Great Card If
- You’re U.S.-based and frequently travel with LATAM.
- You want a card that provides a fast track to LATAM elite status and lounge access.
Don’t Get If
- You seldom travel with LATAM.
- You want a travel credit card that earns flexible rewards.
LATAM Airlines Elite Card: Is It Worth It?
The LATAM Airlines Elite card is a niche offering for U.S.-based travelers who fly with LATAM often enough to justify having a cobrand LATAM card that charges an annual fee. That said, if that seems like your situation, the LATAM Airlines Elite card could be well worth it for you.
Not only does it help you earn more LATAM miles, which is difficult, as the program is not a transfer partner of any of the major transferable rewards programs, but it also offers a handful of useful perks that come in handy for LATAM frequent flyers. These perks include LATAM lounge passes, annual courtesy segments you can use to upgrade your flights, a fast track to LATAM elite status, and more.
LATAM Airlines Elite Card Top Benefits and Perks
Your LATAM Airlines Elite card comes with the following perks for cardmembers:
- LATAM lounge access: Your card grants you entry to LATAM lounges up to 2 times each year. Note that if you bring a guest into the lounge with you, you need to redeem both passes.
- Courtesy segments: As a cardholder, you receive 2 LATAM Courtesy Segments every calendar year. You receive 1 segment that can be applied for a cabin upgrade on flights within South America, and 1 segment for a cabin upgrade on flights outside of South America.
- Fast track to LATAM elite status: With your LATAM Airlines Elite card, 30% of the miles you earn from eligible purchases with your card are awarded as Qualifying Points under the LATAM Pass elite categories program up to the limits set in each elite category.
- No foreign transaction fees: During your international travels, you can continue to use your card to earn more miles without paying foreign transaction fees.
Best Ways To Earn and Redeem LATAM Miles
Aside from Marriott Bonvoy at a subpar 3:1 rate, LATAM isn’t a transfer partner of any of the major transferable rewards programs, making it difficult to amass a meaningful number of miles in the program.
Holding the LATAM Airlines Elite card fixes this, as it is one of the best ways to earn more LATAM miles given its bonus categories of 4x miles on LATAM purchases, 3x miles on restaurants, ride-sharing, taxis, and public transit, and 1x miles on all other purchases.
If you travel with LATAM frequently, you’ll likely have numerous great ways to redeem LATAM miles. While LATAM uses dynamic pricing for flights within its own program, the carrier offers a large number of partners with which you can redeem your miles, such as Delta Air Lines, Iberia, and more.
Alternative Cards to the LATAM Airlines Elite Card
If you’d like a card that can provide some LATAM benefits without an annual fee, then the LATAM Airlines card would be a better fit for you.
Although the bonus category rates are lower with this card, you still earn 3x miles on LATAM purchases, 2x miles on restaurants, ride-sharing, taxis, and public transit, and 1x miles on all other purchases. Plus, you still receive the same fast track to elite status, with 30% of the miles you earn from card purchases awarded as Qualifying Points.
None of the major transferable rewards programs offer LATAM as a transfer partner, except for Marriott Bonvoy. Given that, adding a Marriott credit card to your wallet can be a good strategy.
With the Marriott Boundless card, you earn 6x points on Marriott stays, 3x points on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining, and 2x points on all other purchases. Additionally, it comes with perks such as an annual free night certificate, 15 elite night credits annually, and Marriott Bonvoy Silver elite status.
Since Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred to LATAM at a 3:1 rate, plus a 5,000 LATAM miles bonus when you transfer at least 60,000 points, this can be a great way to earn points in a program that gives you multiple redemption options for LATAM, Marriott, and all of its other partners.
