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30 Best Ways To Redeem Avianca LifeMiles for Maximum Value

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Stephen Au

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30 Best Ways To Redeem Avianca LifeMiles for Maximum Value

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Avianca LifeMiles may not necessarily be one of the most talked about miles like ANA, Virgin Atlantic, or United, but we find LifeMiles extraordinarily useful, particularly for those who have lots of different transferrable points!

Headquartered in Bogota, Colombia, Avianca Airlines has been the national airline and flag carrier of Colombia since 1919! It’s also part of the Star Alliance — the largest airline alliance in the world.

In fact, there are so many good options for using your Avianca LifeMiles that it can often be difficult deciding which flights to take! But in this guide, we will show what we believe to be the best ways to redeem Avianca LifeMiles for maximum value!

The Pros and Cons of Avianca LifeMiles (Quick Overview)

To start with, let’s talk about the many benefits of Avianca LifeMiles:

  • There are no fuel surcharges levied on any flights
  • You can basically book any Star Alliance partner online
  • No close-in booking fees, which means you can save big bucks on last-minute award availability
  • Miles will not expire as long as you have a qualifying earning activity every 12 months, which includes purchasing LifeMiles or transferring credit card points to LifeMiles
  • You can also regularly earn loads of miles from sales of up to 125% to 175% bonus miles!

Avianca does have a few disadvantages, one of which is a not-so-competent phone reservations department. If you do find an award that isn’t bookable online, you will need to call them over the phone, which can be a pain.

There is also a flat $25 award booking fee, and a high set of award change/cancellation fees. For more details on award fees, check out our guide for airline award cancellation and change fees!

It’s also important to be aware that award availability on the website has been inconsistent; it doesn’t always show the same availability as websites like United.com or Aeroplan.com.

How To Boost Your Avianca LifeMiles

Transfer Points from Credit Card Partners

Avianca LifeMiles can be transferred from American Express Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One, and Citi Thank You Rewards at a 1:1 rate or from Marriott Bonvoy at a transfer rate of 3:1.

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

Recommended Capital One Cards (Personal)

Hot Tip: We’ve also got an entire article dedicated to the best ways to earn lots of Avianca LifeMiles, so don’t miss it! 

Avianca LifeMiles Sales

The last way to earn LifeMiles worth discussing is by purchasing them. We mention this method because there are often gigantic sales of up to 125% to 175% bonus miles!

Be sure to wait until these sales happen (which is quite often) to buy LifeMiles if you need to. If you catch that rare 175% bonus, you’ll be buying LifeMiles for around 1.2 cents each!

The 30 Best Ways To Use Your Avianca LifeMiles

As already discussed, you are best off booking awards online; the phone agents are not as competent as you’d typically like them to be.

In theory, you can book any partner award online, but sometimes availability is blocked.

For example, Air New Zealand is known to have limited award availability shown on the Avianca LifeMiles website. With business class availability being so rare on Air New Zealand, this example might be one of the extreme cases where you want to try calling LifeMiles.

The flat $25 award booking fee is definitely offset by the fact no fuel surcharges will be passed on LifeMiles award bookings. There is also no close-in booking fee, so last-minute awards won’t cost any additional money.

However, once you do make your award booking, change and cancellation fees are no joke, so be sure you understand that before setting plans in stone.

1. Fly Lufthansa First Class Without Surcharges to Europe (87,000 Miles)

Enjoy complete privacy and utter perfection in Lufthansa first class without the surcharges using Avianca LifeMiles! Image Credit: Greg Stone

The first choice is definitely one of the most popular: flying on Lufthansa first class! This is a stunning redemption, and flying Lufthansa without surcharges at reasonable rates is often difficult.

Lufthansa first class awards are almost never available more than 15 days in advance to partners, so you’ll have to book pretty close to departure. Luckily, LifeMiles doesn’t assess any close-in booking fees!

Avianca LifeMiles provides the most affordable way to fly on Lufthansa first class from the U.S. to Europe without paying ~$900 in fuel surcharges each way. First class from the U.S. to Europe will cost you just 87,000 LifeMiles + $61 in taxes and fees!

Here are some great example routes you can take:

  • Boston (BOS) to Frankfurt (FRA) — good availability
  • Chicago (ORD) to Frankfurt (FRA) — good availability
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Frankfurt (FRA) — availability is tough
  • New York (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) — good availability
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Frankfurt (FRA) — availability is sporadic
  • Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Frankfurt (FRA) — good availability

If Europe is on your list, we’ve written an extensive guide on flying there with points and miles.

Hot Tip: Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide for booking Lufthansa first class!

2. Fly Swiss Air Business Class Without Surcharges to Europe (63,000 Miles)

Revel in Swiss luxury aboard SWISS International Airlines First Class! Image Credit: SWISS Air

SWISS Air has a fantastic business class product that generally has solid availability far in advance. It levies fuel surcharges, but luckily LifeMiles doesn’t pass them on!

All but one of its nonstop routes are to Zurich. You can snag a one-way flight for only 63,000 LifeMiles and $61 in taxes and fees!

Here are some great example routes you can take:

  • Boston (BOS) to Zurich (ZRH)
  • Chicago (ORD) to Zurich (ZRH)
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Zurich (ZRH)
  • Miami (MIA) to Zurich (ZRH)
  • New York (JFK) to Geneva (GVA)
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Zurich (ZRH)

3. Fly Transcontinental Business Class in the U.S. on United Airlines (25,000 Miles)

Flying on United Polaris is a great way to try a new product en route to Europe. Image Credit: Stephen Au

Another great sweet spot is United Airlines’ premium transcontinental business class between Newark (EWR) or New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO).

You’ll be able to fly transcontinental on United’s awesome Polaris business class with lie-flat seats!

Trying United Polaris across the U.S. will set you back only 25,000 miles each way, as long as you find partner-level availability.

4. Fly to Europe on United Polaris Business Class (63,000 Miles)

Image Credit: United

If you want to try United Polaris business class on long-haul flights, you can do so when flying to Frankfurt, London, Paris, and more! It will only cost 63,000 miles each way + ~$61 in taxes and fees.

Here are some great example routes you can take:

  • San Francisco (SFO) to Frankfurt (FRA)
  • San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR)
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG)

Hot Tip: If you want to fly to the Middle East, you can redeem 78,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees for the 2 nonstop United routes from San Francisco (SFO) and Newark (EWR) to Tel Aviv (TLV), as well as the nonstop flight from Newark (EWR) to Dubai (DXB)!

5. Avianca Promo Awards

Image Credit: Avianca

Avianca will routinely run promo awards for different destinations all around the world. There’s some solid opportunity to eke extra value from your LifeMiles due to the discounts offered here.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to read carefully and be sure to book the awards when the sale is actually occurring. The promo awards are typically only valid if booked within a short window of time (2 to 3 weeks).

Some example promos include:

  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Beijing (PEK) – round-trip for 144,000 miles in Air China first class (regular price = 180,000)
  • New York (JFK) to Seoul (ICN) – round-trip for 144,000 miles in Asiana Airlines first class (regular price = 180,000)
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE) – round-trip for 136,000 miles in EVA Air business class (regular price = 170,000)
  • Seattle (SEA) to Taipei (TPE) – round-trip for 136,000 miles in EVA Air business class (regular price = 170,000)

6. Fly to Australia and New Zealand in Economy (40,000 Miles)

Air New Zealand economy class. Image Credit: Air New Zealand

If you wanted to save money when flying to Australia or New Zealand (where round-trip tickets from America regularly cost more than ~$1,200), you could use 40,000 Avianca LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees each way!

Here are some example routes you can take:

  • Chicago (ORD) to Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand
  • Houston (IAH) to Auckland (AKL) on Air New Zealand
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL) on United Airlines
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Auckland (AKL) on United Airlines
  • Vancouver (YVR) to Sydney (SYD) on Air Canada

7. Fly to Belgium in Business Class on Brussels Airlines (63,000 Miles)

Fly Brussels Airlines in business class for 63,000 Avianca LifeMiles. Image Credit: Brussels Airlines

There are 2 nonstop flights to Brussels from the U.S. on Brussels Airlines. Its business class is solid, with direct aisle access and a 1-2-1 configuration.

It will cost just 63,000 miles + ~$61 in taxes and fees each way to book these routes, but the only ones available are from the East Coast:

  • New York (JFK) to Brussels (BRU)
  • Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Brussels (BRU)

8. Fly to Warsaw in Business Class on LOT Polish Airlines (63,000 Miles)

While definitely not industry-leading, LOT Polish Airlines presents a comfortable way to fly to Warsaw, Poland. Image Credit: LOT Polish

If visiting Poland is high on your to-do list, you will be very pleased to find that Star Alliance partner LOT Polish Airlines has 4 nonstop routes from the U.S. to Warsaw.

LOT’s seats are in a 2-2-2 configuration, so direct aisle access isn’t always possible. The seats themselves are not industry-leading by any measure, but it’s certainly a way to fly nonstop to Poland in comfort.

It will cost 63,000 miles each way to fly on LOT Polish business class. Here are the 4 non-stop routes you can take:

  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Warsaw (WAW)
  • Chicago (ORD) to Warsaw (WAW)
  • New York (JFK) to Warsaw (WAW)
  • Newark (EWR) to Warsaw (WAW)

9. Fly From Japan to Australia in Business Class on ANA (40,000 Miles)

Enjoy the comfort of ANA business class. Image Credit: Stephen Au

Have you ever wanted to fly ANA business class? Well, you can do so for ridiculously cheap prices using LifeMiles! You’ll fly for almost 10 hours nonstop, and it’ll only cost you 40,000 miles!

ANA flies its 787 Dreamliner, which only has business class, but it’s sure to be comfortable with lie-flat seats and delicious Japanese catering.

You can fly on ANA’s only flight to Australia with this route:

  • Tokyo (HND) to Sydney (SYD)

Hot Tip: Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide to booking ANA business class.

10. Fly Between Bangkok and Japan in THAI Business Class (36,000 Miles)

THAI Airways business class. Image Credit: Thai Airways

Ever wanted to try THAI business class? Since Thai Airways operates all different types of aircraft, the business class products are dramatically inconsistent, but a solid business class product is on the A350!

You can fly between Bangkok and Japan (6 hours each way) for 36,000 miles! This is definitely an affordable way to try THAI’s business class product while traversing around Asia.

Keep in mind that THAI flies both the 777 and A350 on this route, so you’ll want to pick the A350 product if you can.

Here are the routes you can fly:

  • Bangkok (BKK) to Tokyo (HND/NRT)

11. Fly Between Bangkok and Japan in THAI First Class (50,000 Miles)

Thai Airways first class. Image Credit: Cherag Dubash

If you want to fly first class between Bangkok and Japan on THAI, you can do so on the 777. The A350 does not have a first class cabin, but the 777 has 2 rows in a 1-2-1 configuration.

One great route operated with a first-class-equipped 777 is TG 676, which flies between Bangkok (BKK) and Tokyo (NRT). You can fly first class on this 6-hour flight for 50,000 miles each way!

Hot Tip: If you take this flight, try to get bulkhead seats 1K and 2K for extra privacy and space!

12. Fly From New Zealand to Japan in Business Class on Air New Zealand (50,000 Miles)

If you have a chance, you can also try the Air New Zealand 787 Dreamliner business class product! Regardless of what plane you fly, Air New Zealand business class is one of the best in the world. Image Credit: Air New Zealand

Want to fly from New Zealand to Japan in business class? You can do so on the 11-hour flight operated by Air New Zealand!

For 50,000 miles and ~$61 in taxes and fees, you’ll be able to fly on Air New Zealand’s great business class product aboard the 787 Dreamliner.

With a 1-1-1 configuration and only 18 seats in the entire business class cabin, you will definitely be spoiled to the max!

» Related: Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 Business Class Review [SYD to AKL]

13. Fly From Hawaii to Korea in Business Class on Asiana Airlines (48,000 Miles)

Enjoy Asiana Airlines Business Class to or from Korea! Image Credit: Stephen Au

If you’re leaving from Hawaii, you can enjoy being closer to Asia with shorter flight times to reach places like Korea.

Asiana Airlines has a pretty convenient route between Honolulu (HNL) and Seoul (ICN) that averages about 9 hours each way for 48,000 LifeMiles.

This flight is typically operated by the 777-200LR, which features lie-flat business class seats.

14. Fly to Portugal in Business Class on TAP Portugal (63,000 Miles)

TAP A330-900neo business class. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

Flying to Portugal is a pretty niche award redemption, and it’s impossible to fly nonstop from the West Coast.

TAP Portugal, the flag carrier of Portugal, offers lie-flat business class seats on its A330, and it flies the A330 from Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), and Newark (EWR) from 63,000 miles.

15. Fly From Thailand to Australia in THAI Business Class (40,000 Miles)

Thai Airways business class. Image Credit: Thai Airways

If you want to fly on Thai Airways business class, you can do so for 9 hours from Bangkok (BKK) to Sydney (SYD) and spend only 40,000 LifeMiles one-way!

When you’re flying THAI business class, be sure to arrive early and visit the business class lounge in Bangkok.

16. Fly to Turkey in Business Class on Turkish Airlines (63,000 Miles)

Turkish Airlines Boeing 787-9 business class. Image Credit: Greg Stone

Want to visit Turkey and explore the serene scenery there? Itching to enjoy some delicious kebabs and Turkish delight? Now, you can fly comfortably on Turkish Airlines with LifeMiles for only 63,000 miles one-way!

Unfortunately, Turkish Airlines’ business class product is pretty dated with a 2-3-2 arrangement. This means that the cabin is a lot more crowded — but if you care about legroom, these straight forward-facing seats provide lots of it and are completely lie-flat.

Alternatively, Turkish Airlines’ new A350s and 787-9 Dreamliners have business class products in a 1-2-1 configuration that have greater privacy but less legroom and width.

So if you’re a larger person, the 2-3-2 arrangement might end up being more comfortable — but if you value privacy more than the size of the seat, you might opt for the newer business class seat.

As always, you won’t be responsible for the common out-of-pocket fuel surcharges that plague European flights!

17. Fly From Hawaii to China in Business Class on Air China (48,000 Miles)

Air China business class. Image Credit: Air China

Although Air China has a reputation for being a relatively lackluster airline for anything less than first class, you’ll be able to fly from Honolulu (HNL) to Beijing (PEK) in fully lie-flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration on Air China’s A330!

For 11 hours and 25 minutes of flying time, paying 48,000 miles is not bad if you get to enjoy flat-beds and decadent Chinese cuisine.

If you’re based in Hawaii and want to fly to China nonstop, this is definitely your best option! Cash prices for business class are approximately $3,000, and economy is typically no cheaper than $1,000 round-trip — it’s definitely best to use points for this redemption.

Hot Tip: As China begins to reopen, we’ll stay tuned to see whether Air China reinstates flights between Hawaii and China.

18. Fly From Hawaii to Tokyo in Business Class on ANA (48,000 Miles)

ANA A380 business class. Image Credit: ANA

If you’re based in Hawaii, finding affordable nonstop flights to Asia can be extremely difficult.

For those who want to fly between Hawaii and Japan, spending 48,000 LifeMiles will get you a very solid business class product between Honolulu (HNL) and Tokyo (HND/NRT).

ANA is using its A380 on its Honolulu service, meaning that you’ll be flying a brand-new, huge, comfortable double-decker with some of the best seats in the business!

19. Fly to South Asia in Economy (39,000 Miles)

Turkish Airlines economy class. Image Credit: Turkish Airlines

Interested in flying to South Asia for the cheapest miles price possible? These are the countries that Avianca LifeMiles considers to be “South Asia:”

  • Bangladesh
  • Brunei
  • Cambodia
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Myanmar (Burma)
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

Honestly, cash tickets to some of these countries can get hairy pretty quickly. Instead, for just 39,000 miles, you can fly one-way in economy to any of these places from the U.S.!

Here are some great example routes you can take:

  • Houston (IAH) to Taipei (TPE) to Bangkok (BKK) to Vientiane (VTE) on EVA Air and THAI Airways (average cash price = $2,200)
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Singapore (SIN) to Bandar Seri Begawan (BWN) on Singapore Airlines (average cash price = $2,500)
  • New York (JFK) to Istanbsul (IST) to Dhaka (DAC) on Turkish Airlines (average cash price = $1,000)
  • Seattle (SEA) to Seoul (ICN) to Phnom Penh (PNH) on Asiana Airlines (average cash price = $1,000)

20. Fly to the Southern Tip of South America in Economy (30,000 Miles)

Don’t care too much about business class when flying to South America? Try out Avianca economy for 30,000 miles each way in economy! Image Credit: Avianca

Another nice opportunity for economy flyers is checking out the southern tip of South America! These countries include:

  • Argentina
  • Bolivia
  • Chile
  • Paraguay
  • Uruguay

If heading to any of these countries is on your radar and you don’t want to use too many of your hard-earned points and miles, then look at this redemption! Flying in economy will only cost 30,000 miles each way, which is perfect for budget travelers.

Here are some great example routes you can take:

  • Houston (IAH) to Buenos Aires (EZE) on United Airlines
  • Houston (IAH) to Santiago (SCL) on United Airlines
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Bogota (BOG) to La Paz (LPZ) on Avianca Airlines
  • Miami (MIA) to Panama City (PTY) to Montevideo (MVD) on COPA Airlines
  • Orlando (MCO) to Bogota (BOG) to Asunción (ASU) on Avianca Airlines

21. Fly to Scandinavia in Business Class on SAS (63,000 Miles)

SAS business class. Image Credit: SAS

Scandinavia is a region that contains several countries. A Star Alliance member, SAS is the flag carrier of Scandinavia, and it has hubs in Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), and Stockholm (Sweden).

Here are the airports that fly to each of the hub cities:

U.S. AirportCopenhagen (CPH)Oslo (OSL)Stockholm (ARN) 
Boston (BOS)X
Chicago (ORD)XX
Los Angeles (LAX)X
Miami (MIA)XXX
Newark (EWR)XXX
San Francisco (SFO)X
Washington, D.C. (IAD)X

With this in mind, you can plan your award travel based on the country you want to visit first or the airport you live closest to.

SAS flies the A321neo (with lie-flat business class seats), A330, and A350 to Scandinavia, and these aircraft all feature lie-flat business class seats. Also, these are staggered Thompson Vantage XL seats, which are very similar to the Delta One Suites (but without the doors). On wide-body planes, this configuration is 1-2-1. And on the A321neo, there’s a 2-2 configuration.

Overall, it is a very solid product with great inflight entertainment, food, service, and comfortable beds that will get you to Scandinavia and leave you pleased!

22. Fly to Ghana in Business Class on United Airlines (78,000 Miles)

Image Credit: United

This next redemption is a pretty niche redemption because it really is only 1 route:

  • Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Accra (ACC)

You’ll be able to fly on United Polaris class to Ghana for only 78,000 miles + ~$61 in taxes and fees.

United Airlines operates the only nonstop flight for this route. The seating configuration is completely lie-flat, so you’ll have a comfortable time flying.

23. Fly to Cairo in Business Class on Egyptair (78,000 Miles)

Egyptair 787 business class. Image Credit: Egyptair

This particular redemption is even more niche than the United flight to Accra. Egyptair operates a couple of routes from the U.S. — from New York (JFK) or Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Cairo (CAI) — and its only other route in North America is to Toronto.

Its Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a 2-cabin aircraft with 30 lie-flat, reverse herringbone business class seats and economy seats in a 3-3-3 setup.

And even though this business class product is pretty standard, the soft product tends to be severely lacking, including the service quality.

But then again, if you’re a traveler from New York or Washington, D.C. and need to get to Egypt in the quickest way possible without transiting other airports, it is an option.

Flying this route in business class will cost 78,000 miles each way.

24. Short-haul Flights Within North Asia in Business Class (22,500 Miles)

Eva Air Laurel Class on the 787. Image Credit: EVA Air

One of the best ways to redeem Avianca LifeMiles is on “short-haul” flights within North Asia. Luckily, Avianca has a very generous definition of North Asia:

  • China
  • Guam
  • Hong Kong
  • Japan
  • Macao
  • Mariana Islands
  • Mongolia
  • North Korea
  • Palau
  • Philippines
  • South Korea
  • Taiwan

Here’s an example route you can try:

  • Seoul (ICN) to Taipei (TPE) on THAI, EVA Air, or Asiana Airlines business class

This 2.5-hour flight will cost 22,500 miles each way, and you’ll have the chance to try some solid regional business class products.

26. Fly to Saipan From Seoul in Business Class on Asiana Airlines (22,500 Miles)

Asiana A321neo business class. Image Credit: Asiana

This redemption expands on the “within North Asia” sweet spot for 22,500 miles each way that we explained above.

A highly niche redemption, you can fly nonstop on Asiana Airlines’ business class from Seoul (ICN) to Saipan (SPN) in the Mariana Islands.

For a 4.5-hour flight, it’s an excellent nonstop way to get to Saipan directly from Korea.

27. Fly to Tokyo From Guam in Business Class on United Airlines (22,500 Miles)

United 787-800 business class. Image Credit: United

Yet another sweet spot is to fly from Guam (GUM) to Tokyo (NRT) on United Airlines in business class. This also qualifies for the 22,500-mile cost one-way, even though it is a 4-hour flight!

The not-so-good news is that these seats are simple recliner seats like the ones you’d find on domestic first class flights. They are arranged in a 2-2 configuration on 737-800 planes.

Nevertheless, it’s a great way to get from Guam to Tokyo on a quick 4-hour flight for only 22,500 miles each way.

28. Fly to Hong Kong From Tokyo in Lie-flat Business Class on ANA (22,500 Miles)

This lie-flat ANA business class seat can be yours with some planning! Image Credit: Stephen Au

The last redemption we’ll be discussing in this guide is a darn good one.

How would you like to fly 4-5 hours in ANA’s 787 Dreamliner lie-flat business class from Tokyo to Hong Kong for only 22,500 miles each way? Yeah, we thought you’d like this redemption!

These 2 countries both fall into “North Asia,” so you can enjoy 4-5 hours in real business class for only 22,500 miles!

Hot Tip: A word of caution — ANA operates a few flights from Tokyo to Hong Kong. Be sure to book flights on the 787 Dreamliner, because that is the only business class product that has lie-flat seats exactly like long-haul flights from America.

29. Access Southeast Asia in EVA Air Business Class Far in Advance (90,000 Miles)

Image Credit: EVA Air

If you’re looking to fly to Southeast Asia in style, EVA Air is one of the best options for you. Keep in mind that although EVA Air is awesome about releasing business class seats far in advance, you’ll generally only find 2 seats at a time.

Still, you can enjoy an award-winning business class flight that takes you to Taipei (TPE) and beyond in Southeast Asia.

Best of all, you can use LifeMiles to book these flights. Here are some great example redemptions:

  • Chicago (ORD) to Taipei (TPE) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) one-way in EVA Air business class for 90,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees
  • Los Angeles (LAX) to Taipei (TPE) to Bali-Denpasar (DPS) one-way in EVA Air business class for 90,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees
  • San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE) to Bangkok (BKK) one-way in EVA Air business class for 90,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees

30. Fly Within Africa in Business Class (From 33,000 LifeMiles)

South African Airways business class. Image Credit: South African Airways

If you need to fly from 1 city in Africa to another, you may be able to use your LifeMiles for business class flights.

The key airline partners are:

  • Egyptair
  • Ethiopian Airlines
  • South African Airways

And here are some great example routes you can book using LifeMiles:

  • Addis Ababa (ADD) to Cape Town (CPT) one-way in Ethiopian Airlines business class for 33,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees
  • Cairo (CAI) to Addis Ababa (ADD) one-way in Ethiopian Airlines 787 business class for 35,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees
  • Cairo (CAI) to Johannesburg (JNB) one-way in Egyptair 787 business class for 35,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees
  • Lagos (LOS) to Johannesburg (JNB) one-way in South African Airways A330 business class for 35,000 LifeMiles + ~$61 in taxes and fees

Final Thoughts

Overall, Avianca LifeMiles doesn’t receive enough attention for being a solid all-around frequent flyer program.

Those who live by the mantra of earning lots of flexible rewards points will rejoice since Avianca is a transfer partner with Amex Membership Rewards, Brex Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

You can also top off your LifeMiles balance with transfers from Marriott Bonvoy and even buy LifeMiles at huge sales of up to 175% bonus miles.

With tons of quality redemptions, no fuel surcharges, no close-in booking fees, and lots of ways to explore the world on Star Alliance partners in first, business, and economy class, you should definitely give Avianca LifeMiles a look when deciding on how to travel!

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: Daniel Ross

Frequently Asked Questions

About Stephen Au

Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.

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72 comments

Anna

November 01, 2018

Are stop overs allowed on Aviance or all of these options you mentioned have to be nonstop flights?

Stephen Au

November 03, 2018

Hi Anna,

The flights cannot have stopovers, but may have layovers. Therefore, they do not need to be non-stop.

Harry

November 02, 2018

Stephen, thanks for a fantastically detailed review of the Avianca program.

Stephen Au

November 03, 2018

Hey Harry,

Thanks for the great feedback! We release great content like this all the time for your benefit!

DARREN

November 02, 2018

Hi- great article on Life Miles – I was wondering as ANA is part of Star Alliance- could you transfer lifemiles to ANA s program and if yes, would it be 1-1 swap ?

Thanks Again,

Darren

Stephen Au

November 03, 2018

Hi Darren,

ANA is part of Star Alliance. You may not transfer ANA miles between Avianca Vuela miles. You may book travel on ANA using Avianca miles.

hbilbao

December 28, 2018

There’s no “Vuela” in Avianca, it’s just Avianca.

Alex Miller

December 30, 2018

This has been changed, thank you!

Lily

April 17, 2019

How do I upgrade star alliance airlines with Lifemiles. I saw online saying that for upgrading from economy to business, the only way is to “call them.” Is there any other way around?

Stephen Au

April 17, 2019

Hey Lily,

Yes, you’ll need to call Avianca LifeMiles to upgrade your Star Alliance flights. There’s no easy workaround to this, and you’ll want to confirm availability online before calling.

Amit P

December 31, 2019

Hi Stephen,

Could you elaborate on “you’ll want to confirm availability online before calling”. Where exactly should I check the availability?

Thanks

Stephen Au

January 01, 2020

Hi Amit,

This is strictly for using LifeMiles to upgrade flights. You can use a resource like ExpertFlyer to check upgrade availability.

Thanks for reading.

Parag Mehta

May 24, 2019

Quick question – I am looking for a flight from EWR – BOM for 17th June in Business Class operated by United. United website shows availability for the direct flight but the same flight is not available on Lifemiles website. Is there a way to still book the flight? thanks a lot

Stephen Au

May 24, 2019

Parag,

You will need to change your search option from Smart Search to United Airlines. If this still doesn’t work, give Avianca LifeMiles a phone call. Thanks for reading.

Sandra Chen

June 29, 2019

I just redeemed Points to fly Eva Air. During the booking process, i have not see seats selection. How can i request seats?
Thanks

Stephen Au

June 30, 2019

Hi Sandra,

You’ll need to get the record locator from Avianca LifeMiles for EVA Air, which is typically 6 letters/numbers (ABC1DE for example). Then, go on EVA Air’s website and select seats. Thanks for reading.

IVAN

July 26, 2019

Are tickets booked with lifemiles on United typically ticketed right away or do they take 24hrs to confirm they have been ticketed? I booked a flight From Lax-Den and even though I have everything set United says they’re not ticketed yet and Avianca says it takes 24hrs to have them confirmed. My ink card doesn’t even show the charge as pending so I’m worried… Any insights based on your past experiences?

Jarrod West

July 29, 2019

Hi Ivan,

It is not uncommon for tickets booked with partner airlines miles to take 24 hours to ticket. Have you now received confirmation of your ticket?

Quinten

July 30, 2019

Brussels airlines doesn’t fly direct flights between US & Sweden. Brussels is the capital of Belgium – that’s not Sweden 🙂

Jarrod West

July 31, 2019

Hi Quinten,

Thank you for pointing out the typo. We’ve updated the post to correct it. Thanks for reading!

docntx

August 14, 2019

Alas, no more DFW-FRA First class on the A330

tim

August 17, 2019

Great review – thanks so much! I just bought 150,000 Lifemiles two weeks ago, trying to plan a trip for two to Greece next summer. But everytime I find a flight option available for saver-level miles on either the United or Aeroplan website, it’s NEVER available on the Lifemiles site. Sometimes I’ll even get different results if I unselect the “Smart Search” option and choose “Star Alliance” or the individual airline instead. If it’s available on United’s site but not with Lifemiles, then I guess I’m out of luck, right ?

Andrew Kunesh

August 19, 2019

Hey Tim, you may have luck in calling LifeMiles to book the itinerary for you over the phone. Generally, phone agents have access to all saver award space while the website may only show some options (due to technical limitations). However, some domestic connections may only be bookable on the United site due to expanded access for Explorer credit cardholders and Premier status members.

Bob

September 03, 2019

As a very frequent flyer who has for years used sites like Upgradedpoints to learn all about getting the most bang-for-buck from flying, I sincerely appreciate what you folks do. However, I wish to humbly request a bit more openness and honesty from promotion pieces like this article on LifeMiles.

I felt the need to write this reply after reading the previous comment from user “Tim” from August 17, 2019: “Great review – thanks so much! I just bought 150,000 Lifemiles two weeks ago, trying to plan a trip for two to Greece next summer.”

My immediate thoughts when seeing that were, “Wow! Gooooood luck, my friend.” and “this article hypes all the great options to be booked with LifeMiles, but it does not comment nearly enough on how almost impossible it is to get any of this actually ticketed.”

I think a better title for this article should have been, “30 Best Ways to Redeem Avianca LifeMiles for Maximum Value with a Percentage Chance of Actually Getting it Done.”

Again, as a frequent, frequent flyer who belongs to nearly every program in the Star Alliance and OneWorld alliances, I have often TRIED but NEVER succeeded in booking anything through the LifeMiles website. And since the majority of people following travel advice on booking with miles want to do so in the easiest way possible, I do not consider “just send them an email” or “give them a call” to be valid options. Avianca is infamous for having some of the worst customer service in the travel game. So here are my suggested edits and advice for this kind of article:

A. NEVER purchase LifeMiles until you have gone through their online booking system (as of 9/2019: https://www.lifemiles.com/fly/find) and confirmed that your chosen flight and booking class is showing availability. Don’t be swayed by the “limited time only, sale ends soon” on LifeMiles nonsense either. LifeMiles sales are offered constantly and continuously throughout the year; some better than others, but almost always something is out there through their constant email offer bombardments.

B. IF you are mostly an economy class flyer, then your chances are generally good to FIND availability; but booking it through lifemiles.com can still be a 50/50 crap shoot.

C. IF you are hoping to book premium in Business or First class seating, goooood luck and plan on spending hours upon days in ever finding an opening you will actually be able to get ticketed.
A lot of availability from Star Alliance carriers is not published through LifeMiles until the very last minute. I think the other carriers are on to LifeMiles’ excessive discounting, and therefore don’t offer them anything until they are mostly certain they cannot ticket the seat through their own systems.

That being said, here are a few of my amendments from this list of 30 Best Ways…
1. Fly Lufthansa First Class Without Surcharges to Europe
ROUTE: Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) to Frankfurt (FRA)
TIME: searched the next 15-days (“almost never available more than 15 days in advance”)
Were we able to find tickets?
Economy: YES
Business Class: YES
FIRST CLASS: NO
Estimated odds that you will find tickets in First Class: less than 1% chance of success. Seriously! For general bemusement, I have searched time-to-time on Avianca for MONTHS for the Lufthansa First Class flight tickets and I have NEVER seen one available.

2. Fly Swiss Air Business Class Without Surcharges to Europe
ROUTE: New York City (JFK) to Geneva (GVA)
TIME: searched the next 21-days
Were we able to find tickets?
Economy: YES
Business Class: YES, but only on the first two days. NO availability on the 19-days that followed.
Estimated odds that you will find tickets in Business Class: 80% if leaving the following day or day after. 0% if trying to book further in advance than 2-days.
And so on…

Again, have loved and used this site on numerous occasions, so my comments are no knock on you fine folks. I just don’t want people falling into what I feel is a bit of a scam with Avianca and LifeMiles. What good is it to purchase or transfer points with them, if you will almost never be able to use them to book the kinds of seats and itinerary you most wanted?

Better to check on LifeMiles first if your trip is possible, but then expect in most cases to book online (at higher point and fee expenses, I know) from the airlines themselves.

Stephen Au

September 03, 2019

Bob,

Your premise is completely incorrect but your frustrations are understandable. Let me first inform you that I have made over 15-20 successful online bookings using LifeMiles, many of which include hard-to-access products. The reality is that if you want to book first class, you have two options:

1. Pay $10,000 per ticket
2. Use miles to heavily discount the ticket price

What LifeMiles has done is effectively allow you to book first class tickets via LifeMiles purchases at huge discounts. Yes, you have to play by the rules of their program, but that’s the case with all of the frequent flyer programs out there. If you’re one of those people who’d rather pay thousands of dollars to book whatever flight you want, then have at it!

LifeMiles is one of the most underrated programs out there, regardless of the way you slice it. The way they’ve democratized Star Alliance premium bookings is something that I am personally grateful for, especially with their addition of numerous transfer partners and the ability to purchase LifeMiles if you don’t have enough points.

Simon

November 15, 2019

I will state that last year we booked business class flights from LAX to Lisbon via the lifemiles website. The route was not the best but a 13-hour flight in Business for (I think 60k points) was awesome! Yes, it’s not as good as say the United Airlines site or Southwest for availability but it is far easier to use than my 100k BA Avios that I can never seem to find availability on.

Allan

December 04, 2019

I have made several successful bookings through the lifemiles.com website. They have all been to Asia (Hong Kong or Bangkok) – departing the U.S. from either IAH, SFO, or LAX. I have been able to successfully book flights on ANA, EVA, and Asiana, but by far the most availability has been on EVA. I always book in business class at 78,000 miles each way, although once I was able to get the NRT to IAH leg of a BKK-NRT-IAH trip in First Class on ANA for around 86,000 miles (including the BKK-NRT leg). The ANA first class product was spectacular BTW, but I digress. I guess it just depends on where you want to fly and how flexible you can be on your travel dates. In all circumstances, my flights were booked at least 4 months in advance, usually 6 to 9 months. I think I have gotten very good value from the program..effectively I have paid around $2,200 or $2,300 R/T each time in J from the U.S. to S.E.A. I certainly agree that the LifeMiles phone agent process is painful, as is the cancellation fee of $200 if your plans change.

Johnny

September 12, 2019

This is so much more helpful than other sites. I’m not going to say any names but this helped so much! Thanks Upgraded Points.

Katie Seemann

September 12, 2019

Hi Johnny,
That’s great to hear – thanks for reading!

Tara

September 13, 2019

Hello, I am new to Avianca LifeMiles, do I need to have an account and miles before I can search for an award?
Is there an option to hold an award reservation for a few days before actually book? (as AA does).
Thank you.

Jarrod West

September 17, 2019

Hi Tara,

Yes, you must have an account with Avianca in order to search for an award. However, it is generally better to use the United or Aeroplan website to search for awards with Avianca as they often show more availability.

Thanks for reading!

Scott

September 21, 2019

Is it just me? I can’t get anything to show up on the Avianca site – always gives me an error. Plus I keep seeing this ‘Smart Search’ referred to, but I cannot find that anywhere on the site. How do I get to that?

Michael McHugh

September 24, 2019

Hi Scott,

Just to confirm, you’re seeing this error on the lifemiles.com website?

Agustin C.

January 15, 2020

I don’t find the “Smart Search” option either. Did Avianca revamp their website?

*Yep. Lifemiles.com and Avianca are different websites. Thanks!

j par

January 23, 2020

ANA isn’t flying to Honolulu any longer. Flights were discontinued in the 2nd Quarter of 2019.

Stephen Au

January 23, 2020

j par,

This is incorrect. Honolulu represents a hugely important market to all Japanese carriers, including ANA. Look at flights NH 181, 183, and 185.

Srini

February 17, 2020

I have Lufthansa economy ticket from Cairo to JFK via Frankfurt. How do I upgrade to business class using my Lifemiles?

Stephen Au

February 18, 2020

Srini,

You can only upgrade full-fare economy tickets to business using LifeMiles. You’re probably aren’t a full-fare economy passenger, unless you paid $2,000-$3,000 one-way for this ticket.

Scott

April 24, 2020

Regarding #17 – Thai Air 1st class BKK-SYD, can you get that in Biz class as well? For less points of course.

Stephen Au

May 06, 2020

Hi Scott,

Yes, you can get that in business class. However, the product doesn’t usually get the best reviews.

Pamela

April 25, 2020

Having spent many months lurking and studying on several travel sites, I do find yours to offer the best advice without shamelessly pushing me to apply for more credit. So thank you! If someone could clarify for me why I can find award space on United for a trip but not Avianca. In particular JNB-ATL. If the routing is Star Alliance, why isn’t the routing available on all the Star Alliance carriers award programs?

Stephen Au

May 06, 2020

Hi Pamela,

Thanks for the high compliment!

Unfortunately, every airline’s search engines are built on a different IT infrastructure and software architecture. For this reason, there’s a lot of discrepancies across different systems. There’s also the issue of variable award pricing, which United uses heavily to charge higher amounts for United flights. However, partners like Avianca LifeMiles only have access to the “cheapest” level, which means that they wouldn’t be able to help with those higher-cost United flights.

I hope this helps!

Trica

October 05, 2020

Would you be able to book an economy flight via Lifemiles and then upgrade to first class via United?

Stephen Au

October 07, 2020

Hi Trica,

If you’re talking about an award flight, the answer is almost always no.

In almost all situations, you can’t upgrade an award flight.

The exception is if United Airlines offers you an economy plus or first class upgrade for a cash surcharge, such as $200.

Sean

January 19, 2021

Do not get lifemiles. I used 63,000 lifemiles to book a one way business class from EWR to MAD on UA (end of March 2021). Trying to change the travel date as Covid-19 is still ravaging Europe. It is impossible to get through Avianca. According to the lifemiles and Avianca chat live agents, I can only make changes via Avianca call center. 45 minutes on hold, still waiting for call back request to my number (been 4 hours)! And the Avianca chat agent’s only advice to my predicament is to call the call center around 3 AM (so as not to wait too long!)

Makchelu

May 03, 2021

Hello,

I am trying to book a business class flight from TPE-JFK but I don’t see it available at lifemiles.com. Is there any other way to book the business class ticket?

Thanks

Jarrod West

May 06, 2021

Hi Makchelu,

You can search for all Star Alliance availability through the United website, find the flight number you want to book, and then call Avianca directly in order to finalize the booking using your miles.

Mindbullet

November 21, 2021

No that doesn’t work. Tried it many times, they don’t do anything different than what’s shown on their public award chart.

Lonnell

May 11, 2021

I have been trying the most points-effective way to get to the Maldives. I feel like there have to be some deals that I am missing.
I have a Life Miles account, plenty of MR, and I just received a special to buy Life Miles. I instantly started looking for Life Miles uses. They seem to spread to many different airlines.
Are you able to offer any best use options for getting to the Maldives?
I will be flying out of Austin TX, but have no problem booking a separate connection to the coast.

Jarrod West

May 21, 2021

Hi Lonnell,

We sure do – in fact, we have an entire post dedicated to it!

Ed A

May 13, 2021

Warning about Lifemiles: The LifeMiles website has never been easy to use, but until recently I was able to pay for the taxes, etc. for a redemption with no problem using a U.S. credit card as late as March of 2020 when booking a flight from Washington-Bogota. Last month, I tried to book a simple Cartagena-Bogota flight with miles and paying taxes of $31 with Amex, BOA, and various other cards with no luck. Customer service was also unhelpful and eventually, after jumping through many hoops (enter your pin number) 3 or 4 credit cards were declined, as well as my sister-in-law’s Colombian credit card. A call to AMEX revealed what I had suspected, AMEX never declined any transaction with LifeMiles. I tried again today to book a flight to Europe and the same thing, declined, hours of waiting on call center and then being told to go to the beginning.

While you show great redemptions, if Avianca has made it almost impossible to use the lifemiles, and is selling them at the same time, then buyer beware.

Michael

May 19, 2021

I and my family bought some Avianca miles with the recent promotion and plan to book a Star Alliance return flight from Europe to US with Lufthansa/Swiss. Given that we would like to sit together do you know if you can also select seats when booking Star Alliance partner flights via the LifeMiles website?

Did you experience any issues with booking (paying taxes) any Star Alliance flights on the LifeMiles website?

Stephen Au

May 23, 2021

Hi Michael,

In order to select seats, you’ll need to get the booking confirmation from the operating airline.

For example, if your booking reference from LifeMiles is ABC123, you’ll need to call LifeMiles at 800-284-2622 and ask for the Lufthansa or Swiss Air record locator. Then, you can go on Lufthansa’s website, enter the Lufthansa/Swiss record locator, and finally select your seats.

There should also be no issues with paying for taxes and fees on the LifeMiles website.

Gerard

June 02, 2021

Wonderful article. I would like to get your opinion on something. I have 55,000 Capital One Miles and I was going to transfer to Etihad at a transfer rate of 1000=1000 and figure out a trip down the line. But right now when I log in to my Capital One account they are offering a transfer special to Avianca where I can get a transfer rate of 1000=1250. I see they fly out of IAD which is about 45 minutes away from me. What would you suggest as far as transfer of points and potential trip?

Jarrod West

June 03, 2021

Hi Gerard,

For starters, I would not transfer any miles speculatively until you are ready to book a ticket, because once you move your miles from Capital One to an airline you cannot move them back.

In terms of whether you should transfer to Avianca or Etihad, you’ll want to consider where you want to travel, and what cabin class you want to fly there. But generally speaking, I would lean towards Avianca thanks to the transfer bonus, and the fact their booking partners are better than Etihad.

Thaddeus McIlroy

August 15, 2021

The selection of available flights to book with Lifemiles has become miniscule — in many cases I can’t find any flights on Lifemiles, thought flights show as available with Air Canada and United miles. I foolishly bought 245,000 miles just before Covid hit — worst investment of my life.

Mindbullet

November 21, 2021

Here’s the best way to redeem Avianca miles: Donate them because you will never be able to use them. Even if you are miraculously able to find a flight and book it, then you can be sure that you’ll need to rebook it because the operating airlines will routinely cancel their award bookings booked with LifeMiles (it has happened to me 4 times with Lufthansa flights so far).

Best of luck if you ever got suckered into buying or transferring your AmEx points to this terrible program!

ANN

January 04, 2022

When I go on the Lifemiles website, it will not let me continue with the process of searching and booking a flight until I have the required number of miles beforehand. However, I don’t want to purchase or transfer the miles prior to seeing what the itinerary looks like. Am I doing this wrong? Any advice would be appreciated.

Jarrod West

January 04, 2022

Hi Ann,

That is strange. I am currently able to view award tickets on the LifeMiles website without having miles in my account. What URL are you using?

Soph

January 10, 2022

I’m having issues with the website as well – what should’ve been a <$50 fee in addition to my ticket mileage cost is now somehow $600 for my two tickets and I already transferred my miles to the program because as the person above said, you can't see the final total cost of the redemption until after the miles are in your account?!

Tony M

January 10, 2022

Looking to book flights from LAX to ZRH end of March 2022. I see on UA’s site the flights I want. We’ll have a stop in EWR, no problem.

1. Does LifeMiles care about the booking class, we’re looking to fly Business Class. I see class I and JN. Class I seems to be on Swiss Air, JN seems to be on UA metal.

2. To me it looks like the amount of miles needed 63k per person OW. Correct?

I’m ok with calling to spoon feed the call center booking agents.

Stephen Au

January 18, 2022

Hi Tony,

It’s very difficult to find business class availability on United from LAX-EWR that Avianca LifeMiles has access to. I recommend searching for each segment individually on a different partner website that’s not United.com. Perhaps ExpertFlyer or Aeroplan.

Ed

January 14, 2022

I have heard decent things about Avianca Lifemiles so I decided to see what their costs were.
On their results for a r/t flight, it showed:
M (the letter M , I believe) 168,778 + USD 1,869

Does that mean it costs 168,778 miles plus $1,869 for this trip (DSM – MFE)?

Thanks

Stephen Au

January 18, 2022

Hi Ed,

Unfortunately, I’m not sure what you’re referring to. This doesn’t seem right if you’re booking a flight from Des Moines to McAllen via Houston on United.

Neill Macpherson

January 23, 2022

Stephen is there something happening with Lifemiles on the Sydney/ Bangkok route – all that happens on business for sale is you get directed to expensive commercial faresPLUS points. Makes no sense whatsoever. Great article. NB Thai no longer has First Class on this route. Regards, Neill

Sara

May 26, 2022

I foolishly transferred 52000 miles from my capital one account to lifemiles after scanning through this article, but then realized I couldn’t find barely ANY available flights flying out from LAX. I tried some destinations both domestically and internally, New York (Newark as mentioned in this article), Tokyo, etc, nothing came up for the next x months! So frustrated, I don’t know what to do with the miles now… Anyone has ideas?

Stephen Au

May 26, 2022

Hi Sara,

Unfortunately, these transfers are irreversible and final, which means you’ll need to figure out what to do with them. I recommend reading more of the content on our site to get a grasp on how to redeem LifeMiles for the flights you’re looking for.

Chris

June 18, 2022

The Avianca lifemiles website is so frusterating. I can’t find flights anywhere.

steve

July 05, 2022

they don’t have flights. lifemiles are useless now. Literally any program is better

Thad McIlroy

April 16, 2023

Absolutely true!!!

Allan

June 24, 2023

While during the pandemic some or most of these redemptions were possible (but usually cancelled by the carrier as the flight didn’t make) they are not available now generally. You might be able to find economy class flights but business class availability is rare indeed. This is true for most airlines/programs now, however. But to advertise these as sweet spots and readily available is simply not true – they are incredibly hard to find – either super close in – inside a week – or possibly 6 or months out has been my experience. I would not bother with this program now, even though in the past I did have some luck and good redemptions. And the customer service is horrible if you have to change anything. No website support what so ever…have to call in for everything and it takes forever.

Jarrod West

July 21, 2023

Hi Allan,

Thanks for your feedback, we are in the process of updating this piece.

Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!

Email needed if you'd like comment updates. It will NOT be published.

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