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Ultimate Guide to Big Travel With American Express Membership Rewards Points Part 6: Caribbean & Mexico

  • Million Mile Secrets

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    You get lots of travel flexibility with AMEX Membership Rewards points.  Because if you don’t have set travel plans for a future trip, these transferable points give you the option to choose from multiple airline partners when you’re ready to book.

    Folks in the miles & points hobby know earning transferable points, like AMEX Membership Rewards points, are the best way to get Big Travel.  

    The AMEX Membership Rewards program has 17 direct airline partners.  Plus, you’ll get access to other indirect partners as well, which opens up lots of options for award flights to the Caribbean & Mexico!

    Or you can keep it simple and use AMEX Pay With Points to book flights through the Membership Rewards travel portal and get a fixed amount per point.

    Transfer AMEX Membership Rewards Points to Terrific Airline Partners for Flights to Beautiful Destinations in the Caribbean & Mexico!

    I’ll show you the best ways to use American Express Membership Rewards Points for flights to the Caribbean & Mexico!

    The Ultimate Guide to American Express Membership Rewards Points:

    AMEX Membership Rewards Points for Flights to Caribbean & Mexico

    Link:   Which Miles & Points Should You Collect for Award Flights?

    I’ll share a few airlines that are great for flights to destinations in the Caribbean & Mexico that you can book using AMEX Membership Rewards points.  Even though the airlines might not be direct AMEX transfer partners, you can still book award flights thanks to alliances and partnerships.

    The best transfer partner will depend on:

    Keep in mind, there are taxes and fees added to the cost of most award flights to the Caribbean & Mexico.  But using points can still be a great way to save money instead of paying cash for the same flight.

    If you don’t have the time or don’t want to book your own award tickets, you can consider using an award booking service.

    1.   Air Canada

    Link:   Air Canada Award Chart

    Link:   How to Use AMEX Membership Rewards Points for United Airlines Award Tickets

    Air Canada is a great AMEX transfer partner for award flights to destinations in the Caribbean & Mexico.

    Because you can redeem Air Canada Aeroplan miles for award flights on Star Alliance partner airline United Airlines.  And you’ll pay no fuel surcharges.

    And you’ll pay the the same number of miles for flights to more than 20 destinations in the Caribbean, no matter which city you’re starting from in the continental US, Alaska, or Canada.  One-way award flights cost:

    Transfer AMEX Membership Rewards Points to Air Canada to Book United Airlines Award Flights to the Caribbean & Mexico

    The easiest way to find available award seats using Air Canada Aeroplan miles is to first search the United Airlines website.

    You can only use Air Canada Aeroplan miles to book “Saver” level awards on United Airlines.

    Search United Airlines Website for Available Saver Award Seats Before

    Note:   Booking award seats to the Caribbean & Mexico directly through United Airlines requires 2,500 less miles in coach.  But paying slightly more to use AMEX Membership Rewards points through Air Canada is still a great alternative for folks who do not collect United Airlines miles.

    2.   British Airways

    Link:   American Airlines Caribbean Destinations 

    Link:   British Airways Award Flight Calculator   

    Link:   How to Fly to the Caribbean With British Airways Avios Points

    You can transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to British Airways and fly to more than 30 Caribbean destinations on oneworld alliance partner American Airlines.

    You can also redeem British Airways Avios points for non-stop flights on Alaska Airlines to destinations like:

    Use British Airways Avios Points to Visit Puerto Vallarta and Enjoy the Beautiful Sunsets!

    The transfer ratio is 1:1.  And you can find great deals because British Airways uses a distance-based award chart!

    With a distance-based chart, the number of miles you pay depends on the length of your flight.  So folks traveling shorter distances to the Caribbean, like from the East Coast or Southern US states will pay less!

    One-way coach award flights cost:

    Business Class award seats require double the number of miles.

    I recommend using the British Airways award flight calculator to check the cost of an award flight.

    Keep in mind, available award seats can be extremely limited.  So this might not be a great option if you’re looking to book a family vacation to the Caribbean or Mexico using points.

    I found available coach award seats on a non-stop, round-trip American Airlines flight from Miami to Havana, Cuba for 15,000 British Airways Avios points and ~$72.  This same flight requires 30,000 American Airlines miles if you book directly with the airline.

    Fly American Airlines to Cuba and Enjoy the Wonderful Culture Like Emily Did!

    To find available award seats to Mexico or the Caribbean on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines, it’s easiest to search the American Airlines website for low-level “SAAver” seats.  These are the only type of award seats you can book with British Airways Avios points.

    You can book American Airlines flights on the British Airways website.

    But for Alaska Airlines flights, you must call British Airways at 800-452-1201 to book your award tickets.

    3.   Delta or Flying Blue

    Link:   Flying Blue Miles Calculator

    You can transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points directly to Delta or Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio to book Delta flights to the Caribbean or Mexico.  Both airlines are part of the SkyTeam Alliance.

    But remember, you’ll have to pay an excise fee to transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to Delta because it’s a US airline.  But you will NOT pay any fees to transfer to Flying Blue.

    You can find non-stop flights to destinations in the Caribbean & Mexico from Delta hub cities:

    Delta no longer publishes an award chart!  So you’ll need to search specific routes and dates to find the price of an award ticket.  The cheapest one-way flights I found cost:

    But the majority of coach award flights I found cost 17,500 Delta miles.

    The Delta 5 Week Award Calendar Allows You to Find the Cheapest Non-Stop Award Flights in Coach or Business Class

    If you use Flying Blue miles for the same flights, you’ll pay:

    But you’ll pay even less to get to these Caribbean destinations:

    Because Flying Blue considers these destinations in North America, it will only cost 12,500 Flying Blue miles one-way in coach.  That’s a fantastic deal!

    For example, I found a one-way flight from Atlanta to Aruba in February 2017 for 12,500 Flying Blue miles and $~34 in taxes and fees.

    You’ll Use Fewer Flying Blue Miles When You Fly to Certain Delta Destinations, Like Aruba!

    Keep in mind, you might not find the same number of available award seats using Flying Blue miles.  So I always recommend searching the award calendars before transferring points.

    4.   JetBlue

    Link:   JetBlue Destinations

    Similar to British Airways, the AMEX transfer ratio to JetBlue is 5:4.  But the cost of a JetBlue award flight is based on the cash price of the flight.  So the cheaper the flight, the fewer points you’ll have to redeem.

    For example, I found a round-trip flight from Orlando to Havana in March 2017 that costs 2,000 JetBlue points and ~$72 in taxes and fees.

    Transferring AMEX Membership Rewards Points to JetBlue Can Make Sense for Cheap Flights

    So with the 5:4 transfer ratio, you’d need to transfer 2,500 AMEX Membership Rewards points to JetBlue to have enough points to book the flight.

    And JetBlue has 5 US departure cities to fly non-stop to Caribbean & Mexico destinations including:

    Plus, JetBlue flies to the most destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico of any airline, including:

    You Can Redeem JetBlue Points for Award Flights to Beautiful Caribbean Destinations Like Grand Cayman!

    Use AMEX Pay With Points for Flexibility

    Link:   AMEX Pay With Points 

    Link:   Now Get 50% of Your Points Back With AMEX Business Platinum

    Link:   The Secret Way to Get the Most Southwest Flights From Your Points!

    If there are no award flights available for your desired travel dates, you can redeem points for airfare using Pay With Points through the Membership Rewards travel portal.

    When you use your AMEX Membership Rewards points towards air travel, you’ll get 1 cent per point towards your ticket.  And folks with the AMEX Business Platinum card can effectively get 2 cents per point using the Pay With Points perk to get 50% of their points back.

    Folks with the Southwest Companion Pass and AMEX Business Platinum card will get the best deal using Pay With Points.

    For example, you can book a round-trip Southwest flight from Houston to Cancun in March 2017 and pay with your AMEX Business Platinum card.  This flight costs ~$279 or ~27,900 AMEX Membership Rewards points.

    Folks With the Companion Pass Can Book a Southwest Flight and Pay With the Business Platinum Card to Utilize the Pay With Points Perk!

    Then, if Southwest is your selected airline, you can use your AMEX Membership Rewards points to offset the flight purchase.

    And with the Business Platinum, you’ll automatically get 50% of your AMEX Membership Rewards points back.  So you’ll end up paying ~14,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points for the round-trip flight.

    And you can add your companion for the just the cost of taxes and fees.  Using 14,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points for 2 round-trip flights to Cancun is an amazing deal!

    Southwest flies to these destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico:

    Bottom Line

    You can use AMEX Membership Rewards points to book award flights to destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico by transferring to airline partners like Air Canada, British Airways, Delta, Flying Blue, and JetBlue.

    For example, you can transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to British Airways and book a round-trip American Airlines award flight from Miami to Havana, Cuba for 15,000 British Airways Avios points in coach or 30,000 British Airways Avios points in Business Class.

    Or transfer to Air Canada and book a United Airlines award flight to more than 20 destinations in the Caribbean.  If there are available seats, you’ll pay the same amount no matter which city you’re starting from in the continental US, Alaska, or Canada.

    Keep in mind, there are taxes and fees added to the cost of most award flights to the Caribbean & Mexico.  But transferring points can still save you money instead of paying cash for the same flight.

    You can also use AMEX Pay With Points through the Membership Rewards travel portal to book airfare on airlines that are not direct or indirect transfer partners.  Folks with the AMEX Business Platinum effectively get 2 cents per point on coach flights on your selected airline.  This can be a great deal for folks flying Southwest who have the Companion Pass!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)