I leave for Amsterdam on Wednesday, and this one will be a long trip. First up, after spending two nights in Amsterdam, I meet Britton at Schiphol Airport to fly to Budapest. There, we’ll join a media trip on AmaMagna. With about a dozen other travel writers, we’ll be cruising the Danube to prove that yes, you can enjoy river cruising during the coldest months of the year – or so we hope.

Afterward, Britton heads home, and I’ll stay on to attend ASTA’s River Cruise Expo in Vienna. Following that four-day event, I’ll step on board Riverside Mozart for a four-night sailing roundtrip Vienna.

Next I jet off to France to meet Britton again for Avalon Waterways’ inaugural Bordeaux sailings. After that, we head to Porto to research what travelers can – and probably should – do before and/or after their Douro river cruises from this lovely city.

Finally, I head to Brussels for CroisiEurope’s new barge trips through Belgium before leaving the country’s fine chocolate and tasty beer to head home. I’ll be back in May, however, to host my barge trips in Alsace and in Belgium.

The All-Important Trip Insurance

Stitching together this trip was challenging. Most travel insurance companies will cover trips not exceeding 45 days. At the end of 45 days, you can’t just renew the policy. You’d need to come back home as insurers consider your policy’s start date to be the day you leave home.

I found an exception, GeoBlue. The company’s multi-trip Trekker plan offers coverage for unlimited international trips within a 364-day period, and limits each trip duration to a generous 70 days. This covers my 51-day trip perfectly. If I wanted to stay 90 days, I would exhaust my 70-day Trekker limit then pick up an additional 20 days by adding a single-trip GeoBlue Voyager plan that, so I am told, would not require me to come back home to start the clock ticking.

Now 90 days is as long as US citizens can typically stay in Schengen Europe without an extended visa. Non-EU citizens can visit all Schengen countries with a single visa for up to 90 days within a 180-day period.

For those interested, there are ways to extend beyond the 90-day limitation. One way is to take advantage of Bilateral Visa Waivers. These are separate agreements between two countries that allow travelers to stay longer than what general visa policies permit. The agreements override Schengen rules in certain cases and apply only between the two specific countries that signed them. For example, France allows US citizens an additional 90 days after the Schengen 90-day period, but you must leave Schengen and re-enter directly to France. Some border agents may not be familiar with the somewhat obscure bilateral waivers, so you should carry documentation or embassy confirmations.

Another way to extend your stay in Europe is to head outside of the Schengen area for a period of time. I’m considering Albania, for example, and some travel magazines are touting the country as undiscovered by tourists but shedding that reputation quickly. Afar Magazine says travelers have about five years to experience Albania before it hits the mainstream. In the next five years, I think Albania will be a place to go, but in the next 10 years it will truly blow up. This is an alternative to the French Riviera. It has the same amazing riviera, but the Albanian Riviera has a fraction of the people who visit, Afar’s Billie Cohen writes.

For the less adventursome, a trip to the UK would suffice.

River cruisers typically aren’t thinking of such extended stays, so the 90 days per 180 days, per Schengen rules, works for most.

Back to GeoBlue for just a moment. The company offers unlimited telemedicine as well as call centers that are manned 24/7. GeoBlue boasts a network of providers in 190 countries and nearly all, if not all, allow for direct pay from GeoBlue. The means no filing claims and waiting for the decision. Should I require medical attention while I am away, I will do as advised, which is to call GeoBlue or use the GeoBlue App to find a provider accepting direct pay.

Paying With Points

I got lucky – again – booking KLM business class from Atlanta to Amsterdam for only 60,000 Flying Blue Points. “Awesome!” responded points expert Brian Cohen of Award Magic. “KLM recently increased the minimum for transatlantic business class flights from 50k to 60k. Score!”

One way to earn Flying Blue points for flights on Air France, KLM, or their partner airlines, is to acquire bonus points by signing up for a Chase Sapphire card. Right now, for example, you can earn 60,000 bonus points using this link after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Granted, this only works if you know you’ll be spending $4,000 in the next three months. If, however, you were to spend $4,000 on dining, groceries or streaming services you’d earn another 12,000 points, as these are 3x spending and points categories. Note that the offer is a referral link and I will also receive points should you be approved for a card. I find these cards to be a great value for travelers, and to maximize their value, I take advantage of all of the benefits.

One other card that I find to be of value is the American Express Hilton Aspire card. It’s annual fee is hefty, $550 a year, but you get Hilton Diamond Status, which helps with upgrades, breakfasts and more; $400 a year in Hilton resort credits, and of particular value to me, a free night award each year after renewal.

I used my free night award once again (as I did in 2021) to book a night at Amsterdam’s Waldorf-Astoria. The lowest rate for the night I am staying is an eye-watering €928. I don’t anyone who would pay that, but I’m sure there are well-heeled folks who would. Luckily, I didn’t have to. I used my award night. The Hilton rep who processed my transaction said, “Can you believe some people waste their award night on a Hampton Inn? You did good.” See my story from 2021, Your Questions Answered: Snagging $600 Business Class & A ‘Free’ Stay At The Waldorf Astoria

If you’re interested in the card, we both get points if you’re approved at this referral link, American Express Hilton Cards Be sure to read the fine print and make sure it’s the right card for your travel. It’s certainly been good to me.

What about you?

How do you leverage points to travel? And what about insurance? Do you typically purchase one policy or more? Some people purchase trip insurance as well as a separate medical evacuation policy. I’ve seen that combo come in handy.