Fly round-trip to Mexico and you can bring a companion with you for free. For some this could be a good deal, but there are restrictions!
Note: If you’re new to miles and points there are much better cards available from the Hot Deals tab. But if you’ve already got most of the cards, the AeroMexico Visa Signature card could be interesting.
You can get a free Companion Ticket when you’re approved for the AeroMexico Visa Signature card. You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to AeroMexico.
AeroMexico Visa Signature Card
Link: AeroMexico Visa Signature card
Link: AeroMexico Airlines
You get a free Companion Certificate upon approval and 20,000 bonus AeroMexico miles after your 1st purchase with the AeroMexico Visa Signature card.
With the AeroMexico Visa Signature card you also get:
- 2X AeroMexico miles on gas, groceries and AeroMexico ticket purchases
- 1 AeroMexico mile for every $1 spent
- Free 1 day pass to Salon Premier Lounge
- 4,000 AeroMexico miles and $99 Companion Ticket each card renewal
- 15% discount on AeroMexico tickets purchased
- $80 annual fee (waived the 1st year)
Bring a Friend For Free
You get a free Companion Ticket (taxes not included) with your AeroMexico Visa Signature card. The AeroMexico Companion Ticket lets a companion fly with you for free when you fly on paid round-trip AeroMexico or AeroMexico Connect flights from the US to Mexico.
However, your Companion Ticket CANNOT be used on partner or code-shared flights. And can only be used with new Aeromexico ticket purchases, booked in M, B, or Y class (full fare economy). For flights to Mexico Aeromexico calls these “AM Plus” fares. So when buying your ticket, you have to buy an “AM Plus” fare.
For example, a 1-way “AM Plus” ticket from San Antonio to Cabo San Lucas on March 7, 2015, costs ~$442. A “Bargain” ticket only costs ~$123. But you can only use the Companion Ticket when you buy an “AM Plus ticket. So you would pay ~$319 more (~$442 “AM Plus” ticket cost – ~$123 “Bargain” ticket cost).
Your AeroMexico Companion Ticket is valid for 12 months, but is subject to blackout dates and seat availability, unlike the Alaska Airlines Companion Ticket which has no blackout dates.
Is the AeroMexico Companion Pass Worth It?
Because you have to by the “AM Plus” tickets instead of the cheaper “Bargain” tickets, let’s take a look to see if it’s worth using the AeroMexico Companion Pass.
One “AM Plus” fare round-trip ticket from San Antonio to Cabo San Lucas on March 7, 2015, to March 15, 2015, costs ~$932. Your companion would pay ~$117 for taxes.
So for 2 coach tickets you end up paying ~$1049 ($932 “AM Plus” fare ticket for you + ~$117 taxes on Companion Ticket).
If you had to buy 2 tickets from San Antonio to Cabo San Lucas on March 7, 2015, to March 15, 2015, you would pay ~$751 through the AeroMexico website.
So you would save ~$298 (~$1049 cost of 1 ticket and taxes on Companion Ticket – $751 cost of 2 tickets).
So despite having to buy an “AM Plus” ticket, you only pay taxes on your companion’s ticket, so an AeroMexico Companion Ticket could be worth it.
Two tickets booked through Kayak would cost ~$521, so you pay $528 more (~$1049 cost of 1 ticket and taxes on Companion Ticket – $521 cost of 2 tickets) booking the higher fare through the AeroMexico website and using the Companion Ticket.
But once you are in Mexico, I would NOT use the AeroMexico Visa Signature card because it charges a foreign exchange fee. Instead use a card that does NOT charge foreign exchange fees such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Where You Can Go With 20,000 AeroMexico Miles?
Link: AeroMexico Award Chart
Link: SkyTeam Award Chart
Link: Club Premier AeroMexico Award tickets & upgrades
Link: Club Premier Guide pdf
You can fly on AeroMexico to:
AeroMexico is part of the SkyTeam alliance, a group of 20 member airlines. So you can use AeroMexico miles on AeroMexico or any member of the SkyTeam alliance such as KLM or Delta Airlines.
You can book 1-way award tickets on AeroMexico or SkyTeam partner airlines, so the 20,000 AeroMexico mile sign-up bonus is NOT enough for a round-trip coach ticket within Mexico.
But there are some good values such as 112,000 AeroMexico miles for a roundtrip Business Class ticket from the US to Central America which is 23,000 miles less than on American Airlines (135,000 American Airlines AAnytime miles – 112,000 AeroMexico miles).
And if you want to use the miles for a domestic round-trip ticket on Delta, it can be tough to find low-level award tickets for 20,000 miles. But you can earn AeroMexico miles when you fly on Delta Airlines so that could help you earn more AeroMexico miles.
Using AeroMexico Miles
Link: Club Premier AeroMexico Award tickets & upgrades
If you’re in the US and want to redeem AeroMexico miles, you have to call AeroMexico at 800-247-3737.
You can search for award flights online (in Spanish) on the AeroMexico website.
When redeeming AeroMexico miles, miles are converted to KmP (Premier Kilometers) for redemption purchases where 1 AeroMexico mile equals 1.6 Premier Kilometers. So the 20,000 AeroMexico mile sign-up bonus would equal 32,000 Premier Kilometers.
A round-trip coach ticket from the US to Mexico costs 56,000 Premier Kilometers or 35,000 AeroMexico miles (56,000 Premier Kilometers / 1.6).
2X AeroMexico Miles
You also get 2X AeroMexico miles on AeroMexico tickets purchased directly from AeroMexico. Purchases made through travel agents and online travel agencies such as Priceline.com, Orbtiz, and Expedia do NOT earn 2X AeroMexico miles.
Because you get 2X AeroMexico miles on gas and groceries, you could use this card to purchase gift cards.
1 Day of Relaxation
You get a free 1 day pass to the Salon Premier Lounge in Mexico which must be used within the 1st 12 months.
Your 1-day pass is valid:
- With a same-day AeroMexico boarding pass
- For 2 people on Sunday to Wednesday
- For 1 person on Thursday to Saturday
4,000 AeroMexico Miles & $99 Companion Ticket Each Year
You get 4,000 AeroMexico miles and a $99 Companion Ticket when you renew your card each year.
The $99 AeroMexico Companion Ticket lets a companion fly with you for $99 (plus taxes) when you fly on a paid round-trip AeroMexico or AeroMexico Connect flight from the US to Mexico booked in M, B, or Y class. AeroMexico calls M, B, and Y fares to Mexico “AM Plus” fares. The Companion Ticket can NOT be used on partner or code-shared flights.
Note: You could get approved for the lesser version of the card that only gives you 15,000 AeroMexico miles after your 1st purchase and has different perks that I’ll explain below.AeroMexico Visa Card
Link: AeroMexico Visa card
As I mentioned above, some folks might get the AeroMexico Visa card which gives you less of a sign-up bonus and doesn’t offer the same perks. But there’s no way to be certain of which card you’ll get until you apply. I really don’t like it when banks do this!
In addition to 15,000 AeroMexico miles after your 1st purchase, with the AeroMexico Visa card you get:
- Free Companion Ticket
- 2X AeroMexico miles on gas, groceries and AeroMexico ticket purchases
- 1 AeroMexico mile for every $1 spent
- Free 1 day pass to Salon Premier Lounge
- 2,000 AeroMexico miles and $99 Companion Ticket each card renewal
- 10% discount on AeroMexico tickets purchased
- $45 annual fee (waived the 1st year)
Bottom Line
You can get 20,000 AeroMexico miles and a free Companion Ticket from the AeroMexico Visa Signature card.
If you’re new to miles and points, I’ve listed much better cards for you in the Hot Deals tab. But if you already have most of the cards, the AeroMexico Visa Signature card could be helpful.
The free AeroMexico Companion Ticket is only valid for travel from the US to Mexico with a new ticket booked in M, B, or Y fare class (“AM Plus” fare). So you have to buy an more expensive ticket to use the free Companion Ticket. But you would only have to buy 1 ticket instead of 2, so you could save money.
However, you might not get approved for the AeroMexico Visa Signature card. Instead you might get approved for the lesser AeroMexico Visa card which offers 15,000 AeroMexico miles.
You can use AeroMexico miles on Skyteam partners such as Delta Airlines. There are some good values on the AeroMexico award chart but most awards cost a lot of miles.