Kimberly shares her reader success story to Vancouver and Whistler with us today. Kimberly took her two boys and their friend on a winter vacation that included snowboarding, snowshoeing, and bobsledding. Here is her story:

 

I’m writing today to share my first BIG redemption story. My oldest son is a Wildland Firefighter. His work season eliminates summer vacations, so we opt for winter vacations. 

 

Flights to Vancouver

Our flights to Vancouver, British Columbia were 21,000 American miles (plus $5.60 tax) for three of us—a $365 value. I paid $145 for each flight back. 

 

Hotels in Vancouver

I decided to add two nights to our trip because of New Year’s Eve fireworks at Grouse Mountain.   We stayed at the Delta Hotels Vancouver Downtown Suites for two nights using 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and a free-night certificate.  I booked a double queen room and was upgraded to a one-bedroom suite on a high floor with a gorgeous view! The cash value of the room was $640, or $714 for the upgraded price.

 

 

We then moved to the Hyatt Regency Vancouver for three nights. I booked two king rooms: one on points and one on points and cash for 54,000 points and $340. We were upgraded to connecting rooms on a high floor. One room had a balcony. The view from the non-balcony room was absolutely stunning through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I slept with the drapes open because I couldn’t get over the view! The cash value of the room was $1,064, or $1,192 for the upgraded price.

 

 

These two locations are close to several public transit options, which we utilized. It was easy to get around. We took SkyLynx to Whistler and had gorgeous views along Sea-to-Sky Highway. 

 

Whisler Hotels

Next we moved to my favorite hotel during the vacation, the Westin Whistler. Unfortunately, we only stayed one night here! I booked a queen bed + sofa bedroom for 85K points per night, but I was upgraded to an AMAZING two-bedroom, two-bath suite with a fireplace. It was magical! The cash value of the room I originally booked was $512, but the value of the upgraded room was $3,076!

 

 

 

Last but certainly not least, we stayed at the Hilton Resort and Spa Whistler. I booked two nights in a basic double queen room for 160,000 points. I was upgraded to The Glacier Suite, a one-bedroom suite with two queen beds, a sofa bed, a fireplace, and a jacuzzi tub. As a Hilton Gold member, I had $24/day food-and-beverage credit for two people. They ended up comping everything for all of us, though, which was a nice savings, too.  The cash value for our room would have been $1,416, and with the upgrade, $2,469. 

 

 

Hotel Cash Value Totals: 

Booking the rooms with cash would have cost $3,838.          
Booking the rooms we were upgraded to would have cost $7,476!!

Thank you, points and miles, for an amazing vacation!

 

Thank you, Kimberly, for sharing your reader success story about Vancouver and Whistler with us!

 

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