A friend recently asked if we’d seen any cheap flight deals to Argentina lately. I wish I could say yes, but flights down there aren’t exactly known for being kind to your wallet, and deals pop up way less than other places. So I told them the truth; if they really want to save money, they should look into how normal people can use miles and points to bring those prices down. They replied, saying they need to talk with us some more to better understand how that works… which is exactly why I’m writing this. Consider this the beginner-friendly breakdown of exactly what I do.
Step 1: Figure out who actually flies to Argentina and where they fly from
Before I do anything serious, I need to know one basic thing. Who can even get me to Argentina in the first place?
So I start with FlightConnections. I type in Buenos Aires (EZE) and look at the nonstop routes. This shows me which airlines fly there directly and which US airports they fly from. I am not looking for the correct answer here, I just want a lay of the land. For this exercise, I see that American flies from Miami, New York, or Dallas, Delta flies from Atlanta, and United flies from Houston.
Flight Connections is a website that shows which airlines fly where. It’s basically Google Maps for plane nerds.
I also look at airlines that do not fly nonstop from the US but could have an easy connection. Avianca fits. They connect through Colombia, and they often have decent award pricing. So I check where Avianca flies from in the US. Salt Lake does not help there, but Dallas and Miami pop up again. The goal is to figure out which routes are actually realistic instead of assuming Salt Lake will spit out a miracle.
The point of this step is simple. I want a list of airlines and airports that are actually capable of getting me to Argentina. Once I know that list, everything else becomes a lot easier.
Step 2: See what the miles and points picture looks like
Once I know who flies to Buenos Aires and from which airports, I hop over to PointsYeah.com and start testing things. This is where I get a feel for what the trip will actually cost in miles and points instead of money. I start with Salt Lake to Buenos Aires to see what comes up. The results are not perfect, but I am not looking for perfect. I am looking for patterns.
I often put in random dates far out in the calendar when first starting my searches. No holidays. No busy seasons. Just some quiet stretch that gives me a clean read on what airlines normally charge. Airlines can show wild prices when you search close in or during peak months, so going far out helps me see the baseline. It’s also worth noting that Pointsyeah only lets you search a 4-day window, so it’s extremely easy to miss something.
After my initial SLC search, I go broader, and I use their Daydream Explorer function. It’s one of my favorite pointsyeah features. I plug in North America to Argentina, I choose October because it’s springtime, and then I sort through the options it gives me. Right off the bat, I see Miami, with a stop on Avianca, for 17,120. Filtering to non-stop, I see Miami nonstop with American for 25,000. Both are great options depending on your layover tolerance. Avianca from Miami will definitely be the cheapest option.
Shifting out a little further, I move onto Dallas. I see Avianca (with a stop) for 24,500, but I also see nonstop for 25,000 on American. Even better than Miami. This is likely the most practical nonstop option close to Salt Lake.
The goal here is to learn the price landscape, not necessarily find the golden ticket. Once I know which airlines are friendly, which airports matter, and roughly what the miles look like, I have a much better idea of which direction this trip is headed.
Quick note about one-way searches
I almost always look at one-way flights first. It’s usually easier with miles and points because award calendars behave better when you search one direction at a time. Once I find a good outbound, I just repeat the same steps for the return and add the two totals together.
Step 3: Award Availability Confirmation
Many airlines use dynamic pricing for award tickets. The cost jumps around based on how full the flight is, what day it is, and whatever mood the airline is in that morning. Because of that, you cannot trust one lucky search result. You need to check the bigger picture to make sure the deal you think you found actually exists on more than one Tuesday in October.
I have my two options in mind. The American nonstop from Dallas for 25,000 miles. Or the Avianca option from Miami that shows up at 17,500 miles, but with a layover in Colombia.
So now I go to AA.com to look at the American calendar. Then I go to Avianca and do the same thing. You’ll need to sign up for the airline programs to see these. I want to see a full month. I want to know if these prices are popping up often or if I just got lucky once. If you are new to this, this part matters more than you think. A route might look cheap on one day and then triple the next ten days.
With American, I filter nonstop and look for Oct. The 24.5k carries into Nov., but there are no nonstop flights during their winter. Pays to do your research because we now know this can be a bit limited from Dallas. Miami has more availability.
I then took it a step further and look from SLC, and boom, golden ticket. That same pricing of 24,500 miles from Dallas holds true with Salt Lake. Now, the availability is even more scarce, but it is possible. There are a lot of steps involved in all of this, and it may seem like too much, but this is why it’s worth it. I thought I had things pinned down, and then I found SLC-Dallas-EZE routing.
If you go the Avianca route, their website can be a little weird, but the quirks are well worth its set award pricing. Their site doesn’t have a full calendar view, so I won’t blast you without screenshots, but there is plenty of availability via Avianca Lifemiles at 24,260 Lifemiles.
Quick reminder. Always check the return flight too. One way is fun until you’re stranded in Buenos Aires. So I look at the calendar for the trip home and double-check that the pricing lines up. If the outbound is 25K, cool. Make sure the return isn’t playing games at 70K.
Step 4: Figure out which cards actually get you the miles
This is the part that usually scares people. Credit cards feel complicated, and no one wants to accidentally sign up for something that they feel they don’t fully understand. The good news is you only need the right bank that transfers to the airline you want.
Since I already checked availability, here is what I am working with.
Option one: American Airlines from Dallas or Salt Lake for 25,000 miles one way.
To earn these miles, you would need either an American Airlines-branded card or a Citi card that earns ThankYou points. Those are the only practical ways to get AA miles if you do not already have a stash sitting around.
Option two: Avianca from Miami for 17,000 or Dallas for 24,500 miles one way.
Avianca is way easier to earn for most people. Their LifeMiles program partners with several of the big banks. You can earn points with Amex, Capital One, Bilt, and Citi. All of those transfer directly to Avianca.
That is really the core decision here. If American has the dates and routing option that you want, you go get a Citi or AA card. If Avianca has better availability or better pricing, you get a card from Amex, Capital One, Bilt, or Citi. Simple as that.
Rather than list out every option, I will include a link to Frequent Miler’s credit card page. They have all the current and best available offers for these cards.
Step 5: What I would actually do
After looking at the pricing, the routes, and the availability, this is the part where I pick what I would book.
After weighing the options and realizing the SLC possibility, I’d go with American Airlines miles for this trip. I’m not opposed to Avianca, and I heavily considered it before finding the Salt Lake availability. LifeMiles are easier to earn, and the credit cards that earn them have broader everyday use. Plus, AA miles can be extremely valuable for other trips, like our trip to Japan. If you’re looking more long-term into this hobby and don’t care about the extra layover, it could still be worth considering Avianca.
That said, if the availability is there for SLC to DFW to EZE via American, it’s a no-brainer. Even without the SLC option, I would seriously consider doing American out of Dallas.
As far as credit cards go, I would look at the Citi AAdvantage Platinum card. It offers 80,000 American Advantage miles once you meet the required spend. With you and your spouse, that’d be 160,000 miles. Plenty to turn this trip into a reality.
Conclusion
And that is how normal people can use miles and points. A little effort goes a long way and can make expensive trips possible for almost anyone.
As I’ve said a dozen times throughout this blog, miles and points can open the door to destinations you never thought possible. I am constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to earn more miles and points because with them, I could choose tomorrow to fly to Argentina, Tahiti, Japan, or even South Africa for a Safari.
So, what are you waiting for? Start Here