My Paris/ Seychelles Trip (Intro)
When planning my vacations, I always let the miles decide where I go. When planning this year's summer trip, I had a boatload of Delta miles to use and every time I tried to book a flight on Delta.com in business class, it was giving me their "medium" level or 200,000 miles. Being the spendthrift mileage hound that I am, I looked to other methods of maximizing my miles (ps this trip story was also featured in Conde Nast's Maximize Your Miles Contest).
I loaded up my browser and powered up my trusty expertflyer.com account. I knew I wanted to go to Paris, which would cost me 100,000 miles roundtrip and I immediately found dates in July that worked well for my schedule. However, I have a minor case of travel ADD, so I really don't need to be in one place for 10 days. I did a little research and started thinking Africa. At first I was going to do Senegal.. or maybe Ghana? However, after 3 days in Paris, I figured I'd need to relax, so I kept going east until I hit the Indian Ocean. Air France flies to Mauritius and Reunion, both in the Indian ocean, but the available flights didn't work with my schedule. I did a little more research on www.flyertalk.com and found out that Air France codeshares with Air Seychelles for daily flights to Mahe. The Seychelles - yea, that sounds about right. I remember playing "spin the globe" in middle school and I landed on the Seychelles. Even though I may not have pronounced it correctly at the time, I told myself I would go there someday.
I plugged in my ideal dates and magically there were almost 9 seats available on every day I wanted. It was like finding a frequent flyer mile treasure! Knowing that Air France availability shows on Delta.com if you type it in exactly, I used their multi-city search and plugged in the flights and dates where I knew there was availability on expertflyer.com. Magically, all flights loaded and I booked the ticket right then and there for 120,000 miles and $245 in taxes. Yes, thats right - only 20,000 additional miles to go to the SEYCHELLES in business class. And those $250 in taxes? Well I paid for them using a voucher I had for volunteering to get bumped off a flight.
Total out of pocket expense for business class JFK-CDG (2 nights)- SEZ (5 nights)- CDG (1 night)- JFK= $0. My subway ticket to work costs more.
For laughs, I created the same itinerary on airfrance.us and to purchase it, was over $15,000. Not that I would spend $15k on a plane ticket (at this point in my life), but my Delta miles at face value yielded me over 13 cents a piece. I'm not trying to brag too much here, but the moral of the story is that you should never feel defeated when trying to use frequent flyer miles. Think of it as a puzzle and the rewards you can get when you crack the code.
I'm currently sitting in the JFK Terminal 1 Korean Air Lounge (free access due to my Skyteam Elite Plus Status), sipping a cup of green tea and relaxing before my flight to Paris. Once in Paris, we'll spend two nights at the Park Hyatt Vendome, a room which is currently selling for 700 Euros a night. I used two Hyatt free nights earned from several cheap leisure stays earlier this year, so my total cost for that will be $0.
Once in the Seychelles, we are staying at Le Meridien Barbarons, which is running us 4,800 Starwood points and $90US a night- a bargain if you ask me.
I will concede I decided not to use my Hertz points for our rental car, because it only costs 35 euros a day and my Hertz points are better used for Manhattan rentals which can be over $100/day.
If anything, I hope my trip report (which will be posted throughout my trip, whenever I have down time - thanks for free internet for being Hyatt Diamond and Starwood Platinum) will inspire others to maximize the value of their points in order to live their travel dreams- the whole premise behind www.thepointsguy.com.
Safe travels and happy Fourth of July!
[card card-name='Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express' card-id='22035076' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta
- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
- Ability to earn MQDs through spending
- Various statement credits for eligible purchases
Cons
- Steep annual fee of $650
- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
- Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 04/01/2026.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members receive 15 Visits per Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club® when flying Delta and can unlock an unlimited number of Visits after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you’ll receive four One-Time Guest Passes each Medallion Year so you can share the experience with family and friends when traveling Delta together.
- Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. and select international locations (as set forth on the Centurion Lounge Website), Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. (see the Centurion Lounge Website for more information on Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge availability), and Escape Lounges when flying on a Delta flight booked with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. § To access Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 90 minutes of their departing flight (including layovers). To access The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 3 hours of their departing flight. Effective July 8, 2026, during a layover, Card Members must arrive within 5 hours of the connecting flight.
- Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
- $240 Resy Credit: When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $20 each month in statement credits. Enrollment required.
- $120 Rideshare Credit: Earn up to $10 back in statement credits each month after you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card to pay for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers. Enrollment required.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- With your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, receive upgrade priority over others with the same Medallion tier, product and fare experience purchased, and Million Miler milestone when you fly with Delta.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees