Sometimes you need to go a bit beyond flowers or a nice restaurant. Last July, my wife and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary while all three of our children were in summer camp or visiting family. We cashed in most of the points and miles earned from our credit cards and were able to visit London, Paris, Normandy, and more for a fraction of what it would have cost.
Planning an incredible anniversary trip
I always start a trip by booking the hardest part first, which is the overseas flights. Fortunately, we like to earn American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These programs allow cardholders to transfer their rewards to airline miles or hotel points, which can be very valuable.
For example, American Express cardholders can transfer their points to frequent flyer miles with ANA Airlines of Japan, which offers flights to European and Asian destinations at impressive rates. We use the American Express® Gold Card for all of our restaurant and grocery store purchases, which offers 4x points per dollar spent (up to $50,000 and $25,000 per year respectively, then 1x).
I was able to locate two business class award seats on a United flight from Newark to London and two return seats from Paris to New York-JFK via Warsaw on LOT Polish Airlines. After confirming the flights were available as awards on ANA’s website, I transferred my Amex points to ANA miles and booked the awards.
There was just one small problem: We don’t live in New York. To get there from our home in Denver, I used Ultimate Rewards points from cards I have, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. Many people don’t realize that although the Freedom Unlimited is marketed as a cash-back card that earns 1.5%, you actually earn 1.5x points per dollar spent, and those points can be combined with your rewards from other cards.
I transferred points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Airlines and booked our tickets to New York-LaGuardia the day before our flight departed from Newark. I also transferred Chase points to Hyatt and redeemed them for one night in a hotel in the city. We splurged on dinner at the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park. The next morning, we took a rare daytime flight to London, arriving in the UK in time for dinner.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
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4.4/5
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Perks
Regular APR
22.49% – 29.49% Variable
Pros
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Annual travel credit can effectively shave $300 off the annual fee if you use it
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Strong travel insurance
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Strong bonus rewards on travel and dining
Cons
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Very high annual fee
Product Details
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
$300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
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Enjoying a European vacation on points
In London, we stayed at the Hilton Lost Property, which is literally in the shadow of the spectacular St. Paul’s Cathedral. Our stay cost us nothing, thanks to the Hilton points I accumulated from both my Hilton Honors Business card and the significant expenses I charged to it, having produced a professional conference at a Hilton property the previous year.
We then took the Eurostar train from London to Paris and used our Hilton points to stay there for five nights. This was ideal, because when you redeem your Hilton Honors points for four consecutive nights, the fifth is free.
After a week spent visiting the major sights and enjoying French wine and cuisine, we went to Normandy and stayed in a gorgeous French Château, paying for it with our Hyatt points. We then returned to New York on LOT Polish business class. Another Southwest flight home to Denver, also courtesy of credit card rewards, and our anniversary spectacular was complete.
How I got the most out of my rewards
It’s always great to have flexible rewards points, which we used for transfers to ANA, Southwest and Hyatt. Having these options is the real advantage of programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
We booked our flights and hotels about eight to 10 months before our trip. We also had to adapt our plans to the limited availability of award flights, using New York as our gateway, and stopping in Warsaw on the way home from Paris. But we also like to turn lemons into lemonade, by breaking up the journey and enjoying a memorable dinner in New York City. When we can travel for free in business class, we’re always happy to make an extra stop along the way.
I like to think I’m a pretty frugal person, but award travel gives us the opportunity to travel with a degree of luxury we couldn’t otherwise afford. Traveling on points and miles also allows us to splurge a little bit more on dining, attractions and tours. When you earn the right points, and are careful how you redeem them, you can go further than you might have ever thought possible.
Jason Steele
Freelance Contributor
Jason Steele is a personal finance journalist and an expert in credit cards, consumer credit, and travel rewards. Jason speaks at numerous conferences every year and is the founder and producer of CardCon, The Conference for Credit Card Media.ExperienceJason has been writing about credit cards, travel rewards, and personal finance since 2008, and his work has appeared in over 100 outlets including Forbes, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, The Wall Street Journal and CNN. In 2012, Jason became the first contributor to The Points Guy, where he’s a senior points and miles correspondent. In 2017, Jason founded the CardCon conference to bring together the media that covers the credit card industry. Jason also consults for businesses in the credit card industry, as well as individuals who need to maximize their earning and spending of travel rewards. Jason loves learning everything he can about credit cards and travel rewards, and sharing his excitement with his readers. When readers can learn new tips and tricks, and use them to save money and earn free travel, he feels like he’s making a difference in their lives. ExperienceJason’s expertise includes:Credit cardsConsumer creditTravel rewardsAviationEducationsJason holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware.Jason’s writing about travel is further informed by his passion for aviation. As a commercially rated pilot and flight instructor, he loves to teach others to fly. When he’s on the ground, he enjoys bicycling, hiking, and snowboarding all over his home state of Colorado
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