How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points
Lisbon is one of those cities where using credit card points actually makes sense. Flights are attainable on points without extreme gymnastics, hotel prices stack well with card benefits, and the overall cash costs stay reasonable even after taxes and fees.
Here’s exactly how we booked our trip to Lisbon using credit card points — what worked, what cost cash, and why I’d use this same approach again.
Booking Flights to Lisbon with Points
For airfare, we booked Air France economy using transferable points.
We combined points from two programs:
- Capital One Venture X: 59,000 points
- Citi Strata Premier: 19,000 points
All points were transferred to Flying Blue (Air France / KLM) to make the booking.
The total cost for two tickets was 78,000 points, or 39,000 points per person.
There were taxes and fees of $407.50 total, coming out to roughly $203 per person. While not free, this is typical for Europe award flights and still represented strong value.
The same flights were pricing at about $1,873 in cash, which put this redemption at roughly 2.4 cents per point. For economy airfare to Europe, that’s a solid return without needing long‑haul business class redemptions.
Why this worked well
- Flying Blue has frequent availability to Lisbon via Paris or Amsterdam
- Capital One and Citi points both transfer easily
- Economy awards keep fees and complexity lower
Choosing a Hotel in Lisbon Using Credit Card Benefits
Instead of booking a hotel fully on points, we took a different approach and leaned into credit card benefits.
We stayed at the DUO Hotel Lisbon, Curio Collection by Hilton, booked using the American Express Platinum Hotel Collection benefit through Andrea’s card.
The Hotel Collection requires a two‑night minimum stay, which worked perfectly for our itinerary.
Hotel Costs Breakdown
- Two‑night stay: $642.66
- Amex Hotel Collection statement credit: $300
- Out‑of‑pocket cost: $342.66
On top of that, we had Hilton Gold status, which added meaningful value:
- Free daily breakfast
- A couple of complimentary drinks
- $100 food and beverage credit
These perks easily offset much of the remaining out‑of‑pocket cost and made the stay feel significantly more premium than what we actually paid.
Why We Didn’t Use Hotel Points This Time
Lisbon has good points hotels, but in this case, using the Amex Hotel Collection made more sense.
Between:
- Cash rates that weren’t inflated
- A guaranteed $300 statement credit
- On‑property credits and breakfast
- Hilton Gold recognition
This approach preserved hotel points for higher‑value redemptions elsewhere while still extracting strong total value from the stay.
This is a good reminder that points aren’t always the best answer — sometimes stacking credits and status benefits wins.
Total Trip Cost Snapshot
Here’s how the trip looked when everything was added up:
Flights
- 78,000 transferable points
- $407.50 in taxes and fees
Hotel
- $642.66 total
- $300 Amex statement credit
- $342.66 out‑of‑pocket
- Additional value from breakfast, drinks, and food credit
We didn’t eliminate cash entirely, but we drastically reduced the overall cost while still flying a major airline and staying at a quality hotel in a central location.
Final Thoughts
Lisbon is a great example of how credit card points work best when you stay flexible.
Instead of chasing a single “perfect” redemption, this trip combined:
- Strategic points transfers for flights
- Credit card statement credits
- Hotel elite benefits
The result was a trip that felt well‑planned and high value without being overcomplicated.
If I were booking Lisbon again, I’d start the same way — transferable points for flights, then evaluate whether hotel points or credit card benefits make more sense based on pricing.
