The countries of Central America are rich in birdlife and easily accessible from the USA so no wonder they are so popular! It is quite easy to get to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala using frequent flier miles. Just the parrot lists alone could tempt you but when you add in Resplendant Quetzals, Motmots and more……………! Right now there are two offers that can help get you there very cheaply using miles and points. In this post, I will talk about getting there on miles. Priority Club Pointbreaks has some good deals on too but they will be on a separate post. By taking advantage of these offers, you greatly reduce your costs and have more money to spend on local eco-lodges and great birding guides once you get there!
Signing up for credit cards can be a useful means of getting frequent flyer miles, especially for US residents. I recently received an email from Barclays with a special offer that states the following:
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So how can you tell if this is a good deal for you?
First you need to compare the cost of buying a ticket to Central America with the cost of getting this card and just paying the taxes. For a quick estimate, just plug the dates into Expedia or Travelocity to get some ideas or use the airlines websites. Let’s use Belize for an example. Since we need to use US Airways flights to get the discount of 5000 miles, I will use that as an example. US Airways flights are seasonal so right now there is no availability after Aug. In real life, I would have booked this at least 10 months in advance. For screenshots to illustrate, I will use what I can get. First thing to look for is the pale blue color code which indicates the low level redemption of 17,500 miles each way, round trip required.
US Airways Availability
I found some, not on the dates I would have preferred but at least we can get a 9 day trip which gives plenty of time to see Belize and Tikal in neighboring Guatemala via San Ignacio. The system recognizes me as a credit card holder and automatically subtracts 5000 miles. So as you can see, by signing up for this credit card, you get enough miles for a cheap trip to Central America if you can find the availability. You won’t be able to do it this year as the bonus will post too late to take advantage of it, but you could plan for next year. If the merge with AA has taken place by then, your US miles will become AA miles which are also good for getting to Central America.
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Paying cash for the trip would cost $638 plus tax of $109 which you have to pay in either case so by getting the credit card and booking an award trip you have saved $638.
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Disclosure: Using my link which is valid until 31 July gives me a referral credit of 5000 miles if you are approved. If you choose to use my link, I appreciate your support. Barclays often has different offers available to different people some better than others and they change rapidly. Some may be targeted, some may be for everyone. This thread in FlyerTalk has the most up to date information about what offers are available. The terms and conditions of the offer are as above in the screenshot and provided in detail here. Please read them carefully before applying for this card. Also please make sure that you can pay the card in full each month so you don’t end up with interest charges. I have had this card for several years and have been happy with it. When US and AA merge, this card will be going away so you won’t have much longer to get it if you want it. I am not a qualified financial advisor but if you have questions on how to use this offer, please ask in the comments and I will do my best.