How to Travel to Mexico City Using Miles and Points

Let’s be honest — you’d love to be eating street tacos in Mexico City right now. With its mix of rich history, buzzing neighborhoods, and some of the best food in the world, CDMX is hard to beat.

And while it’s not always the cheapest place to visit, you don’t have to drain your savings. With the right travel credit cards, you can use points and miles to cover flights and hotel stays and make your trip a lot more affordable.

How I Saved Over $2,000 on My Mexico City Trip

To offer you some “street cred” on how I practice what I preach, I recently booked a trip to Mexico City — all with miles and points — and saved over $2,000 in the process.

Here’s how I did it:

• Flights: Round-trip from Vancouver (YVR) to Mexico City (MEX) for 25,000 Aeroplan points (transferred from my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card). Cash saved: $804

• Hotels: Three Hyatt Free Night Awards from my The World of Hyatt Credit Card. Cash saved: $996

• Bonus Night: One night at a Hyatt Category 4 property using 15,000 Hyatt points transferred from my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Cash saved: $332

Total saved: $2,132. Not too shabby for a fabulous five-day trip to Mexico City. 😎

Now that you know it can be done, let’s break down some of the best ways to make a trip like this happen for yourself, all thanks to miles and points.

Best Ways to Fly to Mexico City with Points

Assuming you’re coming from the U.S. or Canada, these are our favorite options to get to Mexico:

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Thanks to Virgin Atlantic and its SkyTeam partnership with Aeromexico, you can book nonstop flights to Mexico City from major U.S. cities like New York (JFK) for just 11,500 miles or Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) for only 7,000 miles.

Air Canada Aeroplan

We love Aeroplan around here, thanks to its extensive list of partner airlines and trusty distance-based award chart.

I personally flew on Air Canada from Vancouver (YVR) down to Mexico City (MEX) for just 12,800 Aeroplan points. However, you can also use Aeroplan’s program to book flights on one of its partner airlines, such as United. Flights departing from both San Francisco (SFO) and Chicago (ORD) run at a reasonable 15,000 points.

British Airways Avios

British Airways and American are partner airlines, which allows you to book partner award flights. Using British Airways Avios is typically more valuable for shorter American flights, such as flying from the U.S. to Mexico.

For example, flights from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) start at 16,000 Avios. I’ve also seen flights at that price point from other cities, such as Los Angeles (LAX).

Delta SkyMiles

Delta is a fan-favorite, and I know many loyalists are still out there! Delta can offer great value with award bookings (via their partner, Aeromexico), but it also has the potential to be… meh.

For instance, nonstop flights from Houston (IAH) will only cost you 10,000 Delta SkyMiles, but these prices can soar above 25,000 and even 30,000 miles from other cities, such as Seattle and Atlanta — so keep this in mind when running your searches.

Best Points Hotels in Mexico City

World of Hyatt

The best award redemption option for Hyatt hotels in Mexico City is the Andaz Mexico City Condesa — a Category 4 property with rates that start as low as 12,000 World of Hyatt points per night for off-peak rates. It’s located in one of the most walkable neighborhoods and offers great amenities, including a rooftop pool.

With cash rates that often soar upwards of $250 per night, that’s fantastic value (in a fantastic location).

Marriott Bonvoy

The Four Points by Sheraton Mexico City, Colonia Roma is an excellent hotel in a very lush and vibrant neighborhood. Cash prices hover around $200 a night, or you can book using around 21,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.

Or, if you’re looking for something more luxurious, The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City generally offers award nights around 70,000 to 80,000 points per night, though you may be able to book it for less than that during less busy periods.

Hilton Honors

If you’re sitting on a stash of Hilton Honors points you’re looking to redeem, look at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma or Umbral, Curio Collection by Hilton. Both are centrally located and have rooftop pools. The Hilton typically costs 45,000 points per night, while The Umbral goes for 55,000 points. The Umbral is a bit more stylish and modern, but the Hilton has an executive lounge that elite members (or certain Hilton cardholders) will appreciate.

Best Credit Cards for Booking Award Trips to Mexico City

Which Cards Are Best for Flights?

Credit cards that earn transferable points will give you the most flexibility when booking flights. These are some of our favorites:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Transfer to Air Canada, British Airways, United Airlines, or Virgin Atlantic

• The Platinum Card® from American Express or AAmerican Express® Gold Card: Transfer to Air Canada, British Airways, Delta Airlines, or Virgin Atlantic

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Transfer to British Airways or Virgin Atlantic

Of course, it never hurts to have an airline-specific credit card, especially if you want to be loyal to that individual airline and its program.

Which Cards Are Best for Hotels?

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Transfer to World of Hyatt

• Also consider The World of Hyatt Credit Card for Hyatt stays

• Any Marriott Bonvoy co-branded card for Marriott stays

• Any IHG One Rewards co-branded card for IHG stays

• Any Hilton Honors co-branded card for Hilton stays

How to Calculate If an Award Is Worth It

Sometimes, paying cash might make more sense if you’ll get poor value for using your points. Luckily, you can access Daily Drop’s point value calculator, which will find that value for you.

Or if you’d rather show off your math skills, you can use this formula:

(cash price) - (taxes and fees) / (points cost) = value per point

In my case, the cash price for my round-trip flights to Mexico City would have cost me $804. I opted to use 25,000 points with $85 in taxes and fees — this yielded a value of 2.9 cents per point, which I was pretty happy with.

In general, you’ll want to get at least 2 cents per point for credit card points.

Bottom Line

From amazing food to vibrant neighborhoods and deep cultural roots, Mexico City has it all. With the right travel cards and smart redemptions, you can experience it all without breaking the bank.

Whether you want to fly in style, stay in a luxury hotel, or just get the most value from your points, your next trip to CDMX could be closer than you think. And if you want to take the time and guesswork out of running your own searches, consider using Daily Drop Pro to find those points deals for you!