How We Scored $8K Flights to Naples Italy for Just 110K travel points and $800: Our Spring Break 2025 Adventure Booked!

Last April of 2024, my wife Andrea and I took a memorable trip to Italy over Spring Break. Our adventure began with a luxurious business class flight from JFK to Florence, where we stayed for a couple of nights. From Florence, we took a scenic train ride down to Naples for a night and then moved on to Vico Equense, near Sorrento, for a two-night stay.

Unexpected Changes and Highlights

We had planned to spend another night in Naples before heading home, but our flight was canceled, forcing us to leave a night early. Despite this hiccup, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in this beautiful region of Italy and felt a strong desire to return, especially to spend more time in Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

The Air France Experience

Flying business class with Air France was an incredible experience, and you can read all about it in our dedicated blog post. After swapping travel stories with my friend Chris B, we discussed the merits of flying Premium Economy on Air France. While business class from JFK to Europe felt too short, we were keen to try a longer flight. However, finding business class seats from Seattle to Europe proved challenging, with more options available if we repositioned from San Francisco or Los Angeles. This time around we were wanting a more direct flight, we explored Premium Economy availability from our home airport, SeaTac.

Booking and Points Strategy

Unfortunately, there was only one Premium Economy seat available for our desired departure date to Naples, so we opted for economy with exit row seats for extra legroom. This cost us 20,000 points and $84 in taxes, plus an additional $81 each to select our preferred seats. Without using points, this flight would have cost $998 per person.

For our return flight, we managed to book Premium Economy from Naples to Seattle for 35,000 points plus taxes. Remarkably, booking this flight without points would have cost $3,213 each! We’re excited to share our upcoming experience flying Premium Economy—early reviews suggest it offers significant recline, perhaps a bit too much for the person behind you.

Cost Breakdown and Savings

Overall, we used 110,000 points (valued at $1,100) and paid $864 in taxes and fees for two tickets, saving us over $8,422 in airfare. This journey not only allowed us to explore some of Italy’s most enchanting destinations but also demonstrated the incredible value of strategic point usage and planning.

Stay tuned for more details and tips from our Italian adventure!