Two-Card Trip: Turn Business Expenses into a Couples Getaway to Mexico City

Editors Note: Two Card Trips is a series of articles that show how you could book a trip using points/miles earned from just two different credit cards. Today’s two card trip takes us to Mexico with points earned from the CitiBusiness / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard and Hilton Honors American Express Business Card

The capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is a vibrant and cosmopolitan metropolis. It’s the most populous city in North America as well as one of the most important cultural and business centers. It is also the oldest capital city in the Americas with a rich cultural and historic and artistic heritage.

It’s no wonder the city is so popular with tourists. The city has something for everyone – beautiful historic buildings, museums, art galleries and vibrant music and entertainment scene. And let’s not forget the delicious food! The city is a melting pot of different cultures and the food scene definitely reflects that. There’s traditional Mexican food, modern Mexican cuisine and anything else you can imagine.

Mexico City would make a perfect couples getaway. A long weekend sounds like just the right amount of time needed to explore major attractions and enjoy some delicious food. In this article, we’ll figure out how you can plan a great trip to Mexico City with just two business cards.

How to Get to Mexico City with American Airlines Miles

First, let’s look at how you can get to Mexico City with just a sign-up bonus on CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select World Mastercard.

The sign-up bonus for this small business card varies from 40,000 miles to a recent high of 70,000 miles. The annual fee is $99, but it’s waived the first year so you can try out all the benefits of the card first.

The card offers great benefits, including one free checked bag on domestic American Airlines itineraries for the cardholder and four travel companions, priority boarding and a 25% discount on inflight food and beverage purchases.

It earns 2X on all American Airlines purchases, telecommunications charges, cable and satellite charges, car rentals and gas stations expenses and 1X on everything else.  There are no foreign transaction fees, making it perfect for overseas travel.

This is a business card, so it won’t affect your 5/24 status with Chase.

How to Book Award Tickets to Mexico City with American Airlines Miles

These are the off-peak dates: September 7 – November 14, April 27 – May 20

Pro tip: If a frequent flyer program allows, book two one-way tickets instead of booking one return ticket. You’ll have more flexibility if you need to make any changes down the road.

It’s easy to search on AA’s site, just plug in your travel dates, make sure the box next to Redeem miles is checked and click Search. You don’t need an account to search, but you’ll have to login later when you want to see the taxes and fees.

You’ll see a one week calendar on the next page. If your schedule is flexible, and you’d like to see more dates, just click on Show Full Calendar to see a month’s worth of availability.

If you’d prefer more comfort, click on Business/First MileSAAver to see the rates for business class.

The next page will display the available flights:

The taxes and fees should be minimal on the way there and around $70-80 on the way back (the difference is mostly due to Mexico airport departure tax).

As you can see, you should have enough miles for two people to fly to Mexico City just from one card signup bonus!

Where to Stay in Mexico City with Hilton Honors points

Now let’s look at how The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card can help us get great accommodations in Mexico City.

The card comes with a generous welcome bonus, usually at least 100,000 Hilton Honors points. Its annual fee is $95 and it’s not waived the first year (rates & fees). You can earn a free weekend night certificate after spending $15,000 in a calendar year.

The card also comes with the complimentary Gold status that could be very valuable, as it gives the members free breakfast at all Hilton brands for two people. The card also comes with 10 free visits to Priority Pass airport lounges.

The Hilton Amex Business Card has a solid earning structure that makes it easy to accumulate a nice stash of Hilton points. The card earns 12X at Hilton properties, and 6X on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amex Travel, car rentals booked directly with car rental agencies, at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on shipping and on wireless phone services. All other purchases earn 3X.

As you can see, this is a great card that offers lots of great benefits. Because this is a business card, it won’t affect your 5/24 status with Chase. It’s worth keeping this card long term because of how easy it is to earn points with all the bonus categories and for a free weekend night.

How to Book Hilton Hotels in Mexico City

Mexico City has beautiful architecture and many diverse neighborhoods. Hilton has quite a few properties in different areas of the city to fit every budget. One of the greatest perks of the Hilton Honors program is its “stay four nights, get the fifth-night free” perk. This will allow us to stretch Hilton points even further.

Hilton doesn’t have an award chart, so the price in points will depend on the demand. However, other than the Waldorf Astoria in the Maldives, standard room award rates are capped at 95,000 Hilton points per night.

To search for rooms on Hilton.com, just enter your destination and your dates on the home screen and click Go.

The list of available properties will be displayed on the next screen. You can easily switch between the price in dollars and the price in points by clicking on the toggle button on the upper right.

To book a room, just select your desired property and room type and you will be taken to the sign in screen. If you run into any issues during the booking process, Hilton.com has a great chat feature. You can chat with a Hilton rep anytime if you have questions.

If you don’t have enough points to cover your entire stay, you can combine cash and points.

As you can see, there’s lots of properties to choose from, depending on how many points you want to spend and which area of the city you prefer.

After you meet the minimum spending requirements on Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, you should have more than enough points for a great stay in Mexico City!

Final Thoughts

If you’re a small business owner, turning your business expenses into great travel is easy and it’s a great way to save money. Mexico City could make for a great quick romantic getaway where you can explore, relax, eat some delicious food and drink amazing coffee.

The flights are relatively short but it’s far enough to feel like you are really getting away and have an opportunity to experience a different culture. Mexico City is a high altitude city and has four seasons.

You’ll experience the best weather in the spring, but you’ll find the best hotel rates in winter. Some of the best-known events, such as the Day of the Dead, are in the fall, so there will be more visitors. Whatever the season, Mexico City has so much to offer, you’ll never get bored!

Travel well,

Anna