Elizabeth sent us this reader success story of her family trip to Amsterdam on credit card points and miles. This trip was taken with two young children, and we appreciate her sharing it with all of us. Here is her story:

Hi! Thank you for all the life-changing information I learned from your podcast and community. This has been the best new hobby ever! We are wrapping up our 7 nights in Amsterdam, where the hotel and plane tickets had a cash value of $7,210—I paid $285! 

 

Flights to Amsterdam

We paid 45,000 American Airlines miles per person (our infant was a lap child). We paid $95 per person for the plane tickets in taxes and fees. I have had the American Airlines credit card for about 10 years now. That used to be my everyday spending card, and I thought it was great to get a free international ticket every other year or so. The last few years, I hadn’t traveled much, so I had A LOT of miles accumulated. I used this for all of our tickets.

We also spent about an hour and a half in Dallas’s Capital One Lounge for free with my card_name. The food was nice, but the drinks and dessert were better. I had a latte and an old-fashioned drink and my husband had a margarita. The lounge was next to our gate, which was an added bonus.

 

Hotels on Points in Amsterdam

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Amsterdam for 155,000 points for 7 nights. We earned these points with two welcome offers from the card_name and the card_name.

We’re a family of four with two very young kids. I chatted with the hotel beforehand and confirmed that the baby could sleep in a crib and our toddler could share our bed, so we all fit in a standard-size room. The crib was in our room when we checked in, and I used it with a slumber pod and white noise machine—it worked wonderfully.

I emailed the hotel before to ask for anything to make our stay special. I did not hear back, but our room was beautiful, with a corner window spanning the entire wall with a canal view, and we also received some treats and a welcome letter. I’m not sure if this is standard. There’s also a super sweet little playground perfect for toddlers RIGHT next to the Hyatt across the street. We did not discover it until our last day, so I wanted to share it with anyone in a similar family setup.

 

 

My Thoughts on Amsterdam for Young Children

Amsterdam was perfect for my 1- and 2-year-olds. We took two ergos, which I always find most manageable, but a stroller would also work fine. One tip I read in another group was to bring a bike lock and lock your stroller to a rack if you can’t bring it somewhere. I thought this was a genius idea!

Restaurants were very family-friendly and offered high chairs before we could even ask. People were very quick to provide you with their seat on public transportation. The playgrounds were fantastic, and they were all around the city! Each one we visited was set up very well, gated, and beautiful.

 

 

Also, I found a great company that offered a country bike tour with baby seats (I was nervous to bike in the city, plus the countryside is stunning). Amsterdam is a nice, family-friendly city.

 

Activities in Amsterdam

Parks with well-set-up, gated playgrounds

• Oosterpark: Raised rainbow track that follows the entire playground leading to a slide. Swings, tires to stand and jump on.
• Frederiksplein Park: multiple different play structures
• Vondelpark: There were multiple playgrounds in one park with plenty of different structures, swings, a sand pit, and a zip line. There was also a shallow pool filled with cool water in the summer. 

 

Restaurants

• Groot Melkhuis: in Vondelpark next to the zipline area.
• Oost: short walk near Oosterpark. Delicious! The kid’s pizza even had a smiley face on it.oostpizzapasta.nl
• Park Cafe: Beautiful outdoor seating overlooking Oosterpark

 

Activities

• We took a 1.5-hour canal tour that met right by the Hyatt. An Amsterdam Canal Cruise on a small open boat (max 12 guests) costs $31.78. Our guide was informative, and very patient with our babies.
• Amsterdam: Private Photoshoot Session with Edited Photos. ️️️️️ 

 

 

• Albert Cuyp Straat market. Jewelry, clothing, delicious food (Rudi’s Original Stroopwafels)
• We went on a countryside bike tour, and they set up our bikes with kids’ seats. It was a great tour! 
• Rijksmuseum. You must buy tickets in advance (though they can be purchased a day or two before). We entertained the 2-year-old by finding all the animals in the art (there were a ton).
• Anne Frank Museum. You must buy tickets well in advance. They go on sale six weeks prior. I set an alarm for 0400 (they go on sale at 1000 Amsterdam time) and still could only get evening tickets. I wanted earlier because of the kids, but oh well. I did the introductory program, too. The regular tickets are slightly easier to get. 
• Take the metro and bus out to Broek in Waterland. It’s a very quick commute (30 minutes) but in a small, sweet little village. Only we made the mistake of going on a Monday when everything was closed except one restaurant—the one in the Church Broek in Waterland. Which was amazing!! We walked around the town after and took the bus back. It’s a beautiful town. 

 

Bottom Line

Thanks, Heather, for your family trip to Amsterdam on points! We love seeing people travel the world with their small families. I also thought the people were kind and helpful on my trip to Amsterdam!

 

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• Girl’s Trip to Amsterdam Using Points
• Amsterdam and a Concert on Points and Miles