From snowy markets to sleeper trains: How I’m spending Christmas in Europe using points and miles
When TPG Senior Writer Ben Smithson alerted me to Air France-KLM Flying Blue's July Promo Reward sale — flights from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Europe started at 15,000 Flying Blue miles each way — I was excited. Deals like this aren't exactly rare, but most of them depart from either the East Coast or West Coast, and I'm based in Colorado. I've considered booking positioning flights to take advantage of past deals, but the cost and hassle never ended up being worth it.
Needless to say, I jumped on the chance to fly straight from Denver to Europe for only 30,000 miles round-trip later this year. But since my partner and I were already planning — and paying for — our wedding and honeymoon in October, we decided we would only book the trip if we could get all of it (including airfare and lodging) for basically free using points and miles. Here's how we did it.
Related: Why you should use points and miles to book holiday travel
Booking Air France award flights with Capital One miles
Not only did Flying Blue's July Promo Rewards include flights to and from our home base, Denver International Airport (DEN), but they also included several European destinations. We had our pick of cities in France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Norway and more.
We ultimately narrowed down the list based on which dates worked best for us and which cities had plenty of hotel options that we could book with our Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt points. We also considered European train routes because we knew we wanted to check an overnight train off our bucket list.
We settled on flying into Prague a few days before Christmas and flying out of Brussels a week later. We would spend three days exploring Prague's magical Christmas markets, then take the European Sleeper to Brussels and end our trip with two days in the Belgian capital. As an Agatha Christie fan, I was particularly excited to explore Brussels, the home of one of my favorite fictional characters: detective Hercule Poirot.
Our flights from DEN to Prague cost 15,000 Flying Blue miles plus $116 in taxes and fees, and our flights from Brussels to DEN cost 15,000 miles plus $182 — for a total of 30,000 miles and $298 per person.
Our tickets are economy standard, meaning we'll each get a free checked bag, carry-on and personal item. Interestingly, our journey home from Brussels is one of Air France's combined plane-plus-train tickets, meaning we'll depart from the Brussels South/Midi Train Station (ZYR) and take a train to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) for our flight to DEN.
I'm not a frequent Air France-KLM flyer, and my Flying Blue account held a whopping 0 miles. No problem — I collect Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One miles, both of which are transfer partners with Flying Blue.
Chase has a wider selection of transfer partners that I often use, like United Airlines MileagePlus, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. I have a harder time redeeming my Capital One miles because they don't transfer to most of my favorite programs. Therefore, I decided to use Capital One miles for this redemption because I'm less likely to find other uses for them.
I happened to have just over 60,000 miles in my Capital One account, so I happily transferred these to Flying Blue and saved my Chase points for future redemptions. I spent a grand total of 60,000 miles and $596 for two round-trip flights to Europe — not bad for tickets that would have cost roughly $3,200 total in cash. I ended up getting a value of around 4.3 cents per mile, significantly higher than TPG's October 2024 valuation of 1.3 cents for Flying Blue miles and 1.85 cents for Capital One miles.
Related: Ultimate guide to Capital One's airline and hotel transfer partners
Booking an upscale Prague hotel with Hyatt points
As a Hyatt loyalist who holds the World of Hyatt Credit Card (see rates and fees), I scoped out my Hyatt lodging options in various European cities before booking our flights. One reason we chose Prague was that it had two well-reviewed Hyatt properties near the downtown area.
I could have gotten great value from my World of Hyatt points at the Category 1 Lindner Hotel Prague Castle, where basic rooms were going for $140 or 6,000 points per night on our dates. This would have provided an excellent value of 2.3 cents per point, well above TPG's October 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents each for World of Hyatt points, showing that Category 1 Hyatt hotels are a great way to get maximum value from your points.
But the Lindner Hotel wasn't as centrally located as we were hoping. Since we only had a couple of days to explore Prague and we would be visiting in the coldest month of the year, I was willing to spend more points on a more convenient location. We ended up booking three nights at the Category 6 Andaz Prague, a snazzy hotel within easy walking distance of everything from the train station to the Christmas markets, for a total of 83,000 points. Since the cash rate was $1,266, we got a value of 1.53 cents per point — on the low side for Hyatt points. However, it was the best option for our needs and still saved us over $1,000.
I had around 50,000 Hyatt points saved up from recent stays and spending on my World of Hyatt Credit Card; the rest I transferred from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account. Since World of Hyatt doesn't charge taxes or fees on award stays, I didn't have to pay a dime out of pocket.
Related: World of Hyatt Credit Card review: One of the most valuable hotel cards
Booking a historic Brussels hotel with Marriott free night certificates
My fiance had just added the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card to his wallet, and the welcome bonus at the time (no longer available) was three free night certificates worth up to 50,000 Bonvoy points each, after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (certain hotels may have resort fees), which were burning a hole in his pocket. Since Brussels had plenty of Marriott properties to choose from, he decided to use two of his shiny new free night certificates to cover lodging for our two nights in Brussels.
We chose The Dominican, Brussels, a member of Marriott's Design Hotels collection that started as a monastery in 1465 and now provides luxurious lodging in the center of the city. Award rates on our dates were 46,000 points per night, allowing us to almost maximize our free night certificates. Since cash rates were around $580 on those dates, that welcome bonus saved us over $1,100 — and we still have another free night to use on our next trip.
Unlike World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy does charge some fees on award stays, but these were minimal. Our total cost for the two-night stay was 8.50 euros, or just under $10 at the time of writing.
Currently, the Bonvoy Boundless offers three free night awards* after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, earn an additional free night award* after spending a total of $4,000 on purchases in the first four months from account opening. Additionally, earn up to $100 in statement credits (up to $50 biannually) after spending $500 on eligible airline purchases.
*Nights are valued at up to 50,000 points each. Certain hotels have resort fees.
Related: The best Marriott hotels in the world
Other expenses
The biggest expense for our Christmas trip was the European Sleeper train, which cost about $465 for a private carrier for two. We booked it with our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) because it earns 2 points per dollar spent on travel, has no foreign transaction fees, and includes trip insurance. We'll arrive in Brussels in true "Murder on the Orient Express" style (though hopefully without the murder part) and earn bonus points while we're at it.
I'm considering booking a guided bike tour of Prague through Hyatt's Find Experiences platform, where I could earn 4 points per dollar spent with my World of Hyatt Credit Card. And if we eat any meals at our hotels, we'll pay with my World of Hyatt card or my fiance's Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card (see rates and fees), which earns 6 points per dollar spent on Marriott purchases.
For all other dining, the Chase Sapphire Preferred will give us 3 points per dollar spent. For activities, souvenirs and other purchases that wouldn't fall into any bonus spending category, I'll use my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card because it earns 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and has no foreign transaction fees.
Related: The best cards for trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Bottom line
Sometimes, you already have a dream destination in mind and points and miles can help you get there for less — like when my fiance and I planned our lemur-iffic honeymoon in Madagascar using rewards. Other times, when you find a great deal using points and miles, it can inspire you to visit an unexpected destination or try a new experience. Either way, staying flexible in your travel plans can help you get the most value from your points.
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