The Frugal Hedonist
As part of this blog we are going to run a semi-regular feature we call the Frugal Hedonist. Frugal Hedonism is our own personal, completely non-religious, belief system, wherein we expouse the benefits of travelling first class while saving as much cool, hard cash as possible. Mary will normally write these articles, since she is the High Priestess of cost savings especially if said cost savings result in more spa treatments.
So here's Mary's first contribution below:
As Mike and I were eating an absolutely delicious breakfast this morning onboard the Crystal Symphony cruise ship, I started mentally calculating how much money we've saved on this trip by using our American Express Platinum charge card. Yes, I realize this is a little like rejoicing that you've saved $5 an ounce on caviar, but the truth is, it all adds up. Even if you're fortunate enough to be able to travel in luxury, as we usually do, there is no point in throwing your money away unnecessarily.
In reality we're able to take so many fabulous trips mainly because we shop around and get the best possible deals on everything. We also take full advantage of travel-related rewards programs, including the American Express Membership Rewards program, which allows us to accrue points whenever we use the Platinum Card. Membership Rewards points can be used for many travel awards, but we usually find the best "bang for the points" is to trade them for international First Class air tickets.
The Platinum Card has an annual fee of $450 so it only makes financial sense to get one if you indulge in at least one high-end vacation per year. By "high-end" I mean a cruise on Princess, Holland America, Crystal, Regent, Silversea, Cunard, Windstar or Seabourn and/or a paid stay at a 4-star or 5-star hotel in a major city. If you can afford that type of travel, the Platinum Card can easily pay for itself.
Our current trip is a good example. We flew to New York City and spent one night there before embarking on an 11-night cruise. Additionally we will be staying several more nights in New York after the cruise. First I priced out rooms at top hotels in New York City by checking their web sites. I found that hotels like the St. Regis and Four Seasons were running about $800 to $1000 per night for a standard room -- too rich for my blood!
The web site for Trump International showed a rate of $595 per night for a standard ("Superior") room or $645 for a "Deluxe" room with a better view. (I keep wondering why 5-star hotels always call their cheapest rooms "Superior." Shouldn't a "Superior" room be, well, superior to something? It reminds me a little of McDonald's, where the smallest order of fries is a "Medium." In the interest of honesty, most hotels should have a category called "Dinky" or "Dumpster View.")
Anyway, I digress. New York hotels are irrationally expensive -- I priced an ordinary Sheraton at about $450 per night and a Hilton at $550 per night for our dates -- so $600ish is a pretty tolerable rate for one of the top 10 hotels in the city. I called American Express Platinum Travel Services and was able to book a Deluxe room at Trump International, with an upgrade to a Junior Suite if available at check-in, for $575 per night. Additionally, as benefits of the American Express Platinum "Fine Hotels and Resorts" (FHR) program, we would receive breakfast each morning ($50 credit) and a $100 spa credit per stay.
So on our one-night pre-cruise stay, we saved $60 on the room rate, got an upgraded room, enjoyed a lovely free breakfast in the Trump's excellent Nougatine restaurant, and I got a more or less free pedicure. Total savings so far: $210, not counting the room upgrade.
We booked our cruise through an online cruise agency that offered us a very substantial onboard credit and a discounted fare. Additionally, I paid with our Platinum Card and the cruise agency arranged for us to get the special extras included in the with Amex Platinum cruise program: $300 in onboard credit, plus a "free excursion" valued up to $250. It turns out the Amex extras were simply credited to our onboard account as $550: we more than covered our annual fee right there.
After the cruise we will stay at Trump International again for four nights, which will save us $240 on the room rate and provide $200 in free breakfasts. I'll get another $100 spa credit, which I'll use for a massage. Hopefully we'll also get a room upgrade. In any case, our second stay at Trump will bring our total savings through the Platinum Card up to $1300. Not too shabby!
