{"id":849,"date":"2026-04-24T17:57:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T00:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/?p=849"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:57:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T00:57:33","slug":"how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/","title":{"rendered":"How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s exactly how we booked our trip to Lisbon using credit card points \u2014 what worked, what cost cash, and why I\u2019d use this same approach again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e7WcWp_jTts?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Booking Flights to Lisbon with Points<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For airfare, we booked <strong>Air France economy<\/strong> using transferable points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We combined points from two programs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Capital One Venture X:<\/strong> 59,000 points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Citi Strata Premier:<\/strong> 19,000 points<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All points were transferred to <strong>Flying Blue (Air France \/ KLM)<\/strong> to make the booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The total cost for two tickets was <strong>78,000 points<\/strong>, or <strong>39,000 points per person<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were <strong>taxes and fees of $407.50 total<\/strong>, coming out to roughly <strong>$203 per person<\/strong>. While not free, this is typical for Europe award flights and still represented strong value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same flights were pricing at about <strong>$1,873 in cash<\/strong>, which put this redemption at roughly <strong>2.4 cents per point<\/strong>. For economy airfare to Europe, that\u2019s a solid return without needing long\u2011haul business class redemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why this worked well<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Flying Blue has frequent availability to Lisbon via Paris or Amsterdam<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Capital One and Citi points both transfer easily<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Economy awards keep fees and complexity lower<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Choosing a Hotel in Lisbon Using Credit Card Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of booking a hotel fully on points, we took a different approach and leaned into <strong>credit card benefits<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We stayed at the <strong>DUO Hotel Lisbon, Curio Collection by Hilton<\/strong>, booked using the <strong>American Express Platinum Hotel Collection benefit<\/strong> through Andrea\u2019s card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hotel Collection requires a <strong>two\u2011night minimum stay<\/strong>, which worked perfectly for our itinerary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"851\" src=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-851\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-1140x1520.jpeg 1140w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3331-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"854\" src=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-1140x1520.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3333-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"852\" src=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-1140x1520.jpeg 1140w, https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3389-scaled.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hotel Costs Breakdown<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Two\u2011night stay: <strong>$642.66<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amex Hotel Collection statement credit: <strong>$300<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Out\u2011of\u2011pocket cost: <strong>$342.66<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>On top of that, we had <strong>Hilton Gold status<\/strong>, which added meaningful value:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free daily breakfast<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A couple of complimentary drinks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>$100 food and beverage credit<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These perks easily offset much of the remaining out\u2011of\u2011pocket cost and made the stay feel significantly more premium than what we actually paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why We Didn\u2019t Use Hotel Points This Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lisbon has good points hotels, but in this case, using the Amex Hotel Collection made more sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cash rates that weren\u2019t inflated<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A guaranteed $300 statement credit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On\u2011property credits and breakfast<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hilton Gold recognition<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach preserved hotel points for higher\u2011value redemptions elsewhere while still extracting strong total value from the stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a good reminder that <strong>points aren\u2019t always the best answer<\/strong> \u2014 sometimes stacking credits and status benefits wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Total Trip Cost Snapshot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how the trip looked when everything was added up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Flights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>78,000 transferable points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$407.50 in taxes and fees<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hotel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>$642.66 total<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$300 Amex statement credit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$342.66 out\u2011of\u2011pocket<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional value from breakfast, drinks, and food credit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lisbon is a great example of how credit card points work best when you stay flexible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of chasing a single \u201cperfect\u201d redemption, this trip combined:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strategic points transfers for flights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Credit card statement credits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hotel elite benefits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The result was a trip that felt well\u2011planned and high value without being overcomplicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If I were booking Lisbon again, I\u2019d start the same way \u2014 transferable points for flights, then evaluate whether hotel points or credit card benefits make more sense based on pricing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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\u2019s exactly how we booked our trip to Lisbon using credit card points \u2014 what worked, what cost cash, and why I\u2019d 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: 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\u2019s a solid return without needing long\u2011haul business class redemptions. Why this worked well 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\u2019s card. The Hotel Collection requires a two\u2011night minimum stay, which worked perfectly for our itinerary. Hotel Costs Breakdown On top of that, we had Hilton Gold status, which added meaningful value: These perks easily offset much of the remaining out\u2011of\u2011pocket cost and made the stay feel significantly more premium than what we actually paid. Why We Didn\u2019t Use Hotel Points This Time Lisbon has good points hotels, but in this case, using the Amex Hotel Collection made more sense. Between: This approach preserved hotel points for higher\u2011value redemptions elsewhere while still extracting strong total value from the stay. This is a good reminder that points aren\u2019t always the best answer \u2014 sometimes stacking credits and status benefits wins. Total Trip Cost Snapshot Here\u2019s how the trip looked when everything was added up: Flights Hotel We didn\u2019t 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 \u201cperfect\u201d redemption, this trip combined: The result was a trip that felt well\u2011planned and high value without being overcomplicated. If I were booking Lisbon again, I\u2019d start the same way \u2014 transferable points for flights, then evaluate whether hotel points or credit card benefits make more sense based on pricing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,13,15,16,22],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-credit-card","tag-hotel","tag-points","tag-travel","tag-travel-points"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points - Seattle Travel Points Club<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points - Seattle Travel Points Club\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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\u2019s exactly how we booked our trip to Lisbon using credit card points \u2014 what worked, what cost cash, and why I\u2019d 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: 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\u2019s a solid return without needing long\u2011haul business class redemptions. Why this worked well 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\u2019s card. The Hotel Collection requires a two\u2011night minimum stay, which worked perfectly for our itinerary. Hotel Costs Breakdown On top of that, we had Hilton Gold status, which added meaningful value: These perks easily offset much of the remaining out\u2011of\u2011pocket cost and made the stay feel significantly more premium than what we actually paid. Why We Didn\u2019t Use Hotel Points This Time Lisbon has good points hotels, but in this case, using the Amex Hotel Collection made more sense. Between: This approach preserved hotel points for higher\u2011value redemptions elsewhere while still extracting strong total value from the stay. This is a good reminder that points aren\u2019t always the best answer \u2014 sometimes stacking credits and status benefits wins. Total Trip Cost Snapshot Here\u2019s how the trip looked when everything was added up: Flights Hotel We didn\u2019t 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 \u201cperfect\u201d redemption, this trip combined: The result was a trip that felt well\u2011planned and high value without being overcomplicated. If I were booking Lisbon again, I\u2019d start the same way \u2014 transferable points for flights, then evaluate whether hotel points or credit card benefits make more sense based on pricing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Seattle Travel Points Club\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T00:57:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T00:57:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3466-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"seattletravelpointsclub.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"seattletravelpointsclub.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/\",\"name\":\"How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points - 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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\u2019s exactly how we booked our trip to Lisbon using credit card points \u2014 what worked, what cost cash, and why I\u2019d 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: 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\u2019s a solid return without needing long\u2011haul business class redemptions. Why this worked well 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\u2019s card. The Hotel Collection requires a two\u2011night minimum stay, which worked perfectly for our itinerary. Hotel Costs Breakdown On top of that, we had Hilton Gold status, which added meaningful value: These perks easily offset much of the remaining out\u2011of\u2011pocket cost and made the stay feel significantly more premium than what we actually paid. Why We Didn\u2019t Use Hotel Points This Time Lisbon has good points hotels, but in this case, using the Amex Hotel Collection made more sense. Between: This approach preserved hotel points for higher\u2011value redemptions elsewhere while still extracting strong total value from the stay. This is a good reminder that points aren\u2019t always the best answer \u2014 sometimes stacking credits and status benefits wins. Total Trip Cost Snapshot Here\u2019s how the trip looked when everything was added up: Flights Hotel We didn\u2019t 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 \u201cperfect\u201d redemption, this trip combined: The result was a trip that felt well\u2011planned and high value without being overcomplicated. If I were booking Lisbon again, I\u2019d start the same way \u2014 transferable points for flights, then evaluate whether hotel points or credit card benefits make more sense based on pricing.","og_url":"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/","og_site_name":"Seattle Travel Points Club","article_published_time":"2026-04-25T00:57:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-25T00:57:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3466-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"seattletravelpointsclub.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"seattletravelpointsclub.com","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/","url":"https:\/\/seattletravelpointsclub.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/how-we-booked-a-trip-to-lisbon-using-credit-card-points\/","name":"How We Booked a Trip to Lisbon Using Credit Card Points - 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