I have been coming back and forth from the USA to Argentina for many years. I have usually been able to find a good deal but lately the miles are sky high. I am fairly flexible to which cities but I'm on the East coast and mostly have flown to Miami or JFK but I have also flown through DFW or Atlanta as well. Any recommendations of which miles programs to use?
Explore, connect, thrive in
the expat community
Expat Life: Local Discoveries, Global Connections
Any frequent flyer award/miles redemption programs with decent redemptions from EZE to USA?
- Thread starter MikeYoung
- Start date
earlyretirement
Moderator
Many airlines severely cut the # of flights since COVID and never returned to the # of flights they had before. Some airlines like American Airlines cut back routes many years ago. I used to fly from LAX to EZE and it was great but now it's a hassle flying from West Coast to Buenos Aires. I usually fly American Airlines from via DFW. There is NO direct flight from the West Coast.
As you noted, it's difficult to get a mile saver lower 30,000 mile trip these days on American. What I recommend is you use a paid website like Point.me. I use that one but it's not as powerful as it used to be. They used to have a 3 day search but now it's gone.
www.point.me
I also heard that Built Rewards has a search but I have't used it much:
Also, being on the West Coast what I sometimes do is also fly into Mexico City on Aeromexico and then just get a cheap ticket from Mexico City to Tijuana and then walk over on Cross Border Express (CBX). You can see a sample search I did on Point.me from EZE to LAX and American Express has a promotion now. Even though Aeromexico charges 50,000 points for that route, there is a 1,600 points for every 1,000 points transferred on the Amex Membership Rewards so it's only 32,000 points if you have Amex Points.
I also recommend to check out Flyertalk Forums:
And a great forum that has a lot of frequent flyer stuff is at:
As you noted, it's difficult to get a mile saver lower 30,000 mile trip these days on American. What I recommend is you use a paid website like Point.me. I use that one but it's not as powerful as it used to be. They used to have a 3 day search but now it's gone.
Book Travel with Points | Award Flight Search & Booking | point.me
Search and book award flights and maximize the value of your points. Travel on points for less with point.me's flight award search tool.
I also heard that Built Rewards has a search but I have't used it much:
Bilt - Rewards on rent. Benefits in your neighborhood.
Join the loyalty program for your home and neighborhood. Earn points on rent and get access to exclusive benefits across dining, travel, fitness, and more.
www.biltrewards.com
Also, being on the West Coast what I sometimes do is also fly into Mexico City on Aeromexico and then just get a cheap ticket from Mexico City to Tijuana and then walk over on Cross Border Express (CBX). You can see a sample search I did on Point.me from EZE to LAX and American Express has a promotion now. Even though Aeromexico charges 50,000 points for that route, there is a 1,600 points for every 1,000 points transferred on the Amex Membership Rewards so it's only 32,000 points if you have Amex Points.
I also recommend to check out Flyertalk Forums:
And a great forum that has a lot of frequent flyer stuff is at:
Avocado
Well-known member
Wow! Thank you @earlyretirement. That is incredibly helpful!
Uncle Wong
Well-known member
Thank you so much! I didn't know there was a website where you can look up award deals. This is great!Many airlines severely cut the # of flights since COVID and never returned to the # of flights they had before. Some airlines like American Airlines cut back routes many years ago. I used to fly from LAX to EZE and it was great but now it's a hassle flying from West Coast to Buenos Aires. I usually fly American Airlines from via DFW. There is NO direct flight from the West Coast.
As you noted, it's difficult to get a mile saver lower 30,000 mile trip these days on American. What I recommend is you use a paid website like Point.me. I use that one but it's not as powerful as it used to be. They used to have a 3 day search but now it's gone.
Book Travel with Points | Award Flight Search & Booking | point.me
Search and book award flights and maximize the value of your points. Travel on points for less with point.me's flight award search tool.
I also heard that Built Rewards has a search but I have't used it much:
Bilt - Rewards on rent. Benefits in your neighborhood.
Join the loyalty program for your home and neighborhood. Earn points on rent and get access to exclusive benefits across dining, travel, fitness, and more.www.biltrewards.com
Also, being on the West Coast what I sometimes do is also fly into Mexico City on Aeromexico and then just get a cheap ticket from Mexico City to Tijuana and then walk over on Cross Border Express (CBX). You can see a sample search I did on Point.me from EZE to LAX and American Express has a promotion now. Even though Aeromexico charges 50,000 points for that route, there is a 1,600 points for every 1,000 points transferred on the Amex Membership Rewards so it's only 32,000 points if you have Amex Points.
View attachment 1268
I also recommend to check out Flyertalk Forums:
And a great forum that has a lot of frequent flyer stuff is at:
earlyretirement
Moderator
You are certainly welcome. There are a lot of other tools online. There are booking award services as well but I typically recommend that you use one of these websites. Also, if you get more advanced, you can use websites like this. You can sign up for a free trial. You can get alerted once an airline has a reward available and you can see which awards are available.
ExpertFlyer
ExpertFlyer will change the way you fly. Quickly find information on flight availability, seats, fares, and the best options for using your frequent flyer miles.
www.expertflyer.com
StatusNomadicus
Well-known member
my favorite phrase! i've been credit-card-churning for over 10 years and my friends have slowly started to notice that you can fly for free while just spending what you'd spend, anyway, but if your attention to detail isn't really good, travel-hacking isn't for everyone.
i get a card i can spend on, and make sure it's not too much. then i get on Google Travel/Flights: https://www.google.com/travel/flights
..and i do a reverse-search, so in your case, Buenos Aires to anywhere else in the world (zoomed-in on USA for you), and then see what's cheap. https://www.google.com/travel/explo...uep0pAESKZty8FoUjAEhIJy9C2WwFKLEARSObtS2H9YMA
(not sure if that link will work). then i find the cheapest days from the cities i would be willing to fly out of around that date, and i click the calendar to see Google Flights' prices. then i look at AA.com and the other 2 main carriers and see what i have points in, or Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Costco.com travel, then see if i can get a flight for cheap. attached screenshot if you haven't used Google Travel.
prices DO seem high right now. here's an initial AA search with miles:
"Ida y vuelta (por persona)
MIA a EZE
30.000 millas
EZE a MIA
25.000 millas
Total (todos los pasajeros)
55.000 millas + $105.40
Incluye impuestos y tasas fijadas"
so, $106 USD and 55k AA miles for MIA-EZE.
i got my flight Tampa-Miami-BsAs for $150 USD and 70,500 Chase points, so that was a little high also. flying to BsAs just seems expensive, so hopefully the Open Skies policy changes that. i prefer spending 600 bucks for a roundtrip, but post-COVID-lockdowns sh*t is just mor expensive. but,
$592 Lima, $630 Rome roundtrip from PHX
Google Travel
www.google.com
Attachments
StatusNomadicus
Well-known member
@MikeYoung any findings?
i don't know how much longer American/Barclays will do it, but i got the Aviator card for a $99 annual fee and if you make a single purchase, no matter if even just $1, you get 60k AA miles. and if you add an authorized user (my gf and i added each other), you get 15k more, so 75k
"AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®" if you haven't had it in a while, try getting this bonus for those miles! AA flies MIA-EZE so it would be helpful
cards.barclaycardus.com
in this example, i'll get 75k and my gf will get 75k, for spending 100 dollars. we'll use the AA miles, cancel in 11 months before the annual fee, and we'll probably save $800 each because of these miles. here's American Airlines' redemption chart:
if anyone wants more info on "Travel Hacking" or "credit card churning" i've been doing it for a decade and am happy to post links to useful sites
a roundtrip AA MIA-EZE 09Mar-09Apr would cost a total of:
Main - Round trip (per person)
60,000 miles + $99.80 (Includes taxes and carrier-imposed fees)
...so 60k miles and 100 bucks for round-trip MIA-EZE, which if you include the $99 annual fee for the card, you're getting a roundtrip flight for $200 USD. that would cost at a minimum $574 USD if you took the cheapest flight on Google Travel:
www.google.com
i don't know how much longer American/Barclays will do it, but i got the Aviator card for a $99 annual fee and if you make a single purchase, no matter if even just $1, you get 60k AA miles. and if you add an authorized user (my gf and i added each other), you get 15k more, so 75k
"AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®" if you haven't had it in a while, try getting this bonus for those miles! AA flies MIA-EZE so it would be helpful
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® | Barclays US
Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. See Terms. Apply today!
in this example, i'll get 75k and my gf will get 75k, for spending 100 dollars. we'll use the AA miles, cancel in 11 months before the annual fee, and we'll probably save $800 each because of these miles. here's American Airlines' redemption chart:
Where are you traveling?
Miles shown are estimated starting values for one-way trips originating in North America, for informational purposes only. Two flight awards are needed if your one-way trip includes two long haul international flights.| Region: | Main Cabin starting at: | Premium Economy starting at: | Business / First starting at: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contiguous 48 U.S. states + Canada | 7,500 | – | 15,000 |
| Mexico + Caribbean + Central America | 10,000 | – | 20,000 |
| South America – Short Haul | 15,000 | – | 30,000 |
| Hawaii + Alaska | 20,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 |
| Europe | 25,000 | 50,000 | 75,000 |
| South America – Long Haul | 30,000 | 60,000 | 90,000 |
| Asia + Middle East + South Pacific | 35,000 | 60,000 | 95,000 |
if anyone wants more info on "Travel Hacking" or "credit card churning" i've been doing it for a decade and am happy to post links to useful sites
a roundtrip AA MIA-EZE 09Mar-09Apr would cost a total of:
Main - Round trip (per person)
60,000 miles + $99.80 (Includes taxes and carrier-imposed fees)
...so 60k miles and 100 bucks for round-trip MIA-EZE, which if you include the $99 annual fee for the card, you're getting a roundtrip flight for $200 USD. that would cost at a minimum $574 USD if you took the cheapest flight on Google Travel:
Google Flights
www.google.com
This is great! Can you please post a thread in the Travel section on this topic? I never heard of this before! Many can add what they know.@MikeYoung any findings?
i don't know how much longer American/Barclays will do it, but i got the Aviator card for a $99 annual fee and if you make a single purchase, no matter if even just $1, you get 60k AA miles. and if you add an authorized user (my gf and i added each other), you get 15k more, so 75k
"AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®" if you haven't had it in a while, try getting this bonus for those miles! AA flies MIA-EZE so it would be helpful
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® | Barclays US
Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. See Terms. Apply today!
in this example, i'll get 75k and my gf will get 75k, for spending 100 dollars. we'll use the AA miles, cancel in 11 months before the annual fee, and we'll probably save $800 each because of these miles. here's American Airlines' redemption chart:
Where are you traveling?
Miles shown are estimated starting values for one-way trips originating in North America, for informational purposes only. Two flight awards are needed if your one-way trip includes two long haul international flights.
Region: Main Cabin starting at: Premium Economy starting at: Business / First starting at: Contiguous 48 U.S. states + Canada 7,500 – 15,000 Mexico + Caribbean + Central America 10,000 – 20,000 South America – Short Haul 15,000 – 30,000 Hawaii + Alaska 20,000 40,000 60,000 Europe 25,000 50,000 75,000 South America – Long Haul 30,000 60,000 90,000 Asia + Middle East + South Pacific 35,000 60,000 95,000
if anyone wants more info on "Travel Hacking" or "credit card churning" i've been doing it for a decade and am happy to post links to useful sites
a roundtrip AA MIA-EZE 09Mar-09Apr would cost a total of:
Main - Round trip (per person)
60,000 miles + $99.80 (Includes taxes and carrier-imposed fees)
...so 60k miles and 100 bucks for round-trip MIA-EZE, which if you include the $99 annual fee for the card, you're getting a roundtrip flight for $200 USD. that would cost at a minimum $574 USD if you took the cheapest flight on Google Travel:
Google Flights
StatusNomadicus
Well-known member
make one! i'm not sure which aspect you are interested in, so post your specific question and maybe other people can add their favorite cards 🙂
StatusNomadicus
Well-known member
meant to attach the screenshot showing how easy Barclays makes the award confirmation.
Attachments
Vince
Well-known member
I read this article today and thought of this post. My sister never pays for flights to visit me. She is always using points. I guess I need to sign up for some of these cards!
www.businessinsider.com
I lived and traveled abroad for 7 months using credit-card points. My stash of miles meant I barely had to pay anything out of pocket.
After a year of saving credit card points, I financed my move from the US to South America. I lived in and traveled around Argentina for seven months.
www.businessinsider.com
Engage explore adapt in your expat community.
