How We Booked Europe on Points and Miles for a Family of 11
Let me set the scene for you. Eleven people. One trip to Europe. And for seven of them, it was their very first time ever using points and miles to travel.
When my family decided to do a big multigenerational trip to Europe, the task was clear: if we couldn’t make this affordable using points and miles, some of us weren’t going to be able to go. My family has been on points and miles family travel for years, but my parents and my sister’s family of five were starting from scratch. Here I’m sharing the behind-the-scenes of how we pulled it off, what we got right, and what I would tell any family that wants to take a first or big trip on points and miles.
Points and miles are possible to learn, even for total beginners, with the right strategy. You do not need to be a frequent flyer or have a huge income to make it work. If your family also wants to travel to Europe on points and miles, I’m here to help. My new Family Travel Rewards Coach app offers personalized plans in less than 15 minutes a day to help you achieve your travel goals. Learn more here, and read on for our own (realistic) success story.
Start by Taking Inventory of What Everyone Already Has
The very first thing I did was ask a lot of questions. Before you can build a points and miles strategy for a group, you have to know what you are working with. For every family traveling, I asked the same things:
- What credit cards do you already have?
- Do you have any points sitting on them right now?
- What is your credit score?
- When did you last open a new card?
- Roughly how much do you spend on a credit card?
- Does anyone own a business or have a side hustle?
That last question matters more than people think, because business cards can seriously accelerate your points earning, and you do not need a big company to qualify. A side hustle, a rental, or freelance work can count. Learn more about qualifying for business cards here.
The answers led us to our starting point. My sister’s family had a small stash, under 50,000 points in total, on one Capital One Venture card and an American Express business card. My parents, on the other hand, were sitting on close to 300,000 points on a Bank of America travel card that they didn’t really know how to use. Taking inventory is what let me build a different plan for each household instead of a one-size-fits-all guess.
Build a Card Strategy for Each Family
Here is the key mindset shift for points and miles for beginners: there is no one size fits all strategy. While there are some cards that are generally valuable for most people, a good strategy is personalized. Someone with excellent credit who has not opened a card in three years is in a great spot for a big welcome bonus. Someone who just opened two cards last month probably needs to wait. And, of course, you want to consider if you’re just building a flexible points stash, or if you’re working towards a trip goal.
Since we knew where we were going and we had only about six months to earn the points we needed for our flights, we had to choose an airline that would offer lower points redemptions. That led us to Virgin Atlantic, which offers saver fares in economy starting at 6,000 points per ticket one way from the East Coast, and 29,000 in business class.
Every major bank transfers to Virgin Atlantic, and they offer family/household points pooling, making it the best choice for us. Keep in mind that Virgin Atlantic does have higher taxes and fees on award flights, so you may want to consider another airline for your own Europe on points and miles trip. However, this was by far the best option for us with little time to earn.
My parents wanted to fly business class, and needed to earn a large welcome offer quickly. So I started them with an American Express Platinum. I would normally never recommend this as a starter card to someone new to this hobby because American Express hierarchy rules make it more strategic to start with the American Express Green, then move to the Gold, then move to the Platinum. However, my parents aren’t planning on staying in this hobby, so the focus was just getting them the most points in the shortest time.
My sister started with one of my favorite beginner cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, because her family spends a lot on online groceries from Instacart and takeout. Her family also plans to be in this hobby for longer, so I wanted to ensure she had a keeper card.
A few ground rules I always recommend:
- Only put normal spending on the card. Never buy things you would not otherwise buy just to hit a bonus.
- Pay it off in full every month. If you carry a balance, the interest wipes out the value of the points. This only works if you treat the card like a debit card.
- Be patient. The welcome bonus is where the real value is, so do not rush to the next card before you have earned the one in front of you.
How We Booked the Flights to Europe on Points and Miles
Our trip included a land tour in southern Italy, since my dad wanted to see where his family came from. Next, we left Italy for a Mediterranean cruise.
Check every airport near you, not just your home one
We are in the Philadelphia area, but I did not limit myself to PHL. I looked at flights out of Philadelphia, Newark, JFK, DC, and Baltimore, because award availability and pricing can be wildly different from one airport to the next. A short drive or a cheap positioning flight to a different airport can save you a mountain of miles. To map out which airlines even fly the route, I used a free tool called FlightConnections.
Compare the options before you transfer anything
When I priced out economy round trip per person, the difference between programs was huge:
- American: around 87,500 miles, Philadelphia to Naples
- United: around 77,000 miles, Newark to Naples
- Virgin Atlantic: around 24,000 miles, JFK to London, then onward to Naples
Read that last one again. Virgin Atlantic was a fraction of the others. That is the whole game right there. Same ocean, same destination, wildly different price depending on which airline’s miles you use and how you route it. This is why I never just book with the first airline that comes to mind.
We put it to a vote in our group, and Virgin Atlantic won by a landslide. The other reason it was such a smart pick: American Express, Chase, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt all transfer to Virgin Atlantic. That meant almost everyone in our group could get there from whatever flexible points they were earning, instead of being locked into one airline’s currency.
Use free tools to check award availability
Award seats are limited, especially when you need a lot of them at once. Since our flights were almost a year out and not even released yet, I used June of the previous year as a stand-in to get a feel for how many points we would likely need and how available the seats tend to be.
There are paid tools for this, but there are good free ones too, so you do not have to spend money to start searching. Always confirm what you see directly on the airline’s website before you transfer any points, because once you transfer, you usually cannot transfer back. For this trip, I used point.me/amex, which is always free for American Express cardholders, and seats.aero, which has free and paid versions. If you want to use the Pro version of seats.aero, but don’t want to pay for a whole year, just sign up for a month when you’re looking and cancel.
Book one way for flexibility
We always book our flights one way rather than round trip. It gives us maximum flexibility, and it buys some of our family members more time to keep earning points for their return leg. Award pricing is usually the same whether you book one way or round trip, so you rarely lose anything by splitting it up, and you gain a lot of options.
Get Creative: Transfer Partners and Repositioning
Transfer partners are your superpower. Flexible points from banks like Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt can move to many different airlines. That means you are not stuck. If one airline wants a fortune in miles, you check that bank’s other partners and find the one that prices the same flight far cheaper. That is exactly how we landed on Virgin Atlantic.
I offer free transfer guides for my e-newsletter subscribers. Sign up here, then drop me a line for links.
Repositioning opens up cheaper awards. Sometimes the best deal is not from your home airport at all. Flying yourself to a different city first, called a positioning flight, can unlock much better award space. It sounds advanced, but it is really just being willing to look one step beyond the obvious route.
Booking Our Lodging
Hotels and lodging are another area where you can easily use points and miles. Hyatt in particular is a sweet spot for families and offers locations across Europe, in addition to other well-known chains like Marriott and Hilton. Choice Hotels also has a sizable footprint in Europe.
However, we were doing some unconventional lodging since we were going to be in a very rural area in Italy, and then we immediately got onto a cruise. For Italy, we stayed at Country House Nonna Pina, an agriturismo run by a family that also offers meals with local ingredients made by the owner. We really enjoyed our stay here, and we were able to “erase” the cost using Capital One Miles.
Booking the Cruise
After the land tour, we boarded a ship for a Mediterranean cruise from Italy to Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece, which was another place that the ability to “erase” travel purchases was essential. Certain cards, like the Capital One Venture, let you redeem points for a statement credit, as well as the Bank of America Travel Rewards card my parents already had, and some Air Canada Aeroplan cards.
For a cruise, the best strategy is to only pay the minimum deposit at booking, continue earning points before the final deposit is due, and erase a large portion of it after the final payment hits your statement.
Final Thoughts
Coordinating points and miles travel for eleven people across three households was, I’ll be honest, a lot. But experiencing this trip together as a family made it all worth it. Rewards travel really is for anyone who is willing to learn.
As always, if you have questions or want help figuring out where to start, send me a message on Instagram. I’m also a certified travel advisor, planner, and strategist, and I’d love to take trip planning and booking off of your plate. Fill out my trip planning form and tell me a little about the trip you have in mind, and I’ll be in touch about next steps. Happy travels!
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London With Kids: The Perfect 3 Day Itinerary
London is one of the best cities for an international family trip, and for good reason. Some of the city’s best museums are completely free, kids under 11 ride buses and the Underground for free with a paying adult, and there’s always a park or playground nearby when everyone needs a break. With three days in London, you can see many of the city’s biggest sights, mix in plenty of kid-friendly fun, and still keep the pace manageable for the whole family.
This London with kids itinerary is keeps each day in a single part of the city, so you’re not moving across the city in one day, which can be daunting: London is huge. Day one covers Westminster and the River Thames, day two is the museum district and Hyde Park, and day three is the Tower and the east side. If you have more time, I’ve added some of my favorite additional day trips to round out a 4- or 5-day stay across the pond.
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22 Best Things to Do in London With Kids
London is easier with kids than most people expect. The biggest museums are free, children ride the buses and the Underground for nothing, and there’s a park every few blocks for the moment when everyone needs to stop walking.
London is big, and the difference between a good day and an exhausting one is usually how much time you spent getting between places instead of being in them. The key to an enjoyable trip is grouping your time by location to avoid hopping around too much in one day.
If you’re trying to figure out the best things to do in London with your family, this is my list of 22, with the family tips and logistics that make each one go more smoothly.
