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We talk a lot about how you can take amazing trips around the world with the help of miles and points. I’m sure some of you have wondered why we’re so obsessed with credit cards and using the points we earn to travel. Well, let me introduce you to Vincent.
Vincent has planned an amazing European honeymoon with his wife for later this year. I’ll let Vincent show you how he did it…
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Making honeymoon decisions can be particularly stressful, but thanks to miles and points we are going on a seven-day adventure that will take us to Athens and Crete. Not only will we spend time in two amazing cities, but we will be staying at 4 and 5 star hotels.
You might be thinking, “that’s great, but I don’t have that kind of money.” Well, neither do we! Thanks to the strategic use of credit cards, we have planned the trip of a lifetime and saved a TON of money.
The card that is the driving force behind our honeymoon is the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. We wanted to show you what a couple lovebirds can do with this amazing card.
So, let’s get into it!
The Journey Begins: Dayton to Athens
We are flying from Dayton to Athens, Greece thanks to 30K United points and $25 in taxes and fees per person. That’s 60,000 total United miles and $50 dollars for the two of us. All it took was a quick transfer of Chase Ultimate Rewards to United to make it happen.
To make this journey just that little bit better, we also have Priority Pass lounge access thanks to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Nothing beats cocktails and Wi-Fi in the lounge while waiting for your flight!
Once we land we’ll head to The King George in Athens, which is part of Starwood’s luxury collection. We used 16,000 SPG points that we earned with our SPG Amex card to book a one-night stay.
While this hotel usually costs $200 per night–I mean, it is located in the middle of Athens by numerous historical sites–we are happy that we’ll stay for free thanks to our SPG points!
An Adventure in Crete
After enjoying Athens for the first night we will hop on a plane to Crete, which is consistently rated as one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world.
For these flights, we used our annual $300 travel credit from the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Round-trip flights were just under $270 between the two of us. We were really excited to cover these flights with the travel credit.
We’ll head to our hotel, the Domez Norus Chania of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, once we land. This is a brand new 5 Star resort by Marriott.
Fortunately, we covered the cost with points! For 180,000 Marriott Rewards points, we will be staying four nights. We earned the bulk of these points with the Chase Marriott Rewards card and topped it them off by transferring 33,000 SPG points to Marriott.
It’s not just about the hotel, though. We chose Crete because of its reputation for adventure (ancient ruins and mountains) and its amazing beaches.
My fiancé is particularly excited to sit on the beach and relax, while I like to explore. Crete will provide us both with just what we want. Not to mention all the Greek isles are known for their wine. We both agree that this is a major selling point.
This is just what we want out of our honeymoon. Amazing experiences without needing to take out loans to do.
A Stop In Athens On The Way Home
After our time in Crete, we will return to Athens and explore all the city has to offer for a couple days. Once again, we will stay at the King George hotel thanks to 32,000 SPG points.
We decided to cap off this amazing adventure by booking a fun flight home. We booked business class seats for 57,500 United miles and $100.96 in taxes and fees per person by again transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Why We Love Points!
You can probably tell why we’re big fans of traveling on miles and points by now, but let’s look at everything we’re getting out of this trip:
2 Economy Flights: Dayton to Athens = $2,600
2 Business Class Flights: Athens to Columbus = $5,300
2 Economy Flights: Athens to Santorini = $265
3 Nights in Athens = $600
4 Nights in Crete = $1,600
That brings the grand total to… $10,031.
Without points, our honeymoon would look very different. We can’t wait to see what this journey brings.
Thanks, Vincent! We look forward to hearing about your honeymoon when your return!
If you would like to learn how you can take amazing trips like this one, check out our free e-book.
New to the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best card to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. , 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.