How I Booked a $41,486 Switzerland and London Trip for $3,634 Using Points and Miles
My daughter has been a travel buddy of mine since 2017. Prior to points and miles we had gone to New York, Texas, multiple day trips to see caves and hike throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Our travels have only gotten bigger since I started learning about points and miles, from Atlantic City, to Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, Alaska, and the Bahamas where we had to divert to Santa Monica where we dipped our toes in the Pacific Ocean then in the Atlantic Ocean all within a 24 hour window. Yeah, I should probably explain that one in its own blog post.
When she graduated college, we hadn’t solidified our travel plans for the next year so I asked her where she wanted to go. She wanted to go to Japan and yes, we made that happen. You can read about that trip here. But I knew that one would need time to plan, so I showed her some options for Europe. I figured London or Paris or maybe even Italy, but she chose Switzerland.
Little did I know at the time that that was one of the most expensive countries in all of Europe to visit. It was definitely worth it though.
So the three of us (myself, my husband and my daughter) spent ten days across four cities — Zurich, Lucerne, Geneva, and London — and the total retail value of the trip came out to $41,486.12.
We, however, only paid $3,634.43 out of pocket. That’s an overall redemption value of 15.6 cents per point across roughly 290,000 points and four stacked travel credits. That’s a 91.24% savings rate.
This wasn’t our first points and miles trip, but it was our first big international one, and it looked a lot different from the trip we took right after it — our Japan trip, where we paid just $298.62 out of pocket for $29,680 in flights and hotels.
Comparing the two side by side shows exactly what one learns in the points and miles world, the more time you have in this hobby. Granted, I could spend upwards of $3600 on a trip again, but why would I want to? Why would you want to?
How Much Did This Switzerland and London Trip Actually Cost?
After booking the flights, the next step was booking the hotels and deciding our route throughout Switzerland and London. The popular hotels that are typically booked, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatts etc are rare and far between or were out of range for the points I had or were not in the locations we were to stay in.
I was truly getting nervous that I was going to be paying full price for hotels on this trip and that was coming to upwards of $6500 for the 10 nights. Our trip was in May of 2025 and I knew that we had two – $300 Capital One Venture X travel credits coming available. I also knew my daughter had a $300 travel credit from her Chase Sapphire Preferred. I also had one from my Chase Sapphire Reserve, but honestly, did not know it was also resetting in March – more on this below.
This is exactly the kind of trip where the tools I actually use for award searching and tracking earn their keep — I list all of them on my [Best Points & Miles Tools & Resources] page.
I was pleasantly surprised at the end, when my $300 Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit had posted after I booked the TWA hotel at JFK for our return trip, which helped offset that full price hotel. My annual fee resets August 1st but because I had upgraded from the Chase Sapphire Preferred to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, those annual credits reset in March. I had figured it would be August but, never having gone through this before, I was unaware. A very welcome surprise.
Here’s the full Switzerland and London flights and hotel booking breakdown:
Remember, this is for 3 adults, Myself, my husband and my daughter. Europe has strict occupancy limits for many of their hotels. Two people max due to their smaller historic room layouts, local fire safety regulations, and maximum capacity laws. There is no single universal name for the rule, but it is broadly governed by maximum room occupancy limits and local fire codes. So for all of our stays we had to get two separate hotel rooms or connected suites.
This was also our first time in Europe. I knew we could handle heading there in Premium Economy but I also knew I wanted to have a business class experience flying over the Atlantic at least once. So repositioning ourselves in London to fly home on Virgin Atlantic was a pretty cool experience.
If you’re not familiar with how transferring points to airline partners like Virgin Atlantic actually works, I break it down step by step in my [Transfer Bonus Guide].
Shortly after, the taxes and fees on Virgin Atlantic flights went up and then went up again, so I am thankful I had that experience, as I would opt not to pay over a grand for a flight vs $5.60 now.
Flights: $34,797.75 if paid in full – retail, We paid in $2139.46 taxes and fees plus miles
– JFK to Zurich, premium economy for three: $1,594.80 retail, paid $549.90 in taxes and fees using 36,000 Virgin Atlantic miles (2.9 cents per point)
– London to JFK, Virgin Atlantic Upper Class for three: $31,538.10 retail ($10,512.70 per person when booked one way), paid $1,494.96 in taxes and fees using 87,000 Virgin Atlantic miles (34.5 cents per point) — my best single redemption to date.
– Pittsburgh to JFK positioning flight: $501 retail, paid $47.30
– JFK to Pittsburgh home: $1,163.85 retail, paid $47.30
Hotels: $6,688.37 if paid in full – retail, We paid $1,494.97 for taxes and fees or full retail offset with credits and points
– Zurich, Acasa Suites, two connected rooms with two bathrooms: $1,100 retail, paid $1,100 cash — the only fully cash hotel of the trip.
– Lucerne, two separate rooms: $2,294.94 retail, paid $91.28 in fees after two Capital One Venture X $300 travel credits and 75,619 Capital One points (1.4 cents per point)
– Geneva, a two-bedroom apartment: $535.02 retail, paid $185 out of pocket after my daughter used her Chase Sapphire Preferred $300 sign-on bonus travel credit
– London, Hyatt Regency Blackfriars, two rooms for two nights: $2,339.72 retail, paid $0 using 92,000 Hyatt points (2.5 cents per point) — my daughter was upgraded to a suite for her graduation
– TWA Hotel at JFK, one night: $418.69 retail, paid $118.69 after my Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 travel credit reset as a surprise
Add it up and you get $41,486.12 in retail value for $3,634.43 out of pocket.
When I added those numbers up for the first time, my mind was blown. I had NEVER taken any trip in my entire life that would cost that kind of money. I still had a lot to learn.
Switzerland was still very expensive. The food, the excursions, the souvenirs – we didn’t sit down for a meal or a snack and not pay $100, sometimes it was double for full meals. But I didn’t mind as much, knowing that my out of pocket expenses for the flights and hotels were 91.24% off.
How Did We Book Business Class From London to New York for Under $1,500?
The London to JFK segment is the redemption I’m proudest of for this trip. Virgin Atlantic Upper Class retails at over $10,500 per person one way, and we booked three seats for a combined $1,494.96 in taxes and fees using 87,000 Virgin Atlantic miles total. That works out to 34.5 cents per point, which is well above what I typically consider a strong redemption.
It’s worth knowing that taxes and fees on flights departing London are notoriously high — ours came out to about $498.32 per person. Even with that fee, the redemption was extraordinary.
Compare that to our Japan trip, where our total out-of-pocket cost for the entire trip was $298.62. Program selection and departure country both change your out-of-pocket cost dramatically, and this trip is a good example of why “it depends on your situation” isn’t a cop-out answer — it’s the actual answer.
What Hotels Did We Stay In Across Zurich, Lucerne, Geneva, and London?
Every hotel on this trip used a different strategy, which is honestly the best way to learn this hobby:
– Zurich was our one fully cash stay, at Acasa Suites, where we had two connected rooms with two bathrooms for $1,100.
– Lucerne is where I feel we had our most beautiful moment of the trip. We stayed in two separate rooms, used two Capital One Venture X $300 travel credits between me and my husband, and covered the rest with 75,619 Capital One points. It happened to be Mother’s Day, and we had lunch across from the Chapel Bridge, surrounded by mountains. That’s the moment from this whole trip I keep coming back to.
– Geneva was simple: my daughter used her Chase Sapphire Preferred sign-on bonus travel credit toward a two-bedroom apartment, and we paid $185 out of pocket for the rest.
– London is where the Hyatt points did the heavy lifting. We used 92,000 Hyatt points for two rooms, two nights, at the Hyatt Regency Blackfriars, and paid nothing out of pocket. We were hoping for two suite upgrades (I mean why not dream big) and got one (which we were every so thankful for) — we gave it to my daughter for her graduation. A friend gifted us a Hyatt Guest of Honor which gave us free breakfast while we were there. My husband still talks about that breakfast.
– TWA Hotel at JFK was our layover stop. Our London flight got in late on a Friday night with a Saturday morning connection home, so we grabbed one night here and my Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 travel credit happened to reset right before we booked, which knocked our cost down to $118.69.
How Did We Stack Four Travel Credits Across Three People on One Trip?
This is the part of the trip I want other points and miles travelers to really pay attention to. Between the three of us, we had four separate travel credits to use: my Capital One Venture X $300 credit, my husband’s Capital One Venture X $300 credit, my Chase Sapphire Reserve $300 credit, and my daughter’s Chase Sapphire Preferred $300 sign-on bonus credit. That’s $1,200 in credits alone, on top of roughly 290,000 points across Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, and Capital One.
Diversifying your points ecosystems is what made this possible. If everyone on this trip had been sitting on one card and one program, we wouldn’t have had nearly the flexibility to book four different hotels four different ways.
If you’re trying to figure out which cards make sense for your own household, I go through the Capital One, Chase, and other major ecosystems in my [Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards] post.
What Made This Trip Different From Our Japan Trip?
Switzerland was my first big international trip in this hobby, and I was genuinely nervous going in. I planned it city by city over several weeks and figured going in that we’d spend over $6,500 out of pocket. We ended up at $3,634.43.
Japan came the following year after Switzerland, and it was a completely different experience — planned very intentionally, with cards opened specifically for that trip, resulting in $298.62 out of pocket for $29,680 in value. Giving us a 98.99% discount. The distance between those two trips, just 11 months apart, is really what learning this hobby does for you. You go from figuring it out reactively to planning it on purpose.
What Would I Do Differently Next Time?
Honestly, not much. If anything, I’d go into a first international trip with a little less nervousness and a little more trust that the numbers would work out — because they did. My husband and daughter both said London was their favorite city of the trip. I loved Lucerne most, for that Mother’s Day lunch alone. We’re already planning to go back to London.
FAQ
What was the total value of this trip and what did we actually pay?
The total retail value was $41,486.12. We paid $3,634.43 out of pocket, for an overall redemption value of 15.6 cents per point.
What was the best single redemption of the trip?
Booking Virgin Atlantic Upper Class from London to JFK for three people using 87,000 miles and $1,494.96 in taxes and fees, against a retail value of $31,538.10 — a 34.5 cents-per-point redemption.
Why were the taxes and fees so high on the flight home?
Flights departing London carry notoriously high taxes and fees, which is why even a strong points redemption still came with real out-of-pocket cost on that segment.
How many points and credits did this trip use in total?
Roughly 290,000 points across Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, and Capital One, plus $1,200 in travel credits stacked across three people and two card issuers.
How is this different from the Japan trip?
Japan was booked with cards opened intentionally for that trip and cost $298.62 out of pocket for $29,680 in value. Switzerland and London was our first big international trip, planned reactively city by city, and still came in well under our own expectations.
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Read my full Japan Breakdown here: https://stacystravelpoints.com/how-i-booked-29000-in-flights-and-hotels-to-japan-for-300-using-points-miles/ or go search Japan on my YouTube channel and watch it there: https://youtube.com/@stacystravelpoints?si=KIEO1Me_Y3HYMXgm
Until next time — Stacy.
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