Travel to the Maldives Using Points and Miles

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Pristine beaches, overwater bungalows, world-class coral reefs—the Maldives is the paradise that every points and miles enthusiast desires.

And while flying to its capital, Malé, doesn’t usually require more than one connecting flight, a trip to the Maldives is often cost-prohibitive. As if the flight and hotel costs weren’t enough, additional expenses—from scuba diving and dining to off-site adventure activities—can easily add an extra zero or two to the end of your bill.

Let’s look at how to travel to the Maldives on points, the best airlines to fly to the Maldives with and where to stay in the Maldives, as well as some tips for maximizing your stay.

Best Airlines for Booking Your Maldives Trip

When booking your trip to the Maldives, you want to look less at the airline you’re flying with and more at the airline through which you’re booking. By booking a flight through the partner program of an airline, you can leverage distance- and zone-based award charts, unlocking lucrative award rates.

This becomes even more crucial if you’re trying to book during periods of peak travel, when dynamically priced award fares soar.

When flying to the Maldives from the United States, you’ll most likely fly with one of the following airlines:

• Singapore Airlines
• Air India
• Turkish Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Emirates
• Air France
• Sri Lankan Airlines
• Qatar Airways

However, you won’t necessarily book your flights directly with these airlines, but instead will leverage the following partner programs:

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Atmos Rewards
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Emirates Skywards

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it covers some of the most lucrative and easy-to-book redemptions options.

Let’s now look at your options for flying to the Maldives on points.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan is one of the few carriers to still use a distance- and zone-based award chart. Flights between the U.S. and the Maldives fall into the “North America and Atlantic Zones” section of the Aeroplan miles chart, with one-way partner award flights priced at the following:

• Economy: 75,000 points
• Business: 110,000 points

Whether you fly from the East or West Coast, you’ll pay the same rates to get to the Maldives through Aeroplan.

While its economy award fares aren’t particularly lucrative compared to other frequent flyer programs, its business-class award rates offer solid value.

For example, you could fly with Singapore Airlines in business class to Malé (MLE) for 110,000 points each way. Singapore operates flights from a number of East and West coast cities, making this a solid option for getting to the Maldives.

Alternatively, if you don’t mind a connection in New Delhi (DEL), you could fly with Air India to the Maldives for 110,000 points each way.

If you happen to be booking last-minute and can’t find any other affordable economy fares, you can still leverage Aeroplan’s distance-based rates to book mid-value economy fares to the Maldives. You can fly for 70,000-75,000 miles each way from a long-list of U.S. cities to the Maldives, with airlines such as Turkish, Singapore, Etihad and more.

Overall, if you’re in the market for lucrative business-class award fares or mid-range economy fares that are unaffected by dynamic pricing, Aeroplan is an excellent option for booking your holiday to the Maldives.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Air France-KLM Flying Blue may not be the best option for securing business-class award fares to the Maldives. However, the Flying Blue program is a transfer partner of all major credit card issuers, making it a program that every card user can leverage. Additionally, Air France operates flights from a long-list of U.S. cities to Paris (CDG), making it easy to connect onward to the Maldives.

Air France flies seasonally to the Maldives over the winter months, meaning award space isn’t typically abundant or cheap. However, if you have flexibility with your dates, you can score reasonable economy rates for between 50,000 and 80,000 miles. Keep in mind that Air France prices its award fares dynamically, so rates will fluctuate based on demand.

For example, you could fly from Washington D.C. to Malé for 63,000 miles in economy each way or from Atlanta for 58,000 miles each way.

And if you’re lucky, you might even find business-class award fares at reasonable rates, such as this one below for 115,000 miles from Washington D.C.

Even if you aren’t planning to fly to the Maldives during the winter months, you can still leverage the Flying Blue program to book flights to the Maldives with SkyTeam partners such as Virgin Atlantic and non-alliance partners like Etihad.

Overall, Flying Blue offers a wealth of economy flights to the Maldives at affordable rates, as long as you have flexibility with your dates.

Atmos Rewards

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards is a solid option for booking award flights to the Maldives from cities across the U.S.

When booking through Atmos, you’ll find most flights to the Maldives are operated by Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines or Condor.

For Qatar- and Condor-operated flights to Male, you’ll pay just 42,500 miles each way in economy, with a connection in Doha or Frankfurt, respectively. For business-class flights, rates start at 85,000 miles each way—that includes Qatar’s world-renowned QSuites.

Both Qatar and Condor have an expansive footprint in the U.S., operating nonstop flights to their hubs from numerous cities. This makes them a solid option for getting to the Maldives in economy on the cheap—no matter where you fly from in the U.S.

Singapore Airlines has slightly fewer routes from the U.S., but it still operates flights from Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark and New York to its hub in Singapore, and then onward to the Maldives.

You’ll pay 62,500 miles in economy and 130,000 miles in business each way to fly with Singapore Airlines from the U.S. to Male.

The main drawback to booking your flights to the Maldives through Atmos Rewards is the prevalence of mixed-cabin itineraries. Most business-class award fares include one leg in coach.

For instance, a Qatar business flight to Malé booked through Atmos Rewards might put you in QSuites on the Los Angeles to Doha leg, but then have you fly coach for the Doha to Malé leg.

That’s unless you’re willing to pay above the saver award rate. If you’re willing to fork over 215,000 miles each way, you could fly QSuites on every leg of your journey.

Overall, Atmos Rewards has an abundance of redemption opportunities and routing options for getting to the Maldives. But you should be prepared to either fly economy to secure the best rates or fly a mixed-cabin itinerary to score yourself saver award business class rates.

American Airlines AAdvantage

American Airlines AAdvantage is one of your best bets for getting to the Maldives and back in business class.

While you won’t be flying to paradise on American Airlines metal, its Oneworld and non-alliance partners offer serious value when it comes to flying business to the Maldives. Award flights with American’s partners start at the following one-way rates:

• Economy: 40,000 miles
• Premium economy: 62,500 miles
• Business: 70,000 miles
• First: 115,000

You can use the AAdvantage miles chart to find the cost of any redemption.

One of your best options is to book Qatar-operated flights through the AAdvantage program. Qatar flies from a number of U.S. cities to Doha. From Doha, you can then fly nonstop to Malé. You’ll be able to book Qatar’s coveted business-class QSuites for just 70,000 miles each way through AAdvantage.

Qatar’s not your only luxury option when flying to the Maldives using AAdvantage miles. You can also book business-class award fares with Etihad to the Maldives.

Etihad operates nonstop routes to its hub in Abu Dhabi from numerous U.S. cities on the East coast and in the Midwest, including Chicago, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington D.C. From Abu Dhabi, you can then catch either a nonstop flight to Malé or a connecting flight to Malé via Colombo, with Sri Lankan Airlines operating the final leg.

You’ll pay as few as 70,000 miles each way in business. Keep in mind that you’ll typically find greater award availability on Etihad and Sri Lankan multi-carrier itineraries compared to single-carrier Etihad itineraries. But if you don’t mind an additional stop in Colombo, you’ll score yourself even more time in the business-class cabin.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Program

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer offers a number of routes from both the East and West coast to the Maldives at affordable rates. KrisFlyer uses a zone-based award chart to price its award flights, meaning you won’t have to worry about dynamic pricing eroding your redemption.

Singapore Airlines offers two types of award tickets—saver and advantage fares. You’ll typically want to look for saver fares, which are cheaper but have lower availability. Keep in mind that if you want to book a free stopover on a saver fare, you need to book a round-trip itinerary—one-way saver award tickets aren’t eligible for free stopovers.

To fly from the East coast, you’ll pay the following one-way rates:

• Economy saver: 60,500 miles
• Business saver: 136,500 miles

If you’re based on the West coast, you can fly from Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco for the following one-way rates:

• Economy saver: 51,000 miles
• Business saver: 123,000 miles

Depending on where you fly from, you may have a connection in Singapore (SIN), Tokyo-Narita (NRT) or Frankfurt (FRA).

For instance, flights from Seattle and Newark typically have just one connection in Singapore before reaching Malé.

In contrast, flights from Los Angeles typically have two connections—one in Tokyo and one in Singapore—while certain flights from New York have connections in both Frankfurt and Singapore. Where possible, you’ll want to look for flights with just a single connection to minimize your total travel time.

Emirates Skywards

If you want to fly in an inspirational business-class cabin to the Maldives and back, you couldn’t do much better than to book with Emirates. You’ll have just one stop in Dubai (DXB) on your way to Malé, making for a relaxed journey.

Emirates operates flights to Dubai and onward to the Maldives from a number of U.S. cities, including:

• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas/Fort Worth
• Houston
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York
• Orlando
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Washington D.C.

When booking award tickets with Emirates, you’ll want to book round-trip fares, as they tend to be far cheaper than two one-way tickets. Similarly, you can only book saver award fares on round-trip itineraries. If you search for one-way fares, you’ll be stuck with Emirates’ most expensive fare type—Flex Plus.

From the West Coast and Texas, round-trip saver award fares start at the following rates:

• Economy: 70,000 miles
• Business: 198,000 miles

From the Midwest and East coast, round-trip saver award rates start at:

• Economy: 70,000 miles
• Business: 180,000 miles

Taxes and fees run high on Emirates award tickets. But with competitive award pricing and a top-notch business-class product, many travelers find it justifiable.

The main challenge of booking Emirates award flights is finding saver award fares for both legs of the journey. Your best option is to select “My dates are flexible” when looking for fares to give you a greater number of fare combinations to choose from.

This way, it’s easier to find saver award fares for both legs of the journey.

Luxury Resort Options for Maldives Points Redemption

The Maldives is renowned for its picturesque resorts, and rightfully so. Luckily, you can book overwater bungalows and beachfront properties using Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and Hyatt points, saving you thousands of dollars.

Let’s take a look at your options.

Marriott Bonvoy Properties

Marriott Bonvoy is one of your best options when it comes to booking your stay in the Maldives.

Marriott has the largest footprint in the Maldives of any hotel company, with the following 11 properties under its name:

1. The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
2. The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
3. W Maldives
4. JW Marriott Maldives Resort & Spa
5. JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort
6. Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa
7. The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort
8. Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa
9. Patina Maldives, Fari Islands, a Member of Design Hotels
10. Finolhu, A Seaside Collection Resort, a Member of Design Hotels
11. The Halcyon Private Isles Maldives, Autograph Collection

Marriott’s properties are concentrated in the central and northern atolls.

For properties located near Malé, such as the JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort and Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa, you can expect to pay between $65 and $300 for intra-island transportation via speed boat.

For properties further west or north of Male, intra-island transport is on the pricier end, coming in at around $500 to $700 round-trip per person. For instance, round-trip transfers to the St. Regis Vommuli can cost $870 per adult and $480 per child (ages 2 through 11).

Marriott points are easy to earn, making a stay in one of these dream properties entirely affordable. However, the main challenge is securing award space, so be sure to book well in advance of your trip.

When booking your Marriott stay, be sure to take advantage of Marriott’s Stay for 5, Pay for 4 promotion, allowing you to enjoy the lowest-priced award night for free on stays of five nights or more.

Hilton Honors Options

Hilton Honors is a solid program for booking luxurious, overwater bungalows in the Maldives. There are several ways to rack up Hilton points, making these dream-redemptions possible.

Hilton currently operates four properties across the Maldives:

1. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
2. Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
3. SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton
4. Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa

Three of Hilton’s properties are located near Malé, while the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is located in the South Ari Atoll. Aside from SAii Lagoon, which typically costs around $200 for a round-trip transfer, all other properties usually charge between $600 and $900 per person for round-trip transfers.

Just like with Marriott, you can maximize the value of your stay by taking advantage of Hilton’s fifth-night-free promotion on stays of five nights or more. However, unlike Marriott, you’ll need to have at least Hilton Honors Silver Elite status to qualify for the benefit. Luckily, you can get elite status for free by holding the $0 annual fee Hilton Honors American Express Card (see rates and fees).

Hilton Honors members can also earn and redeem points at participating Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) properties in the Maldives, including Baros Maldives, Huvafen Fushi Maldives, Amilla Maldives, Niva Velassaru Maldives and others.

World of Hyatt Possibilities

With lucrative co-branded credit cards to help you earn hundreds of thousands of points, World of Hyatt is another great choice for booking your hotel in the Maldives.

While World of Hyatt offers just three properties in the Maldives, all of which are well worth a stay:

1. Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
2. Alila Kothaifaru Maldives
3. The Standard, Maldives

The Park Hyatt is located in one of the southernmost atolls of the Maldives, Huavdhoo Atoll, while the Alila Kothaifaru is located in the north. In both cases, intra-island transportation will cost you around $600 to $700 round-trip.

Hyatt is one of the few hotel programs to still use award charts to price its award nights. This makes it easy to predict the number of points you’ll need for your vacation, making it easier to formulate a points-earning strategy.

How Can You Earn Points Quickly for Your Maldives Trip?

If you just can’t wait for those white-sand beaches and pristine reefs, it’s time to create a solid points-earning strategy to fund your Maldives trip.

The easiest way to quickly rack up enough points to cover your airfare and hotel stay in the Maldives is by earning credit card welcome offers.

Credit Card Welcome Offers

When it comes to earning points to fly to the Maldives, you’ll typically want to focus on cards that earn transferable points. This way, you’ll have the greatest number of options come booking time.

American Express Membership Rewards points and Capital One Miles come in handy for booking award fares to the Maldives with Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

Similarly, with a stash of Chase Ultimate Rewards points in the bank, you can book award fares with Aeroplan, Flying Blue and KrisFlyer.

By earning one or more welcome offers on any of the following cards, you could easily cover the cost of your round-trip airfare to the Maldives:

• American Express Platinum Card®
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Gold Card
• Capital One Venture X Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Business
• Capital One Venture Business
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card

While general travel rewards cards offer unmatched flexibility come redemption time, certain co-branded airline credit cards will enable you to earn thousands of miles that you can use to book lucrative award fares to the Maldives.

Earning welcome offers on the following cards will allow you to book lucrative award fares through Atmos or American:

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
• Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®
• Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® Card
• Atmos™ Rewards Visa® Business Card

Depending on which airline you plan to fly with and where you’re based, you may choose to open a co-branded card over a general travel rewards card or vice versa.

Making the Most of Your Maldives Vacation Points

Stretching the value of your points means maximizing your opportunities for further savings. With the right credit cards and some savvy planning, you can easily save yourself thousands of points and dollars on a trip to the Maldives.

On-site Expenses

Even if you’re able to cover your flights and hotel stay entirely with points, the Maldives is still an expensive vacation. Intra-island transfers, adventure activities such as windsurfing and scuba diving, and on-site charges such as meals and spa treatments can easily cost you a few thousand dollars.

That’s where using the right credit card and leveraging hotel elite status can help you save hundreds of dollars.

For instance, the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with an annual $300 travel statement credit, which you can use to cover the cost of any expenses that fall under Chase’s definition of travel. This is a great way to cut a chunk off your room bill at the end of your trip.

Similarly, you can use the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card’s $400 resort statement credit to cut $200 off your bill for on-site charges. The credit is issued in semi-annual $200 credits, meaning you’ll be able to use only half of the full credit in a single stay.

You can also use co-branded hotel credit cards to cover folio charges at the end of your trip, as they tend to earn the highest rewards rate on spending with their respective brands.

Most intra-island seaplane transfers are run by Trans Maldivian Airways and are organized by your resort. Therefore, you’re best off covering this expense with a card that earns a high return on travel expenses or one that has a high baseline rewards rate, such as the Capital One Venture Credit Card.

Utilize Free Night Awards

If you want to maximize the length of your stay, a great way to do this is by leveraging free night awards.

Many co-branded credit cards offer free night awards either as a complimentary annual perk or as a minimum-spend based perk. Here are some of the best credit cards with free night awards for your hotel stay in the Maldives:

• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card—Free night award when you charge $15,000 to your card in purchases within a calendar year (Rates & Fees).
• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card—Annual free night award. Opportunity to receive a second free night award after charging $30,000 to your card within a calendar year and a third free night award after charging $60,000 to your card within a calendar year.
• World of Hyatt Credit Card—Annual free night award for a standard room at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort after your cardmember anniversary. Opportunity to receive a second free night award at any Category 1-4 Hyatt hotel or resort if you spend $15,000 in a calendar year.
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card—Annual free night award, valid for a one night stay with a redemption value of up to 35,000.
• Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful® Credit Card—Spend $15,000 in a calendar year and receive a free night award for Marriott properties up to 50,000 points (certain hotels have resort fees).
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card—Annual free night award worth up to 35,000 points with the opportunity to receive a second free night award after spending $60,000 within a calendar year (Rates & Fees).
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card—Spend $15,000 with your card in a calendar year and receive one free night award worth up to 50,000 points at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (Rates & Fees).
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card—Annual free night award worth up to 85,000 points for use at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy (Rates & Fees).

Leverage Hotel Elite Status

Having elite status with Hilton, Hyatt or Marriott isn’t just about getting upgrades at check-in. Elite status can offer you significant savings when it comes to on-property charges such as dining and on-site experiences.

For example, Hilton Honors Gold members and higher receive free breakfast for two at all Hilton properties in the Maldives. Likewise, Hyatt Globalists enjoy free breakfast for two adults and up to two children at the Park Hyatt.

These savings can amount to hundreds of dollars on a week-long stay or longer in the Maldives.

Peak vs. Off-Peak Travel

One of the best ways to maximize your points in the Maldives is to travel during shoulder and off-peak seasons.

The peak season in the Maldives is between December and mid-April, which coincides with the dry season. April and November are considered the shoulder seasons, while the period running between May and October is the off-peak season due to it coinciding with the rainy season.

While the off-peak season can bring bad weather and a chance of storms, it can also bring far lower prices, quiet beaches and a more relaxed experience compared to the peak season.

This is true of all hotels in the Maldives and applies to airline rewards programs that price their fares dynamically, too. You’ll typically have more luck finding business-class award space for off-peak flights vs. peak flights. That said, booking well in advance is key to securing premium cabin award space in both cases.

Start Your Maldives Adventure on Points

The Maldives isn’t the reserve of the rich and famous. By leveraging your everyday spending to earn the welcome offers on just a few credit cards, you can earn enough points to cover both your flights to and hotel stay in the Maldives. Combine that with savvy strategies such as utilizing free night awards, travelling during off-peak seasons and maximizing the benefits of elite status, and you’ll quickly make that Maldivian dream a reality.

To learn how to turn your everyday spending into point-funded travel, sign up for the free 10xTravel course today.