The days were dark after I had to cancel my last trip abroad, but I struggled through it. Sometimes, the timing just isn’t right. But I was finally able to rebook the trip, and I. Can’t. Wait. We’ve have had a lot of fun quick trips this year, but we’ve yet to travel internationally (well, except for Mexico – does that count?), so I’ve been itching.
Jordan and I will be traveling with a couple friends of ours, so we’re doing some things that we’ve already done before that they haven’t, and vice versa. The trip is looking like this:
DFW-BOS
First, we’re driving to Dallas to drop off our dog child with the in laws. She’s worth the hassle and it actually saves me some miles.
We’re flying American Airlines booked via British Airways Avios. It cost us 20,000 Avios and $5 total to fly from Dallas to Boston.
DFW-BOS
Boston-Dublin
Next, we’re hopping over to Dublin. Can’t wait to get my drink on at the Guinness brewery, and then explore the country side. We are routing through Dublin because it’s cheaper than flying straight to London, and you can’t beat the price of 12,500 Avios for one-way economy, or 25,000 Avios for a one-way business class ticket.
We went with business class seats, because
we’re divas
the flight is over 5 hours long, and Avios are just so easy to accumulate. It was just 50,000 Avios and $61.14 for Jordan and I both to fly in business class. Although Aer-Lingus doesn’t have the greatest business class product, I’m sure it will do just fine. And hey, it’s a new airline for us to try. Hip hip hooray.
BOS-DUB
Here’s my previous post on how to search and book an Aer-Lingus flight with British Airways Avios. Oh, and I got the phone fee waived just by asking, and mentioning that the ticket couldn’t be booked online.
We’re staying at the Radisson Blu property in Dublin. No Hyatts here. 
It cost us 88,000 Gold points for two nights. If we had the Club Carlson Visa, it would have been half the price, since we would’ve received the second night free. I’ve been looking to burn some of the Gold points I earned from the Big Night Giveaway, so this was as good of an opportunity as any.
Radisson Blu
Dublin-London
After enjoying Dublin, we’re off to London for only 9,000 Avios and $45 for both of us. Boom.
Dublin to London
Our total cost to fly DFW-BOS-DUB-LHR was 79,000 Avios and $111.14. Not too bad for two people, and the longest leg being in business class. And if we had flown economy from BOS-DUB, it would’ve been just 54,000 Avios. Who says London is out of reach?
In London, we’re staying at the Hyatt Churchill property. It’s a category 6 hotel, so it’s costing us 22,000 Gold Passport points a night. There’s an Andaz property, but we liked the Churchill location better for this trip.
London-Brussels
After spending some time in London, it’s time for a quick flight to Brussels, which cost us 9,000 Avios and $45. Gotta love Avios for short haul flights!
London to Brussels
From Brussels, we’re renting a car and driving to the Trappist Abbey of Chimay. I can’t wait to see how the Chimay monks produce their brew and cheese. Ok, I can’t wait to drink a couple glasses of my favorite Belgian beer. We will be staying in Chimay after the trip to the monastery.
Paris – Park Hyatt Vendome
After we indulge in the work of the monks in Chimay, we will work our way to Paris, stopping at a few B&B’s along the way. No miles and points for those stays, but we love B&B’s, so it’s worth it.
Once we’re back to Jordan’s favorite city, we’re treating ourselves to another stay at the Park Hyatt – Vendome property. We can’t help ourselves – we had such a great time there last year. And I’m a Hyatt Diamond member, so it just makes sense.
The Vendome is 22,000 Gold Passport points a night, or about $1,000. I’ll be using points on this trip. Here’s my post on our stay there last year. I hope I can run into Tony Parker again so I can ask him, “What in the world was Popovich thinking?”
CDG-FRA-IAD-DFW
And finally after Paris, we will be routing back to the States from Frankfurt to Dulles, so I can fly the Lufthansa 747-8i again. We’re booked in business class, and hopefully we will be able to upgrade to first class 14 days before departure. Here’s my first class review of the plane from January. Experiencing the great first class ground service in Frankfurt would be a lot of fun.
If not, we’re more than happy to fly the solid business class product for 50,000 United/Ultimate Rewards points. Jordan and I actually flew this plane last year, and had a great time!
Lufthansa Business Class
How to make it happen
It’s no secret that we’re using miles and points mainly earned from rewards credit cards. There isn’t anything special about us, but we do monitor our credit scores, pay off our bills in full, and keep it all organized.
A few cards that helped us make this trip a reality are below:
Avios:
It’s easy to accumulate Avios – almost too easy. There’s the British Airways Visa Signature® Card that comes with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Avios, for starters. But Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards and even Starwood Starpoints transfer into British Airways.
I transferred over Membership Rewards points when there was a transfer bonus to get even more value. There isn’t a transfer bonus opportunity right now, though. The best public offers for Membership Rewards points now are the 50,000 Mercedes-Benz ($450 annual fee not waived), and The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN.
Ultimate Rewards:
Ultimate Rewards are always vital when I’m making an award booking because they are just so darn flexible. I can transfer them to British Airways, Hyatt, United, and many more. There’s a reason they are everyone’s favorite point currency.
Currently, the best offer to earn Ultimate Rewards points is the 50,000 Ink Bold® Business Card & Ink Plus® Business Card, and the 40,000 Chase Sapphire Preferred®.
United:
Besides the Ultimate Rewards cards that transfer into United – you can pad your United balance with, well, a United card. The best offers for the United personal and business cards are seen by either clicking through the ad while logged into your United account (if you have United miles in there), or by stopping by a local Chase branch.
Club Carlson:
Club Carlson has three co-branded rewards cards. The Premium and Business version both come with 85,000 Gold Points after you meet the minimum spending requirements. Sometimes US Bank will approve you for a lesser version, so keep that in mind. The standard card comes with a sign-up bonus of 60,000 Gold Points. The great thing about the Club Carlson cards is that you will receive the “bonus award night.” Huge perk!
Hyatt:
The Chase Hyatt Visa comes with two free night certificates after spending $1,000 in 3 months. Two nights at the Vendome are easily worth close to $2,000. And, once again…Hyatt is a transfer partner of Ultimate Rewards, so you can add additional nights, or top off your account easily. Boom.
Conclusion
I’m pumped that I finally got another big trip on the books. It’s been far too long, but moving, starting a new venture, and just the business of life has cut into my traveling. Time to change that!
I’ll be doing full reviews of the flights, stays, and locations after my trip, so stay tuned.
(Disclaimer: I receive a referral credit for some of the cards mentioned in this post. Thanks for the support if you decide to apply!)
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