How a mother and her son went to Europe and back, all for points

Some gifts come wrapped in a ribbon or bow, but for Pam Brodsky, her son’s last birthday gift included champagne, mimosas, and hot towels. “My mom said she gave birth to me and paid for me for 18 years,” laughed Andrew Brodsky, a 29-year-old consultant who lives in New York City. “Now that I’m an adult with a real income, I owed him a fun trip for his 60th birthday.”

Andrew’s mother’s request was simple and delightfully specific: visit Europe for the first time, with a reclining seat to get there and back.

Andrew and Pam are an experienced mother and son travel duo. Since the former’s college graduation, they’ve made annual summer adventures a tradition. One year, it was a Taylor Swift concert in Los Angeles. Another time, it was a road trip from Seattle to the family ranch in Arkansas. In fact, Pam is no novice traveler: she visited 47 states, took multiple cross-country trips, and experienced many domestic flights, as well as some to Canada and Mexico.

Until last summer, I had never crossed the Atlantic. This is how Andrew made it happen: in elegant business class and all for points.

How did they reserve it?

In the spring, Andrew was scrolling through Instagram when he learned about the availability of business class awards on a one-way American Airlines route from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Naples, Italy (NAP). At that time it was a new flight route. Award seats are typically rare in the peak summer period, so he was quick to use that find as the backbone of the trip for the rest of the itinerary. To book, Andrew used 55,000 Alaska Airlines miles per person.

The first flight booked was in one direction, from the United States to Europe. The return was more complicated. Andrew and Pam were given a specific date to return to the US, making the prize hunt that much more challenging. However, Andrew took advantage of a service called dot.mewhich searches major airline programs to find the lowest price possible. (Think of it like Google Flights, but specifically for points redemptions.)

Finally, Andrew saw something interesting: Delta Air Lines business class seats from Barcelona (BCN) to New York (JFK), which could be booked through Flying Blue, Air France and KLM’s frequent flyer program. (While it was possible to book this flight directly through Delta, the cost in miles was much higher.)

Andrew booked this deal for 60,000 Flying Blue miles per person. To complete the reservation, you transferred Capital One miles to Flying Blue. Flying Blue is a transfer partner for major credit card currencies, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

To make a transfer, you must enter your Flying Blue account information (or join for free if you don’t already have an account) on the applicable credit card’s travel page. Then all points are transferred instantly in a one-to-one ratio.

How was the experience

There’s a special kind of joy in giving someone their first stamp on a new continent, especially when you can also combine the milestone with a reclining seat. By letting the availability of the prize guide the trip planning, Andrew made a 60th birthday trip that was indulgent and memorable for his mother.

The result was not only an extension of Pam’s passport with Italy and Spain; It was a total reset of expectations. The couple landed in Naples fresh after a full night’s sleep on the outbound flight, so much so that they were immediately able to embark on a day trip to the ruins of Pompeii.

Pam now knows the joys of a leisurely flight on a long-haul plane and how good a pre-departure mimosa tastes when you’re not counting the minutes to turn back. “The hot towels they brought at the beginning were amazing,” she said, still delighted. But it was actually the privacy and space of the reclining seat that made the trip so special.

“Of course, we also loved our time on land, from ice cream in Capri to the Trevi Fountain in Rome and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona,” Pam said. The duo bought train tickets within Europe in cash, which gave the cinematic experience Pam had wanted: the countryside flashing past, espresso at the station when they arrived in Rome.

Of course, a quick trip from Rome to Barcelona requires a little more than a bullet train ride. To do this, they relied on a short flight with ITA across the Tyrrhenian Sea. “I booked us into economy class from Rome to Barcelona; I thought it was a good time to remind my mom how most people travel and how lucky she is to have me,” Andrew said.

Tips on points and miles for travelers

Being flexible is the key to finding flight deals redeemable through points and miles. “Things become much easier if you can bring your trip forward by a few days or even consider a different European gateway,” Andrew said. He did not put Italy into an existing plan; he let the availability of prizes become the plan.

Taking advantage of the right tools can also help. If you have specific dates or need to return on a certain day, a paid tool like dot.me You can “save a lot of headaches and a lot of money” by showing awards programs you might overlook.

As for future trips? Pam is already sold. “If you’re going to travel that long,” he said, “be comfortable and enjoy it.” Points and miles, carefully distributed, make the experience less of a waste and more of a strategy. And if you ask Andrew, it’s the best birthday gift a child can give.