Updated: 10 July 2026

Wine Cities with Points: Smart Booking for Bordeaux, Tuscany and La Rioja

Honestly: most Belgian travellers I speak to associate credit card points with long-haul flights. Business class to Bangkok, first class to New York. That sounds great, but the reality is that most of us book a long weekend in Europe far more often than an intercontinental trip. And that's exactly where the blind spot is.

Booking wine cities with points, approaching Bordeaux, Tuscany and La Rioja smartly: it sounds like a niche hobby, but the maths add up surprisingly quickly. A return flight to Bordeaux often costs €180-250 in cash from Brussels Airport. But with 10,000 Flying Blue miles (plus some taxes) you're there too. And those miles? They come from your Membership Rewards balance, if you happen to have an Amex Platinum in your wallet.

Let me unpack why these three wine regions work so well for Belgian points travellers, which transfer partners are most interesting, and where it does and doesn't work with Amex.

Why booking wine cities with points from Belgium makes so much sense

Most wine regions in Europe are close enough to hubs that are easily reachable from Brussels. Bordeaux is a direct flight of an hour and a half. Pisa (the gateway to Tuscany) gets you there in two hours with a stopover in Frankfurt or Munich. Bilbao, the nearest airport for La Rioja, is a similar distance. These aren't heroic journeys. They're weekend trips.

And with weekend trips, the points-to-value ratio is often better than with long-haul flights in economy. Sounds counterintuitive, but think about it this way: a return Brussels-Bordeaux costs €200 in cash. That same ticket costs you 10,000 Flying Blue miles plus a few dozen euros in taxes. Those 10,000 miles are 10,000 Membership Rewards points (the transfer to Flying Blue is 1:1). If you value those points at 1 cent each, you're getting 2 cents per point out of them. That's solid.

Compare that with an economy flight to New York: €400 cash, 25,000 miles. Then you're at 1.6 cents per point. Not bad, but not better either. So the idea that you "should save points for expensive flights" doesn't always hold up. Short European flights, especially during promo periods when Flying Blue sometimes drops to 7,500 miles return, are sometimes the better deal.

On top of that: the wine region itself is relatively affordable compared to, say, London or Ibiza. A decent hotel in Saint-Émilion or Greve in Chianti costs €120-180 per night. You spend your money there on tastings and local restaurants, not on €18 cocktails at a beach bar. The total cost of such a weekend stays manageable, and getting the flight free via points makes all the difference.

Bordeaux from Brussels: the easiest wine trip on points

Bordeaux is the most accessible option for Belgian points travellers, for the simple reason that direct flights exist from Brussels Airport. Air France flies via Paris-CDG (short connection), and occasionally seasonal flights pop up with other carriers. The Flying Blue route is the most logical.

The maths for Bordeaux look like this. A return in economy via Flying Blue: 10,000 to 15,000 miles, depending on the date. During Promo Rewards campaigns (Flying Blue organises these a few times a year) it can even drop to 7,500 miles return. The taxes and surcharges run around €30-50 return. Transfer from Membership Rewards to Flying Blue: 1 to 1, processed within 24-48 hours.

€200 savings may sound modest, but consider that this only costs 10,000 of your 150,000 welcome points. You still have 140,000 left for other trips. One welcome bonus can easily fund ten to fifteen short European flights, if you book smartly.

Regarding acceptance: in Bordeaux city itself, Amex is accepted in most restaurants and hotels. If you drive to smaller châteaux in the Médoc or the right bank, it's a different story. Small wine estates often work exclusively with Visa or cash. Always bring a second payment card. The upside: the Amex Platinum charges no foreign transaction fees, so even though you pay in euros in Bordeaux, for trips to non-eurozone regions that's an advantage worth keeping in mind.

A tip I frequently give on TravelLux.be: book your hotel through the Fine Hotels + Resorts programme if you have a bit more budget. In the Bordeaux region there are a few FHR properties, including in the city itself and around Saint-Émilion. The benefits per stay (free breakfast for two, room upgrade, late check-out, a welcome gift of approximately €100) mean that your net cost at a 4- or 5-star hotel sometimes works out lower than the standard rate on Booking.com. That's not marketing, that's maths.

Reaching Tuscany with points: Florence or Pisa as hub

Tuscany is a fraction more complex than Bordeaux, simply because there is no direct flight from Brussels Airport to Florence or Pisa. You fly via a hub: Munich, Frankfurt, Zurich or Rome. That makes the transfer partner story slightly broader.

The two logical options for Belgian travellers:

My preference usually goes to Flying Blue, because the promo campaigns occur more frequently and the availability on short European routes is generally better. But always check both programmes before you book. A difference of 5,000 miles can be quite relevant on a weekend trip.

Once you're in Tuscany, a rental car is almost unavoidable. The most beautiful wine areas (Chianti Classico, Montalcino, Montepulciano) are spread across winding hills where public transport barely reaches. With the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star status that comes with your Amex Platinum, you skip the queue and occasionally get an upgrade. In practice I find that the upgrade in Italy happens less often than in, say, the US, but skipping the counter alone is worth it after a flight.

Regarding hotels: the Tuscan FHR selection is broader than in Bordeaux. Think of country estates around Florence, boutique hotels in San Gimignano, the kind of properties where a night easily costs €300-500. The FHR benefits (breakfast, welcome gift, late check-out) extract €150-200 in value there. Admittedly: if your budget is more like €100 per night, then FHR is not for you, and you simply book an agriturismo the traditional way. Nothing wrong with that. The best wine isn't tasted in your hotel anyway.

La Rioja: the underrated wine destination for points travellers

La Rioja is the underdog on this list, and that's precisely what makes it interesting. Fewer tourists than Bordeaux, lower prices than Tuscany, and wine that's at least as good. Sorry, that's subjective. But a Reserva for €12 in a bar in Haro: you won't find that in Saint-Émilion.

The flight problem: La Rioja doesn't have a significant airport of its own. You fly to Bilbao (the most practical option, about 1h15 drive to Haro or Logroño) or to Madrid (3 hours driving, or a domestic train). From Brussels Airport, Bilbao is reachable via Vueling, Iberia or via Paris with Air France.

On points this works as follows. Via Flying Blue (Air France): Brussels to Bilbao via CDG, return for 10,000-15,000 miles. Via Avios (British Airways/Iberia): Brussels to Bilbao via London or Madrid, return for 9,000-13,000 Avios. The Avios route is sometimes cheaper in points, but the travel time via London is longer. So it's a trade-off.

Acceptance of Amex in La Rioja is, honestly, limited. The large bodegas (Marqués de Riscal, López de Heredia) accept credit cards, but in the small bars and restaurants in Haro or Laguardia it's often Visa or cash. This isn't a dealbreaker for the Amex Platinum as a travel card (you book your flights and hotels with it, that's where you earn your points), but don't expect to pay with Amex everywhere on the ground. A Visa debit card as backup is truly necessary here.

Regarding hotels: the FHR selection in La Rioja is more limited than in Bordeaux or Tuscany. The Marqués de Riscal hotel by Frank Gehry is sometimes included, but that's also a property at €400+ per night. For most travellers, a charming hotel in Haro for €90-130 is the better choice. La Rioja is not a destination where you spend a lot on accommodation, and that's precisely what's beautiful about it.

The Amex Platinum as a wine trip tool: when it does and doesn't work

Let me be honest about when this story holds up and when it doesn't. The Amex Platinum costs €780 per year (€65 per month). That's not nothing. For those who take three or four weekend trips per year from Brussels Airport, and also use the lounge access, Fast Lane security and the travel insurance, the maths work out easily. The Fast Lane alone is worth €169 per year, the Priority Pass Prestige access approximately €500, and you haven't even touched the welcome bonus yet.

For frequent travellers, the annual fee is therefore already covered without counting the welcome bonus. That bonus is one-time and requires a minimum spend of approximately €4,000 to €6,000 in the first three months, so you need to be able and willing to actually spend that amount. No issue if you're already putting daily purchases on your card, but it's good to know that upfront.

When it doesn't work: if you only travel once a year, rarely fly from Brussels, or your annual credit card spending stays below €10,000. Then you earn too few points to make the points story worthwhile, and you use the fixed benefits (lounge, Fast Lane) too little. The value then drops to €400-700 per year, and that doesn't cover the €780. For those profiles: a regular card without an annual fee is the wiser choice.

For those it does suit, using the TravelLux.be referral link: you receive the maximum welcome bonus of 150,000 Membership Rewards points. That's more than when applying directly on americanexpress.com/be. I also receive points when you apply via this link, which is why I stick to one rule: only recommend it if the numbers work for you.

Practical booking tips for wine cities on points

A few things I've learned (partly through trial and error):

Book well in advance for Tuscany in peak season. September and October are harvest months, and flights to Pisa and Florence are more expensive in points during that period. Book three to four months ahead if you want to go during that time. Bordeaux has the same issue around the vendanges, but to a slightly lesser degree.

Check Flying Blue Promo Rewards every month. Flying Blue launches monthly promo destinations with up to 50% discount in miles. Bordeaux, Pisa and Bilbao regularly appear there. Set a reminder in your calendar for the first Tuesday of the month, when the new promos go live.

Only transfer your points when you're ready to book. I've made the mistake in the past of transferring points preemptively to Flying Blue, to have them "ready". The problem: once you transfer Membership Rewards points, they're gone from your MR balance and you can no longer send them to another programme. So only transfer when you have a specific booking in mind and have checked availability.

Combine points with cash when the maths work out better. Sometimes a low-cost flight to Bordeaux for €49 is cheaper than the equivalent in points. Don't be dogmatic. Use your points where the value per point is highest, not necessarily on every flight.

Don't forget the travel insurance. The Amex Platinum automatically provides trip cancellation, luggage and medical insurance when you pay for the trip with the card. For a weekend trip to a wine region, that's a comfortable safety net, especially if you need to cancel last-minute due to unforeseen circumstances.

Also read our guide on using Membership Rewards points optimally for more transfer strategies, and check out the full Amex Platinum Belgium overview for all benefits at a glance.

Related on TravelLux.be:

• Using Membership Rewards points optimally
• Amex Platinum Belgium: the full overview
• Fine Hotels + Resorts: when it's worth it