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A Florida family used credit card rewards to save more than $6,500 on a multigenerational trip to Italy. The vacation included four adults and an infant traveling from Orlando to London, then Venice, and finally returning home from Naples.
Gabrielle Bernardini explained that her parents had always considered international travel too expensive. However, after she introduced them to using points and miles, they were able to plan a long-desired visit to Italy. "It's not necessarily that they don't want to travel; it's just that they have always equated traveling — particularly flying outside of the U.S. — with being too far outside their financial means," Bernardini said.
The first leg of the journey was booked through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club after Chase Ultimate Rewards offered a 40% transfer bonus. Bernardini transferred 23,000 Chase points, which became 32,200 Virgin points after the bonus. She redeemed 30,000 Flying Club points plus about $73 per person in taxes and fees for nonstop flights from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR). Adding her infant as a lap child cost an additional 1,000 points and around $5 in fees.
