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It has been over two years since I had been to one of my favorite cities in the world, Prague. Located in the Czech Republic, this country and city hold a special place in my heart. Czech is my heritage and I have made it my goal to try and get back every year that I can as well as hopefully explore some birth cities of my great grandparents in future trips.
While the details of this trip changed significantly, I based it purely on flexibility and adjusted as I needed to based on the new world of ever-changing flights and travel restrictions. This stay was going to be short as I was moving on to another city after, but here is how I made this redemption happen.
One great part about reading others’ redemptions is it can help you think of ways to get somewhere you may not have thought of.
Flights
- Delta One/KLM Business Class redeemed through Virgin Atlantic
- SEA-AMS-PRG
- Points Used: 58,000 plus $22.40
- Virgin Atlantic Transfer Partners: Chase, Amex, Citi
- My go to cards for earning points to transfer to Virgin Atlantic are Citi Premier (review), American Express Business Platinum, and Chase Sapphire Preferred (review).
Delta One Flight (SEA-AMS)
Virgin Atlantic has been my go-to redemption for getting to Europe. This partner redemption has been scarce the last couple of years. However, with some work and flexibility, it can still be found. Delta runs a non-stop to Amsterdam (AMS), so that is my first search. If only going to AMS non-stop, that rate is usually 50,000 Virgin Atlantic points. I usually search both SEA-AMS as well as SEA-PRG to see what I can find.
In the past, I have booked a separate flight to Prague (PRG) when doing so was cheaper than the additional 8,000 points Virgin Atlantic was charging. However, for this redemption, I decided to stick with a single reservation. With availability showing all the way to Prague, I locked it in.
KLM Flight (AMS-PRG)
Nothing fancy about this flight, but costing just 8,000 more points on top of the 50,000 I would have paid to Amsterdam alone. This was worth it for me since the KLM flight would have been at least $140 just for economy.
This flight was what is referred to as “European Business Class.” This means it is essentially like any domestic flight you would take, but with the middle seat blocked off. This means you are guaranteed a little space not being packed in.
Hotel
Andaz Prague (Brand New!)
- Points Used: 21,000 + cat 1-7 certificate
- Hyatt Transfer Partner: Chase
- Savings: $970
This part of the trip came together very last minute. I did not have a hotel booked. Typically, in Prague, I have gone through a private rental on an apartment, but this was a short trip so I opted for a hotel. Hyatt is my go-to brand and I travel everywhere with my Chase World Of Hyatt card (review). I was excited to see Hyatt was opening their first Czech location just weeks before my arrival.
The hotel was not bookable online using the Pay My Way option and I wanted to combine my soon-to-expire category 1-7 certificate with points. As a World of Hyatt Globalist using the concierge perk, I reached out to my Hyatt Concierge. She was able to make the booking happen quickly. She booked one night on certificate and one night on points, which was better than the $970 cash rate for the two nights. Read our full review of the Andaz here.
For the points portion of the booking, I transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards that I earned with my Chase Sapphire Preferred (review) to my World of Hyatt account.
Final Thoughts
The power of points and miles really is fantastic, and even putting something together somewhat last minute is possible. I made this happen with 58,000 Virgin Atlantic points, 21,000 Hyatt points, and a Hyatt free night certificate, which allowed me to enjoy thousands of dollars in travel for only $22.40 out of pocket.
Have you traveled to Europe on points and miles? Want to find out how to plan a trip like this one with your points and miles? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know your thoughts.
