This is true, but bear in mind that during winter the passage to Chile is often unpassable and even when passable is liable to cause quite a delay. It is worth shopping around for a flight to Mendoza, which can sometimes cost less than US$100 return, and if you're flying long-haul don't even think about a bus trip unless you're stopping over in Santiago (which isn't up to much).

I took the advice of not to do this as the border can be extremely difficult, sometimes going through immigration in half an hour sometimes you can wait three hours. Sure its a lovely route but flying is breathtakingly beautiful and much quicker.