Editor’s Note: We’ve updated this post with new information. Brian Kelly, founder of TPG, is an advisor and investor of Bilt.
Although shorter than some domestic routes, flights to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America can be expensive. In addition to additional taxes and fees, many airlines charge higher premiums for these routes.
But sometimes you can book cheap flights to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America with American Airlines. Follow the steps below, you can find relatively little rewards for these areas American Airlines miles.
Why is it special?
American Airlines AAdvantage will provide soon fully dynamic mileage rewards and introduced a simplified rewards chart for its flight journey. However, for now, you can still order MileSAAver off-peak rewards to select regions. These bonuses allow you to save on economic rewards between certain regions during selected travel periods.
MileSAAver Award to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America typically cost 15,000 AAdvantage miles each way in economy class but only 12,500 miles on off-peak days.
Discounts are applied automatically, so you can book these rewards even if you don’t have enough miles at the standard rate.
There are a number of great destinations you can book with this discounted price, including San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), Panama City (PTY), Aruba (AUA), Barbados (BGI), Bermuda (BDA) ), Mexico City (MEX) and Cancún (CUN).
How to order this prize
Booking off-peak MileSAAver rewards is no different from any other Redemption offer. However, you have to know the off-peak days to know when to book.
Current off-peak dates in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America are from April 21 to May 20 and September 9 to November 18. Remember that fall dates are in season. Storm surge for some destinations, so you’ll want pay taxes and fees with one credit cards come with travel protection.
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Once you’ve selected your date, search as usual on the American Airlines website. Enter your route, select your date and tick the “Redeem Miles” box.
If MileSAAver is available, you’ll automatically see a lower price — no promo code needed. Just remember that the discount is only for economy class, not business or first class.
If MileSAAver is not available, I recommend using the calendar finder to check for alternate dates. Unfortunately, MileSAAver’s off-peak rewards require you to fly American Airlines. So you won’t be able to get these rates if you connect through a partner airline like alaska.
Like American Airlines dynamic bonus, we’ve noticed some days that prices are even lower than the expected off-peak MilesSAAver rates. If you’re flexible, you can book these rewards for as little as 10,000 miles (plus taxes and fees) each way.
The downside of dynamic pricing is that during peak times, Americans charge much more than these rates. For example, we found several one-way economic awards for Costa Rica that valued as high as 65,000 miles plus $28.28 in taxes and fees.
Once you’ve selected your flight, you’ll need to log in to your AAdvantage account to complete your booking. Some of the best cards for paying taxes and fees on award tickets include Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Reserve. Not only do they earn bonus points on their airline tickets, but they also come with flight delay compensation — this is especially important if you are traveling during hurricane season.
Related: Maximize Points Redemption with American Airlines AAdvantage
How to earn miles for this award
You may be wondering how to earn enough miles for this bonus if you are not a regular American Airlines customer. This may seem difficult at first because Americans are not a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, capital one, Chase the ultimate reward or Citi ThankYou. However, there are many other ways to earn AAdvantage miles.
Accumulate US miles by card
two majors transferable currency Partner with American Airlines: Bilt Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. Bilt Rewards transfer to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio, while you can Marriott points transfer to American Airlines AAdvantage with a transfer ratio of 3:1. To earn Marriott points, consider more Bill Mastercard® (see rates and fees) or one Marriott Bonvoy credit card into your wallet.
A potentially simpler way to earn AAdvantage miles is to choose and spend a American co-branded credit card. In addition to a significant boost to your AAdvantage account, some American Airlines co-branded cards offer value “elite-lite” privilege from free test bag on domestic journeys to lounge access.
Other methods to earn US miles
You don’t necessarily need a new credit card to earn the mileage you need. Although often at a suboptimal price, you can also transfer Hyatt Points World, IHG One Bonus Points And Preferred point of choice to American AAdvantage.
Alternatively, you can shop online through Portal AAdvantage or had dinner last night AAdvantage Dining. You can also buy American Airlines milesbut this can sometimes be more expensive than buying the flight right away.
For more options, read our complete guide to earn American Airlines miles.
Related: What is American Airlines elite status worth?
bottom line
American Airlines AAdvantage coming soon Elimination of MileSAAver and AAnytime . awards, put all their energy into changing flights with dynamic prices. But as of publication, you can still book MileSAAver prizes outside of off-peak hours. And as we’ve noted in this story, you’ll find prices even cheaper on some days due to price dynamics.
For Bilt Mastercard rates and fees, click This.
For Bilt Mastercard rewards and benefits, click This.
Additional reporting by Ben Smithson.
