Cash, portal, or points? I ran the numbers

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As a digital nomad, I’m constantly booking flights. Most of the time, I try to book my travel well in advance so I can get the best deal. Unfortunately, life gets in the way, and sometimes I need to book an international flight close to departure.

I’m headed to Medellin, Colombia, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the end of May. I compared three different options for booking my flight — here’s how they stacked up, and what I ultimately chose.

I travel with my cat, so I try to prioritize direct flights whenever possible. I’m also a cardholder of the Avianca LifeMiles American Express Elite Card, so I normally fly Avianca whenever I’m in Latin America. Avianca also generally has the best connectivity among airlines in South America, so it’s an easy choice.

There’s a nonstop flight between Buenos Aires (EZE) and Medellin (MDE). To book the flight directly with Avianca, I’d pay $415.60 for a light fare, $463.80 for a classic fare, or $570.80 for a flex fare. I normally book the classic fare because I can pick a Plus seat for free with the Silver Elite status I get through my Avianca credit card.

In addition, I’ll earn a total of 9x LifeMiles on my booking — 6x for booking a classic ticket, and 3x bonus miles by using my Avianca credit card.

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Unfortunately, booking through a credit card travel portal is often more expensive than booking directly with the airline. For this route, it’s roughly $14 more expensive to book through each of the major travel portals. Plus, you’re stuck with a 1-cent per point value if you want to use your rewards to book your flight.

Here’s how much I’d spend if I booked my flight through the four major portals:

• Chase Travel:
  • $429 for light (42,850 Ultimate Rewards points)
  • $477 for classic (47,660 Ultimate Rewards points)
  • $584 for flex (58,360 Ultimate Rewards points)
  • I’d earn 5x points if paying for the flight using my Chase Sapphire Preferred
• Capital One Travel:
  • $429 for light (42,850 Capital One Miles)
  • $477 for classic (47,660 Capital One Miles)
  • $584 for flex (58,360 Capital One Miles)
  • I’d earn 5x Capital One Miles if paying for the flight using my Capital One Venture X
• Citi Travel
  • $429 for light (42,850 Citi ThankYou Rewards points)
  • No option to book other fare classes.
  • I’d earn 6x Citi ThankYou Rewards points if paying for the flight using my Citi Strata Elite
• Amex Travel:
  • $477 for classic (44,450 Membership Rewards points thanks to Insider Fares)
  • No option to book other fare classes.
  • I’d earn 5x MR points if paying for the flight using my American Express Platinum Card

My other option would be to book my flight using Avianca miles. As an Avianca LifeMiles American Express Elite Card holder, I get a LifeMiles+ membership, which gives me up to 25% off Avianca award flights.

For this flight, I’d spend:

• Light: 13,770 LifeMiles, plus $96.40 in taxes and fees
• Classic: 16,970 LifeMiles, plus $96.40 in taxes and fees
• Flex: 17,870 LifeMiles, plus $96.40 in taxes and fees

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​One elite status, two airlines' worth of perks

Here’s how the math shakes down to book a classic fare on my desired flight:

• Paying cash through Avianca: $463.80
• Using miles through Avianca: 16,970, plus $96.40 in taxes and fees
• Paying cash through a travel portal: $477
• Using points through a travel portal: As low as 44,450 Membership Rewards points

Clearly, the winner is booking through Avianca. However, whether I pay for the flight to earn points or redeem my points is a personal preference.

If I choose to redeem my points, I’ll get a value of 2.16 cents per LifeMile, after factoring in taxes and fees. Although it’s not the best value I’ve ever gotten from LifeMiles, it’s still a great option. Or, I could earn roughly 4,000 LifeMiles by paying for the flight with my Avianca credit card.

The other thing to consider is whether there’s an active transfer bonus. I have enough LifeMiles in my account to book this flight, but if I didn’t, there was a 25% bonus on Citi ThankYou Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles transfers. That means I could’ve transferred just 14,000 Citi ThankYou Points to book my flight. That’s clearly far better than paying 42,850 ThankYou Points to book a lower fare class through the Citi Travel portal.

In the end, I booked the flight using my LifeMiles. April was an expensive month (thanks, taxes), so my priority was spending as little as possible to get to Medellin.

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