Cleared for Takeoff: A post-pandemic trip to Spain with a backup plan for Colombia
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With the world slowly returning to normal after mass distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, lots of readers are eager to put their large point balances to use on a trip abroad. Reader Trey S. reached out to us recently with a request: He has almost 3 million points saved up and wants to know how best to maximize it for a trip to either Spain or Cartagena, Colombia.
"Hi y'all! I have about 850k Southwest Airlines, 800k American Airlines and about 1.1 million Marriott points. What's the best way to transfer/utilize for maximum benefits?!"
While Spain is his first choice, there's still no word on when Americans will be able to travel there. So Colombia is his backup choice in case Spain doesn't work out.
Trey is traveling out of San Antonio International Airport (SAT), which isn't a major hub but offers plenty of connecting flight options. Let's break down what those options are exactly and how many points he'll need to redeem for these two trips.
The points stash
The good news is that Trey has more than enough points for both a trip to Spain and Colombia. The AAdvantage miles he's been saving up are ideal for a trip to both destinations. The potentially bad news? They might be ripe for a devaluation, so I would recommend booking these trips sooner rather than later.
- 850,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points
- 800,000 American AAdvantage miles
- 1.1 million Marriott Bonvoy points
Airfare to Madrid
Route: SAT-DFW-MAD or SAT-CLT-MAD
Miles needed: 45,000-110,000 miles + $57.45
With 800,000 AAdvantage miles, Trey can book a round-trip ticket to Madrid for as little as 60,000 miles in economy class. American Airlines is currently offering Web Special awards on this route, bringing the business-class price down from 115,000 to 110,000 miles.
If he really wanted to stretch his miles, he could opt for an off-peak economy award at 45,000 miles round-trip by traveling between Nov. 1-Dec. 14, 2021.
My suggestion? Splurge on business class. With almost a million AAdvantage miles saved up and a possible devaluation looming, I would personally want to part with those miles sooner rather than later.
Even if a devaluation doesn't happen this year, on a flight that long, it's nice to have a comfortable seat. On the international segment, American offers flatbed business-class seats, which provide a much better experience on a 15-hour flight than coach.
Award availability is also excellent right now, with plenty of space throughout the summer months (which is historically the busiest travel season and the hardest to find award space for).
Airfare to Cartagena
Route: SAT-ORD-MIA-CTG
Miles needed: 30,000-60,000 miles + $89.15
Flights between the U.S. and Colombia can be as low as 35,000 miles round-trip in economy class during off-peak dates. American Airlines defines off-peak as Jan. 16-June 14 and Sept. 7-Nov. 14, 2021. However, thanks to another Web Special, these fares are currently just 30,000 miles round-trip.
Outside of these dates, Trey can expect to redeem 40,000 miles round-trip for economy and 60,000 for business class.
How to book these awards with points
American Airlines allows both of these awards to be booked online, which is as simple as it gets. You'll need to log in to your AAdvantage account on the AA homepage. Then simply add your route and dates in the "Book" field. For the purpose of this example, I'm going to select a June 7 departure date with a June 14 return. Make sure "Redeem miles" is checked off.
On the results page, you can view flights by cabin and even filter results so the cheapest awards appear first.
Alternately, you can choose the "Calendar" function to view award options by month. This is great if your travel dates are flexible and you want to find the cheapest award possible.
Once you've picked your flight, you'll be taken to a page where you can see your trip total and provide your personal information. Since you'll be logged in, most of this will be pre-populated for you. Don't forget your Known Traveler number if you have Global Entry or TSA PreCheck!
Next, you'll have the opportunity to choose your seat for all your flight segments (assuming they're operated by American Airlines).
The last page is where you can pay for your flight or put your itinerary on hold. American Airlines allows holds up to five days, which is great if you are exploring different options and don't want to lose out on award availability. The exact hold period will depend on how far ahead you're booking:
- Five days: When you book 15-331 days before departure
- One day: When you book 1-14 days before departure
- Up to two hours before departure: When you book within 24 hours of departure
Related: The best credit cards for booking flights
How to earn enough miles for these awards
Trey has plenty of miles for either of these awards, so there's no need for him to pick up another rewards card to top off his balance. However, if you want to replicate this award and need more miles, you can do so fairly easily. Most of the AAdvantage credit cards are offering sign-up bonuses high enough to cover at least an economy award ticket to Madrid or Cartagena.
AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard: Earn 65,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. Additional 10,000 miles when an employee card is used for a purchase.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 American Airlines bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening.
AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard: Earn 60,000 bonus miles and a $99 companion ticket awarded after you make a purchase within the first 90 days of card opening.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening (see rates and fees).
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.
The information for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select, AAdvantage Aviator Red and the AAdvantage Aviator Business cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Hotel
With 1.1 million Marriott points, Trey has plenty of points to cover his hotel stays, regardless of whether he travels to Cartagena or decides to embark on a tour of Spain.
Marriott has over 100 hotels in Spain, giving Trey plenty of options for putting his points to use. In Madrid, the best hotels range from Category 4-7. The Westin Palace, Madrid is a popular option and can be booked for 40,000-60,000 points per night. Rates in June are around $350 per night, giving you around 0.7 cents in value. With the fifth night free, you'll approach a value closer to 0.8 cents.
In Cartagena, there's the Category 4 Ermita hotel, which goes for 25,000 points per night in June. Cash rates are close to $120 and since TPG values Marriott points at 0.8 cents each, this isn't the best use of points.
At this rate, I would personally opt to charge the stay to my Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and then redeem miles toward the hotel stay. Plus, the card earns 2x miles on all spending, which is pretty solid.
However, these are guidelines. So if Trey prefers to keep his out-of-pocket costs down on this trip without acquiring a new credit card, then redeeming Marriott points is certainly an option.
How to book a Marriott hotel with points
The process for booking a Marriott hotel with points is identical to paying cash. The only difference is that you have to be logged in to your account and check off the "Use points/certificates" checkbox on the search dashboard.
If you're booking at least five nights, the free fifth night will be reflected in the total redemption rate.
How to earn Marriott points
Once again, Trey has a well-stocked Marriott balance to book these hotels with. The important thing is to compare the point rate against cash rates to ensure he's maximizing his value. With travel demand set to increase in the coming months, hotel rates will rise and he may get more value out of his Marriott points for those bookings.
If you're looking to stock up on Marriott points for a similar award, here are the current Marriott card welcome bonuses:
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months; plus, earn 50,000 points after you stay six eligible nights at Marriott hotels through Jan. 31, 2024. Offer ends August 9.
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you use your new card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first three months of card membership.
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: Earn 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points after using your card to spend $3,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months; plus, earn 50,000 bonus points after you stay six eligible paid nights at Marriott hotels through Jan. 31, 2024. Offer ends August 10.
It's also worth noting that the Capital One Venture Card is currently offering a sign-up bonus of 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
The Venture Card really came in handy during the two trips I took during the pandemic, when airfare and hotel rates were too low to justify redeeming points. It's a great card to have handy, especially as hotel chains are moving toward dynamic pricing.
Bottom line
Whether Trey is able travel to Madrid or ends up with his awesome backup option of Colombia, he's got plenty of points to make it happen. If you're thinking about traveling either domestically or abroad in the next few months, be sure to plan ahead and try to redeem your points sooner rather than later. Several airlines have already devalued their programs and more could be on the way.
If you have a destination in mind and need help figuring out your points strategy, send us an email and we'll be happy to look into it.