I got 800$ flights for less than 80$…Here’s How:
Confession: I’m a sucker for a really good bargain.
Who doesn’t love a good deal?
It’s just that I find it so painful to pay full price for things, when I know I can wait for a sale or hack my way to a fraction of the price!
Airfare is no different!
This August I went to Alberta for two weeks and the flights via West Jet cost over 800$ CAD!! There was NO way I was going to pay that for domestic flights, so I decided to cash in a few hacks to get my flights cheaper.
Here’s what I did…
Hack #1: Airmiles DREAM Reward Miles
The first hack is using Airmiles dream miles to pay for the flights (not including taxes).
As you can see, I had just over 7,000 miles which is equivalent to approx. two roundtrip domestic flights.
If I booked the flights myself on West Jet’s website, the total price for the dates and times I wanted would have been $819.39 CAD.
I then booked the same flights through the Airmiles website by cashing in 3800 of my 7000 points, and was left with the taxes – a total of $139.13.
I paid the balance of $139.13 with my AMEX cash back credit card, where I earn 5% on every purchase (so essentially I would get $6.95 back off the purchase).
Hack #2: American Express Cash Back Credit Card
Next, I used the cash back balance I had on my account from my AMEX credit card to pay off the balance I just charged to the card. I happened to have $63.09 cash back on my account at this time. I personally love this credit card and have been using it for years. Not only does the cash back add up pretty quick, but it comes with a comprehensive car rental insurance when you book a car rental on your card (which comes in super handy for the amount of travel I do).
The math: $139.13 – $63.09 = $76.04
THEN, if you deduct the 5% cash back I would be getting back from the initial $139.13 charge, the grand total for the round trip flights = $69.09
So there you have it! How I got $800+ round ticket flights for less than $70.
Get your own American Express card now!
Like it? SHARE or PIN for Later!
Pssst…this post contains affiliate links.
If you purchase a product through one of my links, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
This goes towards the cost of maintaining this ad-free website and creating free content for readers like you!
Please read my disclosure for more info.
Thanks for your support.