Upgraded Points_Ep(37)_v02_Transcript.txt
00:00:00:04 - 00:00:04:20
Chris
Christmas markets get hyped every year. But what's it actually like to visit them in Europe?
00:00:04:22 - 00:00:10:23
Katie
Today I'm sharing how I used points and Miles to book a dream trip to the Christmas markets in Germany and Switzerland.
00:00:11:00 - 00:00:16:03
Chris
We'll walk through flights, hotels, and the roads that make this trip a lot easier than most people think.
00:00:16:05 - 00:00:27:11
Katie
If Europe is on your travel wish list, this episode will show you how points and miles can get you there.
00:00:27:13 - 00:00:30:18
Chris
Hey, I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points podcast.
00:00:30:20 - 00:00:50:17
Katie
And I'm Katie and today we are talking all about my trip to the Christmas markets in Europe. So it's going to be a fun one. And we also have some really cool Hilton news. Before we get to that, don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you have questions or comments for us, you can email us at podcasts at Upgraded points.com.
00:00:50:18 - 00:00:57:00
Katie
So let's start with this Hilton news. This was really cool. I'm excited about this. What's going on with that one, Chris.
00:00:57:02 - 00:01:21:10
Chris
So Hilton has teamed up with Explore Journeys, and this is a luxury cruise line that's part of MSC. So many of us are already familiar with MSC and, what's happening in summer 2026. Hilton members will be able to earn and redeem points on these sailings and receive, you know, select onboard onboard perks. There's also a preview offer going on right now.
00:01:21:10 - 00:01:49:13
Chris
So through June 7th, which includes 100,000 Hilton Honors bonus points per suite. So if you book a suite in one of these, you know, boutique cruises get 100,000 points, up to $400 in journey experience credits on 16 of the highlighted itineraries and an exclusive ensuite welcome gift. So for all you cruisers out there, all you points lovers out there, this is a nice little partnership that can help you earn some bonus points.
00:01:49:15 - 00:01:56:00
Katie
Yeah, I wonder if you can earn a late night credits too. I didn't see that in the opening news. Did you read anything?
00:01:56:04 - 00:02:12:05
Chris
I didn't know, I didn't see that either. I'm sure that this is going to be more details gonna be rolling out. Excited to see maybe what the, you know, perks look like for Hilton Diamond members like us or this new Hilton Diamond Reserve status. See what's coming out, later this year.
00:02:12:07 - 00:02:22:12
Katie
Yeah, yeah, this kind of. This reminds me a little bit of the Hyatt Lindblad partnership from a few years ago. So I'm excited for this, for this new opportunity. Should be going.
00:02:22:14 - 00:02:41:23
Chris
Yeah. These these partnerships make sense. So it's fun. Yeah. Absolutely. All right well let's set the scene Katie I got the cold air, the warm lights, the mulled wine and cobblestone streets lined with delicious snacks. European Christmas markets are a whole vibe. And you just got back, and I want to hear all about it.
00:02:42:01 - 00:02:52:15
Katie
I did, I did, it was an awesome trip. I went with a friend, who's she, had been going for the last few years with her husband, and he kind of finally just said, like, I'm done. I've. I've been to enough of this.
00:02:52:15 - 00:02:54:02
Chris
Enough mulled wine.
00:02:54:04 - 00:03:11:21
Katie
She asked me if I wanted to go. And of course, I said absolutely. So this was a fun trip to plan. She only had Delta miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points, so those were the points that I was working with, which, you know, made the parameters of booking this trip a little bit more difficult.
00:03:11:21 - 00:03:13:04
Chris
But I challenge.
00:03:13:09 - 00:03:34:07
Katie
A little bit of a challenge, you know, because I couldn't access some partners. But, I did it. I booked the whole thing on points, hotels and flights. So let's go through how I did this and whether or not you want to actually visit the Christmas markets or just go to Europe, a lot of these same, things that I did will apply to a trip that you can do on your own.
00:03:34:09 - 00:03:47:04
Katie
So I flew from Chicago to Frankfurt and that was on Lufthansa business class. I booked it through Air Canada for 70,000 points and $57.
00:03:47:06 - 00:03:48:10
Chris
So that's that's right.
00:03:48:15 - 00:03:59:10
Katie
Yeah. I mean, that's pretty good, you know, no complaints. The cool thing, though, it was on the upper level of a 747 and I've never flown that before. So that was.
00:03:59:14 - 00:04:00:08
Chris
The start of a trip.
00:04:00:12 - 00:04:24:01
Katie
Yeah. Well, actually, before I even got to the upper level, we visited the United Polaris Lounge in Chicago and wow, it was really nice. It was not crowded when we got there, which was really fantastic, but we went if you haven't been there, or if you have been there, go to the back and there's the sit down dining, which is it's a restaurant in the lounge.
00:04:24:01 - 00:04:33:12
Katie
And the food was fan tastic. The service was wonderful. It was just a really, really nice way to start the trip. So we did that.
00:04:33:17 - 00:04:34:06
Chris
Lounges.
00:04:34:12 - 00:04:42:08
Katie
Yeah. Yeah, I there's only the second time I've been in a Polaris lounge. And I really like that sit down dining. That's.
00:04:42:10 - 00:04:52:04
Chris
Yeah, that's a nice way. That's a nice feature. And correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the first Polaris Lounge. I think it just went through a big renovation or refresh. So it must have been looking pretty good.
00:04:52:06 - 00:05:10:04
Katie
Yeah, it looked really nice all up there. I was, I was noticing all the decor and I'm like, oh, I really like this. And then there was a sign that said, like, it's all in partnership with Crate and Barrel, which is like my favorite store. So all of their like, trinkets on the shelves and their mugs and everything in the dining was all crate and barrel.
00:05:10:04 - 00:05:23:14
Katie
So it was very kind of a cool, modern feel. It was it was really, really nice. So that was a great way to start. We got on the plane first time ever walking upstairs on a plane. So I was totally geeking out. I was like, oh yeah.
00:05:23:15 - 00:05:23:20
Chris
Like.
00:05:23:23 - 00:05:52:12
Katie
Oh, this is so exciting. It's a it's a really fun experience to go upstairs on a plane. So, the cabin itself was very open like this, and it was like a two, two setup. So it was not the privacy that you might think of when you're thinking business class. It was a very open feel. But on that upper level, there was something going on that made it feel like what I would think kind of flying semi-private might be like.
00:05:52:12 - 00:06:19:15
Katie
It just had a really cool vibe. I really liked it. That the, the, flight attendants were really nice. The seats were comfortable. It was one where, like, if you're flying on your own, it wouldn't be ideal because it's A22. So much better if you're flying with someone you know. Otherwise, you know, and it didn't even really have the partition like wear on, you know, you can put that up if you're in the middle and you're flying next to someone you don't know, a lot of places will have that partition.
00:06:19:15 - 00:06:40:05
Katie
This did not. So it was all just hello, everyone's in the same cabin. But, you know, comfortable. It was a good flight. Night. It was flight that, you know, leaves around, like, I think 430 from the East coast or from Chicago, I guess. Not technically the East Coast, but like, by the. You're not quite tired enough to sleep.
00:06:40:05 - 00:06:42:07
Katie
So. Yeah, I lay down.
00:06:42:07 - 00:06:43:12
Chris
Did you land?
00:06:43:14 - 00:07:05:22
Katie
We landed at 6 a.m. Frankfurt time. You know, something like that. So it's, you know, it's when you want to go to sleep is when you're landing. So I, I tried to take a nap at a little bit. It didn't work very well. So I was pretty tired when I landed, but the one thing that we did that helped was, was standard has a an arrivals lounge in Frankfurt.
00:07:06:00 - 00:07:27:23
Katie
So we went there. It took us a while to find it. We we did a few laps, but we finally found it. We went there, we had showers, we sat down, we ate some food, we got some coffee, and it was a nice way to start before leaving the airport. Like just taking a shower makes you feel so refreshed getting a coffee because we weren't sure.
00:07:27:23 - 00:07:47:04
Katie
You know, at that time. If you're going to be able to check in or not. And I've been in that situation where you get to the hotel and they're like, yeah. And so you're just like, yeah, you're just like wandering around Europe tired and showered and not happy with the situation. So that was a really nice touch. I really enjoyed that.
00:07:47:06 - 00:07:55:05
Katie
We stayed at the Kimpton in Frankfurt and this was my first booking through, the edit by Chase.
00:07:55:06 - 00:07:56:11
Chris
Oh, okay.
00:07:56:13 - 00:08:23:07
Katie
So I was excited to try it out and I originally booked this, and before that I, before I had access to that $250 credit. And that was October, I think is when that that switched over. Yeah. So I had just booked it using Chase points through the edit and it was points boost. So it was $0.02 per point and it worked out way better than booking it through IHG.
00:08:23:09 - 00:08:45:00
Katie
So that was a great deal. But then at the last minute, maybe, maybe a week before the trip, I looked again and they did have the base level room available because it was not available before. So I had the $250 credit and the base level room was available, so I was able to cancel my original booking, and then rebook it.
00:08:45:02 - 00:09:00:03
Katie
I paid $250 in cash, which then I got back as a statement credit and then the rest in points. So I ended up spending like just over 37,000 points, and then that $250 credit, which I was, I was really happy with.
00:09:00:05 - 00:09:02:02
Chris
So that's awesome. For how many nights? Two nights.
00:09:02:07 - 00:09:03:12
Katie
That was two nights. Yeah.
00:09:03:15 - 00:09:04:04
Chris
Nice.
00:09:04:06 - 00:09:08:10
Katie
Yeah. So it was all $0.02 per point, which. Great. I'll do that.
00:09:08:11 - 00:09:14:07
Chris
I was I think that was before the, the secret password from Kimpton or anything.
00:09:14:09 - 00:09:22:17
Katie
It was. Yeah, it was, But I probably wouldn't have you.
00:09:22:19 - 00:09:26:22
Katie
To send me, like, an another line, like, you know, I don't. I mean, they speak English.
00:09:26:23 - 00:09:28:17
Chris
Learned it in German.
00:09:28:22 - 00:09:46:05
Katie
Yeah. I didn't do that. But, so the craziest thing happened at this hotel. I'll put up some videos of the hotels and everything I'm talking about on YouTube. So if you're listening, head over to YouTube for some videos and photos. If you're interested in any of these places. And the hotel itself was really nice, pretty modern.
00:09:46:07 - 00:09:57:11
Katie
The the decor in the rooms was kind of weird, like it was a very primary color. Like it felt like they were going for, like, elevated dorm room style.
00:09:57:13 - 00:09:59:02
Chris
Okay.
00:09:59:04 - 00:10:24:19
Katie
Like in the bathroom was the bathroom had that dorm room vibe. It was a little weird. So I don't know, it was it was modern, but just like a hair off. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. But I mean really, no complaints. So it was a comfortable room. So I was in my room, we were able to check in and we went out for a bit and we came back to take just, you know, a rest before we headed out to the Christmas markets in the evening.
00:10:24:21 - 00:10:44:14
Katie
And so I'm lying there, I'm talking to my husband on the phone and I hear a noise, and it's the loudest noise I've ever heard in a hotel room, ever. It sounded like they were Jack hammering, like from the next room. So I'm outside looking in. I see a construction crew, and there's obviously construction happening, but it's it's beyond just.
00:10:44:16 - 00:11:04:12
Katie
You can hear construction outside. I, I would have bet money they were in the next room so I and like it's loud enough where you can't I couldn't hear my husband on the phone so I called downstairs and I was like, this is ridiculous. And she's trying to tell me she's like, well, you know, it's during daytime hours and they're allowed to.
00:11:04:12 - 00:11:25:19
Katie
I'm like, I get that, I understand, but this is beyond that. So long story short, I ended up getting moved to the well, the first room they tried to move me to was just as loud, and then they finally moved me to another room, and they had upgraded me to, a studio suite. And I could still hear the noise, but it was it was tolerable.
00:11:25:19 - 00:11:48:08
Katie
It was within like the reasonable like construction is happening on the street. And so and the person who was helping me was very apologetic and very nice. And, you know, it ended up being just fine. The thing that struck me, though, is I booked through the edit, and when you do that, you're supposed to get an upgrade if one is available.
00:11:48:10 - 00:12:06:23
Katie
Obviously an upgrade was available because I ended up in the studio suite for the two nights I was there. I know I was like, well, you didn't upgrade me when I'm booked through the platform that I'm supposed to get an upgrade to. So that was a little like, really, it's not a big deal, but it was one of those things that just kind of made me think.
00:12:07:01 - 00:12:07:15
Chris
00:12:07:17 - 00:12:26:03
Katie
Okay. And there was another incident with the front desk and my friend. They were giving her trouble. So we had a few kind of bad vibes about the hotel, but not quite like if you have IHG points and you want to stay there. It was a nice place, a decent, location. Really. No complaints. Except for the noise.
00:12:26:06 - 00:12:27:05
Chris
For all those complaints.
00:12:27:05 - 00:12:36:11
Katie
Except for all of those complaints. No complaints. I don't want to make it sound worse than it than it actually was because it really wasn't bad. It was comfortable. The bed was really comfortable.
00:12:36:13 - 00:12:45:12
Chris
So it was, All right, well, let's let's move on to, I'm assuming something a little bit more enjoyable to me to the markets in Frankfurt.
00:12:45:14 - 00:13:06:05
Katie
We did. And those were actually better than I was expecting. I kind of I wasn't expecting much from the Frankfurt markets because it's a bigger city. And you kind of think those are going to be very bland and commercialized. And really, I really enjoyed the markets in the old town, you know, with the the buildings in there, that main square, it was just a gorgeous backdrop.
00:13:06:07 - 00:13:31:04
Katie
Yeah. The lights and the, you know, the hot cider or the mulled wine. And it was just really, really special. And then the next day we actually took a train up to Cologne, which was just about an hour away or so, and did the markets there, and those ended up being my favorite. Absolutely. I loved it. When you get off the train station, there's a huge, like really like the most gothic looking church I've ever seen in my life.
00:13:31:06 - 00:13:51:10
Katie
And it just made a gorgeous background. And there was so that was the main market. And we went to another one that was kind of, I forget the name in German, but it was kind of a gnome market and that was my favorite of the entire trip was just good food, good vibes, really good shopping, good. Just I loved it.
00:13:51:15 - 00:13:59:16
Katie
So the Cologne markets, if you were going on a Christmas market trip in Germany, check out Cologne. Don't leave that one off your list.
00:13:59:18 - 00:14:04:06
Chris
Good to know. Yeah. All right. Where was the next stop on there on your tour?
00:14:04:10 - 00:14:29:11
Katie
So next we took the train to Stuttgart, I think is how you pronounce it. Even though I've been calling it Stuttgart as well. It's my next. Okay. And we stayed at the Meridien there. I used Marriott 50 night or 50 K free night search for this stay. The cost for the three nights would have been about $830, or 124,000 Marriott points.
00:14:29:13 - 00:14:58:10
Katie
So I didn't completely maximize those certs, because they were good for up to 50 K. But, you know, it was it was it was decent. I had the certificates I needed to use them. So it worked out fine. And that, that hotel is really pretty close to the train station. However, there's a ton of construction, so the way you have to get there because we walked, is involving a lot of stairs.
00:14:58:10 - 00:15:17:21
Katie
So you walk through kind of either a park area or through some little sidewalks. It's fine. But then there's a ton of stairs to get up into the hotel. So if you are traveling with heavy luggage that you can't lift, or if you have any type of mobility issue or anything, just get in a cab. Because you're going to be miserable getting up those stairs.
00:15:17:23 - 00:15:36:07
Katie
So keep that in mind. The hotel itself felt very. I had mentioned to my friend that the, the lobby felt like a very old fashioned way, that luxury hotels felt like kind of dark, you know, it just had a vibe. It was.
00:15:36:07 - 00:15:36:16
Chris
Nice.
00:15:36:17 - 00:15:37:04
Katie
Really nice.
00:15:37:06 - 00:15:38:01
Chris
Vibe.
00:15:38:03 - 00:15:55:08
Katie
It was. It had an like an old school luxury hotel vibe that like, they hadn't really modernized it, but it was still very nice. Like, really no complaints about that hotel. We ate one time in the restaurant. The food was really good. The one. Oh, I do have one complaint about the hotel, and this is just amazing.
00:15:55:10 - 00:16:02:10
Katie
I didn't have a coffee maker. No coffee maker. Interesting. Not happy.
00:16:02:12 - 00:16:06:04
Chris
But all your other European trips, you had coffee maker every time.
00:16:06:04 - 00:16:29:11
Katie
There's always an espresso, so, I don't know, it might have been a fluke. Maybe the last person broke it, and I just got that room. Keep that in mind. So we used, Stuttgart as the place where we based ourselves for the markets. There. Then we did a day trip to London and then another day trip to Heidelberg, the Stuttgart markets.
00:16:29:13 - 00:16:55:00
Katie
I really liked it. Actually had our overall favorite food that we ate the whole time. And it was like, I forget what the name is, but it's basically like a little, like the most delicious pizza crust ever. With, like, cheese and herbs and diced potatoes. And that sounds like it would be way too heavy. It was spectacular.
00:16:55:01 - 00:17:10:12
Katie
We got one and split like when we first got there as a snack. And later that night when we were deciding what we were gonna get for dinner, we're like, we could go back and get one of those. So we ended up going back to the same stand and getting the same thing. And like, we each got to love it because it was so good.
00:17:10:14 - 00:17:10:22
Chris
And that's.
00:17:10:22 - 00:17:36:09
Katie
Awesome. Yeah, we really enjoyed that. And the London market, it's just a small town. I think it took 15 minutes on by train. That one was really neat because it felt way less popular with tourists. I don't think we heard heard maybe two other Americans, you know, American accents while we were there. Whereas in these other markets, you know, they're very they can be touristy and there's people from everywhere.
00:17:36:11 - 00:17:57:16
Katie
The the Islington one felt more local. I didn't I heard to two Americans, you know, and I enjoyed that. It felt just a little bit different, a much smaller town. So it had a different vibe really cute. Some nice shopping there. We stopped for lunch at another place just there and had some good food and watched the Christmas markets out the window.
00:17:57:16 - 00:18:13:18
Katie
So that was a really nice town. I enjoyed that, and then we ended up in Heidelberg for our third day there. We were supposed to go to Strasbourg and France, which was like my number one. I want to go there on this trip. And there was a train strike in France.
00:18:13:20 - 00:18:15:04
Chris
Oh no.
00:18:15:06 - 00:18:38:19
Katie
And so we could not get there. And we were even trying to like swap around our schedule to move it a day or two. And it just, it was not working out and I was so disappointed. I have been screwed by train strikes so many times in Europe. And it's just like, yeah, the last I think three trips I've had has had some something messed up because of a train strike.
00:18:38:19 - 00:18:57:18
Katie
So keep that in mind. You know, it ended up being fine. Yeah, I got over it and we're like, you know, we have to pivot. We can't go there. So we ended up going to Heidelberg. And I had actually visited Heidelberg in June when I was there with my husband, and I really loved it. It's a cool town, college town.
00:18:57:20 - 00:19:23:06
Katie
So it feels very urban and modern, but it's, you know, you've got the castle up kind of looming over. You've got some old school, like German art, architecture. It's a really neat town. I was disappointed with the Christmas markets, though. They were small, they felt like nothing special about them. Maybe some of that was just because I was a little disappointed it wasn't France.
00:19:23:08 - 00:19:42:10
Katie
They did have a really cute Christmas mug, so I'll give them that. It ended up being fine. I really like the town itself, and I would absolutely recommend going if you're just going to Germany. It's got sort of a mains, pedestrian walkway with tons of restaurants and shopping. You can walk all the way down and then go up to the castle.
00:19:42:10 - 00:19:46:23
Katie
It's just a really neat town. Christmas markets were kind of medium.
00:19:47:00 - 00:20:03:17
Chris
Okay, well, that was a good start, but I think they still have some more. But before we dive into Switzerland and how you got back in Swiss business class, let's take a break and, they will check back with you.
00:20:03:19 - 00:20:15:19
Chris
Yeah. All right. Welcome back. And now we're going to dive into some Switzerland Christmas markets. And how Katie flew back to the US in Swiss business class. Let's hear at Katie.
00:20:16:00 - 00:20:36:16
Katie
Yeah. So, we took the train over to Zurich, and we stayed, one night there, and I stayed at the Park Hyatt, and I had stayed at that hotel a couple of years ago, and I loved it. So stayed there again. I booked on points. It was 35 points, 35,000 points for one night.
00:20:36:18 - 00:20:37:07
Chris
Nice.
00:20:37:10 - 00:20:44:12
Katie
Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's high, but, you know, the cash comes for that based living room was like $966. It's not cheese.
00:20:44:13 - 00:20:47:01
Chris
Money. Money well spent times spent.
00:20:47:03 - 00:21:07:03
Katie
Points well spent. And it was last year. Or two years ago when we booked, we were just in that base level room that you book with the points. And it's a really spacious room, especially for Europe, but there's plenty of space to walk around if you're booking that with points. I did use a suite upgrade award, to get into a suite.
00:21:07:05 - 00:21:22:22
Katie
I had originally not planned on that because it's kind of silly to use it for one night for one person, but I had it attached to a different, stay that my husband and I were going to do in February. And when it up, canceling that for a lot of reasons, and it was expiring and I had no other way to use it.
00:21:22:22 - 00:21:46:02
Katie
So I was like, you know what? Forget it. So I, I upgraded myself to a suite that was beautiful room. Really spacious. I had an extra half bath, which was completely unnecessary, but it always is, is fun. They left, a little chocolate Santa for me with, like, oranges and nuts because I. It was Saint Nicholas Day, which is, you know, that's the thing over there.
00:21:46:04 - 00:21:55:19
Katie
And it was a really good chocolate Santa that my husband ended up eating the whole thing before my daughter and I could get to it. So it caused a little controversy in our house.
00:21:55:21 - 00:21:57:13
Chris
You have to go back.
00:21:57:15 - 00:22:21:06
Katie
Yeah. So, Park Hyatt Zurich, if you're listening, I need another chocolate Santa. Anyways, great. Great value. A really nice location. It's really easy to walk from the Park Hyatt to Old Town, which is where all of the cool shopping and the restaurants and all the, you know, the rivers right there. And Lake Zurich is right there. It's just, I mean, maybe a few minutes walk to Lake Zurich so you can walk around there.
00:22:21:07 - 00:22:33:22
Katie
I just really like that place. So from Zurich, we did a, the train, the train station actually has a Christmas market right inside of the train station, which is awesome. So cool. Like, you walk out.
00:22:33:22 - 00:22:36:04
Chris
Switzerland is amazing. It really is.
00:22:36:06 - 00:22:54:16
Katie
There was this gorgeous tree in the middle of the train station and like, a full on Christmas market with all the booths, all the food. And at first I'm like, I'm not going to sit and eat in the middle of the train station. And then I saw the raclette booth and I was like, well, now I'm going to eat cheese in the middle of the train station.
00:22:54:16 - 00:23:15:14
Katie
And it was divine. And so that was really fun to do, just, you know, right after we get out of the train, we took and dropped our luggage off and then went to a couple of the other markets, and there was one right by Lake Zurich, and then one sort of more into Old Town, and it kind of meandered through some of the back streets.
00:23:15:20 - 00:23:32:09
Katie
So you thought the Christmas market was over, and then there'd be a few more booths and then a few more. And it was really nice just to walk back because it's, I mean, at any time of the year, that spot in Zurich is just cool. You know, there's hilly little cobblestone streets and then you can see the river.
00:23:32:11 - 00:23:43:15
Katie
Really cool. I enjoyed it, I really liked the markets. I will say I was kind of over it by that point. This was day six of like, nothing but Christmas markets.
00:23:43:17 - 00:23:44:05
Chris
Sure.
00:23:44:05 - 00:24:03:18
Katie
And as much as I absolutely loved them, it's a lot. My advice would be if you have the time and you were planning a Christmas market trip planned like a day in the middle where you do something that has nothing to do with Christmas markets because after doing them day and day and day, they all kind of start mushing together.
00:24:03:22 - 00:24:18:20
Katie
I think they're all there's they're all kind of similar, but they all have their own vibe. But after a few days, you're kind of like, I need to just do something else for a day. So in hindsight, I think I would have done that. So if you are planning a trip.
00:24:18:22 - 00:24:21:00
Chris
Pack a little a little palate cleanser in there, a.
00:24:21:00 - 00:24:44:02
Katie
Little palate cleanser. Exactly. Oh, the cool. One of the cool things in Zurich, they had this thing called the Singing Christmas Tree, and it was what it ended up being was like, a place for a choir to perform. But they had the bleachers, like in a triangle shape, and then they all wore little green capes with little red hats.
00:24:44:04 - 00:25:02:11
Katie
So when, when the choir got up in this stand, it looked like a big Christmas tree that was singing. And so we started. They happened to be they were, performing a couple of times a day. They had different choirs come in. There was a whole, schedule. And so we were able to see one of the shows.
00:25:02:13 - 00:25:09:08
Katie
But I didn't realize this till the end, that we happened to be there, unlike the Disney song weekend. So you should have been there, Chris.
00:25:09:08 - 00:25:10:13
Chris
I would have loved that.
00:25:10:15 - 00:25:28:00
Katie
Like, I was already on, like, Jingle Bells, Snow Man, let's go. And they start singing Disney songs like, what is this like? It was like they were good. It was entertaining. It was so cute. But I was really looking for some, like, solid, like, Christmas songs. But.
00:25:28:04 - 00:25:28:21
Chris
It was Get You.
00:25:29:00 - 00:25:35:12
Katie
It was a really cool set up, just a really neat experience. I'm glad I got to to try that.
00:25:35:13 - 00:25:42:01
Chris
Nice. And do you know what you call a, Or what you give a singing Christmas tree with bad breath?
00:25:42:03 - 00:25:48:01
Katie
I don't Chris an ornament.
00:25:48:03 - 00:25:50:03
Chris
But, the.
00:25:50:05 - 00:25:51:13
Katie
I'm gonna be here all week for.
00:25:51:15 - 00:26:10:03
Chris
Ornament, folks. Okay. Well, okay, I'll be here, until the end of this episode. We've lost everyone. Now, everyone look at our line numbers just dropping. Oh, look. Alive, folks. All right, fine. Let's get to the good stuff. Katie, how did you get home from Zurich?
00:26:10:05 - 00:26:26:11
Katie
I got home in Swiss business class, and the only reason we were in Zurich is because I founded this flight. We. When I booked this trip, we had no concept of where we were going to go. It was all dictated by the flights that I could find. And I was like, you're bankrupt.
00:26:26:16 - 00:26:27:18
Chris
Bangkok flight.
00:26:27:20 - 00:26:59:11
Katie
Exactly. Yeah. Same situation. So I found the flight. So we're like, we're going to Zurich. So Swiss air business, or I guess it's a Swiss. It's not Swiss Air anymore, is it? So, Swiss business class booked via Air Canada again. Only 60,000 points and $113. Nice. Very pleased with that. This is my first time flying Swiss, and I had actually just, after I flew it, I looked online and there were actually some bad reviews for Swiss business class and people saying like, don't do it.
00:26:59:11 - 00:27:22:05
Katie
It's awful. Like, don't listen to those people. It was fantastic. No, it it was a weird layout. This was an A330 and it was like on our side there was single seats and then the middles were twos. And then on the other side, some were singles and some were twos. It was it was a weird layout. I've never seen it.
00:27:22:05 - 00:27:53:05
Katie
And it's it was not as private as some newer business classes with, you know, dividers and whatnot. So yeah, it was kind of a weird layout. The seat was also like the footrest was weird. It was just like a little ramp. Like there was no more cubby where you put your feet. So I could, I could see how some people, maybe especially ones who fly business class quite often and are very picky would say like, don't fly this, this is terrible.
00:27:53:07 - 00:28:21:04
Katie
I was so comfortable now it was a daytime flight. I did not try to sleep so comfortable, but what really stood out for me was the service. Probably the best service on a flight I have had in years. While they were so friendly, they remembered each person and like what language they spoke and would just, you know, speak to you in whatever language which is impressive because usually I find flight to I mean, it's a lot to, to, to remember.
00:28:21:04 - 00:28:42:06
Katie
I don't expect them to remember like I speak English in the person next to me speaks German or whatever. But they remembered all of that. The the food was excellent. But like during dinner service, they brought the drink cart around three separate times between every like course it was. Could we get you something else to drink? What else could we get you?
00:28:42:08 - 00:28:59:23
Katie
I mean, it was a long dinner service, one where they, like, serve you all the different courses. The food was overall really good. Then after that, they would come around with bottles of water. They came around with, like, little, little chocolate treats. And later they came round with ice cream.
00:29:00:01 - 00:29:01:00
Chris
Awesome.
00:29:01:01 - 00:29:20:00
Katie
It was I loved it, it was just great. And they were they actually were acting like, what can we do to help you? And, you know, like when you're flying on a long flight and in the middle, the air, the crew seems to kind of go away and take a break for a while, which is fine. They I swear they didn't like they were always there.
00:29:20:00 - 00:29:35:23
Katie
Like, what kind of walking through the aisles? What can I bring you? What can I bring you people were getting up and getting cappuccinos, like from the galley. They were having cappuccinos go out, you know, all the time. Loved it, loved it, loved it. So I would love to fly Swiss again. And don't listen to this.
00:29:36:01 - 00:29:37:23
Chris
Don't listen to the haters. Yeah.
00:29:38:01 - 00:29:38:17
Katie
Haters.
00:29:38:18 - 00:29:40:01
Chris
And that's the last man I will.
00:29:40:01 - 00:30:02:05
Katie
Oh the. I'm sorry. The the amenity kit was a little disappointing. It was a cool like glasses case which that part was neat because I like amenity kit cases that are not just pouches, you know, but it had like the toothbrush and the toothpaste and like that was it. Oh, some some socks. That's it.
00:30:02:07 - 00:30:03:03
Chris
Slowly.
00:30:03:05 - 00:30:16:00
Katie
It was a little weak. They had like, if you wanted an eye mask, you could ask for one, which I guess makes sense, you know. So that was my only little complaint. But other than that, I really I really liked it. It was really enjoyable. Flight.
00:30:16:02 - 00:30:21:16
Chris
And there's, Swiss is rolling out some of their new business class as well. So yeah, something to look out for as well.
00:30:21:18 - 00:30:25:01
Katie
But even on the older I would fly that again any day.
00:30:25:03 - 00:30:46:20
Chris
Yeah. Sounds great. And good thing you weren't sleeping because you got to take advantage of all that great service. We actually just sent out an award alert, for the Swiss business class, and you can get them pretty much for that price from Chicago all along the East Coast. Boston, New York, DC. So if you have not signed up for our newsletter, do so so you don't miss out on the next award alert.
00:30:46:22 - 00:30:47:16
Katie
Absolutely.
00:30:47:18 - 00:31:06:03
Chris
All right, well, let's move on to our closing segment. We have one question here. And this one is from Instagram. And it says what is the best credit card to use when traveling abroad. Katie since you just got back from abroad. But just send it right to you.
00:31:06:05 - 00:31:18:02
Katie
Absolutely. I use the Amazon card exclusively when I am abroad now because it earns three points per dollar on any purchase outside of the US.
00:31:18:04 - 00:31:19:05
Chris
Crazy. Thank you.
00:31:19:05 - 00:31:40:09
Katie
Can't beat that. I used to use the Sapphire Reserve quite a bit, because on a trip like this, I'm buying train tickets and eating out and that would have earned three points per dollar and all that. It does not anymore. The most reward or the most summit card is my go to. If you do not have that card, make sure you're using something without foreign transaction fees.
00:31:40:09 - 00:32:03:13
Katie
That is super important. Double check. Because I have made the mistake of thinking that a card didn't have them and they did. So just double check before you were, traveling. And keep in mind, especially in Europe, Amex, it can be very hard to use. As much as we talk about them. Here it is, one card I always have an Amex with me, but I never use it when I'm traveling.
00:32:03:15 - 00:32:19:06
Katie
Stick to Visa or Mastercard because you will get denied quite a bit if you're trying to use Amex event, your ex would be probably my second choice because it's going to be accepted everywhere and you earn two points per dollar. You don't have to worry about how is this going to code. So those would be my my two suggestions.
00:32:19:08 - 00:32:35:07
Chris
Great tips. And for listeners, this is just a friendly reminder to go back to episode number 34, where we covered all of the end of the year checklist. So make sure you don't miss out on any of your yearly, quarterly or biannual credits, that are expiring at the end of the month.
00:32:35:09 - 00:32:55:10
Katie
Absolutely. And that is going to do it for us. We hope you enjoyed this. If you want to get all of this information in your inbox, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter. Like Chris mentioned earlier, and be sure to like and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you are watching or listening. If you have questions or comments for us, you can reach us a podcast at Upgraded points.com.
00:32:55:12 - 00:32:56:16
Katie
We will see you next week.