How do I use a credit card reward to save over $6,500 on family vacations in Italy
My parents were not big travelers. They don’t necessarily want to travel. It’s just that they’ve always equated travel with travel, especially flying outside the United States – beyond their financial means.
But, as descendants of Italy, they always put the country on the bucket list.
So after I introduced my parents to the world of key points and miles, they planned an ideal international trip to the “World Pasta Capital”.
I wasn’t excluded from the travel plan, I put the tag on it – and brought my partner and baby forward.
Using the combined rewards, four adults and a 5-month-old baby headed to Italy, redeeming 194,500 points and miles of flights, plus $837 in taxes and fees. This is how I rewarded redemption worth nearly 2 cents per time.
Related: The best way to travel to Italy with points and miles
Part 1: The perfect storm of huge transfer bonuses and quality rewards
As a fan of perspective and mileage, I find it hard not to cash in on good rewards when my screen meets it. As early as October 2024, Virgin Atlantic Flight Club implemented a dynamic pricing model. While dynamic pricing often results in low-value reward redemptions (cough, Delta Skymiles, Cough), airline loyalty programs start pricing economic saving reward rewards, starting at 6,000 points.
With the lucky speed, Chase Ultimate Rewards also offers a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. As a resident of Florida and Chase SapphireReserve® (See Fees and Fees) Cardholder, I started looking for reward flights from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and found only 7,500 one-way economic flights available for flights with only 7,500 flying club points.
Thanks to the bonus, I transferred only 23,000 Ultimate Reward Points to my Flying Club account and earned 9,200 Virgin Points, bringing my total to 32,200 points.
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I redeem 30,000 flying club points and paid about $73 in taxes and fees for our uninterrupted economic flights from MCO to LHR.
Now, when I booked this great flight deal, my baby was not born yet. Fortunately, adding knee babies to my reservation is a painless process.
In February 2025, I contacted Virgin Atlantic via their online chat feature and it was easy to add the then 2 month old to my reservation. Virgin charges 1,000 points for the baby and I pay about $5 in taxes and fees.
If I were to pay cash for four adults, a baby traveling from MCO to LHR, I would cost about $2300. Since I only need to transfer 23,000 points (redeem 31,000 points), my value is about 8.7 cents. Since TPG’s chase point is 2.05 cents and the Flying Club points are 1.3 cents per point (based on our August 2025 valuation), it’s a big redemption.
Not only did I maximize my perspective, but I also established a positioning flight to London before flying to Italy helped us save on returns.
Now, head to Italy.
Related: Current Credit Card Transfer Bonus
Part 2: Fly from London to Venice, Italy using British Airways Club Avios
The first round of our Italian holiday will start in northern Italy with my father’s family going down. The landscape in the Dolomites region is very different from that in the south. With snow-capped mountains, beautiful turquoise lakes and Tyrol influences, it can be described as a fusion of Austrian and Italian cuisine and culture, this region of Italy is a favorite for my family.
A major highlight is walking around the Carezza Lake and enjoying the beautiful mountain views. Growing up, family vacations are limited to close-up amusement park attractions such as Busch Gardens. So when my mom keeps telling me that she “can’t believe she’s in Italy,” it’s a reminder that savings and redemption are worth it.
Since we started in northern Italy, we plan to fly from LHR to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) and then rent a car to drive to the Dolomites area. British Airways offers several uninterrupted flights on the same day for about $178 per adult, adding 10% of baby fares for lap times, as well as applicable taxes and fees.
I transferred 20,000 chase points and booked four adult flights to Venice for 19,065 Avios and $251 in taxes and fees. Additionally, I paid about $50 (10% of the base fare as well as taxes and fees) to increase my son as a baby in the zodiac.
So I saved over $700 for these flights to Italy, which put my redemption value at about 2.4 cents per Avios, which is much higher than the 1.4 cent valuation TPG list in August 2025.
Part 3: Flying over the pond with American Airlines Aadvantage Miles
After the tour (and eating) travels through Italy, our European vacation will end along the iconic Amalfi Coast. Although the sites are breathtaking and the food is unparalleled, the smaller family moments do shock me on the journey, like my parents holding my baby in front of the Colosseum, or the hospitality and generosity of the restaurateurs.
Please note that our favorite meals on this trip are at home and operated places and in some cases home enjoyed restaurants. Growing up, my grandfather owned lunches in Philadelphia, where my dad and his five sisters worked. Therefore, a family-owned business always has emotional value to me.
Since our trip to the Amalfi Coast ended, we decided to fly home from Naples International Airport (NAP). However, since we had a few extra vacations, we first decided to fly uninterrupted to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to visit our family. American Airlines’ uninterrupted route from nap to PHL.
I currently own Aadvantage® VAVIATIR® Red World Elite Mastercard® and my parents own Citi® / Aadvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. So we both have a hiding hiding place for American Airlines Aadvantage Miles.
Information on Pilot Red World Mastercard and Citi/Aadvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard has been independently collected by Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
However, since I also have the Chase Ultimate Reward Points and American Express Membership Reward Points, I cross-referenced whether this American flight can book partner airlines at a higher price, such as British Airways Club, Iberia Club, Iberia Club and other OneWorld Airlines.
TPG Tips: Use a search tool such as SEATS.
Since this flight wasn’t even available on partner airlines, I was at the mercy of US airline dynamic pricing. Despite not giving a lot of progress at the U.S. awards ceremony, the special flight is only 27,500 miles, plus $43 per person in taxes and fees. Since the cash rate is about $940 per person, this gives me a redemption value of more than 3 cents per mile.
My parents had enough miles in their account to book three flights and I had to wait for the welcome bonus on Pilot Red World Elite Mastercard to log in to my account before I booked my flight. Unfortunately, at that time, the reward price rose 10,000 miles, but the cash rate dropped to about $770.
Even if the reward price goes up and the cash price goes down, this redemption puts me worth 1.9 cents per mile. Since TPG estimates Aadvantage Miles at 1.55 cents based on our August 2025 valuation, this is still a good redemption rate. Plus, I saved $770!
Overall, I paid 38,000 miles, plus $43 to book my flight from nap to PHL. As for my son, the American also charges 10% of the base fare, as well as applicable taxes and fees for single lap babies on international flights. So I spent about $119 on my knee baby to add to my reservation.
Combined for four adults and one baby to fly nonstop from nap to PHL, we redeemed 120,500 miles and spent about $290 in taxes, fees and additional fees for the baby with added lap. If we paid cash for these flights, we would spend nearly $3,600.
Related: How to Redeem American Airlines Aadvantage Miles for Maximum Value
Bottom line
The heavy cash costs of the holiday can stop anyone from taking risks in their neighborhoods. Also, it’s hard to justify having out-of-pocket expenses when you consider the cost of hotels, renting cars and spending money on food.
Fortunately, scores and miles really help the most budget travelers find solace in a great redemption.
Without using flexible credit card reward currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards points or our American Airlines miles, I won’t be able to spend a memorable multigenerational vacation with my family. Since the use of the rewards saved over $6,500 on our flights, we were able to splurge in other areas such as accommodation and souvenirs.
Overall, I can be happy to say that pasta and memory are worth it Each Single point and miles.
