MilesBuzz! - Award options for intra-Peru?

I have tried googling all morning and countless FT searches. Also tried looking at a few partner award charts and still can't figure this out... Are there low miles award options for intra-Peru? LIM-CUZ-LIM I noted someone used BA points, but that is the one thing I DON'T have.... I have SPG, UA, AA, DL, and a few US. Before I pay cash for the ticket (which is about $150-175 RT), I'd like to know if I can get the tickets for a 'few' miles. Thanks for any help or pointing me to the correct thread ^

Best bet would be BA miles, 9,000 r/t you can always try to trade someone for them. SPG for BA, I'm sure you could find someone who would trade you at a better than 1:1 ratio in your favor.

Are you bookin an award ticket to LIM? You can book all the way to CUZ? I was able to book LAX-MIA-LIM-CUZ for one chunk of AA miles. This has to be done on the phone with AA however.

Also be careful with the LIM-CUZ pricing, I've heard there is one price if you're a US citizen and another (lower) if you're from SA. Not sure if this is still true. The $150-175 sounds suspiciously low to me. I remember people saying it was $275+

Best bet would be BA miles, 9,000 r/t you can always try to trade someone for them. SPG for BA, I'm sure you could find someone who would trade you at a better than 1:1 ratio in your favor.

Are you bookin an award ticket to LIM? You can book all the way to CUZ? I was able to book LAX-MIA-LIM-CUZ for one chunk of AA miles. This has to be done on the phone with AA however.

Also be careful with the LIM-CUZ pricing, I've heard there is one price if you're a US citizen and another (lower) if you're from SA. Not sure if this is still true. The $150-175 sounds suspiciously low to me. I remember people saying it was $275+
Will consider coupon connection, yes.
I bought the LAX-LIM cheap fare that happened yesterday.
Yes, I've read about the 'gringo tax' and will be careful :D

The main player in Peru is LAN, which is a OneWorld partner.

SPG transfers to BA, and it's 4500 Avios + $6-7 taxes for a short-haul intra Peru (my LIM-CUZ-LIM flight was 9000 Avios + $13 roundtrip).

SPG transfers to LAN at a decent rate: 1 SPG = 2 LAN kilometros. If you transfer 20K SPG, you get 50K LAN.

This (http://www.lan.com/en_us/sitio_personas/lanpass/como_canjear/tabla_premios_sudamerica.html) is the LAN table for intra-Peru.

However, I prefer to use SPG for hotels ...

You can also use AA miles, but it's 6K miles one-way + $25 booking fee over the phone.

$175 sounds like a steal, make sure you're buying it via the U.S. site (LAN shows different prices for Peruvians than for other countries). It was hovering around $500 rt when I went, so 9000 Avios was a great deal.

You can use AA miles on LAN-Peru. It'll be 10,000 per flight. Add possibly AA phone ticketing charges? Can't book it on aa.com.

Considering that StarPeru is offering LIM-CUZ for a mere $35, it would be a waste of award miles unless you don't have any better use for them.

SPG transfer would be great, will see if dates are available. Thanks.

You can use AA miles on LAN-Peru. It'll be 10,000 per flight. Add possibly AA phone ticketing charges? Can't book it on aa.com.

Considering that StarPeru is offering LIM-CUZ for a mere $35, it would be a waste of award miles unless you don't have any better use for them.It is NOT $35 for my dates tho. One of the dates is $35, the other is not. So the total is at least $150 RT.

Is the 10K miles OW or RT?

Star peru and other local carriers do not charge a "Gringo" Tax. Sure when I was there, they seemed to be delayed more, they didn't have jetbridge, and they were at the far end of the airport, but I'm sure their 737 gets you there just fine.

Another option would be Chase UR points, which transfer to BA. Even if you have a UR card that doesn't allow transfers (Like a Freedom) you can find trades on CC for 1 UR to 1.5 BA miles. You can transfer UR points to someone who has a Sapphire Preferred/Ink Bold and ask them to then dump into your BA account as well.

I really would recommend using BA points for this. I agree SPG points would be wasteful... but a good trade might make me consider using my SPG points.

It is NOT $35 for my dates tho. One of the dates is $35, the other is not. So the total is at least $150 RT.

Is the 10K miles OW or RT?

Within Peru is actually 6000 miles one-way on AA, 12K RT. But since you have to book over the phone, you have to pay a $25 booking fee + applicable taxes (~$13).

If you have AMEX or Chase UR points, I highly suggest using BA Avios; this route is quite possibly the best redemption you can make with the new program.

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You can use AA miles on LAN-Peru. It'll be 10,000 per flight. Add possibly AA phone ticketing charges? Can't book it on aa.com.

Considering that StarPeru is offering LIM-CUZ for a mere $35, it would be a waste of award miles unless you don't have any better use for them.

As noted by amolkold in the post immediately above yours, LIM-CUZ on LAN Peru now costs only 6K AAdvantage miles each way. See the "Wholly Within" redemption rates in the upper right corner of the recently revised Partner award chart:

http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/aadvantageAllPartnerChart.jsp

I agree SPG points would be wasteful...Why? Because the minimum transfer is too many points? Or because people use them more for hotel stays?

It is NOT $35 for my dates tho. One of the dates is $35, the other is not. So the total is at least $150 RT.

Is the 10K miles OW or RT?

10K per OW. $150 RT is still much better than 20K miles. You're only getting a $0.0075 per mile redemption value! (even less if you consider the phone ticketing fee.) But of course you may have other considerations than mine. :)

Why? Because the minimum transfer is too many points? Or because people use them more for hotel stays?

Because 9K SPG points are more valuable when used for hotels than for airline transfers.

OP, when are you flying? If it's not for a while, you have time to build Avios through a ton of means. BA is transfer partners with everyone and their mother. Get the 50K BA card, or a Chase card (even a Freedom, and transfer them to a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold account to get to BA), or an AMEX MR card.

Or CC!

Why? Because the minimum transfer is too many points? Or because people use them more for hotel stays?

Because I value them most for C&P stays. There is no replacement for SPG points, whereas there are many ways to get points into BA, as discussed above.

Also because SPG points can top up so many programs in case you're just a little shy of that great redemption and want to book it right now before it disappears.

Why? Because the minimum transfer is too many points? Or because people use them more for hotel stays?

In my case, they can transfer or be used for more valuable commodities, compared to the (relative) glut of BA and AA points/miles, and the related promos to obtain those at a substantial discount through other transfer partners.

Because 9K SPG points are more valuable when used for hotels than for airline transfers. I was very happy that my SPG points got us business class tickets to Rome last fall ^ I don't personally use them for hotel stays, but I will consider coupon connection.

Our travel dates are the first week of Sept. I would need 18K Avios to get to RT tickets.

Because I value them most for C&P stays. There is no replacement for SPG points, whereas there are many ways to get points into BA, as discussed above.

Also because SPG points can top up so many programs in case you're just a little shy of that great redemption and want to book it right now before it disappears.

If you do choose to transfer SPG (which I do not recommend, but they're your points), I would suggest LAN over BA. LAN LIM-CUZ r/t is 16K LAN kilometros, which is 8K SPG transferred at the 1:2 rate. The same on BA would be 9K SPG -> 9K BA.

But that's only as a last resort. I'd still look for ways to get BA miles more cheaply.

Our travel dates are the first week of Sept. I would need 18K Avios to get to RT tickets.

Chase BA Visa signup is 50K Avios on first purchase.

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"It is NOT $35 for my dates tho. One of the dates is $35, the other is not. So the total is at least $150 RT."

So how about buying the $35 one-way, and just using 6K AA miles or 4.5K BA Avios for the other way on LAN Peru (assuming you can find award-seat availability in that direction)?

[SIZE=1]So how about buying the $35 one-way, and just using 6K AA miles or 4.5K BA Avios for the other way on LAN Peru (assuming you can find award-seat availability in that direction)?That WOULD be the ideal plan ^ Obviously BA will book a OW award, so that is an excellent idea. ;)

Because 9K SPG points are more valuable when used for hotels than for airline transfers.

OP, when are you flying? If it's not for a while, you have time to build Avios through a ton of means. BA is transfer partners with everyone and their mother. Get the 50K BA card, or a Chase card (even a Freedom, and transfer them to a Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold account to get to BA), or an AMEX MR card.

Or CC!

Avios really has some clout flying in South America.

For example, a one-way flight between Lima and Buenos Aires or Iguassu Falls would be just 10,000 Avios (with no fuel surcharges), and a triangle between all 3 cities would be 27,500 Avios.

As noted by amolkold in the post immediately above yours, LIM-CUZ on LAN Peru now costs only 6K AAdvantage miles each way.

Thank you both for correcting me, that's good to know. Sorry ALadyNCal that the low fare is not available for you. :(

can somebody point me towards the main avios thread, if there is one? having trouble figuring it out, avios.com, is it for UK residents only?

[SIZE=1] using 6K AA miles or 4.5K BA Avios for the other way on LAN PeruIf I use the AA miles, I have to pay a $25 phone fee. If I TRADE or EARN the Avios points I don't. But since I HAVE 12K AA miles, it probably isn't worth all the hassle of working out a trade to save the $25...? First I have to check BA.com for availability or call AA for availability -- I don't know how easy the awards are to get and we have little flexibility now that we've purchased the LAX-LIM.

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can somebody point me towards the main avios thread, if there is one? having trouble figuring it out, avios.com, is it for UK residents only?

If you are interested in redeeming Avios held in a BA Executive Club (frequent-flyer-program) account, the FT BA Executive Club forum is the place to go.

If I use the AA miles, I have to pay a $25 phone fee. If I TRADE or EARN the Avios points I don't. But since I HAVE 12K AA miles, it probably isn't worth all the hassle of working out a trade to save the $25...? First I have to check BA.com for availability or call AA for availability -- I don't know how easy the awards are to get and we have little flexibility now that we've purchased the LAX-LIM.

I'll swap you 9,000 Avios for a week at your Maui condo. ;)

Are there low miles options for TACA?

Are there low miles options for TACA?

They're supposed to be joining *A anyday ... haven't checked the redemption possibilities, but it'd be 10K each-way on UA and 25K rt on US + $50 phone booking fee.

I see fares available on StarPeru for my dates for $270 a/i (for 2 people).

I've got a similar booking made on LAN via Avios for 9,000 x 2.

If I've done the math right, I'm only getting 1.5 cents per Avios for LIM-CUZ. Isn't that mediocre? Worth canceling my LAN booking?

I see fares available on StarPeru for my dates for $270 a/i (for 2 people).

I've got a similar booking made on LAN via Avios for 9,000 x 2.

If I've done the math right, I'm only getting 1.5 cents per Avios for LIM-CUZ. Isn't that mediocre? Worth canceling my LAN booking?

Not the greatest redemption, but I'd keep it. 1.5 is decent for BA unless you really need it for an international biz award somewhere.

1) It's saves $270. Cash in hand is cash saved.
2) You're flying LAN which is better than starperu IMHO

sorry to pile on, if one wanted to go Cuzco to GYE, would using AA miles only require 10k miles as opposed to BA miles which I assume would be 7,500 + 4,500 ?

I see fares available on StarPeru for my dates for $270 a/i (for 2 people).

I've got a similar booking made on LAN via Avios for 9,000 x 2.

If I've done the math right, I'm only getting 1.5 cents per Avios for LIM-CUZ. Isn't that mediocre? Worth canceling my LAN booking?

More like 1.36cpm since you have to pay $13pp with Avios for airport taxes. Ends up being a $244 savings for 18K Avios.

I'd still say LAN is a much better airline than Star Peru. Airbus A319 on LAN vs. the smaller BAe 146 with Star Peru, though it's only 1h20m flight. But there are a lot more frequencies with LAN, and given the number of wx cancellations on this route, I'd prefer LAN over Star Peru.

sorry to pile on, if one wanted to go Cuzco to GYE, would using AA miles only require 10k miles as opposed to BA miles which I assume would be 7,500 + 4,500 ?

Yes, AA uses regions in their award chart, so CUZ-GYE would be within South America Zone 1. BA charges by segment, and from CUZ you'd have to transit LIM to get to GYE (and find availability on CUZ-LIM and LIM-GYE).

I value 10K AA miles over 12K Avios (due to the ease of getting Avios), plus you save $25 booking via BA online than with AA over the phone.

By the way, LAN received a FT subforum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/lan-lanpass-689/) late last year and it is greatly helpful for any questions regarding LAN.

Thanks for the GREAT info from everyone ^ I was getting SO frustrated trying to figure these options out this morning.

I just priced out flights for my parents and brothers for intra-peru just the other day. 4 people with 3 one way segments (12 total tickets) was 54k Avios and around $65 in taxes/fees. The flights themselves were over $3000 total when I priced them on Kayak.com. Also I found tons of award availability with Avios points on LAN.

Found a bonus transfer offer (valid till 6/20/12) -- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1351268-25-bonus-hotel-avios-transfer.html

I could transfer 7200 SPG points to get 9K avios ^ Wonder how long till the points + bonus will post @ BA?

Then the two RT LIM-CUZ-LIM tix would be $35+3600 SPG each.

Here's a map of where LAN flies within Peru. Click on the map on the right side of the linked page "Domestic flights Argentina, Chile, Ecuador & Peru".

http://www.lan.com/en_us/sitio_personas/destinos/mapa_rutas.html

I just priced out flights for my parents and brothers for intra-peru just the other day. 4 people with 3 one way segments (12 total tickets) was 54k Avios and around $65 in taxes/fees. The flights themselves were over $3000 total when I priced them on Kayak.com. Also I found tons of award availability with Avios points on LAN.

Great redemption value ^

Just another reason I love avios even with all the crap some fling their way.

Star peru and other local carriers do not charge a "Gringo" Tax. Sure when I was there, they seemed to be delayed more, they didn't have jetbridge, and they were at the far end of the airport, but I'm sure their 737 gets you there just fine.

I have to ask about this because I've booked five separate flights intra-Peru for November (LIM>CUZ>JAL>CUZ>AQP>LIM). All on LAN. I paid for all of the flights through Expedia, except for the CUZ>JAL>CUZ legs, which I redeemed Avios for.

Will I be hit with that gringo tax on each leg? It would effectively double the cost of my trip.

I have to ask about this because I've booked five separate flights intra-Peru for November (LIM>CUZ>JAL>CUZ>AQP>LIM). All on LAN. I paid for all of the flights through Expedia, except for the CUZ>JAL>CUZ legs, which I redeemed Avios for.

Will I be hit with that gringo tax on each leg? It would effectively double the cost of my trip.

Can I selfishly bump this thread to see if anyone knows about the so-called "gringo tax"?

Speaking of the 'gringo tax', does anyone know if this will apply to BA award bookings on LAN (LIM-CUZ-LIM)?

Speaking of the 'gringo tax', does anyone know if this will apply to BA award bookings on LAN (LIM-CUZ-LIM)?

The only taxes should be airport taxes, which amount to about $13. I don't look gringo but I do travel with a US passport and wasn't given any trouble at LIM or CUZ.

The only taxes should be airport taxes, which amount to about $13. I don't look gringo but I do travel with a US passport and wasn't given any trouble at LIM or CUZ.

When we had this same deal 4 years ago, we were not asked to pay anything at the airport other than the airport taxes. If there was any gringo tax, it must have already been included in the price of the ticket at the time of purchase.

Looks like this time around even the airport taxes are already included in the ticket. ITA shows it as HW:

Peru Airport Departure Tax (HW) $30.74

This HW is not reflected in the fare construction seen on my receipt; however, my ticket shows 135.00 fare + 103.64 taxes = 238.64 USD; and if you add up the taxes listed on ITA, including the HW amount, they total 103.64 :D

US September 11th Security Fee (AY) $2.50
US Passenger Facility Charge (XF) $4.50
US International Departure Tax (US) $16.70
Peru Int'l Arrival Tax (DY) $15.00
Peru Airport Departure Tax (HW) $30.74
US International Arrival Tax (US) $16.70
US Customs Fee (YC) $5.50
US Immigration Fee (XY) $7.00
USDA APHIS Fee (XA) $5.00


Hopefully this HW is indeed the same thing that we had to pay separately at the airport last time, and not an additional departure tax...

So amazing to have bought a ticket for $239 and seeing the identical itin now pricing at over $1500...!

Can I selfishly bump this thread to see if anyone knows about the so-called "gringo tax"?


The Gringo tax is included in the ticket price. LAN is the only entity with the predatory pricing, which is why the local budget carriers seem so much cheaper to you, but may not to residents.

If you book on the Spanish version of the website and select Peru citizenship (and can produce a resident card), you will be offered many of the tickets you are seeing for $200-300 on the US site, for $99. You may have to be on an in-country computer to do this, I haven't tested it.

They do check ID.

So after reading this thread, I tried to use my BA Avios points to go from Cuzco to Arequipa. There is one direct flight a day LA2111 which stops in Juliaca (Puno) before going to Arequipa but it did not show up on the day I wanted. Since, I'm not flying until November and most flights are wide open I checked other dates and they wee not available. It seems you can book LA2111 from Cuzco to Juliaca but not from Juliaca to Arequipa. So i can pay 9K per person and be routed via Lima or I maybe I should call and see if I can get LA2111.. it would be $25 but save me some flight time as well as 4.5k Avios points.

[QUOTE=zbenye;18739922]When we had this same deal 4 years ago, we were not asked to pay anything at the airport other than the airport taxes. If there was any gringo tax, it must have already been included in the price of the ticket at the time of purchase.

Looks like this time around even the airport taxes are already included in the ticket. ITA shows it as HW:

Peru Airport Departure Tax (HW) $30.74

This HW is not reflected in the fare construction seen on my receipt; however, my ticket shows 135.00 fare + 103.64 taxes = 238.64 USD; and if you add up the taxes listed on ITA, including the HW amount, they total 103.64 :D

People refer to a "gringo tax" which is not a tax at all, but is merely the fact that the airline sells in-country tickets at a higher price to people buying outside the country. If you have confirmed tickets, you've already paid any extra charge in the course of buying the ticket. An issue in some instances is a separate airport departure tax, which I asked about when I was in Peru this month, but on LAN anyway I didn't owe it since it too was incorporated in the price of a ticket.

One thing that can be done to get around the "gringo tax" (actually a higher price) when using paid tickets is get your tickets through a Peruvian travel agency. I reserved a connection in the middle of the night and flew to Lima without anything in hand beyond there, but the agency rep was right there in person at 2 a.m. to meet our flight and hand us our connecting domestic tickets in exchange for the Peruvian price in cash. I used Fertur, and this was a few years ago, so confirm with them they still do this.

Another thing you can try is to call LAN if paying for a ticket and see if they have any better deals. They do sometimes have unadvertised specials that don't seem to be loaded onto the website. On another trip in 2010 (not the one mentioned above) I got a Miami-Lima-Puerto Maldonado-Cuzco-Lima-Miami itinerary over the phone for hundreds less than apparently would have been possible, by calling LAN and jumping when the agent said, "We have an unadvertised special that is good just today..."