Seats.aero Adds New Partner Program: Copa ConnectMiles

Seats.aero is one of our favorite ways to search for award availability and continues to improve its offerings as often as it can. Today’s big news? The addition of Copa ConnectMiles.

While this may seem a little outside of the standard wheelhouse for U.S. travelers, this is some pretty exciting news. Let’s take a look at why.

Seats.aero Adds CopaConnect Searches

ConnectMiles is the loyalty program for Copa Airlines, the flag carrier of Panama. It’s a member of Star Alliance and — interestingly — has expanded access to United Airlines award availability, beating out other partners. This is becoming increasingly important as United throttles space to partners and jacks up its pricing in frequent, no-notice devaluations of the MileagePlus program.

Seats.aero obviously thinks so, too, as Copa Airlines ConnectMiles is the latest airline to be added to its search interface. You can explore recent findings from ConnectMiles awards here.

Is It Worth It?

Ok, so Copa has expanded award space, but what does that mean? And how is that beneficial for flyers? Copa’s ConnectMiles program doesn’t partner with any of the major flexible point currencies with the exception of Marriott Bonvoy. These transfers are at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. Thus, sending 60,000 Marriott points to your Copa account nets 25,000 ConnectMiles.

That can be a good option for some. Another excellent option is to buy Copa miles when they’re on sale since you can purchase up to 2 million annually. The latest promotion for purchasing miles dropped pricing down to 1.58 cents each.

And, most importantly, Copa’s pricing for that expanded United award space is cheaper than United itself.

Here’s an example of a one-way flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Newark (EWR), a notoriously pricey route, thanks to its lie-flat seating.

United will charge you 80,000 miles for this flight, which is an astounding sum for a journey that’s just 5 hours long.

Air Canada Aeroplan, on the other hand, doesn’t have access to this nonstop flight, even in economy — only showing options with a connection along the way.

And then there’s Copa, which shows both economy and business-class space. And it’ll charge you 30,000 miles less than United to book.

At this rate, it can even make sense to buy miles. With the most recent promotion dropping CopaConnect miles down to 1.58 cents each, you’d pay just $790 for this ticket.

Compare this to the cash rate of the flight, and you’re saving money — even if you need to buy all 50,000 miles.

Copa isn’t just cheaper when it comes to domestic flights, either. You can find cheaper rates with United and other Star Alliance partners all across the globe, so it’s definitely worth digging into the program for a look.

Final Thoughts

Seats.aero has just added its newest award program to its search engine. Copa Airlines may not have been on anyone’s list for finding flights, but the ConnectMiles program needs to be. With solid redemption rates and expanded access to United award availability, it can even make sense to purchase Copa ConnectMiles to book your flights for less.