100,000 Points: Across the Ocean – Peru

Booking an international flight with points can feel intimidating, but you don’t need a perfect business-class redemption to make it worthwhile. In my 100,000 Points series, I explore realistic ways to put that balance toward a trip, starting with flights. When round-trip airfare uses less than the full budget, I’ll look at what’s left for hotels—or what I’d save for another adventure. The goal is to see how far those points could take you, without spending more just to use them all.

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Why Peru?

Peru is one of those destinations that can mean something completely different depending on the type of trip you want to take.

You could spend a few days eating your way through Lima, head into the Andes to explore Cusco and Machu Picchu, hike among mountain lakes, or travel south to Arequipa and the landscapes surrounding the Colca Canyon. Along the coast, you can trade the mountains for desert dunes, wildlife and the Pacific around Paracas and Huacachina.

Few countries make it this easy to combine cities, mountains, desert and coastline in a single trip.

And while cash fares to Peru can sometimes be affordable, transferable points can still be especially useful. With the right redemption, you may be able to cover your round-trip flights for around 100,000 points or considerably less, leaving more of your travel budget for everything you want to do once you arrive.

Quick Trip Snapshot

Topic	Quick Take
Best weather	May–September is generally the driest time for visiting Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the Andes. Lima and the coast have different weather patterns, with warmer, sunnier conditions typically from December–April.
High season	June–August brings some of the highest demand, especially around Cusco and Machu Picchu. Expect more visitors and book popular trains, hotels, and Machu Picchu entry well ahead.
Shoulder season	April–May and September–October can be a great compromise for the Andes, with fewer crowds while avoiding the heart of the rainy season.
How long to stay	About one week is enough for a classic first trip focused on Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu. If you want to add Arequipa, Paracas, or another region, 10–14 days gives you much more breathing room.
Airport & Connections	Most international travelers enter through Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima. Lima is the country’s main international gateway and the starting point for many domestic connections throughout Peru.

What to Know Before Booking With Points

You don’t need to become an award-travel expert to book a good trip. But before comparing programs or transferring points, here are five things I keep in mind.

1. Flexibility gives you more options

My goal isn’t to showcase unicorn redemptions that require months of searching or incredible luck. I’m looking for flights I’d realistically book.

Still, flexibility helps. Changing your dates, considering another departure airport, or choosing a different cabin can make a significant difference. The more constraints you have, the fewer options you’ll find.

2. Award searches aren’t one and done

One search tells you what’s available when you look—not everything that might become available before your trip. Prices can change, seats can appear, and a month that looks disappointing today may offer better options later.

If your trip is still far off, keep an eye on it. You don’t need to search every day, but I wouldn’t write off a route or program based on one unsuccessful search.

3. Search from home before considering positioning

A connecting award from your home airport may be available even when an award-search tool doesn’t show it. Check directly with the airline program before assuming you need a separate ticket.

If you do book a separate flight to reach your departure airport, that’s called positioning. Leave a generous buffer—ideally overnight—because a delay on one ticket could cause you to miss the next. Include the extra transportation, hotel, and time in your comparison.

4. Compare the whole trip

The cheapest mileage price isn’t always the best choice. Spending a few thousand more points could reduce taxes and fees, eliminate a hotel night, or save hours of travel.

Compare cash fares too, and check transfer ratios: the airline miles required may not equal the credit card points you’ll need. Evaluate the entire journey, not just the headline redemption.

5. Know the rules before transferring

Once credit card points are transferred to an airline or hotel program, you generally can’t move them back.

Before transferring:

• Confirm the flights and seats through the program you’ll book with—not just an award-search tool or calendar.
• Check the final points price and taxes.
• Review change, cancellation, and mileage-expiration rules.
• Check whether fees apply per traveler; they can add up quickly for a group.

Transfer when you’re ready to book, remembering that availability can change while a transfer processes.

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Flying to Lima

Lima is surprisingly well connected to the U.S., with nonstop flights from several major gateways and plenty of one-stop options from cities across the country.

During my searches, I found nonstop award options from Atlanta (ATL), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), and Salt Lake City (SLC). But if you don’t live near one of those gateways, don’t assume you need a separate positioning flight. I also found connecting awards from cities like Philadelphia, Dallas and Los Angeles on a single ticket.

The prices were better than I expected, too. Economy awards started at just 13,500 miles one way, with plenty of options in the 21,000–30,000-point range. I even found Business Class from Los Angeles for 27,500 miles.

The biggest lesson? The first result you find isn’t necessarily the best one. Award search tools can miss options, the same flight can cost dramatically different amounts depending on which program you use, and sometimes adding your home airport doesn’t increase the mileage price at all.

Below, I’ll compare the five programs that gave me the most useful options for getting to Lima: American AAdvantage, Atmos Rewards, Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and United MileagePlus.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Transfer partner: Citi

American ended up being one of the more interesting programs I searched because some of the results weren’t showing up in the award search tools I was using—including from my home airport, Philadelphia. I knew American could connect me through Miami, so I expected to see options even without a nonstop to Lima.

And when I searched directly on American’s website, those connecting itineraries were there, along with options from Dallas. In some cases, American’s dynamic pricing was even lower than booking the same American-operated flights through partner programs.

Here are a few examples I found, per person, one way:

• PHL → MIA → LIM: from 13,500 AAdvantage miles on select dates
• DFW → MIA → LIM: from 13,500 AAdvantage miles
• LAX → MIA → LIM: from 13,500 AAdvantage miles
• LAX → MIA → LIM in Business Class: from 27,500 AAdvantage miles
• Taxes and fees as low as $20.60 one way

American uses dynamic pricing, so flexibility is key. When I checked, November had an entire week at 13,500 miles, December had only two dates, and January had two straight weeks. These aren’t fixed award rates or guaranteed availability, but American’s monthly calendar makes it easy to compare dates and spot the lower-priced options.

One of the biggest surprises was Los Angeles to Lima for 27,500 AAdvantage miles in Business Class, not much more than some of the Economy awards I found through other programs.

The flights I found didn’t have lie-flat seats. Both were operated by American’s A321neo. I quickly searched the aircraft type and checked the seat map, which confirmed these were larger seats at the front of the plane, not lie-flat Business Class seats.

Still, for a relatively small number of additional miles, the extra space could be worth it. It takes only a minute to check the aircraft and seat map before booking so you know what those extra miles are actually getting you.

📅 Award Calendar: American AAdvantage has a monthly award calendar, making it easy to search an entire month for the lowest-priced redemptions.

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Atmos Rewards

Transfer partner: Bilt

After searching American AAdvantage, my next stop will almost always be Atmos Rewards. You’re often looking at the same American Airlines flights, but with more consistent partner pricing.

American’s dynamic pricing can produce some fantastic deals, but it varies dramatically by date. Atmos may or may not be cheaper, but it’s worth checking next.

Here are a few examples I found, per person, one way:

• MIA → LIM: from 25,000 Atmos points
• PHL → MIA → LIM: 25,000 points + $41
• DFW → MIA → LIM: 25,000 points + $41
• LAX → MIA → LIM: from 30,000 points + $40.60

Remember how the award search tools weren’t showing Philadelphia or Dallas when I searched American? The same thing happened with Atmos. But when I searched directly through Atmos, both PHL → MIA → LIM and DFW → MIA → LIM appeared for 25,000 points—the same mileage price as Miami alone.

That’s why it’s worth searching from your actual home airport before booking a separate positioning flight. You may be able to add that domestic connection on the same ticket without spending any additional points.

📅 Award Calendar: Atmos has a monthly award calendar, making it easy to scan an entire month for lower-priced redemptions.

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Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Transfer partners: American Express • Bilt • Capital One • Chase • Citi

Flying Blue is one of the easiest programs to earn miles with thanks to its extensive list of transfer partners. It’s also one of the first I’d check if you’re hoping to fly Delta to Lima, because Flying Blue offered some surprisingly good prices for Delta-operated flights.

Here are a few examples I found, per person, one way:

• ATL → LIM: Delta nonstop from 21,000 Flying Blue miles
• SLC → LIM: Delta nonstop from 28,000 Flying Blue miles + $48.50
• LAX → LIM: connecting itineraries from 28,500 Flying Blue miles

Salt Lake City was the wildcard I wasn’t expecting. If you’re coming from the western U.S., it’s a good reminder not to assume all of the useful nonstop gateways to Lima are on the East Coast or through Miami.

The bigger surprise was comparing Flying Blue with Delta’s own program. I found Delta-operated nonstop flights for as little as 21,000 Flying Blue miles, while Delta SkyMiles was showing Lima itineraries above 80,000 miles on some of the dates I checked. The airline operating your flight isn’t necessarily the program you should book it through.

Flying Blue has a monthly award calendar, but I didn’t always find that its results matched what appeared after clicking a date. I also saw months with plenty of lower-priced awards followed by future months with nothing showing at all.

If you’re planning far in advance, don’t assume an empty month means those awards will never appear. Check nearby dates and revisit the search as your trip gets closer. And when you do find a promising calendar price, click through to confirm the actual flights and mileage cost before transferring any points.

📅 Award Calendar: Flying Blue has a monthly award calendar, making it easy to search an entire month for the lowest-priced redemptions.

💰 Award Changes: Flying Blue partner awards generally carry a €70 fee per ticket to change or cancel. Confirm the conditions of your specific award before transferring points, including whether cancellation returns your miles.

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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Transfer partners: American Express • Bilt • Capital One • Chase • Citi

Virgin Atlantic is another program worth checking for Delta-operated flights to Lima, particularly if you’re starting in New York.

This one is also personal for me. I’ve actually used Virgin Atlantic points to fly from New York to Lima before, and it’s one of the options I’ll be looking at again when I return to Peru next summer.

Here are a few examples I found, per person, one way:

• JFK → LIM: Delta nonstop from 25,000 Virgin points
• JFK → LIM in Business Class: from 50,000 Virgin points

Philadelphia doesn’t have a nonstop flight to Lima, and New York is close enough that positioning to JFK can make sense. And for that 50,000-point Business Class redemption? I’ll happily take the train up to New York.

💰 Award Changes: Virgin Atlantic charges $100 per person to change or cancel a reward flight originating in the U.S. Cancel more than 24 hours before departure and your points are redeposited.

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United MileagePlus

Transfer partners: Bilt • Chase

United MileagePlus is worth checking for Lima, particularly if you’re starting in the Northeast. United operates nonstop service between Newark (EWR) and Lima, giving travelers another way to reach Peru without connecting.

Here are a few examples I found, per person, one way:

• EWR → LIM: nonstop from around 30,000 United miles
• LAX → LIM: connecting itineraries from around 30,000 United miles

For me, Newark is the interesting option. Like JFK, it’s close enough to Philadelphia that positioning for a nonstop can make sense. A 30,000-mile nonstop gives me another useful option to compare when it’s time to book.

📅 Award Calendar: United MileagePlus has a monthly award calendar, making it easy to search an entire month for lower-priced redemptions.

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Which Flight Would I Book?

Well, I’ve actually booked one of these flights before.

On a previous trip to Peru, I booked a 50,000-point Business Class redemption through Virgin Atlantic from JFK to Lima. I already had about half of those points sitting in my Virgin account—and Virgin points don’t expire—so transferring the other half wasn’t too painful. For 50,000 points, I was very happy to take a lie-flat seat to Lima.

But my next trip to Peru is already planned for next summer, and this time I’ll be traveling with my sister. That means seat availability and our individual points balances matter much more than finding the absolute lowest redemption.

My sister doesn’t have AAdvantage miles, but she does have Atmos points. So if we can both find availability and have enough points, I’d book the 25,000-point Atmos redemption from Philadelphia to Lima. No positioning flight, one ticket from home and a very reasonable number of points.

If that doesn’t work? We’ll take the train to New York. Virgin Atlantic is much easier for both of us to transfer points into, and if we can find that 25,000-point nonstop Economy redemption from JFK to Lima, that’s an easy Plan B.

And if that 50,000-point Business Class award happens to be available for both of us? Well, I’ve taken that flight before. I’ll happily take the train up to JFK for that one.

That’s really what these searches come down to for me. The best option depends on what’s actually available when you’re ready to book, which points you already have, and how many people you’re trying to get on the same flight. I’ll keep our points flexible until we find the seats we actually want, then book whichever option makes the most sense.