Jessica used points and miles to fund a trip to Paris to celebrate her 20th anniversary. Here is her story:

My husband and I recently went to Paris for 10 days to celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary. It was a dreamy trip that we paid for mostly using points. We love traveling on points, and we could never go back.

 

 

Credit Cards That We Used

We opened an Air France credit card and got a 70,000-point welcome offer. Then we found round-trip direct flights out of Denver for only 30,000 points each. The airline fees to Europe are always high, and we each had to pay $315, but I’ll take it. We used our Southwest® Companion Pass to fly to Denver for 24,485 points and $11.20 in fees. 

We stayed at the Vendôme Opéra Hotel. It was a cute, very clean, quiet boutique hotel. The rooms were small, but they had a fridge stocked with free drinks and snacks every day. We booked it at Chase Travel℠ for 146,140 Ultimate Rewards® points. It wasn’t the best redemption, but we only had to pay for the city taxes once we got there; they were about €150.

 

Paris Museum Pass

We decided to get a Paris Museum Pass, and I’m so glad we did. We were able to visit about five museums or monuments a day for four days. It costs €90, so that’s about €23 a day. It gives you access to items that cost €15-25 each, so as long as you visit more than one place a day, you’ll save money. It includes tickets to all the places we visited, and more. I would definitely buy it again.

 

 

What We Saw

One of the best things we did was climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe at night. We skipped paying to go up the Eiffel Tower; you really just need pictures in front of it for Instagram. Instead, we used the Museum Pass to go to the top of the Arc, and got a great view of the tower all lit up. It sparkles at 9 PM and every hour on the hour.

Of course, you have to go to the Louvre if you’re in Paris, but I probably enjoyed the Musée d’Orsay even more. They had more art that I recognized from Van Gogh and Monet. If you like modern art, plan on visiting the Centre Pompidou, and try to go in the evening. It has an amazing view of the city, especially at sunset. 

 

 

What We Ate

We went to Polidor (41 Rue Monsieur le Prince), one of the oldest bistros in Paris. It was super cute, and the staff was very attentive and friendly. My husband had duck and potatoes, and I got veal and truffle risotto. We like to have a competition to see who orders the tastiest dish, and I won that day. 

We saw people in line for lunch at Bouillon Pigalle (22 Blvd de Clichy), so we decided to give it a shot. I’m so glad we did! They had people absolutely crammed in there, but it was a fun experience with every French dish you could ever want at really great prices. It was fun and a little different. I would definitely go again! 

We had the most delicious pastries at Gosselin (258 Blvd Saint Germain). I don’t remember what they called it, but it was a very crunchy pistachio pastry that you have to try. The lemon meringue pie was also very delicious. 

 

Thank You, Points Talk Squad

We’ve been opening credit cards to travel for free for almost 7 years, and this was the 18th trip we’ve taken, mostly using points from credit cards. I always love reading Points Talk Squad’s posts and have booked hotels in Cancun and Maui based on their recommendations; they are always spot-on. This trip wasn’t the most impressive redemption, but we were able to go on our dream trip and didn’t have to pay much out of pocket for flights and accommodations. Thanks for all you guys do for the travel community. We appreciate you!

 

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