Costa Rica Case Study: Points and Miles Free Up Budget for Coffee, Chocolate and . . . Agua de Sopa

Frank McBride • April 2, 2025

When I travel, I like to report how the points and miles game fits into our plans. After all, if I am going to dispense advice about turning credit card spending into free travel, I need to lead by example and "show my work."

In January, Ms. Optimizer and I took a trip to Costa Rica to learn more about this fascinating country, its regions and climates, and its famously diverse flora and fauna. Although we usually plan our own trips, we took this one as part of a group with the Road Scholar organization (which creates and runs a broad range of excellent tours in Costa Rica and throughout the world).

Because the tour was mostly inclusive while in Costa Rica, we did not leverage points and miles as much as we would have if we planned the trip ourselves. Nonetheless, miles and points still played a role in making our trip less expensive and more comfortable.

We used 78,000 Delta SkyMiles for two round trip tickets to San Jose. These tickets had a fair market value of $1054 so our redemption came to 1.4 cents per SkyMile which is fairly good for Delta.

We have one Amex Delta Gold card which got us a 15% discount when redeeming SkyMiles as well as free checked bags.

Our Amex Platinum cards gave us access to airport lounges at our home airport and the San Jose airport. We also visited the spacious Centurion lounge in Atlanta during layovers both on our way to Costa Rica and when returning home.

We used the airline fee credit that comes with the Amex Platinum card to purchase better seats for our Delta flights.

We used Uber several times in San Jose and the cost of some of those trips was offset by the monthly Uber credit that comes with our Amex Platinum card.

Overall, using miles and points saved us about $1200 leaving us with more money for the excellent Costa Rican coffee, chocolate, museum admissions, souvenirs, and a refreshing beverage called Agua de Sopa (which literally translates to “toad water”).

Costa Rica is justifiably well known for ecotourism, but we also enjoyed the few days we spent in its capital, San Jose. A couple of recommendations if spending time in San Jose . . .

It is easy to see several key museums and sights as they are located along a 600 meter/yard section of Avenida Central. These include the National Museum of Costa Rica, the Jade Museum, the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, and the National Theater. While the museums do not require timed entry tickets, the National Theater does for its guided tours (Spanish and English).

The San Jose Central Market (also on Avenida Central and about 500 meters from the National Theater) is a fascinating maze of stores selling produce, meats and fish, crafts, and souvenirs. There are also several eateries for quick and inexpensive meals. The key mistake I made on this trip was NOT buying typical Costa Rican crafts and souvenirs here. We learned there was less selection and things cost more elsewhere.

For this trip to Costa Rica, like other trips we have taken in recent years, the well-planned use of miles and points played a significant role in our travel by not only saving us money, but also by enhancing our travel with more comfort and convenience.

Whether you are interested in seeing sloths and toucans, admiring the craftsmanship of pre-Columbian goldsmiths, sipping great coffee right where it was grown or any other type of travel adventure, we are prepared to design a custom Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you that will quickly generate free and reduced cost travel while keeping your annual credit card fees under control.

We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.

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