CLT-MSY Flight

I’m flying nonstop from Charlotte, NC to New Orleans on 8/30, and I am scheduled to arrive at 6:00pm, with a flight time of around 2 hours . This is my ideal flight since I don’t have to get up early, I have time to visit the Centurion Lounge in CLT, and I can check into the hotel as soon as I arrive. This flight has a cash price of $419. The points cost of this flight through American Airlines is 20,000 miles+ $5.60, giving a value of slightly over 2 cents per point.

The cheapest alternative leaves at 5:19am and would arrive 12 hours later due to a 9 hour layover in Miami. This flight costs $181 and has an award price of 10,500 AA miles+ $5.60, for a value of 1.67 cents per point.

I booked using 9,000 Qatar Avios plus $10.10 in taxes and fees, giving me a value of 4.5 cents per point. As I’ve previously mentioned, I don’t think cpp gives an accurate reflection of the value in cases where you wouldn’t be willing to pay the cash price. I don’t think I would ever spend $400+ on a domestic economy ticket, so I’ll use the cheaper price to calculate the value again as a way to make sure that it is still better than paying cash, as that’s what I would fly if I didn’t have points. This gives a value of 1.9 cents per point, which is much more reasonable, but still a good use of points.

MSY-CLT Flight

My return flight is nonstop on 9/3, leaving at 6:45pm. This allows me to have a full extra day to see the city, and/ or enjoy late checkout, which is a benefit that I have due to booking my stay through The Hotel Collection.

This flight, when booked through AA, would be $394, with an award cost of 10,500+ $5.60, for a value of 3.7 cpp. Using a cheaper alternative flight with a cash cost of $139 gives us a value of 1.27 cpp.

Like the first trip, I booked through Qatar for 9,000 Avios+ $10.10. This gives me a value of 4.3 cpp based on the flight booked, and 1.43 cpp when considering the cheaper alternative.

Flight Summary

Overall, I paid 18,000 Avios+ $20.20 for flights that have a retail cost of $813, giving me an average of 4.4 cpp. Looking at the reasonable alternatives priced at $320, this gives a value of 1.67 cpp. I personally assign some value to having a nonstop flight, so I consider this to be a good redemption.

It is also worth noting that every transferable currency transfers to at least one Avios airline, and Avios from Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways, and Finnair can be combined in any of those programs, while AA is not currently a transfer partner of any of the major points programs, making Avios much easier to accrue.

What is The Hotel Collection?

The Hotel Collection is a preferred booking program run by Amex Travel that offers several benefits to Gold or Platinum cardholders when staying for a minimum of 2 nights. These benefits include a room upgrade, 12pm check-in, late check-out, and a $100 property credit per stay. All of the benefits listed are subject to availability except the $100 credit, although charges that qualify for that credit can vary by hotel.

For Platinum cardholders, there is an additional benefit of a $200 credit each calendar year that can be used towards a prepaid booking through Fine Hotels+ Resorts or The Hotel Collection. FHR properties are generally much more expensive (although there is no minimum stay required to receive benefits), so I usually use this credit for a 2 night stay at a Hotel Collection property that is $100-$150 per night.

The Eliza Jane

For the first 2 nights of my trip, I will stay at The Eliza Jane hotel. The Eliza Jane is part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection and is considered to be one of the best options for staying in New Orleans. There were 3 ways to book that I considered:

• A Hyatt award stay for 20,000 points per night. This also eliminates the $30/night destination fee that is present for the other booking options. This would give an abysmal value of 1.05 cpp.
• Booking directly with Hyatt for $421.57 for a 2 night stay, including all taxes and fees.
• Booking through The Hotel Collection for $460.86. This is $39.29 more than booking directly before considering the $100 property credit or the $200 hotel credit from the Platinum card.

I decided to book through the Hotel Collection, since the cost increase is far outweighed by the $100 property credit. This will also be brand 4 for my Hyatt Brand Explorer, which is a program that gives you a free Hyatt Category 1-4 certificate for every 5 brands (there are currently 30 brands for a total of 6 possible awards.)

In addition, I don’t have status with Hyatt, and I suspect that there will be more Globalist members in the area than is typical, so booking through a program like The Hotel Collection is the only chance I have at getting an upgrade, and even the odds of that seem low.

I chose not to book an award stay since I generally use points for Hyatt Category 1 awards, which are typically 3,500-5,000 points per night. Due to this being my preferred travel style, spending 40,000 for 2 nights seems like a poor use of points, regardless of the cash value of the award.

Also, from August 11th to September 5th, the only 2 nights that aren’t off-peak are the nights I needed to book, naturally. That doesn’t mean anything, but it is quite the coincidence and would result in me spending an additional 6,000 points with no actual benefit.

Canopy New Orleans Downtown

For the last 2 nights, I will be staying at the Canopy by Hilton New Orleans Downtown. This is the cheapest hotel that is available through The Hotel Collection in New Orleans and is more in line with my typical hotel stay. There are a few different ways to book this hotel:

• Booking directly through Hilton for $213.40 (non-refundable), or $261.96 with a refund policy that is comparable to The Hotel Collection.
• Booking through The Hotel Collection for $231.36.
• A Hilton Award stay for 30,000 points per night.

With the difference between the most restrictive Hilton rate and Amex Travel rate being less than $15, I decided to book through The Hotel Collection.

Also, I have Hilton Diamond status which includes $15/ day per person as a food and beverage credit. I always add 2 people to the reservation to maximize the credit, which would be $60 for this stay. Sometimes status benefits will stack with The Hotel Collection/ FHR benefits, so I may receive both, which would make this a much better deal than it already is. Even if I don’t receive status benefits, I am getting $40 more in food credits for $15, which is definitely worth it to me.

Hotel Summary

By booking through The Hotel Collection, I spent $692.22 before credits. I also paid with my Platinum card, bringing the out-of-pocket cost down to $492.22. As someone who eats food occasionally, I feel comfortable valuing the 2x $100 property credits at full value, bringing the total cost down to $292.22, or an average per night cost of $73. If I get lucky and receive the food and beverage credit for the Canopy stay, this would bring the total net cost down to $232.22, or an average nightly cost of $58.

Overall Value

Total, I paid 18,000 Avios+ $712.42, before considering the following credits:

• $200 Hotel Credit (Platinum Card)
• $200 Property Credits (2x $100 credits)
• $20.20 Airline Credit (Hilton Aspire)

Booking this trip without points or any other benefits would have cost $1,496. If we value all of the credits at face value, the net cost of the trip is $292.22, or almost an 80% discount.

The moral of the story is that while people tend to talk about aspirational/ international award redemptions more often, it is still possible to get fantastic value while also stretching your points further through domestic economy travel.