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Award Trip Reports: Turkey and Georgia

Points and Miles is my favorite game…

Everyone Values Points and Miles Differently

Everyone in the points and miles game has heard of CPP (cents per point). This is the most common metric to measure the value of your redemptions. A general rule of thumb is that a transferrable point is worth at minimum 1 cent, and that you should be getting far higher value than that with your award bookings.

I agree with this to an extent, but how much higher should you be getting? Many points and miles enthusiasts would never make a redemption if they weren’t getting over 2cpp. To make this happen you often need to book Business Class flights and luxury hotels – burning through an incredible amount of points on a single holiday.

My metric is a little different. I want to take my family on two big holidays every year that we’d otherwise not be able to afford. I want my points and miles to cover all of our flights and hotel rooms so that we have more cash to spend on activities and great food. This means that we are usually flying Economy and staying in mid-range hotels – and occasionally a bit of luxury mixed in.

Big Family Holiday to Turkey and Georgia

Planning this holiday has been in the works for several months. Once I figured out specifically where we wanted to go and how long we wanted to stay there, the next step was to find the best award flights and hotels for my family of 4.

Flights Penang to Istanbul x 3 round trip tickets:

  • Airline: Singapore Airlines

  • Award Program: Krisflyer

  • Points/Miles: 174,000 Capital One Reward Miles

  • Fees: $178

  • Infant on Lap: $163

I earned the Capital One Reward Miles from 3 credit card signup bonus (SUBs) and by referring 2 credit cards:

  • Capital One Venture One – 20,000 SUB
  • Capital One Venture Rewards – 75,000 SUB
  • Cash Value: $2,521

Flights Istanbul to Tbilisi x 3 round trip tickets:

  • Airline: Turkish Airlines

  • Award Program: United MileagePlus

  • Points/Miles: 48,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points

  • Fees: $190 (including Infant on Lap)

I earned the Chase Ultimate Reward Points from the signup bonus for this credit card:

  • Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card

  • Cash Value $1,010

IHG Hotels in Georgia:

  • Holiday Inn Tbilisi – 1 night

  • Points: 19,000

  • Holiday Inn Telavi – 2 nights

  • Points: 29,000

  • Holiday Inn Express Tbilisi – 4 nights

  • Points: 37,000

  • Total IHG Points: 85,000

I earned the IHG points from the signup bonus for this credit card:

As an IHG cardmember I’m entitled to the 4th award night for free when booking 4 consecutive nights. I chose the Holiday Inn Express over the Holiday Inn due to its’ proximity to tourist sites and the free breakfast – saving me money on travel and food.

Marriott Bonvoy Hotels in Turkey:

  • St. Regis Istanbul – 5 nights

  • Points: 5 x 50k Free Night Certificates

  • Cash Value: $3,200

This is where you see me mix in a little bit of luxury. In this case, I earned 5 FNCs (Free Night Certificates) from the sign up bonus for the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card.

  • Sheraton Hotel Bursa – 1 night

  • Points: 14,500 Bonvoy Points

  • Cash Value $162

Lounge Access Everywhere

I always planned on getting the Venture X before this trip. We will be departing or transiting in airports a total of 6 times during this trip. I will be travelling with my wife, 3-year-old daughter, and 10-month-old daughter. Having unlimited lounge access will provide us much needed comfort and save us a ton of cash on meals, drinks and snacks. I’ve checked lounges at each airport using Priority Pass app, and all of them accept children under 2 or 3 for free – perfect for my family!

The Capital One Venture X

  • Priority Pass – Lounge Access for myself and 2 guests

  • 75,000 Signup Bonus

  • 10,000 Anniversary Bonus

  • Travel Insurance

  • Primary Auto Rental Insurance

  • $300 Annual Travel Credit

  • Annual Fee $395

Capital One Venture X

As we will be renting a car in Georgia, the Venture X will save us a chunk of cash on auto rental insurance. The card also covers our travel insurance. The anniversary bonus and annual travel credit literally pay for the annual fee. The sign up bonus and lounge access is icing on the cake. There is a reason I timed getting this card.

Conclusion

The total redemption value of this trip is over $7,580. In fees, taxes, and charges for Infant on Lap I’ve paid exactly $531. If you factor in the free meals and drinks at airport lounges the value goes up even further.

As I’ve been planning this trip, I’ve continued to earn more points and miles, and now I’m ready to start planning my next vacation. Should I take my family to the USA to visit family? Or Spain, Portugal, and Morocco? Or Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan? Decisions…. decisions….

If you have thoughts about where I should go next or have questions about how to go wherever you’d like to go, email me at mark@awardhunter.com