Lima - Cusco - Lima flights
 

I have a group of 14 going in August. I have been told to only book LATAM or Avianca for these flights. I have several questions I am hoping someone can help me with.

1. Is one airline better than the other for the flight? Is it really best to only stick with these two?
2. Avianca is cheaper and includes a bag. When I called in for group sales, they are quoting me a higher price than I can find online. He said "that price isn't the true price". Any ideas? LATAM hasn't called me back on group sales even though it has been a week.
3. If I go with Avianca, I can book it through United. Is this advisable?
4. Should we avoid using CC points like Chase Ultimate Rewards? I have heard it is best to book directly with the airline (ties to number 3).

Our group did end up booking the Holiday Inn Lima (thread below).

Keep in mind that there are different prices for Peru residents & non-residents (non-residents are higher).

No, this went away last year. In general group bookings have more flexibility with name changes / ticketing and payment, also might include a free "tour conductor" which is why they might be higher fares than regular bookings.

Avianca changed our flights
 

We booked Avianca and a week later they changed our flights to times we can't use. I have been trying to talk to them and have been on hold multiple times for over 30 minutes before having to hang up. Lovely

For future reference:

If I were you, I'd book Avianca. They're Star Alliance, and you can credit miles to United - you'd be earning both RDM and PQM.

When calling Avianca, if you have a Spanish-speaking person in your party, their line in Spanish seems to be better staffed. During their pilot strike, I was able to reach out to their Spanish line faster than their English line.

Good luck on changing your flights. Fortunately, you've got some time until your flights, but I'd still take care of it as soon as possible to have a bit more options.

Im sure it wont be the last change either, and its not only Avianca but alot of airlines will make changes especially when its so far out from the flight date,

I've visited Peru a good 15 plus times now and for the most part I book LAN. I find their service pretty much what I expect every time. I've found that Avianca starts making a lot of changes to flights and if you don't like it you're kinda screwed. I'm not too worried about the miles or the PQD (I don't do PQD anyway cause I'm not US Based)

I've taken other airlines and they're perfectly fine. I've taken a good 8 flights on Peruvian and they're pretty safe and have good flight availability.