Award System
Avianca Lifemiles
Max. Point Value 1.30 ¢
Do Points Expire? Yes
Point Transfer Options
Transfer To Spouse/Partner Yes - $$
Transfer To Friends Yes - $$
You load your points. We’ll show you valuation and transfer options.
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Travel Partner Transfers
Outside Point System Avianca Lifemiles
Transfers In From
1:1 81% value retained
1:1 87% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 81% value retained
5:1 43% value retained
3:1 62% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
5:1 26% value retained
The Highlights
Avianca LifeMiles has good value, especially for international premium cabin flights.
- LifeMiles often has the lowest business class pricing to Europe and Asia
- Domestic short-haul flights also have some sweet spots, as does travel between the U.S. and South America
- Flexible dates and using an award tool will be key to finding these hidden gems
- Their booking site is clunky, but occasional “mixed cabin” quirks can work in your favor.
- Transfers from Amex, Citi, Capital One, and Bilt make LifeMiles easy to accumulate.
What to Know About This Point System
Avianca probably isn’t going to be an integral part of your point accumulation strategy. It is, however, a great portal to use Citi and Amex points to book flights on Star Alliance partners -- particularly if finding business class deals is your thing. Signing up for an account is easy, and the portal is user friendly.
They also have a couple of decent cards with good bonuses. If you use these points in conjunction with your Citi or Amex points, it might help round out the points you need for an international business class trip. Plus they’re trading partners with Marriott in case you need a few extra points to buy your trip.
Associated Alliance
Airlines within Star Alliance
How to Redeem
Redeeming your LifeMiles for flights on Avianca or its partners will almost always give you the highest value. The program is often overlooked, but there are many strong sweet spots across Avianca, Star Alliance partners, and select non-alliance partners.
- Best value: Award flights on Avianca or Star Alliance partners like United, Lufthansa, and Air Canada.
- Mixed-cabin awards: LifeMiles uniquely allows mixed class bookings (for example, economy + business on the same ticket), which is rare and can provide exceptional value.
The LifeMiles website is known for being slow, buggy, and unreliable, but once results load, you’ll see availability across Avianca, United, and other Star Alliance partners.
How to search for award flights
- Use the LifeMiles app or go directly to LifeMiles.com (not the main Avianca site, though you can navigate from there).
- All search results display in miles, making comparisons simple.
- LifeMiles uses a zone-based award chart for most flights. Partner airlines follow the same Star Alliance chart, though it is buried on the site.
- You can view the Star Alliance award chart on the LifeMiles site (scroll down the page once you find it).
Hotel Stays, Car Rentals, and Other Redemptions
You can redeem LifeMiles for a variety of travel and non-travel purchases, but these options offer poor value compared to booking flights. We recommend avoiding these redemptions unless you have a small balance to burn.
Avianca also has a travel portal where you can use LifeMiles for these bookings, but prices are often inflated and rarely competitive compared to paying cash.
Status Levels Explained
There are four elite status levels with Avianca. To qualify for each tier, you must earn a specific number of Elite Qualifying Miles, with a minimum portion earned on Avianca-operated flights. All requirements must be met between January 1 and December 31 each year.
What to Know Before Canceling
LifeMiles expire after 12 months of inactivity, so before canceling a card, it’s important to decide what you want to do with your miles. There have been inconsistent reports about whether transferring miles from other programs resets expiration. Avianca’s terms state this does not extend the life of your miles, so don’t rely on it.
If you have a co-branded card, a single purchase will add miles to your account and reset the clock. If you’re not planning to book a flight within the next year, consider holding the card for one more year to keep your miles alive.
Family pooling is available only to elite members. If you hold status or have a LifeMiles+ subscription, your miles are safe for 24 months instead of 12.
Breaking Points