Not Bad: My Experience with Rebooking LATAM Flight Via Qatar Avios Program

As some of you may know, I’m planning to take my family to Peru and Chile (specifically Easter Island) next year. Not too long ago, I wrote  that I should have used Qatar Avios for some of my flights, but that I planned to leave things alone. That was until Amex has announced a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways.  This extra incentive proved to be irresistible.

Amex MR points vs. Alaska miles

I was debating on whether  to cancel my Miami-Lima flight booked via Alaska Mileage Plan program. I paid 17.5k  miles+$34 in taxes per person for that route. If I rebooked through Qatar Avios program, my cost would be 10k Amex Membership Rewards points+$47 for the exact same flight on LATAM. Unfortunately, I would lose $12.5 per person partner booking fee when canceling my Alaska reservation.

So, in reality, you can look at this as a choice between 70k Alaska miles vs. 40 Amex MR points+ $100. I guarantee that most people would not hesitate to go with the latter when given the option, but I had to think about it for a few minutes. Individual miles can be extremely valuable, but they are worth exactly zero until they are redeemed. As an infrequent traveler, I just don’t have the same need for miles as many folks in this hobby. We don’t fly  every other weekend. Plus, I hate parting with cash, as we have been hit with several major unexpected bills in the last year.

On the other hand, MR points are flexible and can be transferred to various programs. They can even be redeemed for some gift cards at a decent rate (Home Depot is one example). I can’t say the same about Alaska miles.

I had to think for a bit on whether this is a trade worth making. I took the deal, and here is why. My daughter has decided to visit Japan for her graduation in two years. That means I’ll need to redeem miles for that trip in just one year. Alaska stash may prove to be useful for this purpose. After all, if we are fortunate, we may be able to get premium economy on JAL from Tokyo to Seattle for just 40k Alaska miles. That’s a pretty sweet deal. Even if we don’t end up redeeming miles on JAL, I can use them on a direct flight from Seattle to Orlando. Ditto for San Francisco.

It won’t even need to be a saver-level ticket, and I’m certainly willing to pay more to avoid connections. In addition, Alaska program has just adjusted its award chart, so it’s unlikely that the miles will be worthless in a year or two. I might even be able to use them towards a trip to Europe, as we will almost certainly be going there to meet my relatives at some point. And if all else fails, I can burn Alaska miles on hotels, though it’s the last resort since the return is about half a penny each.

Either way, I believe I’ll be better off hanging on to my Alaska miles for now. True, Bank of America is approving my applications at this point in time, but that all could change in a heartbeat. I can’t get approved for Citi AA card, and I’ve tried multiple times. It’s extremely unlikely that I’ll redeem my MR points on a Home Depot gift card, so they are also worth exactly zero until I find a good use for them.

I would still have a small stash of 53k MR points after my transfer to BA Avios, and that should suffice for the unlikely event of needing  miles on  short notice. I can’t go to Belarus even if there is an emergency, but my SIL lives in Michigan, so it’s good to have some points ready to go in case I need a last-minute Delta flight.

But this is not an exact science, and my Alaska miles may end up sitting there collecting dust for many years to come. Oh well, at least it’s not a life-or-death kind of decision.

The process of booking our LATAM flight through Qatar

First things first. I had to transfer my MR points to British Airways Avios, and that part was instant.

I then had to connect BA and Qatar programs via this link , which took me a few tries and using different browsers. Success!

Interestingly, I didn’t have to transfer any of my BA Avios to Qatar, my balance was reflected automatically on the latter website. I then looked up the LATAM flight I needed and clicked “continue”:

 

I was able to then book it online, though did need passport information for everyone in my family. 

 

I did get a fraud alert when trying to use my Citi card for taxes, so ended up going with PayPal option instead. But everything went smoothly, relatively speaking, and I got a confirmation email a few minutes later. So, the good news is, if you see an award flight on Qatar website, chances are, you should be able to book it online. Emphasis on “should.”

The bad news: many routes don’t come up online, so you would have to call for those and hope for the best. Speaking of…

Some quirks to be aware of

Even though I got a Qatar confirmation email for my flight, it didn’t have LATAM confirmation code in it. Before canceling my Alaska reservation, I wanted to make sure that everything is set. So, I called Qatar. A friendly agent with a very thick accent  picked up the phone and  transferred me to the right department. The other rep also spoke with a super thick accent, so I had to keep asking her to repeat herself. Let me just say here that I’m an immigrant who also speaks English with an accent (or so I’ve been told).  So I’m not mentioning this to be a jerk. YMMV

My point is, you may have a  very tough time communicating with Qatar reps, so be patient. Also, check and double check everything, just in case. I did get a code for LATAM and the agent repeated it to me twice, accompanied by associated words. Guess what? She got one of the letters wrong. I called LATAM and used the electronic ticket number to find the confirmation code, and that did the trick.

I’m not sure what happened, but double check everything if booking your award flight over the phone. Also, add your companion (s) information to your profile, so it’s ready to go. Is it worth it to save some Avios by booking through Qatar over the phone instead of British Airways? It could be for a family of four. If you  spend 13k Avios instead of 17k, that’s a difference of 16k points total. Do keep in mind that you have to pay a cancellation penalty of $25 per person on Qatar vs. losing $5 on domestic routes when going through British Airways. Not a huge deal, but still.

If you can book your award flight online like I did, I think it’s a no-brainer.

P.S. There are various ways of accumulating Avios points. Aside from MR program, you can also transfer them 1:1 from Citi Thank You and Chase Ultimate Rewards programs. A combination of cards to consider for that purpose: Chase Ink Business Cards (Nancy’s referral link) + Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited (Leana’s referral links)