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I have planned many a trip to Bogota, but never pulled the trigger. This time may be different. The world is slowly opening up, and just yesterday…I booked my first post lockdown trip to Japan in December. Will I go back to back days and book another trip to Colombia?! Maybe. Thanks to Skip over at Luxury Flight Club for finding this deal that is downright incredible. Fly roundtrip to Bogota, Colombia for under $500 roundtrip in Biz on Delta. Lie Flat
When can I book this deal?
- JFK to BOG
- Delta Airlines
- April to November
- Skip found rates as low as $440
- This is his link…
The Search on Google Flights
Click this link and search away. I have it plugged in for some dates in October, but you can fiddle around. These prices are for two people roundtrip.
How would you fly?
Delta flies 767s that don’t feature the new Delta One with the doors, etc. It’s a 6 hour flight, which to be honest, is short enough that under normal circumstances is right at the threshold I think flying business makes a difference. It’s a day flight, so you’ll probably watch a couple of movies, eat a snack, and arrive in a time zone 1 hour before the one you left.
The Hotel Options I’m considering most
The are a few hotel options I’ve drooled over for several years. I’ll break down a few options, but I’ve always considered the Grand Hyatt Bogota and one of the two Four Seasons hotels. The Casa Media Four Seasons looks incredibly quaint, sophisticated, and perfectly ingrained into the landscape. But…the Grand Hyatt Bogota has insane views, and it substantially cheaper. You know I love a deal…and we could always have dinner at the FS. Let’s look at the choices.
Grand Hyatt Bogota
- Category 3 – 12k points per night
- Rate – $105+
Honestly the hotel itself could be anywhere in the world, but the views look amazing. I need to do more research to see if the area has many walkable sites, but at this price…incredible. I’m also Globalist so I’d have club access and breakfast guaranteed.
If you’re looking at doing a couples trip…it has two bedrooms suites for $400 a night.
Four Seasons
There are two Four Seasons hotels in Bogota. The one I’m most interested in staying at is the Four Seasons Casa Medina Bogota.
- I’d book via Amex FHR, Virtuoso, or Four Seasons Preferred Partner
- Rates are $300+
The big question…is it worth splurging on a hotel when we will probably be out and about a lot and could book a really nice room at the Grand Hyatt for a fraction? It would depend on the area to me…
Marriott
There are two Marriott Options I’d be most interested in. The JW Marriott and the W. My fiancee has Marriott Platinum Status which would provide free breakfast and hopefully a nice upgrade.
JW Marriott
- Category 5 – 30k to 40k points ( Free Night certificates from many credit cards could work )
- Rates – $180-$350 a night
Surprisingly the hotel was quite expensive when compared to the Grand Hyatt which is what would have priced it against. Again, I’ll need to research the areas a bit more. Again..this hotel looks as though it could be anywhere in the world when compared to the Four Seasons and the price is basically the same.
W Bogota
If I were to choose between the JW and W…I’m just more of a traditional decor type of guy. If you’re into the night scene, trendy bars, etc…W may be more your style. However..the big difference is cost – W is pricing in over 50% of the JW on many dates I was looking to travel.
- Category 5 – 30k to 40k points ( Free Night certificates from many credit cards could work )
- Rates – From $100+
How I would book the flights
At this price, I’d just pay cash. The big thing to note here is that these prices are Changeable/NonRefundable – so if I couldn’t end up taking this trip, I’d be left with a Delta credit that I would look to apply to another Delta trip.
Also…Delta notifies you that you’ll need to present a negative Covid test 96 hours prior to departure. Looking more at the Oct/Nov timeframe this may change, or they many amend this as vaccinations roll out.
Credit Cards I would use to Book it
There are a wide range of cards that earn bonus points on travel
- American Express Platinum – 5x on tickets purchased in Amex travel or directly with the airline
- American Express Gold – 3x on tickets purchased in Amex travel or directly with the airline
- Chase Sapphire Reserve – 3x on travel
- Chase Ink Business Preferred – 3x on travel
- Chase Sapphire Preferred – 2x on travel
- Citi Thank You Prestige – 5x on Air Travel
- Citi Thank You Premier – 3x on Air Travel
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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