How We Covered an 11-Day Switzerland Rental Car with Chase Points
One of the biggest expenses on a family Europe trip—especially with kids—is ground transportation. Trains are amazing in Europe, but once you factor in 4 kids + luggage + flexibility, a rental car often just makes more sense.
For our 11-day family trip through Switzerland, we used a simple but powerful Chase points strategy to wipe out the cost entirely.
The Redemption Details
Points used: 128,612 Chase Ultimate Rewards
How we booked: Chase Travel portal
Rental length: 11 days
Cash value: $1,608
Out-of-pocket cost: $0
Value: 1.25 cents per point
This is the built-in redemption rate you get when booking travel through the Chase portal with cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred.
Why a Rental Car Was the Right Call for Our Family
With kids ages 12, 10, 7, and 5, a rental car gave us:
Door-to-door convenience (no dragging bags through stations)
Flexibility for scenic stops and smaller towns
Easy car-seat management
Less stress when plans changed (which they always do with kids)
Switzerland is incredibly car-friendly, with clean roads, clear signage, and jaw-dropping scenery everywhere you drive.
Why We Used the Chase Travel Portal (Instead of Transferring Points)
Could we have transferred Chase points to a partner? Maybe—but this is a great example of when simple beats complicated.
Why the portal worked best here:
Rental cars don’t always price well with transfer partners
No blackout dates or award availability issues
Straightforward booking like paying cash
Guaranteed 1.25¢ per point value
Zero out-of-pocket for a major expense
For families especially, the portal is a huge win for non-flight costs like hotels and rental cars.
The Big Picture Takeaway
Turning 128,612 points into an $1,608 rental car meant:
More cash saved for food, excursions, and experiences
Less stress during the trip
One of our biggest trip expenses completely erased
This is exactly how we like to use points as a family—not always chasing the highest possible cents-per-point, but eliminating real, expensive costs we’d otherwise have to pay in cash.
If you’re planning a family Europe trip and wondering whether points can cover things beyond flights—this is your sign that they absolutely can.