Earn and redeem Avianca LifeMiles: A guide to valuable loyalty programs

While navigating a foreign airline’s frequent flyer program may seem daunting, it is Save money on bonus travelI can be very important. This is especially true of Colombian airline Avianca and its surprising value. LifeMiles frequent flyer program.

LifeMiles offers very attractive conversion rates for Star Alliance Award and additional unique features make this program worth your attention. Let’s find out everything you need to know about Avianca LifeMiles.

How to earn Avianca LifeMiles

Cardless recently launched two new products LifeMiles branded credit card in U.S.A:

• Avianca LifeMiles Elite American Express Card: Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles — 60,000 bonus miles after spending $4,500 in the first 90 days and an additional 40,000 miles after spending $25,000 in the first 365 days. Earn 3 LifeMiles per dollar spent on Avianca purchases, 2 LifeMiles per dollar spent on non-Avianca dining and travel, and 1 LifeMile per dollar spent on all purchases buy another. Other benefits include a 10% award redemption discount on Star Alliance flights, 500 bonus LifeMiles per month, 25% award redemption discount on Avianca flights, and Star Alliance Silver status as long as you have card. Annual fee: $249.
• Avianca LifeMiles American Express Card: Earn a bonus of up to 40,000 LifeMiles after spending $3,000 with the card in the first 90 days. Earn 2 LifeMiles per dollar spent on Avianca purchases, groceries and restaurants and 1 LifeMiles per dollar spent on all other purchases. Other benefits include Star Alliance Silver status for as long as you have the card. Annual fee: $99.

Information about the Avianca LifeMiles Elite and Avianca LifeMiles cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards point, Capital One Mile, Bilt Rewards point, Wells Fargo Rewards point and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to your LifeMiles account at a 1:1 ratio. These transferable rewards programs sometimes offer transfer bonus.

Additionally, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio. Unlike most major shows, you will not receive the 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer; Old LifeMiles is one of the programs lost this feature in 2022.

In addition to credit cards, Avianca also regularly offers Discount when purchasing LifeMiles. In the past, we’ve seen prices drop as low as 1.2 cents per mile, although typical sales prices range from 1.3 to 1.35 cents per mile. These rates are significantly lower in comparison TPG’s valuation of LifeMiles at 1.7 cents each. While speculative point purchases are generally discouraged, these sales may be a good option if you have specific points in mind.

If you frequently travel on paid tickets with Star Alliance carriers, you might want to consider crediting your miles to Avianca. This may be advisable if you find the LifeMiles program to be more valuable than other options such as United MileagePlus or Air Canada aircraft. It’s also beneficial to log your miles into Avianca if you don’t travel enough earn elite status but still want to maximize your redemption opportunities.

Related: Where to credit paid flights within each alliance to get the most points possible

How to redeem Avianca LifeMiles

As a Star Alliance member, Avianca lets you use your LifeMiles for flights with the carrier or any of its partners. Additionally, Avianca has partnerships with Gol Airlines and Iberia, providing the opportunity to earn and redeem LifeMiles on select flights operated by these airlines.

LifeMiles follows the standard region-based award chart for most flights. However, flights within the US sometimes deviate from the standard award chart. Dynamic pricing is often unfavorable. However, these differences often work in favor of travelers, providing beneficial redemption options.

Here’s a one-way economy flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that’s 1,000 miles cheaper than Avianca’s awards chart suggests:

Redeeming LifeMiles is usually simple. You log in to the LifeMiles website and search for your desired award flight.

However, it’s important to note that while Avianca has access to the same Star Alliance awards as United Airlines and Air Canada, the carrier’s information technology is known to have limitations. This may result virtual prize spacewhere seats appear online but cannot be booked.

In contrast, Avianca doesn’t always show available seats on United or Air Canada. Therefore, you should double-check your search using other Star Alliance search engines or tools such as ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG parent company, Red Ventures) before transferring the points to Avianca. This ensures you have accurate and up-to-date information before proceeding with the redemption.

Related: Best sites to search for Star Alliance awards

The Avianca LifeMiles sweet spot

In most cases, you face a trade-off between low award rates and high fuel surcharges, or have to spend more miles to avoid paying extra fees. However, LifeMiles is one of the few programs that excels on both counts. It offers highly competitive prices for Star Alliance awards and no carryover fuel surcharge for LifeMiles members.

Therefore, you may have to pay minimal taxes and fees when redeeming award tickets.

Lufthansa first class from the US to Europe

Between the Porsche amenity suite and delicious in-flight meals, Lufthansa First Class is often a dream come true for awardees.

United typically prices Lufthansa first-class award tickets to Europe at around 154,000 miles each way. When award seats are available, Air Canada charges 90,000-100,000 points. While Asiana Airlines and Lufthansa offer lower award prices for first-class ticket redemptions, both airlines impose high taxes and fees.

Meanwhile, Avianca offers one of the best ways to book Lufthansa first class by miles. Award rates start at just 87,000 miles each way and have minimal taxes and fees.

At 30,000 and 63,000 miles, Star Alliance’s economy and business class awards aren’t bad deals either.

ANA Business and First Class from Honolulu to Tokyo

If you want to get to Japan on a shorter daytime flight, consider flying from Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL).

LifeMiles charges just 27,500, 48,000, and 66,000 miles for one-way flights in economy, business, and first class (respectively) between Honolulu and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT). This award rate is at least 10% lower than Aeroplan, KrisFlyer and MileagePlus rates for the same route.

Business class from the US to Asia

As expected, award rates from the continental US to Asia are higher, with one-way flights from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) cost 47,000 miles and 90,000 miles in economy and business class, respectively. .

However, this can still be a decent way to get to the continent with less distance than you’d find through other programs.

Business class to New Zealand

While it can be difficult to find premium cabin awards on Air New Zealand, another highlight of LifeMiles is the carrier’s business class to Auckland Airport (AKL), with flights available for as little as 80,000 miles .

Like an airplane sell these prizes for 75,000 pointsyou might consider booking through Air Canada — although if you buy LifeMiles, it’s still an interesting point to know.

Business class to South America

LifeMiles also offers great award rates on some South America flights. A business class award ticket costs just 35,000 miles from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, Peru — a hidden gem for a flight of this length.

Mixed Cabin Award

When flying long-haul business class or first class, you often encounter mixed cabin awards through LifeMiles. This happens in the following situations:

• When airlines do not offer first class on shorter routes, requiring passengers to connect in business or economy class
• When there are no more seats available in your desired cabin

Most loyalty programs determine reward rates based on the highest cabin service class used. However, LifeMiles takes a different approach. It prices each leg of the journey separately based on the class of service booked, which often results in discounted rates for mixed cabin tickets.

In the example above, you could save 3,040 miles on a one-way ticket to Europe by starting your trip in economy class at Orlando International Airport (MCO). The total cost would then be just 59,960 miles. Flights from Orlando to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) don’t have awards available in United domestic first class, so this is a great way to still get the awards you want.

Additionally, even if rewards are available for your entire trip, you may decide that using extra miles for a shorter connecting flight isn’t worth it. Even then, you can choose to save and save some of your rewards for later.

Related: The best ways to travel to Europe using points and miles

Problems with Avianca LifeMiles

While LifeMiles offers attractive rewards, it may not be the program for you. The program is notorious for its error-prone information technology and inconsistent customer service.

LifeMiles members often experience website glitches when redeeming miles. Additionally, if you book an available economy and business class award ticket, LifeMiles requires you to pay a cancellation fee to re-deposit your miles. You can then rebook your flight in business class.

While you can save thousands of miles when you book with Avianca, canceling your ticket can be tedious and expensive. You typically cannot cancel an award booking online, and Avianca is very slow in issuing refunds.

However, Avianca LifeMiles is said to be in the works about fixing some customer service issues and implementing changes. Most recently, Avianca launched a subscription-based miles service, LifeMiles+. If you sign up for a Basic, Pro, or Max account, you are not entitled to change or cancellation fees for award tickets. If you’re an Avianca frequent flyer or use the airline’s loyalty program to book partner award flights, this subscription service may be for you.

Bottom line

Avianca LifeMiles is a frequent flyer program that has proven its worth in the world of travel awards. With attractive conversion rates, no fuel surcharges and partnerships with major companies Transferable points program, LifeMiles offers great value and flexibility to its members. While there can be some challenges and difficulties in navigating customer service, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks for many travelers.

So take the time to explore Avianca LifeMiles, learn what it has to offer and discover the possibilities it offers for your future travels. With a little research and planning, you can make the most of this valuable program when considering where to transfer your credit card points.