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One of the lesser-known hotel loyalty programs is the Fiesta Americana Rewards, which belongs to Mexico’s largest hotel brand, Posadas. The brand features 190 properties in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, spread across nine brands.
Like most programs, you can earn and redeem points for stays and reach elite status tiers depending on your number of stays. The program even has co-branded credit cards to earn points for everyday spending.
With such a niche location, we have to ask ourselves, should you care about the Fiesta Americana Rewards program, and is it worth your time? Let's take a closer look.
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Fiesta Americana Elite Status Levels
The Fiesta Americana program has four levels: Classic, Gold, Platinum, and top-tier Black.
Classic
This is Fiesta Rewards' entry-level status and provides the basic level of benefits, including:
- Earn 10X per dollar (on spending before taxes) at qualifying hotels.
- Redeem your points for award nights.
- Earn bonus points on reward nights.
- Receive special member rates on your bookings.
- Access to hotel promotions and special benefits with partner programs.
- Redeem your points for merchandise at the Fiesta Americana Online store.
- Receive a Fourth Night Free certificate at the end of your stay, valid for a future stay at Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria, and Fiesta Americana / The Explorean properties.
Gold
Fiesta Americana Gold is the first elite level of the program, and you reach it after earning 15,000 Fiesta Rewards points in 12 months. Gold provides all the benefits of Classic plus the following:
- Earn 10% bonus points earned per stay at all brands.
- Receive 10% off food and beverages at all brands except One.
- 15% off food and beverage at all brands except One.
- 25% off spa services at City Hotels from Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria, and Fiesta Americana / The Explorean brands.
- 15% off spa services at Resorts from Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria, and Fiesta Americana / The Explorean brands.
- Access to Fiesta Rewards gadget station at all brands.
- Welcome gift at all brands except One.
- Daily Nespresso coffee kit is available at all brands except Fiesta Inn, IOH, Gamma, and One.
- Daily Lavazza coffee kit at Fiesta Inn, IOH, and Gamma.
- Receive a Fourth Night Free certificate at the end of your stay, valid for a future at Live Aqua or Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria.
- Fiesta Rewards Bracelet is available at all brands except Fiesta Inn, IOH, Gamma, and One.
- Early check-in at city hotels from 10 a.m. at Fiesta Inn, IOH, Gamma, and One.
- Late checkout up to 6 p.m. at Fiesta Inn, IOH, Gamma, and One.
Platinum
Fiesta Americana Rewards Platinum is the program's second-highest elite status tier and is reached after accruing 40,000 Fiesta Rewards points in 12 months. The tier provides all the benefits of Gold plus the following:
- Earn 15% bonus points earned per stay at all brands except Live Aqua, where you earn 20%.
- Exclusive FR check-in line at all brands except One.
- Access and amenities on the Fiesta Rewards floor at Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria, and Fiesta Americana / The Explorean.
- Access the Fiesta Rewards Floor at Fiesta Inn, IOH, Gamma, and One.
- Welcome gift in room and beverage coupon in reception at all brands except One.
- Receive a Fourth Night Free certificate at the end of your stay, valid for a future stay at Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria, and Fiesta Americana / The Explorean properties.
- Early check-in at city hotels from 10 a.m. at all brands.
- Late checkout up to 6 p.m. at all brands.
Black
Fiesta Americana Rewards Black is the top tier, reached after accruing 125,000 Fiesta Rewards points in 12 months. The tier provides all the benefits of Platinum plus the following:
- Earn 20% bonus points per stay at all brands.
- Restaurant reservations and complimentary robe and slippers are available at Live Aqua, Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria, and Fiesta Americana / The Explorean.
- Special bathroom amenities at all brands except One.
- Check-in and access to Aqua / Grand Club at beach resorts, including Live Aqua and Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria.
- Cabin with massage at resorts in the Live Aqua and Grand Fiesta Americana / Curamoria brands.
- Room upgrades, including upgrades to suites, at Live Aqua.
Earning Fiesta Americana Rewards Points
There are several ways to earn, or even purchase, Fiesta Rewards points. The most obvious is staying at affiliated hotels, so let's start there.
Earning on hotel stays
Earning Fiesta American Rewards Points is straightforward, and you earn 10 points per dollar on eligible charges, excluding taxes, for stays at qualifying properties. Qualifying spending includes room rates, food and drinks, spa services, and other items. And those with elite status can earn at a higher rate.
You earn points for stays at the following brands:
- Live Aqua.
- Grand Fiesta Americana.
- Curamoria Collection.
- Fiesta Americana.
- The Explorean.
- Fiesta Inn.
- Gamma.
- One hotels.
One thing to note is that it seems you do not earn points for stays at the Fiesta Americana brand IOH. The website says, “Earn points with your stays and eligible hotel charges at…” and lists every brand but IOH. Whether this is an oversight on the website or policy remains to be seen. Also, if you are making a group booking, you can earn points for up to nine rooms per night if all the reservations are in your name. If you want to book ten rooms or more, contact the Fiesta Americana Rewards Call Center.
Earning on Avis car rentals
If you rent online or by calling 800-288-8888, you can add your Fiesta Rewards number to earn bonus points on each rental day with Avis. You'll earn based on the car category:
- Economy: 500 points per day
- Compact: 1,000 points per day
- Intermediate: 1,500 points per day
- Standard: 2,000 points per day
- Large: 2,500 points per day
- Premium: 3,000 points per day
Purchasing Fiesta American Rewards points
Members who want to boost their balance can purchase Fiesta Americana points for $13 per 1,000 points. That works out at 1.3¢ per point, which is on the steep side for hotel points when you consider that AwardWallet members have only been able to leverage most hotel points for a value of under 1¢ per point. The exception: highly lucrative World of Hyatt points, which AwardWallet members have leverage for up 2.19¢ per point.
Fiesta Americana Co-branded Credit Cards
Fiesta Americana Rewards has three co-brand credit cards, earning you points for everyday spending issued by Santander. Unfortunately, these cards are not open to U.S. residents — only to residents of Mexico, who can apply for any of the following cards:
- Fiesta Rewards Classic Credit Card
- Fiesta Rewards Gold Credit Card
- Fiesta Rewards Platinum Credit Card
Features of cards include:
- Fiesta Rewards bonus points when you make your first purchase.
- Up to 3X for every dollar spent.
- Earn 10X per dollar spent at Fiesta Rewards participating hotels.
- Receive the fourth night free in beach hotels.
The cards carry varying annual fees and additional perks, which you can learn about here.
Redeeming Your Fiesta American Rewards Points
When it comes to the value obtained from redeeming your Fiesta American Rewards, sadly, it is not much. The program does not seem to have published award charts or hotel categories. Instead, it appears to employ a dynamic pricing model across the board.
We checked out stays at six properties in three popular holiday destinations in Mexico and found that your cents-per-point value ranges from 0.25¢ to 0.3¢ per point, which is nothing to write home about.
Cancun and Cozumel
The cheapest room at the Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancún All Inclusive would set you back $255 or 86,530 points. This works out at a value of 0.3¢ per point.
The cheapest room at One Cancún Centro would set you back $56.50 or 23,520 points. This works out at a less-than-stellar value of 0.24¢ per point.
The cheapest room at the Live Aqua Beach Resort Cancún would set you back $405 or 139,620 points. Again, this works out to 0.3¢ per point.
The cheapest room at The Explorean Cozumel costs $175 or 59,250 points. Once again, 0.3¢ per point.
Los Cabos
The cheapest Live Aqua Private Residences Los Cabos room would set you back $336.54 or 120,360 points. This works out at an unimpressive ₵0.28 per point.
The cheapest room at the Grand Fiesta Americana Los Cabos All Inclusive Golf and Spa would set you back $408.70 or 135,890 points. Yet again, this works out at a value of ₵0.3 per point.
A consistent redemption value of roughly 0.3¢ is unimpressive, to say the least. Couple that with the earning rates of 10X, and the Fiesta American redemptions rates leave much to be desired.
Other redemption options
Other options for redeeming your Fiesta American Rewards points include American Airlines, Aeromexico, and Uber.
Uber
You can redeem your Fiesta Americana Points for Uber gift codes as follows:
| Gift Card Value in MXN | Value in USD | Points Needed | USD cents per point |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 | 8.63 | 4,000 | 0.22 |
| 200 | 11.50 | 5,000 | 0.23 |
| 500 | 28.76 | 11,000 | 0.26 |
Clearly, this is not the best use of your points, and a value of 0.22¢ to 0.26¢ per point is not exciting at all.
American Airlines AAdvantage
You can receive bonus AA miles per stay and convert your Fiesta American Rewards Points to AA miles. Receive 2,000 AAdvantage bonus miles per stay, but there's a two-night minimum at these brands to qualify:
- Live Aqua
- Grand Fiesta Americana
- Fiesta Americana
- Fiesta Inn hotels
You also can convert your Fiesta Rewards points to AA miles at a ratio of 10,000:3,000. AwardWallet users typically redeem AA miles at 1.8¢ apiece, making 3,000 AA miles are worth $54. Crunching the numbers one step back means converting your Fiesta points to AA yields a value of 0.54¢ per point. Amazingly, this is better value than what you would get redeeming your points for stays in Fiesta Americana hotels!
You can transfer additional points in blocks of 1,000. There is a fee of $17.40 plus VAT for every 10,000 points transferred to AA. However, this is waived for Platinum and Black members.
Aeromexico Rewards
You can transfer your Fiesta Rewards points to Aeromexico Rewards and vice versa, although the transfer ratios differ.
Aeromexico Rewards points transfer to Fiesta Rewards points at a ratio of 7,000:7,000. That is a horrible use of your Aeromexico Rewards points, and you should avoid doing so at all costs.
Going the other way, you can transfer from Fiesta Rewards to Aeromexico Rewards at a ratio of 7,000:2,100. This is a less-than-stellar return and should be avoided unless you have some orphan points sitting in your account and have no use for them — yet you need some Aeromexico Reward points for an upcoming redemption.
You can transfer additional points in blocks of 1,000.
Our Take
Unless you are based in Mexico and can boost your points balances, there is little value in the Fiesta Americana Rewards program. However, if you are an AAdvantage member looking to book a vacation in a Fiesta Americana property, joining the program and converting your points to AA miles is a great option. Earning some points is better than earning none at all.
That said, apart from the occasional use, it is hard to see the value in the program. Unfortunately, poor redemption rates, no transfer partners, and ho-hum earning rates mean Fiesta Americana is not the best program for your loyalty. Many better options are open to you, especially if you prefer vacations in Mexico.
What do you think of the new Fiesta American Rewards Program? Can you make it work for you? Let us know in the comments below.
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