Southwest’s New Destinations – Where to Stay Using Points in Central America

January 26, 2015 By Million Mile Secrets

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Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers. Update: Thanks to Million Mile Secrets readers for pointing out that many folks don’t stay right in San Jose or Belize City. Emily and I haven’t been to these destinations, so it’s helpful when our readers add their experiences! We hope these guides can save folks time when searching for hotels, and that our readers continue sharing their feedback and advice.

In response to the news that Southwest will start flying to Belize, Million Mile Secrets reader Julianna commented:

Someone should do a post on points and rewards hotels in Belize…just sayin’.

I’m taking this a step further and checking out which hotels are available using points in all of Southwest’s new international destinations!

We’ll continue by looking at Southwest’s new destinations in Central America:

Belize (Belize City) (Starting June 2015)
Costa Rica (San Jose) (Starting March 2015)

Southwest's New Destinations Where To Stay Using Points In Central America — Want to See the Mayan Ruins in Belize? Southwest Will Take You There Starting June 2015

Southwest’s New Destinations – Where to Stay Using Points Index

Part 1 – Mexico (Cancun, Los Cabos, Mexico City, and Puerto Vallarta)
Part 2 – The Caribbean (Aruba, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico)
Part 3 – Central America (Costa Rica and Belize)

Southwest Flies to Central America – Here’s Where to Stay!

Link: Hotel Award Charts

Using AwardMapper, I searched for hotels in each Southwest city. It’s a tool that displays major chain hotels (and the points required per night) on a map.

Note: Some of these hotels are away from the main tourist areas, for example near the airport or downtown instead of the beach. So check the location before you book!

1. Belize City, Belize

Southwest will begin flights to Belize in June 2015. It’s a popular destination for folks who like the outdoors, with great scuba diving, hiking, and eco-tourism.

Best Western

Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza – 16,000 points per night

Club Carlson

Radisson Fort George Hotel & Marina – 38,000 points per night (Top Pick!)

Ranked the #1 hotel in Belize City by TripAdvisor, the Radisson Fort George Hotel & Marina is close to Mayan ruins, snorkeling, and dive sites.

Remember, if you have the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card, you’ll get the last night free on award stays of 2 nights or more. So you could get 2 nights for 38,000 points!

Note: These are the only hotels you can get with points in Belize. Remember, you could use Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase Travel portal to save 20% on hotels.

When you can’t use points to book a hotel, consider using your Chase Sapphire Preferred card because you’ll get 2X Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel expenses.

Or use the Barclaycard Arrival Plus to get 2.2% back on all travel purchases such as hotels.

Neither card charges a foreign transaction fee.

2. San Jose, Costa Rica

Starting in March 2015, Southwest will fly to San Jose, Costa Rica. Eco-tourism is 1 of the main attractions for visitors, and there are rain forests, volcanoes, and waterfalls to explore.