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Every December, flights to San Salvador (SAL) fill up with families from Washington, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago going home for Nochebuena. This guide lists every nonstop we could find for December 2026 and January 2027, what a one-way seat costs in points, and which schedules are still unconfirmed. We could not open Avianca’s, United’s or American’s own websites during our research (October 21, 2026), so several frequencies come from secondary schedule data and are labeled that way.
Planning the rest of the trip? See Christmas in El Salvador for the holiday calendar and hotels on points, and Flying Home to El Salvador for the Holidays for passports, the kids’ paperwork, customs and bag fees.
The short version
- D.C. and L.A. have the most nonstops. Washington Dulles (IAD) and Los Angeles (LAX) offer the most nonstop options of the big Salvadoran-American metros. Reagan National (DCA) and BWI have none.
- Houston (IAH) has United, Avianca, Volaris El Salvador and a seasonal Frontier flight.
- Chicago has no nonstop this December-January. Avianca’s seasonal O’Hare flight is cancelled from December 1, 2026 to January 30, 2027, per AeroRoutes. Midway has no SAL service either, so Chicago families connect.
- Milwaukee has no nonstop. One-stop options run via Dallas/Fort Worth or Miami (American), Atlanta (Delta) or Houston (United); all unconfirmed.
- Spirit is gone. It ceased all operations on May 2, 2026. JetBlue does not fly to SAL.
- On points, Aeroplan charges 12,500 points one way in economy on United or Avianca from IAD, ORD or LAX, per its official chart.
Nonstops by city, December 2026 to January 2027
Frequencies are approximate. “Unconfirmed” means we could not verify the flight or its frequency on an airline or airport page.
| From | Airline | Frequency (approx.) | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Dulles (IAD) | Avianca | 3-4 daily | Route in Avianca’s April 23, 2026 U.S. network release; frequency unconfirmed | Avianca release (via TravelDailyNews); flightsfrom.com |
| Washington Dulles (IAD) | Volaris El Salvador | Daily | Route confirmed by the airport (flying since 2018); frequency unconfirmed | flydulles.com |
| Washington Dulles (IAD) | United | About weekly, Saturdays, seasonal | Unconfirmed | flightsfrom.com |
| Washington Dulles (IAD) | Frontier | Daily | Launched Dec. 19, 2025 per El Mundo; “begins 2026-12-17” per flightsfrom.com; unconfirmed | Diario El Mundo; flightsfrom.com |
| Reagan National (DCA), BWI | None | – | – | – |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | Avianca | About 20 a week | Per Avianca’s April 2026 release | Avianca release; flightsfrom.com |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | United (UA1266) | Daily | Unconfirmed | flightsfrom.com |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | Volaris El Salvador | Daily | Unconfirmed | flightsfrom.com |
| Houston (IAH) | United | 3 daily | Added from Jan. 6, 2026 per United’s release | United release |
| Houston (IAH) | Avianca | About 2 daily | Unconfirmed | Secondary schedule data |
| Houston (IAH) | Volaris El Salvador | 3 a week | Unconfirmed | Secondary schedule data |
| Houston (IAH) | Frontier | 3 a week | Launched Dec. 19, 2025 per Frontier’s release; a Dec. 17, 2026 restart is unconfirmed | Frontier newsroom |
| Chicago O’Hare (ORD) | Avianca | 3 a week, seasonal | Cancelled Dec. 1, 2026 to Jan. 30, 2027, per AeroRoutes (secondary) | AeroRoutes |
| Chicago Midway (MDW) | None | – | – | – |
Where Chicago and Milwaukee families can connect (all frequencies unconfirmed unless noted):
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW): American daily, Avianca daily, and Frontier listed from Dec. 17, 2026.
- Miami (MIA): American about 2 daily. Avianca cut Miami from 10 to 7 flights a week from Oct. 26, 2026, per AeroRoutes. Volaris El Salvador ended Miami on April 12, 2026.
- Atlanta (ATL): Delta daily (DL1910).
- Houston (IAH): United, Avianca, Volaris El Salvador and Frontier, as in the table above.
- New York: Avianca 2-3 daily from JFK; United about weekly and Volaris El Salvador 3 a week from Newark (EWR).
On points: what a one-way economy seat costs
| Program | Economy, one way | Flies | Transfer partners | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 12,500 points (25,000 business) | United, Avianca | Amex, Chase, Capital One, Bilt (1:1) | Official chart: partner flights of 1,501-2,750 miles |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 16,000-25,000 miles per awardtravelfinder; 15,300 and 19,000 + $35 observed LAX-SAL per roame | Avianca | Amex, Capital One, Citi, Bilt (1:1). Not Chase | No official chart |
| United MileagePlus | Dynamic; saver “from 8.5K-11K” per Frequent Miler | United | Chase (1:1) | Frequent Miler, Jan. 6, 2026 |
| American AAdvantage | “Starts at” 10,000 (20,000 business) per Frequent Miler | American | Citi (1:1) | Frequent Miler, Jan. 2026 |
| Delta SkyMiles | Dynamic; no figure found | Delta | – | – |
Aeroplan. Aeroplan’s official flight rewards chart prices partner flights of 1,501 to 2,750 miles at 12,500 points in economy. Our computed distances put IAD-SAL at about 1,900 miles, ORD-SAL at about 1,973 and LAX-SAL at about 2,320, so all three land in that band. Central America sits in Aeroplan’s “North America” zone, per Prince of Travel (2024, a secondary source). Chicago has no nonstop this season, so check the price Aeroplan shows for your actual connecting routing before you transfer.
LifeMiles. Avianca publishes no award chart. Awardtravelfinder (June 2026) puts U.S.-Central America economy at 16,000-25,000 miles, and roame showed LAX-SAL on Avianca at 15,300 and 19,000 miles plus $35 on October 19-21, 2026. Chase points do not transfer to LifeMiles. Capital One’s transfers to both Aeroplan and LifeMiles are confirmed on Capital One’s own site; confirm the other ratios in your card’s portal. Citi has a 25% transfer bonus to LifeMiles through October 24, 2026.
United and American price dynamically. Frequent Miler reported United saver space to the Caribbean and Central America “from 8.5K-11K” miles, and American “starts at” 10,000 in economy. On high-demand dates, the price you see may be higher.
Cash only: Volaris El Salvador and Frontier
Volaris El Salvador (Dulles, L.A., Houston, Newark) and Frontier (Dulles, Houston, and Dallas from December 17, 2026, unconfirmed) are cash-only for this trip: there is no transferable-points route to book them. Their low base fares add up quickly with bags; compare the total for your family using the bag-fee table in our Flying Home guide.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer 1:1 to both United and Aeroplan, the two programs behind the 12,500-point and saver options above (but not to LifeMiles). If you’re opening a Chase card before the holidays, you can use our Chase referral link.
Disclosure: This is our personal Chase referral link. If you’re approved through it, we may earn a referral bonus, at no extra cost to you. You can always apply directly on Chase’s website. See our Advertising & Referral Disclosure.
Our take
From D.C. or L.A., start with Aeroplan: 12,500 points one way on a United or Avianca nonstop is the clearest price we found, and Amex, Chase, Capital One and Bilt all transfer to it. LifeMiles can come in close (15,300 observed from LAX) but has no published chart. Chicago and Milwaukee families should plan on a connection this year, through Houston, Dallas, Miami or Atlanta. Search award space first and transfer points only once you see a seat; transfers generally cannot be reversed (general guidance, not a sourced rule).
Sources
- Air Canada Aeroplan, Flight rewards chart (2026)
- AeroRoutes, Avianca NW26 North America changes (Chicago cancellation; Miami reduction)
- Washington Dulles International Airport, Volaris to San Salvador
- Diario El Mundo, Frontier launches five routes to El Salvador
- Frontier Airlines newsroom, Houston launches
- Avianca U.S. network release, April 23, 2026 (as syndicated by TravelDailyNews)
- United Airlines release on Houston-San Salvador (service from Jan. 6, 2026)
- flightsfrom.com route data (frequencies approximate)
- roame.travel award search, October 19-21, 2026
- awardtravelfinder, LifeMiles pricing (June 2026)
- Frequent Miler, United and American award pricing (January 2026)
- Prince of Travel, Aeroplan zones (2024)
- Capital One, transfer partners page (January 29, 2026)
Fares, award prices and schedules change constantly; confirm on the airline’s site before you book. Points Capital is not a financial advisor.
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