Let's dispel a myth: last minute tickets with points, here's how Stephen saved over 10k
In recent days I published an article in which I explained how, thanks to points I had managed to save a mountain [...]
Air France
SkyTeam
Recommended by TFC
In recent days I published an article in which I explained how, thanks to the points I had managed to save a mountain of money for my summer vacation, in the article I not only explained how, but especially when and how far in advance I had booked.
Many readers have written to me saying something like this: "I can't plan that far in advance, and I can never find these tickets."
Today then, I want to tell the story of one of our loyal readers, and also one of the first readers who showed up at our pop-up aperitifs. I do this because proves, contrary to popular belief, that it is possible to detach last minute award tickets and fly on vacation to the other side of the world Without spending a fortune, with the whole family.
Stephen asked me for my opinion on the feasibility of the operation, i.e., transferring membership Rewards points from his account to the Flying Blue program account, an operation done on the evening of Thursday, July 28.
Points that were credited within hours and by Friday morning were usable on the Flying Blue profile. There was also no need to Call customer service and option tickets since the transfer lasted only a few hours.
And so while I was flying from London to Tokyo, Stephen wrote to me that he had managed to detach three award tickets, two adults and one infant, in business class departing today, Tuesday, August 1, 2023.
The final cost was 220 thousand FB points plus 1827 euros in taxes and surcharges.
To get an idea of the savings, I tried simulating a similar itinerary, on the same dates. The departure from Milan in biz was no longer available, so for convenience I put from Paris, returning from Boston as per the reservation made by Stephen and the cost of the 3 tickets turned out to be nearly 11,500 euros.
- 6,000 Mile Registration Bonus
- Collect miles WITH EACH PURCHASE
- Your miles with no expiration*
- No fees for ATM withdrawals and foreign purchases
- Without having to change banks
- Autonomous card activation
- Multi-function mobile application
- Free travel insurance
- Free credit for up to 7 weeks
- Contactless Payment
- Mastercard® SecureCode
- 20€ discount directly in your statement by spending €60 in one or more transactions with Carta on Italotreno.it
- Free fee the 1st year. From the 2nd €5.50 per month
- You can choose to pay in full or in installments
- Premium level of the Italo Più program
- 4 Vouchers per year for access to Italo Club Lounges
- Preferential Access to Italo's Fast Track at the station
- For every 5 purchases of Italo ticketing and/or onboard services made with Italo American Express Credit Card you will receive 1 voucher for room upgrade
- Welcome bonus of 100,000 Volare points upon reaching 6 thousand in spending in the first 3 months after card issuance
- Accumulate 1.5 qualifying Volare points for every euro spent, accumulate an additional 3 non-qualifying Volare points ( for a total of 4.5 Volare points) for every euro spent on ticketing purchases and other services offered by ITA Airways
- Access to the Premium Club of ITA Airways' Volare program.
- ITA Airways Lounge Access
- Free excess baggage
- Points Back