Fly to Jamaica with rewards cards – AAdvantage Citi Rewards card
The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select or World Elite Mastercard both offer 40,000 AAdvantage miles after making $2,000 in purchases in first 3 months — a pretty low threshold for a travel rewards card. You can also earn 10,000 more after spending $6,000 in the first 12 months of account opening. The annual fee of $99 is even waived for the first year.
American Airlines flights start at 12,500 miles for one-way flights from the US to the Caribbean at the MileSAAver level. Economy AAnytime are around 27,500 each way from Miami, Florida. With the sign-up bonus alone you could potentially book two round-trip flights to Kingston or Montego Bay.
Fly to Jamaica with rewards cards – Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards are favorites among travelers for a reason. Flexible point redemption options may be one of the top reasons.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months, as does the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
With those points, you can book travel directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. With that method, each point will be worth 25% more when used for travel.
One-way flights as low as 14,000 may be available, depending on the time of year. This is a solid option if you find a good deal on a flight. But for more expensive airfare, it’s worth it to transfer points to partner airlines.
If you choose that method, points are transferred on a 1:1 ratio on most airlines. Often, especially for more expensive flights, you’ll need fewer points to redeem for flights. Partnering airlines include:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- British Airway Avios
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United Airlines MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Of those, British Airways Avios might be your best bet. Award flights are based on distance, not set values, so the closer to Jamaica that your departure city is, the fewer points you’ll need. Flights from Miami to Kingston, for example, only require 7,500 Avios each way.
Air France/KLM is also an Ultimate Rewards transfer partner. Their Flying Blue program allows you to book travel on Delta to Jamaica from many U.S. destinations starting at 30,000 roundtrip.
Fly to Jamaica with rewards cards – American Express
If you want to knock some items off your bucket list in Jamaica, American Express can get you there. Just about any American Express travel reward card, including the Platinum Card from American Express, Starwood Preferred Guest Amex, or Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express, offers access to AmEx Membership Rewards. With the program, you can transfer points to any of the airlines that partner with the program.
Those include Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, and Delta SkyMiles. Delta does, however, have a tendency to offer flights for an exorbitant number of miles. But, it doesn’t hurt to check.
The Platinum Card from American Express offers 60,000 points after spending $5,000 in three months. The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express offers 75,000 points after spending $3,000 in three months. The Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express offers a whopping 100,000 points after spending the same.
All come with annual fees, though the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card is waived the first year.
Fly to Jamaica with rewards cards – Southwest Rapid Rewards cards
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Credit Card are another great way to earn point to fly to Jamaica with rewards cards. Both offer 40,000 points after $1,000 in spending in the first three months of card membership. They both come with annual fees — $69 for the Plus, $149 for the Priority — but also offer anniversary bonus points — 3,000 and 7,500, respectively.
Flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Montego Bay can be found for as little as 3,400 miles one-way for Wanna Get Away fares. That means with one card you could easily fly to a top Jamaican resort with rewards cards several times with just the sign-up bonus. Southwest doesn’t fly to Kingston, Jamaica, though.
Bottom Line
If you want to fly to Jamaica with rewards cards, there are a plethora of ways to do so. With sign-on bonuses alone, you could book reward travel and be lounging on the beach in paradise in no time. Just make sure to search award availability and flight options for a few airlines before you apply for a reward card.
The last thing you want is to sign up for an airline-specific card that has limited or expensive award options for the days you want to travel! But with rewards cards, point, and miles, it’s easy to fly from the U.S. to Jamaica for little more than taxes and fees.
