Europe on Points: A Quick Trip Recap

No major points news this week, so I wanted to recap our recent Europe trip. No “sweet spot” deals, no unicorn business class, no 5¢ per point. Just a comfortable, flexible trip funded mostly by occasional welcome bonuses and everyday spending.

Last spring, I got a Thrifty Traveler alert: round-trip flights to Europe starting under 30,000 SkyMiles (in basic economy and with a Delta card). I immediately sent it to a ski-bum friend: among the ~20 destinations was Zurich, just a few hours from two resorts included on our Epic Passes. 🎿 

One great thing about Delta flash sales is how wide the availability can be. Even though my friend lives on the opposite side of the country, we were able to book essentially the same deal from different cities. To align dates, I ultimately paid 55,000 SkyMiles and $71—more than I usually like to spend, but still a very solid deal for a fully refundable ticket, which we needed. 

A few things that stood out from the trip (some good, some mildly painful):

• The Atmos Summit: earning 3.3x on all foreign spending took a bit of the sting out of those high Swiss prices. 

• Hilton + SLH in Europe. I struggle to get good value from Hilton points in the U.S. (70k for a Hampton Inn?), but many European Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties price at 40–60k points per night, and elite status unlocks a 5th night free. We escaped the Swiss prices and headed to Italy: I used my Hilton Aspire welcome bonus and status to book five nights at the delightful Hotel de la Ville for 200k points (50k per night).

• The Capital One lounge at JFK: Across two visits, I might have earned back most of my Venture X annual fee in food alone. It feels crazy to hype an airport lounge after eating so much authentic, delicious Swiss and Italian food… but it was really good. (Not just my opinion.)

I also used Chase points for two nights in a Hyatt near the airport, the Accor points from a big Bilt transfer bonus for a night in Locarno, and split an Airbnb near the mountain with my friend.   

Some people prefer saving points for splashier redemptions, or squeezing every mile for maximum value. But this trip hit a sweet spot for me: it was comfortable, flexible, and relaxing—all without breaking the points bank. 

That said, I learned my lesson: even free flights, stays, and ski passes only go so far if you’re dropping $30 on fast food and $20 to go one stop on the train. So I’m already planning our next Japan trip. Still a great value on points, but I’m ready for some $8 ramen. 🍜

This week on the blog 📝

We are starting to roll out Lazy Guides to loyalty programs. First up: Delta SkyMiles, my favorite for deeply discounted award flights all over the world… as long as you’re flexible on timing and destination, and don’t mind flying coach. 

Quick Points of the Week ⚡

New products and programs 🆕

Capital One LaGuardia lounge opening. It’s a “landings” concept, with a culinary focus; I’ve been to the one in D.C., and the food was incredible. (Thrifty Traveler) 

Choice Privileges revamp. Choice has overhauled its loyalty program, with mostly positive changes, including lower thresholds for elite status. There’s also a new elite status, Titanium, with benefits like a deeply-discounted points stay at certain properties. (AwardWallet)

More value 📈

Family pooling comes to Iberia. I wrote recently about loyalty programs that allow you to share or pool points. Add Iberia to that list; and you can join a pool without age or relationship restrictions. (AwardWallet) 

Free snacks on Delta flights? This week I learned Delta’s co-branded cards have a delicious benefit on certain flights. (Thrifty Traveler)

ITA flights now bookable via Aeroplan. Initial award pricing doesn’t look too exciting, but more redemption options are always a positive. (Daily Drop)

Deals 🏷️

Marriott stay coming up? Don’t forget to check and register for promotions. The brand is currently offering bonus points and elite night credits. (Marriott) Always a good tip before any hotel stay booked directly!

Nerdy Points 🤓

4x points on the Bilt Palladium? It might be possible if you set it up correctly and pay close attention to your spending. (View From the Wing)

Warning ⚠️

Amex closing Delta card loophole. Some people have been booking stays to get a credit, then refunding for cash; Amex is closing the loophole–and clawing back refunds. (View From the Wing)

Recommended 👍

Need help setting up housing payments with Bilt? TPG has a guide. 

Sign up bonus of the week 🎯

Links marked with an * are affiliate or referral links, meaning we may earn if you apply via our link. 

This week, Southwest’s suite of credit cards offered one of the most unique–and potentially valuable–sign up bonuses in the points world: 20,000-40,000 points plus a Companion Pass (through February 28, 2027) after spending $3,000-5,000 in the first 3 months, depending on the card. A version of this deal has come around each February the last few years. 

The Companion Pass is special: name your companion–who you can change up to 3 times per year–and they fly with you if there’s an open seat, for just the cost of government-imposed fees (full terms here). The points alone are probably worth $200-400+, but if you spend a lot of time and money flying along Southwest’s route network with a companion, getting that second seat for free could mean some pretty incredible savings. 

As for the cards themselves, there are some nice benefits for frequent Southwest customers, but if you don’t fly the carrier at least occasionally, it might be hard to justify the cards long-term. Each offers anniversary points, but not nearly enough to offset the annual fees. And earning rates are fairly lackluster (no more than 2x on non-Southwest spending), while redemptions are solid but unspectacular, in my opinion. I don’t fly Southwest, so I will be passing on this one, and those who typically fly alone may be better off with a different offer (the cards have seen offers of 85k+ points intermittently over the past few years), but for the right person it could be incredibly valuable. 🔥🔥

Also of note this week: some people are being targeted for a United card and elite status after meeting minimum spend and taking 4 flight segments.

Other great sign-up bonuses this week

50,000 points + $300 Bilt Cash + Bilt Gold status on the Bilt Palladium (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)

100,000 points + 25k-pt companion discount on the Atmos Summit (our take: 🔥🔥🔥🔥)

70-125k points on Delta co-branded cards (our take: 🔥🔥🔥 for the Gold) ends April 1

175k points in the IHG Premier (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)

125k points on the Chase Sapphire Reserve* (our take: 🔥🔥🔥)

80k miles on the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select (our take: 🔥🔥)

5 free nights + airline credits on the Marriott Boundless (our take: 🔥🔥) 

75k points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred* (our take: 🔥)

75k points + $250 travel credit on the Capital One Venture Rewards (our take: 🔥)

60k points on the no-fee Choice Privileges Mastercard (our take: 🔥)

70k points on the JetBlue Plus (our take: 🔥)

Up to 100/175k on the Amex Gold/Platinum (our take)

How we rate bonus offers. 

✅ Lazy Pick (Affiliate)

Our Europe trip had two little heroes. First, these USB/USB-C converters—the airplane, the hotel, and my own universal adapter all had the old plugs, but these adapters let me just bring one set of charging cables. Speaking of cables, I’ve learned the value of a long charging cord like this 10-foot option the hard way from many a Japanese hotel room with a plug on only one side of the bed (I got the two-pack because I lose everything). This time I finally remembered to bring it, and it was a lifesaver… but our Airbnb didn’t have any bedside plugs, so we only got to charge one phone overnight. 🤦‍♂️ Next time I’ll bring both.

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Enjoy the long weekend! 🦥

I hope you got bonus points on all those holiday meals!

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