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Deal alert: Award flights to Brazil have dropped to 15k miles each way

Benji Stawski
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Benji Stawski is a former reporter for the site, covering all things points, miles, credit cards, travel and aviation.
Jan. 22, 2020
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5 min read
World Cup - Brazil
Deal alert: Award flights to Brazil have dropped to 15k miles each way
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Been considering a trip to Brazil? American Airlines just dropped award prices on flights to Brazil to as low as 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles each way.

We are seeing the low fares from a couple of major U.S. cities to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) and São Paulo (GRU), including nonstop options out of New York-JFK. There’s also good news for those wanting to fly premium economy, with options out of Boston (BOS) from just 25,000 miles each way. The low fares are available from March through May 2020, though you should play around with the award calendar to find the best availability.

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American Airlines’ recent expansion of dynamic award pricing has been a case of good news/bad news, but considering TPG values 15,000 AAdvantage miles at just $210, this is definitely on the positive side. Per the American Airlines award chart, economy awards between the U.S. mainland and Brazil (South America Region 2) ordinarily cost 30,000 miles each way — twice what you'll pay through these Web Specials.

You can read more about Web Specials at the end of this story, but as a quick refresher, they don’t have all the usual American Airlines Basic Economy limitations and you can put them on hold for five days just like any other American Airlines award.

Another bonus? U.S. travelers no longer need a visa to enter Brazil.

Related reading: Maximizing points and miles to book a trip to Brazil

Airline: American Airlines
Routes: BOS/JFK/MIA/DFW/LAX to/from GIG/GRU
Cost: 15,000 AAdvantage miles in main cabin or 25,000+ AAdvantage miles in premium economy + $5.60 taxes and fees one-way
Dates: March through May 2020
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline), Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3x on airfare when booked directly with the airline) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel) for travel protections on the award flight.

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Here are a few examples of what you can book:

New York-JFK to São Paulo (GRU) for 15,000 AA miles + $5.60 one-way nonstop:

New York-JFK to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) for 15,000 AA miles + $5.60 one-way nonstop:

Boston (BOS) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) for 15,000 AA miles + $5.60 one-way:

Miami (MIA) to São Paulo (GRU) for 15,000 AA miles + $5.60 one-way:

Boston (BOS) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) for 25,000 AA miles + $5.60 one-way in premium economy:

How AA Web Specials work

Web Specials offer AAdvantage members a chance to book award flights for as little as 5,000 miles each way. Although American started with just six obscure routes, it has since expanded to flights around the world. You never know what you’ll find on the Web Special tab — for instance, economy flights to Australia and New Zealand were recently available for 10,000 miles round-trip.

There are some minor restrictions that come with Web Specials. We go through all of the details about how Web Specials work in this guide, but as a quick briefer:

  • These awards don’t have all of the American Airlines Basic Economy limitations.
  • Executive Platinum elites get upgrades as they can on other domestic economy awards.
  • Web Specials cannot be changed once ticketed, but you can cancel and reinstate your miles according to the same terms as any other AAdvantage award. A redeposit fee of $150 for the first passenger and $25 per additional passenger applies for everyone but AAdvantage Executive Platinum elites.
  • These deals aren’t available over the phone.

Related reading: Maximizing redemptions with American Airlines AAdvantage

Boosting your AAdvantage balance

There are a variety of ways to earn American miles — from AA-operated flights to trips on Oneworld airlines to various non-travel partners. However, one of the best ways to boost your American Airlines AAdvantage balance to score a few free trips is by adding one of these cards to your arsenal:

  • Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: 50,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months. Plus Admirals Club access for yourself and up to 10 authorized users. Annual fee of $450.
  • CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening. Annual fee of $99, waived the first year.
  • American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: 10,000 miles and a $50 statement credit after you spend $500 on purchases in three months — with no annual fee.

The information for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related reading: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers

Featured image by Getty Images/500px Prime
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.