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Being a grad school student, I generally try and time my vacations around my school schedule. I could go whenever I want since its online, but I take my studies serious. I want to be able to fully explore my destination. Hard to do that between lectures and projects.

Amsterdam and Brussels have been on my radar for a couple of years. But it always seemed like other trips took priority.

I originally booked this Amsterdam and Belgium trip for January 2022 then postponed to February. Both cancellations were due to quarantine restrictions in the Netherlands. Finally, I rescheduled for my spring break trip.

I had nine days total for this trip. The first and last days were devoted to travel. Leaving seven days total for exploring between the two cities. I’ve never been to either. I ended up choosing to stay in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for four night and Brussels, Belgium for the remaining three.

How I Booked: Amsterdam and Brussels

Flights

Although I have a stash of American Airlines points, I had several trip vouchers from COVID cancelled trips. And while I would have preferred business class, economy cash prices were low. $800 departing from Columbus, Ohio for the multi-city trip. I was able to pool a couple of my vouchers to cover the cost.

I’ll fly AA Premium Economy to Amsterdam. Returning from Brussels, I’ll try British Airways World Traveler. That’s what they call economy. It’s been a while since I flew AA Premium Economy. That was back in 2018 to Hawaii. I’ve never experienced BA Economy.

One of the best ways to book this these flights with points is through American Airlines.

Taxes and fees will vary based on operating airline, connecting airports and class of service.

AA doesn’t partner with any flexible currencies. The easiest way to earn AA miles is through Citi and Barclays cards.

Hotels

For this trip, I’m staying at three different hotels. Two Hyatt’s and one Marriott.

In Amsterdam, I will be staying at Hyatt Regency Amsterdam and Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht. Both will allow me to take advantage of my Hyatt Globalist status. This gets me early/late checkout, suite upgrades and free breakfast. All things I highly value.

Cash rates at the Hyatt Regency Amsterdam were averaging $308 while the Andaz was around $477 each night. Both cash prices out of my price range.

The Hyatt Regency Amsterdam is a Category 4 property. This previously was a Category 5 hotel. This change occurred on March 22 which was literally the day after my stay. I unfortunately wasn’t able to save any points during my stay.  

I stayed two nights here. Each for 20,000 World of Hyatt points. My stay cost 40,000 Hyatt points.

The Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht is a Category 6 hotel.

There was standard room availability during my stay. Each night cost 25,000 WOH points for a total of 50,000 points.

World of Hyatt points are easy to earn. There are two cobranded cards with Chase, a personal and a business. Hyatt is also a Chase transfer partner. Meaning all Ultimate Rewards earning cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred can be used towards Hyatt stays.

In Brussels, I’ll be enjoying the Brussels Marriott Hotel Grand Place. I would have preferred a Hyatt. But there aren’t currently any in Brussels. There are some Small Luxury Hotels in Bruges and Antwerp. But I didn’t really care for them. There are many other Marriott’s in the city, but I’ve had my eye on this one for a bit.

Cash prices were high at around $272 each night. Luckily, I still have a stash of Marriott Bonvoy points from my time as a Marriott fan.

When I originally started putting this trip together, all nights were pricing at peak pricing. I only had around 100,000 Bonvoy points plus a 35K free night award. When Marriott announced the ability to top off free night awards with points, I was excited. That meant I was able to make this stay happen. That didn’t materialize until after my stay.

I did keep checking back though and pricing changed. One night dropped down to 35,000 points. I used 80,000 points plus the 35K free night award.

Marriott points are also easy to earn. They partner with both Chase and American Express for cobranded personal and business cards. While you could transfer from Chase and American Express, I wouldn’t recommend it. Stick to the cobranded cards.

How I Booked: Amsterdam and Brussels Bottom Line

Hotels alone would have cost $2,767.38 for seven nights. Instead, I’m using 90,000 World of Hyatt points and 80,000 Bonvoy points plus a free night award. Taxes are covered by points. None of these hotels have resort fees. But I wouldn’t pay them when using Hyatt points anyways.

Premium Economy flights usually go for three to four thousand dollars. Way more than I’m willing to pay.

In all this was a potentially $5,000 nine-day vacation. Thankfully, points and miles to the rescue. I’m reviewing all these hotels plus most if not all of the flights. Stay tuned for those reviews.

Let me know your thoughts on these redemptions in the comments.

These opinions in this article are the author’s not those of a bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.