✈ Do frequent flyer deals still exist? Finding the sweet spots and more from TPG ✈

January 3, 2024

Scrutinizing airline miles

by Ben Mutzabaugh, Managing Editor for Aviation

Hello TPG readers!

Greetings from sunny South America!

For the second year in a row, I’m writing my first newsletter of the year from Argentina after scoring a terrific frequent flyer deal.

This year, that was a one-way ticket from New York to Buenos Aires (via Miami) in American Airlines’ Flagship First cabin. Booked at the last minute for just 65,000 AAdvantage miles each — and nearly identical to a South America deal I booked the year before — my traveling companion and I snagged two spacious seats on the only international first-class product offered by a U.S. carrier.

It’s an extra AvGeek treat because there won’t be many opportunities left to fly this seat. American is expected to phase out its international first class by the end of the year, moving to business class only on its long overseas flights — a move that will bring it in line with what’s offered by its main rivals in North America.

We scored on the hotel front, too, when I secured two nights around New Year’s Eve at the swanky Palacio Duhau — Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. It’s one of the city’s nicest hotels, and we stayed in a nearly 1,000-square-foot suite for 44,000 points per night. Standard rooms — not even suites — were priced at $1,600 a night at the time I made my redemption.

Not everything was a steal, however. Our return cost 176,500 AAdvantage miles each for a one-way business-class ticket on the nonstop back to New York. In the end, though, I consider it a win: a round-trip itinerary with lie-flat seats booked within two weeks of New Year’s Day for just about 240,000 miles. In cash, this itinerary likely would’ve cost at least $6,000 during the peak winter holiday period.

More broadly, my trip comes as customers increasingly ask, “Are loyalty programs worth it?” And they ask for good reasons: mileage devaluations, the elimination of award chartsandoutrageous mileage requirements, just to name a few. Even the government is ready to scrutinize whether these programs are promising more than they deliver.

For now, though, there are sweet spots to be found. Enjoy them for as long as they may last.

Until next time …

Ben

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Photo Credit: BEN MUTZABAUGH/THE POINTS GUY.

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