Questions and Answers

So, I have just begun getting into the credit card game, and realize I have been doing it all wrong. I am trying to plan my honeymoon using points to fly first/business class. We are flying from CMH-AUA and then AUA-CLT. I have not done a good job to diversifying points, as all I have are around 185k UR, and 28k AA miles. I was debating on the current 70k Delta Skymiles offer going on now, but not sure if it’s a card worth having long term. I am an occasional traveler, flying less than 10x per year. Any adivce is appreciated.

If you’re traveling between September 7 – November 14 or April 27 – May 20, AA considers these off peak dates for travel on American, meaning a US to Caribbean award is 12.5k miles per person, one way in economy. Normally it is 15k per person one way. You may be able to use your AA miles here, if there is saver space.

If you find available award space on Delta, then the Skymiles card could be worth it, even if only for the first year. You can also transfer UR points (assuming you have either the Reserve, Preferred or Ink Plus Chase cards) to United, British Airways, Singapore and Korean if award flights are available – all those programs partner with a US based airline for awards. Lastly, you can book travel via the Chase travel portal and pay with points – 1.25 cents per point if you have the Ink Plus or Sapphire Preferred cards and 1.5 cents per point of you have the Reserve. You’d also earn miles on flights booked this way.

You can also boost your miles if you get the Marriott/SPG card, put the points into Marriott and redeem for a Nights & Flights award, if that works out better.

Sorry, I guess I should have included the dates. We will be traveling 6/19-6/24/2017. Right now flights for United Business Class are 70k per person one way. Delta is 55K per person one way. I have not looked through the portal, but those prices always seem to be higher. I’ve been considering the SPG/Marriott, but not for the honeymoon. We wanted to do an all inclusive place.

I would personally never consider paying for business class to the Caribbean, either in miles or cash. The products aren’t good, and none of the flights are that long. Miami to Aruba is about the same distance as Miami to Dallas. It’s absolutely not worth the “standard award” pricing you’re considering with United and Delta.

Economy tickets seem to be available for ~$650 on those dates: [URL]https://www.google.com/flights/?f=0#search;iti=CMH_AUA_2017-06-19*AUA_CLT_2017-06-24;tt=m[/URL], which could be a good option at 1.25¢ per point through the UR portal.

Economy awards are available on the outbound for 15k AA miles per person, so I would consider using AA miles for the outbound, and then use another option for the return.