A Week (Euro) in Amsterdam and Paris: Planning & Booking

Introduction
Planning & Booking
British Airways 747-400 First Class Denver to London
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow
British Airways A320 Club World London to Amsterdam
Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
Andaz Amsterdam
Thalys Comfort 1 Amsterdam to Paris
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel
Singapore Airlines A380 Suites Class Frankfurt to JFK

We're just one week out from our trip to Europe and we're both getting pretty excited.  Booking travel to Europe is generally easier than Asia.  There are tons of options to choose from both getting across the pond and transiting the continent once you're over there.  For this trip, we decided to limit the flying as much as possible to maximize our time on the ground (and because flying within Europe generally sucks).

Flights:

We are both eager to try British Airways' first class (a new addition to Denver service) direct to London.  The flight leaves around 9PM Denver time so we'll get the entire day at home to pack and relax before the flight.  We'll then continue on BA to Amsterdam after several hours at London Heathrow's Concorde Room.  I booked these flights back in October leveraging both Avios and American Airlines miles (we are booked on separate tickets).  Total cost was 84,000 Avios, 62,500 in AA miles and ~$1,000 in cash.  The BA fuel charges really suck but the cash outlay is still far cheaper than a paid (even in coach) ticket.

Within Europe, we're be flying Lufthansa from Paris to Frankfurt the night before we fly home.  Since the flight is only an hour, we spent 25,000 miles and $70 on two tickets.  In hindsight, cash probably would have been the way to go here but given our United mileage balance, we figured saving the $500 would be a good idea.

On the way home from Frankfurt, we'll be flying Singapore Airlines Suites to JFK.  This will be our fourth Singapore Airlines First Class experience and second in Suites.  We were lucky enough to snag two seats in the center of the cabin so we'll get to enjoy the famed "double bed" after a great meal and some excellent wine.  We paid 114,750 Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles (transferred in from Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express MR points) and $575 in taxes and fees (more fuel surcharges).

Singapore Airlines "double bed"

Getting home to Denver from JFK proved to be a bit of a challenge.  We'll be transiting over to La Guardia (not looking forward to this) to fly United economy home.  We paid cash for these tickets which cost $282.

We definitely spent more than we usually spend on flights.  It is great to get flights to Asia without fuel surcharges - premium cabin travel to Europe makes it a bit more challenging to do so.  I'm still pleased with our itinerary given that we are flying roundtrip first in two great products for less than the cost of a coach ticket.

Total Cost:  286,250 miles and $1,927


Trains:

Amsterdam and Paris are pretty close so flying really didn't make sense.  We were able to find Comfort One (first class) paid tickets for only $87 each.  The premium over second class was minimal (~$15) and I figured it would make for an interesting trip report.

Total cost:  $175


Hotels:

I was able to get a couple of nights at the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam at 80,000 points prior to the devaluation to 95,000 per night.  So I was pleased with that redemption.  We added a third night to our stay and needed somewhere else close to the Waldorf for the last night.  I didn't want to pay cash as rates were north of $800 USD.  The Andaz Amsterdam was available and I was able to book it for 25,000 Hyatt Gold Passport Points.  Given Hyatt's "20% off" promotion that will rebate my account 5,000 points after the stay, this was a really great deal.

In Paris, I was able to get 4 nights at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome.  I used a combination of free nights from the Chase Hyatt card and points (30,000 per night).  With the rebate, I'll get back another 12,000 Hyatt points.  Given that rates were going for north of $1,000 per night, this is still on of the most aspirational redemptions out there.

Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome paid rates

For our last night before flying home, we'll be staying at the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport where I was able to get a rate of $139.

Total Cost:  228,000 hotel points and $139

In total, we burned 514,250 miles/points and spent $2,241 in cash.  Not bad for all the flights, train transportation, and 8 hotel nights.  To compare, our most recent trip to Asia cost us 790,000 miles/points and $600 in cash.  Follow the blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates during the trip!