Flights To Liberia, Costa Rica On Miles And Points

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Flights from the US to Liberia, Costa Rica on miles and points

In this post, I’ll go over flight options for Costa Rica using different types of award currencies.  I’ll also explain which credit card sign-up bonuses are best for almost-free flights to Costa Rica!

One or more of the offers mentioned in this post may have expired.  Click here for a current list of all of our top credit card offers.

Costa Rica has 2 major airports.

• One is San Jose (SJO) which is almost a 5 hour drive to the Guanacaste region where the Andaz is located.
• The other is Liberia which is about a 30 minute drive to the Andaz.

Obviously Liberia is going to be the better option if possible when you’re staying in the Guanacaste region.

Which airlines fly to Liberia, Costa Rica from the US?

Most major US airlines fly to LIR,  although some routes may be seasonal.

• Southwest
• American Airlines
• United
• Delta
• Alaska Airlines
• JetBlue

We flew Southwest, but your best option to fly to Costa Rica on miles (or points) is going to depend on your departure airport and/or availability for your dates.  The list below is not necessarily comprehensive, but it may give you an idea of which airline or loyalty program is best to check for flights.  Keep in mind that some routes may only be offered seasonally.

Southwest flies nonstop from Houston Hobby (HOU) and Baltimore (BWI) to Liberia, Costa Rica

• Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer directly to Southwest at a 1:1 ratio
• SPG Starpoints and American Express Membership Rewards Points do not transfer to Southwest

Remember, Southwest’s loyalty program prices award flights according to the current paid fare.  In other words, a lower fare will cost a lower amount of Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

This is good and bad.  The good news is that you do not have to worry about award ticket availability.  The bad news is that if the fare is high, the cost in points will be high. In other words, you will always be able to book with Southwest points (unless the flight is sold out), but it might not necessarily be the lowest cost (by cost I mean in points/miles) option.

Cost from US to Liberia, Costa Rica: Varies, based on cash price of ticket.  Mine was about 28,000 points roundtrip and the cash price was around $500.

American Airlines flies nonstop from DFW, Miami, and Charlotte to Liberia, Costa Rica

• SPG Starpoints transfer to AAdvantage at a 1:1 ratio
• Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards Points do not transfer directly to American Airlines, but you can still book AA flights with other Chase UR and Amex MR partners.

American Airlines AAdvantage has a fixed, region based award chart.  That means that one region (continental US) to another region (Central America) costs the same amount of miles, regardless of departure city and/or number of stops.

Alternative options if you do not have AAdvantage miles or SPG points to transfer to AAdvantage:

You can transfer Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, or SPG Starpoints to British Airways.

You cannot transfer British Airways Avios (miles) to AA, but you can use British Airways Avios to book American Airlines flights.

If you live in a city with direct flights, it’s less than AAdvantage thanks to the award ticket pricing structure of British Airways Executive Club.  Unlike American Airlines, British Airways charges by distance.   This is good and bad.

Good: Any AA flight within North America under 1150 miles in distance is 7500 Avios.  The greater the distance, the more Avios it will cost.  Since Miami is less than 1150 miles from Costa Rica, the cost is 7,500 Avios each way.  DFW and Charlotte are more than 1150 miles from Costa Rica, so the cost is slightly higher at 10,000 Avios each way.  If you live in MIA, DFW, or CLT, this results in a lower cost than what AAdvantage charges.

Bad: British Airways charges for distance per segment, not for total distance.  So you’ll have to pay for 2 or more segments if your departure airport is not one with direct flights.

For example, New Orleans (MSY)-DFW-LIR is priced as the total of MSY-DFW plus DFW-LIR, not the distance from MSY-LIR as the crow flies.

• MSY-DFW is 7,500 Avios
• DFW-LIR is 10,000 Avios
• Total is 17,500 each way

If both segments are relatively short distances, it may come out equal to or less than the amount of miles AAdvantage requires.

Cost from US to Liberia, Costa Rica to book American Airlines flights:

• American Airlines AAdvantage: 12,500 or 17,500 AAdvantage miles per person each way,  depending on peak dates.  These numbers apply to any departure city in the continental US (as long as there is MilesAAVer availability)
• British Airways Executive Club: as low as 7,500 Avios each way.  Remember that MilesAAver level tickets must be available on AA for all segments if you’re going to use BA Avios to book.  Also, you’ll likely have to call BA after confirming availability on AA.com. There is a glitch in BA’s system right now, but the agents are pleasant and seem aware of the glitch, so any phone booking fees should be waived.  Hopefully the ability to book AA on BA.com will be restored soon!

United flies nonstop from Houston (IAH) to Liberia, Costa Rica 

• Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer directly to United at a 1:1 ratio
• SPG Starpoints transfer to United but at a 2:1 ratio.
• American Express Membership Rewards Points do not transfer directly to United, but you can still book United flights by transferring Amex MR to other partners

United has a fixed/region based award chart like American Airlines.  Booking through United Mileage Plus costs 17,500 miles each way from the US, regardless of your departure city and/or number of stops.

Alternatives to United miles or Chase Ultimate Rewards:

If you have SPG points or Amex MR points, they do not transfer to United (at least not at a 1:1 ratio).  But you can transfer them to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer at a 1:1 ratio and then use KrisFlyer miles to book United flights for the same price (17,500 miles each way).  You can can check for availability on United.    Remember, you need to make sure there are saver level award tickets available.  Make sure you are logged out of your United account because MileagePlus may show members saver space that will not be available to book with partners.  FYI, KrisFlyer is also a partner of UR.

Cost (each way) from US to Liberia, Costa Rica on United flights:

• 17,500 United miles
• 17,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to United
• 17,500 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer

Delta flies nonstop to Liberia, Costa Rica from Atlanta (ATL) , New York (JFK), Minneapolis (MSP) and Los Angelos (LAX) 

• SPG Starpoints and Amex MR transfer to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards do not transfer directly to Delta, but you can still book Delta flights by transferring to other Chase UR partners

Delta Skymiles cost seems to be 22,000 each way at the lowest from the US, but Delta no longer publishes an award chart.  It’s not always easy to predict what their saver price is, because they seem to change from day to day.  When I searched a few different routes, the lowest I could find was 22,000, but that could go up or down depending on the Delta god’s mood on any given day.  Just kidding. Kind of.

Alternatives to booking Delta flights

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Reward to AirFrance FlyingBlue. Since AirFrance/KLM are SkyTeam alliance partners with Delta, you can use FlyingBlue miles to book Delta flights.  Like Delta, there is no published award chart, but the lowest cost seems to be 17,500 each way.  Their prices also seem a little more stable than Delta.

Amex Membership Rewards and SPG Starpoints also transfer to AirFrance/KLM FlyingBlue.  Although both programs transfer to Delta, it may make more sense to transfer to FlyingBlue since the award ticket cost seems to be cheaper.  As always, never transfer any points to any program until you’ve confirmed availability and pricing for your dates.

Cost (each way) from US to Liberia, Costa Rica on Delta flights:

• 22,000 Delta Skymiles.  But remember, their award prices are pretty unpredictable so this could change anytime.
• 17,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to KLM/AirFrance FlyingBlue
• 17,500 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred to KLM/AirFrance FlyingBlue

Alaska Airlines flies nonstop from LAX to Liberia, Costa Rica 

• SPG Starpoints transfer to Alaska Airlines at a 1:1 ratio.
• Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards Points do not transfer directly to Alaska Airlines, but you can still book Alaska Airlines flights with other Chase UR and Amex MR partners.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan charges 15,000-17,500 miles each way for flights from the US to Costa Rica.  According to the award chart, the cost is 17,500.  (There is a promotion going on right now so some dates are currently pricing at 15,000 each way).

You can also book Alaska Airlines flights with AAdvantage for 17,500 miles each way and vice versa.

Alternatives for booking Alaska Airlines flights to Costa Rica

You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and then use KrisFlyer miles to book Alaska Airlines flights.

From LAX, the cost is only 12,000 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles each way.  At first glance, this award chart seems great.  Zone 3 (Texas) to Zone 4 (Costa Rica) prices at 7,500 miles.  But the catch is that this works like British Airways in that you’re charged per segment.  So if direct DFW-LIR was an option, that would be great!  The reality is that from DFW (and any other airport than LAX) you’re looking at 2 or 3 segments each way.

Cost (each way) from US to Liberia, Costa Rica on Alaska Airlines flights:

• 17,500 Alaska Airlines miles (less on some dates thanks to a promotion a the time of publishing)
• 17,500 SPG points transferred to Alaska Airlines
• (direct to and from LAX only) 12,000 Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
• From airports other than LAX, the cost of booking with KrisFlyer miles will vary depending on your departure city.

JetBlue flies nonstop from New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS)

Im going to be completely honest here.  With me being in DFW and JetBlue being based up north, I just haven’t had enough experience with their award program to give any info.

The best credit cards to earn the points and miles needed for free flights to Costa Rica

This depends on a few factors.

1. Your Chase 5/24 status*
2. Your departure airport

*I wrote a whole post about the 5/24 policy as it relates to earning the miles and points needed for Costa Rica, so please read it before applying for any cards!!

The short version: Chase is the issuer of some of the best credit cards for travel. Chase limits the amount of credit cards one can open in a 24 month period.  It is generally believed that anyone who has opened 5 or more credit cards in the past 24 months will not be approved for certain Chase credit cards. This includes any credit card account that shows on your credit report, not just Chase accounts. Once you’re at 5/24, Chase will deny an application for a card subject to 5/24 such as Chase Sapphire Reserve.  

If you are under 5/24, I would suggest a Chase Sapphire card to most beginners

The best card for beginners is usually a Chase Sapphire card such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve.  The other Chase Sapphire card that earns Ultimate Rewards is the Chase Ink Business Preferred card, so if you qualify for a business card, you should consider that one.

You can have a Chase Ink Business Preferred card and a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred open, but you cannot have the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve open at the same time.

Once you have a Sapphire card that earns Ultimate Rewards, the next cards you should consider are any hotel or airline cards issued by Chase that are subject to the 5/24 rule (which is virtually all Chase cards).

If you’re over 5/24, you still have options for flights to Costa Rica on miles

I would probably suggest opening a card that earns Amex Membership Rewards such as the Platinum Card or the Gold Card.  The welcome bonus will be higher on the Platinum, but so will the annual fee.  I would do this before going for airline co-branded cards, because Amex points give you flexibility to transfer to different airline programs, whereas airline cards limit you to earning miles in one program.

The last option is to open airline co-branded cards (from banks other than Chase).  Since Chase is the bank that issues Southwest and United credit cards, and these cards are 5/24 cards, you would not be approved if you’re over 5/24.

American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta cards are issued by other banks, so you may be able to get those even if you’re over 5/24.

Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards have partners that give you the ability to book flights with several airlines either directly or indirectly

For that reason, I generally suggest getting cards that earn Chase UR or Amex MR before getting airline co-branded cards.  Earning flexible points gives you more options when you’re ready to book your flights. You can check availability on multiple airlines rather than being limited to just one program.  If there are multiple options, go with the program that charges the least amount of miles/points and then transfer.

Note that SPG Starpoints also transfer to several of these airlines, but I won’t discuss that as much since I will not be collecting Starpoints from credit card spending after August 1.

A few tips remember:

• Confirm availability for your dates before you transfer any points. Transfers are permanent.
• Although transfers from Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards tend to show up in your airline account immediately, I suggest putting an award flight on hold if possible before you transfer.  Not all airlines allow this, but in the event that there is a delay of the points being received, you can be certain that your ticket will still be available.

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer options for Costa Rica flights: 

You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards directly to United MileagePlus, JetBlue True Blue, or Southwest Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 ratio

Indirect partners of Chase UR:

• American Airlines by transferring Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and then using British Airways Avios (miles) to book the AA flight. Or by by transferring Ultimate Rewards points to Iberia and then using Iberia to book
• Alaska Airlines by transferring Ultimate Rewards to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and then using KrisFlyer miles to book the Alaska Airlines flight
• Delta by transferring Ultimate Rewards to KLM/AirFrance FlyingBlue and then using FlyingBlue miles to book the Delta flight
• Delta by transferring Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and then using those miles to book the Delta flight

See also: How to book Delta flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards points

See also: How to book American Airlines with British Airways Avios (or Chase UR or Amex MR)

American Express Membership Rewards transfer options for Costa Rica flights: 

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards directly to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.  You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards directly to JetBlue but not at a 1:1 ratio.

Indirect partners of Amex MR:

• American Airlines by transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club and then using British Airways Avios (miles) to book the AA flight.  You can also use Iberia, Qantas, Cathay, or Etihad miles to book AA flights.
• Alaska Airlines by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and then using KrisFlyer miles to book the Alaska Airlines flight
• United by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and then using KrisFlyer miles to book the United flight.
• Delta by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to KLM/AirFrance FlyingBlue and then using FlyingBlue miles to book the Delta flight.  Or by transferring Amex MR to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and then using those miles to book the Delta flight.  This may result in a lower cost than using Delta, even though Delta is a direct partner of Amex.

See also: how to book American Airlines flights with Etihad miles (or Amex MR)

There is no way to book Southwest flights with Amex Membership Rewards points.

Summary

If you’re a beginner, you and a spouse/partner can earn flights to Costa Rica for only the prices of airlines taxes (~$80 each) if you each open a credit card or two and earn the welcome bonuses. You can be on your way to Costa Rica in less than a year if you start today!

Before you apply for any cards, remember to plan around the Chase 5/24 rule.

One or more of the offers mentioned in this post may have expired.  Click here for a current list of all of our top credit card offers.

Advertiser disclosure: The Miles Genie has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products.  The Miles Genie and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.