I Flew to Tulum First Class under $70.
- May 21
- 4 min read
“There’s nothing cheap about loyalty” said George Clooney when we infamously played Ryan Bingham in Up in the Air. In the movie, he was loyal to America Airlines and in real life I’m loyal to Delta Air Lines. Although I put up pretty pedestrian numbers myself, I try to take part in all the fun activities at Delta. Whether it be the surplus sales in Atlanta, the Window Store pop ups around Thanksgiving and being in the SkyMiles Life Facebook group.
I recently took a trip to Tulum Mexico and I would like to show you how the trip came about. To set the stage, the overall trip was $451.36. Instead of paying cash, I redeemed 26,000 SkyMiles and paid the $119.36 in taxes for the trip. As a holder of an American Express Delta SkyMiles Credit card, I get a 15% discount on mileage redemptions which made the final price 22,000 SkyMiles. I paid with my American Express Platinum Card which triggered my $200 airline incidental. I had $52.39 left and it was credited back to my card. This brings the cash portion of the trip to $66.97.
How did I get the 22,000 Skymiles? These were the miles credited to my account from trips to Ghana and Senegal in the weeks before the flight. Each trip netted roughly 10,000 miles or more. Keep in mind, miles are credited to your account based on your fare and class of ticket purchased as well as your status with the airline. As a Platinum Medallion member, I get 9 Skymiles for every eligible dollar spent and both flights were not cheap. I made the difference up in bonuses and miles gained on shopping portals.
I booked a Main Cabin fare for this trip knowing that there was a possibility of an upgrade. It’s not guaranteed but most of my flights are upgraded to Comfort+ shortly after purchase. Then five days before the actual flight, if there is room in First class, I’m upgraded again. The order of the upgrades are based on loyalty, whether it’s status or credit cards. Considering I’ve been consistent in keeping status since I joined the airline, I always have a good chance. Heavy Delta routes like JFK to ATL and JFK to SEA are the ones I don’t expect the upgrade as these are Delta hubs.
The trip was purchased on 5/1 and within 3 minutes I was upgraded to Comfort+ on all four legs of the trip. (LGA to ATL and ATL to TQO and reverse) Then on 5/7, I was upgraded to First Class from ATL to TQO. An email was also sent to confirm my meal on the upcoming flight. Typically I would always go for the short rib but I chose Shrimp and Grits as it’s a limited edition meal based on the route. Also, how often do you have shrimp on a plane. Limited edition meals has to be selected 24 hours before the flight and don’t worry, if you change your mind you can always change the choice.
The day of f the flight, I took the bus to the airport. Uber quoted a ridiculous $77.98 and I was convinced they lost their mind. Imagine paying more for the Uber than an international flight, thats a great story.
I got to the airport and took the escalator to the boarding gates. I used Digital ID to board and then used the TSA pre-check lane. The Delta SkyClub is located to the left after security. Checked in and got a bite to eat. Entrance to the skyclub is complimentary with both my American Express Platinum card (10 visits) and the American Express Delta Reserve card.(15 visits). The lounge is meant to relax and for meals if necessary.
The first flight from JFK to ATL was roughly an hour and 50 minutes and extremely bumpy but who doesn’t like a bit of turbulence. Snacks and drinks were served but I forfeited those due to rest. As the Airbus A321 cruised across the skies, I was napping above the clouds.
We landed in Atlanta and my stay there was as uneventful as ever. I did not visit a SkyClub. My second flight was boarding while I was still on the first so it became the mad dash from Terminal A to Terminal E. I got to the gate while they were still boarding and settled into my seat.
Flight number two was from ATL to TQO aboard a Boeing 737-900ER. The model looked newly renovated with a larger screen fully equipped with WiFi and entertainment. For the true loyalist we even buy our Delta merch while we are in the sky. After a few drinks we settled into the meal. I had the shrimp and grits and it was amazing. Curated by Mashama Bailey of The Gray, it was amazing. I spent the remainder of the flight drafting this very blog.
The flight landed in Tulum roughly at 1:00 PM and immigration and customs was quick and seamless. See how far you can get with $70 in 2025. Now the taxi to Tulum beach was not so forgiving. Put this into perspective, the one way taxi to Tulum central cost more than the flight to Tulum. Let that sink in.
The return
On the return trip, I got a notification two days prior to the flight about the upgrade to First Class. Again this was the TQO to ATL portion of the trip but no email to pick the meal. The day of the flight, the taxi picked me up at 11:00 AM and we took the forty minute ride to the airport. Check in was seamless and nothing to report on that end. Both flights were pretty regular with nothing to report. I’ll touch base on my next deal.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any parties mentioned. None of the entities mentioned has reviewed, approved or endorsed the content listed in this post.
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