Castello Di Badia in Italy
Susan Fero was destined to join the points game. As a former airline employee who once enjoyed free flights across the globe, finding a solution for her wanderlust when she transitioned her career was a high priority.
“My girlfriends and I used to walk up to the ticket counter and get flights to Vegas if it was snowing or grab tickets to San Diego,” she said. “When I left the airline industry, I hated paying for tickets!”
So two years ago, she started collecting points and miles, first with Southwest Airlines, then branching out to IHG, Chase and United. At first, the point stashes had no real goal, except the far-off hope that she and her husband could take an anniversary trip to Italy.
As she began searching for ways to book a vacation with her points, she found Travel Miles 101 and immediately signed up for the free course. “Finally, I knew how to use the points, and how to search award space,” she said.
So as Susan’s 27th anniversary approached, she began counting up her points and building the itinerary of a lifetime for her and her husband.
THE FLIGHT
Susan’s flights were booked using both Chase Ultimate Rewards points (from Chase Ink and Chase Sapphire Reserve sign-ups), as well as United points. For 70,000 points each, the Feros secured an open jaw, business class ticket with a free stop-over on Lufthansa.
Mimosas and chocolates before takeoff!
The flight departed the couple’s hometown airport of Orange County, California with a layover in Denver, then on to Barcelona for the free stopover of six nights. Final destination on that one-way ticket was Rome, Italy, where the Feros spent two nights.
Renting a car in Rome, they drove to Tuscany for a five nights stay before ending their vacation with two nights in Venice. The flight home was spent on United Airlines saver business class for 57,000 points from Venice back to Orange County.
Total cost for airline tickets came in at 254,000 points for business class travel, plus $247 in taxes.
List price for the tickets would have been $21,000.
According to Susan, the long international flights of over nine hours each were a perfect opportunity to utilize extra points for upgraded seats.
“Both United and Lufthansa were great in regards to the food, drinks and the pampering from the moment we boarded. Such comfort, champagne toasts, pillows, blankets, lie flat seats and amenity kits,” Susan reported. “I was particularly happy with United’s Polaris experience and took full advantage of the extra padding for the seats – I probably had a full 7-hour nap on that flight!”
THE ACCOMMODATIONS
In late 2016, Susan said IHG ran a Priceless Surprises contest, which involved sending entries to earn points. Susan managed the entries for her, her husband and her daughter, earning each of them 50,000 IHG points.
The Feros upgraded Executive Suite.
They added those points to their sign-up bonuses on the IHG cards and funded six nights in Barcelona at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 30,000 points per night. Susan upgraded the room to a club suite for $75 cash per night (list price was 311 Euros per night).
“The club lounge was very nice, and totally paid for itself as they offered an excellent, huge breakfast buffet with so many options of hot and cold entrees, fruit, breads, eggs, potatoes, cold cuts and cheese. We also had access to complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at any time. We stopped in a few times a day for soda, water, coffee, champagne, wine, beer, and mixed drink options. They had a nice appetizer selection available in the afternoon as well, and coffee and desserts set out daily,” Susan said. “The staff in the club lounge was excellent, and helped us with tours, taxi’s, bus and train options, and even arranged to ship a case of wine home for us.”
In Rome, Susan booked their two nights at Hotel Indigo, very close to the Vatican. List price was 327 Euros per night, but Susan spent 45,000 IHG points so there was no out of pocket expense. The hotel upgraded the anniversary couple and the chef dropped off a plate of assorted desserts and a bottle of Prosecco.
For their 5-night stay in Tuscany, the Feros had enough points to book the Marriott in Tuscany, but Susan found a better offer. On Airbnb, a Tuscan castle available for all five nights at just $722. So she saved her points for another day and pulled out her credit card.
Susan’s favorite stop along the journey – their Airbnb Castle.
“This might have been my favorite part of the entire trip. The property Castello di Badia is amazing! It has history dating back to the 900’s AD, where the castle had been destroyed and rebuilt a few times in wars, the current structure was rebuilt by monks about 200 years ago. After driving across the drawbridge, we were welcomed with a bottle of the estate wine, which we liked so much, we bought and consumed several more bottles during our stay there at a very reasonable price, and even took a couple home in our suitcases. The apartment was comfortable with a bedroom, private bathroom, living area that had a pellet stove for heat, and a kitchen. It had amazing views of the Tuscan countryside.”
The view of Tuscany from their Airbnb Castle.
One night in Modena was spent at a friend’s house, before arriving in Venice for their last two nights of vacation. The Hilton Molino Stucky hosted their final stay. With a list price of $300 per night for a King Room, Susan secured two nights for just under 50,000 points per night. Once again, the couple scored an upgrade to a King Executive Suite with a view of the Grand Canal – retail price of over 700 Euros.
The upgrade gave Susan and her husband club lounge access, and complimentary breakfast in the restaurant including a buffet.
“When we arrived back in our room the last night, there was a chilled bottle of Prosecco for our anniversary waiting for us,” Susan said. “We celebrated the end of our trip while enjoying the lovely view from our room.”
ACTIVITIES
After scoring all of their airfare and nearly all of their lodging on points instead of cash, Susan said the couple didn’t focus on frugality for the rest of the trip. Knowing it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, she looked for opportunities to build memories. Here are some of her favorites:
Wine Tour – in the Priorat region outside Barcelona, Susan used 47,000 Citi Thank You points from an old Sears card to purchase tickets for a wine tour.
At Pasanau Winery in Spain.
“We met our tour guide and another American couple and toured three wineries. The first one was Passanu, and the owner, Ricardo, took us on a tour of the vineyard, his barrel room and more. We tasted four very good wines and his estate grown olive oil with bread, cheese and chocolates. At the second winery, we had a very nice lunch with each course paired with a different wine. At the third winery, we met with the owner Paco, who gave us his vineyard tour, then took us into the former monks wine caves for a private tasting and more bread, olive oil, cheese.”
In addition to the wine and olive oil they brought home from the tour, Susan said she was pleased with the point redemption and the great experience.
Exploring Tuscany – while staying at the Airbnb castle, Susan said they enjoyed taking day trips to explore the surrounding countryside.
Driving through the Italian countryside enjoying Spring flowers.
“We were in a central Tuscany location close to the train and bus station in town and we had a rental car, which I recommend for this area. One day we drove through Greve and the Chianti area, and had an amazing lunch at Ristoro di Lamoli after a crazy drive at the top of a mountain with incredible views. Another day we drove to San Gimingano, an ancient village 11 miles away. One day we hiked about six miles from the property to an old medieval fortress and archeological dig, back to town and then up the long, winding driveway.”
Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus – Susan said they found the tour busses to be a great value, and they utilized them in Barcelona for two days when all of the taxi’s drivers went on strike.
“I recommend using these in any large city. They give you a map and you get a great sense of the layout of the city, plus you can cover many different areas.”
Susan and Dale with their Paella chef.
Paella Class – another use of Susan’s Citi Thank You rewards points was a Paella cooking experience with a local chef, Chef Andrea in Barcelona.
“The Chef took our group through the Ramblas Market buying the fresh fish and items for the Paella, then we walked back to her place where she gave us appetizers and sangria while cooking the paella. We really had a great time with two other couples, and ended up eating the best paella I have ever had.”
Water Taxi – a trip to Venice wouldn’t be complete without a trip on a water taxi! Susan ended her two-week adventure in the back of a water taxi, boating from their Venice hotel to the airport, where they watched the sun rise as they flew home.
The Grand Canal in Venice at sunset.
Your turn! What’s your favorite paid-with-points extravagant travel memory? Tell us all about it!