Receive Double LifeMiles Until February 28th

I only recently discovered Avianca’s fantastic LifeMiles program.  LifeMiles serves as a gateway to a variety of Star Alliance award redemptions.  From Lufthansa First Class to EVA Air Business Class, LifeMiles is a great way to book with Star Alliance programs.  To make LifeMiles even more appealing, Avianca has been known to sell their points/miles at a lower price or offer fantastic bonuses.

Until February 28th, 2017, Avianca is offering double LifeMiles when you purchase miles directly from their website.  Avianca sells miles in increments of 1,000.  1,000 LifeMiles costs $33 ($40.26 if taxes are applicable).  However, with this double points promotion, 2,000 LifeMiles costs $33, not 1,000.

Earn Double LifeMiles thru Feb 28th (Image: Avianca)

Earn Double LifeMiles thru Feb 28th (Image: Avianca)

The terms and conditions are pretty straightforward.  I can’t link you directly to the terms and conditions as you need to be logged into your LifeMiles account to view them.  I’ve posted an image of them below.  However, the most important terms and conditions are; you can buy a maximum of 200,000 miles, some promotions are applicable in only select countries, miles don’t count towards elite status, and you must buy miles by February 28th in order to earn double miles.


Why Buy LifeMiles

Until you run a few award flight searches on Avianca’s website, LifeMiles might seem like a pretty useless program.  However, Avianca’s program is a great way to book inexpensive award flights on Star Alliance carriers.

Redeem LifeMiles for Austrian Airlines Business Class (Image: Austrian Airlines)

Redeem LifeMiles for Austrian Airlines Business Class (Image: Austrian Airlines)

For example, for 63K LifeMiles you can fly business class between Europe and North America.  Notable products that you can book for 63K LifeMiles include business class on Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and United.  With the on-going promotion, all you have to do is buy 32K LifeMiles which will cost roughly $1,056.00.  Trans-Atlantic business class fares typically run well above $3,000 on the carrier listed above so with the double miles promotion, you’ll save nearly $2,000 on Trans-Atlantic business class.

As for award space, Avianca doesn’t appear to release award space until just a few days in advanced making it nearly impossible to plan trips months in advance.

Avianca LifeMiles Co-Branded Credit Card Sweetens the Deal

Earn 40K to 60K LifeMiles (Image: Avianca)

Earn 40K to 60K LifeMiles (Image: Avianca)

The best way to take advantage of the on-going double miles promotion is to sign-up for Avianca’s LifeMiles Visa card.  The Avianca Vulea Visa Credit Card features a fantastic sign-up bonus.  I originally heard about this sign-up bonus from Dominik Żmuda of TravelingTheWorld.  The Vuela card allows you to earn 40K LifeMiles after the first statement closes.  This means all you have to do is make a single purchase of any value pay part of the annual fee.  Once your first statement closes, you’ll earn 40K LifeMiles.  A promo code (likely no longer valid) allows you to earn an additional 20K LifeMiles after your first purchase.  I don’t have that promo code but I’m digging around for it.

Buying double LifeMiles and signing up for the Vulea is the best way to take advantage of Avianca LifeMiles.


Overall

I’m currently working on securing a spot in Lufthansa First Class from Frankfurt to Miami in a couple weeks.  My 60,000 LifeMiles recently posted and I plan on buy 10,000 LifeMiles (20K with the bonus) for a few hundred bucks.  80,000 LifeMiles will allow you to book Trans-Atlantic first class.  However, LifeMiles redemptions start at just a few thousand points meaning the possibilities for redemptions are endless.

Do you plan on buying LifeMiles during the double miles promo? What’s your ideal LifeMiles redemption?