21 months after starting my credit card points journey, I was able to realize my dream of seeing Paris and London. Because I was in a rush to go on my dream trip, I did not take my entire family. This trip was just for 2 people. Had I decided to take my family, everything would have been different, from flights, to hotels, to what we did, to the credit cards I chose to open to fund this trip. Keep this in mind as I break down below how I booked the trip and how much it cost. I hope that you gain some ideas through my experience on how you can do it too for yourself and your family.
It took me about a year to earn the points I needed to be able to book our flights and to book our hotels. I was working in 2 player mode, in which me and my travel partner alternated opening credit cards for the welcome bonus and referring each other for more points. This is how we were able to earn the 396,000 points needed for this trip.
Hotels
Chase points are easy to earn and they transfer over to Hyatt hotels at a 1:1 ratio. Hyatt hotels offer great rates when booking with points, when compared with other hotel chains. For example, Chase also transfers to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio. Booking a room with Marriott will cost you 80,000 points per night for example, while Hyatt will cost you 45,000 points per night. This is why I love Hyatt hotels. They offer a great value when traveling with points.
That being said, Hyatt hotels do have a disadvantage when planning a European vacation. Hyatt doesn’t have a huge number of hotels in Europe. Therefore, if you plan on booking a hotel on points in popular tourist destinations, like Paris and London, you better plan to have your points ready to go at least 12 months in advance of when you plan on going on vacation. They say they open their booking calendar 394 days in advance, but in my experience its more like 365 days in advance. I will stalk their calendar daily starting at the 394 day mark in order to make sure that as soon as reservations can be made, I make them. Hotels only allot a certain amount of rooms to be booked with points. Once they are all gone, they will not add more. That is why it is important to book as soon as that property lets you.
I had my dream property in mind and I stalked the calendar until it was open. I was able to book 4 nights at the category 8 Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome for 45,000 points per night, for a total of 180,000 points and $0. Could I have stayed at a cheaper hotel for way less? Yes, but since I wasn’t taking my daughters, I wanted to experience a luxury hotel for my first time in Paris. This hotel stay would have cost $4,256 if I had paid cash.
This hotel was easy to get to from the train. It was about a 8 minute walk, so that was a plus. The staff was very helpful as soon as we walked in. When we got to the room they had a welcome gift of macaroons waiting for us. The room and bathroom was big, comparable to American hotels rooms. If you haven’t heard, European rooms tend to be very small. It was a pleasant stay, but there wasn’t anything truly special about it. The nice hotel and pleasant experience wasn’t worth the points. Plus, we were out of the room most of the time anyway. I would say, save your points and book a cheaper option.
In London, we stayed at the Great Scotland Yard Hotel. I booked it at the same time as when I booked the Paris hotel just to be sure I got a room. It cost 25,000 points per night, for a total of 75,000 points and $0 for 3 days. The cash price would have been $1,617.
I LOVED this hotel. It was very close to the train station and when I got out of the station, immediately I saw the London Eye, giving me the feeling of, “Oh my God, I’m in London”. The hotel itself was also very nice and had so many fun things to look at. There is a secret speakeasy that I did not get to visit because I did not know about it until after I left, so if you stay there, look out for it. I also loved the location because it was also very close to many of the popular attractions. For me, I was most excited that the Sherlock Holmes Pub was right around the corner. They also had a great breakfast in the morning, which is not free, but a friend shared his Hyatt Globalist status with me and me and my player 2 were able to get free breakfast for the 3 days we were there. So if you have a friend who has Globalist status with Hyatt and they haven’t used up their passes, ask if they can give you one.
I highly recommend you try the fish and chips at the hotel bar. It was so much better than other places I tried in the city. The portion was big and I ended up splitting it with my player 2. The mashed peas are not shown, but you must try them with your fish and chip bite. I am not a huge fan of peas, but believe me, you will not be sorry.
Flights
I used Chase points to book our flights to and from Europe. I transferred Chase points to Virgin Atlantic and to Flying Blue, the points program for the airlines AirFrance and KLM. Flight schedules vary by airline but can be released as early as 11 months from the date on which you plan to travel. It is best to book flights between 6-9 months on when you plan to travel because they sometimes become cheaper and because sometimes airlines add more routes.
I booked two economy flights through AirFrance from LAX to Paris for 46,500 points each and $63 in taxes, for a total of 93,000 points and $126.
From Paris to London I booked our economy flights through AirFrance for 9,000 points each and $39 in taxes, for a total of 18,000 points and $78.
From London to LAX I booked economy flights through Virgin Atlantic for 15,000 points each and $279 in taxes, for a total of 30,000 points and $558. Flight taxes are always higher when flying back home from Europe, so don’t be alarmed by the number.
Credit Cards I Opened for this Trip
- Chase Sapphire Preferred: 64,000 points for the sign up bonus and minimum spend. Referred my player 2 for 15,000 more points. He opened the same for 64,000 more points= 143,000 points
- Chase Ink Unlimited Business card: 84,000 points for the sign up bonus and minimum spend. Referred my player 2 for 20,000 points. He opened the same for 84,000 more points= 188,000 points
- Chase Ink Cash Business card: My player 2 then referred me to this card for 20,000 referral points. I earned 84,000 points for the sign up bonus and minimum spend= 104,000 points
Totaling 435,000 points with those 5 cards which covered all of the above and we had more left over for the next trips.
If you have any questions about any of the above, message me on Instagram @mamitravelswithpoints
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