Curious to See Cuba? Great News for Miles & Points!

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Great news for folks looking to fly to Cuba with miles!

Via The Gate, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively approved flights to Havana from cities like Miami, Charlotte, New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles on airlines like Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest.

Earlier this year, flights to other Cuban destinations were approved from cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Using Miles & Points to Visit Cuba  

The DOT is expected to reach a final decision over these new routes later this summer, so you can’t book these tickets yet.

For example, Southwest will have twice daily flights between Fort Lauderdale and Havana.  And a once per day flight between Tampa and Havana.

United Airlines will fly daily from New York (Newark) to Havana.  And once weekly between Houston and Havana. JetBlue is scheduled to fly twice daily between Fort Lauderdale and Havana.  And once daily from New York (JFK) & Orlando to Havana.

Other US airlines that will fly to Havana include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Frontier Airlines, and Spirit Airlines.  Here’s the full list:

So there will be a lot of ways to use points & miles from various frequent flyer programs to visit Cuba!

And Emily will share her Cuba Trip Report with y’all next week.

Southwest

Link:   Chase Southwest Premier Personal

Link:   Chase Southwest Premier Small Business

Link:   Chase Southwest Plus (Personal)  

For folks with the Southwest Companion Pass, more Southwest flights to Cuba is especially great news.  Because you can bring a friend or partner along on a flight to Cuba for nearly  free.  

`And it’s a great time to earn the Companion Pass, because all 3 Southwest cards are offering higher bonuses!

You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest Airlines to book award flights.  And although the points won’t count toward earning the Companion Pass, you’ll usually get the points in your account right away.

American Airlines

Link:   Citi Prestige   

The Citi Prestige card will be a terrific option for booking American Airlines flights to Cuba.  Because you’ll get 1.6 cents per point when use your Citi ThankYou points to book American Airlines flights through the Citi portal and access to the American Airlines Admirals Club.

Here’s my post about all of the ways to earn and use American Airlines miles.

Alaska Airlines

Link:   Bank of America Alaska Airlines Card

Right now, there’s an increased sign-up bonus on the Alaska Airlines card from Bank of America.  You can read my review of the card and more about using Alaska Airlines miles here.

JetBlue

Link:   Barclaycard JetBlue Card

Link:   Barclaycard JetBlue Plus

Link:   Barclaycard JetBlue Small Business

Folks on JetBlue flights to Cuba will enjoy extra legroom in coach and free snacks.  And if you have the JetBlue Plus or JetBlue Business cards, you’ll get extra benefits like a free checked bag when you use the card to pay for your ticket, discounts on certain in-flight purchases, and 10% JetBlue points back when you redeem them.

Here’s my review of the JetBlue cards.

Delta

Link:   AMEX Gold Delta Personal Card

Link:   AMEX Gold Delta Business Card

Did you take advantage of the recent increased sign-up bonuses on the AMEX Delta cards?  If so, you’ll soon be able to use those miles for a Cuban vacation!

Delta doesn’t publish an award chart, so we’ll have to wait and see how many miles it will cost to fly there.  Saver award tickets to other Caribbean destinations have cost 35,000 Delta miles round-trip in coach.

United Airlines

Link:   Chase United Explorer Card

Link:   Chase Sapphire Preferred

Link:   Chase Ink Plus

If you want to fly United Airlines to Cuba, read my guide about earning and using United Airlines miles.  And consider the Chase United Explorer card!

Recently, there were targeted offers with higher sign-up bonuses for this card.  So keep an eye out if you plan on applying!

Remember, you can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Ink Plus to United Airlines at a 1:1 ratio.

Let me know if you plan a trip to Cuba!