Reader Success! Business Class Flights to Machu Picchu Thanks In Part to Chase Ultimate Rewards Points

Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

Welcome to another Reader Success Story where Million Mile Secrets readers share how they booked a trip with miles and points. This interview has been edited for content and clarity.

Janeal’s reader success story shows it’s possible to travel without spending a lot of money. If you would like to be inspired by more stories like this one, take a second to subscribe to our newsletter.

1.  What’s your name and how long have you been involved in the miles-and-points hobby?

Hi, my name is Janeal and I’ve been earning airline miles for over 10 years now, but have not had any real success stories with redeeming them until this particular trip.

2.  What was the goal of your trip?

I wanted to do something special for my husband’s 50th birthday. He had always wanted to go to Machu Picchu, so it seemed like a great opportunity to redeem some miles for an adventure.

3.  How long did you collect miles and points for your trip?

The points we redeemed for this trip took about 18 months to collect.

4. Which points did you save to take your trip?

At the time of booking, I transferred 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United Airlines for two one-way tickets in business class from Boise to Lima. Since United has changed its award flight prices, it now costs at least 35,000 United miles for a one-way business class saver ticket between the US and Lima.

I had also earned 60,000 American Airlines miles from the welcome bonus on the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®, which I redeemed for another two one-way tickets in business class for the flight back home to Boise.

The information for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

For the hotel, I redeemed some points I earned on a Wyndham Rewards Visa card and paid for everything else in cash.

5.  Which cards would you recommend opening for a trip like yours?

I’d recom

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card

Any of these cards are great because you have a lot of redemption options with multiple Chase transfer partners, which is helpful when you’re looking for fights to book.

We upgraded to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® a year ago and feel that the card is well worth the annual fee because of perks like the $300 annual travel credit, reimbursement for Global Entry, and Priority Pass airport lounge access.

The Ink Business Preferred Credit Card is also a great choice, especially because you currently have the opportunity to earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after meeting minimum spending requirements. These are the same flexible points that you can redeem with many of Chase’s travel partners.

6.  How did you search for and find the award flights?

To get an idea of which airlines had a good product for flying in businesss class for flights to South America, I read several different travel blogs. After deciding on United Airlines, I just jumped onto their website and began searching for award seats.

I was only able to find a single business class award seat available. I booked that for my husband because it was for his birthday and then booked a seat for myself in coach.

Then I remembered reading on Million Mile Secrets that on a United Airlines flight, it was possible to get on the waitlist for United Airlines business class award seats if you had enough miles. I called to be placed on that waiting list and within a week I made it off the waitlist and was confirmed a seat in business class.

For our flight back home, I initially booked seats in coach, before remembering that American Airlines allows you to change your reservation free of charge if your destination and travel dates remain unchanged. Because of this, I decided to see if I could change our itinerary to fly in business class instead. For the next month, I continued to check websites like ExpertFlyer and American Airlines for available award seats in business class.

About two weeks before our trip, I was finally able to find some award seat availability. I called American Airlines and successfully changed our reservations to business class with no change fees.

7.  How did you find your hotel accommodations?

I had earned points from a welcome bonus on a Wyndham Rewards Visa card to book a room at the Hoteles Costa Del Sol for the night we’d be landing in Lima. It was close to the airport, which ended up being perfect because we landed late at night and were completely exhausted. We also had an early flight the very next morning to Cusco, so it was nice not having to worry about finding transportation to and from the hotel.

The rest of our hotel accommodations were booked through Hotels.com. We found that hotels were pretty inexpensive in Peru, so I didn’t want to redeem any points for an award stay. I figured I could save my points and redeem them on another trip at a more expensive hotel.

8.  What was the most challenging part about planning your trip? How did you solve it?

Maybe surprisingly, the hardest part was the fact that my husband had to get time off from work. Everything else in terms of planning the trip was relatively easy because of all the information available online, which helped me in finding flights, hotels, and how to earn and redeem points.

9.  Give us a few recommendations or tips for what to do at your destination — parks, restaurants, hidden gems, etc.

We did a two-day Inca Trail trek which was amazing! It was beautiful being able to hike through the mountains. We saw plenty of amazing Incan ruins, were provided wonderful meals from the company conducting the hike, had a knowledgeable guide and also had a fun time socializing with other couples in our hiking group.

We also saw Machu Picchu for the very first time, and I have to say I got a little misty-eyed from this experience. It was a really special experience entering the city where the ancient Incas first did as they traveled from Cusco.

10.  What would you say to folks looking to plan a similar trip? Or to those who haven’t taken a trip with miles and points yet?

If you’re thinking about traveling somewhere, it can really be helpful to talk to others who’ve been there before. I didn’t know much about Machu Picchu, but the more I read about it, the more I wanted to go.

I’d also say that redeeming miles and points is a skill and it can take some time to learn the ropes and become an expert. Try not to feel too frustrated. It can be a bit of trial and error at the beginning, but just try to learn from any mistakes you might make.

Finally, if you do decide to travel to Peru,

I’d recom

mend going sometime in October. The weather we had was gorgeous. There were no crowds and we were able to make reservations for pretty much all of our flights, tours, and hotels just a month in advance. If you try to make reservations during peak travel season though (June through September), you’ll have to make the reservations many more months in advance, and possibly deal with more crowds.

Want to Share Your Story?

If you’d like to be considered for our Reader Success Series, please send us a note!  We would love to hear about how you travel with miles and points!

For the latest tips and tricks on traveling big without spending a fortune, please subscribe to the Million Mile Secrets daily email newsletter.