I may have needlessly complicated this, but I’ve booked the final flights for our SAS Million Mile challenge on Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines and I’m looking forward to a little adventure in Mexico.
A Trip To Mexico To Fly The Final Two Carriers To Complete SAS Million Mile Challange: Aeromexico + Delta
First, here is some background on the SAS EuroBonus Million Mile Challenge.
While my son Augustine and I were able to cover 13 SkyTeam carriers on our trip around the world, we still needed two to finish the challenge and I deliberately left two low-hanging fruit: Aeromexico and Delta. From Southern California, it is quite easy to fly either one.
But not as easy as I thought…
I wanted to spend a day in Mexico City and fly Delta in one direction and Aeromexico in the other…an easy trip…but fares were over 600 USD each for economy class! Come on….
So I got a little creative and booked a Delta ticket from Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Cabos (SJD) for 174 USD (tickets were available for 124 USD, but booked into “basic economy” which does not earn SAS miles). Then I booked Cabo to Tijuana (TIJ) via Mexico City (MEX) on Aeromexico for only $53!
Tijuana is a Mexican border town near San Diego. We will cross over into the USA and then complete our trip with a United Airlines flight from San Diego (SAN) to LA. That flight was 384 USD one-way so I used 6,000 Aeroplan miles to book it….not a bad redemption, albeit hardly a sexy one.
We have a long layover in Cabo so I want to take Augustine into Los Cabos and see El Arco…in Mexico City I will stop by the Venezuelan Embassy to check on my dormant tourist visa…I am hoping it is still valid.
I wanted to stay at the Andaz in Mexico City, but we’ll stay at the Hyatt Regency instead because of the indoor pool for Augustine…that’s his top amenity. I am not a huge fan of the Regency Club breakfast at the Hyatt Regency, but the pool will make his day (and the sauna and steam room will make my day).
We will also go out for midnight tacos after arriving late from Los Cabos…
So it’s going to be a fun little trip and hopefully not quite as grueling as our jaunt around the world. Like last time, I’ll bring you real-time style updates along the way.
Did you consider Amtrak home to Los Angeles from San Diego?
I did, but car will be parked at LAX.
From LA Union, you can hop on the FlyAway bus to LAX to pick up the car.
I also want to check out the new Chase Sapphire Lounge in SAN…and frankly, that is far too much. It will be nighttime, so we won’t even be able to enjoy the scenery outside.
You can blame the “Digital Nomads” for high MEX airfare
Explain.
Love MEX…didn’t know it was a nomadic destination.
A lot of digital expats are in DF, but that’s hardly the reason for high airfares. The bigger issue is that the Mexican market isn’t unlike the US market and there’s a big gap between the prices of mainline carriers and the Mexican ULCCs.
Remember to use the CBX bridge when you land in Tijuana and cross back to San Diego. You can purchase tickets for it in advance online for cheaper.
Absolutely!
Might it have been easier or less expensive to drive (~2.5 hours) and park your car at SAN, with flights from and to SAN? For us non-“Left Coasters”, how far is Tijuana from SAN and what’s the best way to do it (including through the border) via ground transportation? (Presumably you and Augustine won’t have to climb any walls :-).) Thank you.
Sure hope Augustine is still enthusiastic and the entire ordeal/adventure gets him a bunch of bonus Bravo Zulu kudos (from you and your wife). It’s one thing for each of us to indulge our frequent flyer nut-job fanaticism idiosyncrasies with an occasional mileage run, it’s a horse of another color to drag someone else along on a “round the world in a week” MR.
Kinda like when I flew my Cessna 172 from NYC area to Astoria Oregon, just so the airplane could see the Pacific. 26 solo flight hours over 3 days. I never thought for a moment to ask friends or family to join me.
Congratulations on you and Augustine completing the Challenge, now Augustine can tell everyone he’s a (mileage) millionaire !
CBX order crossing + bus from TIJ to SAN. It’s pretty convenient & typically much cheaper to fly from TIJ.
“I will stop by the Venezuelan Embassy to check on my dormant tourist visa…” Not sure what the rules are for visiting a Venezuelan Embassy but usually you can’t just walk in in these places anymore. Every time I need anything from a Consulate I need to book an appointment in advance. Just make sure you know the rules or you will waste your time.
Matthew,
When are you doing a daddy/daughter trip like this with little Miss? 😉
He mentioned he would once his daughter is a little older.
Correct. This RTW trip has been hard enough for 8-year-old Augustine, but it would have been disaster for 4-year-old Claire Marie.
Additionally, generally speaking an 8 year old is able to form and remember clear memories, not so for a 4 year old. Augustine will (hopefully) remember this fondly (probably without any memories of his brief meltdown and brief illness) whereas Claire Marie would end up with distant vague memories at best. No worries, I’ve already noted to look for the daddy-daughter trip reports in 2030 (nice round number).
“We will also go out for midnight tacos after arriving late from Los Cabos…” Tacos at midnight for your little one? That’s a lot of carbs for a child that late in the day — how will he ever get to sleep? And then, how will you? Just say’n.
Augustine must’ve mastered TZs at this point one would assume
Flights to MEX are always expensive. I don’t understand it. I often fly AM from NLD or REX. Always much much cheaper than AUS or SAT.
Also, if you enter Mexico over-land, you can get a 7 day FMM for free, though in this case you’ll be doing it in reverse.
I’m curious. For the price of the flights, hotels and incidental expenses, how much will the 2mn SAS miles have cost?
I value SAS points at two cents each, so the 2,000,000 points would have been $40K.
I think Justin asked how much did you spend to earn the 2 million points?
About $7.5K.
How much in airfare for you to do this, and how much in airfare for your son to do this?
The 2 million points for $7500 should probably get you at least 10 round trip TATL business class mileage tickets before taxes and other fees. Nice run.
Do keep in mind that in addition to the 2 million FF miles, the whole adventure is generating a heap of content and thus a not insignificant amount of traffic and ad revenue. It’s not as simple as 1,000,000 miles each cost $XX. `
That too! 😉
San Diegan here. Several Big 3 Rental Car companies operate out of CBX (at rates far cheaper than SAN) US side, just do the ow car rental to LAX. You will get home to LAX probably a lot quicker. The new Chase lounge will still be there for a later day.
Make sure to look at the CBX shuttle it’s not very frequent but I think only $14 from CBX to the rental car center although with 2 of you an uber may be more competitive 😀
Which rental car center?
AT CBX, this is for Avis, Budget, & Hertz-AIRLINE PASSENGERS After crossing the skywalk bridge to the U.S. side, proceed to the Avis counter in the Arrival Terminal. Show your driver’s license to receive your preprinted rental document and keys. Rental cars are parked outside the Arrival Terminal. The CBX Shuttle takes you to the SAN airport. Good luck!