How I saved over $6,500 using credit card rewards for a family vacation to Italy

My parents are not big travelers. It’s not necessarily that they don’t want to travel; it’s just that they have always equated traveling — particularly flying outside of the U.S. — with being too far outside their financial means.

But as descendants of Italy, they've always had that country on their bucket list.

So, after I introduced my parents to the world of points and miles, they planned an aspirational international trip to the “pasta capital of the world.”

Not one to be left out of travel plans, I tagged along — and brought my partner and infant along for the journey.

Using combined rewards, four adults and a (then) 5-month-old baby traveled to Italy, redeeming 194,500 points and miles for flights, plus $837 in taxes and fees. Here’s how I got almost 2 cents per point in value for every award flight redemption.

Related: The best ways to travel to Italy with points and miles

Part 1: A perfect storm of a great transfer bonus and a good award deal

As a points and miles enthusiast, I find it hard not to jump on a good award redemption when it comes across my screen. Back in October 2024, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club implemented a dynamic pricing model. While dynamic pricing typically yields low-value award redemptions (cough, Delta SkyMiles, cough), the airline loyalty program began pricing economy saver award flights starting at 6,000 points.

With a stroke of luck, Chase Ultimate Rewards was also offering a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. As a Florida resident and a Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) cardholder, I began searching for award flights from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) and found one-way economy flights available for just 7,500 Flying Club points.

Thanks to the bonus, I transferred just 23,000 Ultimate Rewards points to my Flying Club account and received an additional 9,200 Virgin points, rounding out my total to 32,200 points.

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I redeemed 30,000 Flying Club points and paid about $73 per person in taxes and fees for our nonstop economy flights from MCO to LHR.

Now, when I booked this great flight deal, my baby had not yet been born. Luckily, adding a lap infant to my reservation was a painless process.

In February 2025, I contacted Virgin Atlantic via their online chat function and was easily able to add my then 2-month-old to my reservation. Virgin charges 1,000 points for a lap infant, and I paid about $5 in taxes and fees.

If I were to have paid cash for four adults and one baby to travel from MCO to LHR, I would have spent around $2,300. Since I only had to transfer 23,000 Chase points (to redeem 31,000 Virgin points), I got about 8.7 cents per point in value. Since TPG values Chase points at 2.05 cents apiece and Flying Club points at 1.3 cents per point (per our August 2025 valuations), this was a great redemption.

Not only was I maximizing my points, but setting up a positioning flight to London before flying to Italy helped us save our rewards.

Now, onward to Italy.

Related: Current credit card transfer bonuses

Part 2: Flying from London to Venice, Italy, using British Airways Club Avios

The first leg of our Italian vacation would begin in the northern part of Italy, where my dad's family descended from. The landscape of the Dolomite region is much different from its southern counterpart. With snowcapped mountains, beautiful blue-green lakes and the Tyrolean influence, which can be described as a fusion of Austrian and Italian cuisine and culture, this region of Italy was a favorite for my family.

One major highlight was walking around Lake Carezza and taking in the beautiful mountain scenery. Growing up, family vacations were limited to close-by amusement park attractions like Busch Gardens. So, with my mom constantly telling me that she "can't believe she's here, in Italy," it was yet another reminder that the points savings and redemptions were all worth it.

Since we started in the northern part of Italy, we planned to fly into Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) from LHR and then rent a car to drive to the Dolomite region. British Airways offered several same-day, nonstop flights for about $178 per adult, and adding a lap infant cost 10% of the base fare plus applicable taxes and fees.

I transferred 20,000 Chase points to book four adult flights to Venice for 19,065 Avios plus $251 in taxes and fees. Additionally, I paid about $50 (10% of the base fare plus taxes and fees) for my son to be added as a lap infant.

Therefore, I saved a little over $700 for these flights to Italy, which gave me a redemption value of about 2.4 cents per Avios — well above the 1.4 cents apiece valuation TPG lists for August 2025.

Part 3: Flying back across the pond using American Airlines AAdvantage miles

After touring (and eating) our way through Italy, our European vacation would conclude along the iconic Amalfi Coast. Though the sites were breathtaking and the food was unmatched, it was the smaller family moments that really stuck out for me on the trip, like my parents holding my baby in front of the Roman Colosseum or the hospitality and generosity of restaurant owners.

Note that our favorite meals on this trip were at family-owned and -operated places, and, in some cases, a home-turned-restaurant. Growing up, my grandfather owned a luncheonette in Philadelphia, and my dad and his five sisters all worked there. Therefore, family-owned businesses always hold a sentimental value to me.

Since our trip concluded on the Amalfi Coast, we decided to fly home out of Naples International Airport (NAP). However, since we had a few extra vacation days, we first decided to fly nonstop to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to visit family. American Airlines operates a nonstop route from NAP to PHL.

I currently hold the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®, and my parents have the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. Therefore, we both had a stash of American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

The information for the Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard and the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard have been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

But, since I also have Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards points, I cross-referenced to see if this specific American Airlines flight was available to book on partner airlines at a better price, such as British Airways Club, Iberia Club and other Oneworld airlines.

TPG tip: Use a search tool such as Seats.aero to find airline award availability across different loyalty programs.

Since this flight was not even available on partner airlines, I was at the mercy of American Airlines’ dynamic pricing. Though scoring a great deal on an American award flight is not a given, this particular flight was available for just 27,500 American miles plus $43 per person in taxes and fees. Since the cash rate was about $940 per person, this gave me a redemption value of over 3 cents per mile.

My parents had enough miles in their account to book three flights, while I had to wait for the welcome bonus on my Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard to hit my account before I could book my flight. Unfortunately, within that time, the award price jumped 10,000 miles, but the cash rate dropped to about $770.

Even with the award price increase and cash price drop, this redemption gave me a value of 1.9 cents per mile. Since TPG values AAdvantage miles at 1.55 cents apiece, per our August 2025 valuations, this was still a good redemption rate. Plus, I saved $770!

In all, I paid 38,000 miles plus $43 to book my flight from NAP to PHL. As for my son, American also charges 10% of the base fare plus applicable taxes and fees for lap infants on international flights. So, I paid about $119 for a lap infant to be added to my reservation.

Combined, for four adults and one baby to fly nonstop from NAP to PHL, we redeemed 120,500 American miles and spent about $290 in taxes, fees and the additional charge for the added lap infant. If we had paid cash for these flights, we would have spent almost $3,600.

Related: How to redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles for maximum value

Bottom line

The burdensome cash cost of a vacation can deter anyone from venturing outside their immediate area. Plus, when you factor in the cost of hotels, rental cars and spending money on food, it can be hard to justify the out-of-pocket expenses to go on vacation.

Luckily, points and miles can really help even the most budget-focused traveler find solace in a great redemption.

Without the use of flexible credit card reward currencies, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points or our American Airlines miles, I would not have been able to take a memorable multigenerational vacation with my family. Since using rewards saved us over $6,500 on our flights, we were able to splurge in other areas, such as on accommodations and souvenirs.

Overall, I can happily say that the pasta and memories were worth every single point and mile.