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Update: This sale ends today!
Originally posted on 11/26:
Avianca is a Star Alliance member and their Lifemiles program is an interesting one. Lifemiles can be used to book travel with partner airlines like United and Air Canada within North America.
Lifemiles is one of the rare mileage programs that doesn’t collect any fuel surcharges. Note that Avianca Lifemiles require earning activity every 12 months in order to stop your miles from expiring. Transferring points to Lifemiles will extend the points validity for 12 more months.
They have a hidden award chart, which I cracked in this post for the domestic portion.
They are having an award sale for select routes for tickets booked from now through 12/9. The full sale list can be found here and sample routes can be found below starting from just 4.5K miles.
You can currently get a 25% bonus on transfers from Citi to Avianca through 12/11! That means you can you can book awards for under 4K Citi points!
You can use United’s award search to find saver award space with their calendar search option:
- You’ll need to open a Lifemiles account here before you can search for award tickets online.
- Lifemiles allows you to use cash+points on award tickets, where you can effectively buy miles from about 1.5 cents each on the award search results page. You do need to have 40% of the required miles in order to do this.
- While I typically book all of my travel as one-way as that allows the most flexibility, with Lifemiles you’ll pay the booking fee twice if you book 2 one-way awards instead of a round-trip award.
It’s worth noting that Lifemiles has non-existent customer service and their website does not see all of the awards that it should, so you should always check for availability before transferring miles. You’re unlikely to have any luck calling Lifemiles for help if there website doesn’t see an award that ought to be available.
Here are some sample domestic deals:
- Chicago to/from Washington/DCA: 5K in coach (normally 7.5K).
- Chicago to/from Philadelphia: 5K in coach (normally 7.5K).
- LaGuardia to/from Chicago: 5K in coach (normally 7.5K).
- LaGuardia to/from Cleveland: 5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Newark to/from Atlanta: 5K in coach (normally 7.5K).
- Newark to/from Boston: 4.5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Newark to/from Cleveland: 5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Newark to/from Chicago: 5K in coach (normally 7.5K).
- Newark to/from Detroit: 5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Newark to/from Pittsburgh: 4.5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Los Angeles to/from Las Vegas: 4.5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Los Angeles to/from San Francisco: 5.5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- San Francisco to/from Las Vegas: 4.5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- San Francisco to/from San Diego: 5.5K in coach (normally 6.5K).
- Seattle to/from San Francisco: 5.5K in coach (normally 7.5K).
United now charges 12.5K miles for a close-in award from Cleveland to LaGuardia:
Lifemiles normally charges 6.5K miles, but is just 5K with this sale:
Here are some sample international deals:
- Newark to/from Tel Aviv: 30K in coach (normally 42.5K), 55K in business (normally 78K)
- Newark to/from London: 18K in coach (normally 20K), 48K in business (normally 60K)
- JFK to/from Tel Aviv: 66.5K in business (normally 78K)
- JFK to/from Beijing: 81K in first (normally 90K)
- JFK to/from Budapest: 50.5K in business (normally 63K)
- JFK to/from Frankfurt: 50.5K in business (normally 63K)
- JFK to/from Geneva: 52.5K in business (normally 63K)
- JFK to/from Seoul: 67.5K in business (normally 75K), 81K in first (normally 90K)
- JFK to/from Vienna: 54K in business (normally 63K)
- JFK to/from Zurich: 50.5K in business (normally 63K)
- Chicago to/from Taipei: 64K in business (normally 75K)
- Los Angeles to/from Beijing: 64K in business (normally 75K), 81K in first (normally 90K)
- Los Angeles to/from Hong Kong: 32.5K in coach (normally 35K) or 64K in business (normally 75K)
- Los Angeles to/from Seoul: 31.5K in coach (normally 35K), 60K in business (normally 75K), 72K in first (normally 90K)
- Los Angeles to/from Shanghai: 64K in business (normally 75K)
- Los Angeles to/from Taipei: 33K in coach (normally 35K) or 67.5K in business (normally 75K)
- Los Angeles to/from Tokyo: 60K in business (normally 75K), 72K in first (normally 90K)
- Miami to/from Lima: 14K in coach (normally 20K) or 26K in business (normally 35K)
- Miami to/from Panama: 10K in coach (normally 17.5K) or 18K in business (normally 30K)
United now charges 44.5K miles for a close-in Newark to Tel Aviv award in coach:
Lifemiles normally charges 42.5K, but it’s just 30K with this sale:
United now charges 88.5K miles for a close-in Newark to Tel Aviv partner award in business:
Lifemiles normally charges 78K, but it’s just 55K with this sale:
Will you book any award travel on sale with Lifemiles?
Would you lose your ticket if Avianca goes out of business after you’ve redeemed an award but before you fly?
United’s heavily invested in Avianca. I doubt they’ll let them go under. South American partners are hard to come by.
What a bummer I booked last week lga – ord rt for 2 7,500 each leg
Whats the point of checking the united saver award space if not all reward flights are available on LifeMiles?
Most are available.
Ok thanks. Probably smarter to do that, lifemiles website seems awfully slow and keeps going back to spanish every refresh.
Not even close they list just a few, search United JFK/TLV a whole huge list of options show up do same search lifelines and only 3 or 4 options show up
Depends on the route.
Also, it’s very good with nonstop award space, but you’re correct, the connecting award space is not very good.
There’s also a bonus from Thank you points…
In the post 🙂
I just transferred TYP, and they posted instantly, with the bonus!!!!
Now that united is pricing dynamic (essentially no more “saver awards”, it’s almost impossible to get the miles on their Partners. Is that accurate?
Not at all. Saver awards are not dynamically priced.
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/united-adds-mileage-surcharge-close-award-bookings-ways-avoid/
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/9-things-need-know-good-bad-surprising-changes-united-mileageplus-made-today/
But united for some reason after the announcement is not showing saver awards or even STANDARD awards. check out ex. Fll-ewr on 12/1
You’re asking why there are no saver awards on one of the busiest travel days of the year?
Standard awards are there, but those are now dynamic.
Lol I guess so.
So it seems that if there are saver awards, they remain the same, and standard rewards go dynamic. That def a big hit, as it is saver rewards are hard to find, at least standard awards we’re affordable. Now it’s just like delta when dynamically priced.
No.
lax to tlv doesn’t show up even when you login checked multiple dates whats with their lousy website i cant even figure out how much a business class seat costs from lax to tlv ?
is the sale for pesach dates ?
It’s for all dates.
So if showing 30k +$24 per leg of the trip. Will the total be 60k +$24 or is the $24 doubled as well. Is that the booking fee that is referred to in the post?
@Dan don’t forget about Citi Rewards+ loop. Transfer Citi points through Rewards+ and get 10% rebated.
Any way to transfer Chase UR to take advantage of this?
Chase-Marriot-Avianca
Are Amex transfers instantaneous? And is 60k RT economy NYC to TLV for next week likely best award option out there? Thanks
you wrote to check and make sure the seats are available if avianca lets you book it does that mean the seats are available
can you trust their site ?
Might as well be free. Coudn’t book all day. Anyone else with this issue?
Newark to/from London: 18K in coach (normally 20K), 48K in business (normally 60K)
Is this 18k per flight?
Yes
the 5k domestic award pricing is a sale from avianca? what will the prices go up to after?
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/cracking-code-avianca-lifemiles-secret-award-chart-booked-459-ticket-6500-miles/
Any one know what time its ending tomorrow?
@Dan – a friendly reminder the AMEX Green card also transfers MR points to Avianca.
Can transfer chase points?
How would you go about booking from ORD-TLV, I didn’t see that option.
what time does this end?
newark to tlv 55k if i transfer from citi for 25% is that subtracted of the total so 55k minus 25% equals 41.25k citi fo business?
Purchased LifeMiles with their 150% bonus, and redeemed this sale for roundtrip to Europe during June 2020 summer peak travel for 7 people! Business class lie-flat eastbound on Swiss. Preferred seat economy westbound on Lufthansa and Air Canada. All for 25% less than current AA Basic Economy fares! Happy!
citi double cash can be turned into ty points?? how? Is it only if you have another card that earns ty points?
https://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards/heels-removing-card-benefits-citi-creates-incredible-credit-card-trifecta/
oh thanx!!
I have United Gold Status. If I book an Air Canada flight using Lifemiles. Will I still get Gold Benefits?