I paid for my anniversary trip all across Europe almost entirely with credit card rewards

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• My wife and I had an incredible European anniversary trip last year, paid for with points.
• We were flexible with how we traveled so we could maximize the value we got.
• Using a card's transfer partners to get more value out of your points is a great way to save.

Sometimes you need to go a bit beyond flowers or a nice restaurant. Last July, my wife and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary while all three of our children were in summer camp or visiting family. We cashed in most of the points and miles earned from our credit cards and were able to visit London, Paris, Normandy, and more for a fraction of what it would have cost.

Planning an incredible anniversary trip

I always start a trip by booking the hardest part first, which is the overseas flights. Fortunately, we like to earn American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These programs allow cardholders to transfer their rewards to airline miles or hotel points, which can be very valuable.

For example, American Express cardholders can transfer their points to frequent flyer miles with ANA Airlines of Japan, which offers flights to European and Asian destinations at impressive rates. We use the American Express® Gold Card for all of our restaurant and grocery store purchases, which offers 4x points per dollar spent (up to $50,000 and $25,000 per year respectively, then 1x).

I was able to locate two business class award seats on a United flight from Newark to London and two return seats from Paris to New York-JFK via Warsaw on LOT Polish Airlines. After confirming the flights were available as awards on ANA's website, I transferred my Amex points to ANA miles and booked the awards.

There was just one small problem: We don't live in New York. To get there from our home in Denver, I used Ultimate Rewards points from cards I have, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. Many people don't realize that although the Freedom Unlimited is marketed as a cash-back card that earns 1.5%, you actually earn 1.5x points per dollar spent, and those points can be combined with your rewards from other cards.

I transferred points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Southwest Airlines and booked our tickets to New York-LaGuardia the day before our flight departed from Newark. I also transferred Chase points to Hyatt and redeemed them for one night in a hotel in the city. We splurged on dinner at the famous Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park. The next morning, we took a rare daytime flight to London, arriving in the UK in time for dinner.

Enjoying a European vacation on points

In London, we stayed at the Hilton Lost Property, which is literally in the shadow of the spectacular St. Paul's Cathedral. Our stay cost us nothing, thanks to the Hilton points I accumulated from both my Hilton Honors Business card and the significant expenses I charged to it, having produced a professional conference at a Hilton property the previous year.

We then took the Eurostar train from London to Paris and used our Hilton points to stay there for five nights. This was ideal, because when you redeem your Hilton Honors points for four consecutive nights, the fifth is free.

After a week spent visiting the major sights and enjoying French wine and cuisine, we went to Normandy and stayed in a gorgeous French Château, paying for it with our Hyatt points. We then returned to New York on LOT Polish business class. Another Southwest flight home to Denver, also courtesy of credit card rewards, and our anniversary spectacular was complete.

How I got the most out of my rewards

It's always great to have flexible rewards points, which we used for transfers to ANA, Southwest and Hyatt. Having these options is the real advantage of programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.

We booked our flights and hotels about eight to 10 months before our trip. We also had to adapt our plans to the limited availability of award flights, using New York as our gateway, and stopping in Warsaw on the way home from Paris. But we also like to turn lemons into lemonade, by breaking up the journey and enjoying a memorable dinner in New York City. When we can travel for free in business class, we're always happy to make an extra stop along the way.

I like to think I'm a pretty frugal person, but award travel gives us the opportunity to travel with a degree of luxury we couldn't otherwise afford. Traveling on points and miles also allows us to splurge a little bit more on dining, attractions and tours. When you earn the right points, and are careful how you redeem them, you can go further than you might have ever thought possible.