A once in a lifetime trip doesn’t have to break the bank
Hello!
It’s been a while. Life has been crazy the last few years. We moved to Maui during COVID for what was supposed to be six months…turned into about three years. Anyway, I’ll get into that another time. I have lots of trips and products to talk about from the last 3 years. In the meantime, I thought I’d talk about what Leigh and I are currently planning: a trip to the Paris Olympics!
Why?
I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and have distinct memories of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, which is just about 2.5 hours down the road. I was 8 at the time and was beginning to be a sports nut. At that time, I was focused on soccer and baseball. While being in Atlanta would’ve been so cool that summer, I felt like I had the next best thing. Many of the soccer events were played in the Birmingham metro area, and we attended a few. My dad also took my younger brother and I to see a baseball game: USA vs Japan at the old Fulton County Stadium where the Braves used to play. They’ve since moved two more times since, but I digress.
We also got to see the torch run down the highway by our house. A memory that I won’t forget, even at a young age.
So as an adult now, seeing the Olympics held in one of the most iconic cities in the world seemed like an unmissable opportunity. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that my wife works for a company under the LVMH umbrella, one of the big sponsors this year. She won tickets to several events, which is what really prompted this whole journey. That said, tickets are available to the general public for purchase, and frankly that’s not the difficult or expensive part of an Olympic trip, but rather airfare and lodging.
Airfare
We live in San Francisco, and getting to Europe from the west coast isn’t all that easy. It’s 9 hours time difference, so the routing makes a impact on how jetlagged you are. I find east coast-Europe flights to be too short to get meaningful sleep, so I try my damnedest to get west coast to Europe flights so I have the chance to get 6+ hours of sleep. Now that said, if I’m taking a coach flight, I might opt to take a connection just because I don’t do well in coach. I have broad shoulders and it’s just not a great situation.
Luckily, I got an alert (Thrifty Traveler Premium and/or Straight to the Points) a couple of months ago about award availability to Paris. While not direct, the SFO-AMS-CDG routing was still spectacular in my eyes, so I immediately booked it.
Had I not gotten to book a flight in advance, my other plan was to wait until we got inside two weeks and see what Lufthansa space opened. Sure enough, I see plenty of business class space available as of this writing. Keep in mind this is from SFO on Star Alliance. If you’re on the eastern half of the US and looking at oneworld or SkyTeam, you’re much likelier to find cheap coach or business class space.
SFO-Frankfurt
SFO-Paris
While United’s app/site is the best way to search for Star Alliance availability, if I was going to book any of the space, I’d probably use Air Canada Aeroplan or LifeMiles to book because it’s less points and the points are much easier to accumulate. That said, Aeroplan charges for any changes/cancelations, so be sure you’re 100% before booking. United does not charge anything to change/cancel.
Lodging
This has the potential to be the tricky aspect, but believe it or not, there are plenty of hotels available on points, especially if you’re flexible on dates and brand affiliation. We cashed in our American Express free night certificates (one each) – plus some points – and are staying five nights at a boutique Hilton property in the sixth arrondissement. Close enough to walk to everything, but out of the chaos.
Upon checking some random dates (July 30-Aug 5), it looks like there are plenty of options on Hilton’s website, both in the city center and the perimeter. Even an airport hotel at Orly is just fine since pretty much every event is going to require some sort of public transport. And don’t forget that with Hilton, you are getting the fifth night free.
I’m seeing similar availability on Marriott, which also offers the fifth night free. Price for all five nights.
Tickets
While getting tickets may seem impossible, there are in fact many options available. Dozens of events still have their initial allotment of tickets for sale on the official site, and there’s an official resale site where you can search. Unfortunately the filtering options leaves a lot to be desired (why can’t I filter on team?), but the site is good enough. Note that not every sport is in Paris, but that too adds to the fun. You could catch football in Marseille, then head to Paris for track and field. Sounds good to me!
There are also plenty of free events, like cycling and triathlon, that you can watch for free. Forbes has a great write up one free options in and around the city.
Final thoughts
The Olympics are closer than you think! If seeing the Olympics in person has ever been a dream (and of course a double whammy with them in Paris), then you should absolutely consider a last minute trip. I would also be remiss if I didn’t call out the fact that the Olympics are an entire month when you include the Paralympics, so there’s still plenty of time to go. This is one trip you surely won’t regret.
