$23,000 Ten Day Trip to Europe for $633

A free luxury trip to Europe is possible by using miles and points from travel rewards cards. Here’s how to get a $23,000 ten day trip to Europe for $633.

One of the best times to travel to Europe is during the winter. The off-season keeps prices lower.

Four years ago I travel hacked Europe. It wasn’t my first visit to Europe. But it was the first time I used miles and points to pay almost 100% of my trip.

Three countries in ten days.

One of those quick-strike trips with only two days in each city. Enough time to see the highlights of each place.

I loved being able to visit several places in one trip. It’s a long flight from the West Coast so maximizing my time and planning my itinerary was crucial.

Traveling with only a carryon and not unpacking each night saved time and money.

But there wasn’t a lot of downtime. Time to sit and contemplate. Take in the scenery and people watch.

Visiting four different cities added $237 in extra transportation costs. On a positive note, I discovered the secret to avoiding baggage fees on easyJet and other low-cost airlines.

Next time, I’ll visit two cities on one trip. Okay, you got me. Maybe three cities.

$23,000 Ten Day Trip to Europe for $633

This is part 1 of a multipart series on travel hacking Europe.

I flew Business Class from the United States to Europe, stayed in luxury hotels, and flew First Class home all for less than the cost of an economy ticket.

Gotta love travel hacking!

I used miles and points to pay for the Business Class and First Class flights and the luxury hotels.

But I paid cash for the cheap plane tickets, inter Europe flight, and a budget hotel. It makes more sense to pay cash when flights and hotels are cheap and use miles and points for expensive redemptions.

Here’s how I paid $633 for a trip that should have cost $23,000.

Cost

Flights

For my flights, I used American Airlines miles. I flew Business Class from Los Angeles to London. My flight cost 50,000 American Airlines miles and $5.60 in airline taxes and fees.

A Business Class ticket includes free access to the American Airlines Flagship lounge. Because I have Executive Platinum status with American, I also had access to the Qantas First Class lounge.

Enjoying First Class from London to Los Angeles

On the way home, I flew First Class from Amsterdam to San Diego. I used 62,500 American Airlines miles and paid $158.56 in airline taxes and fees. 🙁

Pro-tip: Airline taxes and fees leaving London are expensive. Because the fees are so high it’s worth flying home in a premium cabin instead of coach.

During the flight, I caught up on the best movies to watch before going to London and England.

I paid cash for the flight from Edinburgh to Amsterdam because it was inexpensive.

Hotels

I stayed at six hotels during this ten day trip to Europe.

London

My one night stay in the Saatchi Suite at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill

The first night I stayed at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill in the Saatchi Suite. It was one of the most interesting and unusual (in a good way) suites I’ve stayed in. I used Points + Cash and a Suite upgrade certificate.

Pro-tip: As a Hyatt Globalist (it was called Diamond then), I got free Regency Club lounge access so my dinner, drinks, and breakfast were included.

Read my review of the Saatchi Suite at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill.

The next two nights I stayed at The May Fair in a superior room during Fashion Week. No upgrades for me because the hotel was sold out.

I used 70,000 Radisson points for a two-night stay, saving 70,000 points because back then the credit card offered the second night free on award stays of two nights or longer.

Pro-tip: There’s a grocery store around the corner from The May Fair so you can buy breakfast items and other snacks.

Manchester

In Manchester, I stayed two nights at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester Hotel in a premium room. I loved the location of this hotel. There was a brewery across the street. 🙂

As in London, it was a BOGO (buy one get one) of 70,000 Radisson points for the two nights.

Edinburgh

For my two nights in Edinburgh, I stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel Edinburgh in a suite.

Another Radisson, another inexpensive two night stay for only 70,000 Radisson points with the second night free on award stays of two nights or longer.

Pro-tip: Take a taxi from the train station to the hotel. The hotel isn’t that far from the train station and it’s walkable but not pleasant. You have to go up a narrow staircase up a hill. Even with a small carryon bag, it’s not the safest way to get there.

Amsterdam

The first night in Amsterdam I stayed at the Andaz Amsterdam in a King Bed Canal View. I redeemed 25,000 Hyatt points. I transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt.

As a Hyatt Diamond, it’s now called, Hyatt Globalist, breakfast was free.

Pro-tip: The Andaz is a 10 minute walk from the Anne Frank house.

Points weren’t available for the second night and I had an early flight so I stayed at the Hyatt Place Amsterdam. The hotel was cheap, $109 a night so I paid cash.

For the stays at Hyatt hotels, I used Hyatt points from the World of Hyatt credit card and Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the card_name, card_name, and card_name.

You could also use the other cards that earn Ultimate Rewards. Ultimate Rewards points transfer instantly to Hyatt on a 1:1 ratio.

For the Radisson hotel stays, I used points from the Radisson card. When I took this trip, Radisson offered the second night free for each award night.

Trains

On this ten day trip to Europe, I rode on two trains. From London to Manchester I booked First Class for $52.

From Manchester to Edinburgh I booked a coach ticket for $66.

The tickets were inexpensive so I paid cash using my Barclaycard Arrival Plus to “erase” the cost. It’s similar to how card_name point redemption works.

How to Earn the Miles and Points

The quickest way to earn miles and points is credit card bonuses.

Although credit card bonuses are the fastest way to earn lots of miles and points, I earn most of my miles through creative ways to earn unlimited miles and points.

By taking advantage of category bonuses, airline dining programs, shopping portals, and other ways to earn frequent flyer miles without flying you can get a lot of value from your cards.

These are the travel rewards cards I used for this trip. The ones listed first are the ones I used, the rest are cards that you could also use. Click on the card name to see the current offers and details about each card.

Flights

These are the travel rewards cards I used for this trip. Click on the card name to see the current offers and details about each card.

card_name – use miles for flights

card_name – use miles for flights

card_name – use miles for flights

card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights

If you don’t have any of those cards, you could book your flights using points and miles from these cards:

card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use points for flights
card_name – use miles for flights
card_name – use miles for flights
card_name – use miles for flights
card_name – use miles for flights
card_name – use miles for flights
card_name – use miles for flights
card_name – use miles for flights

Hotels

You can stay for free using hotel points. I used these hotel rewards cards. Click on the card name to see the current offers and details about each card.

• World of Hyatt credit card – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use for points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms
• card_name – use points for hotel rooms

Conclusion

It’s easy to travel hack a trip to Europe.  My $23,000 ten day trip to Europe only cost $633. Less than an economy ticket.

Earning miles and points through travel rewards credit cards is a quick way to earn tens of thousands of miles.

When you combine new credit card bonuses with creative ways to earn unlimited miles and point, category bonuses, airline dining programs, shopping portals, and other ways to earn frequent flyer miles without flying the miles and points add up quickly.

Stay tuned for the next part of this series: London.

Have you travel hacked Europe? Which countries, cities did you visit? Would you do it again?

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