Year after year, Italy remains at the top of our Travel Freely bucket list, enticing travelers with its breathtaking scenery, decadent cuisine, and cities steeped in history and art. This European destination offers something for everyone, making it ideal for families and couples alike.
In the Q&A below, Travel Freely member Kami shares how her family of 7 accumulated enough points for an epic Italian vacation over Thanksgiving break. Kami, a regular contributor to our member success story archive, previously shared her miles and points experience on a family trip to France and a couple’s trip to Chicago. This time she booked business class flights and stellar accommodations in 3 Italian cities. Kami has repeatedly demonstrated how this hobby can benefit families of any size.
Tell us about yourself. How long have you been using points and miles towards free travel?
We are a family of 7 – 2 parents and 5 children from ages 9-16. We found out about points and miles in late 2017. We wanted to be able to travel more, but it’s just really expensive for a family our size. I googled and researched and stumbled upon Travel Freely and other websites that talked about these magical points. I read and read and finally opened our first point-earning card (Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card) in January 2018. And that was the beginning of some wonderful adventures!
Tell us about your trip.
We went to Italy for Thanksgiving 2023. It’s a great time to travel for our children due to their school schedules, and the crowds are much lighter. We did have some cool and drizzly days, but that didn’t dampen our experience!
I found business class flights to Venice, so that was the starting point of our trip. After 2 days there, we journeyed by train to Florence. We spent 2 lovely days in Florence and then took the train down to Rome for the final 3 days of the trip. We saw all the touristy things in all the cities.
In Venice we visited the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica and Square, took a cruise down the Grand Canal, and just walked around enjoying the city.
Florence had a charming center, and we stayed in an apartment right behind the Uffizi Gallery. I was surprised at how much my children enjoyed the Uffizi and Accademia Museums! We were all impressed by the original doors to the Duomo Baptistry. They were made in the 15th century and are now housed in the Duomo Museum. The doors depict scenes from the Old Testament and are now referred to as “The Gates of Paradise.”
In Rome, we did all the usual things visitors do – St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Trevi Fountain. And of course we enjoyed delicious Italian food and gelato!
How much money did you save using points and miles for your trip?
We booked one way business class flights to Venice, and one way economy flights home from Rome. The flights would have been at least $3,000 per person. Lodging was about $3,100 total for the trip. We covered all these with a combination of points, so a total of $24,100 covered with points.
What kind of points did you use for this trip?
All flights were covered with points except taxes and fees. Each person was 112,000 Flying Blue points to/from Italy and around $300 in taxes. Finding flights where there were award seats for all 7 of us on specific dates was not easy, especially business class seats. Flying Blue usually releases 8 award seats per flight in business class. We were excited to fly in style on the way there, and flew “the regular way” as my children call it on the way home. 🙂
We covered hotels/apartments via Chase Ultimate Rewards. The hotel in Venice we booked via the Chase Travel℠portal at 1.25 cents per point (which you get if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or Chase Ink Business Preferred Card®), and for the apartments in Florence and Rome we used cashback at 1 cent per point.
My husband and I both earned American Express Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points because we knew both of those programs transferred to Flying Blue.
In all, we spent a combined 784,000 points plus $2,100 in taxes and fees for flights and 282,000 points for lodging for all 7 of us.
What advice would you give someone interested in booking a trip like yours?
Flexibility is key! We wanted to go somewhere in Europe, but the prices seemed really high for all destinations. Then one day in early February of 2023, I saw that there were cheap cash fares to Venice for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Knowing that the award ticket prices usually follow the cash prices, I quickly found 7 business class seats to Venice for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. We didn’t have plans for Italy specifically before that, but once we found those 7 business class seats to Venice, we started planning the trip from there.
What advice do you give someone just starting with points and miles?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but Travel Freely makes it easy. Start with one rewards program (like Chase Ultimate Rewards for instance) and familiarize yourself with it. Don’t be afraid to jump in. Book what works for your situation. While there are aspirational trips out there at crazy low point values, those are hard to find, especially for a group. Don’t get into the comparison game with other travelers – instead learn what you can and make the best decisions for your family.
How has Travel Freely helped you? And what do you like best about the site and app?
I started off by reading all the resources on the blog to learn the ins and outs of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards. Once I was familiar with that, I branched out into others like American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One Miles. They all have their strengths and nuances, but Chase Ultimate Rewards has remained my favorite over time.
I love the Travel Freely app to keep us organized and informed about new card signup opportunities. It has allowed us to maximize our points earning potential over time.
In Summary
Thanks so much to Kami for sharing another of her success stories! Her story underscores how Travel Freely and its suggested strategies can help travelers accumulate the miles and points needed for their dream trips, even with a big family!
Though not many of you have a family of 7 and probably don’t need as many points as Kami has, so that’s good news! But she’s clearly become a master and done a great job with this.
So why wait? Sign up for Travel Freely today, and get ready to pack your bags for your next big adventure. The world can be yours to explore. Let’s make those travel dreams come true!
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