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Travel from New York (JFK), Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, or Washington DC to Baranquilla, Colombia for $251.50 roundtrip this summer.
Contents:
- When are the $251 fares?
- Why Baranquilla, Colombia?
- Layover Trip to Panama Canal
- Mileage Earning
- Best Credit Card to Buy the Ticket
- Copa Baggage Policy
$251 Roundtrip to Baranquilla, Colombia
Sample Dates: JFK-BAQ, Friday September 4 – Sunday September 13 on Copa
Search on ITA Matrix by calendar of lowest fares for acceptable trip lengths. Here are searches I ran for Los Angeles and New York in September.
There are also cheap dates from Miami, Chicago, and Washington DC to Baranquilla in August and September.
Hover over a departure date with $252 roundtrips.
Select the number of nights you’d like the roundtrip to be.
You cannot book on ITA Matrix. Instead note the dates and search on copaair.com.
Any flights you find on ITA Matrix should be able to recreate on copaair.com. Here is a sample itinerary from Friday September 4 until Sunday September 13 for $251.50 all in.
I do not see good deals for one way awards or for awards with a multi-day stopover in Panama.
You cannot use these fares for a trip to Panama. If you miss any flight, say Panama to Baranquilla, the rest of your ticket is canceled.
Why Baranquilla, Colombia?
Baranquilla is just a few hours by car from Cartagena, a major colonial, waterfront destination and Santa Marta, the gateway to Parque Nacional Tayrona and the Ciudad Perdida hike.
I’ve been to Colombia three times in the last year, but only Bogota and Medellin. My next trip, I want to go to the northern coast to hike the Ciudad Perdida and camp in Parque Nacional Tayrona.
Panama Canal Layover
On the sample itinerary above, the layover in Panama City is 7 hours on the way to Colombia, jplenty of time to visit the Panama Canal like I did a few weeks ago.
On most days, all the possible itineraries are the same price, so choose a short layover one way and a long one the other way to enjoy the canal.
Mileage Earning
These are T class fares from Copa. United offers 50% mileage earning on Copa T fare.
Here are the one way distances, according to gcmap.com, of each of the five routings. These are the number of United miles you’d earn on a roundtrip.
Best Way to Buy the Ticket
You should definitely purchase your Copa ticket with a credit card that imposes no foreign transaction fees. Your top choice should be the Citi Prestige® Card, since it comes with a $250 Air Travel Credit every calendar year that will cover the purchase of this ticket. If you haven’t used the credit yet, buy this fare with your Prestige, and you will receive an offsetting credit on your next statement, so the total cost of the ticket is $1.50.
Even if you’ve already used your $250 credit for this year, the card offers 3x on all airfare purchases.
See my review of the Citi Prestige Card which explains its many benefits like it annual $250 Air Travel Credit, 40,000 point sign up bonus, access to Priority Pass lounges, 3x points per dollar on air travel and hotels, and a $450 annual fee.
Copa Baggage Policy
You can take one carry on and one personal item for free. You can have two checked bags of up to 50 pounds each for free. (Full policy.)
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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