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How to save on your next trip to Cancun with points and miles
Benji Stawski is a former reporter for the site, covering all things points, miles, credit cards, travel and aviation.
May 11, 2021 • 15 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.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.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
Cancun is a highly accessible and award-friendly destination, with nonstop flights from many U.S. cities and a strong presence of major hotel chains.
Travelers can use airline and hotel loyalty program points to book both flights and a wide range of resorts, including all-inclusive options.
Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam carriers all offer award flights to Cancun, with varying redemption rates and transfer opportunities from major points programs.
Many resorts in Cancun, including family and adults-only properties, can be booked with points, providing added value for travelers seeking to minimize out-of-pocket costs.
What to consider
Some offers and redemption rates mentioned may no longer be available, so current program terms should be checked before booking.
Award availability and required points can vary by program, travel dates and property, with dynamic pricing affecting some airline and hotel redemptions.
Entry to Mexico currently has no restrictions, but a negative COVID-19 test is required for return to the U.S., which most resorts can facilitate.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of loyalty program strategies for booking both flights and hotels in Cancun, including specific redemption options and property highlights.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Cancun is one of the most popular spots for a quick beach getaway. Not only is it easily accessible from the U.S., but it's also an extremely award-friendly destination. All of the major U.S. carriers offer nonstop flights to Cancun and all of the major hotel chains have a presence there. Plus, many of the resorts in Cancun are all-inclusive, allowing you to get even more value from your points.
It's an even more desirable destination now as there are no restrictions or requirements to enter Mexico at this time. All you'll need is a negative COVID-19 test to re-enter the U.S., but most resorts can assist you with this. However, as a result, cash rates have gone up. Luckily, points and miles can come to the rescue and help you book your vacation for little out of pocket.
Here's everything you need to know about booking flights and hotels in Cancun using your points and miles.
Airfare to Cancun
Something great about Cancun is how easy it is to get to. Plus, if you're strategic about your flights, you might even be able to fly there in a lie-flat seat.
There normally are nonstop flights to Cancun International Airport (CUN) from a plethora of U.S. gateways, including the following:
Atlanta (ATL): Delta
Austin (AUS): Southwest, Spirit
Baltimore (BWI): Southwest, Spirit
Boston (BOS): American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue
Charlotte (CLT): American Airlines, VivaAerobus
Chicago (MDW): Southwest
Chicago (ORD): American Airlines, Frontier, Spirit
Cincinnati (CVG): Delta, Frontier, VivaAerobus
Cleveland (CLE): Frontier, Spirit
Columbus (CMH): American Airlines
Dallas (DFW): American Airlines, Spirit, Sun Country
Denver (DEN): Frontier, Southwest, United Airlines
Detroit (DTW): Delta, Spirit
Durham (RDU): American Airlines, Delta
Fort Lauderdale (FLL): JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit
Houston (HOU): Southwest
Houston (IAH): Spirit, United Airlines
Indianapolis (IND): American Airlines, Frontier
Kansas City (MCI): American Airlines, Frontier
Los Angeles (LAX): Delta, Interjet, United Airlines
Miami (MIA): American Airlines, Interjet, LATAM
Minneapolis (MSP): Delta and Sun Country
Nashville (BNA): Spirit, VivaAerobus
Newark (EWR): Frontier, United Airlines, VivaAerobus
New Orleans (MSY): Spirit
New York (JFK): American Airlines, Interjet, JetBlue
Orlando (MCO): Delta, JetBlue
Phoenix (PHX): American Airlines
Pittsburgh (PIT): Spirit
Philadelphia (PHL): American Airlines, Frontier, Spirit
The InterContinental Presidente Cancun. (Photo courtesy of the InterContinental Presidente Cancun)
Cheapest Oneworld awards to Cancun
As you can see, the Oneworld alliance offers the most flights to Cancun, including options from both American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. American even offers some flights with lie-flat seats out of cities like Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago (ORD) and Philadelphia (PHL). Your best bet to book these flights is either through American's own AAdvantage program or British Airways Avios.
American typically charges 30,000 miles plus taxes and fees for a round-trip saver award in economy or 50,000 miles for business class. However, if you're able to take advantage of American’s off-peak dates, your round-trip economy ticket will cost just 25,000 miles — the same price as a domestic award. You might also be able to save by booking a Web Special award.
You can easily boost your AAdvantage mileage balance by picking up and spending on an American cobranded credit card. Most of the cards are offering sign-up bonuses large enough to cover a round-trip award and even have miles left over, including the following:
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. Earn 2 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases. Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on other purchases. ($450 annual fee)
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: For a limited time earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $3,500 on purchases in the first four months of account opening. Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on gas station, restaurant, and eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile elsewhere. ($99 annual fee waived for the first 12 months)
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening. ($99 annual fee, waived for the first 12 months)
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®: Earn 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on grocery store and eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile elsewhere. (No annual fee)
Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after making your first purchase in the first 90 days and paying the $99 annual fee. Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on American Airlines purchases and 1 mile elsewhere.
Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard®: Earn up to 75,000 miles: Earn 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days and earn another 10,000 miles when a purchase is made on an employee card. Earn 2x AAdvantage miles on office supply, telecom, car rental and American Airlines purchases, and 1 mile elsewhere. ($95 annual fee)
The information for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select, Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Red, and Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business 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.
Meanwhile, Oneworld partner British Airways uses a distance-based award chart instead of a zone-based one. Short-haul flights from places like Dallas (DFW) start at 15,000 Avios round-trip in economy and just 33,000 Avios round-trip in business class.
British Airways is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One and Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You can use your points from cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or The Platinum Card® from American Express. While not the best rate, you can also transfer from Marriott at a 3:1 ratio (plus a 5,000-Avios bonus for every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer).
Alaska Airlines typically charges similar or sometimes even higher rates than American Airlines does for the same flights. So, you're likely better off saving those miles for a different redemption, especially considering how hard the miles are to earn.
If you're looking to fly to Cancun on United, your cheapest option would be to book through Turkish Miles & Smiles. The program charges just 20,000 miles round-trip in economy or 30,000 miles in business class, regardless of what part of the U.S. you're flying from. You can transfer points to Turkish from either Capital One or Citi ThankYou Rewards with a card like the Citi Prestige® Card or Citi Premier® Card. The information for the Citi Prestige 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.
Of course, you can also book directly through United MileagePlus. However, it may cost you more as the airline doesn’t publish an award chart anymore. While it's hard to say exactly how much you'll pay for your flights, based on our searches, one-way awards from the U.S. tend to start around 17,500 MileagePlus miles each way in economy 30,000 miles each way in business class.
United Quest Card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles and 500 Premier qualifying points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open.
United Club Infinite Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
United Explorer Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open . The first-year annual fee is waived, and it’s $95 per year after that.
United Business Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open. Plus, $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99.
Delta prices its awards dynamically, meaning the points price varies depending on the ticket's cash price. While this could spell sky-high rates over peak travel periods, the award rates are fairly reasonable for most of the year. For instance, based on our searches, you could book a round-trip award from Atlanta (ATL) to Cancun from 18,000 SkyMiles round-trip in basic economy, 30,000 miles in Comfort+ or 54,000 in first.
If you’re low on SkyMiles, Delta is a 1:1 transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards and a 3:1 transfer partner of Marriott Bonvoy. Alternatively, you could pick up a cobranded Delta SkyMiles credit card.
Personal cards:
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card: Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months of account opening.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months of account opening.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months of account opening.
Business Delta cards:
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new card in your first three months of card membership.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card in your first three months of card membership.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new card in your first three months of card membership.
Another option is Air France and KLM Royal Dutch’s combined loyalty program Flying Blue. It also prices awards dynamically, but the miles are easier to earn since you can transfer points from all major transferable points programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. Amex, Citi, Capital One and Chase transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Based on Flying Blue's pricing calculator, awards from the U.S. tend to start around 11,500 miles one-way in economy and 28,000 miles one-way in business class.
(Photo courtesy of Flying Blue)
Although Virgin Atlantic technically isn't a member of the SkyTeam alliance, you can book Delta awards through its Flying Club loyalty program. The program recently switched to a distance-based award chart for Delta flights. Most flights from the U.S. now cost between 7,500 to 15,000 miles each way in economy and 17,500 to 52,500 miles each way in business class. You can boost your Flying Club balance by transferring points from all major transferable points programs, except Capital One.
Cancun all-inclusive resorts you can book with points
Many resorts in Cancun are all-inclusive, including ones from the major chains. This is great because you can use your points to cover your stay and all of your meals and activities.
Hyatt Ziva all-inclusive in Cancun (Photo by Zach Griff)
Below is a full list of your options. Some of the most popular choices include Hyatt’s pair of all-inclusive resorts — Ziva, a family-oriented property and Zilara, an adults-only resort. They offer multiple pools and jacuzzis, dedicated children’s areas (at the Ziva hotel), two beaches, a full spa and plenty of food and beverage outlets. Both properties require 25,000 World of Hyatt points per night for double occupancy, with an additional charge of 12,500 points for the third and fourth guests in the room. You can boost your World of Hyatt balance by transferring points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to World of Hyatt or earning with the World of Hyatt Credit Card.
There are lots of standard beachfront resorts you can book with points as well.
Standout properties include the recently renovated JW Marriott Cancun, which at least one TPG staffer believes is the best Marriott property in Cancun, beating out the nearby Ritz-Carlton, Cancun. It features three pools, three dining venues, a full-service spa, and plenty of activities, including tennis courts. As a Category 6 Marriott Bonvoy property, free nights here cost between 40,000 and 60,000 points per night, making it eligible for an annual up to 85,000-point free-night certificate that comes with certain Marriott cobranded credit cards like the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
JW Marriott Cancun (Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy)
Meanwhile, IHG loyalists can stay at the InterContinental Presidente Cancun Resort. It has a prime beachfront location, excellent pools and lots of food and beverage outposts. Base rooms start at 29,000 points per night for a room with either one or two beds.
You can quickly increase your IHG points balance by picking up the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card, which is currently offering a welcome bonus of 140,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. While not the best use of your points, you can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve to IHG at a 1:1 ratio.
Here's a list of the rest of your options:
Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla: 35,000 to 80,000 Hilton points
InterContinental Hotels Presidente Cancun Resort: from 30,000 IHG points
There's no shortage of nonstop flights to Cancun. Plus, there are many resorts you can book with your hotel points, including all-inclusive properties. As such, it should be very easy to book your next vacation there completely on points and miles.
If you're looking to combine your trip with a visit to Tulum, we have another guide that will teach you how to travel there on points as well.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
