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Deal Alert: Award Flights to Mexico From 12,000 Miles Round-Trip

Sept. 08, 2018
3 min read
Cancun beach, Mexico
Deal Alert: Award Flights to Mexico From 12,000 Miles Round-Trip
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Delta continues to impress us with one award sale after another. Currently, you can book flights to Australia from 48,000 SkyMiles round-trip in economy and flights to South Korea for 50,000 miles in economy or 70,000 SkyMiles round-trip in premium economy. And today, we are seeing deals to Mexican destinations of Mexico City, Los Cabos and Cancun starting at just 12,000 SkyMiles round-trip.

At current TPG valuations, 12,000 SkyMiles are worth just $144. Adding in taxes and fees starting at $99 and this is similar to scoring a $243 round-trip deal. For reference, American Airlines and United award flights to Mexico start at no fewer than 30,000 miles round-trip.

If you're short on miles, remember that you can instantly transfer American Express Membership Rewards points into your SkyMiles account at 1:1 ratio.

Airline: Delta
Routes: LAX/JFK/MIA/BOS/ATL to SJD/MEX/CUN/GDL
Cost: From 12,000 miles plus taxes/fees starting at $99 round-trip. One-way flights are pricing at half of the round-trip price.
Travel Dates: September-November
Purchase By: September 12
Restrictions: Terms note that a Friday night stay is required, but this restriction isn't being applied in practice.
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige (5x on airfare) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)

Here are a few examples of what you can book:

Los Angeles (LAX) to Mexico City (MEX) for 12,000 miles + $106 round-trip nonstop:

Los Angeles (LAX) to Los Cabos, Mexico (SJD) for 12,000 miles + $99 round-trip nonstop:

New York Kennedy (JFK) to Mexico City (MEX) for 14,000 SkyMiles + $106 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:

New York Kennedy (JFK) to Cancun (CUN) for 14,000 miles + $81 round-trip nonstop:

Miami (MIA) to Mexico City (MEX) for 14,000 miles + $111 round-trip:

Los Angeles (LAX) to Cancun (CUN) for 16,000 miles + $81 round-trip nonstop:

Boston (BOS) to Cancun (CUN) for 18,000 SkyMiles + $86 in taxes and fees round-trip:

Atlanta (ATL) to Cancun (CUN) for 20,000 SkyMiles + $81 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:

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Atlanta (ATL) to Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL) for 20,000 SkyMiles + $99 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:

Maximize Your Purchase

Don't forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases to pay the taxes and fees, such as the Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige (5x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.

If you don't have enough SkyMiles in your account, consider signing up for one of the Delta credit cards to ensure you're able to take advantage of a deal next time one pops up. For example, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express currently comes with a bonus of 30,000 bonus miles after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases within your first 3 months and a $50 Statement Credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. Terms Apply.

Featured image by Getty Images

TPG featured card

Rewards rate
5X milesEarn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
2X milesEarn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
Intro offer
Open Intro bonus
Enjoy a $250 travel credit & earn 75K bonus miles
Annual fee
$95
Regular APR
19.49% - 28.49% (Variable)
Recommended credit
Open Credit score description
670-850Excellent, Good

Pros

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Cons

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  • LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
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  • Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
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