I Finally Made It to Switzerland on Points and It Blew Me Away
The full breakdown of how I turned a dream trip to Switzerland into reality with under $3,000 out of pocket for two people, using points, miles, and a lot of planning.
Switzerland has been a dream country of mine since I first saw a photo of Lauterbrunnen and thought, I have to find a way to get there. Little did I know, the entire country would blow me away. Well, almost (spoiler: I did not love Geneva and actually left early because of it).
We flew on Lufthansa from LAX to Munich and used United miles to book it. We left August 21st, 2024, and arrived in Munich the next day. We used a total of 87,800 United miles for two people in economy, nonstop flight. The taxes were $11.20 total for two people.
If booked with cash, these flights usually run about $2,000 per person one-way.
We then wasted no time after customs and hopped on a train from Munich to Zurich. This train ride was about 3.5 hours long and cost around $67 USD per person.
Once we arrived in Switzerland, we each got a Swiss Travel Pass for eight days, which included all buses, trains, public ferry boats, and basically all public transportation in the entire country. Each pass cost around $520 USD per person. This was well worth it because we spent a lot of time on transportation, especially with how we booked this trip primarily on points.
We based ourselves in Zurich for the first four days but tried out two different hotels. The first was Hyatt Place Zurich Airport, which cost 15,000 points per night (approximately $300 USD per night). This was by far the nicest Hyatt Place we’ve ever stayed at and far different than our experiences with the brand in the States. The breakfast was also phenomenal, and they had an omelet station, which I always appreciate. Even though this hotel was near the airport, it was super convenient because it was also attached to a train line that took 10–15 minutes to get right to the main Zurich train station that could take you almost anywhere in the country.