The Ultimate (and Slightly Chaotic) Guide to Nearly-Free European Family Travel Using Points and Miles
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Bonjour!
Picture this: five people — two kids, one husband, one slightly skeptical Oma, and me — gallivanting across Europe for 3.5 weeks. Price tag? Practically nothing, Stress level? Somewhere between “the 4 year-old just spilled Orangina on a stranger in Paris” and “did we seriously just book a free flight to Paris?!?” Family travel within Europe using points and miles can be surprisingly affordable.
If you’ve ever dreamed of taking your family to Europe on points and miles, buckle up.. Here’s how we turned our “someday” into “passport stamps now,” with a little help from Chase transfer bonuses, Capital One miles, Airbnb’s, and a sprinkle of chaos.
Quick Trip Overview: The Numbers That Matter
- Travelers: 5 humans (family of four + Oma, who bailed after 2.5 weeks — her words: “retirement isn’t for running through train stations”)
- Duration: 3.5 glorious weeks
- Destinations: Paris, Loire Valley, Carcassonne, Provence, St. Tropez, Nice, Mallorca
- Total Cash Spent: ~$2,100 (mostly on rental cars, groceries, and activities — not too shabby for a trip that would’ve cost $20k+)
- Points and Miles Strategy: AFrankenstein-level combo of Chase, Amex, Capital One, Hyatt, and pure stubbornness
This points and miles strategy for family travel in Europe proved that with the right approach, European dreams don’t have to break the bank.
Flights: How a Chase Transfer Bonus to Flying Blue Saved Our Butts
The foundation of any successful Europe family vacation using points and miles starts with smart flight bookings. Here’s how we booked ours:
Los Angeles to Paris
We originally booked our transatlantic flights with Air France from L.A. to Paris using Amex Membership Rewards points — 21,000 points per person, plus $21 in taxes. Not bad, right?
But then… Chase dropped a 30% transfer bonus to Flying Blue four months later. Cue the happy dance in my kitchen.
Here’s what we did:
- Transferred our Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the 30% bonus
- Rebooked the exact same flight dates for just under 15,000 points per person
- Canceled the original booking and got our Amex points refunded
Pro Tip: Always stalk — I mean, monitor — transfer bonuses. Sometimes they hit right after you’ve booked, and if your airline allows free cancellations or low-fee changes, you can save thousands of points.
Nice to Palma de Mallorca
For our flights from Nice to Mallorca (which Oma ditched us for), I paid $67 per ticket to fly on EasyJet.
I repeated that for our return flight from Mallorca to Paris and it was well-worth the cash price.
Accommodation Tricks: Where We Slept Without Selling a Kidney
When planning family trips to Europe with points and miles, your accommodation strategy can make or break your budget.
Airbnb + Capital One Miles = European Magic
Fun fact: Most hotels in Europe have a weird “3 guests per room” rule unless you splurge on a suite. With two kids and my mom tagging along, suites everywhere would have eaten up our point stash faster than my kids devoured Nutella crepes.
Solution? Airbnb + Capital One Miles and the glorious Purchase Eraser feature.
Here’s the play:
- Book your Airbnb with your Capital One Venture or Venture X card.
- Use your miles to erase the purchase at a value of 1 cent per point.
- Boom. Free(ish) family-size accommodations.
We used this in Paris, Loire, Provence, St. Tropez, and Nice. It saved us thousands and gave us kitchens to feed the kids real food, not $18 nuggets from a hotel menu.
BONUS MOM TIP: Cooking in Airbnbs saved us around $300 a day on food compared to our Australia/New Zealand trip. Turns out kids will eat pasta and frozen peas in France just as happily as they will at home.
Paris Hotel Option: Hyatt Points For The Win
If you’d rather do Paris like a fancy adult, try the Hyatt Paris Étoile — just 17,000 Hyatt points per night (off-season pricing). That’s an insane value for one of the world’s most expensive cities.
Mallorca: Same Hack, Different Island
Palma
For our first night in Palma, we spent $0 and just 18,000 Chase points (transferred to Hyatt, of course) to stay at this gorgeous hotel. 🙌 Thanks to my Hyatt Globalist status, we booked a standard room but scored a complimentary suite upgrade — perfect for fitting all four of us without paying extra.
If we’d had to book the suite outright, it would’ve cost 36,000 points for just one night… which is EXACTLY why we went with Airbnbs for most of this trip. Priorities, people. 😂
Port de Sóller
The rest of the week was spent in Port de Sóller, right on the beach. My husband erased another Airbnb with Capital One miles he’d hoarded during our home renovation (listen, points are the only good thing about buying a $700 faucet).
Carcassonne: The Amex Platinum Flex
In Carcassonne, my Amex Platinum Hotel Collection credit got us a $200 credit toward our stay, plus early check-in and late checkout. Basically, bougie on a budget. I covered one room this way and my mom paid cash for the other room – and then took our kids for the night so we could celebrate our anniversary. God bless Oma!
Airport Hotel For The Win
Paris
For our last night, we used 9,000 Hyatt points for the a family suite at the Hyatt Place CDG near Paris. No stress, free breakfast, and I got one night closer to hitting Hyatt’s promo for 16,000 extra bonus points.
Activity Bookings = More Points (Yes, Please!)
We never book activities without stacking — and here’s why you shouldn’t either. This is a total game changer:
1️⃣ Start with Rakuten – Always go through the Rakuten shopping portal.
2️⃣ Book your activities on Viator via Rakuten – Think tours, ziplining, or that wine tasting you’re calling “cultural enrichment.”
3️⃣ Pay with an eligible Amex card – And here’s the pro tip: make sure your Rakuten account is set to earn Amex Membership Rewards points instead of cash back. Those points are so much more valuable than cash.
💡 Extra Pro Tip: Watch for Rakuten’s bonus promos — we’re talking 14%–20% extra points with Viator, Expedia, Hotels.com, and more. That’s where the real magic happens.
And don’t forget: you can stack this strategy for back-to-school shopping, too. That’s what we call TRIPLE-DIP territory — earning points while ziplining, wine tasting, or buying 87 glue sticks for your kids.
Smart Cash vs. Points Decisions
Rental Cars = Cash
Redemption rates for car rentals are trash (0.5–0.7 cents per point), so we paid cash and used this card with primary rental car insurance instead. Saved money, kept our points stash intact.
Food Savings: Kitchens for the Win
Our kids eat weird — too old for chicken fingers, too picky for escargot. Having kitchens in our Airbnbs meant we could shop local markets, make meals, and save thousands. Plus, I felt very French walking around with a baguette tucked under my arm.
Key Takeaways: Your Action Plan
Mastering points and miles for family travel to Europe comes down to mixing up your approach and staying flexible.
Diversify Your Points Portfolio
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: For those sweet transfer bonuses to partners like Flying Blue and Hyatt.
- Amex Membership Rewards: For flexible transfers and the $200 annual hotel credit with the Platinum.
- Capital One Miles: Perfect for Airbnbs and travel “eraser” purchases.
- Hyatt Points: Insane value in Paris and beyond.
PRO TIP: Book one way airline tickets with your points. This way you can mix & match which points bucket you’re pulling from. We often book with Chase points (transferred to United) on the way there, and Amex points (transferred to a diff partner airline) on the way home. This also allows you to splurge on upper class seats, even if you’ve only got enough points to cover one leg of the trip in business or first class.
Stay Alert
Sign up for email alerts from your favorite programs — or better yet, let me do the stalking and sign up for my newsletter.
Mix and Match Strategies
Don’t sleep on those hotel credits that come with certain credit cards, and def don’t ignore Airbnbs for longer family trips.
Know When Not to Use Points
Save them for high-value redemptions. Rental cars? Nope. Covering your Amazon purchases with points? Definitely nope.
FAQs
How long did it take to save all these points?
For most families, about 18 months. For us? Faster, because nothing speeds up your spend like a home renovation.
Which cards should I start with?
Start with Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Gold, or Capital One Venture X — and have a strategy before you dive in. Personally, I would focus on Chase cards until you hit the 5/24 and then move to Capital One.
Don’t know how to build your strategy? Check out Travel Points Academy – Level I. I GIVE YOU multiple point maximizing strategies to work with + teach you all the tricks in the book!
Can solo travelers or smaller families do this?
Absolutely. With fewer people, you’ll find even more availability and can stretch your points further.
Final Thoughts
This family Europe adventure on points and miles proves it’s possible to create incredible memories without the typical price tag.
A 3.5-week European family vacation typically costs $15,000-$20,000 (or more). We spent ~$2,100 out of pocket and did it in style.
It’s not about being rich — it’s about knowing the points and miles strategy and playing the game. Start small, stay consistent, and in no time, you’ll be sipping coffee in Paris instead of your backyard kiddie pool.
Follow me on Instagram @momsgonewandering for daily tips — or DM me if you’re ready to turn your points into a free flight faster than you can say “oui, merci.”
Happy Travels ~
