How Can I Pay for a Maldives Seaplane Transfer with Points?

“Reader Questions” are answered twice a week by TPG Associate Editor Brendan Dorsey.

The new Marriott award chart was announced last week, and with it came a temporary redemption sweet spot for one of the best hotels in the world: the St. Regis Maldives. While the news is exciting, TPG reader Aliza notes there’s one part of the journey that can be difficult to cover with points or miles…

Is there anyway to avoid paying the the $650 round-trip seaplane cost to the Maldives?

TPG Reader Aliza

While you can use points and miles to get nearly all the way to the Maldives, it’s the very last part at the end that can trip you up: the seaplane (or boat) transfer to your preferred resort. The cost of that transfer can range from $100 for a round-trip boat ride to the Kandooma Maldives, an IHG property, to $645 round-trip per person for a flight to St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort.

If you’re traveling as a group, some of those costs can really add up. A family of four would have to shell out nearly $2600 to fly from Malé (MLE) to Vommuli!

So what can you do to lower the cost? There are two simple methods. The first is using points or miles from a credit card that allow you to “wipe away” travel purchases directly from your statement. Cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or, if you’re a business owner, the Capital One Spark Miles For Business are great options for this. You’re only going to get 1 cent per point in value, but both cards earn 2 miles per dollar on all purchases for an effective 2% return on your spending. So, you could apply 50,000 Venture miles to cover the cost of a $500 seaplane ticket.

Here’s a list of cards that are solid options when redeeming points directly as statement credits against travel purchases or for cash back:

	Point Value	Earning	Sign-Up Bonus	Annual Fee
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card	1 cent	2x miles on everything (10x miles on Hotels.com purchases)	50,000 miles after $3,000 in spend in 3 months	$95 (waived 1st year)
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card	1 cent	1.25x miles on everything	20,000 miles after $1,000 in spend in 3 months	$0
Bank of America Premium Rewards Credit Card	1 cent	2-3.5x points on travel and dining. 1.5-2.62x on everything else.	50,000 points after $3,000 in spend in 90 days	$95
Barclays Arrival Premier World Elite Mastercard	1 cent (potentially more through partner transfers)	2x miles on everything	None	$150
Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard (currently closed to applications)	1.05 cents	2x miles on everything	N/A	$89 (waived 1st year)
Capital One Spark Miles For Business	1 cent	2x miles on everything	50,000 miles after $4,500 in spend in 3 months	$95 (waived 1st year)

The second, and even easier option, is to use a travel credit from a credit card. The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a $300 credit that automatically applies to any travel purchase, in this case a seaplane or boat transfer. The US Bank Altitude Reserve card has a similar credit, although a bit higher at $325 per year. Since these credits apply automatically, you’ll want to make sure to time the purchase of your seaplane or boat ride to coincide with when your account is eligible for the credit.

Finally, if you decide you’re not going to use points or a travel credit and instead will pay straight cash, you’ll want to use a card that earns bonus points on travel purchases. Your best bet is again the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which would net you a 3x points per dollar or a 6.3% return according to TPG’s latest valuations. The Citi ThankYou Premier Card also offers 3x points on travel (a 5.1% return) and the Chase Sapphire Preferred can work too, earning 2x points on travel.

Thanks for the question, Aliza, and if you’re a TPG reader who’d like us to answer a question of your own, tweet us at @thepointsguy, message us on Facebook or email us at info@thepointsguy.com.

For more on saving money in the Maldives, check out our coverage here:

Featured image by Stefan Irvine/LightRocket via Getty Images.