The view of downtown Miami as we were about to touch down in the US was very alluring. Photo by: Evan Berman

After a great trip filled with many memories, it was time to head back to the US. We flew business class on LATAM from Santiago to Miami. This was the Sunday after Thanksgiving and flights back to Charleston were incredibly expensive. LATAM was the best option since the flight offered a lie-flat seat and a non-stop flight back to the US. We would spend the night and then return home the next day.

I booked these seats via Qantas. I’ll explain more about using partner airlines to book award flights in a future article but in this case, this was the cheapest option.

The recap of our flight back to the US is part of the larger South American Adventure. For more information on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

24 Hours in New York, NY

Flight: CHS-JFK in Delta Comfort+

New York Hotel

Flight: JFK-SCL in LATAM Economy+

W Santiago Hotel

Hyatt Place Santiago/Vitacura

3 Days in Santiago, Chile

Osaka Santiago, Chile Restaurant Review

Flight: SCL-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: AEP-FTE in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Trekking on Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentine Patagonia

El Calafate Hotel

36 Hours in El Calafate, Argentina

Restaurants in El Calafate

Flight: FTE-USH in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: USH-AEP in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

2 Hours in Ushuaia, Argentina

Buenos Aires Homestay

2 Days in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Flight: AEP-SCL in Aerolíneas Argentinas Economy

Flight: SCL-MIA in LATAM Business Class (This Article)

Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale/Plantation

Flight: FLL-CHS in Silver Airways Economy Class

Conclusion

Flight Info:

Route: SCL-MIA (Santiago, Chile’s Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport to Miami, Florida’s Miami International Airport)

Date: Sunday, 11/27/2022

Flight: LA 502 (LATAM)

Plane: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Charleston’s own!)

Seat: 1L (Business Class Window)

Est. Departure: 12:00pm local time (10:00am EST)

Taxiing: 12:13pm local time (10:13am EST)

Takeoff: 12:21pm local time (10:21am EST)

Gate: C01 and C03 (International Terminal)

Est. Arrival: 6:25pm EST (8:25pm origin time)

Touchdown: 6:16pm EST (8:16pm origin time)

Arrived at Gate: 6:24pm EST

Gate: F16 (International Terminal)

Pricing:

Flight: I booked this award flight through Qantas, the largest Australian airline and a partner of LATAM. The one-way business award cost 75,000 points and $61.77 in fees. (55,500 AmEx points and $61.77 as I had Qantas points in my account and took advantage of a transfer bonus)

Earnings: None, award flight

Flight Info: Class I (Business), 4,118 miles

MQM, MQS, MQD: N/A

Booking:

As I mentioned, this flight was booked through Qantas, a partner of LATAM. There were a few options for redemption: Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Delta, and Qantas. While BA offers pricing with fewer miles, LATAM Award Availability was not appearing on the website. I called them twice and neither time the agent was able to find this flight.

It should be noted that Alaska Airlines offers the best deal on these flights– 45,000 miles each way for any flight from South America to the US in business class. That being said, I do not have any Alaska miles and opted to transfer points, rather than buying them.

LATAM used to be in the oneworld alliance but recently left. Some BA agents mistakenly assume that since this has occurred, you are no longer able to book those awards. If that happens, hang up and try again. In this case, the difference of a few thousand points transferred was not enough for me to keep calling, especially since they could not find this flight in their system, at least bookable via points.

Next, Delta offered the same availability as Qantas, but wanted 100,000 miles per seat. Additionally, there was no transfer bonus to Delta whereas there was a 20% transfer bonus from AmEx to Qantas. That leaves Qantas! I had 8,400 points in my account from a previous redemption, so I would need 66,600 more to book this flight. I went to my AmEx account and played around with the numbers until I got to 66,600. In this case, I needed to transfer 55,500 (66,600/1.2=55,500) points. The transfer was instantaneous.

As soon as I logged out and logged back into Qantas’ site, I saw my balance was 75,000 points. I immediately searched the flight again and paid the mileage and fees. For the fees, I used my AmEx Platinum card to earn 5x points since it codes as an airline purchase.

In case you’re curious, this flight retails for $3,122.18 per person if paid in cash. For those keeping track at home, that’s (3,122.18-61.77)/75,000= 4.08 cents per point. Including the transfer bonus, that’s 4.90 cents per point in value!

Lounges:

Since we were flying in business class, we were entitled to visit the new LATAM VIP Lounge. Unfortunately, with the extremely long lines in customs, we had to run to the gate and as such, missed out. If you visit that lounge, please let me know what you think!

Recap:

Boarding:

The airport experience was among the worst I’ve ever had! We checked our bags at 10am for our 12pm flight. That is much earlier than I normally check in for a flight, even international, but we had just flown in from Buenos Aires and there was no reason to wait. I figured extra time in the new LATAM VIP Lounge would be a nice way to start the trip home.

After we got in line for customs at 10:14am, I started to be thankful that we had such a great deal of time. Despite adding agents to address the throngs of people, it took us 1 hour and 25 minutes to get through customs and security! To clarify, we got through customs at 11:39am. Most international flights close their doors 15 minutes before departure. We asked the agent monitoring the line if we could use a priority lane since we were in danger of missing our flight. He obliged and it only took 10 minutes (!) to get through security. Of course, my friend was selected for a pat-down, though they did not seem to find anything nor search his bags.

At 11:49am, when we were finally through security, it was a sprint to the gate. C01 and C03, the gates that we boarded from, are a good 10 minute walk from security. We arrived at the gate at 11:56am and thankfully the boarding was delayed. That being said, we were still the last people on board. It felt great to sit down and relax!

Takeoff

A few minutes after taking our seats, the flight attendant on Austin’s side introduced herself to Austin, though I did not get the same courtesy. I had selected 1A in the seat selection process and had been bumped to 1L (the other window seat), which may explain this.

On the seat awaiting my arrival were the following: a bottle of water, the amenity kit, headphones, bedding, a pillow, slippers, the menu.

The captain welcomed us aboard as we began to make our way to the runway at 12:13pm local time. He informed us of a smooth ride that would take just over 8 hours. We took off at 12:21pm local time. 14 minutes after takeoff, we were offered hot towels, a wonderful option to relax at the beginning of a long flight.

5 minutes later, nuts and a choice of champagne or water was brought around. I’d noticed that on previous flights, Chilean sparkling wine was offered. Not this time, as they poured Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne from Chouilly, France. The nuts were not warmed as customary and arrived in a small bowl.

Meals:

For the first time since we flew LATAM down from JFK, there was a true meal service. We were not disappointed! The first meal service came 49 minutes after takeoff.

Lunch:

As we flew in the afternoon, lunch was the main meal.

I ordered the Slow-Cooked Beef. The sides were Pumpkin Purée with Walnuts and Portobello Mushrooms Sautéed in Turmeric. I accepted the suggested pairing of Pangea 2017 Syrah from Colchagua, Chile as well as a glass of orange juice. For desert, I selected the raspberry compote. These were all popular options. My seatmate remarked to me, “the Syrah is fantastic, isn’t it?” It certainly was!

All food was served at once on one tray. I prefer it that way, but some may prefer spaced out service.

Here are the menus as well as the wine and spirits and non-alcoholic beverage list:

Review:

From best to worst:

• Desert was delicious, a raspberry compote with strawberries on top. The creamy chocolate was a perfect complement to the fresh strawberries. 10/10 excellent.
• Wine was terrific. The Syrah was a perfect complement to the beef. As is typical of Chilean wines, there is a distinct pepper flavor unlike Syrah from France. This is a full-bodied wine, though I could drink it with or without food. 😉 10/10 excellent.
• Cheese was quite tasty. I do not generally enjoy raisins, but these were better than expected. 9/10 great.
• Bread and butter was a pleasant complement to the main course. I love whipped butter, which seems to be common in Chile and Argentina. The bread was soft and grain-based. 9/10 great.
• Orange juice was better than expected, though of course not freshly squeezed. I can hardly take away points for that– but, might I suggest one of the best airlines have a personal juicer onboard (Emirates, Singapore, ANA, and JAL, are y’all listening?!?) 7/10 good.
• Main course was inconsistent. The zucchini and mushrooms were fresh and tasty and the pumpkin purée was a nice accompaniment. Unfortunately, the star of the show– the slow cooked beef– was cooked too long. It was not juicy or melt-in-your-mouth tender. That being said, it was not inedible. Excluding the beef, 9/10 great. Beef: 5/10 disappointing. Total: 6/10 below average.
• Overall, 8/10 very nice.

Snack:

The second meal service began at 6:40pm origin time (4:40pm EST), 4 hours and 30 minutes after the first ended. This was the “snack” service. The same drink choices as above were offered.

Here is the food menu:

I ordered the serrano ham sandwich and mousse. To drink, I had another orange juice and the San Carlos 2019 Cabernet Franc from Uco Valley, Argentina.

Review:

• Sandwich was the standout out of all the food served for me. Serrano ham is delicious but paired with a gooey melted brie cheese and fresh arugula, I would be pleased to receive this in a restaurant, let alone on a plane. 11/10 above and beyond.
• Mousse was quite similar to the previous desert. While not a raspberry compote, it was similarly tasty. Excluding the sandwich, the desserts were my two favorite foods. 10/10 excellent.
• Cab Franc was good, though not on the level of the Syrah. 9/10 great.
• Chips were tasty, but they were no better or worse than most others. I have a hard time giving high marks here. 8/10 very nice.
• Overall, 9/10 great.

Both meal services were expedited and while that may be disappointing for some, with no real difference in temperature of food (for example, there was no soup, and I did not order ice cream) I enjoyed having the freedom to eat leisurely. The service was exceptional; it seemed just as I finished eating, our flight attendant was returning to offer to collect the tray. She never hurried, the question of would you like for me to take this always preempted anything else.

Amenity Kit:

Amenity kits are found on most every business and first class flight as well as some premium economy and economy long-haul flights. This is a way for the airline to stand out. LATAM uses the above kit from Latin American design company Tomás Olivos. Inside were the following:

• Lip balm
• Single-use toothpaste and toothbrush
• Earplugs
• Towlette
• Socks
• Eye mask (for sleeping)

Additionally, slippers were provided for use on the plane. Although we were not afforded pajamas, having socks and slippers to use on the plane is a simple luxury that goes a long way in terms of comfort!

Entertainment:

As you know from my hotel reviews, I don’t watch a ton of TV. That being said, flying on a plane is a perfect time to watch a movie and/or TV show. LATAM’s selection was decent. They had 3-5 episodes of most TV shows, though the options were not great. I recognized few movies, but there was a good mix of Spanish and English films. I watched 3 episodes of the series Showtime, an HBO show about the building of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA dynasty in the 1980’s.

Seat:

The seats are fully lie-flat on all LATAM 787-9’s in Business Class (including our JFK-SCL flight). This was not terribly important given we were flying during the day and didn’t need to sleep. That being said, it sure is comfortable lying 180º and watching a movie or TV show!

If you do need to sleep, there is plenty of legroom. I’m 6’2″ and in the above picture, my feet only touch the edge of the entertainment system on top of the bedding and fully extending out. Had I wanted to sleep, my feet would have gone lower and I would have had plenty of room. Unless you’re an NBA player, no need to worry about space!

I found the seat to be plenty comfortable, but there is a mattress pad provided, as well as a decent pillow and blanket. The individual air nozzles are decent, but the cabin still is fairly warm.

One thing to note, I sat at the window and my neighbor (aisle) was asleep fully flat when I went to the bathroom. It was challenging to get around her without waking her up. This involved taking a giant step into the aisle, bracing yourself, and pulling your other leg over to get out, with the same practice in reverse for returning to the seat. If you are flying alone in this 2-2-2 orientation, you need to consider if that would be an issue for you. If so, choose either of the center seats or the aisle seats, not the windows. Of course, when flying with a friend or partner, you can select either the window seats or center seats and enjoy the ability to freely communicate!

Sleep:

While this was a much longer flight at just over 8 hours, it was still a daytime flight. I did not sleep, enjoying the food and entertainment too much.

Experience:

Once again, we flew over the Andes, this time heading north to the US. The majority of the flight was well above 30,000 feet and there was not much to see other than clouds. This flight was very uneventful– a smooth ride to close out an incredible trip.

The meals were generally great and the entertainment selection was solid. In short, I was very pleased with the entire experience. I would not mind flying this route again, even if I connect onward elsewhere in South America next time!

Customs:

Miami International Airport is not a favorite of almost anyone. It has a reputation of being chaotic, busy, and confusing. That being said, this time was not terrible. Business class exited the plane first, back to front. I have Global Entry as well as Mobile Passport and highly recommend everyone gets at least Mobile Passport (totally free!) if not both.

In this case it didn’t much matter. One of the Global Entry machines was broken, so it took me the same amount of time to complete the process as it took my friend to use Mobile Passport. Thankfully, the customs line for both were much shorter than the standard line. In all, we waited less than 5 minutes, surely a record for MIA!

Baggage:

This is a controversial topic. Being in the priority category (elite status with LATAM or business class), you will have your luggage retrieved off the baggage claim and pooled in a special “priority” section. This can be in the back somewhere or, in this case, right in front of the other bags. We simply walked up, grabbed our bags, and left. If you value security/protection, know that your bags will be sitting there until you claim them. Do not go to the baggage claim, as your bags will already be removed!

Recap:

We had a wonderful time in South America, but it was time to head back to the US. We flew LATAM Business Class from Santiago to Miami on their Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner for 75,000 Qantas points (55,000 points transferred from Amex with a 20% bonus) and $61.77. The flight was great, featuring quality food– especially the serrano ham sandwich– a lie-flat seat, and great service. Bienvenidos à Miami! We took an Uber to Plantation, Florida, where we spent the night in Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale/Plantation before heading back to Charleston on Silver Airways the next day.