How to Get to the Caribbean on Points and Miles

If you're dreaming of white sandy beaches, piña coladas, and coconuts, you may be able to put your points and miles to get to the Caribbean. 

Below are a bunch of popular Caribbean locations, including some US citizens can visit without holding a passport. This list is by no means exhaustive, but a sampling of what’s possible. All locations below are widely accessible from major US airline carriers.

All estimates are roundtrip, economy tickets.

San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)

Fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico for as few as 24,000 miles roundtrip. 

• From Philadelphia: 32K American Airlines miles roundtrip
• From Newark (EWR): 24K JetBlue points roundtrip
• From Atlanta (ATL):  40K Delta SkyMiles roundtrip
• From Baltimore (BWI): 23K Southwest points roundtrip

Read more: Going’s guide to Puerto Rico 

Nassau, Bahamas (NAS)

Fly to the Bahamas starting at 15,000 miles roundtrip. 

• From New York/Newark (JFK): 15K  JetBlue points roundtrip
• From Atlanta (ATL): 32K Delta SkyMiles roundtrip
• From Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL): 15K Southwest points roundtrip

Read more: The Bahamas is featured in Going’s list of Where to Go in 2024!

Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ)

Fly to Jamaica for as few as 24,000 miles roundtrip.

• From Atlanta (ATL): 40K Delta SkyMiles roundtrip
• From Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW): 24K American Airlines miles roundtrip
• From Chicago-Midway (MDW): 16K Southwest points roundtrip

Read more: Going’s guide to Jamaica

St. Lucia (UVF)

Fly to St. Lucia for as few as 32,000 miles roundtrip.

• From New York (JFK): 40K JetBlue points roundtrip
• From Charlotte (CLT): 36K American Airlines miles roundtrip
• From Atlanta (ATL): 60K Delta SkyMiles roundtrip (yes, this one’s a little pricier)
• From Miami (MIA): 32K American Airlines miles roundtrirp

Read more: Going’s guide to St. Lucia

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)

Fly to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (where Going staff went!) for as few as 14,000 miles roundtrip.

• From Baltimore/Washington (BWI): 32K Southwest points roundtrip
• From New York (JFK): 14K JetBlue points roundtrip
• From Charlotte (CLT): 38K American Airlines miles roundtrip

Read more: Going’s guide to cheap flight deals to the Caribbean, including cash fare deals we’ve sent to members in the past!

What cards can help get you to the Caribbean quicker? 

Holding a travel credit card is the easiest way to earn the points and miles you need to travel to the Caribbean.

The welcome offers on the cards are worth attention because just earning that bonus could net you enough points or miles to fly for free. However, you’ll also want to pay attention to how the card earns points in the long run to see if it aligns with your spending habits. 

When looking for a travel credit card, there are two main types to help you get to the Caribbean: general-purpose travel credit cards and airline credit cards.

General-purpose travel credit cards

If it’s a general-purpose, flexible travel credit card, you’ll want to check who its airline transfer partners are. 

If you want to fly JetBlue to the Caribbean, these cards all earn points that transfer 1:1 to JetBlue. 

If you want to fly Delta to the Caribbean, these cards all earn points that transfer 1:1 to Delta.

Cards with British Airways or Flying Blue as transfer partners: The cards above all count British Airways and Flying Blue as transfer partners. The following cards also do, too:

These partners matter because sometimes you can book an award flight on one airline, like American, using another airline’s miles, such as British Airways Avios. Our guide explains how to leverage partner airlines when booking points.

Just be aware that the ability to book partner airlines varies widely by the timing of your booking and the specific flight you’re eyeing. Also, be aware that you cannot transfer miles from one partner to another: e.g. your Delta SkyMiles can’t be transferred to Flying Blue or vice versa. 

Airline credit cards

If it’s an airline credit card, you’ll earn miles to redeem with that particular airline. Consider the additional perks it may offer, like a companion pass, free checked bag, or priority upgrades. 

Some options might include: 

Our guide to airline companion passes walks you through all the cards offering companion passes and explains how to earn one with each. 

How to book flights to the Caribbean on points and miles

Many of the “award flights”—the lingo we use when talking about booking a seat with points or miles—originate from the eastern or midwestern US. That’s because searches for flights originating from the western US most often involve a connection. 

Remember that when we are looking for the best points redemptions, it’s best to focus on the longest leg of your journey. In most cases, this will be your flight to a Caribbean island, not a positioning domestic flight. 

Methodology: When to go?

Although it may sound odd to include the words “methodology” and “beach” in the same sentence, I wanted to explain to you how I came up with these points and miles figures. 

I focused my searches during low or shoulder seasons because those seasons can be when you find cheap flight deals. This generally follows for points, too. (For example, flying to Paris in the summer is considered peak season any year, but with the Olympics this summer, the number of points needed to fly there can get astronomical.) 

For a region as large as the Caribbean with so many unique traditions, countries, and cultures, there’s no one specific month that is the shoulder season, so you may want to do some research on the specific island you’re hoping to visit before searching.

I generally avoided peak season, which includes winter and spring break. Of course, if you want to escape the winter cold, experience Carnival festivities, or just soak up the sun over spring break, that’s still possible with points—just anticipate prices to be a bit higher.