Fly To Paradise: American Airlines New Miami-South Caicos Route Opens Up Hidden Points Treasure
Fly To Paradise: American Airlines New Miami-South Caicos Route Opens Up Hidden Points Treasure
Each Saturday morning Adrian Waltz pulls new flights added and flights removed from airline schedules and this week he found something really interesting from American Airlines.
- I love to see American adding Fort Myers and Tampa from New York, and Alaska announced this week a bunch of new flights out of Boise plus some surprising Mexico service from non-hub airports.
- One route in particular, that I hadn’t known was coming, really stood out: Miami to South Caicos airport.
- That’s only about 600 miles, and 50 miles further than flying to Providenciales, but opens up new resort opportunities.
The latest Diio update had the following adds (Green), and removals (Red) of domestic routes by major carriers this week. pic.twitter.com/HGBCYhCbHC
— AdrianWaltz (@AdrianWaltz) July 13, 2024
South Caicos airport isn’t even the third or fourth largest airport in Turks and Caicos. Currently I believe the only commercial air service there is InterCaribbean to the main international airport, Providenciales and Caicos Airways Express domestic flights.
And more significantly, South Caicos airport hasn’t even had immigration and customs. Even private aircraft had to first stop in Providenciales or Grand Turk, clear, and continue to South Caicos.
I really like some of the small plays American has done in the Caribbean the past few years, like adding flights to Beef Island in the BVI and adding the James Bond flight to Ocho Rios. They take regional jets and experiment with more efficient ways of helping passengers reach desirable destinations.
That’s great for passengers looking to go to these places, and also makes it more likely that passengers will go. I absolutely love the setting and suites at Park Hyatt St. Kitts, for instance, but find there’s just not enough St. Kitts air service to make visits convenient (I flew earlier this year on American via Miami in both directions).
But what makes South Caicos airport so interesting? Because it’s home to one of the nicest and best close-by uses of Hilton Honors points as part of their new partnership with SLH Hotels: Sailrock Resort.
You can book a 955 square foot (including covered terrace) Ridgetop Ocean View Suite using 130,000 Hilton points per night (with 5th night free for elites) and the property runs around $1,500 a night in winter. That’s perhaps 2-3 times what I usually see Hilton points as worth, and for a nicer place than over 99% of redemption options. Credit card free night awards can be used here as well.
Last year when I went to Turks and Caicos I stayed on Grace Bay Beach using points at Point Grace Resort because it was so much easier with a then-four year old, avoiding the extra flight. But I would have preferred Sail Rock.
