• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Cuba

How to Travel to Cuba With Miles

By
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
and
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
and
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 20, 2016, 9:00 AM ET
488586965
Pastel colored buildings near city center, Havana, CubaPhotograph by Danita Delimont — Getty Images/Gallo Images

It’s not too early to think about using your frequent flyer miles to get to Cuba.

In the last 14 months, President Obama has relaxed restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba, which made it easier—though far from hassle-free—to plan a trip to the island nation. I know from experience, having visited twice since then. The first time, I had to book through a Canadian company and buy my visa en route in Grand Cayman. The second time, I had to fill out a travel application that stated I would be visiting for “journalistic activity,” and arrive at the airport five hours before my charter flight to Santa Maria.

But soon there will be scheduled commercial flights from the U.S. to Cuba—as early as September, in fact. Airlines were asked to submit their proposed routes the other week. Nine companies are vying for a chance to fly, including Southwest, JetBlue, and the three major carriers.

Once flights are for sale, they should also be available for redemption using frequent flyer miles. Here’s what you’re likely to see from the airlines.

American Airlines

American (AAL), which has a hub in Miami, stands to operate the most flights to Cuba. The carrier is proposing to fly to five cities besides Havana, and is likely to get many of them since Havana is limited to just 20 daily flights from the U.S., out of a total of 110 a day to the country.

American is changing its rates for award tickets on March 22; though you’ll generally need to redeem more miles for flights, not all of the changes are negative. Havana is about 330 miles from Miami, so getting there could be a real mileage deal. Flights to the Caribbean in general will also be cheaper: economy seats will cost 15,000 miles versus the current 17,500 and business-class tickets will be 25,000 miles instead of 27,500.

Delta Air Lines

Delta (DAL) will likely operate flights to Havana from their largest hub, which is in Atlanta. On Delta you can redeem 15,000 SkyMiles each way for economy or 30,000 SkyMiles each way for first class, though peak periods cost more.

United Airlines

United (UAL) recently announced flights from Newark/New York, Houston, Washington D.C., and Chicago to Havana. Awards to Cuba will cost 17,500 miles each way for economy or 30,000 miles for business/first class.

For more on travel, watch this Fortune video:

Southwest Airlines

Southwest (LUV) has applied to operate nonstop service to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando. Awards on Southwest are based on the type of fare you purchase, but for Wanna Get Away flights you can generally get 1.9 cents per point in value, so a $500 Wanna Get Away fare to Cuba would cost about 26,300 Rapid Rewards points.

Jet Blue

Scott Resnick, JetBlue’s (JBLU) director of loyalty marketing, told me, “We envision TrueBlue flight redemptions will be allowed for travel on JetBlue commercial flights between the U.S and Cuba subject to any restrictions in place.” It looks like these flights will take off from New York JFK, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa.

Similar to Southwest, JetBlue awards are based on the type of fare you buy, but for Blue fare economy you can generally get 1.6 cents per point in value. A $500 Blue fare to Cuba would cost about 31,250 TrueBlue points.

There are still many factors to take into account before a “best” program can be determined, like the cost of fares, since JetBlue and Southwest peg their awards to the ticket price. If seats are cheap due to the new supply on the market, then JetBlue and Southwest (and American from Miami) will be clear winners. If fares are comparable to what they are now ($600 or more in economy and $1,000-plus in first class), then United and Delta may make more sense because their programs are based on zones.

More from T+L:
• How to Use Miles to Get a Seat Upgrade
• How a Trip to Mumbai Ended With my Bollywood Debut
• Airbnb Is Now in Cuba—A Major Win, With a Major Caveat

No matter what, travel between the U.S. and Cuba will be easier than ever before. If you’ve never considered Cuba as an option, you might want to—especially if you’ve got a stash of frequent flyer miles burning a hole in your pocket.

This article was previously published on Travel + Leisure.

About the Authors
By Brian Kelly
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Travel + Leisure
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Meet the first CEO of the IRS: A Jamie Dimon protege facing a $5 trillion test this tax season
By Shawn TullyJanuary 31, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Startups & Venture
Silicon Valley legend Kleiner Perkins was written off. Then an unlikely VC showed up
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 31, 2026
23 hours ago

Latest in

C-SuiteRetail
Meet Walmart’s new CEO, John Furner: Once an hourly worker, today he takes charge of the top company in the Fortune 500
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
SuccessOlympics
U.S. Olympic gold medalist went from $200,000-a-year sponsorship at 20 years old to $12-an-hour internship by 30
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
PoliticsImmigration
Trump voter in key swing district is horrified by his immigration crackdown. ‘We’re not a Third World country. What the hell is going on?’
By Nicholas Riccardi and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
PoliticsElections
Democrat stuns Texas GOP in special election for a state senate district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024, adding to signs of a blue wave
By John Hanna and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
2 hours ago
PoliticsCuba
Trump says the U.S. is ‘starting to talk to Cuba’ as he moves to cut its oil supplies
By Michelle L. Price, Will Weissert and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago
PoliticsNATO
Trump’s fight with NATO over Greenland ‘crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed’ and weakens the alliance long term, expert says
By Lorne Cook and The Associated PressFebruary 1, 2026
3 hours ago