Hi, I planning to go to Mauritius from Melbourne in January 2024.
What would be the best point hack to reduce the cost for this trip. I currently don’t have any reward credit cards but i’m willing to sign up to any that will give me the best deals.
noting the best ways to travel to mauritius are:
Virgin/Qantas (melbourne to Perth) then Air Mauritius (Perth to Mauritius)
or
Emirates(Melbour>Dubai>Mauritius.
Flight centre can use Comm rewards but they can’t tell me what the points are equal to in $.
Hoping to get some good tips here.
Thanks in advance.
Well, if you want to “point hack” your way there, as you write, your best option in terms of Frequent Flyer programmes is Emirates Skywards, as Skywards points can be used on the two airlines that can most easily get you to Mauritius from here – namely, Emirates and Air Mauritius.
See the guide below for details on Emirates Skywards, including credit card programmes in Australia that can earn Emirates Skywards points.
With only six months before you fly, however, you’re limited to three options:
Option 1 is to spend up big, and quickly, in the hope that you can get enough points for your trip before you need to book it, and then hope that there’s some last-minute availability.
Option 2 is to accept that it’s getting quite late to start from scratch, and instead just look for and book the cheapest cash tickets you can.
Option 3 is a hybrid of the above: pay to fly to one of the destinations from which either Emirates or Air Mauritius flies to Mauritius (ie. Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, New Delhi or Dubai) and try to find a reward seat from there.
Hope that helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
What’s the best credit card? We’re not allowed to advise you on specific credit cards because we’re not financial advisors. You need to do your own research. For example, if you’re interested in accumulating Emirates Skywards points, read the guide that I linked to above and follow the links to information about the credit cards that earn those points. Then you will be in a position to make your own decision.
How many points will you need? It depends on which airline you fly, which FF programme you use, and what your route will be. If you’re using Emirates Skywards points, go to the Emirates website, go to “Search Flights” and then click on the “Classic Rewards” box.
My guess is that you’re new to point hacking? I recommend that you sign up for the Point Hacks email course. Also read as many articles as you can from the Point Hacks guides page.
Learning how to be a good point hacker takes time. If you’re brand new, and you must go to Mauritius in January, I’d suggest booking flights with money. That will take the pressure off, and you can focus now on learning as much as you can, and building up your points balance, for your dream trip after that!