Jonathon Rowland, 36, and Maranda Poe, 33, wed late last year. According to Rowland, Poe was first intrigued by him due to a specific photo on his dating app—it featured Rowland posed in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza. “Our mutual love for travel was established right away years ago,” Rowland said.
The Baltimore-based pair then traveled the world together, often using points and miles for many of those trips, including their November 2023 journey to Venice, Italy, where they got engaged.
Now, with their nuptials behind them, they planned the vacation of a lifetime for January 2025. Their honeymoon included several luxury hotels in South America, and long-haul, international flights booked using points. Here’s how they redeemed points for flights that would have cost $15,000 in cash.
By the Numbers
- The destination: Lima, Peru
- Flight cost: $15,000 (Two, round-trip business class seats from New York to Lima)
- Points redeemed: 200,000 Virgin points (transferred from American Express and Chase)
- Total spent: $111.60 in taxes and fees
How They Booked the Flights
Rowland and Poe wanted to travel sometime in January, as it was a slower time for each of their work schedules. They were flexible, but had two main priorities: to fully unplug on the trip and to visit somewhere they had never been before.
A few months before their wedding, Spencer Howard, founder of Straight to the Points—an award-focused flight alert subscription service—and a friend of the couple, alerted Rowland and other newsletter subscribers about award availability for business class flights from New York to Peru. The offer was with LATAM, the largest airline in South America. The price? A one-way ticket for 50,000 points per person, along with about $50 in taxes and fees.
Neither Rowland nor Poe had visited South America before, so this deal guided their decision on which countries they were going to honeymoon: Peru, Chile, and Brazil.
Booking Tip
By being flexible, whether with your travel destination, the time of year you wish to travel, or both, you can increase your chances of finding the best deal as it pertains to points.
The long-haul, roundtrip flights from New York to Peru were booked on Virgin Atlantic’s website. Like many other airlines, Virgin offers members the ability to redeem for partner carriers, including LATAM. The South American airline has nonstop services from the U.S. to hubs like Santiago, Chile; Sao Paolo, Brazil; Lima, Peru, and more.
While Rowland and Poe didn’t have points specifically with Virgin, they leveraged the power of transfer partners. Virgin Atlantic is a partner of most of the major transferable point programs (American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Bilt Rewards).
All of these programs transfer to Virgin at a one-to-one ratio, and you can combine points from different accounts. In Rowland’s case, he transferred points from both American Express and Chase to Virgin Atlantic in order to maximize the rewards.
He logged into his bank accounts, navigated to the respective travel sections, and selected the option to transfer to Virgin. (For first-timers, you’ll also need to enter your Virgin Flying Club information. Creating a Virgin account is completely free.) Finally, since points transfer instantly, Rowland logged into his Virgin account to book the LATAM flights with the now-available points.
What the Experience Was Like
John Coletti/Getty Images
As avid travelers, the couple had previously experienced some incredible business class products, including those offered by Emirates and Singapore Airlines. However, they weren’t sure what to expect from LATAM.
“We were pleasantly surprised overall,” Rowland said. “One of the best amenities is their lounge access relationship with Delta; we were able to visit the new Delta One lounge at JFK and enjoy ourselves.”
“The flight was great as well,” he continued. “The catering was delicious and the crew friendly. It was on their updated Boeing 787-9 flights with a 1-2-1 layout, so we arrived rested and ready for our honeymoon thanks to their comfortable lie-flat seats.”
Rowland and Poe were able to allocate the money they would’ve spent on flights for luxury accommodations and experiences. That included several Belmond properties, including Mira Flores Park in Lima, Monasterio in Cusco, and Rio Sangrado in the Sacred Valley.
“We also loved our Belmond Hiram Bingham train experience with beautiful Pullman-style carriages right out of the Orient Express,” said Rowland. “Onboard, we enjoyed a delicious lunch, dinner, and live music that accompanied our trip back and forth to Machu Picchu.”
A Points and Miles Tip for Travelers
If you can, maximize the value of your points on business or first-class flights. Dollar for dollar, you can get a better return when booking airfare. If you consider yourself a novice with maximizing points, Rowland suggests leveraging online resources to learn or reaching out for help from individuals in the points community. “Many times, people are more than happy to give you tips and tricks on how to best utilize your points.”
Finally, if you’re brand new to using points, it can be daunting. Signing up for an email subscription service or following loyalty influencers can be helpful. “For people with a busy schedule like me, it can be a lot to search for award space on your own,” said Rowland.
