Buying miles & points strategically can represent a great value, especially for first and business class travel. The Avianca LifeMiles program has just launched its newest promotion on purchased miles, which has the potential to be a great deal. Note that nowadays LifeMiles promotions are targeted, so not all members will see this offer.
LifeMiles is one of the most useful frequent flyer programs for redeeming miles, thanks to the ability to redeem for long haul premium cabin Star Alliance awards.
In this post:
Promotion on purchased LifeMiles
Through Tuesday, April 9, 2024, the Avianca LifeMiles program is offering a bonus on purchased miles. It would appear that the standard offer is for a tiered bonus of up to 170%, as follows:
- Buy 1,000-15,000 miles, get a 140% bonus
- Buy 16,000-30,000 miles, get a 155% bonus
- Buy 31,000-200,000 miles, get a 170% bonus
However, it’s possible that other members will be eligible for different promotions, so you’ll want to check your account. I know in some cases members are now being targeted for different promotions at different times.
How much does it cost to buy LifeMiles?
Ordinarily you can buy Avianca LifeMiles for 3.3 cents each, before any discounts or bonuses. That means that if you purchased 200,000 LifeMiles (pre-bonus) with this offer, you’d receive a total of 540,000 LifeMiles for $6,600, which is a cost of 1.22 cents per mile.
How many LifeMiles can you buy?
LifeMiles lets members purchase up to 200,000 miles per account per calendar year, before factoring in any bonuses.
Which credit card should you buy LifeMiles with?
With LifeMiles now using points.com, this means that buying miles no longer counts as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending.
Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach a minimum spending requirement, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review), Citi Double Cash® Card (review), or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (review) (Rates & Fees).
Is buying LifeMiles worth it?
For context, Avianca is in the Star Alliance, which means you can redeem LifeMiles on all Star Alliance airlines without any fuel surcharges. Really this is the core value proposition of buying LifeMiles, since this is a great way to book Star Alliance premium cabin seats at a huge discount. Check out my guide on how to redeem LifeMiles for ideas on how to redeem these miles.
With a specific use in mind, this LifeMiles promotion can be a great value, whether you’re looking at traveling first class on All Nippon Airways or Lufthansa, or are looking at traveling in business class on a countless number of airlines.
Everyone has to crunch the numbers for themselves and decide whether this makes sense or not.
Do note that in some cases LifeMiles doesn’t have access to the same award availability as Star Alliance partners, for better or worse. Sometimes LifeMiles doesn’t have access to partner awards that other programs do have access to, and other times the inverse is true.
That’s why I always recommend doing some “dummy” award searches before buying miles, so you can get a sense of how award availability lines up with your needs.
How much are LifeMiles worth?
Everyone will value mileage currencies differently, but personally I value LifeMiles at ~1.4 cents each. That’s based on the redemption values on Star Alliance partners, as there’s tons of value to be had. I tend to value miles very conservatively, so if you’re maximizing miles you should be able to get way more value than that.
Do LifeMiles expire?
LifeMiles don’t expire as long as you accrue some miles at least once every 12 months. Any mileage earning activity, including buying miles, will extend the expiration of your miles. However, redeeming miles as such doesn’t extend the expiration of your miles.
How else can you earn LifeMiles?
If you’re looking to earn LifeMiles, the good news is that there are lots of options beyond outright buying them. Specifically, Avianca LifeMiles is partners with several bank currencies, including Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, and Citi ThankYou, so there are lots of ways to pick up these miles.
Bottom line
LifeMiles is offering a promotion on purchased miles. The standard offer seems to be for a 170% bonus, which kicks in when you purchase at least 31,000 miles in one transaction. This is an opportunity to acquire miles for 1.22 cents each, which could represent a great deal. LifeMiles is a program that continues to offer considerable value.
Do you plan on buying LifeMiles with a bonus?
No bonus for me.
When I opened the link last week, a notice on the page stated the bonus offer was expiring on March 26th or 28th.
Very disappointing. Numerous bloggers highlighted the Avianca/Lifemiles bonus but it's nowhere to be found online. I'm going to call Lifemiles later to see if this is really a legitimate offer and how to access.
HELP! I want to purchase miles with bonus but can't find anything anywhere on Avianca or Lifemiles sites. Yet many bloggers are writing about this promotion! Please help me find it.
Fake news! Just tried, too, and no bonus or benefit.
Am I being stupid? I don't see ANYWHERE to even purchase miles, let alone this deal specifically and I'm logged into my account.
Not showing. Anything to do?
Is this targeted? Not showing up under my account.
Yeah seems like it, not showing up for me too.
Tough to find award space so pass
Recently bought LifeMiles during the last sale. My account is at least 5 years old, have bought miles in the past and have only redeemed for myself (the account holder). Account was locked shortly after buying the miles and a redemption (for myself, for travel 350+ days out, using my own card) cancelled. They asked for government ID to unlock after saying it takes 2-3 business days to get a reply. It took more than...
Recently bought LifeMiles during the last sale. My account is at least 5 years old, have bought miles in the past and have only redeemed for myself (the account holder). Account was locked shortly after buying the miles and a redemption (for myself, for travel 350+ days out, using my own card) cancelled. They asked for government ID to unlock after saying it takes 2-3 business days to get a reply. It took more than 2 weeks, multiple phone calls, and getting hung up on to get to that point, and I’m not particularly keen on sending my information to South America. Searching Google, this is not an isolated incident. My advice is to save yourself the hassle, regardless of how good the offer is.