I Planned My Trip to the Paris Olympics to Rack Up Points and Miles—Here's How

18.04.2024 - 20:51 / cntraveler.com / Summer Olympics / Delta I (I) / Paris Olympics

As a full-time digital nomad, I like to follow the sun: I spend part of the year enjoying summer in South America and the other part spending summer in Europe. This year, however, European summer will look slightly different, as Paris is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics. Knowing I’d already be in Europe, there was no way I could miss an event of this caliber.

For a travel and credit card rewards writer, this felt like a challenge—how could I make a trip like this accessible with points and miles? My parents were eager to join me, and we’ve spent the last 13 months planning an unforgettable summer. Following dozens of FaceTime calls, hours of strategizing, and multiple credit cards in heavy rotation, we’ve finally solidified a month-long trip to France and Germany, with tickets to 11 Olympic Events and an Adele concert along the way.

Below, I'll outline my credit card and points and miles strategy for booking a summer in Europe around the Olympics, with tips shared along the way.

Delta One

I am currently based in Lima, Peru. I’ve been traveling throughout South America for the past six months, but my time eating my weight in ceviche will end on May 30 when I fly nonstop on Iberia Airlines from Lima to Madrid. To book my one-way economy flight, I transferred 25,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to the Iberia Plus frequent flyer program.

There, I’ll spend over a month and a half in the Spanish capital before flying to Paris. I’m a Capital One Venture X cardholder, so I used part of my $300 annual statement credit for travel booked through Capital One Travel to purchase a $159 nonstop flight on Transavia France from Madrid (MAD) to Paris (ORY) on July 22.

On that same day, my parents will fly from North Carolina—a nonstop overnight flight from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Paris (CDG) in Delta One, the airline’s business class. Rather than spend hundreds of thousands of miles (at the time of booking) to secure their tickets, they paid the cash price and used their Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card, which nets them three Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on Delta flights. Instead of booking a round trip flight, they're making a bit of a Eurotrip out of this summer by booking a multi-city flight to squeeze in the Adele concert in Munich after the Olympics conclude. They will return to North Carolina on August 16 from Munich (MUN) with a layover in Atlanta (ATL).

Munich Marriott Hotel

Millions of people are flying in from around the globe to attend the Olympics, and prices for hotels and vacation rentals reflect that. Paris is an expensive city to visit to begin with, so you can imagine how expensive it is to visit during the Olympics. We are staying in an Airbnb in Rueil-Malmaison for just over three weeks. For