toronto

As a frequent traveler, I try to find quick direct flights from Nashville for weekend getaways. I try to maximize my husband’s vacation days utilizing long holiday weekends for travel. I had debated Toronto for our anniversary trip in February. However, we decided that might not be the best time to visit.

We recently received 5 free night certificates for Hyatt from a credit card sign-up bonus. I saw I could use my free night certificates at the Hyatt Regency Toronto. Since I knew I could get free rooms, I proceeded to look at flight dates.

I went to point.me and entered my dates and Toronto as my destination city. I saw I could get tickets to Toronto using Air France miles to book Westjet. I transferred my American Express Membership Rewards to Air France to book this flight. These direct flights from Nashville were 19,000 points for two plus taxes. If I had bought these tickets with money, they would have cost $420. On our return flight, we used our Delta miles and saved $500.

** When I book award flights after searching for them on a site like point.me I always double-check everything on the actual website and confirm availability. I did this for our flights home from Toronto. I saw that I could add them to my cart and then moved the other points I needed for my flight to Toronto.

I was shocked when I realized I could not check out with the two tickets in my Delta cart. I looked up the error code I kept getting (after using multiple browsers) and noticed it meant sold out. I missed out on the tickets to fly home. Luckily, I had plenty of free night certificates and we could get the flights I wanted the next night. So even though I did my due diligence and checked everything, things still happened. I was glad we were able to pivot so quickly and still get the trip booked.

Our 4-night trip to Toronto from Nashville would have cost us $2100 for flights and lodging. Instead, we paid $150 for taxes and fees for our flights, and our hotels were completely free.