Reader Success Story to Prague and Madrid

Pam

Shannon shares her reader success story to Prague and Madrid with us today. Here is her story:
 
I spent the fall of 2023 learning about points and miles, and in November 2023, I opened my first credit card (Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, of course!).  In between then and now, my husband and I have been able to use points and miles for parts of trips, but this past spring, we took our first trip where we used points and miles for all of our hotels and flights. 
 
Ten years ago, my husband and I moved to Madrid, Spain, where we spent three years teaching English, and I’ve been wanting to return to visit for a few years now.  We were finally able to do so in April as part of a ten-day trip to Prague and Madrid.  
 
We live about an hour from Denver International Airport, so we flew Air France directly from Denver to Paris and had a long layover, during which we went into Paris for the day for crepes and a walk along the Seine to see the Eiffel Tower.  
 
 
 
 

 

Prague

In the evening, we continued to Prague on Air France.  We paid 15,000 Flying Blue miles (transferred from Chase) plus $120 in taxes and fees per flight from Denver to Prague.  We spent our first evening at the Lindner Hotel Prague Castle, with 8,000 Hyatt points we had transferred from Chase. 
 
The next morning, we transferred to The Emblem, which was one of our favorite hotel stays we’ve had so far.  The breakfast was amazing, and the location was fantastic—we enjoyed it so much, I’d consider paying cash if we ever returned.  We stayed four nights there, using 30,000 Citi ThankYou® points we had transferred from my Citi Strata Elite℠ Card using the 1:4 transfer ratio to Preferred Hotels (for a total of 120,000 I Prefer points).  We paid about 400 CZK (less than $20) total in taxes for our stay.
 
 

Madrid

After our time in Prague, we flew to Madrid on Iberia.  With a $250 one-time travel credit from my husband’s Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, we paid only $130 for both flights.  We spent four nights in Madrid and stayed at the Only You Boutique Hotel, using 50,000 Citi ThankYou® points we had transferred from my Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (for a total of 200,000 I Prefer points), and also taking advantage of the 1:4 transfer ratio to Preferred Hotels.  We paid $51 in taxes for our four nights there.
 
 
 
 
We flew Air France back home using 25,500 Flying Blue points each (transferred from Chase) and $160 in taxes and fees.  
 
In total, we used 89,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, 80,000 Citi ThankYou points from my Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, and a $250 Capital One travel credit from my husband’s Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.  
 
Shannon, thank you for sharing about this wonderful trip! 
 

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