Case study · City breakWith proof
Tarifa and Vienna, May 2026
3 flights, 2 nights in 2 hotels, 11 days.
AustriaSpain
Austria
Spain
Short answerTarifa, Vienna and Málaga in May 2026: 3 flights and 2 hotel nights for $475 paid, against a documented comparison value of $1,668. We used 36,800 points and miles, 3.2¢ per point on average. Anything paid in cash appears without a comparison value. The comparison value is not money paid out.
Key figures
$475 paid, $1,668 documented comparison value. The 72% difference came from 36,800 points and miles.
Paid
$475
flights, hotels and transfers
Comparison value
$1,668
documented cash value
Difference
72%
$1,193 documented
Points and miles
36,800
3.2¢ per point
At a glance
- Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Booking classes
- Economy (3)
- Flight numbers
- Outbound flight Airport → Vienna
- OS453 VIE → AGP
- Return flight Málaga → Airport
- Airports
- Vienna (VIE), Málaga (AGP)
- Hotels
- Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere, Vienna (1 night)
- Higueron Hotel Malaga, Málaga (1 night)
Day by day
8 May 2026
AirportVienna VIEEconomy
- Paid
- $68
- Value
- $222
- points
- 1,900
- per point
- 8.1¢
Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere
- Paid
- $0
- Value
- $254
- points
- 8,000
- per point
- 3.2¢
9 May 2026
Vienna VIEMálaga AGPEconomy
- Paid
- $123
- Value
- $388
- points
- 11,900
- per point
- 2.2¢
10 May 2026
Higueron Hotel Malaga
- Paid
- $60
- Value
- $260
- points
- cash
- per point
- ·
18 May 2026
Málaga AGPAirportEconomy
- Paid
- $224
- Value
- $544
- points
- 15,000
- per point
- 2.1¢
The whole trip
| Category | Paid | Comparison value | Difference | Points and miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flights (3) | $415 | $1,154 | $739 64% | 28,800 |
| Hotels (2 stays, 2 nights) | $60 | $514 | $454 88% | 8,000 |
| Total (5 bookings) | $475 | $1,668 | $1,193 72% | 36,800 |
Proof
Excerpts from the booking confirmations, personal data and booking codes made unreadable.
8 records · swipe or use the arrows, click to enlarge8 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.
- Hotel award category: A hotel award category is the price tier a loyalty programme assigns to a property, from which the points price per night follows.
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