Six weeks in Europe with kids sounds expensive, and it definitely can be. Flights alone could easily run a few thousand dollars per person, and that’s before you even think about hotels, trains or the inevitable “we need snacks right now” moments. But this is exactly the kind of trip points and miles were made for.

I’m currently planning a six-week Europe trip with my kids, flying from Utah to Paris, basing ourselves in Bulgaria for most of the summer, and ending in Amsterdam. And while it’s a big trip with a lot of moving pieces, points and miles are doing most of the financial heavy lifting.

Here’s exactly how I’m piecing it together.

 

Letting Points Decide the Destination

Instead of choosing a destination, I look for an opportunity. That probably sounds a bit backwards since most people pick a destination first and then figure out how to get there.

There are a few loose guidelines I try to follow. For example, I wanted to be somewhere in Europe, ideally near water. And it needed to be a place that felt manageable for a longer stay with kids. But beyond that, I let the points lead.

In practice, this means I don’t start by searching “flights to Paris” or “flights to Rome.” Instead, I start by searching award availability—often across multiple cities and dates—and see what’s actually bookable at a reasonable rate. If I see a great deal to Paris, that becomes the starting point. If it’s Barcelona or Amsterdam instead, then that’s where we go.

It also means being flexible on timing. I will scroll through a calendar view looking for lower award pricing and build the trip around those dates rather than trying to force a specific schedule. This is what allowed me to jump on a deal when it popped up—and it’s exactly how I ended up booking flights to Paris.

 

 

Finding Flights to Europe for 19,000 Miles

I’ve always found that American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be one of the best options for getting my family to Europe, especially if you’re willing to keep things loose.

Sure enough, after digging around, I found economy flights from Salt Lake City to Paris for 19,000 miles per person. Considering the taxes and fees are only $5.16 per person, this is a pretty stellar rate. There were only a handful of dates available at that price, but because we weren’t locked into a specific schedule, we could make it work.

If you are short on AAdvantage miles, there are several co-branded American Airlines credit cards to help you build your balance. You can also transfer Citi ThankYou Points to American Airlines with an eligible credit card.

Booking the Return Before I Knew the Plan

The return flight was a little more . . . fluid. Since we were flying into Paris, I assumed we’d be leaving from somewhere else, but I had no idea where, or even when, so I started searching.

At one point, I found a flight home from Madrid later in the summer. It wasn’t perfect timing, but it was available. And more importantly, it was bookable with miles, so I grabbed it.

This is where flexible cancellation policies can make all the difference. American Airlines allows free award cancellations, which means there’s very little downside to locking something in while you keep looking for something better. And that’s exactly what I did. I booked flights from Madrid and hoped that I would find another option down the road. 

Over the next several weeks, I kept checking flights back to the U.S. Two months in Europe felt like a stretch, even for us, so I was hoping something shorter would open up. And eventually, it did. A flight home from Amsterdam popped up for the same 19,000 miles per person, but much closer to our ideal timeline. I booked it, canceled the Madrid flight, and just like that, the structure of the trip fell into place.

 

 

Filling in the Middle

Once I got the flights locked in, everything else became a puzzle to solve. I knew we would start in Paris and end in Amsterdam. Now we just needed to figure out what happened in between. This is where I shifted from points to cash—or more accurately, points that act like cash.

After some digging, I found a great Airbnb in Bulgaria. It checked all the boxes: warm, near the water, and significantly more affordable than most Western European destinations. We decided to use that as our home base.

For the booking, I used my Barclay Arrival+ card (which is no longer available, but the concept still applies). I paid for the Airbnb and then used points to erase the purchase. It’s not always the highest-value redemption, but for longer, more costly stays like this, it can make a lot of sense.

While my handy-dandy Barclay Arrival+ isn’t an option anymore, you could always opt for a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards. This card allows you to use your points as a statement credit toward travel purchases like Airbnb.

Related: How To Maximize Airbnb Stays: Credit Cards, Rewards and Smart Booking Strategies Why a Home Base Just Works Better

For a trip this long, especially with kids, a home base makes a huge difference. We won’t be moving every few days or trying to check off as many countries as possible. Instead, we’ll stay in one place and take shorter trips from there. It’s a lot less stressful, more affordable and honestly, just more enjoyable.

I love a good luxury hotel redemption as much as anyone, but trying to string together six weeks of hotel stays would burn through points (and my patience) fast. This approach lets me save those for when they make more sense.

Getting Around Europe for Cheap

To get from Paris to Bulgaria, and eventually from Bulgaria to Amsterdam, we’re using low-cost carriers. Flights were about $30 per person, which is hard to beat.

These flights aren’t glamorous, and you do have to pay attention to baggage rules and extra fees, but for short hops within Europe, they’re incredibly useful.

Where Points Make the Biggest Impact

For this trip, my points are doing the heavy lifting in two key areas:

• Flights to and from Europe
• Any shorter stays in more expensive cities

Everything else  (like our longer stay in Bulgaria) is a mix of cash and flexible points. That’s really the strategy in a nutshell—not using points for everything, but using them where they replace the most expensive parts of the trip.

A Few Things I’m Still Figuring Out

Even with flights and our main stay booked, there are still a lot of details to work through. We’ll likely take a few weekend trips to nearby countries, and I haven’t fully decided whether those will be booked with points or cash. I’m also keeping an eye on award availability for any shorter hotel stays in cities like Paris and Amsterdam.

Trips like this are never fully “done” until you’re actually on them. And even then, things can change (ask me how I know!).

The Bottom Line

A six-week Europe trip with kids would be incredibly expensive if we were paying cash for everything. But by letting points and miles guide the plan—and using them strategically for the biggest expenses—it becomes surprisingly doable.

It’s not about flying first class everywhere or staying in luxury hotels every night. It’s about using points to unlock a trip that would otherwise feel out of reach.

And sometimes, it starts with something as simple as being open to going wherever the points take you.

 

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