Lifemiles is one of the most interesting frequent flyer programs out there. While it has some incredible redemption opportunities, it also comes with a slew of problems left and right.
In this article, we'll walk through ways to earn Avianca Lifemiles, Lifemiles sweet spot redemptions, warnings against using Lifemiles, and cancellation policies.
Best Ways To Earn Avianca Lifemiles
Fly On Avianca / Partner Airlines
When flying on Avianca, you'll earn miles based on your fare class and how much you spend on your ticket, up to 7 lifemiles per $1 USD.
Credit Card Transfer Partners
All things considered, Avianca Lifemiles are pretty easy to come by, given the number of issuers that transfer to them:
- American Express (1:1)
- Bilt (1:1)
- Brex (1.5:1)
- Capital One (1:1)
- Citi (1:1)
- Ramp (1.5:1)
We've seen credit card issuers offer transfer bonuses to Lifemiles. These bonuses have traditionally ranged from 15-25%; notably, AMEX has only offered 15% transfer bonuses to Lifemiles historically.
Here are some of our top credit cards that earn points that you can transfer to Lifemiles:
Buy Lifemiles
Unsurprisingly, you can also purchase Lifemiles. However, what may be surprising is that Lifemiles sales can actually be quite strong. For instance, a recent Lifemiles sale featured a 170% bonus, meaning you could buy Lifemiles for just 1.22 cents per point.
Currently, you can only buy up to 200,000 Lifemiles per calendar year, but given Avianca Lifemile's redemption rates, that should serve most purposes pretty easily. Unfortunately, since buying points from Lifemiles is serviced through points.com, it does not count as airfare/travel when it comes to purchasing flights.
How To Earn Avianca Elite Status
Avianca has 4 tiers of elite status, with mileage requirements based on a combination of total lifemiles earned alongside miles earned flown on Avianca metal:
Avianca has 4 tiers of elite status, with mileage requirements based on a combination of total lifemiles earned alongside miles earned flown on Avianca metal:
You will earn 1 qualifying mile for every 1 lifemile earned when spending Avianca flights. However, you will only earn 1 qualifying mile for every 2 lifemiles earned through pretty much any other channel accumulating lifemiles (eg partner flights).
Who Are Avianca's Partners?
Avianca is part of the Star Alliance, meaning it shares the same roof as other popular airlines like United, Singapore, and more. The Star Alliance has a total of 26 partners spanning across the globe.
Avianca also has its fair share of non-Star Alliance partners where you can fly via codeshare on them, including Iberia Airlines and Etihad Airways.
Lifemiles Award Chart
You can fly Air New Zealand business class via Lifemiles
LifeMiles is supposed to have an award chart, but it is actually hidden nowadays. You can access it by looking at some old resources nowadays.
Unfortunately, the Lifemiles award chart is notoriously complicated. It is not worth trying to decipher this convoluted table; rather, best to just trust some of the resources out there on the top Lifemiles deals out there.
Do Lifemiles Expire?
Unfortunately, Lifemiles has a pretty harsh expiration policy. Miles will expire after 12 months for members and after 24 months for elite members with no account activity.
To prevent expiration, per Avianca's website, you need to do the following: "Just make one accrual transaction every 12 months, and the validity of all the LifeMiles in your account will extend for a minimum of 12 months." Here are some ways to keep your Lifemiles active:
- Fly with Avianca Airlines or a partner and earn redeemable miles
- Book a hotel with an Avianca partner
- Spend on the Avianca Airlines credit card
- Earn Lifemiles on a car rental partner
Lifemiles Sweet Spot Redemptions
U.S. <> Europe In Business Class For 63k Pts
LifeMiles nonstop business class fares to/from Europe price at just 63,000 pts each way, with minimal taxes/fees (fuel surcharges are not passed onto the user). You can typically find these fares on the LifeMiles website and book them online.
Notably, economy prices are not too bad either. They can also vary a bit depending on the distance of your flight + originating/arriving airport, with prices up to 30k miles one way and as low as 16.5k one way.
Intra United States For 7,500 Miles
Avianca LifeMiles splits the U.S. into three different zones:
- Region 1: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia
- Region 2: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin
- Region 3: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming
Flights within each zone start at just 7,500 miles each way. Going across zones isn't too bad either, with rates crawling up to the 13,500 miles bucket when going from Zone 1 / Zone 3.
JFK To LIS In Business Class For 35k Pts
If you've ever looked at Lifemile's award chart (or saw the Europe pricing above), you might be confused looking at this price. However, Lifemiles, for whatever reason, prices this one way flight from JFK to Lisbon for just 35,000 points.
Some things in life make little sense, and this price looking at LifeMile's award chart. However, this is an insanely high value booking you could snag to fly business class to Europe.
U.S. <> New Zealand In Business Class For 80k Pts
You can book Air New Zealand flights using LifeMiles for just 80,000 miles with minimal taxes/fees (fuel surcharges are not passed onto the user). Unfortunately, Air New Zealand award flights are considered extremely difficult to find.
However, using a tool like Roame, you can expedite your search to make your life a lot easier. For instance, here's a mass search from the US to New Zealand. You can see multiple options bookable on United here for 110k points (Saver fare), meaning you can then find this same option on Lifemiles.
U.S. <> Istanbul In Business Class For 63k Pts
Despite Turkish Airline's direct reduction in the value of its loyalty points, utilizing LifeMiles for bookings on Turkish Airlines flights remains a highly rewarding strategy. One-way business class journeys from numerous US airports can be booked for just 63,000 miles, presenting an exceptional opportunity to immerse in Turkish culture with luxury and style.
The Problem With LifeMiles
While Avianca LifeMiles might offer up some fantastic deals, that doesn't come without the cost of several issues:
- LifeMiles does not get access to the same partner award space as other Star Alliance carriers do
- Website has tons of weird glitches/issues; some bookings may need to be made over the phone or via email
- Customer service is awful—you may need to wait on hold for a few hours and have to deal with many incompetent agents
- No stopovers on award tickets
- Miles expire—you need to accrue miles every 12 months
- $150 to change award tickets / $200 to redeposit most international award tickets
I definitely urge tremendous caution when booking with LifeMiles. While some people have generally escaped scott free, others have reported a multitude of issues with LifeMiles from booking to actually boarding.
Suggested Ways To Get Around LifeMiles Difficulties
Typically, if you're having trouble booking online, you have to email Lifemiles and be very... very patient. To email, you need to contact support@lifemiles.com and provide them with your full name, itinerary, and Lifemiles numbers. You traditionally need to wait quite a few days for them to get to your itinerary, but once they do, you will get a maximum of one phone call from them to make the payment for the flight.
Conclusion
Avianca Lifemiles has the potential to be a top tier frequent flyer program, but is incredibly hindered by its horrible IT and user experience. A lot of the redemptions will require significant effort and patience, so you'll have to weigh risk vs. reward in many scenarios.
