I have previously written how I plan and organize my trips. Following the same methodology, I’ll break up the cost of a recent thanksgiving trip. I visited Los Angeles-Madrid-Bilbao-San Sebastián-Biarritz-Lourdes-Toulouse-Barcelona-Valencia-Boston-Dallas and it was fantastic.
First, I used Google Flights to search for flights to Europe during Thanksgiving. Then, after I have an idea of the flight ticket price, I compare it to how much it would cost if I used miles to pay for the award. This time, I found one of the best deals I’ve ever seen—a $ 294.56 round trip on American Airlines and Iberia from Dallas to Madrid.
The Flight
It’s difficult to beat a $294.56 roundtrip flight to Europe. After itemizing the bill, I paid $1 for the fare, and the difference was taxes and fees. All the flights at this price range that I found had long layovers, so I looked for cities where I could visit family and friends. On my way to Spain, I chose to stay in Los Angeles and visit my cousin in Long Beach for the first time. Returning from Spain, I surprised my father for his birthday by showing up at our family dinner. Everything worked out perfectly.
Transportation
Europe provides several affordable options to explore the continent. Short-flights, trains, and buses are very user-friendly. Ultimately, I rented a car for this trip since I would share expenses with my companion. The rental price from Record Go was $100.73 for six days, November 21st-27th.
Renting a car conveys other expenses, such as tolls, parking, and gas.
The total for tolls in Spain and France was $112.18. Parking the car in different cities for six days was $110.70, and gas for the whole trip came to $250.26.
After dividing the transportation expenses by two, it came to $286.93 per person for all transportation costs for a week.
Lodging
I used a combination of points, credit card perks, and paying for the hotels. The first night we stayed at Petit Palace Santa Bárbara, a central and charming location in Madrid, and we paid $98.27.
Then we continued our journey and stayed two nights in San Sebastian at NH Hotel Aránzazu, where I used the American Express Platinum Card “The Hotel Collection” credit. Platinum cardholders receive a $200 yearly credit for stays at selected hotels as a credit card perk. After the credit was applied, the difference was $19.44.
Our next stop was Barcelona, where we stayed two nights for $147.06 at Hotel Rec just a block from the “Arc de Triomf.”
Finally, our last night was in Valencia, and I used 25,000 Marriott points to stay at Palacio Santa Clara from the Autograph Collection. The standard rate was around $240, so using points for this world-class hotel was a fair redemption. I value Marriott points at least at 0.8 cents per point, and this redemption was very close to one cent, about 20% more than the average point value. Since I used Marriott points, we didn’t have to pay anything for our night in Valencia, and we even got a room upgrade. For a week in Spain, our lodging total was $264.77 or $132.38 per person.
Dining
There were other expenses such as dining or museums. However, since each traveler has different preferences for the type of cuisine and attractions, I’ll give you an idea of the price range. Our most upscale dinner was $161.69, including a bottle of wine, several courses, cocktails, and desserts for two people, or $80.85 each.
Our most affordable outing was in San Sebastian. We had late lunch and stayed for three hours, had seven different tapas to share, a few glasses of wine, and almost stayed until dinner. The total was $46, $23 each.
As a side note, another perk from the American Express Platinum Card is an extra $100 complimentary credit for expenses (on top of the $200 mentioned above) in The Hotel Collection. We used it for dinner and breakfast in San Sebastian. Each hotel offers different options to use that $100 credit. We were fortunate to use it for dinner and breakfast, bringing those expenses close to zero.
Many attractions and sights are free; museums are between $10-$15, and some have free entrance certain days and hours.
Conclusion
I’m only going to consider transportation and lodging in my totals since dining is a personal preference, as I mentioned before. You could spend less than in your home city or be luxurious every evening.
Flight $294.56
Transportation $286.93
Lodging $132.38
Total $713.87
I honestly believe that $ 713.87 for a week in Spain and France plus extra stops in Los Angeles and Boston are an excellent value for your money. I’ll continue sharing how I plan my trips and expenses to inspire you to design your own amazing trips.
If you still need help maximizing your points and miles and planning your trips, you can contact me at consulting@culturaiq.com.