Flying to South America with Points in Economy

South America is an exciting destination with many unique places to explore. Unfortunately, the cost to fly there can make it a challenge to visit. If you’re paying cash, flights to South America are often more expensive than other destinations like Hawaii or Europe. 

Thankfully, there are several good ways to get to South America with points! Using points to cover your flights is a great way to save money on a trip that might otherwise be out of reach.

This guide goes over all the options so you can find the route and program that works best for you.

Earn More Points

Each airline option I list in this article has more than one credit card that can earn you a welcome bonus and the points you need to fly to South America. This article is already long enough without listing out every single card you could get for each of these programs to earn points.

So how can you figure out how to earn the right points? First step: get my free airline transfer partner guide — inside, I have a chart that shows which kinds of points transfer to which airlines. Then work backwards! Let’s say you figure out that you want to fly on Delta but you want to book via Virgin Atlantic (this article explains exactly how to do that). You can look at the chart in my guide and see that American Express Membership Rewards®, Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou® Points all transfer 1:1 to Virgin. Then you could browse my Best Offers page — where I list all my favorite current offers — to see which cards currently have good bonuses and earn those kinds of points.

Pro Tip: Transfer Bonuses

Most points transfer 1:1 when you transfer from a program like Chase Ultimate Rewards® to an airline or hotel. But! Banks run promos throughout the year where certain transfers offer a bonus. I don’t currently maintain an updated list of transfer bonuses, but you can find one here.

Routing Tips

Depending on where you’re traveling from, South America isn’t as far as you might think! For example, the flight from Miami to Lima is only about 5 1/2 hours. Of course, the farther south you go (or the farther north you start from), the longer the flight time will be. Here are some routing tips to help you find a flight that works for you.

Check FlightConnections.com for Nonstop Options

If your local airport has a nonstop flight to South America, that’s a great place to start. You can go to flightconnections.com to see all the options from your local airport. 

Atlanta (ATL), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), New York City (JFK), and Miami (MIA) offer the most nonstops from the United States to South America.  Several other airports also have some nice options.

The largest airports in South America are Lima (LIM), Bogota (BOG), Sao Paulo (GRU), and Santiago (SCL). You’ll find the most flights into these airports. It may make sense to start your journey by flying into one of these airports and then continuing to your final destination from there. 

Consider Booking Each Way Separately

With points and miles, there usually isn’t a difference between booking a round-trip flight or two one-way tickets. Because of this, it can often make sense to use one program to book a flight TO your destination and then use a different program to book the return flight.  Booking this way gives you a lot of flexibility and can help give you more options. 

Two notable exceptions are Delta and Japan Airlines. When you book with one of these programs, you can typically save a lot of miles by booking a round trip instead of two one-way tickets.

Top Options

American Airlines

American offers the lowest point pricing to South America, and fees are also low. Flights start between 13,500 and 22,000 points each way (depending on distance).

Another nice thing about American is you can often add a connection from your home airport for the same price. You don’t need to make your way to a larger airport to get the best deal, which saves a lot of time and money.

Sample Card Strategy for a Family of Four

Citi offers both American Airlines co-branded cards and cards that can transfer points to American Airlines. You’d need 108,000 American miles to fly four people round trip from the Southern part of the United States to Lima. Starting from farther north or going farther south costs a bit more but is still very reasonable: New York City’s JFK to Buenos Aires (EZE) is just 44,000 miles per person for a round trip. Here are some cards you can get to earn those miles:

• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® – The standard offer is 65,000 miles. Each parent can get one of these cards for a total of 130,000 miles.
• Citi^® / AAdvantage^® Platinum Select^® World Elite Mastercard^® – This is the personal version of the card. The bonus is often 80,000 miles. If both parents open this card, that’s another 160,000 miles.
• Alternatively, you could open the Citi Strata Elite℠ Card or Citi Strata Premier® Card to earn miles that can be transferred to American Airlines.

Using Oneworld Alliance Partners to Book onto American

British Airways, Alaska Airlines, and Japan Airlines all offer decent pricing to South America on American Airlines flights. Taxes and fees are reasonable.

Many flights on American booked via their oneworld Alliance partners are between 44,000 and 55,000 miles round trip.

It can be easier to earn British Airways Avios because every major bank transfers to at least one Avios partner. Transfer bonuses are frequent, which can make the actual number of miles needed even lower. The cheapest flights booked through British Airways are nonstops. Flights with connections will take more miles.

Sample Card Strategy for a Family of Four

• Open cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® (these transfer to Avios partners). A great option is the Chase Ink family of cards.
• Open cards that earn Venture miles (these transfer to Avios partners and Japan Airlines).
• If you follow our Three Year Plan, you’ll earn plenty of these points!

Compare with Cash Prices

Before transferring points to book your flight, it’s worth comparing cash prices to the point prices. If cash prices are reasonable, you can use your points in a bank travel portal like Chase Travel℠ or Capital One Travel to book the flight and have your taxes and fees included in the price.

A cash flight that costs $700 would take just 70,000 points to book in most bank travel portals with no additional taxes and fees.

Star Alliance Sweet Spots

The best way to book flights on Star Alliance carriers is not necessarily with their own points and miles currencies. Star Alliance airlines release certain seats to other Star Alliance airlines to allow bookings with points. This means you could use Air Canada Aeroplan miles to book onto United and vice versa.

The major options for booking Star Alliance flights with points are via ANA, Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, and United MileagePlus. As you’ll see, pricing in miles varies a lot, and even the taxes and fees can vary a lot.

United MileagePlus, ANA, and Singapore KrisFlyer offer the best value (if you balance cost in miles and factor in fees). More banks transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer miles than United or ANA, so it can often be easier to earn those miles.

Air Canada offers decent pricing for its own flights, but this will require a stop in Canada (usually Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto).

How to Search for Star Alliance Award Availability:

Start your search on United.com to see 30-day availability.

For United flights: Look for awards marked “Saver” — these are the ones that will be released to Star Alliance partners. At this time, those are usually 30,000-45,000 miles each way, depending on distance. 

If you are booking through Avianca, Aeroplan, Singapore, or ANA, you can search United.com for awards that will be released to Star Alliance partners. It’s often easier to search on United to find availability first and then check whether you can find the same flight on a partner site.

Air Canada Aeroplan: from 60,000 miles + CA $203

Best for: When there is a transfer bonus to Air Canada.

Cost: Aeroplan uses a distance-based chart, meaning the price varies depending on how far you’re flying. Flights start at 30,000 miles each way. Taxes and fees to South America are around $100 Canadian each way.

Air Canada Round-Trip Booking Example: IAH-LIM (on United, Avianca, and Copa) — 60,000 miles + CA $203

Air Canada Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on Avianca) — 80,000 miles + CA $245

Air Canada Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU (on Air Canada) — 78,600 miles + CA $125

ANA Mileage Club: from 60,000 miles + $69

Best for: If you have a lot of American Express points.

Cost: ANA Mileage Club currently charges 30,000 miles each way in economy from the United States to South America. Fuel surcharges change regularly and can move up and down since they are somewhat tied to oil pricing.

ANA Round-Trip Booking Example: IAH-LIM (on United and Avianca) — 60,000 miles + $69

ANA Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on Avianca) — 60,000 miles + $100

Avianca Lifemiles: from 53,640 points + $188

Best for: Avianca flights. You can also use Avianca to book onto United flights, but it costs slightly more miles (around 32,000 each way).

Cost: The standard rate is around 26,000 miles each way. Taxes and fees are somewhat high at around $200 for a round trip. 

Lifemiles Round-Trip Booking Example: IAH-LIM (on Avianca) — 53,640 miles + $188

Lifemiles Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on Avianca) — 52,000 miles + $230

Singapore Airlines: from 70,000 miles + $70

Best for: Star Alliance flights.

Cost: Singapore uses a zone-based award chart. Prices start at 30,000 miles each way for a saver award from the United States to South America.

Singapore Round-Trip Booking Example: IAH-LIM (on Avianca and United) — 70,000 miles + $70

Singapore Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on Avianca) — 70,000 miles + $100

United Airlines: from 60,000 miles + $69 (or 54,000 miles for United cardmembers)

Best for: Star Alliance flights.

Cost: United uses dynamic pricing, so award rates can vary. The best value is with their “Saver” awards. You can find one-way award tickets to and from South America from 30,000 points each way. 

United Round-Trip Booking Example: IAH-LIM — 60,000 miles + $69

Cardmembers pay 54,000 miles.

United Round-Trip Booking Example: LGA-EZE — 90,000 miles + $105

Cardmembers pay 81,000 miles.

United Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU — 85,600 miles + $41

Cardmembers pay 77,000 miles.

Oneworld Alliance Sweet Spots

Booking via American Airlines is the best option for oneworld Alliance flights. It has low prices and low fees for partner airlines.

You can also book flights through Alaska Airlines and Japan Airlines. Pricing is similar between those two programs. 

British Airways charges more points, but it can be easier to earn those points since every major bank transfers to at least one Avios partner. Transfer bonuses to Avios partners are frequent, which can bring down the total number of miles needed.

Note: Booking through Qatar costs considerably more than any of the other options, so it’s not included here.

You can also book through Qantas, but it’s very difficult to find availability for returning to the United States.

How to Search for Oneworld Availability

It’s easy to search on AA.com to see 30-day availability. If you have a certain route you are searching, you can also find the cheapest date in a 365-day range at SeatSpy.

American Airlines: from 27,000 miles + $74

Best for: The lowest prices and flying from smaller airports.

Cost: American Airlines uses dynamic pricing for their own flights, so prices vary. The lowest rates to South America start at either 13,500 points or 22,000 points each way, depending on distance. Taxes and fees are low, typically under $100 for a round trip. 

American Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-LIM — 27,000 miles + $74

American Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE — 44,000 miles + $100

American Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU — 44,000 miles + $41

Alaska Airlines: from 45,000 miles + $100

Best for: Booking free stopovers, even on a one-way flight. 

Cost: Flights start at 22,500 miles each way. Alaska uses a distance-based award chart. This means that longer routes take more miles.

Alaska Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-LIM (on American) — 45,000 miles + $100

Alaska Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on American) — 50,000 miles + $126

Alaska Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU (on American) — 55,000 miles + $67

British Airways: from 57,000 miles + $100

Best for: Direct flights. If you want to fly American but don’t have a lot of AA miles or when there is a transfer bonus to Avios.

Cost: British Airways uses a distance-based chart, so the price varies based on your route. Award flights are priced by segment, so flights with connections take more miles than direct flights. The taxes and fees are surprisingly reasonable (usually British Airways adds high fuel surcharges).

Booking Tip: British Airways adds together each segment you fly so generally it’s best to book this way only for nonstop flights. But occasionally even adding a connection will still be a reasonable price.

British Airways Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-LIM (on American) — 80,000 miles + $74

Note: This route includes a stop in Miami. If you book the MIA-LIM flight only, the cost is 44,000 miles + $69 round trip (see example below).

British Airways Round-Trip Booking Example: MIA-LIM (on American with NO connection) — 44,000 miles + $69

British Airways Round-Trip Booking Example: ONT (Los Angeles) to GRU (on American) — 97,000 miles + $41

Note: This route includes a stop in DFW. If you book the DFW-GRU flight only, the price is 57,000 miles + $36 (see example below).

British Airways Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-GRU (on American with NO connection) — 57,000 miles + $36

British Airways Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on American) — 57,000 miles + $100

Japan Airlines: from 45,000 miles + $74

Best for: Round-trip flights on oneworld Alliance partners like American Airlines.

Cost: Starts at 45,000 miles round trip for flights on American. Taxes and fees are reasonable.

Booking Tips: While it’s best to book round trip for the best price, you don’t have to arrive and depart from the same city. For example, it’s possible to fly into Lima and out of Santiago. Japan Airlines makes it easy to book multiple stops on the same itinerary. You could fly from Dallas to Lima, Lima to Santiago, then Santiago back to Dallas all on one ticket. The mileage price of the ticket is based on the total distance flown regardless of how many segments are included. Taxes and fees can vary by airport and airline flown.

Japan Airlines Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-LIM (on American) — 45,000 miles + $74

Japan Airlines Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on American) — 50,000 miles + $100

Japan Airlines Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU (on American) — 55,000 miles + $47

SkyTeam Sweet Spots

Pricing for flights to South America on SkyTeam partners is a bit higher than other options. But it’s very easy to earn points with both Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue, especially because transfer bonuses are frequent to both of these programs.

If Delta has a sale, you can get a good deal booking through them, but there’s no way to predict when the next sale will be.

Delta: from 58,000 miles + $74

Best for: Flash sales on Delta and booking from regional airports.

Cost: Delta pricing is the most volatile of all the U.S. airlines. There can be some great deals on Delta but they aren’t predictable. Prices go up and down regularly. 

Delta Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-LIM (on Delta) — 58,000 miles + $74

Delta Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on Delta) — 86,000 miles + $100

Delta Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU (on Delta) — 66,000 miles + $42

Flying Blue: starting at 56,000 miles + $134

Best for: Flights on Delta.

Cost: Cost varies depending on your route. I give several examples below, but the cost starts at 28,000 miles each way. Kids 2-12 get a 25% discount on award flight pricing.

Note: You can also book flights on other partners like Copa and Aeromexico.

Flying Blue Round-Trip Booking Example: DFW-LIM (on Delta) — 56,000 points + $134

Flying Blue Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on Copa) — 57,000 points + $202

Flying Blue Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU (on Copa and Aeromexico) — 73,000 points + $182

Virgin Atlantic: starting at 50,000 points + $138

Best for: Booking LATAM flights when Virgin Atlantic has a transfer bonus. 

Cost: Flights start at 25,000 miles each way. Taxes and fees vary but are typically under $100 each way.

Booking Tips: You can also book Delta flights through Virgin Atlantic, but they can be hard to find. It’s fairly easy to find availability on LATAM.

Virgin Round-Trip Booking Example: ATL-LIM (on LATAM) — 50,000 points + $138

Virgin Round-Trip Booking Example: JFK-EZE (on LATAM) — 75,000 points + $193

Virgin Round-Trip Booking Example: LAX-GRU (on LATAM) — 75,000 points + $118

Table Comparing Round-Trip Flight Prices to South America

Here’s a comparison of all of the point prices plus the taxes and fees.