be traveling in Business Class.

Booking WestJet to Vancouver

I was most troubled when booking the return flight. I took a peek on Google Flights for non-stop flights, and discovered the following price for three adults:

WestJet Pricing from Los Cabos to Vancouver

Honestly, as a working professional, no. At this pricing, the trip was not going to happen. Combine the cost of hotel, food and beverage, activities, no. Just, no.

I never cancelled any flight or hotel, I knew everything was fully refundable. The only cost was that I would not be able to use the 90,000 Aeroplan Points for another reservation. Instead, I decided to pray for a mistake to happen from now to December.

Using Delta SkyMiles on WestJet – My First Search

I always knew of the Delta – WestJet trick, but my first search was not very positive.

I saw a fare of around 22,000 Delta SkyMiles for a one-way ticket:

WestJet through Delta

I have two sources of Delta SkyMiles:

1. My brother, many years ago, had 31,000 orphaned Delta SkyMiles, or,
2. I could transfer from American Express Membership Reward Points, either USA or Canada

I needed 66,000 Delta SkyMiles, and I only had enough for one person.

The other two people were problematic, I could either:

1. Transfer 35,000 extra miles from my brother’s American Express Account, or,
2. Transfer 58,700 American Express Membership Reward Points from Canada that would convert to 44,000 Delta SkyMiles for the other two tickets.

Honestly, neither option was attractive. I did not want to lock up so many of my points for a “maybe reservation” and went against it.

Background Reading about Delta

As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time reading news about different ways the travel world is changing around credit card rewards. Back in late last year, I was reading this article: Delta Air Lines: Looks like yet another SkyMiles devaluation.

The crux of the issue was, where there is a Delta option and a partner option, Delta will price the ticket at the same price as the partner airline. Typically, flying on partner airlines was significantly cheaper than flying Delta themselves. This was an important loophole for booking flights using Delta miles.

I remember thinking, okay, not ideal, but good to know that the partner loophole is no longer valid.

For many people, this was heralded as a massive devaluation of Delta SkyMiles. I did not heed any thought to this news and thought, it is okay, I will use my Delta SkyMiles for WestJet flights within Canada. This loophole was still available through Delta SkyMiles.

This news was a significant contributing factor to my next email I got in my inbox.

Email Alert for a Price Sale

I got an email from Thrifty Traveler, indicating that Delta was having a fare sale to Los Cabos, including during peak travel season.

Immediately, my mind got curious. Delta SkyMiles is known to align their award pricing with the cost of a revenue ticket, around 1c per mile. With Delta having a sale on cash tickets, that would also mean a sale on award tickets.

I took a quick peek and stumbled across this pricing (I took this screenshot after booking two adults):

Delta Pricing From Los Cabos to Vancouver

If you notice the first two options were a Delta flight. But the third option was a WestJet flight, which ironically, was priced the exact same as the Delta SkyMiles option.

That massive devaluation people were concerned about? Turns out, represents a huge opportunity for families to travel together in Economy Class!

Booking WestJet for two people

Hold on a moment while I do a happy dance.

The rooms at Zadun, a Ritz Carlton Reserve property

15,000 SkyMiles each, for one person on the return flight. Happily, my brother had over 30,000 Delta SkyMiles, so I would only need to transfer approximately 15,000 Delta SkyMiles to make the redemption possible.

Right away, without thinking of it, I booked my parents on the return flight. The beauty of Delta SkyMiles award tickets is that they are fully refundable, if you do not book the Basic fare class. It was important for my parents to be home the most efficient way possible.

While I did see four seats available, I also was not certain if those four seats would be available for long, especially since, my brother was sleeping in India.

I also needed another 14,000 Delta SkyMiles before I could book myself onto a flight.

Waiting for my brother to wake up

I immediately sent the following message to my brother:

Luckily for me, he woke up before the third seat could disappear.

He woke up, and he immediately transferred the miles from his American Express to Delta SkyMiles.

Was I a big fan of this transfer? Probably not. There are many better ways of using your American Express Membership Reward Points than to use them to fly WestJet. But I also value time spent with family, and nothing is more important to me then coming home on the same flight, regardless of airline and class of service. Even more important, this route would be the fastest way home, as it was the only non-stop flight between Los Cabos and Vancouver for that day.

Booking the third person

Error Occurred. I tried again, maybe I typed my credit card wrong. Error occurred.

Uh oh.

When I see this message, I immediately think to a phenomena called phantom award space. That is, award space that appears on the website, but does not actually appear when you try and book it. Not particularly a wide-spread issue, but an issue none the less.

So, I thought okay, I am happy my parents are on the non-stop flight, let me book myself on the Delta flight in Economy and pray.

Error occurred.

To be honest, this third error was a relief. I now felt this was a website issue. Delta should not ever error out when selling a seat on their own flight.

I called up Delta, and told the staff to book me onto the Delta flight instead (absolutely convinced the third seat was a phantom seat). And while the call center representative was booking, I instead suggested, how about we try the non-stop first.

It worked. She got the ticket issued immediately on the non-stop flight on WestJet.

Total Paid: US$200 + 45,000 Delta SkyMiles.

Conclusion

For 45,000 Delta SkyMiles + US$200 for the three of us, we were now flying the return flight, non-stop from Los Cabos to Vancouver.

My total out of pocket cost was about $600 round trip, + 135,000 miles. But for flights, that was charging us over $4,000 for a one way ticket, these savings were incredible to me.

Delta truly allowed me to enable my family to take a trip during peak travel season, when I least expected to find any deal at all.

This is the view I’ll be cherishing, while I think back to a month-long period, where I was almost certain, this trip was never going to happen.

I cannot wait to celebrate December 2023 at one of the most gorgeous resorts in Los Cabos

I have previously posted about the following Companion Passes available to Canadian travelers: 

• How to Earn an Air Canada Companion Pass 
• How to Earn a WestJet Companion Pass 

In this post, I will share how I leveraged my Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass that is for Economy Class bookings only to travel in Air Canada Signature (Business) Class instead. 

Air Canada Companion Pass Summary 

As a reminder, the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass is available to the following credit card holders: 

• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card 
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card 
• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege 
• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege 

The Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass is earned after spending more than $25,000 per cardmember year. The voucher has a tiered pricing structure as follows: 

• $99 for flights within Canada and USA, excluding Hawaii 
• $299 for flights within North America 
• $499 for flights to South America, Europe, Africa and Middle East 
• $599 for flights to Asia, Australia, and New Zealand 

Restrictions and Limitations 

The Air Canada Worldwide Companion pass has the following restrictions and limitations: 

• The pass is can only be used for one way or round-trip travel on flights wholly operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Jazz. Open jaw travel is not permitted. 
• The pass can be redeemed on any fare class for Economy Class travel, other than Basic Economy 
• The pass must be used for travel within 12 months from the time of booking.  

My Experience with the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass 

Planning Travel 

I was thinking of booking my travel to India in April 2022, as part of my solo travel experiences, but also a trip to visit my brother.  I learnt, one of my closest friends was also exploring the possibility of going to India at the same time.  

My friend, by the way, does not believe in leveraging credit card rewards, as he does not want to get “spoilt” by the experience of traveling in Business Class regularly. 

I started looking for available fare options for him, and we found that he was looking at spending over $2,000 for his travels from Vancouver to Delhi and back in Economy Class. 

My requirements on the other hand were quite simple; I must be in Business Class on all my flights.

How to use a Companion Pass

I realized I could only use my Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass for a one way ticket from Vancouver to Delhi. For those who have recently purchased a ticket from India to Canada, It is not a surprise that Air Canada and Air India flights are ridiculously expensive. How expensive you might ask? Over $3,000 for a one-way ticket. As such, with Air Canada filling their flights with paid customers, an upgrade from Economy to Business Class flight was impossible coming back from India.

This worked out perfectly for me and my friend. He wanted to spend three weeks in India with his family, whereas I only wanted to spend two weeks outside of Canada. So, I told my friend, look, flights from Delhi to Vancouver are ridiculously expensive. We will find a cheap flight for you with possibly extremely long layover for your journey home to Vancouver. But for Vancouver to Delhi, I will find a way to travel in Business Class, for the price of Economy Class, and we will fly this journey together.

As you can imagine, when you promise someone to fly in Business Class at the price of Economy Class, it was a very simple and attractive proposition for him.

Fares from Vancouver to Delhi

Air Canada flight options from Vancouver to Delhi, were pricing at about the $1,000 range, per person, for Economy Class travel.

Both me and my friend are frequent flyers with Air Canada, so we both had Air Canada eUpgrade Credits that we could use to get complimentary upgrade from Economy to Business Class. However, one important criterion was that we had to book in the Latitude fare bucket, which is the most expensive fare bucket for Economy Class travel and can often be more than a Business Class ticket.

In the picture shown below, you will see the Standard fare from Vancouver to Delhi is $960. The Latitude fare is $2,572, about $400 more than the cheapest ticket in Premium Economy.

The $2,572 fare is broken down as follows:

Had we used the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass on this ticket, only the base fare would be discounted to $599. All other charges, including carrier surcharges, would be incurred for the second ticket. The fare breakdown is shown below:

The total amount would be $3,715.14. When dividing by two, it would have been $1,857.57, far more than the price of an Economy Class ticket to Delhi.

That was double of what I had promised my friend, and would not go well for him…

Fares from Seattle to Delhi

If we instead, choose to originate in Seattle, the pricing for Latitude fare will be $1,623:

This is $900 cheaper than flying from Vancouver to Delhi! That is a significant cost saving.

The $1,623 fare is broken down as follows:

Had we used the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass on this ticket, our costs would have been the following:

The total amount would now be, $1,309.01. That is only a $350 premium over Economy Class. While this involves a drive to Seattle to pick up the flight, this was well worth the savings.

I made the booking on the Air Canada website, and subsequently used the eUpgrade credits from my friend to instantly clear into Business Class while paying $350 more than an Economy Class booking!

Convincing my friend to spend an additional $350 was quite straightforward, for over 24 hours of travel in Business Class. It will be his first time traveling in Business Class and I’m extremely excited to be there to witness that journey. Maybe, just maybe, he might decide to venture into the world of credit card rewards.

Conclusion

The Air Canada Companion Pass can be an incredibly valuable voucher to travel in Business Class for just a bit more than Economy Class, as I have recently accomplished, by flying from Seattle instead of Vancouver. The important criteria for the maximum effectiveness, however, is to make sure you are traveling with someone who holds elite status on Air Canada.

One of the harsh realities of the points world is that flying to Hawaii in Business Class during peak Christmas season is virtually impossible. For many families, the focus is to fly to family destination as cheaply as possible. That is where the Air Canada Companion Pass is incredibly valuable.

This post will highlight all the opportunities Canadians have to obtain an Air Canada Companion Pass. A Companion Pass will typically provide a significant discount for the second ticket, after including the taxes, fees and carrier surcharges.

Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass

The Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass is issued to the following credit card holders:

• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card
• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege
• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege

For each of those credit cards, you need to spend at least $25,000 per calendar year to receive the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass.

The voucher is typically issued 6-8 weeks after the annual fee posts, so you will need to consider the cost of the annual fees to ensure the worldwide companion fare is worthwhile for you.

The companion voucher has a tiered pricing structure as follows:

• $99 for flights within Canada and USA, excluding Hawaii
• $299 for flights within North America
• $499 for flights to South America, Europe, Africa and Middle East
• $599 for flights to Asia, Australia, and New Zealand

Remember, these prices are often in addition to the hefty annual fee of $599 per year.

It is important to note, a card holder can hold the following credit cards simultaneously:

• American Express Aeroplan Reserve Credit Card
• American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Credit Card

In addition to one of:

• TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege
• CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite Privilege

Depending on your spending habits, you could be eligible to earn at least three Air Canada Worldwide Companion Passes.

Air Canada Buddy Pass

You cannot obtain an Air Canada Buddy pass as of the time of writing this post.

In the past, it was routinely part of signup bonuses with Canadian Credit Cards. These Buddy Passes represented a Buy One Get One Free ticket (taxes are extra) for anywhere in North America in Economy Class. The Air Canada Buddy Pass is better than the Air Canada Worldwide Companion Pass for travel within North America as there is no additional fee of $99.

Air Canada Priority Rewards

Air Canada priority rewards are not strictly companion fares. In fact, you could argue that they are better than any of the companion fare awards, since they provide 50% discount on an eligible reward ticket when using Aeroplan Points. You can only earn priority rewards after meeting the following spending thresholds on Air Canada flights:

1. $4,000
2. $7,000
3. $10,000
4. And every $5,000 after until you reach $50,000

These priority rewards have different conditions depending on your elite status at the time you crossed the threshold. The thresholds range from Economy Class in North America for the first status level (25K) to any flight anywhere in the world up to Business Class for their top tier status holders (100K).

The Air Canada Priority Rewards for spending on Air Canada flights is uniquely different from the WestJet Milestone Reward Companion Vouchers. The Air Canada Priority Rewards can only be used for reward tickets, while the WestJet Milestone Reward Companion Vouchers can only be used for revenue tickets. However, both passes require meeting spending thresholds with the respective airlines.

Use your Air Canada Priority Rewards to fly the Air Canada Signature Class!

Conclusion

As a collector of miles and points, Companion Passes can sometimes have a difficult value proposition. However, if you are a family, or prefer to be inflexible with your travel plans, the Air Canada Companion Passes are a great way to save money when traveling with friends or family.

For families, it might be less important to have Business Class from Toronto to Los Angeles, as long as they can do budget family travel. After all, 4 tickets to Disneyland Los Angeles could nearly cost C$1,000 per day, ignoring the cost of flights, hotels, food and everything else.

This post will highlight all the opportunities Canadians have to access a WestJet Companion Pass, that will provide a discounted (or free) second ticket. Of course, like any free ticket, taxes, fees and surcharges will be extra.

I do not always travel with a companion, but when I do, it’s typically three people

Annual World Elite Companion Voucher

All holders of the RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard are issued an Annual World Elite Companion Voucher. The annual fee for the RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard is $119, and the companion pass will cost an extra: 

• $119 for flights within Canada and continental USA
• $399 for flights anywhere else in the WestJet network

If a family decides to make a last minute Spring Break vacation to Los Cabos, they might be alarmed to see that the only non-stop flight is $1,465.10 per person. 

$1,465.10 fare for a round trip from Vancouver to Los Cabos

If they look at the price breakdown closely, they will notice that the fare is broken into three separate components, as shown in the image below:

• Base Fare of $1,113.04
• Surcharge of $74.92 and ATC Fee of $82
• Taxes, Fees and Charges of $195.10

Fare breakdown of Vancouver to Los Cabos on WestJet

If the family of four had two companion passes, rather than paying, $5,860.40, they would instead pay:

• $1,465.10 for two people
• For the other two tickets, the fare will drop from 1113.04 to 399, for a savings of $714.04 per person. All other fees and surcharges will remain, so the total price will be $751.06 for the other two tickets
• $238 for the annual fee of 2 RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard’s

This will cost a total of $4,670.32. This is a savings of over $1,000, without including the first checked bag free for all travelers, that will be very useful during your family travel.

RBC WestJet Companion Voucher

Similar to the Annual World Elite Companion Voucher is a cheaper Annual Round Trip Companion Voucher, offered to RBC WestJet MasterCard holders with an annual fee of $39.

The Annual Round Trip Companion Voucher is more restricted than the Annual World Elite Companion Voucher, as this voucher can only be used for flights within Canada or the Continental USA.

It is ironic, however, that if you intend on using the voucher within Canada and the continental USA, the voucher, regardless of if you hold the World Elite or the regular MasterCard, will cost the same:

• RBC WestJet World Elite MasterCard: $119 + $119 = $238
• RBC WestJet MasterCard: $39 + $199 = $238

The World Elite MasterCard will obviously give you additional perks when traveling with WestJet, such as a free first checked bag, but the companion voucher for domestic travel is relatively the same.

WestJet Economy Class on the Boeing 787-9

WestJet Milestone Reward Companion Voucher

The WestJet milestone reward companion voucher is awarded after reaching certain spending thresholds as described below on WestJet flight tickets:

• $4,000
• $6,000
• Every $2,000 thereafter

These vouchers are some of the best vouchers available on WestJet, since they are a flat $0 fare for the companion across the WestJet network in Economy or Premium Economy class.

This is the only companion voucher that can be used for Premium Economy class travel. However, it is possible that these companion vouchers are quite hard to earn for most of us since they require extensive travel across the WestJet network.

Conclusion

Companion passes can be an incredible opportunity for couples or families of four traveling during peak or last minute flights when they can be incredibly expensive for Canadians. A WestJet companion voucher is a useful tool in your arsenal if your travel is focused around last minute flights or peak travel destinations during peak travel season.

Why are they a favorite? Canadians are famously known to be polite and friendly individuals, and that culture is best reflected through WestJet crew. After all, there is only one airline in Canada known to give underwear and a TV as a Christmas gift to all their passengers. Or, the only airline in Canada who has an annual April Fool’s tradition. 

However, earning free flights on WestJet have historically been a great challenge. Hence, I have only flown them thrice so far, even though I have been in Canada for more than twelve years, on the following flights:

• Vancouver to Toronto in Premium Economy
• Seattle to Calgary to London in Economy
• Amsterdam to Calgary to Vancouver in Economy Class

All of which occurred in the past year, as I realized how easy it is to earn free flights on WestJet.

Flying WestJet from Calgary to London

You will notice that I have not flown Business Class on WestJet, and for good reasons. WestJet has made it essentially impossible to hack into their Business Class cabin without paying a considerable sum of money. 

I always assumed this policy also applied to Economy Class, until I realized how easily accessible free flights are with WestJet.

Good Old Days with WestJet

What now seems like many years ago, the best way to get free flights on WestJet was through what they call Member Exclusive awards. Quite consistently, they offered many flights at a fixed fare of $125 per person, typically up to 4 passengers, and this was a great “loophole” to save a lot of money, especially since WestJet dollars are quite easy to earn in Canada.

The Present State with WestJet

The landscape has changed considerably. Nowadays, WestJet still offers Member Exclusive awards, but the discounts are typically small, making WestJet dollars worth slightly more than $1 each.

When redeeming WestJet dollars, you will see three options, as described in the image below:

1. EconoFlex for $658.40. This is a completely flexible ticket, however, refunds are provided as a WestJet credit, and this ticket comes with a free checked bag as well. Advanced seat selection is free
2. Econo for $595.48, this ticket comes with a change fee but you can cancel for a credit. There are no free checked bags nor is there advance seat selection available for a fee.
3. Member Exclusive, is for 455 WestJet Dollars + $87.45, for a total of $542.45. This makes each WestJet dollar valued at $1.16 for a similar Econo booking. 

A summary of the three different fare buckets on WestJet from Vancouver to Toronto

Under the old system, the Member Exclusive fare would have been 125 WSD + $87.45, and it is now 455 WSD + $87.45, a significantly worse proposition.

Alternatively, if you collect Delta SkyMiles (they are a transfer partner of American Express Canada), you can instead use Delta SkyMiles to fly on WestJet: In the picture below, the same flight is available for just 17,500 Delta SkyMiles + $34 in taxes and fees.

Delta flight search from Vancouver to Toronto on WestJet

That’s over a $50 discount just from buying through Delta! I always find it ironic when a partner airline has lower taxes and fees than the host airline itself.

The most amazing part? Delta SkyMiles has no change or cancellation fee, so, really, this ticket is comparable to the EconoFlex option on WestJet, however, you will not receive the complimentary first checked bag and advanced seat selection. But I am sure, the $50 savings will help recover some of those additional costs.

Earning Delta SkyMiles in Canada

How do you earn 17,500 Delta SkyMiles in Canada?

17,500 Delta SkyMiles can be transferred from American Express by converting 23,400 American Express Membership Reward Points. So, by using 23,400 American Express Points, you will save over $600. That’s significantly better than the regular redemption option.

Is transferring points for WestJet Economy Class worth it?

I absolutely think so. I often use a goal to determine if something is worth transferring miles for. 90,000 American Express Membership Reward Points will get me a one-way Business Class ticket to India. By saving $600 using 23,400 Membership Reward Points, I’m essentially arguing that the one-way Business Class ticket to India is worth nearly C$2,400. A round trip ticket would cost C$4,800, so when airline pricing is like this:

$4,800 to fly round trip on Air India Business Class from Vancouver to Delhi, round trip

Why would you save your miles and redeem them for this ticket, but pay $600 for a flight in Economy? The other perk of purchasing a ticket outright is that you often can decide on your date, unlike with miles, where you typically have to accept various restrictions.

Conclusion

Determining when to use your points is always going to be subjective. But it is important for everyone to know the cheapest way of flying domestically in North America in economy class is not through a Canadian frequent flyer program, it is through an American frequent flyer program.

I always ask myself: if I use miles to save on “necessary” travel, what would be the cost to my ultimate redemption, a flight from Vancouver to India in Business Class? And if I think that redemption is too expensive, then I absolutely should use my miles to travel in Economy Class.

12 years ago, the answer was through a little known airline in Asia, US Airways (now more famously known as American Airlines). But as the US Dollar became stronger, it was no longer a budget travel alternative, and I had to pivot my way and start maximizing credit card rewards instead.

Who Am I?

I will start off with the basics:

• I’m Moli, based out of Vancouver BC (the one in Canada, not Washington state USA).
• I have lived in Singapore, England, and Canada.
• I have a full-time job, and no, it’s not writing this blog. I’m a tech professional and travel is my passion and, indeed, my purpose in life.
• I love Indian food. I’m vegetarian and there is never a bad occasion for Bhature Choley (for those of you uninitiated into Indian food, Bhature Choley is chickpea curry with fried Indian bread, a delicacy of North India).
• Finally, the biggest sin of them all: I do not drink alcohol. For someone who is surrounded by alcohol, during work and during my travels, it’s always with great regret when I refuse a pour of bubbly.

Bhature Choley at the St Regis Maldives

It’s a crowded space

I am aware that there are countless blogs focused on similar content. However, this blog stands out because of its unique features:

Budget Family Travel

While my parents live with me, my brother lives halfway across the world in India, and continues to have a false belief that Canadians are wealthier than Indians. That means I support the traveling budget for my entire family, handling three different types of travels:

1. Solo trips to India to meet my brother and explore the world.
2. Small trips with my parents around North America.
3. Annual marquee vacation, for the entire family.

We do not travel light as a family. A checked-bag (sometimes more) is always a requirement.

All on a Canadian Dollar salary. What does that mean? When we see an epic US$3,500 deal from Singapore to New York in First Class, that’s out of my affordability. US$3,500 is nearly C$5,000, well above the means of most Canadian professionals.

Working Professional

I am a working professional. That means I do not have the flexibility of seeing some last-minute Lufthansa First Class seat open and traveling to Frankfurt on a whim. Like most full-time employees, including those who are not that senior in their careers, getting vacation approved is a process, and one that is usually a continuous negotiation.

Canadian Traveler

While the BoardingArea network continues its broad appeal across the globe, my perspective of points and miles will have a focus on Canada based travelers.

Up north in Canada we have quite a few perks that do not really exist in the USA, but there are also a lot of consequences. The biggest consequence? There are not many First Class opportunities for Canadian travelers. That means, if a Vancouver based traveler wants to travel in First Class, it requires a connecting flight, forgoing any opportunity to travel non-stop to their final destination. 

As a working professional, time is absolutely critical with limited vacation, so I always prefer a 9h non-stop flight in Business Class.

Lufthansa Business Class to Europe any day instead of First Class via New York

Indian Culture

I love Indian food, more importantly, Indian Vegetarian food. I cannot imagine a world where I am going to the remote corners of the earth, and not have the availability and accessibility of Indian food. It does not matter if I am in Egypt, Thailand, Maldives or Scotland, all my food choices will be influenced by India.

I am also a vegetarian, so special meals are very important to me during my travels. While my peers are used to caviar 35,000 feet up in the sky, my best meals have actually been in Economy Class where airlines emphasize the basics.

There is something special about ordering an entrée of the menu, that only an Indian Vegetarian can appreciate

Singaporean Efficiency

I grew up in Singapore, so I have high standards. There will always be a bit of disappointment when I have to make my own bed in the sky. I also get frustrated when I see long lines at airport immigration and customs. Ultimately, I am used to the Singaporean approach to efficiency, and always wondered why countries cannot match the bar set by a tiny island nation.

Welcome Once Again

In conclusion, welcome once again to Maple Miles.