We’re always on the lookout for good airfare deals to Buenos Aires being that normal coach fares are now over $1400. So when we came across two recent deals, we knew we had to share them.
First, LAN is having their “the big deal” mid-year sale with fares to most South American countries on sale. Coach tickets to Buenos Aires are going for only $899 during this promotion. You must book by June 18, 2012, for travel from September 1, 2012 – November 30, 2012. While these restrictions might not work for everyone, this is certainly a good deal on a coach seat.
US Airways is also back with their 100% bonus on purchased miles. We wrote about this deal last year, and while they raised the price on their purchased miles, this can still be a great deal, especially when flying business.
If you buy 30,000 miles for $1128, they’ll give you another 30,000 miles which is enough for a coach ticket to Buenos Aires. This is not a great deal, considering that you’d have to find low mileage dates in order to redeem this ticket. However, you can buy 50,000 miles for $1881 and they’ll give you another 50,000 miles. With 100,000 miles, you can get a business class ticket to Buenos Aires. These seats sell for upwards of $3800 each, so your value is much greater. Plus, if you look at the normal cost of a coach ticket (around $1400) and add in the baggage fees, you’ll find that you’re probably already close to the cost of flying business and getting additional luggage allowances.
Now, US Airways does not have a lot of flights to Buenos Aires, but since they’re part of Star Alliance, you’ll find that their partner United does have a good amount of award space. Simply search for low mileage award space at United.com, find the flights you want, call up US Airways and book the ticket on United. We just did this using the miles we purchased last year and it worked perfectly. (They do have a $50 phone booking fee for international flights that cannot be avoided.)
This offer expires on June 30, 2012, and you must have been a Dividend Miles member for 12 days in order to purchase miles, so you’d better create an account right away if you do not have one. It also helps to have a flexible schedule in order to find the lowest mileage days.