Hi there,

My husband and I just returned from the second-half of our million mile journey a few days ago. As Hiker Guy mentioned it was great meeting him as well as Topshelff and Texas Yankee in Lima. We all enjoyed a nice chat over coffee. The trip went very well. Here are my notes.

We flew Lacsa from LAX to LIM with a stop in Mexico City and plane change (they put us on a Taca plane here) in SJO--uneventful flight, ontime all the way.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Miraflores (LIM) for around $109 a night. I arranged our cab ahead of time with the hotel and the English speaking driver named Juan took us for a complete narrated tour of the city for the same price that the hotel quoted for the cab, which was $20 USD--of course we gave him a good tip--the tour was worth it. The room was huge--about 600 square feet and very clean. We walked around the downtown area by the park and enjoyed the vendors and had a dinner of a large pizza (gave half to some kids on the street) and carafe of wine for around $13 USD including tip. Excellent pizza!!

The next day we went from LIM-UIO Aces, UIO-BOG Aces, BOG-UIO Avianca and UIO-LIM Aces. We were able to get our boarding passes in LIM for the UIO-BOG flight on Aces, which made it very easy, we just stayed on the same plane and continued on to BOG. One important thing I learned in BOG is that if you are in transit and returning to the same point that you originated from they require that you pay half of the departure tax, which is $24. Had I known this ahead of time, I would have told them that my trip was ending in Quito rather than Lima and the tax could have been avoided. We tried every which way to get out of this, but they already knew that we were starting and ending the day in Lima and wouldn't budge. We spent our 6 hour layover in and out of the Avianca lounge which was fine--I felt no danger at this airport at all. Our Avianca plane was fine and looked about the same as most US airliners age-wise. We were in first class and were served an appetizer and meal on a little over an hour long flight. Back in Quito, we had another four or so hour layover, so we hired a van to take us around the city. He charged $10 an hour and stopped wherever we wanted. For just having a few hours here, I feel like we got to see alot. He didn't speak much English. His name was Manuel and we arranged him through the second transportation desk on the right, by the doors as you would be exiting the airport. By continuing to say that we were in transit, we somehow talked our way out of paying the departure tax here--it's worth a try. Every Aces flight we took was exceptional. Very new aircraft, good food and movies. I wish they flew to more destinations. We really had no choice but to spend the night in the LIM airport on our second night. We stayed in the lounge at the far left end of the building on the second floor. (Diner's Club would have been the way to go here!) Not the most comfortable place to be, but better than the hard chairs at the other end. When some patrons came in, we were asked to move on, it was almost time to go to the gate by then anyway. Stopped at the Pharmacy (Farmacia) right next to the lounge and spent around .50 for ten Dimenhidrinato that are supposed to help with altitude sickness. My husband and I both took half of one before leaving for our next flight LIM-CUZ since we really didn't have time to be sick-didn't have any problems once we got there so that was all we took. I read somewhere that you get better results by taking a half of one tablet in the evening and a half in the morning, rather than taking the whole thing at once. Boarding time for our 6 a.m. LIM-CUZ flight was listed as 4:45. By 5:45 the plane was rolling down the runway--don't be late for this one.
Sidneyjb's recommendation for the Monestario Hotel and Francisco the guide were right on. Things couldn't have gone better. Great hotel, fully arranged tour of the city and surrounding sites, helicopter to Macchu Picchu and rides to and from the airport. If you want to do it all in a short amount of time, call Francisco. Also someone posted about the great vegetarian meal they had at Govinda's on Espadero St. in Cuzco--that was also an excellent recommendation and the food is unbelievably cheap. After two nights in CUZ, it was back to LIM and then LIM-LAX with a plane change in SJO and a stop in Mexico City. We were quite late getting into LAX due to bad weather, both from LIM-SJO and from SJO-MEX. I would recommend avoiding Mexico City if possible, both times we were there it took forever to get to the gate and to leave. The air is bad while you are waiting and to make matters worse, they fumigated the plane before landing as we were coming in from SJO---yes, with all of us onboard. It would have been nice if they would have let us deplane while they waited to board the passengers there.
All in all it was a great trip. I would not hesitate to go back to any of the places that we visited and in fact we plan on returning to a few of them with our miles.

One note in response to the info on the LIM-CUZ V-fares. I definitely would not recommend anyone who is just booking the trip book in V after all of the confusion here, but I called Taca again today and talked to the same mileage supervisor, that I have talked to several times on this. He was almost irritated that I was questioning him on this again and said that a V-fare does qualify for LIM-CUZ. I have a taped message of him stating this on my answering machine. I went to change my flight twice with Taca and both times when I told them why I was changing it, they emphatically told me that there was no need to do that. I don't know what the deal is, but I have also been told by Latin Pass that they have credited V fares for this flight. I will let you know what happens.

I just want to say Thank You to everyone on this site who has taken the time to post the information that helped make planning these trips so much easier.

Maui Girl and others, about those fare classes....

Upon returning home I noticed that my SJO-GUA Aviateca flight was a G class fare. This wasn't what I asked my travel agent to do (I guess I should have checked my tickets more carefully before leaving) but now I need to figure out whether this counts or not.

I called Aviateca, who told me that classes CYMQKH accrued mileage, while VGBWZLE did not.

I called Latin Pass and asked if they knew of any G class fares being credited. I first spoke to Jaime - she was unhelpful (if not rude!) and apparently didn't understand my question, saying that I should talk to the individual airline. I then talked to Cloris - who actually seemed to understand my question (yea!) - but she didn't know if any G class fares were posted.

Does anyone know a better way to resolve this issue? I would like to know if this flight actually counts or if I need to start thinking about a quick trip to pick up an Aviateca segment. Thanks in advance to all.

Thanks for the reports, Hiker Guy and Maui Girl. I keep tellng people, it's not just million miles, it's an adventure! Glad to hear all went well for you.

Schutzee, sorry about your father. You don't need to worry about getting the 500k. The Taca MGA-MIA flight counts as a Nica for the 100k, 500k, and 1M bonuses, not just the 1M bonus.

Regarding the posting of flights, I think LatinPass is going to be quite busy making manual corrections/changes. There seems to be some problems with the "automatic" transacations from Grupo Taca, as my Aviateca flight was originally posted as a Taca.

Hiker Guy:
I have found the best solution to problems with finding information about Groupo Taca qualifying fares (Aviateca is a Groupo Taca member) is the frequent flyer program Distancia. I have provided a link to the Distancia site and you may E-mail your question directly to them. http://www.grupotaca.com/ing/distancia/restricciones.html It takes them a few days to respond but you will get an answer in writting. The worst that could happen is they tell you the fare does not qualify. It is better to find that out now, while you can still do something about it. You could find the fare does qualify for miles and you will have written confirmation to ease your mind. You may also look at the Mileage Accumulation restrictions link, http://www.grupotaca.com/ing/distanc...icciones.html, but this is a bit ambiguouse. The only fare codes discussed however, at that page are the requirement for TACA Peru. And we have beat that subject to death in this forum. Maui Girl put that tape in a safe place. Unfortuntately Latin Pass has nothing to do with what fares qualify, and they seem extremely reluctant to put anything in writting. I have submitted four seperate E-mails to Latin Pass, and have never received an answer.

[This message has been edited by cy-gone (edited 05-16-2000).]

Mileage accumulation link does not work above tried to edit it and that did not work either. I will try one more time. See if this link works! http://www.grupotaca.com/ing/distanc...ricciones.html Although this link is identicle to the one above it does take you to a different location!

[This message has been edited by cy-gone (edited 05-16-2000).]

Hi Cy-gone,

Thanks for the info. I really should clarify my last post - when I called Aviateca, the number rolled over to Grupo Taca, and the person I reached was with Distancia. I specifically asked them about fare codes in re Latin Pass program - these were the folks that told me that CYMQKH were OK and VGBWZLE were not. This is different info from what the Distancia Website says (i.e. the link you posted) and different again from Maui Girl was told.

Unless someone posts better information my conclusion is that this is a confusing topic and that it is better to be safe than sorry. So I'm planning Operation Mileage Rescue :-) a 2-day run where I use AAdvantage miles to get from DFW to SAL and take the ~$200 SAL-GUA round trip on Aviateca, spending a night in GUA. If anyone knows an easier way to get a quick and cheap Aviateca credit let me know!

For those of you going to Cuzco: There's some very basic tourist information on Lan Chile's web site at http://www.lanchile.com/english/dest...dex_cuzco.html

I'm doing the exact "million mile run" that "Gator" posted on 5/8 (earlier in this thread). My first flight is Miami to Managua on Fri. 5/26 at 3:53 p.m. (Taca #514). I'd love to have a travel companion. I'm not a solitary guy, and my Spanish is lousy at best. Please Email me at [email protected] if anyone plans on being on any or all of my flights and would like a travel companion.

Hiker Guy, can't you wait a week or so then check in with LatinPass regarding the Aviateca flight? It seems like a shame to go back down on an unconfirmed worry. I think the Grupo Taca flights are supposed to post fairly quickly.

If you do decide to go back, you can save a few bucks (and maybe some time) by booking your AA award as an open jaw DFW-SAL GUA-DFW and buying a one-way Aviateca flight. Check GUA-SAL SAL-GUA on Aviateca, as one way may be less expensive than the other.

Hiker guy,
I share the thoughts of Pudding Guy, maybe you should schedule the trip for mid to late June and see if the mileage for your Aviateca flight posts. Another thought about what you were told by Distancia. I hate to add to the confusion but apparently Distancia has different standards for mileage accumulation from one program to another. Let me explain.
I am certain, you are aware in the Distancia program you may accumulate miles in either Distancia, Latin Pass or American Advantage. I was told by a LACSA representative that I could accumulate mileage in V or H class from LAX to LIM in the Distancia or Latin Pass program but if I wanted to have the miles posted to my American Advantage account I would have to buy a ticket with a minimum fare of M class. I have been told the standard for mileage accumulation in Distancia and Latin Pass is the same, but you must purchase more expensive tickets for mileage to be added to your Advantage account. Lets hope that the rep from Distancia was quoting you the mileage codes needed for American Advantage accumulation.

(this is a long report)

What my girlfriend and I did for a million miles…

LP Latin America Flying Day One:
Aviateca 961 GUA-SAL
Copa 411 SAL-MGA
Taca 514/523 MGA-SAL-SJO (5 nites)
Flying Day Two:
Lacsa 710 SJO-MGA
Taca 515 MGA-MIA
Aeropostal 503 MIA-CCS (overnite)
Flying Day Three:
Avianca 75 CCS-BOG
Aces 521 BOG-UIO (overnite)
Flying Day Four:
Aces 521 UIO-LIM (overnite airport)
Taca 7 LIM-CUZ (two nights in Cuzco)

Flew AA to Guatemala (with a non-LP sidetrip to Roatan Honduras for some excellent scubadiving/snorkeling and the best calamari we ever ate). Guatemala Marriott special of $90 for two people included welcome drinks, full breakfast, airport shuttle. We did a day-trip to Antigua Guatemala to see the end of the colorful Holy Week (Easter) celebration. Travelers who like Quito and Cuzco will also like Antigua.

Started LP Latin American airlines run with same day flights Aviateca 961 Y GUA-SAL, Copa 411 C SAL-MGA. Taca 514/523 C MGA-SAL-SJO. No problems at airports, no need to go thru customs for connections, no departure taxes (except GUA where we'd spent more than 24hrs). Best Western San Jose was $50 including breakfast and shuttle to airport. We enjoyed the $5 homestyle chicken, mashed potatoes and mixed peppers dish of Pilar, the hotel restaurant's big grandmotherly cook. Spent several days in Costa Rica to see Arenal volcano spew forth, wade in volcanic hot springs amidst lush tropical foliage at Tabacon resort, trek through jungle and swing across ropes during a rainforest canopy tour, and sip good coffee at one of the Parisienne cafés outside tables in downtown San Jose's bustling main square.

Things were going great until…our early Lacsa flight SJO-MGA was cancelled creating a small domino effect with our connecting Taca MGA-MIA and next day Aeropostal MIA-CCS. The Lacsa agent offered us a direct flight same day to MIA. For a brief un-caffeinated moment, we considered returning to Latin America for the Nica flight. Then I remembered Aeropostal had two flights to CCS and that if we flew Lacsa and Taca the next day we might catch the later Aeropostal flight. But the later Aeropostal flight was full so we got seats MIA to Maracaibo. We'd figure out how to get to CCS later (we did: $80 ow flight reservations). After our flights were changed I asked about the free hotel stay that the Lacsa agent had offered at one point. She said she could no longer offer it since we declined the offer to fly direct to MIA, and we'd need to wait at least two hours to speak to her supervisor. At this point, we went to a wonderful Grupo Taca Executive Class counter agent named Victor and explained our situation and that we flew in on business class. After several moments, he returned with 3-min international phone call, hotel, taxi, and breakfast, lunch, dinner vouchers for us. Excellent service. Instead of our planned night in Miami, we had an extra free day/night in San Jose. Part of our bonus day was spent at the Butterfly Farm where the luminous Blue Morpho was my favorite.

Next day Lacsa 710 SJO-MGA and Taca 515 MGA-MIA flights were on-time and we had all boarding passes issued at SJO (btw, $17 SJO dep tax each). Aeropostal in Miami was a mess with lots of agent confusion. Our MIA-Maracaibo flight was cancelled. We got waitlisted on the CCS flight that was supposedly oversold by 7. We offered to pay for business class but were told it was a one class flight. We really needed to fly into CCS that night to catch Avianca and Aces flights the next day. Five minutes before the flight and after repeated inquiries, we got seats and found the plane half-empty and with business class! It departed 1.5 hrs late.

We arrived in Caracas after 1am and were too tired to bicker over the $40 fare (inc tip) to go to the Intercontinental in a fast, loud, big Oldsmobile "taxi" that ripped through the near-empty highways and tunnels. The hotel upgraded us to the club floor (we liked the room and nice view) because our first room had twin beds. We didn't like the taste or offerings of the full breakfast bar included in our $150 rate. Due to some confusion at the desk about qualifying room rates, we ended up paying more to reach the $209 mileage accrual rate for Latin Pass.

Avianca 75 CCS-BOG and Aces 521 BOG-UIO were fine. At BOG, the Diners Club was closed but we actually enjoyed hanging out in the 2nd floor main waiting area for 5 hours reading, watching streams of people, snacking in food shops, and watching Spanish music videos on television. I did not find security heavy or remarkable. Few food or shop options in gate areas. In Quito we liked our room and service at Radisson ($80). The hotel restaurant's grill chef had slow night so he dished up a tasty mixed grill of filet mignon, steak, pork, chicken, and five types of Spanish sausages for $9 including ceviche, salad and dessert!
We walked around old city, shopped in the crowded Indian market, and visited the Basilica del Voto Nacional where we climbed a very steep ladder (!) to the church tower, then relaxed at the Café Basilica where we sipped local passion fruit/cinnamon tea with terrific views of Quito. We paid no departure tax because we stayed in Quito less than 24hrs.

Aces 521 UIO-LIM was our favorite airline/flight with good dinner, service, and movie. There were also five LP runners (some w/ different itin) from Japan on this flight who had no problems to report! We hung out at the LIM "domestic" Diners Club lounge accessed from main waiting/ticketing area (note that "international" DC lounge is a separate room only accessable thru the international transit area). We flew Taca 7 LIM-CUZ and stayed at Best Western $99 inc full bkfst (that we never had time for) excellently-located two blocks from the main square, Plaza de Armas. Hotel had lots of free coca tea for altitude comfort. We got a nice surprise of a free welcome dinner where we could each order anything off the hotel restaurant menu except drinks- and dined (tasty local stew, trout, fruit crepes) among five other tables in their interior courtyard while a 3-person band played lite Andean music. Our next day Machu Picchu trip cost $75 each and included taxi, train, bus, entrance, and guide fees. The morning train ride was picturesque, the night return was not except for a hilltop view of fireworks over Cuzco's festively lit main plaza for the annual Incan/Catholic "southern cross" festival. At magnificent Machu Picchu, our guide Cosmo provided excellent explanations in English. Btw, Cuzco's Bagdad Café had delicious llama steak and excellent views of the main square and surrounding Andes. Cuzco is great.

Next day we flew to LIM and had a 12hr wait for our AA flight to the US. At the airport, we negotiated a 4hr taxi city tour for $30 for both of us. Roberto took us to Lima's main plazas, the Museo de Oro (where we lingered for over an hour amidst a veritable warehouse of exquisite Incan gold and Peruvian textiles), a seaside restaurant with great ceviche, and a ride along the coast and several barrios (including his own to pay his property tax before the deadline). At the airport domestic Diner's Club we drank coca tea and read and later at the international lounge we brought in some dinner and had free beers and surfed TV.

All in all, a wonderful trip full of adventures and misadventures. Thanks to all the FT'ers who shared their advice and experiences. Our LP Latin American flights cost $2,169. So far, all flights have posted except Copa, Aviateca, Aeropostal. Looking forward to the miles so we can go swimming with penguins and tortoises in the Galapagos.

Very good report. You mentioned the Gold Museum in Lima, which I found absolutely remarkable. Certainly the highlight of my visit to the city (albeit it was 4 1/2 years ago).

Thanks for the excellent trip report.

I'm in the middle of my 1M run, and currently in Quito.
I did MIA-MGA-GUA on friday which went fine, with an airside transfer in MGA, although the CM flight to GUA was delayed.
On Saturday morning I turned up at the airport in GUA for my GUA-SAL-SJO-BOG run on GU, TA and LR. When I went to check in, the check-in person beamed at be: Oh hello. Your flight to SAL is delayed so we have booked you on the earlier TA flight. Very impressive customer service, but you can all appreciate my consternation. In the end it was all solved, and got to BOG on time. Continued to PTY on MM, and then got booted off the overbooked Copa flight to GYE. They rebooked me on the CO flight 2 hours later, but then off course missed the connection in GYE to LIM on VH. I stayed one (long, boring) day in GYE before continuing to LIM. At now in the middle of a LIM-UIO-LIM return on Aces, and next week will go to IQT.

So far though a very good experience. Met a few people on the flights who were also doing the same - 1 from Flyertalk, 3 more not.

Pudding Guy & Cy-gone

Thanks for the advice.... I haven't purchased anything yet but I do have a reservation for a DFW-GUA-SAL-(MIA)-DFW run on June 19-20. That's a Monday & Tuesday - the only time I could use AAdvantage miles to get seats (on Taca no less) for the DFW-GUA & SAL-DFW open jaw. My cost will be 35k AA miles, ~$105 for GUA-SAL on Aviateca, and one night in GUA. If it's needed that's a decent price for 500k miles.

AA says they will hold my reservation until May 24th, and the G fare Aviateca flight that I took was on May 12. So that gives LP & Taca 12 days to post miles on the G fare flight (if they do) before I have to commit to the "rescue" flight.

Does any one have a feel for how long Taca has been taking to post miles to LP? -
Thanks again - Hiker Guy