Last summer, I pulled off something I’m still bragging about: a two-week trip across Europe—flights, hotels, even a couple of fancy dinners—all covered by credit card welcome bonuses. No, I’m not some travel guru or a millionaire. I just figured out how to play the points game smartly, and it didn’t take a ton of effort. If you’ve ever wondered how people jet off for “free,” here’s the step-by-step breakdown of how I did it, so you can too.
Step 1: Picked the Right Cards
The whole thing started with choosing cards that throw big welcome bonuses your way.
I went for two:
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Chase hooked me up with 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in three months—easy enough with rent and groceries. Capital One tossed in 75,000 miles after the same $4,000 spend. Together, that’s a pile of points worth over $1,300 in travel if you cash them in right. I spaced out the applications by a few months so I wouldn’t tank my credit score or stress about hitting the spending minimums all at once.
Step 2: Hit the Spending Goals Without Breaking a Sweat
Four grand sounds like a lot, but it’s doable if you plan it. For the Chase card, I put everyday stuff on it—bills, gas, even a new pair of hiking boots I’d been eyeing. Took me about two months to hit the mark. With Capital One, I timed it around a big expense—a car repair that was already in the cards (pun intended). If you’ve got rent or a major purchase coming up, use that to knock out the requirement fast. Just pay it off quick so you’re not stuck with interest eating your savings.
Step 3: Transferred Points Like a Pro
Here’s where the magic kicked in. Chase lets you transfer points to airline partners like United or British Airways at a 1:1 ratio. I moved 50,000 points to United and snagged a round-trip flight from New York to London for 60,000 miles (tacked on a few extra I’d earned). Capital One’s miles transfer too—I sent 70,000 to Air France and booked a one-way from Paris back home for about that much. The trick? I checked award availability first on the airline sites, then transferred only what I needed. No sense letting points sit around losing value.
Step 4: Booked Hotels with the Leftovers
After flights, I still had some juice left—10,000 Chase points and 5,000 Capital One miles. I turned the Chase points into $100 through their travel portal (you get a 25% boost with Sapphire Preferred) and booked a cute little Airbnb in Amsterdam for three nights. The Capital One miles wiped $50 off a hotel in Rome when I redeemed them as a statement credit for travel purchases. I did pay a bit out of pocket for other stays, but those bonuses covered over half my nights—think charming spots in Lisbon and Barcelona without the full sting of hotel prices.
Step 5: Ate and Explored on the Cheap
Points don’t buy croissants (yet), but I stretched them further by cashing in some for experiences. Chase has this “Pay Yourself Back” thing where I turned a few thousand points into $25 for a dinner in Paris—redeemed it against a restaurant charge. Plus, both cards have no foreign transaction fees, so I swiped away at markets and museums without extra costs piling up. The real win? I felt like a baller sipping wine by the Seine, knowing I hadn’t drained my savings.
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By the end, I’d hit London, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Lisbon, and Barcelona—14 days, all flights and most stays covered by those two welcome bonuses. Total out-of-pocket for the big stuff?
Maybe $200, tops.
It took some planning—checking flight award charts, timing my applications—but it wasn’t rocket science. If I can do it, you can too. Grab a card, hit the spending, transfer smart, and start packing. Europe’s waiting, and your wallet doesn’t have to cry about it.