If you were looking for Round 1, I've been behind in posting so hopefully will get that up soon! In 2023 we planned a long weekend to Porto with friends and since I had a class to take in Lisbon this year, we planned Round 2 to Lisbon.
While I definitely want to visit Portugal in the summer at some point, I've very much enjoyed traveling in January as the weather is much closer to our spring weather, the crowds are not bad, and flights and hotels are cheap. Prior to Lisbon, we stopped for 2 days in London and I was able to book a one-way Economy flight on Air France for just 11,250 points. We used Hilton points in London to stay at one of my favorite hotels, the Conrad London. We paid for a one-way flight to Lisbon from London on TAP Portugal which was quite cheap (and counts toward United Status). In Lisbon I took advantage of a couple expiring Marriott free night certificates at the Memmo Príncipe Real. Coming home, I was originally booked in business on Iberia but due to a schedule change was able to switch to British Airways business without having to pay the usually exorbitant surcharges.
Itinerary (Per Person)
Air France Economy ORD-CDG-LHR: 11,250 Citi Points (transferred to Flying Blue) +$84 (one-way)
2 nights at Conrad London St. James: 154,000 Hilton Points
TAP Portugal Economy LHR-LIS: $107 (one-way)
4 nights at Memmo Príncipe Real: 60,000 Marriott Points + 2 Free Night (35k) Certificates
British Airways Business LIS-LHR-ORD: 30,000 AMEX Points (transferred to Iberia with 30% bonus) + $186
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte - Lisbon 2024
Air France Economy ORD-CDG-LHR
Redemption: 11,250 Citi Points (transferred to Flying Blue) + $84 (one-way)
Cash Price: $674 (5.2 cents/point)
While I've heard good things about Air France's business product, I haven't yet had the chance to fly it, although I've flown Economy a couple times which has been a pretty straightforward Economy experience. The seats are tight and the food is not great but it gets you there.
Flying Blue is the rewards program for Air France and KLM and is a bit of a strange one due to the fact that rewards vary so much. I've seen business rewards listed for over 600,000 points - are people actually paying this? On the flip side I've gotten incredible Economy rewards such as this flight to London for only 11,250 points. It's pretty difficult to even get a domestic flight for that cheap.
Each month Flying Blue releases promotions for various origination cities and by snagging one of these promos you can get an amazing deal on a flight to Europe. The process is quite straightforward and you can transfer points to Flying Blue from Citi, Chase, AMEX, and Capital One (sometimes with a transfer bonus as well). Simply search your flights on the Air France or KLM website and book online.
I will say my experience with Air France customer service has been very good overall as well - very little wait time and agents that most of the time are quite competent.
Conrad London St. James
Conrad London St. James - London 2021
Redemption: 154,000 Hilton Points (2 nights)
Cash Price: $880 (0.6 cents/point)
The Conrad London St. James is one of my favorite hotels in the world - it's hard to say exactly why because it's not the absolute nicest hotel I've stayed at (although it is still very nice). Every time I arrive at the hotel it just feels very good to arrive. Maybe it's due to some associations made in the past, but the service is always great and I just love how quiet the hallways and rooms feel. You can read my full review here.
A lot of people will talk about Hilton points are worthless but in my opinion I feel they are more valuable than Marriott. Although Hilton does have dynamic award pricing, for many luxury brand hotels the standard rooms cap at 80,000 points which can still represent incredible value.
TAP Portugal Economy LHR-LIS
Redemption: $107 (one-way)
TAP Portugal is Portugal's National Airline based in Lisbon and is part of the Star Alliance Network. Ive flown them a few times when traveling to Portugal and had a very standard experience. On my prevoius flights with them I remember being the only Star Alliance Gold member boarding and getting upgrades from my status, although on this flight we did not get upgraded.
Memmo Príncipe Real
City View Room with Terrace at the Memmo Príncipe Real - Lisbon 2024
Redemption: 60,000 Marriott Points + 2 Free Night (35k) Certificates (4 nights)
Cash Price: $1,159 (1.0 cents/point)
I booked the Memmo Príncipe Real because there were not a ton of points hotel options in the Lisbon city center and I was able to use a couple of expiring free night certificates. You can read my full review here.
This boutique hotel turned out to be a real gem for the price as it was located in the Bairro Alto neighborhood, but was a bit off the street so was very quiet and sat on a hill overlooking the city. The rooms were a bit tight, but they definitely made up for it by providing several different welcome drinks.
While I only use the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card exclusively for Marriott spend, I renew the card each year for $95 as I definitely get use out of the free night certificate that it comes with at hotels such as this one.
British Airways Business
British Airways First Lounge - London Heathrow 2024
Redemption: 30,000 AMEX Points (transferred to Iberia with 30% bonus) + $186 (one-way)
Cash Price: $2,372 (7.3 cents/point)
This was my first time flying British Airways and while I've read the old business class product is quite outdated, the new product I had the chance to fly was overall very good. You can read my full review here.
British Airways often has good deals with points, but charges such high surcharges (often $1,000+) it turns these deals into not so good deals. Plus, as part of the Oneworld Alliance there wouldn't be much opportunity for me to fly them (I stick with Star Alliance as much as possible).
Originally, I had booked a business class flight out of Lisbon on Iberia via Madrid. However, due to a schedule change about a month prior, I was able to switch onto British Airways at no extra cost. To top it all off, I had a 3-month promo where I was given American Airlines Platinum status because of my Hyatt status. This promo happened to expire the day after my British Airways flight so I was actually able to get into the first class lounge with this status.
Trip Booking Summary
11,250 Citi Points
30,000 AMEX Points
60,000 Marriott Points
154,000 Hilton Points
2 Marriott Free Night (35k) Certs
$377
Traveling to Portugal in January the last couple years has been a great use of points as there are some incredible deals available in the offseason. In this case, the Economy options available to fly to Europe were cheaper than pretty much any domestic flight option, especially traveling to a warmer climate.