As a result of good value redemption rates and low or even non-existent fuel surcharges, the Avianca LifeMiles program has become a popular method to book premium First and Business class cabin awards with Star Alliance partners like Lufthansa, ANA and United Airlines.
LifeMiles is currently selling miles with a bonus of up to 140% until August 30, which increases the value proposition of buying miles significantly.
What’s the deal?
From August 16 through August 30, 2023, you can earn up to 140% bonus miles when buying Avianca LifeMiles. The promotion is tiered as follows:
- Earn a 135% bonus on purchases of between 1,000 and 20,000 miles
- Earn a 140% bonus on purchases of 21,000 or more miles.
You are able to purchase LifeMiles in multiples of 1,000 miles for US $33 for each block of 1,000 miles. With the maximum bonus applied, you could buy LifeMiles for just 1.37 cents each.
LifeMiles members are allowed to purchase a maximum of 200,000 miles per year, excluding bonus miles, meaning that if you were to max out this deal at a cost of $6,600, you could earn a total of 480,000 miles, giving you enough miles for five one-way First Class flights between the US and Europe.
What are the Pros and Cons?
- LifeMiles are one of the best value methods to book a premium cabin redemption across Star Alliance airlines.
- A fixed award chart makes it easy to work out how many miles you need for a specific redemption.
- No fuel surcharges for Star Alliance award flights.
- The LifeMiles website frequently suffers technical issues
- Avianca might not show all award availability across partner airlines
- LifeMiles has offered slightly better promotions in the recent past
How much is a LifeMiles mile worth?
1.4
Each Avianca LifeMiles mile is worth approximately 1.4 cents
On average, each Avianca LifeMiles mile is valued at 1.4 cents when redeemed for award flights with Avianca’s Star Alliance partners.
Is it worth speculatively buying miles?
My general advice is only to buy points if you are looking to boost your points balance to achieve a specific redemption. That being said, this latest deal is an excellent opportunity to acquire points for a very reasonable price which could, in turn, unlock some pretty compelling award opportunities.
The case for speculatively buying points is definitely stronger when there’s an attractive bonus promotion such as this one, although you’ll want to be certain you are getting value for money when you book an award flight.
Remember, award availability can vary from airline to airline, so I would suggest checking out award availability through the LifeMiles site first to make sure the flight and product you are after are available at the right price through LifeMiles.
How many miles do I need for an award flight?
The value proposition for using LifeMiles is to book awards flights with Avianca’s partner airlines, especially within the Star Alliance. In this regard, LifeMiles is particularly good as the program still uses an award chart with fixed redemption rates.
The table isn’t particularly easy to read, but once you get your head around it, you can quickly work out exactly how many miles you’ll need for a specific redemption (although, bear in mind that LifeMiles might not show all award availability so check this first before acquiring miles).
The full table can be accessed here (PDF link).
The Avianca LifeMiles award chart is a zone-based award chart, which means that the number of miles required for an award flight depends on the origin and destination zones, as well as the cabin you want to travel in.
For example:
- Fly from New York to Europe in Swiss First Class for 87,000 miles or in Business Class for just 60,000 miles.
- Fly a domestic flight within the United States with United Airlines from just 7,500 miles.
- Fly from Germany to South Africa in Lufthansa First Class for just 99,000 miles.
What other ways are there to earn LifeMiles?
Coming soon.
Do Avianca LifeMiles expire?
Avianca LifeMiles can expire if no miles have been earned in 12 months.
To stop your miles from expiring, you’ll need to ensure that some miles are credited to your account at least once every 12 months. There are a number of ways to do this, including purchasing miles.
Other account activity, including redeeming miles, will not stop miles from expiring.
How does this offer compare to previous promotions?
Summary
- Avianca LifeMiles is currently offering a bonus of up to 140% when buying miles. The promotion runs from August 16 to August 30, 2023.
- You can purchase LifeMiles in blocks of 1,000 miles for US $33 per block. With the maximum bonus applied, you could buy LifeMiles for just 1.37 cents each.
- LifeMiles members are allowed to purchase a maximum of 200,000 miles per year, excluding bonus miles.
- The value of a LifeMiles mile is typically around 1.4 cents when redeemed for award flights with Avianca’s Star Alliance partners.
- This promotion is a good opportunity to acquire LifeMiles at a very reasonable price, which could unlock some compelling award opportunities.
- Award availability can vary from airline to airline, so it is a good idea to check out award availability through the LifeMiles website before you buy miles.
