Europe on Premium Credit Cards — The Ten-Day Guide

Most trip write-ups tell you which award they booked. This one tells you which card came out of your pocket for a CHF 7 locker, a mountain railway counter and a hotel that turned out to have a house car. Ten days, three countries, eleven daily guides plus the closing ledger, each answering one question we could not find a straight answer to before we left. New days are added here as they publish.

The days, in order

• Day 0, getting there: 30,000 points, three lounges and a massage chair — Day 0 of ten days in Europe. Two economy seats to Paris for 30,000 Atmos Rewards points: 27,500 for the first, 2,500 for the second after a Global Companion Award. Plus a long Dallas layover, the card lounges that all had a wait, and the eight Priority Pass venues most people never look for.
• Day 1 in Paris: a late landing, the Arc and the tower on foot, and what the FHR night paid — Day 1 of ten days in Europe. A late landing at CDG, a first afternoon and evening done entirely on foot from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower, and one Paris night booked through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts to take the whole benefit stack: what each benefit actually returned, and why two FHR stays double the perks but not the $300 credit.