Our luxurious vacation cost 1 million credit-card points and $12,000. We spent 14 days in Europe and never flew less than business class.

I used the American Express Green Card because it earns three points for every dollar spent on travel; the Citi Strata Premier Card for three points a dollar spent on gas, groceries, and dining; and the American Express Platinum Card for Centurion Lounges and Priority Pass lounges.

The Platinum card also reimburses for Global Entry and Clear, which we used throughout the trip to get through security.

As a business owner, I also used the Chase Preferred Ink Business Card to earn three points for every dollar spent on the first $150,000 and the Venture X card by Capital One because it earns two times points for every dollar spent with no spending limit.

Additionally, I earned a 300,000-points welcome bonus offer from the Venture X card.

After all those months of planning and strategically using my cards, I earned around a million points. It was time to start using them.

Our niece was staying with us for the summer and our 22-year-old daughter lives with us, so I built the itinerary for four people.

I knew my wife wanted to go to Valencia, Spain, so I used that as a starting point and searched for flights to and within Europe. After consulting with my daughter, we agreed to visit Dublin, Amsterdam, Valencia, Paris, and London.

I allotted seven days for Valencia and two days in each of the other cities.

Because I know I can often get more from my points if I transfer them directly to airlines, I used an awards-checker tool called Point.me to determine the best flight redemptions.

The cheapest deals I found were flying out of Atlanta, so I paid $3,040 out of pocket for four first-class round-trip flights to and from our home in Sarasota, Florida. It was a nice way to earn even more points to spend elsewhere.

Then, I spent 410,000 Flying Blue points for four one-way business-class seats on AirFrance from Atlanta to Dublin.

We booked a room at Temple Bar Inn in Dublin with 40,922 Capital One points. But my wife and I decided we wanted our own hotel room, so I spent an extra $658 for that.

The hotel was modern, had a great ambiance, and was in a great location.

I used 80,000 points to book European business-class seats on KLM from Dublin to Amsterdam.

In this case, European business class meant a normal airplane seat next to an empty middle one. It's not the fanciest way to fly, but the service was great.

We stayed at the Nh Collection Amsterdam Flower Market in Amsterdam. I booked one room for 30,918 points and paid $1,368 for the second.

Our four European business-class seats on KLM from Amsterdam to Valencia cost 80,000 points.

Valencia was our longest stay, so we booked an Airbnb in the center of Old Town.

It cost $2,284, which was one of the larger out-of-pocket expenses on the trip. But for seven nights, it wasn't a bad deal at all.

After seven days in Spain, I used 155,600 points for four business-class tickets from Valencia to Paris on AirFrance. These seats were comfortable, and the food was delicious.

In Paris, we splurged and booked another Airbnb overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Even though it cost us $2,003 for two nights, it was worth every penny.

This area of Paris is walkable, and so many historical sites are nearby — we especially enjoyed touring the Louvre.

Since getting from Paris to London by train is so easy, I booked first-class seats on the Eurostar for $1,736.

I was able to redeem 21,210 Chase points for one room at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall, and I paid $957 for our second room at the hotel.

County Hall was right in central London, and the hotel was luxurious. Breakfast was included, and we could see the London Eye and Westminster from our window.

For our final flight of the trip, I used 230,000 Virgin Atlantic points to book upper-class (first-class) seats from London to Atlanta.

The airline lived up to the hype I'd seen online. There was a lounge in the middle of the plane, delicious food, and service that exceeded expectations.

The 1 million points I used were well worth it — without them, we never could've made this trip work. I was floored that I was able to cover 20 international plane tickets and several hotel rooms.

We only ended up paying a little over $12,000 out of pocket for a luxurious 14-day trip for four. That might still sound like a lot, but we saved a ton, and I saw it as an opportunity to earn even more points.

Now, I'm saving my points and miles for my December birthday trip to Japan and South Korea. It's my new go-to way to travel.