Success story from a reader: How these TPG women achieved $23,000 in value on a points trip to Europe

I’d like to share a tale from TPG reader Jennifer Croce, who utilized points and miles to arrange a trip to Spain and Portugal with her mother and godmother, celebrating their retirements next fall. They anticipate receiving over $23,000 in value from their rewards!

Our primary focus will be on Delta and Marriott Bonvoy points. We plan to use around 300k Delta points, a substantial portion of which came from my Delta Reserve bonus, to cover approximately $15k in airfare, making each point worth just over $0.05. All flights from our location connect through Atlanta, and we found that redeeming points from a specific small airport was about half the cost of other airports within a two-hour radius (98k points for Premier Select compared to 160k-200k at other airports, including direct flights from ATL).

Additionally, we’ll use 440k Bonvoy points for 11 nights of hotel stays, amounting to roughly $8k, which equates to about $0.02 per point. This doesn’t even include any Suite Nights or other upgrades I have available with my Titanium status and certificates. Many of the Bonvoy points were earned through our Bonvoy Brilliant Amex.

We'll also be using some Enterprise points for our car rental, though that will be a minor expense.

Jennifer mentioned that they'll be departing from Brunswick, GA (BQK) and staying at hotels such as Le Méridien Barcelona, The Westin Palace Madrid, Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza in Seville, and the Sheraton Lisboa.

Jennifer's approach to booking

Jennifer's experience showcases various strategies for award travel. She was flexible with her departure airport, exploring options from Brunswick (BQK), Jacksonville (JAX), Orlando (MCO), and Atlanta (ATL). Ultimately, she found that flying out of Brunswick offered significant savings compared to the other locations. While she didn’t require it, this serves as a valuable reminder to consider positioning flights if you live in a more rural area.

In the end, she achieved about five cents in value per Delta SkyMile, which is well above TPG's valuation of 1.41 cents each. Although premium-cabin awards on Delta flights typically don’t maximize your miles, this particular case proved to be an exception. It’s always wise to evaluate all your booking alternatives.

You might think that $5,000 for a premium economy ticket to Europe is steep, and I would agree. However, even if the tickets were priced at $2,000 each (which is the typical cost for premium economy flights to Europe), Jennifer would still have received over two cents in value per mile, which is excellent.

It's noteworthy that Jennifer successfully booked three award tickets at this rate. If she had chosen to book through a partner like Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, she may have saved some miles, but it’s likely she wouldn’t have found three award seats on the same flight. Programs with dynamic pricing, such as Delta SkyMiles, usually don’t impose capacity restrictions.

Next, Jennifer redeemed 440,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for 11 award nights at various Marriott properties, again achieving a value exceeding TPG's valuations. She carefully selected brands that allowed her to maximize her Titanium Elite status benefits, such as free breakfast and Suite Night Awards. For her nights in Lisbon, she faced a dilemma between the Sheraton Lisboa and Memmo Príncipe Real, a Design Hotel. However, she wouldn’t be able to use Suite Night Awards or enjoy complimentary breakfast at the latter, as Design Hotels don’t provide these perks.

If Jennifer had spent more time in each city, she could have enhanced the value of her points even more by utilizing Marriott's fifth-night free perk.

How Jennifer accumulated her rewards

Jennifer noted that she earned the majority of her points and miles through credit card welcome offers. To increase her Delta SkyMiles balance, she acquired the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, which currently offers new cardholders a welcome bonus of 60,000 miles after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.

Additionally, Jennifer amassed a significant number of Marriott Bonvoy points through the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, which currently features a welcome offer of 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 on the card in the first six months. The card also provides 25 elite-qualifying night credits annually, allowing Jennifer to accelerate her progress toward the next Elite status.

However, there are still ways to earn points and miles without traveling or applying for new credit cards. For example, you can accumulate rewards by shopping through an online portal or joining a dining rewards program. In certain cases, purchasing points and miles may also be a beneficial option.

We love this story and want to hear more! Please send your own award travel success stories to [email protected]; be sure to include details on how you earned and redeemed your rewards, and put "Reader Success Story" in the subject line. Feel free to share your most unfortunate travel mistakes as well.

If you haven't done so yet, be sure to join the TPG Women Facebook group, a supportive space exclusively for women to ask questions about all things travel, especially concerning points and miles. In this group, women exchange tips for safe solo travel, strategies to maximize travel rewards, and have the opportunity to connect with fellow female travelers.