How I’m saving $800 on my flights for my South America trip

As with most American college students, my university gives us students roughly a week and a half off for our spring break vacation in March. Most students will vacate the campus and travel somewhere during break, leaving the campus a deserted town.

I don’t want to be left behind in the dust and be bored on campus during break, so naturally, I began exploring places that I could travel to. I’ve already been to Europe several times, having traveled around to countries such as Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria.

While I love Europe and wouldn’t mind traveling there again, I wanted to travel somewhere where I’d never been before. This thought process came at perfect timing because, around the time I was planning my spring break, the lineups for the Latin American editions of the famous music festival, Lollapalooza, were announced.

Sabrina Carpenter, Deftones, Doechii, Chappell Roan, Skrillex, Lewis Capaldi, Tyler the Creator, Lorde, and Turnstile were all announced as headliners for Lollapalooza Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. Some of these headliners are my favorite musical artists, especially Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Chappell Roan, and Skrillex.

Since Lollapalooza Argentina aligned with my spring break schedule the best, my friends and I decided to plan a spring break trip in South America. Since none of us had ever been to South America, we wanted to make the most out of our trip, and we looked to travel to two countries, including Argentina.

First Leg: Brazil

Spring break falls during March, which is often a cold (and snowy) month in the Northeast where we’re from. My friends and I wanted to go on a beach vacation to escape the winter weather, and we decided to settle on Brazil for our first stop on the trip. Brazil is renowned for its world-class beaches, particularly those of Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon in Rio de Janeiro.

Non-stop flights from the U.S. to Rio de Janeiro can be roughly 9 to 10 hours long, as Rio is roughly 5,000 miles from the Northeast. Unfortunately, this can mean that flights between the U.S. and South America can be expensive.

As I’ve highlighted before in this article about my thought process when booking flights, I always compare the cash price to any available point options. While searching for flights, I came across a perfect option to Brazil at an incredible price.

I could fly from Washington, D.C. (DCA) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) with a stop in Atlanta (ATL) on Delta Air Lines for just $249. This was an amazing deal to me, as I would expect a much higher cost for such a long international flight.

Even though $249 isn’t an exorbitant amount of money to shell out, I am always eager to save money and take advantage of point redemption opportunities. When I used seats.aero to look at what flights I could book by transferring my Chase points to a partner, the lowest price flight I saw was for 31,000 points + $33 in taxes for a direct flight from New York (JFK) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) on Delta, booked via Flying Blue.

Considering that I could pay just $249 out-of-pocket instead for a feasible itinerary, transferring points would not be optimal in the slightest. I would be redeeming my points at a value of only 0.7 cents per point, which is a really poor redemption value. For reference, you should be aiming for a value of at least 1.5 cents per point when redeeming Chase points, with more than 2 cents per point being an excellent value.

Luckily, I wasn’t out of luck for using my points. By booking my flight through the Chase Travel℠ portal, I could redeem my points for a set cash value. I was using points that I earned from my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which came with a minimum value of 1.25 cents per point for any points earned before October 26, 2025.

By booking through the Chase Travel℠ portal, I was able to book the flight for just under 20,000 points, which is a way better deal than transferring 31,000 points (and paying taxes) to book directly with an airline partner.

While Chase Travel℠ is considered a third-party booking service, which may come with risks as explained in this article, one of the best parts about booking flights through Chase Travel℠ is that they are treated as cash bookings by the airline. This means that you’ll be eligible to earn loyalty points and status points from the airline, which can be a huge plus.

Second Leg: Brazil to Argentina

After enjoying the beach in Rio de Janeiro with coconuts and açaí bowls, my friends and I will travel to Argentina to visit Buenos Aires and attend the Lollapalooza Argentina music festival.

As seen in this list of flights between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, flying between the two cities costs around $100-$150 for the dates that I need. I could book with points by transferring 10,000 points to Air Canada, or by redeeming my points at the 1.25x rate for Aerolineas Argentinas and British Airways.

It is important to note that not all airlines are eligible to book through Chase Travel℠, notably budget airlines such as Flybondi and Gol.

Since $100 isn’t too expensive, I’ll most likely use my cash to book my flight from Brazil to Argentina.

Leg 3: Argentina to the U.S.

Here comes the most expensive flight of the itinerary: flying back home to the U.S. from South America. While flying from the U.S. to Brazil only costs $249, the return flight costs almost twice as much, due in part to the amount of fees that the U.S. charges for incoming international flights.

It would cost me $530 to fly from Buenos Aires (EZE) back to Washington (DCA), which is quite expensive. In this case, I would rather use my points to book my return flight back home to save several hundred dollars.

The options with Chase points aren’t too optimal, but I noticed that I could book my return flight using American Airlines AAdvantage® miles. I’ve already been eyeing the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® as my next card for a while, especially because of the in-flight introductory offer you can get on the card.

I can fly from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Baltimore (BWI), with a stop in Miami (MIA), all on American Airlines, for just 29,000 AAdvantage® miles + $100 in fees. This comes out to a value of 1.5 cents per point when comparing to the cash fare of the Delta itinerary, which is a pretty solid redemption.

If I were to use my Chase points to book the flight directly through Chase Travel℠, I would’ve needed to redeem 42,400 points at the 1.25x rate, which is a pretty substantial amount. I’d rather be conservative with my Chase points and take advantage of the introductory offer on the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®.

Final Remarks

Travel hacking isn’t about always using points; it’s about using them wisely. For my South America spring break trip, combining cash fares with strategic point redemptions allowed me to save over $800 without draining my balance. Knowing when to book directly with cash, through travel portals such as Chase Travel℠, or transferring points to airline partners makes all the difference.

By understanding the cents-per-point value of each redemption, I was able to identify which flights were worth booking with cash (such as the $249 Delta ticket to Rio) and which were worth covering with miles (like the 29,000 AAdvantage redemption from Buenos Aires).

Optimizing your credit card rewards can make premium experiences surprisingly affordable. Don’t just earn points, learn how to use them strategically to travel more and spend less.