Avoid Connecting Flights in Argentina

I have been enjoying my stay at the Correntoso Lake & River Small Luxury Hotel (review) near Bariloche, Argentina, where I booked for 7 nights with Hyatt points. My next stay is in Mendoza where I will be staying at Park Hyatt.

Flight from Bariloche to Mendoza

There is a single nonstop flight from Bariloche to Mendoza on March 17th that leaves at 6.40AM.

Why did I book a connecting flight?

I hate leaving hotels early in the mornings to catch a flight, especially when there is a 1hr 30min drive to the airport. I decided to book a connecting flight (Aerolineas Argentinas) with a total duration of around 3 hours (see image below).

How can airlines break connecting flights into two days?

I was greeted with an email this morning from Aerolineas Argentinas that my flights have been modified (see image below). If I go with these modifications, it looks like I have to spend a night in Cordoba and also need a late check out to get to the next flight.

What I ended up doing

I booked a JetSmart nonstop flight from Bariloche to Mendoza (March 16th evening) and chose to leave 1 day early.

Points & money I lost from this mishap

I lost the 23K Hyatt points that were used to book the 7th night at Correntoso Lake & River Hotel. I used a CAT 1-4 certificate to book an extra night at Park Hyatt Mendoza and the one-way JetSmart flight costed us $200 USD. I am not sure if Aerolineas Argentinas will ever refund the money I paid for the original flight booking.

Aerolineas Argentinas Refund Request Form

This is one of the worst refund request forms you can imagine filling out as a foreigner. It forces you to fill out bank information in case there is an issue with the credit card refund. The bank details do not follow international standards and I ended up placing a bunch of zeros in every column until the the final acceptance is confirmed. I got an email confirmation from the company that they are reviewing the refund request.

Conclusion

I usually try my best not to book connecting flights in any country to avoid various problems. Aerolineas Argentinas tend to change almost every single scheduled flight and can breakup 3-hour connecting flights into two separate days.