LifeMiles is one of my favorite frequent flyer programs, thanks to the great redemption rates on Star Alliance partners, plus all the ways there are to earn miles with the program. Not only does LifeMiles often have promotions on purchased miles, but the program also partners with major transferable points currencies.
A new bonus has just been introduced for transferring a partner points currency to the LifeMiles program.
In this post:
Citi ThankYou to LifeMiles transfer bonus
Between March 1 and March 31, 2023, you can receive a 20% bonus when you transfer Citi ThankYou points to Avianca LifeMiles. Note that this bonus is being offered by LifeMiles and not by Citi, so you won’t see this reflected at the time that you make your transfer on Citi’s website. Rather the bonus miles will post to your LifeMiles account within 24 hours.
There are several great credit card for earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Premier® Card (review), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards. Points typically transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and transfer instantly.
Is earning LifeMiles worth it?
Avianca is in the Star Alliance, which means you can redeem LifeMiles on all Star Alliance airlines (which is what makes the program so great). Premium cabin redemptions are often quite reasonable, like being able to fly transatlantic business class for 63,000 miles one-way.
Sometimes there are promotions on redemptions, which can offer even more value. There’s also plenty of value for redeeming on United Airlines for domestic flights, which might just be the most practical use of LifeMiles.
Personally I wouldn’t speculatively transfer points, but with a specific use in mind this could be a great value, whether you’re looking at traveling in first class on All Nippon Airways or Lufthansa, or are looking at traveling in business class on a countless number of airlines.
LifeMiles doesn’t always have access to the same award availability as Star Alliance partners, for better or worse. In some cases the program doesn’t have access to partner awards that other airlines do have access to, and in other cases the inverse is true.
That’s why I always recommend doing some “dummy” award searches before acquiring miles in a program, so you can get a sense of how award availability lines up with your needs.
Bottom line
For the month of March 2023, you can receive a 20% bonus when you transfer Citi ThankYou points to Avianca LifeMiles. Note that this is being offered on LifeMiles’ end, so you won’t see this reflected on Citi’s website.
This has the potential to be a great deal for Star Alliance redemptions, given all of the partners that LifeMiles has. Personally I use LifeMiles all the time for premium cabin Star Alliance redemptions, and find the program consistently offers great value. Just remember that LifeMiles also sells miles directly, often at a reasonable cost, so I know some prefer to save their points for other uses, and just buy miles directly.
Do you plan on converting Citi ThankYou points into LifeMiles with this bonus?
Please note these miles are rarely instant. Don't be fooled.
Just transfer TY and the miles instantly in the LM account