Act fast: Avianca mileage sale as low as 2,200 miles each way
Avianca just dropped a flash sale on award tickets from select U.S. cities to Central and South American destinations. The Colombian carrier is offering award tickets at up to a 30% discount to San Jose, Costa Rica; San Salvador, El Salvador; and Bogota, Colombia. With a couple of routes, you can book one-way fares for as few as 2,200 miles.
You have to act fast to take advantage of this sale, as it only applies to flights booked by Thursday. The sale fares apply to travel between now and March 2025. Another thing: To find the sale fares, you must go to the website of the airline's rewards program, LifeMiles. Once you log in, you can search for flights from your preferred departure city.
Deal basics
Airline: Avianca.
Routes: Select routes in Avianca's network from the U.S. to San Jose, San Salvador and Bogota.
How to book: Browse flights on Avianca's LifeMiles website, then book directly with the airline.
Travel dates: The travel window for this sale is from Friday through March 27, 2025.
Sample flights
As you can see in the screenshot above, the sale allows you to save a substantial number of miles for trips to these three destinations.
If you haven't used Avianca's LifeMiles site, be patient. It's not the most user-friendly site, and the functionality is clunky. For example, you have to check individual dates to find out how many miles a one-way ticket will cost.
As for the deals themselves, June is a good month to find fares from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose. You can book fares for 8,460 miles and about $69 in taxes each way.
August and January have even better fares, with one-way tickets from LA to San Jose available for just 7,610 LifeMiles, plus $50.28 in taxes.
You can book flights from Los Angeles to El Salvador International Airport (SAL) in San Salvador for just 3,170 miles plus $60 in taxes before the promo discount. This is easily the best bargain in this sale. We found good availability for this rate in July and August, but the lowest fares were mostly gone in other months.
One of the better deals we found out of New York City was this June itinerary from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to San Salvador for 4,360 miles and $33.20 in taxes.
Be sure to compare options before you choose the fare you want. Avianca has three different economy options: Basic, Classic and Flex. You may have enough miles that it would be a better deal to upgrade a tier and get the free carry-on and checked bag; you wouldn't get this with the Basic-level ticket.
Maximize your purchase
If you don't have a stash of LifeMiles, there are many ways to get your hands on some, including via Avianca's partnerships with major transferable points programs. You can currently transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to your LifeMiles account at a 1:1 ratio.
If you're looking to top up your transferable points balances, you can do so by applying for these offers:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible to earn as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases with the card within the first three months of card membership.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first six months from account opening.
- Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Bottom line
We always point out that the more flexible your travel schedule is, the better your chance of scoring the best deal. It's especially true with this sale, as the discounted fares are volatile. Have patience with Avianca's website and check various months to hopefully maximize your savings.
Related reading:
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Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month