Here is Sayre’s reader success story to Europe on points and miles… and cash. She used a mixture of these things to craft the perfect 10 day trip to Europe! Here is her story:

 

 

I started using credit card points/miles with the simple goal to fly cheaper/more frequently from Raleigh, NC to New Hampshire to visit my husband’s family. Also, I used to live in Spain and I adore Europe, so my other huge dream/goal was to start taking my family to Europe every couple years!

Until I started stumbled across the Travel Mom Squad Podcast and Facebook page, I could never quite figure out how to best utilize credit cards points. I had a Delta card and JetBlue card that earned points at a snail rate. 

 

Points and Miles Plus Cash

Here are the details of our Europe trip (me, my husband, and two boys, 4 & 7). I want to be clear that this trip was a *mixture* of points and quite a bit of cash, partially because my husband and I had a particular resort we wanted to visit in northern Italy. There was also  NO 2-room points-availability in Paris during our stay (prime time in June and near the Olympics).

We had also just started using points and miles when I booked this trip in June 2023, so we had limited points! This trip was accomplished by opening four cards: two card_name, one card_name, and one card_name (I used TMS’s referral links!). 

Flights on Points and Miles

We flew RDU>CDG>LHR on AirFrance metal via booking on the Virgin Atlantic site. I took advantage of Chase’s 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic. (This is no longer available). I found four business class tickets (48.5k x4 people = 194k total). With the Chase transfer bonus, I had to transfer only 150k Chase Ultimate Rewards® to Virgin for our flights there! (Cash price $31,372!! HOLY COW)

 

 

The taxes and fees on Virgin flying into London were high (can’t remember the exact amount, but over $1k total), but I have ZERO regrets. Flying nonstop from  our home airport to Europe without the hassle of repositioning in US with kids was CLUTCH! 

By the way, this was my first transatlantic flight in business-what a treat! I cannot believe my kids got to experience business class on points! Spoiled LOL. 

We flew home from Paris, CDG>RDU economy on AirFrance via Virgin Atlantic using the 30% Chase transfer bonus to Virgin. 12k x 4 people=48k total (37k total Chase UR points with the transfer bonus). (Cash price was $9,784)

 

Lodging in Europe

In London we stayed at the Hyatt Andaz London Liverpool 2 nights. Y’all taught me about the Hyatt Family Rate, so we were able to score one room for 23k/ night for 2 nights, so 46k total. The cash price of the 2nd room was 324.50 GBP/night, so 649 GBP total. The cash price for the 2 adjoining rooms would have been 2,596 GB pounds!

From London, we flew Gatwick to Milan on EasyJet for a cheap cash price. I opened the Venture X card so we could get family Priority Pass Lounge access in Gatwick, Verona, and Paris. I also used my Hertz Gold status through my Venture X to book the rental car in Milan, which we booked through the Capital One travel portal. Hertz Gold was great, and the lady at the counter in Milan gave me a discount on my children’s car seats. My husband was added as a driver for free with Hertz Gold! I declined the insurance since Venture X covered it (I did have to email Capital One beforehand and get them to email me proof of coverage). 

 

Paying Cash for Parts of the Trip

In Italy, we stayed at a lovely family resort in Lake Garda for five nights. Cash. We flew Verona>CDG Paris on Volotea Air. Cash. 

 

 

In Paris, we stayed in 2 adjoining rooms at a small boutique hotel, Hotel de Noailles, in the Opera District. Cash. 

We spent roughly the same amount of money TOTAL (flights, lodging, food, car) for ten days in Europe as it cost us one week to go to the Caribbean paying cash. And with an overnight business flight! THAT BLOWS MY MIND! 

 

 

None of that would have been possible without Travel Mom Squad and all the knowledge I gleaned from you all! You ladies taught me about credit cards, award flight searches, transfer bonuses, European airlines, “reverse repositioning” (thank you, Pam, for retraining my brain to think like this!), Hyatt’s family rate plan, and the rental car benefits & family lounge benefits attached to VentureX!! I am SO GRATEFUL for TMS and the TMS community and your amazing content! God bless Travel Mom Squad! Here’s to many more dream trips I never thought possible! 

 

Bottom Line

We love our reader’s success stories! Europe on Points and Miles with cash mixed in is the perfect example of realistic family travel. You may not pay zero for travel, but you can significantly reduce your travel costs AND travel in a way you never thought possible. Thank you, Sayre, for your story and here’s to many more trips thanks to credit card points and miles!

 

Related Posts

• Getting to Europe on Points and Miles
• Reader Success Story to the United Kingdom
• Reader Success Story: Spring Break Eurotrip