France Case Study: Points and Miles Free Up Travel Budget for Wine, Cheese, and Pastries
Frank McBride • May 8, 2023
Last fall, Ms. Optimizer and I traveled to Toulouse, France with two other couples to learn more about France’s Languedoc region and to sail along the Canal du Midi in a houseboat. Like most trips we have taken in the past seven years, points and miles helped us cut our expenses.
For this trip, we used Delta miles, IHG points, and American miles as follows:
- We redeemed 70,000 Delta miles for two, one-way tickets to Toulouse. With a value of $1283, we got a better than average redemption of 1.8 cents per mile.
- We stayed at an IHG property in Toulouse (Crown Plaza) located directly on the Place du Capitole, the city’s main square. The four nights cost 64,000 IHG points. Compared to a cash cost of $516, this worked out to a redemption of 0.8 cents per point which is above average for IHG awards.
- Our flight home from Paris was on American Airlines and we redeemed 85,500 Aadvantage miles for two, one-way tickets. With a value of $1213, this redemption worked out to 1.4 cents per mile, which is a bit lower than we typically get with American.
Overall, the miles and points we utilized for this one trip saved us about $3,000. However, the use of travel rewards credit cards yielded several less tangible, but useful, benefits.
- On the way to France, we were able to use multiple Delta SkyClubs and an Air France lounge through the American Express Platinum Card.
- With the Chase IHG credit card, the hotel upgraded us to a “Club Room” which overlooked Toulouse’s vibrant Place du Capitole.
The well-planned use of miles and points has changed the way that we travel. In this case, it significantly reduced what we paid for a memorable adventure with friends. It also freed up our budget for more tours, museum visits, and the wonderful wines, cheeses, charcuterie, and pastries of southwest France.
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In case you missed them, here is your "one-stop shopping" for posts from the past week. For some, recent changes with the Resy restaurant reservation platform might limit dining options when using the credit. Learn more here . Perhaps your next US domestic award flight should be booked through . . . Air France. Check out why . The Amex Platinum card might have the highest annual fee for mass marketed cards. Find out if the benefits are worth it for my household here . Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!! We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.
A walk through one household's use of the Amex Platinum card
For some domestic flights, Air France might save transferable miles
Recent changes in the Resy reservations platform might limit use of the Amex dining credit
Changes are a mixed bag but Hyatt regulars won't be happy
Some good news in points and miles (and one warning)
A change in favor of airline passengers (for a change)
The Autograph Journey's transfer partner list grows slowly but steadily
Points and miles free up the travel budget for pilsner, paprika, and pastizzi*
As the summer travel season approaches, this is a friendly reminder to avoid "dynamic currency conversion" (DCC) when making credit card purchases outside of your home country. DCC gives you the option of selecting a payment amount in your home currency rather than in the local currency. Typically, when presented with a credit card reader at a shop or restaurant, the touch screen will show purchase amounts in the local currency and in US dollars (for those with American credit cards) and you have the opportunity to choose. I have been seeing these “offers” for several years now and have learned, after doing a little mental math, they are almost always a bad deal for the purchaser. When presented with a credit card reader, I always choose to pay the amount shown in local currency rather than the amount shown in US dollars. During a recent trip, I was making purchases in Euros, Hungarian Forints, and Czech Korunas. From what I could tell, the option of paying in dollars inflated the cost of the purchases around an average of five percent (5%). Once, a card reader screen acknowledged that making the purchase in dollars added an eight percent (8%) fee. Even a credit card with a foreign transaction fee (which you should avoid using when traveling abroad) would have added only three percent (3%) to the tab. Currency games aside, Visa and MasterCard offer reasonable exchange rates when you choose to pay in the local currency. Upon returning home, our credit card statements showed exchange rates that were quite close to market rates. It is reasonable and fair for the credit card issuers make a fraction of a percent here and there as they are performing a service and accepting currency risk (although very briefly). But, claiming to offer a “preferential” rate to pad their bottom line is disingenuous. Because exchange rates are reasonable, using credit cards while traveling abroad is still worthwhile for a points and miles program as long as you avoid cards with foreign transaction fees. Travel oriented cards can offer 2X and 3X spending bonuses for transportation and restaurants to give you a leg up on saving money and accumulating points or miles for your next vacation.
