For our short Munich stay. we chose a hotel—the Munich Marriott Hotel, which is a quick ride on public transport to old town. To maximize points earned and take advantage of his Gold Elite status, we used my dad’s Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card for this stay; for four nights, the nightly rate averaged at 290€ (about $308).
How I bought tickets to the Olympics
My family secured three tickets each to 11 events, for a total of 33 tickets. It was nearly impossible to get tickets to the most popular events, like diving, swimming, and gymnastics, so we diversified and are going to see football, basketball, and tennis, among other events. Though our seats for a football match each cost us 260€ (about $276), tickets to certain events like rowing and sailing were shockingly inexpensive, starting at just 24€ (about $25). The opening ceremonies are open to the public and will follow the Seine River, so we didn’t need to purchase any tickets. We used a Capital One Venture X card for these purchases, earning two points per dollar.
(As of publication, tickets to Olympic events are still available. For what it’s worth, though the opening ceremony is open to the public, you can purchase seats. Available tickets start at 2,700€ per person. After that, the closing ceremony has tickets available for 1,100€ per person.)
Other things of note
This will be my parents’ first time in Paris, so I want to take them to all the most famous spots. Last year, I had the opportunity to visit the Champagne region, which is just a short 45-minute high-speed train ride away from Paris. I hope to use some of my aforementioned Marriott points at La Caserne Chanzy Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection in Reims for an overnight trip and bring my parents to Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte—right now, nights are hovering around 59,000 points per night for the property, which is to be expected for a five-star hotel. A quick escape from the hustle and bustle of Paris to sip on one of the most delicious Champagnes in the world seems like a worthy use of points.
While in Paris, we will strategize which cards we use for which purchases. For example, my Marriott Bonvoy Bevy will earn four points per dollar on dining, so I’ll likely put that down at any restaurant that accepts American Express. My Citi Premier card earns three points per dollar on transit purchases, so I’ll use that card to cover our month-long Metro pass.
The bottom line
There is no doubt that a trip like this is expensive. However, points and miles can help offset the cost. Even if you can’t use your points on a booking or purchase, you can strategize the amount you earn to help offset future travel spend.
