7 Remote Places You Can Visit with Miles & Points

Here at Prince of Travel, most of the Miles & Points sweet spots we feature are for flights to Europe, Asia, and the Americas, since we think that these destinations align with where most of our readers dream of going.

That said, we also know that there are people within our community who enjoy travelling off the beaten path and also people who are looking for something a little more adventurous once in a while.

If you’re a traveller who has a strong sense of adventure and is looking to conquer the far corners of the earth, then this article is for you! Below, we share 7 remote places you can visit with your miles and points to help inspire your travel dreams.

Canadian North

About 90% of Canada’s population lives within 160 kilometres of the US border, and if Canada’s busiest air routes are any indication, it seems that Canadians rarely take their in-country adventures beyond their cocoon in the vicinity of the 49th parallel.

This fact is astonishing given how much there is to appreciate further north – from the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, to the endless icescapes of Nunavut’s High Arctic, the Canadian North is absolutely worth a visit.

Then again, the flight costs to most northern locations are prohibitive since these essential community services cater more to locals than tourists, making these trips more difficult to access.

Fortunately, you can leverage your miles and points to offset some of the costs of exploring the Canadian North.

One available option is for you to use your Aeroplan points to book flights on the following Canadian airline partners:

• Canadian North, which connects 25 communities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Nunavik (Northern Quebec) with several territorial and provincial hubs
• Calm Air, which operates flights within and between Manitoba and Nunavut, with hubs in Winnipeg and Rankin Inlet
• Air Creebec, which serves 16 destinations in Quebec and Ontario, located mainly along the shores of James Bay
• PAL Airlines, which serves destinations throughout the Maritimes, Ontario, and Quebec

For example, through the Aeroplan program, you could book a one-way economy flight from Ottawa (YOW) to Iqaluit, Nunavut (YFB) on Canadian North for 10,000 points, or a one-way economy flight from Winnipeg (YWG) to Churchill, Manitoba (YYQ) on Calm Air for 7,500 points.

Another way to access the Canadian North is by using your WestJet points to book flights through WestJet which flies to Whitehorse (YXY) in the Yukon and Yellowknife (YZF) in the Northwest Territories.

Since WestJet points can be redeemed against your airfare at par with the Canadian dollar, it’s in your best interest to find the most affordable flights. To do this, you can use Google Flights to set up fare alerts, and you can also sign up for emails from WestJet to give you a heads up on when there’s a sale.

If you’re lucky, you can find round-trip flights between Toronto and Yellowknife for around $300 (all figures in CAD) in the summer months. But, as a tip, these good deals usually become more abundant as the travel date nears, so you may want to keep an eye on the prices over time.

Antarctica (Plus Patagonia)

If you’re hoping to join the ranks of the small subset of the population that’s been to all seven continents, then Antarctica should obviously be on your list.

As a tourist, the world’s most remote continent can most feasibly (and expensively) be accessed through an expedition cruise. Most of these cruises depart from the Patagonia region of Argentina, specifically out of the town of Ushuaia (USH).

To get to Ushuaia, you’ll most likely need to connect out of Buenos Aires (EZE/AEP), where an abundance of major airlines operate.

From Canada, your only direct option to Buenos Aires is with Air Canada, which only operates one flight a day from Toronto. This flight also stops in Sao Paulo (GRU), so the award redemption costs can be expensive.

Given this, you’ll need to be a little creative in planning your trip if you don’t want to spend a ton. You can, for example, use Aeroplan in booking the fifth-freedom flights between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires operated by Ethiopian Airlines, Swiss, and Turkish Airlines.

(As a fun note, sometimes you might even find a Swiss First Class seat for this short trip.)

From Buenos Aires, you can fly to Ushuaia on one of the domestic carriers, Aerolineas Argentinas, Flybondi, and Jetsmart.

In theory, you can book Aerolineas Argentinas’ flights with its own loyalty program or with one of its SkyTeam partners. However, with Argentina’s blue dollar rate, you’ll be better off booking domestic flights in cash, since they are often a good deal.

With the blue dollar rate, you’ll be able to find a round-trip ticket between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia for $150. Just make sure to pay in Argentine pesos (ARS) and use a Visa card, such as the Scotiabank Passport® Visa Infinite* Card (which has no FX fees), to access the blue dollar rate when you make your purchase.

Also, since you’re going to be in Ushuaia anyways, you should definitely leave time to explore the Patagonia region. Its steppes, grasslands, and deserts are not to be missed.

Remote Pacific Islands

In addition to Australia and New Zealand, there are many more nations that make up what’s collectively called the continent of Oceania. Most of these nations are tiny islands and atolls with some of the smallest populations on earth, so understandably, they’re not as developed as other island destinations, such as Hawaii or Majorca.

However, if you’re looking for an exotic holiday, and you’re willing to go off-grid as you enjoy some of the least discovered shores in the world, there are ways for you to travel to these remote Pacific islands using miles and points.

One way is through United Airlines’ Island Hopper route, a long (and expensive) way to fly between Guam (GUM) and Honolulu (HNL).

Depending on the flight number and the day of the week, the Island Hopper has intermediate stops in Majuro (MAJ) and Kwajalein (KWA) in the Marshall Islands, and Kosrae (KSA), Pohnpei (PNI), and Chuuk (TKK) in Micronesia. You’ll therefore catch a glimpse of some of the least inhabited islands in the world as you enjoy this flight.

You can book the Island Hopper through Aeroplan, but you might have a hard time finding the entire route between Guam and Honolulu.

Given this, you may need to cut your trip short and continue on an alternative routing. For instance, you might find flight availability one way until Pohnpei (PNI), where you can stay for a few days, and then catch a United flight to Guam or Honolulu.

If you really struggle to find Island Hopper awards through Aeroplan, you can also try United MileagePlus, which naturally will have better availability, since it’s a United Airlines flight.

Beyond United Airlines, you can also look into the more localized carriers that serve the region.

Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand, both of which are Aeroplan partners, operate networks that link their respective countries to Oceania’s smaller island nations.

Virgin Australia operates routes from Brisbane (BNE) to Port Vila (VLI) in Vanuatu and Apia (APW) in Samoa, among others.

Virgin Australia also offers flights to Christmas Island (XCH) and Cocos/Keeling Islands (CCK), both from Perth (PER), but award availability is near impossible to find.

Additionally, Air New Zealand links Auckland (AKL) with the following destinations (among others):

• Alofi (IUE), Niue
• Apia (APW), Samoa
• Noumea (NOU), New Caledonia
• Nuku’alofa (TBU), Tonga
• Rarotonga Island (RAR), Cook Islands

Award availability on these routes is very rare despite Air New Zealand releasing awards to partners on other short-haul routes quite reliably.

Meanwhile, Fiji Airways, which is set to adopt the AAdvantage program in 2025, offers award seats for its oneworld partners on its transpacific flights and some of its inter-island flights.

For example, with Alaska Mileage Plan, you can book a flight between Nadi (NAN) in Fiji and Nuku’alofa (TBU) in Tonga for 7,500 Alaska miles.

This is a solid deal, since the same flight costs notably more with American Airlines AAdvantage, coming in at 15,000 miles.

When booking flights to remote Pacific islands, you have to keep in mind that these services are a lifeline for the communities on these scarcely inhabited nations, so understandably, award availability is rare, if available at all.

Easter Island

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is a special territory and UNESCO World Heritage Site under the jurisdiction of Chile. Its main draw is the nearly 1,000 monolithic statues called moai, which were carved from volcanic tuff or solidified ash between the years of 1250 and 1500.

Easter Island lies approximately 2,300 nautical miles from Santiago de Chile, with the distance corresponding to a flight time of four to five hours.

Operated solely by LATAM from Santiago de Chile (SCL), flights to Easter Island (IPC) are capacity controlled, and tourists must pay full economy or business class fares when paying in cash.

As such, round-trip economy fares average around $500, while business class fares are about double this price.

If you refuse to pay that much for what are technically domestic flights, you can book through the LATAM’s loyalty program or its partners.

After exiting oneworld in 2020, LATAM doesn’t belong to an alliance anymore, but it has retained partnerships with a few oneworld carriers, such as Alaska Airlines and British Airways.

Through Alaska Mileage Plan, you’ll easily find business class tickets between Santiago and Easter Island for 35,000 miles per way, but you won’t find any economy awards.

The same goes for British Airways Executive Club, except with this program, you’ll need to pay 50,000 Avios for a one-way business class award.

Greenland

Greenland, the world’s largest island, is one of the best ways to explore nature in its least untouched state. If adventures among majestic ice sheets and Arctic animals are your thing, then Greenland is waiting for you.

Greenland’s main airport is in Nuuk (GOH), which is only served by two scheduled carriers: Air Greenland and Icelandair. The latter operates flights out of its hub in Reykjavik-Keflavik (KEF).

You can book flights between Reykjavik and Nuuk through Icelandair’s own program, Saga Club. However, you can also book them through a program that’s more accessible for those in North America – Alaska Mileage Plan.

With Alaska Airlines’s program, you can book a flight between Reykjavik and Nuuk for only 7,500 Alaska miles.

You can also book the route in conjunction with a transatlantic flight out of Icelandair destinations in Canada and the US, including Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, New York, and Seattle.

The Galapagos

In 1835, a young Charles Darwin, the author of “On the Origin of Species,” first arrived in the Galapagos aboard the HMS Beagle. Thanks to his observations on the abundant wildlife in the archipelago, his discoveries have had a lasting impact on how we explain evolutionary biology today.

If you wish to follow in Darwin’s footsteps and experience the Galapagos and its wildlife, you can easily book flights using points.

Avianca and LATAM, through their respective offshoots in Ecuador, fly to San Cristobal Island (SCY) and Baltra Island (GPS).
With Avianca, you can use its own program Avianca LifeMiles to book awards, or you can opt to use another Star Alliance program, such as Aeroplan.

With LATAM, you can use its program, LATAM Pass, or use one of its partner programs, such as Alaska Mileage Plan or British Airways Executive Club.

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are a collection of 18 islands off the coast of Norway and Great Britain. These islands showcase a less-discovered slice of Scandinavia, amid breathtaking cliffs and striking multicoloured cottages.

With public ferries connecting the Faroe Islands, and the towns within the islands operating rural bus services, your biggest transport concern will be on how to get there in the first place.

The Faroe Islands’ only airport is situated near the capital of Torshavn. Only four airlines, most notably Atlantic Airways and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), serve Vágar Airport (FAE).

Currently, SAS flights between Copenhagen (CPH) and Vágar can be booked using Aeroplan and other Star Alliance partners.

However, SAS is set to depart from Star Alliance upon the completion of its acquisition by Air France-KLM, so whether it will keep loyalty partnerships with some or all Star Alliance carriers remains to be seen.

Given this, if you’re looking to fly to the Faroe Islands with SAS using a Star Alliance program, book your tickets sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, if you have a balance of Alaska miles, you can book seasonal Icelandair flights between Reykjavik-Keflavik (KEF) and Vágar through Alaska Mileage Plan.

Icelandair operates the Iceland–Faroe Islands services during the summer timetable (usually end of March through to the end of October), and you can book flights for 7,500 Alaska miles per way in economy.

As with Icelandair’s Greenland flights discussed above, you can also commence your journey from destinations in North America. For instance, a one-way ticket from Halifax (YHZ) with a connection in Reykjavik costs 22,500 Alaska miles in economy.

Conclusion

The CIA’s World Factbook lists 261 countries and territories in the world, and many of them remain to be discovered by the public at large due to their remoteness and cost to access.

Luckily for the intrepid traveller, there are ways to get to the most remote places on earth using your miles and points, as demonstrated by this article – from Antarctica to Greenland, you can leverage your rewards to help with the expense of exploring these distant lands.

Hopefully, our article has sparked some wanderlust in you, and gets you planning for your next big adventure off the beaten path.