How I Booked a Family Trip to Italy and France for 4 Using Points and Miles

I managed to earn over 300,000 points in 6 months and planned a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for my family. It was a daunting task, especially as I had only ever booked award flights and hotels for up to 2 people at a time.

But I was up for the challenge and plotted a 9-day escapade to Rome and Paris over Thanksgiving weekend — with points and miles comping the majority of the out-of-pocket travel costs. Here’s an inside look into my strategy and how you can do the same.

Overview of Travel Dates and Destinations

When planning a trip, you’ll likely start with a destination in mind, but I usually plan in reverse. Once I have an idea of general travel dates, I’ll compare available award flights during the timeframe and then land on a destination.

This year, I wanted to book a family vacation for my mom, brother, boyfriend, and me for roughly 10 days around Thanksgiving. Here are the other details that helped me book this trip:

• Hometown airport: Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
• Destination(s) in mind: Somewhere in Europe, going wherever we could get the best award deal!
• Points and miles: Over 300,000 points in several credit card reward programs
• The goal: Book business class on the way there and economy for flights home

Flight #1: Business Class Flights for 4 People to Rome

I started the search on my favorite award booking tool, seats.aero, casting a wide net to find as many bookable routes as possible. First, I looked up flights from “USA” (all major U.S. airports) to “EUR” (all major European airports) and entered a 3-day window from my ideal departure date.

As a pro user, I’m able to enter the specific number of seats needed on a route. Although my home airport, RDU, offers a growing number of nonstop routes to Europe (Iceland, Paris, London, and, most recently, Frankfurt), I was open to the possibility of taking a positioning flight to another major airport to hunt down award availability for 4 passengers.

After comparing the options, I landed on a business class ticket from Air Canada Aeroplan. This program has some of the best ways to get to Europe using points and miles:

• Chicago (ORD) to Brussels (BRU) on United Polaris in a Boeing 787-10 aircraft
• Brussels (BRU) to Rome (FCO) on Brussels Airlines in an Airbus A319 aircraft

The entire itinerary was bookable for 70,000 points plus under $100 in taxes and fees per person.

There were exactly 4 tickets still up for grabs on my ideal travel date, so I moved quickly to transfer my stash of points to the Aeroplan.

I needed 280,000 Aeroplan points to make this redemption happen. Fortunately for me, there was a 20% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Air Canada Aeroplan at the time. Using the Upgraded Points transfer partner calculator, which takes into account any active transfer bonuses, I realized I only needed to transfer 234,000 Membership Rewards points.

Once I booked that flight, I booked positioning tickets from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Chicago (ORD). It was quite affordable at $59 per person, and we’ll have several hours to enjoy the ORD Polaris lounge before takeoff. I’ve never flown United Polaris before, but I’m mostly looking forward to the ability to get some good quality sleep on the transatlantic flight.

With these one-way business class tickets costing well over $3,000 per person, I redeemed my points for over 4 cents each.

More importantly, we avoided paying over $12,000 for 4 business class tickets by leveraging points and miles.

Flight #2: Economy Flights for 4 People From Paris

Once I secured flights to Rome, I needed to find a way home. Thanks to Air France-KLM Flying Blue’s Promo Rewards, which is a monthly promotion of award flights between Europe and the U.S., I found a great deal. I could book Air France’s nonstop flight from Paris (CDG) to Raleigh (RDU) for just 15,000 miles per person, with plenty of availability in early December.

Even with the taxes of roughly $200 per person, this was totally worth it in my eyes. I transferred 60,000 Wells Fargo Rewards points to Flying Blue, and I received those instantly.

Since most flights from Europe to the U.S. operate during the day, I don’t need the luxuries of a lie-flat seat returning home. Plus, the real luxury here is hopping on a nonstop flight from Europe to my home airport.

By booking this flight, my itinerary quickly formed: going to Rome and Paris for 9 days. I’ve never been to Rome, and it has been over 7 years since I visited Paris to study abroad, so this sounded like the perfect itinerary for our family trip.

Booking Accommodations

Booking the flights for 4 people definitely put together a large part of the puzzle. With about 4 months left until the trip, I have time to peruse potential accommodations in Rome and Paris as needed.

Although I have some points with Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt, we won’t book hotels this time. It can be difficult to book 1 hotel room in Europe for 4 adults because of strict occupancy limits, and we’ll probably want more space.

Instead, we’ll set our sights on booking a vacation rental. While I haven’t done this just yet, there are several ways I’m thinking about booking a vacation home:

1. Book an Airbnb through the Delta SkyMiles Airbnb portal to earn 1x miles on the Airbnb, and pay for the expense with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to earn 2x miles. I also can redeem Capital One miles at a rate of 1 cent each for travel purchases within 90 days, should I wish to offset the cost.
2. Transfer points to Marriott Bonvoy to book Marriott Homes & Villas properties starting at ~30,000 points per night.
3. Redeem Expedia OneKeyCash to book Vrbo properties and get a 1:1 dollar value when booking properties.

With 9 nights to book, I’ll likely do a combination of all 3. I can tap into my family members’ stash of rewards to accomplish this goal.

Hot Tip:

Referring your friends and family members to credit cards is a win-win to earn a ton of bonus points. Check out our extensive guide on the best credit card referral bonuses.

How To Earn 300,000+ Credit Card Points

With over a dozen credit cards in my wallet, I’ve slowed my roll on submitting new applications. I’m trying to be more strategic with the cards I apply for, as credit card issuer application rules can often complicate whether you are (or aren’t) eligible to earn a welcome offer in the future.

That said, I opened 2 cards within a 6-month time frame: The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card.

Finding a Targeted Welcome Offer on the Amex Business Platinum Card

ELEVATED OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This card is ideal for business travelers who enjoy luxury travel and are looking for a card loaded with benefits!

Learn More(at Amex's secure site)

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

This card is ideal for business travelers who enjoy luxury travel and are looking for a card loaded with benefits!

Welcome Offer

Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.

150,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$3,300

Annual Fee

$695

APR

19.49% - 28.49% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express is a premium travel rewards card tailored toward business owners who are frequent travelers with a high number of annual expenses.

When you factor in the large number of perks that the card offers like the best airport lounge access at over 1,400 lounges, along with tons of annual credits, it’s easy to see why this card can is a top option for frequent traveling business owners.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 on flights and prepaid hotels at Amex Travel
• Access to over 1,400 worldwide airport lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection
• Get 50% more Membership Rewards points (1.5 points per $1) on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more (cap applies)

Cons

• High annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)
• Airline fee credit does not cover airfare, only incidentals like checked bags

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
• 5X Membership Rewards^® points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
• Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
• Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card^®. Enrollment required. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card^®, here.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to the Card.
• $199 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR^® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card^®.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023.
• $695 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.49% - 28.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

The Amex Business Platinum card has a $695 annual fee (rates & fees) and boasts the following welcome bonus offer:

• ELEVATED OFFER: Earn 150,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

While that’s certainly a great deal of points, American Express can bring even juicier targeted welcome offers for eligible applicants. We’ve covered targeted offers extensively here at Upgraded Points, so take a look at each elevated offer that you could come across with the Amex Business Platinum card:

• Earn 170K Amex Points With the Amex Business Platinum Card [Current Public Offer Is 150K]
• Earn 175K Bonus Points With Amex Business Platinum Card [Current Public Offer Is 150K]
• Score a Massive 190K Bonus With the Amex Business Platinum Card [Current Public Offer Is 150K]
• Get an Incredible 200K Bonus With the Amex Business Platinum Card [Current Public Offer Is 150K]

Targeted offers are discussed in the articles above. Please note that these offers are not available to all applicants. Any information related to targeted offers has been collected independently and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

All told, it absolutely matters which welcome offer you apply for — in this specific case, putting up to 33% more points on the table. When I was targeted for the huge 200k welcome bonus offer, I took the leap. As a self-employed business owner, expenses such as quarterly tax payments, business travel, and a new MacBook helped me reach the $8,000 spending requirement in no time.

Of course, the Amex Business Platinum card offers a generous earning rate beyond the welcome offer, especially for business owners. I was able to rack up an additional 35,000 points from everyday business expenses over 6 months of card membership, which brought more than 235,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to my account when accounting for the welcome offer and points earned from the spending required to unlock the bonus.

Applying for a New Travel Credit Card

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card launched earlier this year, and it has quickly become one of my favorite credit cards in my wallet. The $95 annual fee is quite affordable (rates & fees), and the rewards rate ensures that I continue to rack up bonus points on travel and everyday purchases.

Currently, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card has the following welcome offer:

• Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.

We value Wells Fargo points at 1.5 cents apiece, so the welcome offer is worth a solid $900 for travel.

After a few months of holding the card, I earned an additional 15,000 points from spending — particularly on dining (3x points) and hotels (5x points). That tallied up to an impressive 75,000 points in my Wells Fargo Rewards balance.

Spending on Other Credit Cards

As mentioned earlier, I have numerous credit cards in my wallet. Here’s an overview of some of the credit cards I have and how I racked up thousands of points and miles from everyday spending:

• Bilt World Elite Mastercard^® Credit Card: Earn 1x points on rent without a transaction fee (up to $100,000 per calendar year).
• American Express^® Gold Card: Earn 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year).
• Ink Business Unlimited^® Credit Card: Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase made for your business.
• Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^®: Earn 1x miles on all other eligible purchases. I like to put all “non-bonus” spend on this card, as I’ll also earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent on card purchases, helping to retain my AAdvantage elite status.

Note that you have to make a minimum of 5 transactions on your Bilt card during each billing period to earn points.

Final Thoughts

I can’t say my award travel was booked for free, as there was a lot of credit card spending involved, and I’ve paid hundreds of dollars in annual fees to amass the right amount of points to make this trip happen. We also paid taxes and fees on our award tickets for the flights.

That said, I was able to book a mixed-cabin itinerary for a trip to Rome and Paris for 4 people, which is a major win in my book. While booking award travel for multiple people isn’t for the faint of heart, the effort was worth it in the long run, and I’m more than happy about the points and miles I’ve put to good use.