What Avianca LifeMiles gets right — and where it will frustrate you

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I spend most of my year in Latin America, so it’s only natural that I know the ins and outs of Avianca, the flag carrier of Colombia. Avianca offers impressive connectivity throughout the region, but its utility extends far beyond South America.

Avianca is a Star Alliance member, which means you can use Avianca LifeMiles to book partner airline awards, from domestic United flights to transatlantic Lufthansa first-class flights. Even better, Avianca partners with a variety of transferable point currencies, making these awards incredibly easy to book.

Here’s why Avianca LifeMiles is one of my favorite loyalty programs — even after a recent devaluation.

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Points, Citi ThankYou Points, and Wells Fargo Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles at a 1:1 ratio. You likely earn at least one of these currencies, which makes Avianca an easily accessible partner.

Avianca also offers two co-branded credit cards for U.S. travelers: the Avianca LifeMiles American Express Elite Card and the Avianca LifeMiles American Express Card. I have the LifeMiles Elite Card, which grants automatic Silver elite status and a LifeMiles+ Lite membership — normally $20 a month — in exchange for a $249 annual fee.

Silver elite status offers a variety of benefits, like an extra free checked bag, priority boarding, premium seat selection, and upgrades on select flights. These benefits only matter if you regularly fly with Avianca.

The $99 version gets you Silver status and stops there. The real value of the Elite card is the LifeMiles+ Lite membership, which offers discounts of up to 25% on Avianca award flights and 10% on Star Alliance award flights.

Thanks to frequent LifeMiles award sales, you can often score Avianca flights for just a few thousand miles. Even when there isn’t a sale, Avianca charges competitive pricing for its own flights.

For instance, the quick one-hour hop between Medellín (MDE) and Bogotá (BOG) is normally around 4,000 LifeMiles each way.

The flight from Miami (MIA) to BOG isn’t much more expensive, coming in at just 8,220 LifeMiles (or 7,390 with a LifeMiles+ membership).

And you don’t have to stick around Colombia. Fly from New York (JFK) to Buenos Aires (EZE) for as little as 23,400 LifeMiles with a LifeMiles+ membership. Just remember that the prices shown are for basic economy, so you might spend a little more if you want to check a bag or select your seat.

Star Alliance comprises 26 member airlines — more than Oneworld or SkyTeam, so there are almost unlimited ways to use your Avianca LifeMiles to get around the globe.

Unfortunately, LifeMiles has devalued three times since August 2024, most recently in spring 2026 and again with no notice. You can still snag deals, though. When we checked, New York (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) nonstop on SWISS was priced at 63,530 LifeMiles in business class, plus just $29 in taxes.

Or, fly nonstop from Hong Kong (HKG) to Tokyo (HND) in ANA business class for just 22,500 LifeMiles each way, plus $54.20 in taxes.

Any loyalty program will have its drawbacks. Before you commit to Avianca LifeMiles being your only way to book Star Alliance partner redemptions, there are a few things to keep in mind.

The LifeMiles website can be very finicky, so don’t get frustrated if your award doesn’t immediately appear. Some of what you can’t see isn’t LifeMiles’ fault — Lufthansa doesn’t release first-class space to partners until about 15 days out, so that one’s a last-minute play in any program.

Plus, no-notice devaluations are somewhat common. I don’t recommend hoarding LifeMiles in your account, as a flight can skyrocket from 40,000 LifeMiles to 60,000 LifeMiles overnight. There’s a second reason not to sit on them: LifeMiles expire after 12 months of inactivity, and only earning activity restarts the clock — redeeming doesn’t count. Customer support is minimal, so it’s not great if you have any issues with phantom award availability or errors at checkout.

However, apart from solid award rates, LifeMiles shines because it doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges on award bookings. If you regularly book with British Airways, you know how expensive these fuel surcharges can get, so taxes and fees on LifeMiles bookings are generally far lower than those of other airlines.

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