Tag Archives: Central America

Central American Adventure – Putting It All Together

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This was a pretty complicated itinerary that required several different air mile programs to complete.  You can find my guide to using miles to get to Central America here.   I used miles from my Top 8 recommended programs.  Simply put, we flew from Brisbane to Belize, overland to Flores, flew Flores via Guatemala City to San Jose, Costa Rica; and another short hop to Panama.  From there we flew Panama to Las Vegas, rental car to LAX, flew to Maui, then a short hop to Honolulu.  The final return was Honolulu-Brisbane.  Now let’s break it down into individual airline awards.

1.  US AIRWAYS – South Pacific-Central America award in business class – 120,000 each.  This was the hardest one to get as it was in August when availability trans-Pacific is at a premium.  The other challenge I had to deal with was that US was starting to enforce maximum permitted mileage though there were still some agents who didn’t seem to have  a clue.  My first suggested itinerary used ANA via Tokyo on a 787 to Seattle but for some reason US agents couldn’t see that space even though I could see it easily on UA’s tool.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as there were problems with 787 aircraft leading to many cancellations.  We finally booked the open jaw using Thai from Brisbane – Bangkok – Seoul, Air Canada from Seoul – Vancouver, then United (only had economy seats available) from Vancouver – Houston – Belize.  BNE-BKK-ICN-YVR-IAH-BZE.  The return was easier, a simple Honolulu – Seoul – Bangkok on Asiana, then a tight connection to Thai for the final flight to Brisbane.  HNL-ICN-BKK-BNE.  We used miles earned from the Grand Slam promo held annually from 2008-2011.

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2.  UNITED AIRLINES – Central America award Flores – Guatemala City – San Jose, Costa Rica.  Easily booked online at United for 7500 miles each using flights operated by Aviateca and Lacsa as part of TACA.  Miles earned from credit card sign-ups.

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3.  AVIANCA-TACA LIFEMILES award San Jose – Panama in economy for 7000 miles each.  Original flight was on Lacsa but when this flight was cancelled I got them to put us on Copa.  Miles sourced from Lifemiles Visa sign-up.

4.  LIFEMILES award on Copa, Panama – Las Vegas, 15,000 miles each.  I specifically chose Vegas as our point of entry to the USA after research showed there were very few international flights to LAS so customs would be easier.  I was right, it was a breeze!  Miles sourced from Lifemiles Visa sign-up, the shopping promo from Oct 2012 and needed to top up some miles & cash.

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5. AVIOS redemption on American Airlines, LAX – Maui, 12,500 Avios each.  Easily booked online for the morning flight 10 months in advance.  Miles sourced from Chase BA Visa sign-up.

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6.  HAWAIIAN AIRLINES cash ticket from Maui – Honolulu.  I found a cheap deal for $60 each so decided not to waste miles on this one.

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I had been planning this trip several years in advance and knew which credit cards to get and which promos to use to make it happen.  I have no idea how much cash we would have needed for 2 people to actually pay for all these flights but my total outlay for taxes and cash components was somewhere around $1000-1200 max.  Without strategic use of miles, we never would have been able to do this trip!

Tomorrow, I will discuss how hotel points saved us more money which made us able to spend more on the independent eco-lodges.  I will also give reviews on the airlines involved and airports we visited.

Birding Central America On A Budget

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The countries of Central America are rich in birdlife and easily accessible from the USA so no wonder they are so popular!  It is quite easy to get to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala using frequent flier miles. Just the parrot lists alone could tempt you but when you add in Resplendant Quetzals, Motmots and more……………!  Right now there are two offers that can help get you there very cheaply using miles and points.  In this post, I will talk about getting there on miles.  Priority Club Pointbreaks has some good deals on too but they will be on a separate post.  By taking advantage of these offers, you greatly reduce your costs and have more money to spend on local eco-lodges and great birding guides once you get there!

Signing up for credit cards can be a useful means of getting frequent flyer miles, especially for US residents.  I recently received an email from Barclays with a special offer that states the following:

WHO SAYS IT'S BETTER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE?
Cardmembers can earn 5,000 bonus miles every time a friend becomes a new cardmember, up to 50,000 bonus miles(1, 5)
New Cardmembers can earn up to 40,000 bonus miles with qualifying transactions(2,5)
FOR CARDMEMBERS FOR NON-CARDMEMBERS
You can earn up to 5,000 bonus miles for each friend that is approved for the US Airways Dividend Miles® Premier World MasterCard®, up to 50,000 bonus miles(1) Earn up to 30,000 bonus miles with first use(2), up to 10,000 bonus miles for initial balance transfers2 and enjoy more great benefits.Please see "Important Balance Transfer Bonus Miles Information" below for more information about these bonus miles.
FORWARD TO A FRIEND APPLY TODAY
Dear Tara,For a limited time, when you tell friends and family about how the US Airways
Dividend Miles Premier World MasterCard can give them more, you can earn up to 50,000 bonus miles.

Getting your rewards is quick and easy:

Forward this email to share this special
offer with your friends
Receive 5,000 bonus miles for each
referral that activates their US Airways MasterCard account by July 31st, 20131
Earn up to 50,000 total bonus miles1

This special offer won’t last long, so tell your friends about the benefits of card membership, have them apply and activate their account by July 31st, 2013 for your chance to earn 5,000 bonus miles.

 Dear friend of Tara,For a limited time, you can earn up to 40,000 bonus miles with qualifying transactions on a new US Airways
Dividend Miles Premier World MasterCard.3

Start earning benefits such as:

30,000 bonus miles with first use2
Up to 10,000 bonus miles on initial
balance transfers2
First Class check-in and Zone 2 boarding2
Annual certificate redeemable for up to
two $99 companion tickets2

This special offer won’t last long, so activate your account by July 31st, 2013 to get the card that gives you more miles, more award travel and great benefits.

 

 

So how can you tell if this is a good deal for you?

First you need to compare the cost of buying a ticket to Central America with the cost of getting this card and just paying the taxes.  For a quick estimate, just plug the dates into Expedia or Travelocity to get some ideas or use the airlines websites.  Let’s use Belize for an example.  Since we need to use US Airways flights to get the discount of 5000 miles, I will use that as an example.  US Airways flights are seasonal so right now there is no availability after Aug.  In real life, I would have booked this at least 10 months in advance.  For screenshots to illustrate, I will use what I can get.  First thing to look for is the pale blue color code which indicates the low level redemption of 17,500 miles each way, round trip required.

US Airways Availability

I found some, not on the dates I would have preferred but at least we can get a 9 day trip which gives plenty of time to see Belize and Tikal in neighboring Guatemala via San Ignacio.  The system recognizes me as a credit card holder and automatically subtracts 5000 miles.  So as you can see, by signing up for this credit card, you get enough miles for a cheap trip to Central America if you can find the availability.  You won’t be able to do it this year as the bonus will post too late to take advantage of it, but you could plan for next year.  If the merge with AA has taken place by then, your US miles will become AA miles which are also good for getting to Central America.

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Paying cash for the trip would cost $638 plus tax of $109 which you have to pay in either case so by getting the credit card and booking an award trip you have saved $638.

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Disclosure:  Using my link which is valid until 31 July gives me a referral credit of 5000 miles if you are approved.  If you choose to use my link, I appreciate your support.  Barclays often has different offers available to different people some better than others and they change rapidly.  Some may be targeted, some may be for everyone.  This thread in FlyerTalk has the most up to date information about what offers are available.  The terms and conditions of the offer are as above in the screenshot and provided in detail here.  Please read them carefully before applying for this card.  Also please make sure that you can pay the card in full each month so you don’t end up with interest charges.  I have had this card for several years and have been happy with it.  When US and AA merge, this card will be going away so you won’t have much longer to get it if you want it.  I am not a qualified financial advisor but if you have questions on how to use this offer, please ask in the comments and I will do my best.