This week’s reader success story comes from Shauna, who had an epic trip to Peru thanks to points and miles. Here’s her story:

I started using points and miles in 2022 after coming across some videos by Pam and Alex online.  Eventually, I bought Points Talk Academy® and Points Talk Academy Next Level® as soon as they came out because I wanted to know EVERYTHING.  I dove down the rabbit hole of points and miles and haven’t made it out yet.  

My husband and I just returned from an epic trip to Peru. I am so proud of myself for using credit card points and miles to save money on this trip.  

 

Finding Flights

The trip planning started when I saw a Thrifty Traveler Alert for Delta One Flights from Peru to Atlanta, GA.  I looked up the dates, and there was ONE date that could work for us.  I booked it by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards® from my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to Flying Blue.  It was 123,000 points for two Delta One seats.  Our flights home from Atlanta to SLC were booked with Southwest.  I earned the Southwest® Companion Pass this year by opening a Southwest® personal card. My husband was my companion.  

For our flights to Peru, I booked United flights from SLC to LAX.  I paid cash for these flights, and we ended up getting upgraded to first class.  I booked our flights from LAX to Lima using Virgin Atlantic miles to fly on LATAM Airlines.  Again, I used Chase Ultimate Rewards® transferred to Virgin Atlantic with a 30% transfer bonus.  58,000 points got us two tickets in economy.  

 

Lodging

We landed in Lima late at night.  I booked two nights at the Crowne Plaza by IHG.  I have the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card that comes with a free night upon card renewal.  We used a free night for one night and paid for the other night with cash.  The Crowne Plaza in Miraflores was a great location, and they upgraded us to a higher floor with a view because of my Platinum status that comes with the card. 

 

Activities

On the first day, we didn’t have any plans.  I booked a bike tour of Lima with GOGO bikes on Viator.  Lima is so bike-friendly.  We biked to parks by the coast, a cat park, an ancient Inca pyramid, and my favorite, the Barranco area.  In Barranco, we ate at a gelato place that was included in the tour.  So good.  

While planning this trip, I wasn’t sure what to do or see besides Machu Picchu.  I joined a Facebook group about traveling in Peru and received some great advice.  I booked the next part of our trip on PeruHop.  It is a bus service that takes tourists all over Peru and Bolivia.  The buses were comfortable, with charging ports and a bathroom. I booked tickets with my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.  I erased this travel purchase with my Capital One purchase eraser. 36,500 miles erased two bus tickets on PeruHop. 

All excursions and hotels were recommended and purchased through PeruHop from Lima to Cusco.  Some excursions were included, and some excursions plus hotels were an extra cost.  

 

Itinerary

• Lima to Paracas excursion: Slave tunnels at a Hacienda San José 
• Golden Shadows Trek (great hike along the coast of Peru; we saw a sea turtle shell on the beach)
• Ballestas Island Boat Tour (We saw PENGUINS and a whale)
• Paracas to Huacachina excursion: Red Beach at Paracas National Reserve (beautiful views)
• Wine tasting at CulturPisco (great lunch and wine tasting!)
• Dune Buggy (like a roller coaster, so fun)
• Sand boarding (like snowboarding but on the sand, so fun!)
• Paracas to Arequipa – Nazca lines (ancient art in the desert) 

 

 

 

 

On to Cusco

From Arequipa, we took a 24-hour bus ride to Cusco.  I will never do this again, but we were committed, and we survived.  You do not have to take this route.  Spend a night in Arequipa or Puno.  We were short on time and wanted to make the most of our time in Cusco.

We were dropped off at our hotel in Cusco, and I could have kissed the hotel staff’s feet.  I was so happy to have a bed to sleep in that night!  We stayed at the Sonesta Hotel.  I looked into using points for a hotel, but the Sonesta included a large breakfast spread and an airport shuttle and was only $107-120 USD a night.  We stayed there for four nights, and I put the charge on my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to earn points. 

 

Activities

On the first day, I booked an ATV tour in the Sacred Valley.  We saw the ancient Inca terraces called Moray and the salt mines. 

In Peru, there is a large cultural festival every day in June.  We saw a pet parade with dressed-up animals, a large-float parade, and a cultural dance group parade from different schools.  Every day, we went to the main square (Plaza de Armas). It was packed with people for the day’s festival activities.  Fireworks every night.  It was a very exciting time to visit Cusco.  We shopped at San Pedro Market and partook of the smoothie booths.  Our hotel wasn’t by the main square, and we did walk back and forth.  We didn’t mind, and I never felt unsafe walking around Cusco.  

 

Machu Picchu

Our tour of Machu Picchu was booked through PeruHop with Yapa Explorers.   There are many ways to do Machu Picchu.  We did it the easiest way.  They took care of everything, including tickets and our guide. A taxi picked us up at our hotel in Cusco.  We drove for 1.5 hours to Ollantaytambo and caught the Peru Rail.  The train ride was 45 minutes.  We arrived in Aguas Calientes and caught a bus.  The bus took us up a mountain.  They dropped us off right at the entrance where we met our guide, Sam.  Machu Picchu, no matter how you get there, is breathtaking.  The scenery is just magical.  Our guide had the best spots for pictures!

 

 

 

Flights Home

The next day, we flew from Cusco to Lima.  I booked our flights through the Capital One travel portal to use my annual $300 flight credit from my Venture X card. We flew LATAM Airlines.  

Jorge Chávez Airport’s new international terminal was an interesting experience.  This was our first business-class experience.  I was expecting to be able to go to the lounge and relax.  We checked our flight and found that the lounge wasn’t open yet, and the ticket agent gave us a list of restaurants where we could get a free meal. 

We took our vouchers to the restaurants, but they would not honor the free meal.  Unfortunately, we ended up paying for our meals. Our Delta One seats had a TV and headphones that didn’t work.  Anyway, I hope my next business class flight is a better experience; this one was disappointing.  

 

Bottom Line

Peru was such an amazing cultural experience.  I would love to go again.  I calculated all the money spent on our trip, and it came to a total of $ 3,400 out of pocket!  This included paying a relative to take care of my kids. This goes to show that with points and miles, Peru can really be an inexpensive travel destination.

 

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