What’s the Best Thing You Ever Redeemed For?

Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by PointsAdvisor in Use Points, Miles and Rewards

With the holiday season fast approaching, we wanted to share some of the best things we’ve ever redeemed for as inspiration for readers. We asked some of our colleagues to tell us the best thing they ever redeemed for, and here’s what they said.

The Best Thing I Ever Redeemed for Was…

Not Your Average Destination Wedding: “I redeemed Aeroplan miles to go to my wife and I’s wedding in Japan. I *guess* it worked out <shrug>! ” – Luke

A Clean Floor & Indulgences: “I redeemed my AIRMILES for a Dyson vacuum cleaner! I also redeemed AIRMILES for Roots gift certificates and purchased (on three different occasions!) three Roots leather flat bags.  All things I lusted over but wouldn’t have bought for myself otherwise.” – Kat

Honeymoon, Take 2: “We hated the cruise we took for our honeymoon so I booked us a second honeymoon….this time to Paris, flight for two on Air France paid in Delta SkyMiles! And because I booked through Delta.com, I saved about $150 in taxes too!” – Kerry

Practical Savings: “I’ve used my PC Financial points for free groceries and my Petro Points for free car washes.” – Tara

Making Family Connections: “I redeemed 400 Frontier EarlyReturns miles for a discount offer at Ancestry.com and received a Family Tree Maker 2012 CD. Our family tree has been on “paper” for the past 300 years and I can now enter/upload it online and share with my sisters.” – Roz

Vacation in San Fran: “I once redeemed my Aeroplan miles for a round trip fare to San Francisco.  I ate lots of chowder and visited Alcatraz…it was awesome.” – Dan

Daughter of the Year Award: “My parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary last year and I was able surprise them with a trip to Washington, DC using my US Airways Dividend miles. The best thing was that because I booked off-peak travel, I got 2 round trip tickets for 50,000 miles and then used my Starwood Preferred Guest membership to put them up in the Sheraton for 2 nights using only 20,000 Starpoints. Finally I was able to make the surprise that much sweeter by giving them my Air Canada lounge passes (that I selected as a bonus for reaching Aeroplan elite status), so that they could relax in style before their flight. Total cost for an unforgettable getaway for 2 and #1 child status: $250 in taxes.” – Diana

Bachelor Party on a Budget: “I went to Vegas for a friend’s bachelor party using 40,000 Delta SkyMiles.  I had 38,500 in my account before I booked so I used Delta transfer and took advantage of a 100% transfer bonus promo to transfer 1k from a friend’s account and get up to 40k to book the trip.” – Andrew

Impromptu Redemption: “I redeemed 15000 Aeroplan points for a hotel room in Collingwood and booked in on my iPhone standing outside the hotel. I walked in 3 minutes later and checked in for free.” – Dena

Family Fun: “The top two in my mind are the time I redeemed 100,000 Aeroplan miles to fly my family (wife plus two kids) to Orlando to visit Disney for the first time, and when I redeemed Aeroplan miles for two tickets to Cirque du Soleil (Totem) this past summer…” – Marc

Western Adventure: “My best and most adventuresome redemption was using the American Airlines AAdvantage miles that I  accumulated over the years towards a trip to Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island, via Chicago and Seattle. The “bestest of the westest” moment was en route back home;  the day was completely clear and cloudless and we flew over the Rockies all the way, then the Grand Cranyon  – it was spectacular!  Then due north to Chicago we flew over one of the largest lakes I’ve ever seen in my life, and still don’t know the name!” – Jo

Stay tuned for our Holiday Gift Guide, coming next week. We’ll be dishing out more advice on redeeming, and lots of ideas for the holidays! In the meantime, let us know what the best thing you ever redeemed for is below.

Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/timobalk

Tags: Aeroplan, AIRMILES, miles, points, points.com, redeem, redeem for a flight, trips