I just got back from my dream Italian vacation! I started this hobby in early 2024 and just spent ten days in Italy on points and miles. We spent three nights in Rome, three in Florence, three in Ischia, and one night back in Rome. We paid for all hotels and flights with points, meaning we only had to pay for food, tours and in-country travel on the trip. If we paid for our hotels and flights out of pocket, it would have been over $19,000!!!! Instead, we spent about $1,000 and 1 million points. This wouldn’t have been possible without points and miles. 

 

Rome on Points

Rome was by far our favorite city. The Tribune hotel was close-ish to the train station and the Trevi fountain. There were lots of great restaurants and cafés nearby! It was a longer walk from the Colosseum and Vatican. The hotel had tiny rooms, but they were updated. It was just fine for how little time we spent in our room. Read Pam’s review of this hotel here.  The Tribune in Rome was booked via Hyatt for about 38k points per night. We also spent one night at the Holiday Inn Rome on our return for about 10k points.

Florence on Points

In Florence, we stayed at the Hotel Indigo. It was extremely close to the train station and about a 15-20 minute walk from most of the city. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the city, going into shops, and using the wine windows! The Hotel Indigo in Florence was booked via IHG for about 50k points per night. 

 

Ischia on Points

Ischia was our last place to stay, and this was our big splurge. We booked through a travel portal to stay at the San Montano Resort and earned 5x points on our booking. The resort was lovely and FANCY. We spent almost all our time here in the mineral pools, just relaxing. It was needed after Rome and Florence. We booked through Capital One Travel for $900 per night, and we used the purchase eraser feature. On our way back from Ischia to Rome to return home, we took a private tour of Pompeii and of a winery on Mount Vesuvius. 

 

 

So, how did I earn the points to go on this trip? I earned over a million points in 2024 and booked in January 2025. I already had the card_name, and my husband had the card_name before hearing about this hobby and Travel Mom Squad.

Once I started following Travel Mom Squad, I quickly opened the card_name myself. Next I opened the card_name and my husband opened the card_name. Next, I opened the card_name. Then I went on to open the card_name and a Chase business card. My husband opened a Chase business card and the card_name (he has both). We didn’t overspend to meet minimum spends; instead, we put everything on the card, met the minimum, and then moved on to the next card. 

 

 

Our Flights

• Positioning Flight on United SGF-ATL 16k points + $5.60 per person
• Business Class Flight ORD-AMS-FCO on KLM 117k points + $244 per person 
• Premium Select FCO-ATL Delta booked via Virgin 43k points + $265 per person 
• Positioning return home ATL – SGF Delta 11k points + $5.60 per person