Flying On LATAM? Here's What You Need To Know

LATAM announced this week that it is pulling out of the OneWorld and partnership with American Airlines and joining Sky Alliance with Delta Airlines effective October 27, 2019. 

One World includes airlines like 

• Iberia
• British Airways 
• Finnair 

Sky Alliance includes airlines like

• Korean Air 
• KLM
• Air France 
• Aeromexico

            This is huge news for anyone planning trips to South America. 

American Airlines is one of the main carriers to South America and its partnership with LATAM (formerly LAN) meant you could use American miles to fly just about anywhere. 

When we went to Peru, we used American miles to fly LATAM from the US to Cusco, Lima and to Iquitos. All on points and all FREE. 

            If you have flights currently booked on LATAM, American Airlines says through its website that the ticket will be honored and no passengers should be disrupted. 

However, if you check the American website, you can no longer book codeshare flights JJ on LATAM. Too bad since flying on LATAM was like a breath of fresh air. They serve free drinks, food and the flight attendants were attentive and courteous. 

            If you were saving points now to use on American to South America, you may need to double-check your plan since some flights will be unavailable. 

If you were planning to use Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express points, Marriott Bonvoy points, you can transfer all of these to Delta 1:1. Marriott Bonvoy will even give you the 15,000 point bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card is offering a 100,000 point bonus right now if you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months OR if you use my referral link, you will earn 3 FREE nights with a $3,000 spend in the first 3 months. 

Good luck!