What’s in Dia’s pockets: Panama on Factors

One morning throughout Spring Break as I sipped espresso from my lodge balcony whereas watching ships enter the Panama Canal, I puzzled why nobody appears to be speaking about how Panama is an absolute steal if you’re redeeming your miles and factors. So let’s do this. 

I used factors in three alternative ways—a Panama hat trick, if you’ll—to pay for my aircraft ticket, lodge, and actions for my Panama Metropolis journey. Every method allowed me to get outsized worth from my factors, so I’ll undergo them one-by-one so you’ll be able to see how the sausage is made. I’m a little bit of an outlier in that I’ve a bigger bank card assortment than most, however the ideas are the identical and I hope will show you how to assume strategically about how and the place you spend your hard-earned factors.

Trick #1: There’s wide-open availability on Copa Airways award tickets

Copa Airways is a vastly under-rated Star Alliance companion that’s primarily based in Panama Metropolis. The airline has a hub-and-spoke route community between North, Central and South America and serves extra cities in the US than you’d think about:

As a result of there are such a lot of gateways, there are additionally so many extra choices if you find yourself on the lookout for award tickets. As an illustration, right here’s coach saver availability in October from Baltimore to Panama Metropolis wanting on United’s web site:

20,000 United MileagePlus miles in coach for a five-hour flight is a fairly whole lot. However somewhat magic can flip good to nice. Let’s head over to Air Canada’s frequent flyer program, Aeroplan, and look for a similar flight on the identical date:

Aeroplan

That 20,000 miles simply dropped to 12,500. And even higher, enterprise class on the identical flight is just 25,000 miles. So for simply 12,500 extra miles you will get a comfortable seat up entrance (on a five-hour flight, price each penny), an additional checked bag, and lounge entry. And on some routes, you might even get a lie-flat seat. Evidently, that’s the choice I took. For me it was an particularly whole lot as a result of though I used to be touring throughout Easter week, award tickets on Copa have been nonetheless plentiful. 

To search out this deal, I used certainly one of my favourite instruments of the commerce: level.me. The excellent news is that via a partnership with Bilt Mastercard®, I used to be in a position to search each United and Aeroplan availability without spending a dime.

To get Air Canada miles, I turned to my useful Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card card and transferred 50,000 Capital One Miles for a round-trip ticket in enterprise class. Aeroplan has a ton of switch companions that each one switch 1:1, so I additionally may have used Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, or Chase Final Rewards® . 

You’ll discover within the positive print that Air Canada prices a better tax ($79 CAN or $58 USD) vs. United ($5.60) so if not spending a penny is your precedence, you should still need to go together with United. And United lets you cancel without spending a dime, whereas Air Canada could cost a price so preserve that in thoughts as nicely. 

Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card

Intro bonus

Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases inside the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Price	$395
Buy APR	19.99%–29.99% variable
International Transaction Price	None

Trick #2: A number of factors packages switch 1:2 to Alternative Privileges

Alternative Privileges is the TJ Maxx of lodge rewards packages. You possibly can’t go in guaranteeing you will discover one thing that matches, however whenever you do you’ll get a fantastic deal. That’s what occurred for me in Panama Metropolis.

Alternative accommodations

The Radisson Panama Canal sits smack dab in entrance of the canal and Easter week went for 8,000 factors an evening. In the meanwhile nights can be found for 16,000 factors per night time. The lodge, which was a Nation Inn and Suites, is not at all luxurious. However it’s clear, has a stunning pool and the aforementioned excellent location for ship-spotting. Ubers are low cost and plentiful so though it’s a bit out of town most Ubers I took have been round $5 USD. 

The key sauce for Alternative Privileges is the 1:2 switch ratio from Citi Premier ThankYou Factors and Autograph factors. This implies I solely paid 4,000 Citi factors per night time for my lodge room. And I used to be even in a position to guide an ocean-view suite as a result of Alternative had each the usual room and the suite bookable for a similar quantity of factors.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Intro bonus

60,000 bonus factors after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening

Annual price	$550
Common APR	22.49%–29.49% variable

Trick #3: Chase Sapphire Reserve provides 1.5 cents per Final Rewards level for actions

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is my go-to card for journey bills as a result of not solely does it earn 3X factors on journey (after incomes the $300 journey credit score), it affords complete cancellation insurance coverage and auto rental protection. However the Sapphire Reserve’s superpower is that Final Rewards factors are price 1.5 cents every whenever you redeem them on Chase Journey℠’s web site.

Dia Adams: Chase Screenshot

I used my Final Rewards level to guide a whopping 5 actions whereas in Panama—two airport transfers, a strolling tour, a cooking class and a catamaran tour. The attention-grabbing factor I discovered whereas researching my journey is that if a tour was supplied on Viator, I may discover the very same tour on Chase Journey for a similar worth. Excursions add up and I saved a whole bunch of {dollars} out of pocket by redeeming factors in Panama.

Viator

The takeaway

I might have been thrilled to attain low cost enterprise class award tickets, to snag a deal on an ocean-front suite, or to redeem factors for actions at an elevated charge. The truth that I discovered all three for a similar journey made for a Spring Break that was not solely memorable, however guilt free as a result of my solely out-of-pocket bills have been meals and a Panama hat to take house as a memento of my hat trick.

Welcome to What’s in Dia’s pockets. On this month-to-month column I’ll share what’s, sure, in my pockets but additionally what’s on my thoughts. After over a decade protecting bank cards, touring a mean of 100 nights a yr, and incomes and spending over one million factors annually to do it, I’ve realized a couple of issues. When you’ve got questions or concepts for future matters please attain out to me at creditcards@fortune.com. Dia Adams, Senior Editor

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