Plenty of websites out there will tempt you with their aspirational travel stories. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love to daydream about staying at an overwater bungalow in the Maldives or an all-inclusive resort in the Dubai desert? I’m guilty of it too! In fact, I’ll even go down the rabbit hole of reading trip reviews to find out what it’s like to take a shower on an A380 or experience the luxuries of a first-class apartment in the sky.
The closest I’ve ever gotten to those goals is when we flew to Singapore and back on one of the longest flights in the world in Business Class and stayed at luxury resorts in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
As a regular follower, you may know that we don’t usually go on fancy trips. Staying at a Holiday Inn Express is more of our style than an Intercontinental. However, I’d like to share with you how we managed to pay for our recent trip to Asheville, NC using statement credits and loyalty points.
Trip Summary
We planned a 5-night trip to North Carolina to visit The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, which is beautifully decorated for Christmas. Additionally, we decided to take a detour and spend a night at South of the Border, a quirky roadside attraction in Dillon, SC known for its neon-lit billboards and Mexican theme. We also made a stop at the new Buc-ee’s in Florence, SC. Because if there’s a Buc-ee’s nearby, we’re going to make a visit (But we’re not obsessed.)
Since we needed to cover a large area during our trip, we rented a car to make the most of our time and explore the beautiful landscapes of North and South Carolina.
Here’s a breakdown of how we paid for our flights, airfare and rental car.
Parking
We parked at our usual off-property lot with Fast Park & Relax for this trip.
Thanks to our readers who signed up for a free night of parking with our referral link, we were able to park for free.
Airport Lounge
We flew with American Airlines to Charlotte for our trip. Unfortunately, there are no easily accessible lounges at Orlando International Airport when flying with American if you don’t have access to the Admirals Club. I wasn’t willing to pay for access to the club, so we had to wait by the gate for our flight.
On the way home from CLT, we stopped by the Centurion Club.
I have access from my American Express Platinum Card and I added Sharon as an authorized user so that we no longer have to pay $50 each time we visit to bring her as my guest.
Rental Car
I rented a car through the Capital One Travel portal to use the $300 credit from my Venture X card which was due to expire in a few months. Our rental from Sixt didn’t go as smoothly as my first time renting from them but I can say I received what I paid for. After the $300 credit, I paid $60 out of pocket for the rental.
Airfare
We paid 27,500 American AAdvantage miles plus $11.20 in fees each for two economy round trip tickets from MCO-CLT-MCO.
I easily replaced those miles by signing up for the AAdvantage Aviator Red card, which offered 50,000 miles after the first purchase.
Hotels
Have you ever heard of the South of the Border Motor Inn? It may not be a popular destination, but Sharon and I were determined to experience it, even if it was just for one night. Let me tell you, it was an adventure we’ll never forget!
I had to figure out how to pay for this stay with points. So, I used our Citi Prestige card to spend the remaining travel credit I had left on the account.
We stayed in Asheville at the Hotel Indigo for the rest of the trip.
I used the free nights from our $49 IHG Select cards for the first two nights since award nights cost less than 40K per night. Since the hotel blocked single-night awards, I used 129K IHG points for the last two nights instead of paying over $650. Apparently, Asheville is a popular weekend destination, as we found out when trying to make dinner reservations at the last minute,
Total Cost For Our Trip
How many points and credits did we use for our trip to Asheville?
- Parking – Zero
- Lounge – Included with AMEX Platinum
- Airfare – 55,000 AAdvantage Miles + $22.40
- Rental Car – $60 + $300 Capital One Venture X Credit
- Hotel SOB – $100 (Covered by Citi Prestige travel credit)
- Hotel Asheville (2 nights from IHG Select + 129K IHG points)
So the only things we had to pay for were meals and entertainment expenses.
Trip Review
To give an example of how to improve your travel experience, I want to highlight the use of loyalty points and credit card perks. While many may think these rewards are only beneficial for booking high-end luxury stays, they can also be very helpful for booking a trip to more humble destinations, such as the North Carolina mountains.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
