Avianca’s LifeMiles program is one of the most useful programs for premium cabin Star Alliance redemptions. They often sell miles at a discount, so buying miles from them is a great way to book discounted first & business class tickets on some Star Alliance carriers.
The program has just announced an adjustment to their mileage expiration policy, which is worth being aware of. As if April 15, 2018, Avianca LifeMiles is modifying their mileage expiration policy:
- Currently miles expire after 24 months of inactivity, and any sort of mileage activity (including earning or redeeming miles) extends the expiration date of your miles
- Under the new policy, miles will expire after 12 months of inactivity, and only earning miles will extend the expiration date of your miles (meaning that redeeming miles will no longer reset the expiration date of your miles)
Miles earned prior to April 15, 2018, will continue to have the old expiration policy, while miles earned as of that date will be subjected to the new rules. Those who have a LifeMiles credit card or elite status in the LifeMiles program will continue to have their miles valid for up to 24 months, though still only mileage earning activity resets the expiration of the miles.
This is of course a negative change, though ultimately a very minor one. It’s unfortunate that they’re both cutting the validity in half while also reducing the activity that qualifies towards resetting the account.
The good news is that it still shouldn’t be too tough to reset the expiration of miles. LifeMiles sells miles inexpensively and is also transfer partners with Citi ThankYou, so it’s not going to cost you a ton to keep the miles active. On top of that, LifeMiles has more partners than ever before, so getting qualifying activity isn’t tough. The bigger issue is just staying on top of things, though mileage management services like AwardWallet help with that.
(Tip of the hat to View from the Wing)
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