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A reader asked me how to find partner space in South America. This is how to do it in general.
I’m thinking of swinging through Argentina in January. In addition to seeing Buenos Aires I’d like to see the Iguazu Falls. They look absolutely incredible and as luck would have it LATAM flies from Buenos Aires ( EZE ) to Iguazu Falls ( IGR ). There are two airports at Iguazu; one airport services Argentina, and the other services Brazil. Since I know for certain Argentina doesn’t require a visa for US citizens and I can use points to fly into it I thought this would be a perfect time to show you how I’m looking for space. Let me walk you through how I’m using British Airways to search partner award availability in South America which is simply a template of how to do it in general.
Here’s the reader’s question.
Mark has a home in Chile, but can never find space to get their on the AA website. This is a very common complaint and one that has to be worked around using another search engine…British Airways is a great place to search partner award inventory. The partner he would like to fly is LATAM.
Let’s use my potential trip as an example of how to find space. If I were to search for flights from Buenos Aires to Iguazu falls on the AA website I’d get this:
Have no Fear. I will teach you how to find flights on partners to get you to places like The Sheraton Iguazu Falls. 12k SPG. Y to the ES, PLEASE. As luck would have it, LATAM flies here.
Let’s walk through Step by Step how to find if space is available.
Step 1. Executive Club —-> Spending Avios
Step 2. Find Reward Flights and Click Book a Reward flight
Step 3. You’ll see Book Flights with Avios
Step 4. Lo and BEHOLD! 7 SEATS. AA said nothing was available. You just beat the system 😉
Now You’ve found space. Which program do you use to book?
The First Option would be to use British Airways Avios. 7500 Avios +$36.55
This would be my go to for these flights. Avios are fairly easy to earn as they are transfer partners of both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex.
The Second Option: if you’re like Mark and have loads of AA miles. You could redeem 10k AA
Third. Maybe you’d wanna use Alaska Air for 12.5k
Remember: If you have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards you could use the current 40% Transfer Bonus to British Airways Avios. This mean you could snag that flight for just 5500 Avios.
If you are looking to book these flights with a partner like American ( Like Mark asked), simply write down the flight number and use it specifically when you call in and speak with a rep. Wanna come off like a pro? Use the phonetic alphabet. Hope this helps!
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
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 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, 2024
- $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.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.