Who doesn’t want to jet off to Amsterdam for a long holiday weekend? I certainly did. But I didn’t want to pay an exorbitant price… So, I was looking out for deals and opportunities to redeem my credit card points. Luckily, the Points Guy’s November 7, 2022 newsletter linked to a deal alert for $700 round-trip premium economy flights to Europe. Of course, I investigated. Read on to see how I used credit card points to book a trip to Amsterdam MLK weekend for less than $300.
How to fly to Amsterdam using points
My partner and I wanted to travel over the 3-day MLK holiday weekend in January to avoid using PTO. (Why yes, I do think a weekend trip to Europe from NYC is worth it). Since it was a short trip, I wanted to maximize as much time as possible. The earliest nonstop flight to Amsterdam and the latest nonstop returning flight started at a whopping $801 in economy or $1,337 in premium economy per person. I was not interested in paying that much, so I pivoted to using my credit card points to fly to Amsterdam.
Since Virgin Atlantic partners with Flying Blue and typically offers lower award redemption rates for their flights, I logged into my Virgin Atlantic account (free to join) to see their award options. Lo and behold, the one-way departing flight from JFK-AMS was only 24,000 miles plus $278 taxes and fees for two people.
The Flying Blue award flight was 30,000 miles plus $160 for two people, so booking via Virgin Atlantic would save me 6,000 miles. (Flying Blue is also free to join, and it is the loyalty program of Air France, KLM, Transavia, Aircalin, Kenya Airways, and TAROM.)
Now, you may be wondering why I’d want to pay $118 more in taxes and fees. Trust me on this one. It gets better.
At the time of booking, Chase Ultimate Rewards had a 30% bonus when transferring points to Virgin Atlantic. (Read: If I transferred 1000 Ultimate Rewards points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred, I’d receive 1,300 Virgin Atlantic Points). I already had 800 Virgin Atlantic Points, so I only needed to transfer 18,000 miles to end up with the 24,000 I needed.
If I booked with Flying Blue directly, I’d need to transfer 30,000 miles. Despite paying $118 more in fees, I actually saved 12,000 miles. Those miles are valued at about $128.40 based on conservative, lower redemption standards. Worth it.
Flying Blue had a better award redemption for the return flight, so I transferred 36,000 miles and paid $316 for two people. (My biggest regret, and a big credit card points and miles redemption lesson I learned was to avoid transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Flying Blue. For me, I prefer using my Ultimate Rewards points to book Hyatt stays and topping off my JetBlue True Blue points balance. I’d rather transfer my American Express Membership Rewards or Capital One miles to Flying Blue.)
If you’ve learned anything from this blog so far, it should be to always👏compare👏mile👏redemptions👏across👏airline👏 partners.
Transportation total:
| Two people: | 54,000 credit card points | $594 |
| Per person: | 27,000 credit card points | $297 |
How to earn points for a Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic award trip to Amsterdam
There are a handful of credit cards that transfer to Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic, so you can earn points for an award trip to Amsterdam.
The credit cards I have that transfer to Flying Blue are:
- Capital One Venture X
- American Express Platinum®
- American Express Gold®
- Chase Sapphire® Preferred
- Chase Freedom Flex (Cashback converts to points if you have a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire® Preferred)
Any credit card that earns American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, or Citi ThankYou Points also transfer to Flying Blue.
The credit cards I have that transfer to Virgin Atlantic are:
- Capital One Venture X (You need to make a Virgin Red account that automatically syncs with Flying Club)
- American Express Platinum®
- American Express Gold®
- Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Any credit card that earns American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, or Citi ThankYou Points also transfer to Virgin Atlantic.
How to stay at a 5-star luxury hotel in Amsterdam using credit card points
I am a huge Hyatt loyalist, so I was going to stay at a Hyatt. There are three Hyatt options in Amsterdam’s city center: the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, the Hyatt Regency, and the Canal House. The Canal House was out as there was no availability for our travel dates.
At the time of booking, I already had 19,351 points in my Hyatt account. I also had a category 1-4 free night certificate from staying at five of their brands. The Andaz was 21,000 points a night and a category 6 hotel. The Hyatt Regency was 12,000 points a night and a category 4 hotel, so I could use the free night certificate there. Since it was a short trip, and the Andaz is more centrally located, I decided to stay there. (This ended up being a great decision! The hotel was amazing and perfectly central).
I transferred 23,000 of my Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book those two nights. Plus, since this was my first stay at an Andaz property, the trip counts towards my next free night certificate.
If we paid cash, the room total would’ve been 646.66 euros or $697.96. Making the point redemption 1.7 cents, which isn’t great but better than paying cash.
Credit cards that earn World of Hyatt points
The credit cards I have that transfer to World of Hyatt are:
- Chase Sapphire® Preferred
- Chase Freedom Flex (Cashback converts to points if you have a premium Ultimate Rewards credit card like the Chase Sapphire® Preferred)
The World of Hyatt, World of Hyatt Business, and Bilt credit cards also earn Hyatt points along with any credit card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Keep in mind, airline and hotel loyalty programs can change their award charts at any time. Be sure to read the fine print and do the math before proceeding. And as always, if you choose to open a credit card, always be sure to pay your statement in full.
