Out of Office Message: South America Here I Come
I'm about to head out of my year-end vacation. I'll be hitting up Rio de Janeiro for New Years Eve and then heading on to Uruguay (Montevideo, Punta del Este) and ending in Buenos Aires. I'll be blogging from down south, but you may have to forgive the frequency. It's been a crazy year and I'm really excited to relax and down some caipirinhas.
I'll also be writing detailed trip reports since I'll be flying United's "new" First Class product and American's Flagship suite on the way home.
In summary, this 12 day trip was almost entirely financed with points. I'm not bragging, but moreso showing the value of working hard to accrue points and miles. I would have never been able to afford this trip, especially in the peak season, if I had to pay for it out of pocket.
Summary of the trip:
67,500 One way first class award to Rio on United on their 767 aircraft (new first class)
4 nights at Intercontinental Rio at 20,000 Priority Club points and $60 a night over New Years (when the hotel was retailing at $500+/night)
Tickets from Rio to Montevideo were purchased on Pluna for ~$300 each. Delta announced their partnership with Gol two weeks after I booked tickets, so I would have tried going that route if possible.
1 night at the Four Points Montevideo- was only $120, so I am paying for that room. Didn't make sense to use points
3 nights at the Conrad Punta Del Este. Rooms were over $400/night, so I converted 55,000 AA miles to 110,000 Hilton points for $30 and then used 35,000 points a night.
2 nights at the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. I booked it before Hyatt's category changes at 15,000 points a night. A steal if you ask me, since the average daily rate is currently $545 for the nights we will be there.
67,500 One way first class award EZE (Buenos Aires)-JFK on American
Escaping cold, snow battered NYC: Priceless.
[card card-name='The Platinum Card® from American Express' card-id='22504813' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
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Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
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Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
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- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month