Incomes and redeeming Avianca LifeMiles: Information to worthwhile loyalty program

Whereas navigating a overseas airline’s frequent flyer program could seem daunting, your financial savings on award journey may be important. That is notably true for Colombian airline Avianca and its distinctive LifeMiles frequent flyer program.

LifeMiles presents interesting redemption charges for Star Alliance awards and extra distinctive options that make this program price your consideration, although a collection of latest devaluations has made this system much less worthwhile than it as soon as was.

Let’s delve into every part that you must find out about Avianca LifeMiles.

Find out how to earn Avianca LifeMiles

You possibly can earn LifeMiles by crediting flights on Avianca or its Star Alliance companions, reminiscent of United Airways, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Air China and Air New Zealand. This system additionally companions with Gol Airways, Iberia and Clic Air.

Cardless has launched two LifeMiles-branded bank cards within the U.S.:

• Avianca LifeMiles Elite American Specific Card: Earn as much as 100,000 bonus miles — 60,000 miles are awarded after spending $4,500 within the first 90 days, and a further 40,000 miles are awarded after spending $25,000 within the first twelve months. Earn 3 LifeMiles per greenback spent on Avianca purchases, 2 LifeMiles per greenback spent on eating and non-Avianca journey and 1 LifeMile per greenback spent on all different purchases. Different advantages embody a ten% award redemption low cost on Star Alliance flights, 500 bonus LifeMiles every month, a 25%-off award redemption low cost on Avianca flights and Star Alliance Silver standing for so long as you will have the cardboard. This card has an annual payment of $249.
• Avianca LifeMiles American Specific Card: Earn a bonus of as much as 40,000 LifeMiles after spending $3,000 with the cardboard within the first 90 days. Earn 2 LifeMiles per greenback spent on Avianca purchases, groceries and eating places, and 1 LifeMile per greenback spent on all different purchases. Different advantages embody Star Alliance Silver standing for so long as you will have the cardboard. This card has an annual payment of $99.

The data for the Avianca LifeMiles Elite and Avianca LifeMiles playing cards has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

You may as well switch your American Specific Membership Rewards factors, Capital One miles, Bilt Rewards Factors, Wells Fargo Rewards factors and Citi ThankYou Rewards factors to your LifeMiles account at a 1:1 ratio. These transferable rewards applications generally supply switch bonuses.

Moreover, you’ll be able to switch Marriott Bonvoy factors at a 3:1 ratio. Not like with most main applications, you will not obtain the 5,000 bonus miles for each 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors you switch; LifeMiles was one of many applications that misplaced this function in 2022.

Past bank cards, Avianca typically presents common reductions on LifeMiles purchases. Previously, we’ve got seen costs drop as little as 1.2 cents per mile, though the everyday sale value ranges from 1.3 to 1.35 cents per mile. These charges are considerably decrease than TPG’s February 2025 valuation of LifeMiles at 1.6 cents every. Whereas shopping for factors speculatively is usually not beneficial, these gross sales could be a good possibility when you’ve got a selected redemption in thoughts.

Should you regularly journey on paid tickets with Star Alliance carriers, it could be price contemplating crediting your miles to Avianca. This may be advisable should you discover extra worth within the LifeMiles program than in different choices like United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan. Crediting your miles to Avianca can also be helpful should you do not journey sufficient to earn elite standing however nonetheless wish to maximize your redemption alternatives.

LifeMiles+ World subscription program

LifeMiles presents a paid subscription program known as LifeMiles+ World.

This program is optionally available for members and presents 4 membership ranges: Lite, Fundamental, Professional and Max. Lite is free for Avianca LifeMiles Elite American Specific Card members, and cardmembers can obtain a reduction on Fundamental, Professional and Max memberships.

Members obtain varied advantages based mostly on their membership tier, together with month-to-month bonus miles and extra miles per greenback spent on Avianca-branded American Specific playing cards. A minimal six-month membership is required, so for non-Amex cardmembers, this may be at the very least a $120 funding.

Most significantly, it presents 10% off the mileage price of many redemptions, so if you’re a greater than 200,000-mile redemption, maybe for your loved ones, this could possibly be a smart funding.

LifeMiles+ World subscriptions should be paid by bank card.

Find out how to redeem Avianca LifeMiles

As a member of Star Alliance, Avianca means that you can use your LifeMiles for flights on the provider or any of its companions. Moreover, Avianca has partnerships with Gol Airways, Clic Air and Iberia, offering alternatives to earn and redeem LifeMiles on choose flights operated by these airways.

LifeMiles follows a regular zone-based award chart for many flights, divided by companion. Nonetheless, flights inside the U.S. generally deviate from the usual award chart and may sometimes be a couple of thousand miles cheaper than the award chart exhibits.

Redeeming LifeMiles is usually easy. You log in to the LifeMiles web site and seek for your required award flight.

Nonetheless, you will need to notice that whereas Avianca ought to technically have entry to the identical Star Alliance award availability as United MileagePlus and Air Canada Aeroplan, LifeMiles would not appear to point out as many seats as different applications, and the provider’s info know-how can also be recognized to have limitations. This can lead to phantom award area, the place seats seem on-line however are usually not bookable.

Conversely, Avianca could not at all times show out there award area in United and Air Canada’s loyalty applications. Due to this fact, it’s advisable to double-check your search utilizing one other Star Alliance search engine or instruments like ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s guardian firm, Pink Ventures) earlier than transferring factors to Avianca. This ensures you will have correct and up-to-date info earlier than continuing along with your redemption.

Associated: The very best web sites to seek for Star Alliance award availability

Avianca LifeMiles candy spots

Normally, you’re confronted with a trade-off between low award charges and excessive gas surcharges or spending extra miles to keep away from further prices. Nonetheless, LifeMiles is without doubt one of the few applications that excels in each elements. It presents aggressive charges for Star Alliance awards and doesn’t move on gas surcharges to LifeMiles members.

In consequence, you’ll be able to count on to pay minimal taxes and costs when redeeming an award ticket.

Whereas LifeMiles beforehand provided a number of the lowest award charges of any program, particularly in enterprise and first-class, devaluations in 2024 and 2025 have meant that charges are nonetheless acceptable, although Air Canada’s Aeroplan is now barely cheaper on many routes.

Enterprise class from the US to Europe

Given the various carriers that fly between the U.S. and Europe, it is simple to seek out business-class availability utilizing LifeMiles, particularly if you’re versatile in your departure and arrival cities and dates.

The LifeMiles award chart lists mounted charges no matter distance, so this could possibly be a very whole lot if you will discover availability from the West Coast to Central and Jap Europe. This system prices 80,000 miles every manner in enterprise class between the U.S. and wherever in Europe, and no gas surcharges are added.

Associated: On board the primary Lufthansa Allegris flight — was the brand new cabin well worth the wait?

Longer home coach flights inside the US

The LifeMiles award chart for home flights operated by United Airways is complicated. The nation is split into three zones, so there are doubtlessly three completely different costs relying on which states you’re flying between or inside.

The shortest flights, reminiscent of inside California, are priced at an OK however not superb 10,000 miles one-way in financial system. Nonetheless, longer flights, like these from Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) to San Francisco Worldwide Airport (SFO), are solely 15,000 miles in financial system every manner per particular person, which is a good value for a flight of round six hours.

Enterprise class from the US to Asia

As anticipated, award charges from the mainland U.S. to Asia are larger, with one-way flights from Chicago’s O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD) to Taiwan Taoyuan Worldwide Airport (TPE) on EVA Airways costing 55,000 miles and 100,000 miles in financial system and enterprise class, respectively.

Nonetheless, this could nonetheless be a good option to attain the continent for fewer miles than you’d see by different applications.

Associated: Is EVA Airways enterprise class price it on the Boeing 787-10?

Enterprise class from the US to Australia

Premium cabin award area to fly Down Beneath is among the many hardest to seek out of any vacation spot worldwide. The place you’ll be able to rating availability, LifeMiles prices solely 100,000 miles in enterprise class, an excellent deal in contrast with Delta Air Strains’ over 350,000-mile charges.

As Aeroplan sells these awards for 75,000 factors, you would possibly contemplate reserving by Air Canada — although should you’re shopping for LifeMiles, it is nonetheless a candy spot price realizing about.

Economic system class from the US to Colombia

Flights operated by Avianca may be astonishingly low-cost with LifeMiles. We discovered flights beneath 7,000 miles every manner from Dulles Worldwide Airport (IAD) close to Washington, D.C., to Bogota’s El Dorado Worldwide Airport (BOG), which is an unimaginable value for a flight of 5 1/2 hours.

Blended-cabin awards

When touring in long-haul enterprise or first-class, it is common to come across mixed-cabin awards by LifeMiles. This occurs within the following conditions:

• When airways do not supply first-class on shorter routes, requiring passengers to attach in enterprise or financial system class
• When there is not award area in your required cabin

Most loyalty applications decide the award price based mostly on the very best cabin class of service used. Nonetheless, LifeMiles takes a distinct strategy. It costs every leg of the journey individually based mostly on the category of service booked, typically resulting in a reduced price for mixed-cabin tickets.

Within the above instance, whereas enterprise class is unavailable on the longer leg from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) to Hong Kong Worldwide Airport (HKG), it’s out there on the shorter HKG-TPE leg.

Another applications would possibly try to cost the whole business-class price although many of the journey is in financial system, however LifeMiles provides you the choice to decide on to improve to enterprise class on the second leg for under 6,000 miles (a superb deal in and of itself) or save your miles and fly financial system for the entire journey.

This flexibility and optionality is nice to see from a loyalty program.

Issues with Avianca LifeMiles

Regardless of LifeMiles providing interesting award charges, it won’t be your program. This system has a repute for error-prone info know-how and inconsistent customer support.

LifeMiles members typically encounter web site glitches when redeeming their miles. Moreover, should you reserve an financial system award ticket and enterprise class turns into out there, LifeMiles requires you to pay a cancellation payment to redeposit your miles. You possibly can then rebook your flight in enterprise class.

Whereas reserving with Avianca could prevent hundreds of miles, canceling your ticket could possibly be tedious and expensive. You usually cannot cancel award bookings on-line, and Avianca is gradual to challenge refunds. The provider’s name middle may be tough to resolve points with, particularly should you can not converse Spanish.

Backside line

Avianca LifeMiles is a frequent flyer program that has confirmed its price within the award journey world. With its first rate redemption charges, lack of gas surcharges and partnerships with main transferable factors and miles applications, LifeMiles presents worth and adaptability to its members. Whereas there could also be some customer support challenges and quirks to navigate, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks for a lot of vacationers, although Aeroplan is now proving to be a extra worthwhile program following a collection of LifeMiles devaluations.

So, take the time to discover Avianca LifeMiles, delve into its candy spots and unlock the chances it presents on your future travels. With a little analysis and planning, you’ll be able to profit from this program as you contemplate the place to switch your bank card factors and miles.