The Ultimate Guide To United Miles: Part 12 – All the Ways To Get To The Caribbean, Central & South America

November 20, 2013 By Million Mile Secrets

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You can use your United miles to fly to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America on United Airlines and their partners airlines.

In general, the United.com website will display routes to and from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, but it won’t show every possible option.

United Miles To Caribbean, Central And South America — Your United Miles Can Get You To The Caribbean

The Ultimate Guide To United Miles Index

The Best Tip for Searching on United.com

Don’t forget to change your search results to show you 50 flights (instead of the default) when you search on United.com

Step 1 – Click On “Advanced Search”

Go to United.com and click on “Advanced Search” at the bottom of the award search page.

Step 2 – Change “Number of Flights to Display” To “50”

Click on the drop-down box by the “Number of Flights to Display” and change it from the “Default” to “50“

You will see MANY more flight options this way!

How To Use The Information In This Post

You could rely on United.com to find you awards seats to the Caribbean, Central & South America. And United’s website is pretty good. But it is unlikely to find every possible option on using United miles to the Caribbean, Central & South America.

If you’re really committed to finding award seats to the Caribbean and South America and don’t want to hire an award booking service, you could search for award seats on many of the routes below.

The information below will help you find the long-distance flight to the Caribbean and South America. The best way to search is segment-by-segment.

Once you find the long-distance flight to the Caribbean and South America, you should start searching for flights to your final destination in the Caribbean and South America and then from your US departure city to the gateway (i.e. where the flight to the Caribbean & South America departs from the US).

CARIBBEAN, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICAN AWARD Routes

Today, we will go over finding award flights from North America to the Caribbean, Central & South America.

United splits the South Pacific into 3 regions:

Caribbean or Central America which includes these countries.
Northern South America which includes Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela.
Southern South America which includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Here is the chart for one-way awards between mainland North America and the Caribbean, Central & South America.

For one-way awards from the US, Alaska, or Canada to the Caribbean and Central America, you will pay:

17,500 miles each way in economy (20,000 miles from Hawaii)
30,000 miles each way in Business Class (37,500 miles from Hawaii)
40,000 miles each way in First Class (47,500 miles from Hawaii)

For one-way awards from the US, Alaska, or Canada to Northern South America, you will pay:

20,000 miles each way in economy (22,500 miles from Hawaii)
35,000 miles each way in Business Class (45,000 miles from Hawaii)
45,000 miles each way in First Class (60,000 miles from Hawaii)

For one-way awards from the US, Alaska, or Canada to Southern South America, you will pay:

30,000 miles each way in economy (30,000 miles from Hawaii)
50,000 miles each way in Business Class (50,000 miles from Hawaii)
67,500 miles each way in First Class (67,500 miles from Hawaii)

United Miles to Caribbean, Central & South America

The following list includes which airlines fly between North America and the Caribbean, Central America, or South America.

1. United Airlines

You can use United miles from Houston (IAH), Newark (EWR), and Washington, DC (IAD) to:

Aguadilla ( From Newark)
Antigua (From Newark)
Grand Cayman (From Houston, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)
Aruba (From Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)
Bermuda ( From Newark)
Bonaire (From Houston and Newark)
Curaçao (From Newark)
Montego Bay (From Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)
Nassau (From Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, and Newark)
Port of Spain (From Houston and Newark)
Providenciales (From Newark)
Puerto Plata (From Newark)
Punta Cana (From Chicago, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)
St. Thomas (From Chicago, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)
San Juan (From Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)
Santo Domingo (From Newark)
St. Lucia (From Newark)
St. Maarten (From Chicago, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)

B. Central America & Mexico

Acapulco (From Houston)
Belize City (From Houston and Newark)
Cabo San Lucas (From Austin, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, and San Francisco)
Cancún (From Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles)
Cozumel (From Chicago, Houston, and Newark)
Guadalajara (From Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco)
Guatemala City (From Houston, Newark, and Washington Dulles)
Ixtapa (From Houston)
León (From Houston and Los Angeles)
Liberia, Costa Rica (From Chicago, Houston and Newark)
Managua (From Houston)
Mérida (From Houston)
Mexico City (From Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles)
Monterrey (From Houston and Chicago)
Panama City (From Houston and Newark)
Puerto Vallarta (From Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, and Newark)
Roatán (From Houston and Newark)
San José, Costa Rica (From Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Washington Dulles)
San Pedro Sula (From Houston and Newark)
San Salvador (From Houston, Newark, and Washington Dulles)
Tegucigalpa (From Houston)

Bogotá (From Houston and Newark)
Buenos Aires (From Houston and Newark)
Caracas (From Houston and Newark)
Lima (From Houston and Newark)
Quito (From Houston)
Rio de Janeiro (From Houston and Washington, Dulles)
Sao Paulo (From Chicago, Houston, Newark, and Washington, Dulles)

2. COPA Airlines

You can use United miles on COPA Airlines. While COPA is a separate airline, they use the same frequent flyer program as United. COPA’s hub is Panama City (PTY) which allows great connections from North America to the rest of Central America and South America.

Just check out the following map!

A. Panama City (PTY)

You can use your United miles on United to fly to Panama City from:

Houston
Newark

Or you can use your United miles on COPA and fly to Panama City from:

Boston
Chicago, O’Hare
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami
New York, JFK
Orlando
Washington, Dulles

B. South America

Then from Panama City, you’d use United miles on COPA to fly to:

Aruba
Asunción
Barranquilla
Belo Horizonte
Bogotá
Brasilia
Buenos Aires (Ezeiza)
Cali
Caracas
Cartagena
Córdoba
Guayaquil
Iquitos
Lima
Manaus
Maracaibo
Medellín
Montevideo
Porto Alegre
Quito
Recife
Rio de Janeiro
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santiago de Chile
São Paulo
Valencia

3. US Airways

US Airways will be leaving Star Alliance on March 1, 2014. While you can book US Airways awards before March 1 for travel past that date, you won’t be able to change the date of a US Airways flight after March 1 because they won’t be available with United miles.

You can use your United miles to fly to these Caribbean destinations:

Antigua (From Charlotte)
Grand Cayman (From Boston – seasonal, Charlotte, and Philadelphia – seasonal)
Aruba (From Charlotte and Philadelphia)
Bermuda (From Charlotte – seasonal, Philadelphia, and Washington National – seasonal)
Montego Bay (From Boston – seasonal, Charlotte, and Philadelphia)
Nassau (From Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Washington National)
Providenciales (From Boston – seasonal, Charlotte, and Philadelphia – seasonal)
Punta Cana (From Boston – seasonal, Charlotte, and Philadelphia)
St. Thomas (From Charlotte and Philadelphia – seasonal)
San Juan (From Charlotte and Philadelphia)
Santo Domingo (From Philadelphia)
St. Lucia (From Charlotte and Philadelphia)
St. Maarten (From Charlotte and Philadelphia)

Belize City (From Charlotte)
Cabo San Lucas (From Charlotte and Phoenix)
Cancún (From Boston, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix)
Cozumel (From Charlotte)
Guadalajara (From Phoenix)
Ixtapa (From Phoenix)
Liberia, Cosa Rica (From Charlotte)
Mexico City (From Charlotte and Phoenix)
Puerto Vallerta (From Phoenix)
San José, Costa Rica (From Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Phoenix)

Rio de Janeiro (From Charlotte)
Sao Paulo (From Charlotte)

4. Avianca (includes TACA)

Avianca is a fairly new member of Star Alliance, based in Colombia. They fly all over South and Central American.

A. From Miami (MIA)

You can use United miles to fly from Miami (MIA) to:

Barranquilla
Bogotá
Cali
Cartagena
Guatemala City
Lima
Managua
Medellín
Roatán – seasonal
San Jose (Costa Rica)
San Pedro Sula
San Salvador

B. Central And South America From The US

You can use your United miles to fly:

Orlando (MCO) to Bogotá, San Salvador, Guatemala City – seasonal
Chicago (ORD) to Guatemala City, San Salvador
Los Angeles (LAX) to Guatemala City, San Salvador
New York (JFK) to Bogotá, Medellín
Washington, DC (IAD) to Bogotá, San Salvador
Houston (IAH) to San Salvador, Roatán – seasonal
Dallas (DFW) to San Salvador
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Bogotá
San Francisco (SFO) to San Salvador

You will notice that most US airports have flights to either Bogotá (BOG) and/or San Salvador (SAL).

C. South America From Bogota (BOG)

You can use your United miles to fly from Bogotá (BOG) to:

Aruba
Brasilia
Buenos Aires-Ezeiza
Caracas
Curaçao
La Paz
Lima
Quito
Rio de Janeiro – Galeão
San José de Costa Rica
Santiago de Chile
São Paulo – Guarulhos
Valencia (Venezuela)

D. South America From San Salvador (SAL)

You can use United miles to fly from San Salvador (SAL) to:

Belize City
Bogotá
Calí
Cancún
Guatemala City
Guayaquil
Liberia (Costa Rica)
Lima
Managua
Medellín
Mexico City
Panama City
Quito
Roatán
San José (Costa Rica)
San Pedro Sula
Tegucigalpa

5. Air Canada

While it may seem odd to use Air Canada to fly to South America, they are a useful airline if you are trying to fly from Canada or the northern parts of the United States.

You can use United miles to fly from Toronto (YYZ) and Montreal (YUL) to:

Antigua (From Montreal and Toronto)
Grand Cayman (From Toronto)
Aruba (From Toronto)
Bermuda (From Toronto)
Montego Bay (From Montreal and Toronto)
Nassau (From Montreal – seasonal and Toronto)
Providenciales (From Toronto)
Puerto Plata (From Montreal and Toronto)
Punta Cana (From Montreal and Toronto)
San Juan (From Toronto – seasonal)
St. Lucia (From Toronto)
St. Maarten (From Toronto)
Port-au-Prince (From Montreal)

Cabo San Lucas (From Toronto – seasonal)
Cancún (From Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto)
Cozumel (From Montreal – seasonal and Toronto)
Liberia, Costa Rica (From Montreal and Toronto)
Mexico City (From Toronto and Vancouver)
Puerto Vallerta (From Toronto)
San José, Costa Rica (From Toronto)

Bogotá (From Toronto)
Buenos Aires (From Toronto and Santiago)
Caracas (From Toronto)
Lima (From Toronto)
Santiago (From Buenos Aires and Toronto)

If you are in South America and need a flight between Buenos Aires and Santiago, you can use your United miles to book Air Canada between Buenos Aires and Santiago!

Travel Codex has more examples of these interesting “Fifth Freedom” routes.

6. Aeromar

Aeromar is not a member of Star Alliance, but they are partners with United. Aeromar is based in Mexico City and is great for connections within Mexico. Matthew at upgrd explains how you can book mileage tickets on Aeromar using the United.com website!

Aeromar flies to many Mexican destinations, according to the route map on their website.

You can fly into Mexico City with United or with a partner, then connect to Aeromar to:

Acapulco (From Mexico City)
Ixtapa (FromMexico City)

Bottom Line

You can fly to the Caribbean, Central, and South American using your United miles. You can fly on United, COPA, US Airways, Avianca, Air Canada, or Aeromar.

Million Mile Secrets

Contributor

Million Mile Secrets features a team of points and miles experts who have traveled to over 80 countries and have used 60+ credit cards responsibly to accumulate loyalty points and travel the world on the cheap! The Million Mile Secrets team has been featured on The Points Guy, TIME, Yahoo Finance and many other leading points & miles media outlets.