Wanderlust Chronicles

Traveling in style doesn't always have to come with a hefty price tag. By leveraging credit card points and transfer bonuses, I was able to fly business class to Oslo, returning from Amsterdam, while staying at amazing hotels along the way—all while saving thousands of dollars. Here’s a breakdown of how I made this incredible trip happen using points.

Flying Business Class with Air France Using AmEx Points

For my flight from Chicago to Oslo, I took advantage of a limited-time transfer bonus from American Express to Air France/KLM Flying Blue. At the time, AmEx was offering a 25% transfer bonus, which meant that for every 1,000 AmEx points I transferred, I’d receive 1,250 points in my Flying Blue account. 

This bonus opened up a great opportunity to fly business class without breaking the bank. This was, however, in September of 2023, and I was looking to travel in summer 2024. Because I know that booking in advance can often work to my advantage, I decided to start looking early. I wanted to go in July, but found availability for August 2024. Because there was no strong reason for me to go in July, I went ahead and booked this great deal.

Here’s how I did it:

• I found a business class flight (with lie-flat seats) from Chicago to Oslo for only 56,500 Flying Blue points per person. (Flying Blue is the points program for Air France and KLM).
• With the 25% transfer bonus, I only needed 45,200 AmEx Membership Rewards points to book the flight—an incredible deal for a business class experience on a long-haul flight! However, keep in mind you can only transfer over American Express Membership Rewards Points in 1,000 point increments. So, you cannot transfer over 45,200 points. If you have no other points, you would need to transfer over 46,000 points. Because I was booking for two, I needed a total of 90,400 points. Therefore, I transferred over 91,000 points for two people from Chicago to Norway.

One thing to note: I had to book a separate flight from my home airport in Las Vegas to Chicago. This is known as a "repositioning flight"—a tactic where you fly to a different city to take advantage of a cheaper or more convenient deal. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of repositioning flights since I can often find good deals out of Las Vegas (especially on KLM), but in this case, the savings were worth it.

If I had flown from Las Vegas directly, the flight would have cost 70,000 points per person (with the same bonus), so by repositioning to Chicago, I saved 41,000 points (for two people).

Staying in Oslo with Citi Points

After scoring an incredible deal on my flights, I turned my attention to finding a hotel. Because of my points, I do focus on luxury hotels where I can make them happen. In Oslo, I stayed at The Thief hotel, a high-end hotel that’s part of the Choice Hotels network. Thanks to my Citi credit card points, I was able to book three nights at this beautiful property for $0 out-of-pocket.

Here’s how I used my points to book this hotel:

• The Thief hotel required 20,000 Choice points per night.
• Citi is a transfer partner of Choice Hotels, and transfers at a 1:2 ratio. This means that for every 1,000 Citi points you transfer, you’ll receive 2,000 Choice points!
• So, to book my stay at The Thief, I only needed to transfer 10,000 Citi points per night. For a three-night stay, that came out to just 30,000 Citi points in total!

Considering that rooms at The Thief can easily go for $400+ per night, using just 30,000 points for a stay that would have cost over $1,200 was a fantastic deal.

Staying in Alesund with Citi Points

During my trip to Ålesund, Norway, I stayed at the Quality Hotel Ålesund for three nights, once again leveraging Citi points. This hotel, like The Thief in Oslo, required 20,000 Choice points per night, so I only needed to transfer 10,000 Citi points per night at the 1:2 transfer ratio. While the hotel wasn’t as luxurious as The Thief, it had its own charm, offering a beautiful water view and a prime location within walking distance to several shops and restaurants. 

The convenience of the location made it a great home base for exploring Ålesund.

This hotel would’ve only cost $182.87/ night, so I didn’t get nearly as much value. However, I had the Choice points in my account already, so I felt this was worth it. 

If you would like to look at another option, the Quality Hotel Waterfront Alesund is 16,000 points/ night and has great reviews, it just wasn’t available for my stay.

Staying in Bergen with Hyatt Points

In Bergen, we stayed at the Opus XVI, a Small Luxury Hotel that was part of Hyatt’s portfolio when I booked. I used only 15,000 Hyatt points per night for this luxurious stay, which was an incredible deal since rooms start at $350/night. We were able to transfer our points over from Chase Ultimate Rewards, only because it was a Hyatt property when we booked.

As a Hyatt Globalist, we also enjoyed an amazing breakfast buffet, which was a mix of buffet and a limited à la carte menu, making the experience even more amazing. Although Opus XVI is no longer bookable with Hyatt points due to the end of the Chase partnership with Small Luxury Hotels, it can now be booked through Hilton. 

If you have Hilton points, you can transfer them from American Express to secure your stay at this stunning property if it makes sense. (Remember, with Hilton, you get the 5th night free if you book with points and have Silver status or higher).

Staying in Amsterdam with Hyatt Points

During our time in Amsterdam, we stayed at the Andaz Amsterdam using 29,000 Hyatt points per night for four nights. Again, we were able to transfer our points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt. For those traveling in the off-season, this hotel can be booked for as little as 25,000 points per night, which is a fantastic deal given the luxury of the property and its prime location. 

Thanks to our Globalist status, we also enjoyed an incredible free breakfast, which was served in a beautiful room surrounded by garden views. The breakfast featured a wonderful combination of buffet and à la carte options, adding to the overall experience of this luxury stay.

Flying Business Class with KLM Using AmEx Points

For our flight home, we booked through Flying Blue as well during the same transfer bonus. A business class flight on KLM from Bergen to Las Vegas (with a stopover in Amsterdam) would have cost 75,000 points per person, but I wanted a few more days to my vacation. KLM has a stopover program that allows a free stopover, but it requires finding saver availability on both travel dates, which can be tricky. 

Booking a direct flight from Amsterdam to Las Vegas was priced at 100,000 points, so booking a cheap flight to Amsterdam and flying from there wasn’t a great option. Instead, I called KLM and spoke to an agent who was able to get a quote for flying from Bergen to Las Vegas with a 4-day stopover in Amsterdam for 90,000 points per person. Thanks to the transfer bonus, that meant I only needed to transfer 72,000 AmEx Membership Rewards points per person (which was a great deal)! I transferred the points on the spot and they transferred immediately, so the agent was able to book both flights for us while still on the phone. 

As a bonus, my mother flew out to join us in Amsterdam, and two days before the flight, I was able to upgrade her to business class for only 50,000 points since availability had opened on the Amsterdam to Las Vegas non-stop flight with KLM! I accomplished this by simply checking. I had checked countless times before the trip with no luck, but immediately before the flight, availability at 50,000 points on the flight opened up!

Getting From Oslo to Alesund to Bergen

The most obvious mode of transportation to get to different areas in Norway is the train. I've seen tons of content, and read plenty of blogs, about the beauty of the train ride. The train between Oslo and Bergen is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world! However, we had limited time. Taking the train to/from each location would've taken a full day. So, we opted to take short flights (around 40 minutes each). This part we did pay for out-of-pocket since the points value didn't make sense. 

As an example, we flew SAS, the points price from Oslo to Bergen would've been 15,000 points/ person + $50. Instead, we paid $236. However, if you're willing to fly at an inconvenient time, you can get it for less. At the time, I saw an early flight for 7,000 points! Note, this may vary now since SAS has changed from Star Alliance to SkyTeam. This does mean you can look on SkyTeam partner sites (like Air France/ KLM) to book SAS flights.

Key Takeaways for Booking Trips with Points

1. Book Early: I got this by booking early. If you have flexibility, booking last minute can work in your favor as well (as you saw with my mom’s flight). You often find the best deals on points flights when booking very early, or very last-minute. Because I do not have last minute flexibility and want to ensure I’m flying business class, I book my flights early. If you’re willing to gamble, or have more flexibility, then booking last-minute can definitely work in your favor.
2. Have Flexibility: Having flexibility can be key for finding great deals on flights. As you saw here, willing to fly out a full month later than I initially wanted saved me a TON of points. This definitely works with my "booking very far in advance" strategy because I can simply plan around my vacations.
3. Keep an eye out for transfer bonuses: The 25% bonus I received from AmEx to Flying Blue made a huge difference in how many points I needed for my flight. Transfer bonuses can stretch your points further, so always be on the lookout for these promotions. At the same time, unless you’re incredibly flexible, I wouldn’t save my points until a bonus comes around. You never know when they’re going to come. The biggest thing to remember is to book when you find the deal.
4. Consider repositioning flights: While it’s not always convenient, repositioning to a different airport can sometimes save you a significant number of points. In my case, flying from Chicago instead of Las Vegas saved me 41,000 points.
5. Know who your points transfer (and at what ratio): Here, I used three different Credit Card points to make this happen. AmEx Membership Rewards got us our flights, Citi Thank You points got us our hotels in Oslo and Alesund (where there were no Hyatt hotels at the time), and our Chase Ultimate Rewards got us our hotels in Bergen and Amsterdam. Knowing about Citi’s 1:2 transfer ratio with Choice Hotels was a game-changer. By using only 10,000 points per night, I was able to stay at a luxury hotel for a fraction of the price. Whenever looking to use your points, always use a transfer chart like mine you can find HERE.

By being strategic with how I transferred and redeemed my points, I was able to experience the comfort of business class and the luxury of a high-end hotel, all while minimizing out-of-pocket costs. If you're a points and miles enthusiast or just getting started, these strategies can help you travel in style without breaking the bank.

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