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Among the (many) topics that get raised by people who ask me about my travels are the topic of cost, the topic of rebates (from the credit cards I hold), and the topic of loyalty program earnings.
So, to give you an insight into how much one of my trips can cost, what my earnings from the flights, hotels, and the credit cards I use can look like, and how I work out the net cost of my travels, this article breaks down a trip I took earlier in the year which saw me traveling between Europe and Bangkok.
On this trip, I used a combination of British Airways and Qatar Airways for my flights, and Hyatt for my hotels, and the primary credit cards that I used along the way were the Platinum Card® from American Express, World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, the World of Hyatt Credit Card, and the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card ( a card that’s not open to new applicants but that can still be obtained – more details).
The flights
This is what my overall itinerary looked like:
London – Oslo – Doha – Bangkok – Doha – Brussels – London
And this is how those flight segments broke down:
London – Oslo
Cost: The cost of the Hand Baggage Only fare was $57.16, and I used the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card (not available to new applicants but can still be obtained – more details) to pay for it to make the most of the trip insurance that the card offers.
I got the $57.16 back as a rebate as part of the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card’s $300 annual airline fee benefit.
Earnings:
- Avios from British Airways – 921
- Marriott Bonvoy points from the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card – 171
- Tier Points from British Airways – 5
As I value Avios at 1.0 cents each and Bonvoy point at 0.6 cents each (both based on the value that I know I can get out of them with relative ease), my effective rebate on this flight was ~$10.24.
Oslo – Doha – Bangkok – Doha – Brussels
Cost: I paid a fee of $20.21 to hold the fare for 72 hours while I finalised my plans, and I paid $1,619.17 for the Business Lite fare.
I used the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card to pay the hold fee and then got that back as a rebate as part of the card’s $300 annual airline fee benefit.
I used the Platinum Card® from American Express to pay for the Business Lite fare to make the most of the 5 points/dollar that the card offers on up to $500,000 of spending made directly with airlines or flights booked through Amex Travel every year (1 point/dollar thereafter – terms apply).
- Review: Qatar Airways 787-9 Business Class (Ascent seat)
- Review: Qatar Airways 777-300ER Business Class (non-Qsuite time-travel edition)
- Review: Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class 777-300ER (BKK-DOH)
Earnings:
- Avios from British Airways – 9,489
- Marriott Bonvoy points from the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card – 61
- Amex points from the Platinum Card® from American Express – 8,096
- Tier Points from British Airways – 560
As I value Avios at 1.0 cents each, Bonvoy points at 0.6 cents each, and Membership Rewards points at 1.5 cents each (all based on the value that I know I can get out of them with relative ease), my effective rebate on this set of flights was ~$216.70.
Brussels – London
Cost: The cost of the Hand Baggage Only fare was $61.16, and I used my Ritz-Carlton™ credit card to pay for it to make the most of the trip insurance that the card offers.
I got the $61.16 back as a rebate thanks to the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card’s $300 annual airline fee benefit.
Earnings:
- Avios from British Airways – 625
- Marriott Bonvoy points from the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card – 183
- Tier Points from British Airways – 5
As I value Avios at 1.0 cents each and Bonvoy points at 0.6 cents each (both based on the value that I know I can get out of them with relative ease), my effective rebate on this flight was ~$7.35.
Flights summary
- Gross cost – $1,757.70
- Cost net of statement credits – $1,619.17
- Avios earned – 11,035
- Marriott Bonvoy points earned – 415
- Amex Membership Rewards points earned – 8,096
- British Airways Tier Points earned – 570
Allowing for the effective rebates earned through Avios, Bonvoy points, and Membership Rewards points as well as the statement credits from the Ritz-Carlton™ credit card, my net cost for the flights on this trip was ~$1,384.88.
The hotels
Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha (1 night)
Cost: I only spend the day at the Hyatt Regency in Doha (I was there because I missed my connection in Doha) but it still cost me $234.89 which I paid for using the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
Of this $234.89, I got $50 back as a statement credit thanks to a benefit that comes with the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card.
Mini Review: Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha
Earnings:
- World of Hyatt points from the stay – 1,516 (1,166 base & 350 elite bonus)
- World of Hyatt points from the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card – 940
- World of Hyatt elite night credits – 1
As I value World of Hyatt points at 1.4 cents each (based on the value that I know I can get out of them with relative ease), my effective rebate on this stay was ~$34.38.
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok (3 nights)
Cost: The three nights that I spend at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok cost me $641.17 which I paid for using the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
Review: Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok (a great category 3 property)
Earnings:
- World of Hyatt points from the stay – 3,554 (2,734 base & 820 elite bonus)
- World of Hyatt points from The World of Hyatt Credit Card – 2,565
- World of Hyatt elite night credits – 3
As I value World of Hyatt points at 1.4 cents each (based on the value that I know I can get out of them with relative ease), my effective rebate on this stay was ~$85.67.
Hotels summary
- Gross cost – $876.06
- Cost net of statement credits – $826.06
- World of Hyatt points earned – 8,575
Allowing for the effective rebates earned through World of Hyatt points earnings as well as the statement credit from the World of Hyatt Business Credit Card, my net cost for the hotels on this trip was ~$706.01.
In summary
On this trip, I had two short haul hand baggage only fares, a long-haul Business Lite fare, and four nights at hotels which when put together, cost me $2,634 gross/$2,445 net of credit card statement credits.
In total, I earned …
- 11,035 Avios
- 8,575 World of Hyatt points
- 8,089 Amex Membership Rewards points and
- 415 Marriott Bonvoy points
… which, together, I value at ~$354.
That leaves me with an effective cost of ~$2,091 for the flights and hotels on this trip.
More importantly, I also earned 570 British Airways Tier Points, and that’s 39% of the Tier Points that I need to retain my tip-tier Gold status for yet another year.
I’m sure that others will have different ways of working out the net cost of their trips and if you feel like getting overly nerdy about how the true cost of a trip should be worked out, you could bring in things like opportunity costs and missed earnings (by choosing one credit card over another, for example) to complicate matters further.
I’d prefer not to do that.
I’d rather keep things as simple as possible, so this is the methodology that works for me and, hopefully, it’s a methodology that gives you a better idea of how I view the costs of the trips I take and how I view the earnings from the trips as well.
Let me know if you view the cost of your trips differently or if you view them in the way that I do.
