Luxury For Free

The captain of our sleek vaporetto motorboat deftly steered us to the private dock of the Hotel Gritti Palace. After our first-class flight on Delta Air Lines, my wife and I were rested and looking forward to celebrating New Year's at this world-renowned palazzo located on the Grand Canal in Venice. In minutes, we were comfortably ensconced in our spectacular room overlooking the canal, replete with Frette linens, Ginori porcelain, thick cotton robes and towels in the pink-marbled bathroom and an immense, multicolored Murano glass chandelier in the bedroom. There was also a chilled bottle of Ferrari sparkling wine (one of Italy's finest), a huge vase of flowers and a silver bowl of fresh fruit--all compliments of the hotel. During that magical week, we visited museums--including the Palazzo Grassi's stunning exhibition on the Etruscans--took long walks, dined out and window-shopped. Just before we flew home in first-class comfort, we attended a brilliant performance of the Four Seasons in Santa Maria della Pieta, the church where Venetian-born Antonio Vivaldi first performed this work in the early 18th century.

The cost, you wonder? Not one lira. We did it all for free.

No, this is not an advertisement for the Gritti Palace, Delta Air Lines or some credit card that offers rewards for loyalty. But it is a true story about how I managed to get the most out of these programs and how you can too.

I first learned how to take full advantage of airline, charge-card, hotel and rental-car points through my business-travel experience. Like many other travelers, I was a member of half a dozen different airline-loyalty programs, including Delta Air Lines, whose frequent-flyer plan I joined in 1988. Then, in 1995, owing more to convenient flight schedules than to a determined strategy, I flew enough miles to qualify for Delta's Silver Medallion status (the lowest of three tiers of Medallion status, each with its own perks). I always thought those elite programs were for moguls, not mere mortals like me. But I quickly learned to appreciate the perks: free upgrades to business class, no blackout dates when you use your accumulated miles for a vacation trip, and other goodies such as early check-in with first-class passengers, preferred seating in coach on the roomier emergency rows and a special 800 number for Medallion-member assistance. Ever since, I have tried to book all my flights, vacations included, on this airline, traveling enough each year to maintain these valuable extras.

In 1994, while checking into a Sheraton hotel on yet another business trip, I discovered that the hotel had its own guest-loyalty program, which I joined. By 1998 I had stayed the requisite number of nights with Sheraton to be elevated to the chain's Gold member status. Then in 1999, when Sheraton became part of the newly created Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., my points were merged into its newly launched Preferred Guest program. The Starwood system has two noteworthy features: there are no blackout dates, and you can stay free on points at any property in the 660-plus hotel group. After 10 visits, I attained Gold status, so that every dollar charged yielded three points, not just two.

In 1999 Starwood and American Express reached an agreement that allowed me, as a Starwood member and an American Express cardholder, to exchange (or combine) program points for free hotel stays at Starwood's Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, W and St. Regis properties. The agreement also covered Starwood's international "Luxury Collection" of hotels, including the Hotel Gritti Palace.

On a cross-country trip in late 1999, I read in Delta's in-flight magazine that American Express and the airline offered a special charge card (with a $55 annual fee and a 5,000-mile signing bonus). The Delta Air Lines SkyMiles/American Express affinity program grants the cardholder a free mile for every dollar you charge. What's more, cardholders receive an additional mileage bonus for upgrading to the Gold card ($85 per year and a 10,000-mile bonus). I did, and ever since, I have charged as much as I can on that card. At the same time, I encouraged my wife Jill to sign up too. Bingo! Another 10,000 miles were deposited into her new account.

By the start of the new millennium, I was in a groove. On a typical business trip, I flew my preferred airline, booked a room at my favorite hotel chain, charged everything on my affinity card, rented from an affiliated car company--and hauled in thousands and thousands of points. Wow!

As I dizzily spiraled into a points-crazed lifestyle 24/7/365, my wife thought I was going mad. She may have been right, especially when I changed our phone service to MCI, which awards five Delta miles for every dollar's worth of phone charges. But when I pulled the Venetian holiday rabbit out of my hat, I scored at least as many points with her as I had accumulated through the programs.