I know most families are still recovering from this year’s spring break trips and are focused on getting through the rest of the school year. But, now is the perfect time to start booking award flights for Spring Break 2026. Sure, it seems early. But, the early bird catches the worm, right? Most international airlines release flight schedules ~12 months in advance, and US domestic airlines release around ~11 months in advance.
Booking Award Flights from DFW to St. Maarten (Caribbean island)
My family decided to spend Spring Break 2026 in St. Maarten. The beaches have clear, beautiful water, and the accommodations are more affordable than some other Caribbean islands. I booked a condo on vrbo that is fully refundable up until a few weeks prior to our trip. Unlike our cruise vacation from last month, we have more flexibility in our travel dates with this vacation. That makes booking award flights a bit easier.
There are no nonstop flights between DFW and SXM (SXM is the famous airport in St. Maarten where jets fly directly over a public beach right before landing). So, I knew we’d have at least one stopover.
After looking at award availability every day for the past week, I was amazed to find flights on AA.com for just 10k miles per person:
That is a great deal! We have a layover in Charlotte, and we will need to spend the night in a hotel there before flying to St. Maarten the next morning. But, I’m good with that. The Charlotte Airport has two nearby Category 1 Hyatt hotels for 5000 points/night.
Unfortunately, we only had enough AA miles to book 3 out of the 5 of us. No problem. I was able to book two of us using Alaska miles for 15k miles each.
Return Flights
I don’t have our return flights booked yet. I’m not seeing low award flight prices yet, but it’s still very early. Plus, we are a bit flexible on our return date within the window of a few days. If I can’t find decent award flights for the full flight home, I’m open to booking award flights from Miami or Charlotte to DFW and paying cash for the leg from St. Maarten to the USA. Two discount airlines, Spirit and Frontier, also fly to SXM, so we could combine a cheap cash flight for one leg with an award flight the rest of the way home.
Are you looking for Spring Break 2026 flights yet?? Where are you going?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Cool, thanks!
Forgot to mention… I also book as soon as possible for spring break (or any peak travel date). People look at me like I’m nuts when I book 11 months out, but if you want the best selection (and often best pricing on points), well… you know how it is.
10K miles to St Maarten?! You’ve found a unicorn! I actually like the overnight connection. We did the same thing on a flight to St Lucia. This way you don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch your flight and make the connection. Sure you have the added cost of an airport hotel, but those are cheap. Oh, and 10K MILES.
I just booked flights to Miami for a cruise that will, coincidentally, stop in St Maarten. 🙂
@projectx Congrats onlooking your spring break flights! If you haven’t yet decided what to do on your cruise stop in St. Maarten, I recommend Mullet Bay Beach. It’s not as popular/crowded as Orient Beach and Maho Bech. https://milesforfamily.com/2023/05/30/the-best-beach-youve-never-heard-of-mullet-bay-beach/
yes, I use a lot of AA miles. Amazing when you can get to the caribbean for only 8 to 10k miles! Just had some friends get the Barclay AA 70k credit card for 1 purchase. Will be sad to see that card go away!
Flying 5 people is not cheap. God save the points!
😉
@Aleks Indeed!
Paris and Barcelona for spring break next year.
@Nat That sounds fantastic!
That’s an incredible deal for high season! AA miles can be so valuable under the right circumstances. We were planning to go to Maho beach near SXM during our last cruise, but I wasn’t feeling well that day. Hopefully next time.
@Leana Yes, I love AA miles! Since I’m out of them now, I’m going to be relying on Alaska miles, which are still great but unfortunately don’t have those same “web special awards” for dirt cheap.
We were planning on visiting the Galapagos with our kids for next years Spring Break, but with all the economic volatility, we’re holding off for a while and coming up with a backup plan, in case it doesn’t work out.
As a backup we’re looking at some Caribbean islands as well. From the East Coast, AA miles can be a great deal.
@Joe I understand about having a backup plan due to economic volatility. That’s another reason I love booking with miles and points–much easier to cancel and pivot than with cash flights.