Europe for Free, Well Almost

So it’s the holidays and my office just happens to be closed from Christmas to New Year’s, so what’s a Traveling Hillbilly to do? Well travel, of course.

So you hear all the time about how people fly to these great places “all on points.” I’ve heard about some supposedly great trips that were all paid points or miles. Are these stories really true or are they just urban legends? Can you really have a great vacation using only airlines miles or reward points? The Traveling Hillbilly decided to test this theory out and share the experience of this supposedly “free” vacation with all my fellow travelers.

First task – Decide on a Destination
How about Amsterdam and London during the holidays? This is where all those American Express and Starwood points from all my prior travels should start to come in handy. I hop online to see if I can really book flights from LA to Amsterdam and London during the holidays without forking over a fortune. The Traveling Hillbilly finds success! LA to London round trip, on Virgin no less (one of the Traveling Hillbilly’s favorites) then roundtrip from London to Amsterdam, all paid with American Express points. Gotta love two RT international tickets and no big bill to pay!

Next up- Find a place to stay. I hop on to spg.com to look for Starwood hotels. Unfortunately no good Starwood options in Amsterdam. But, how about five (5) nights in London at Le Meridien, Piccadilly for free? Can’t beat that! So far the Traveling Hillbilly is off to a good start. Maybe these stories really aren’t urban legends after all.

So how will this all play out? Will the Traveling Hillbilly get bumped from an oversold plane? Or will I arrive at the hotel only to find, there really isn’t a room available? Only time will tell and you’ll have to follow the adventures here at www.travelinghillbilly.blogspot.com to find out!