Best Credit Card/Points to Acquire for Italy Hotels?

knick1959

Level 2 Member
This is only slightly related to my own travels. I have a coworker who has the CSP card and some UR. Let's call him Eric (you know, because that's his name). But in a little less than 2 years Eric and his wife want to go to Italy. They are OK in coach for flights but I believe that will take most of their UR (forget the exact amount, but that was my thought when I heard it). My wife and I will likely also go to Italy at about the same time; there will be an overlap and we'll meet up with them. Rambling, sorry. We have a nice spread of points for hotels. They do not but do have a little time to try to remedy that.

Any opinions on the best CC/points options for hotels in Italy? I remember hearing Sienna was on their list. I'll check on other places. A general recommendation?

I remember we made huge use of Club Carlson points when we went a few years back. But that was when they had last night free and we toggled between 2 accounts and had a field day. Can't do that now. Too bad. I'll look at the options myself, but thought I would ask others, too. Thanks in advance!
 

SanDiego1K

Level 2 Member
There are a fair number of Marriott properties in Italy, not cheap pointswise (at least those I chose this summer). South of Siena is a Hilton property where they converted an abandoned town into a hotel.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
Thanks for the reply. I found a couple of blog posts that listed out many possibilities (for Rome and Florence) but they all seem to be points-expensive. Not something for someone just starting out and with the idea of getting a single new card (w/bonus) to help out. I did see a few Marriotts and you are right; not cheap point wise.

It did bring up the option of using UR points via the portal to book hotels. They only have the CSP, so they wouldn't get 1.5x ... but that would provide 1.25x from what I've read. That's nothing I considered before. Now, as far as I know they are both 0/24, so a new Chase card could be strategic if taking the UR portal route to book. There seemed to be some hotels for lower cash prices than I would expect. I just don't know how comprehensive the UR portal is ... will look.

More research to do ... I would say there is still plenty of time, and there is, but the earlier they have a plan, particularly if a new CC (or 2?) is in the plans, the better.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
Rome, Florence and "somewhere on a coast".
From memory, then checking the map, Florence is close to Pisa which is almost on the coast ... there are some towns Right There. And Naples/Solerno and the Amalfi coast nearby might show some promise for them too. We were in these areas when we went last so I'll read up on what we did ourselves.
 
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