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100,000 Points: Weekend Edition – San Salvador

Metropolitan Cathedral overlooking Plaza Gerardo Barrios in San Salvador, El Salvador

San Salvador’s historic center makes an easy starting point for a long weekend in El Salvador.

About This Series

Stop saving points. Start taking trips.

Welcome to 100,000 Points: Weekend Edition, where I use roughly 100,000 transferable points to plan international getaways you can actually book.

In each post, I’ll show you how I’d get there, where I’d stay, and how I’d spend four days using whichever airline, hotel, or credit card rewards offer the best value.

International getaways don’t have to mean crossing an ocean. Some of the best long weekend destinations are just a few hours away and they’re often overlooked in favor of bigger bucket-list trips.

San Salvador is exactly that kind of destination: affordable, easy to reach with points, and packed with enough history, culture, and food to fill a long weekend.

While my goal is to fund as much of the trip as possible with points, points aren’t the point. 🙂

Before transferring a single point, I always compare the cash price, taxes, and overall value.

The goal isn’t to maximize points.

The goal is to take the trip.

Introducing San Salvador

San Salvador works surprisingly well for a long weekend.

With four days, you have enough time to experience the capital without treating it simply as a jumping-off point for the rest of El Salvador. The Historic Center gives you plazas, churches and some of the city’s most recognizable buildings, while other parts of San Salvador feel greener, more modern and completely different from the center.

And then there are the volcanoes.

You don’t have to travel far before the landscape changes completely. San Salvador sits beneath its own volcano, and one of El Salvador’s most popular hikes—Santa Ana Volcano—is close enough for a day trip.

That combination makes the city particularly interesting for a short trip.

You can spend one afternoon wandering the Historic Center, another exploring more of San Salvador and the surrounding landscape, and still have time to trade the city for a volcanic crater before flying home.

Four days won’t show you all of El Salvador. But it can show you just how much variety the country packs into a very small space.

Getting There

One of the things that makes San Salvador work so well for a long weekend is how accessible it can be with points. Avianca operates nonstop flights from several major U.S. gateways on both coasts, and Aeroplan was the clear winner in my searches for booking them with points.

I found nonstop awards for as little as 10,000–12,500 points each way, including options from Miami, Dallas, Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco. With that many nonstop possibilities, San Salvador should be on a lot more people’s radar for a points-friendly long weekend.

Just remember that the cheapest redemption isn’t always the best one. If reaching one of those gateways requires positioning, compare the extra time and cost against simply spending more points to leave from your home airport.

Aeroplan

Transfer Partners: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase

Aeroplan was the standout program in my searches for San Salvador. You can use Aeroplan points to book Avianca-operated flights, opening up nonstop options from several major U.S. cities at surprisingly low rates.

  • Miami (MIA): 10,000 points + ~$58 (nonstop)
  • Dallas (DFW): 10,000 points (nonstop)
  • Washington, D.C. (IAD): 12,500 points + ~$58 (nonstop)
  • Los Angeles (LAX): 12,500 points + ~$58 (nonstop)
  • San Francisco (SFO): 12,500 points + ~$58 (nonstop)

The West Coast pricing especially caught my attention. Flying nonstop from Los Angeles or San Francisco for 12,500 Aeroplan points is an excellent option for a flight of this length.

You can also book Avianca flights through LifeMiles, so it’s worth comparing both programs. But Aeroplan sometimes required fewer points. I found San Francisco–San Salvador for 12,500 Aeroplan points + about $58, while the same flight through LifeMiles started at 15,370 miles + $35.50.

LifeMiles also offers different fare types with varying baggage and flexibility benefits, so I’d still compare the total package. But when the pricing is this close—or Aeroplan requires fewer points—I’d rather book through the program I’m more comfortable using.

Transfer bonuses can make these Aeroplan redemptions even cheaper.

💰 Award Changes: International airline programs may charge cancellation or change fees, so check the policy before transferring your points or booking.

United MileagePlus

Transfer Partners: Bilt, Chase

United wasn’t as cheap as Aeroplan, but the pricing was much more consistent. I regularly found economy awards to San Salvador for around 20,000–22,000 miles + $7.10 each way.

  • Los Angeles (LAX): 20,000–22,000 miles + $7.10 (nonstop)
  • Philadelphia (PHL): 20,000–22,000 miles + $7.10 (1 stop)
  • Newark (EWR): 20,000–22,000 miles + $7.10 (1 stop)

From Los Angeles, the difference was clear. United charged 20,000–22,000 miles + $7.10 for the nonstop, while Aeroplan offered the same Avianca-operated flight for 12,500 points + about $58. Despite the higher taxes, Aeroplan is the option I’d lean toward.

From Philadelphia, though, the decision gets more complicated. United offered itineraries for 20,000 miles + $7.10, with one stop in Houston and a total travel time of about eight hours. I could instead take the train to Washington, D.C., make my way to Dulles and book the nonstop for 12,500 Aeroplan points.

But once I factor in the train, transportation to Dulles and positioning time, am I really saving by using fewer points?

For a four-day trip, I wouldn’t automatically choose the lowest award price. Sometimes spending an extra 7,500 points to leave from your home airport makes more sense.

📅 Award Calendar: United’s flexible-date calendar makes it easy to compare award prices across several weeks.

Atmos Rewards & American AAdvantage

Both Atmos Rewards and American AAdvantage are worth checking, but in my searches, neither offered the same combination of good pricing and consistent availability as Aeroplan and United.

Atmos had some of the best prices I found, but also some of the worst availability.

  • Dallas (DFW): as low as 7,500 points + ~$28 (nonstop)
  • Philadelphia (PHL): as low as 17,500 points + ~$28 (1 stop)

From Dallas, I found just one 7,500-point date in November and one 15,000-point date in October, with entire stretches showing no availability.

AAdvantage had the opposite problem: more availability, but wildly inconsistent pricing. From Philadelphia, awards ranged from 11,500 to more than 60,000 miles one way, climbing as high as 100,000 miles on some December dates.

Even some of those tempting 11,500-mile awards fell apart once I clicked through, revealing inconvenient routings or extremely long travel times.

I’d still check both programs, particularly if you already have Atmos or AAdvantage miles. You might find an excellent redemption for your dates, but I wouldn’t build my San Salvador trip around either one.

📅 Award Calendar: Both AAdvantage and Atmos have flexible-date calendars that make it easy to compare award prices across several weeks.

Before You Transfer Your Points

  • Transfers are one-way. Once you transfer points from your credit card rewards account to an airline or hotel loyalty program, they can’t be transferred back. Double-check award availability before clicking “Transfer.”
  • Review the cancellation policy before booking. Many international airline programs charge a fee to cancel an award ticket and redeposit your miles, and those fees are typically charged per traveler, not per reservation.

Where to Stay

For a short trip to San Salvador, I’d prioritize location and convenience over trying to stay near every attraction. The city’s sights are spread out, and you’ll likely use Uber or another ride service regardless of where you stay.

For most first-time visitors, I’d start with San Benito/Zona Rosa or Colonia Escalón. San Benito puts you close to museums, restaurants and nightlife and is my first choice for this four-day itinerary. Colonia Escalón is another convenient base, with plenty of restaurants, shopping and hotels of its own.

Neither puts everything within walking distance, but both give you a comfortable base for exploring San Salvador and heading out on day trips.

San Benito & Zona Rosa

San Benito and Zona Rosa put you close to restaurants, nightlife and museums, including MUNA and MARTE. You’ll find a mix of larger international hotels and smaller independent properties, giving you options whether you want to use points or pay cash.

Sheraton Presidente San Salvador Hotel

Best Marriott Redemption

Bookable with: Marriott Bonvoy, Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$150–180 per night or ~25,000–30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to use Marriott points in San Salvador, the Sheraton Presidente is an easy place to start. It’s within walking distance of the Museum of Art of El Salvador and the National Museum of Anthropology, with plenty of restaurants nearby.

The hotel also has a large outdoor pool, restaurant, bar and fitness center, giving you somewhere to relax between exploring the city and your bigger day trips.

For a long weekend, the combination of a convenient location and the ability to redeem Marriott points is the real draw.

Explore Sheraton Presidente San Salvador and check current rates →

Las Magnolias Hotel Boutique

Best Affordable Stay

Bookable with: Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$90–120 per night

If you’d rather save your points, Las Magnolias offers a simple and affordable stay without giving up the convenience of San Benito. You’ll be close to Zona Rosa’s restaurants and attractions while spending considerably less than at many of the larger hotels nearby.

The property is smaller and more straightforward than the Sheraton, but you still get breakfast and a small outdoor pool, a nice bonus at this price point.

Explore Las Magnolias Hotel Boutique and check current rates →

Nico Urban Hotel / Il Buongustaio

Best Boutique Stay

Bookable with: Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$165–190 per night

If you’re looking for something with more personality than a traditional chain, Nico Urban Hotel offers a more polished boutique stay. The rooms are surprisingly spacious, giving you room to spread out while still getting the more intimate feel of a boutique property.

You’ll also be close to Zona Rosa’s restaurants, museums and nightlife, making it an easy base for exploring San Salvador.

Explore Nico Urban Hotel and check current rates →

Colonia Escalón

Colonia Escalón is another good option for a first visit, particularly around the World Trade Center and Plaza Futura. You’ll find restaurants, shopping and several hotels here, while still being an easy ride from the Historic Center and other stops in this itinerary.

It’s also home to one of San Salvador’s major Hilton options, making Escalón worth considering if you have Hilton Honors points to use.

Hilton San Salvador

Best Hilton Redemption

Bookable with: Hilton Honors, Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$150–210 per night or 40,000 Hilton Honors points

Near the World Trade Center and Torre Futura, Hilton San Salvador gives Hilton Honors members an easy way to use points in one of the city’s main hotel districts.

The hotel offers the full-service experience you’d expect from Hilton, including an outdoor pool, restaurants and fitness center, with plenty of dining nearby.

At 40,000 Hilton Honors points per night, I’d compare the cash price before redeeming. When rates are closer to $150, paying cash may make more sense; above $200, those same 40,000 points become more attractive.

Explore Hilton San Salvador and check current rates →

Hotel Villa Serena Escalón

Best Budget Stay

Bookable with: Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$55–85 per night

Hotel Villa Serena Escalón is a great option if you’re looking to keep hotel costs low without giving up a convenient location. The rooms are simple, but breakfast is included, and you’ll be close to Salvador del Mundo and Galerías shopping center.

The property has a colorful, colonial-style design, with tiled walkways, arches and rooms arranged around a leafy courtyard. It gives the hotel a little more character than you might expect at this price point.

Explore Hotel Villa Serena Escalón and check current rates →

Plaza Hotel & Suites

Best for Extra Space

Bookable with: Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$135 per night

If you’d like more room to spread out, Plaza Hotel & Suites stands out for its spacious suite-style rooms. Standard suites are around 495 square feet and include a separate seating area and kitchenette with a microwave, making this especially practical for families or anyone who wants more than a traditional hotel room.

You’ll also have an outdoor pool, fitness center and sauna, with restaurants around Plaza Futura and the World Trade Center within an easy walk.

Explore Plaza Hotel & Suites and check current rates →

Wild Card: Antiguo Cuscatlán

Antiguo Cuscatlán puts you farther from the Historic Center and San Benito, so you’ll spend a little more time getting around on your city days.

For the way I travel, though, I don’t think that would make much of a difference. I tend to leave my hotel for large chunks of the day rather than going back and forth, so a little extra time in an Uber wouldn’t bother me.

You’ll also have plenty nearby. Las Cascadas, La Gran Vía and Multiplaza give you easy access to restaurants, shopping and nightlife.

And there’s one hotel that makes me especially willing to consider the tradeoff.

Hyatt Centric San Salvador

Best Hyatt Redemption

Bookable with: World of Hyatt, Cash, Credit Card Travel Portals

Typical price: ~$180–250 per night or 6,000–15,000 World of Hyatt points

Hyatt Centric San Salvador is one of the more modern hotels on this list, with floor-to-ceiling windows, locally inspired artwork, an outdoor pool and a 24-hour fitness center. It’s also connected to Las Cascadas Shopping Center, putting restaurants and shopping right outside the hotel.

But the points rate is what earns it a wildcard spot. As a Category 2 Hyatt, standard rooms range from 6,000–15,000 points per night, with 7,500-point nights especially common when I checked.

With cash rates frequently around $200 or more, I’d definitely check the points rate before paying cash. I’d personally be willing to trade a little extra travel time for a good Hyatt redemption.

Explore Hyatt Centric San Salvador and check current rates →

Before You Book Your Hotel

  • Compare points and cash prices. A hotel award isn’t automatically the best deal. Always compare the nightly cash rate before transferring points.
  • Use the right points for the job. If you have Bilt points, Hyatt is often an excellent value. If you’re using Capital One miles, booking through the travel portal may be the better option since you won’t need to transfer your miles.

Your 4-Day San Salvador Itinerary

This four-day itinerary gives you time to explore the capital, experience El Salvador’s volcanic landscape, and dedicate a full day to hiking Santa Ana Volcano without trying to squeeze half the country into one long weekend.

Day 1: Arrive & Explore the Historic Center

After checking into your hotel, make your first stop about food. Pupusas are El Salvador’s most famous dish, and there’s no better way to start the trip than ordering a few for lunch.

Then head to the Historic Center. If your timing works, join a walking tour, El Salvador’s history is complicated, and I think it’s best understood firsthand by someone who can connect that history to the places you’re actually seeing.

Book a San Salvador Historic Center Walking Tour

Spend the afternoon around Plaza Gerardo Barrios, the Metropolitan Cathedral, National Palace, Plaza Libertad and Iglesia El Rosario before settling in for your first evening.

Travel Breakdown Tip: Don’t try to accomplish too much on arrival day. Eat some pupusas, learn a little about the city and get your bearings.

Day 2: Explore San Salvador & El Boquerón

Use your first full day to see more of San Salvador beyond the Historic Center.

Spend the morning around San Benito, where you can visit the National Museum of Anthropology (MUNA) or the Museum of Art of El Salvador (MARTE) before stopping for lunch.

In the afternoon, head up San Salvador Volcano to El Boquerón National Park. This isn’t another Santa Ana-style hiking day. The walk to the crater viewpoints is relatively short, making it an easy way to experience another side of the volcanic landscape surrounding the capital.

There are also restaurants and cafés around the volcano, so there’s no need to rush back down.

Travel Breakdown Tip: Don’t skip San Salvador itself just because El Salvador has so many tempting day trips. Giving the capital a full day makes this feel like a San Salvador weekend rather than simply using the city as a place to sleep.

Day 3: Hike Santa Ana Volcano

Today requires the early alarm.

Santa Ana Volcano is a popular day trip from San Salvador, but with the drive and a full day of hiking ahead, expect an early start.

Bring plenty of water, snacks, a hat and sturdy shoes, and plan for the excursion to take most of the day. The reward is one of El Salvador’s most recognizable landscapes: the crater of Santa Ana Volcano and its brilliantly colored lake.

Santa Ana Volcano Hike & Lake Coatepeque Day Trip from San Salvador

Some tours combine Santa Ana Volcano with another stop, so compare itineraries and choose one that fits how much you want to pack into the day.

Travel Breakdown Tip: Make Santa Ana your big adventure day. Keep the night before relatively easy, get some sleep and be ready for an early start.

Day 4: One Last Morning in San Salvador

Keep your final morning flexible.

If you have an afternoon flight, enjoy a slower breakfast and coffee, take one last walk, or return to somewhere you wanted more time before heading to the airport.

Four days won’t show you everything El Salvador has to offer, but that’s exactly why this works as a long weekend.

Planning Your Points Budget

The examples above are just that—examples. What you’ll need depends on where you’re flying from, which program you use, and whether you use points or cash for your hotel.

San Salvador gives you plenty of flexibility on both.

Flights

Aeroplan is the clear winner here. With nonstop awards from several major U.S. gateways, San Salvador should be on a lot more people’s radar for a points-friendly long weekend.

I’d budget approximately:

  • Aeroplan: 20,000–25,000 points round trip from some of the best nonstop gateways
  • United: 40,000–44,000 miles round trip as a good starting point

That includes Aeroplan awards as low as 10,000 points each way from Miami and Dallas and 12,500 points from Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

United generally required more miles, but that doesn’t automatically make it a worse choice. If it lets you leave from your home airport rather than positioning to an Aeroplan gateway, those extra points may save you money and valuable travel time.

Hotels

San Salvador offers a good balance of points opportunities and affordable cash bookings, so don’t assume you need to use hotel points.

For three nights, I’d budget approximately:

  • World of Hyatt: 18,000–45,000 points, with 7,500-point nights especially common at the Hyatt Centric when I searched
  • Marriott Bonvoy: 75,000–90,000 points at the Sheraton Presidente
  • Hilton Honors: 120,000 points at Hilton San Salvador
  • Independent hotels: roughly $55–190 per night, with several options under $150

This is one destination where I’d be especially willing to mix points and cash. Use points when the redemption is genuinely good, but don’t overlook the independent hotels simply because you have points available.

How I’d Book This Trip

As much as I’d love to leave from my home airport in Philadelphia, I probably wouldn’t.

Cash fares to San Salvador seem to hover around $700 round trip, so paying cash wouldn’t be my first choice. And while I’d love to take my own advice and spend a few more points to book United directly from PHL, there’s one problem: I rarely have more than 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points available to transfer.

You’ll see why in a minute.

I do have Bilt points, but those are being saved for a very specific trip. So rather than draining that balance, it looks like I’d be heading to Washington Dulles and using Aeroplan for the nonstop flight to San Salvador.

The hotel decision depends entirely on who I’m traveling with.

If I’m traveling solo, it’s easy. Those Chase Ultimate Rewards points are going straight to Hyatt. With nights at the Hyatt Centric San Salvador frequently available for around 7,500 points when I searched, that’s exactly the kind of redemption I save my Chase points for.

And here’s the fun part: if I book a 25,000-point Aeroplan round trip and get three Hyatt nights at 7,500 points each, I’m looking at just 47,500 points for the entire trip.

Not even half of our 100,000-point budget.

If I’m traveling with friends, though, I’m probably saving those Chase points and splitting the cost of a cash hotel instead. Nico Urban Hotel would be high on my list, or I might choose the Hilton San Salvador and make the most of my Hilton status while splitting the room cost.

If my friends have Hyatt points of their own, even better. Hyatt doesn’t make pooling points particularly easy, but we wouldn’t necessarily need to. We could each book consecutive nights at the Hyatt Centric from our own accounts and keep everyone’s points where they are.

That’s exactly why I don’t think there’s one perfect way to spend 100,000 points.

The way I’d book this trip solo isn’t necessarily the way I’d book it with friends. The best redemption depends just as much on the trip you’re taking—and the points you’re trying to save—as it does on the number you see on the award calendar.

Putting It All Together

100,000 transferable points is more than enough for a long weekend in San Salvador. As we just saw, you may not even need half of that.

For me, San Salvador was one of those trips that changed how I thought about a destination. Between exploring the Historic Center, eating plenty of pupusas, seeing how close the volcanic landscape is to the capital, and hiking Santa Ana Volcano, four days gave me a completely different impression of El Salvador than the one I had before I arrived.

And it left me wanting to see more.

Whether you’re planning your first award redemption or your hundredth, I hope this guide gives you the confidence to stop overthinking your points and start planning the trip.

Points aren’t the point. 🙂

The goal is to take the trip.

Next in the series: Where can 100,000 points take us next?

Think cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, Caribbean beaches—and no passport required.

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