Economy Sweet Spots: LA, NY, and Miami to Santiago, Chile from 51,500 Miles Round Trip
Available to redeem with Amex, Capital One, Citi, Chase, and Bilt points
Looking for an easy and stable redemption in economy class, even during peak season? Nonstop flights from the US to Santiago, Chile on LATAM Airlines can be booked with points from every major credit card.
This deal can be found on various Avios-based programs, meaning Iberia, British Airways, or Qatar. Because LATAM is an airline with more partnerships than most, their flights can also be booked on other programs, like Delta, Virgin Atlantic, and Alaska. In most cases, it will be cheapest to book through an Avios program. Each card is partners with the following programs:
- Amex: British Airways, Iberia, Qatar
- Bilt: Iberia, British Airways
- Capital One: British Airways
- Chase: Iberia, British Airways
- Citi: Qatar
You can link your accounts between these programs, and you can link your British Airways and Qatar account here. It'll be easiest to book through the British Airways site, so if you're transferring from Citi, I recommend transferring between the programs. Transfers between British Airways and Qatar Avios are instant and reversible.
Transfer bonuses are also somewhat frequent for these programs. When they do occur, the bonus is typically 20%, which should be factored into planning.
Price Chart & Available Airports
| City | US-Chile | Chile-US | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-JFK | 25,750 + $44.30 | 25,750 + $77.00 | 51,500 + $121.30 |
| Miami-MIA | 25,750 + $44.30 | 25,750 + $77.00 | 51,500 + $121.30 |
| Los Angeles-LAX | 31,000 + $44.30 | 31,000 + $77.00 | 62,000 + $121.30 |
You can also book this route on Virgin Atlantic. Each leg costs 37,500 through Virgin Atlantic, and in the event that there's an active 30% transfer bonus from your card program, it is cheaper to book the LAX flights through Virgin Atlantic. With the 30% transfer bonus, each leg would be 29,000 miles. Another case for opting to use Virgin Atlantic is if you have stranded miles you'd like to use.
To compare the prices between Avios and Virgin Atlantic (VS), and their most frequent transfer bonuses, 20% and 30% respectively:
| City | Avios | VS | Avios 20% | VS 30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-JFK | 25,750 | 37,500 | 21,500 | 29,000 |
| Miami-MIA | 25,750 | 37,500 | 21,500 | 29,000 |
| Los Angeles-LAX | 31,000 | 37,500 | 26,000 | 29,000 |
Alaska Airlines also has the availability for the same seats as the Avios programs and Virgin Atlantic, and charges 25,000 miles each way. However, Alaska also only charges 50,000 miles for the same flights in business class, if there is availability, so it may be better to save your miles for a different flight. Avios charges about 77,000 for the same flight in business class. Alaska's only external transfer partner is Bilt. If you have another card and a Bilt card, I would recommend using other points first as Bilt can be used for valuable Hyatt redemptions.
Cash Comparison
During peak season especially, while this deal is still active, roundtrip economy flights to Santiago from New York can cost ~$1,100. With a checked bag, which is included in the ticket purchased with points, that cost rises to about $1,250.
The cents per point value on this redemption is $1,250 - $121 fees = $1,129 / 52,000 transferred points = 2.1 cents per point. During a 20% transfer bonus, this rises to $1,129 / 43,000 transferred points = 2.6 cents per point. This beats every points portal, even just on an economy booking.
Finding Availability
With how common this availability is, try searching your dates first on the British Airways site. You'll need an account to search, and to find the 'Book a Flight with Avios' tab under the main booking menu.
You'll then be able to search one way or round trip flights, and select the flights to see the pricing:
If you struggle to find availability, you can use Seats.aero Virgin Atlantic or Alaska Airlines availability checker for each route. If LATAM makes a flight available to its partners, it can be booked by either Avios programs, Virgin Atlantic, or Alaska. Since searching for availability on Alaska and Virgin Atlantic is easier than on Avios, find dates that work , then return to the British Airways site to reconfirm and transfer your points to book.
- VS: JFK-SCL, SCL-JFK; Alaska: JFK-SCL, SCL-JFK
- VS: MIA-SCL, SCL-MIA; Alaska: MIA-SCL, SCL-MIA
- VS: LAX-SCL, SCL-LAX; Alaska: LAX-SCL, SCL-LAX
Each route will only show 60 days of availability for free accounts. You can also search for free with a calendar view on the Alaska Airlines site. Search for your route, making sure to select 'Use miles.' It'll be easier to search one way at a time to confirm availability.
Next, select 'View by calendar'
Alaska will then provide a calendar view, and allow you to change months. As you can see, availability is not hard to come by, so just searching your preferred dates on the Avios site will probably yield promising results, and if that fails, other tools can help you find availability quickly.
Once you have confirmed the availability, transfer over the required points. If you see round trip availability and try to book as a round trip but error out, book as one way flights.
If you'd like assistance while booking, contact us for our concierge booking service.