Case study · City breakWith proof
Rome, March 2026
5 flights, 3 days.
AustriaGermanyItaly
Austria
Germany
Italy
Short answerRome in March 2026: 5 flights for $213 paid, against a documented comparison value of $895. We used 5,029 points and miles, 13.6¢ per point on average. Anything paid in cash appears without a comparison value. The comparison value is not money paid out.
Key figures
$213 paid, $895 documented comparison value. The 76% difference came from 5,029 points and miles.
Paid
$213
flights, hotels and transfers
Comparison value
$895
documented cash value
Difference
76%
$682 documented
Points and miles
5,029
13.6¢ per point
At a glance
- Airlines
- Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa
- Booking classes
- Economy (5)
- Flight numbers
- Outbound flight Airport → Vienna
- OS213 VIE → FRA
- LH242 FRA → FCO
- OS552 FCO → VIE
- Return flight Vienna → Airport
- Airports
- Vienna (VIE), Frankfurt (FRA), Rome (FCO)
Day by day
18 March 2026
AirportVienna VIEEconomy
- Paid
- $33
- Value
- $110
- points
- 955
- per point
- 8.1¢
Vienna VIEFrankfurt FRAEconomy
- Paid
- $50
- Value
- $300
- points
- 437
- per point
- 57.2¢
Frankfurt FRARome FCOEconomy
- Paid
- $50
- Value
- $299
- points
- 437
- per point
- 57.0¢
20 March 2026
Rome FCOVienna VIEEconomy
- Paid
- $40
- Value
- $98
- points
- 1,600
- per point
- 3.6¢
Vienna VIEAirportEconomy
- Paid
- $40
- Value
- $88
- points
- 1,600
- per point
- 3.0¢
The whole trip
| Category | Paid | Comparison value | Difference | Points and miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flights (5) | $213 | $895 | $682 76% | 5,029 |
| Total (5 bookings) | $213 | $895 | $682 76% | 5,029 |
Proof
Excerpts from the booking confirmations, personal data and booking codes made unreadable.
3 records · swipe or use the arrows, click to enlarge3 records · swipe, tap to enlarge
Editorial noteThis case study is our own trip analysis and not tax, legal or financial advice. Award prices, availability and cash prices change all the time.
Terms in this trip
- Award ticket: An award ticket is a flight paid for with miles or points instead of cash; taxes, fees and surcharges almost always still have to be paid in money.
- Award availability: Award availability is the number of seats an airline releases on a given flight for redemption with miles, which is usually far smaller than the number of seats still on sale.
- Cents per point: Cents per point is the measure of a redemption's value: the cash price avoided, minus any co-payment, divided by the number of points spent.
Next step
What would your spending make possible?
In the strategy call, we run the numbers on your spending profile before anything is applied for. Want to see the number first? The calculator shows it in about 30 seconds.
30 minutes · online · no obligation
What we'll cover in the call
- Is a result like this realistic for us?
- How long did it take?
- What was the first step?