Itnot necessarily that they don want to travelitjust that they have always equated traveling particularly flying outside of the U.Swith being too far outside their financial means.
But as descendants of Italytheyve always had that country on their bucket list.
Soafter I introduced my parents to the world of points and milesthey planned an aspirational international trip to the pasta capital of the worldBack in October 2024Virgin Atlantic Flying Club implemented a dynamic pricing modelWhile dynamic pricing typically yields low-value award redemptions coughDelta SkyMilescoughthe airline loyalty program began pricing economy saver award flights starting at 6,000 points.
GABRIELLE BERNARDINI THE POINTS GUY
With a stroke of luckChase Ultimate Rewards was also offering a 40transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying ClubAs a Florida resident and a Chase Sapphire Reservesee rates and fees cardholderI began searching for award flights from Orlando International Airport MCO to LondonHeathrow Airport LHR and found one-way economy flights available for just 7,500 Flying Club points.
Thanks to the bonusI transferred just 23,000 Ultimate Rewards points to my Flying Club account and received an additional 9,200 Virgin pointsrounding out my total to 32,200 points.
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I redeemed 30,000 Flying Club points and paid about $73 per person in taxes and fees for our nonstop economy flights from MCO to LHR.
Nowwhen I booked this great flight dealmy baby had not yet been bornVirgin charges 1,000 points for a lap infantand I paid about $5 in taxes and fees.
If I were to have paid cash for four adults and one baby to travel from MCO to LHRI would have spent around $2,300Since I only had to transfer 23,000 Chase points to redeem 31,000 Virgin pointsI got about 8.7 cents per point in valueSince TPG values Chase points at 2.05 cents apiece and Flying Club points at 1.3 cents per point per our August 2025 valuationsthis was a great redemption.
Not only was I maximizing my pointsbut setting up a positioning flight to London before flying to Italy helped us save our rewards.
Nowonward to Italy.
RelatedCurrent credit card transfer bonuses
Part 2Flying from London to VeniceItalyusing British Airways Club Avios
The first leg of our Italian vacation would begin in the northern part of Italywhere my dadfamily descended fromWith snowcapped mountainsbeautiful blue-green lakes and the Tyrolean influencewhich can be described as a fusion of Austrian and Italian cuisine and culturethis region of Italy was a favorite for my family.
One major highlight was walking around Lake Carezza and taking in the beautiful mountain sceneryGrowing upfamily vacations were limited to close-by amusement park attractions like Busch GardensSowith my mom constantly telling me that she can believe sheherein Italyit was yet another reminder that the points savings and redemptions were all worth it.
GABRIELLE BERNARDINI THE POINTS GUY
Since we started in the northern part of Italywe planned to fly into Venice Marco Polo Airport VCE from LHR and then rent a car to drive to the Dolomite regionBritish Airways offered several same-daynonstop flights for about $178 per adultand adding a lap infant cost 10of the base fare plus applicable taxes and fees.
I transferred 20,000 Chase points to book four adult flights to Venice for 19,065 Avios plus $251 in taxes and feesAdditionallyI paid about $50 10of the base fare plus taxes and fees for my son to be added as a lap infant.
ThereforeI saved a little over $700 for these flights to Italywhich gave me a redemption value of about 2.4 cents per Avios well above the 1.4 cents apiece valuation TPG lists for August 2025.
Part 3Flying back across the pond using American Airlines AAdvantage miles
After touring and eating our way through Italyour European vacation would conclude along the iconic Amalfi CoastThereforefamily-owned businesses always hold a sentimental value to me.
GABRIELLE BERNARDINI THE POINTS GUY
Since our trip concluded on the Amalfi Coastwe decided to fly home out of Naples International Airport NAPAmerican Airlines operates a nonstop route from NAP to PHL.
I currently hold the AAdvantageAviatorRed World Elite Mastercard®and my parents have the CitiAAdvantagePlatinum SelectWorld Elite Mastercard®Thereforewe both had a stash of American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
The information for the Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard and the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard have been collected independently by The Points GuyThe card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Butsince I also have Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards pointsI cross-referenced to see if this specific American Airlines flight was available to book on partner airlines at a better pricesuch as British Airways ClubIberia Club and other Oneworld airlines.
TPG tipUse a search tool such as Seats.aero to find airline award availability across different loyalty programs.
Since this flight was not even available on partner airlinesI was at the mercy of American Airlinesdynamic pricingThough scoring a great deal on an American award flight is not a giventhis particular flight was available for just 27,500 American miles plus $43 per person in taxes and feesSince the cash rate was about $940 per personthis gave me a redemption value of over 3 cents per mile.
My parents had enough miles in their account to book three flightswhile I had to wait for the welcome bonus on my Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard to hit my account before I could book my flightUnfortunatelywithin that timethe award price jumped 10,000 milesbut the cash rate dropped to about $770.
GABRIELLE BERNARDINI THE POINTS GUY
Even with the award price increase and cash price dropthis redemption gave me a value of 1.9 cents per mileSince TPG values AAdvantage miles at 1.55 cents apieceper our August 2025 valuationsthis was still a good redemption rateAs for my sonAmerican also charges 10of the base fare plus applicable taxes and fees for lap infants on international flightsSoI paid about $119 for a lap infant to be added to my reservation.
Combinedfor four adults and one baby to fly nonstop from NAP to PHLwe redeemed 120,500 American miles and spent about $290 in taxesfees and the additional charge for the added lap infantIf we had paid cash for these flightswe would have spent almost $3,600.
RelatedHow to redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles for maximum value
Bottom line
The burdensome cash cost of a vacation can deter anyone from venturing outside their immediate areaPluswhen you factor in the cost of hotelsrental cars and spending money on foodit can be hard to justify the out-of-pocket expenses to go on vacation.
GABRIELLE BERNARDINI THE POINTS GUY
Luckilypoints and miles can really help even the most budget-focused traveler find solace in a great redemption.
Without the use of flexible credit card reward currenciessuch as Chase Ultimate Rewards points or our American Airlines milesI would not have been able to take a memorable multigenerational vacation with my familySince using rewards saved us over $6,500 on our flightswe were able to splurge in other areassuch as on accommodations and souvenirs.
OverallI can happily say that the pasta and memories were worth every single point and mile.,
