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Transfers from Amex to Avianca LifeMiles Temporarily Unavailable
Nick Ewen
Senior editorial director
Nick Ewen is TPG's senior editorial director and helps readers leverage credit cards (he has 23 of them) and loyalty programs to travel more for less. He's been at TPG for over 11 years.
Feb. 07, 2019
•
3 min read
Transfers from Amex to Avianca LifeMiles Temporarily Unavailable
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The month of February has been quite busy for Avianca and its LifeMiles program. The carrier first underwent a scheduled maintenance from Feb. 1-5 during which time its site went offline. When it came back up, there was an entirely new interface, including enhanced partner availability but a somewhat buggy user experience.
Well, it appears that the bugs extend to other aspects of the program, as transfers from American Express Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles are currently unavailable. If you login to your Amex account, navigate to the Rewards section and go to transfer your points to Avianca, you'll see an icon with a red exclamation point on the LifeMiles tile:
When you click on the program, you'll receive the following pop-up message:
"Transfer to LifeMiles will be temporarily unavailable due to a system migration. We apologize for any inconvenience."
While this is likely a temporary problem related to the maintenance done at the beginning of the month, it's still a frustrating limitation for a transfer partnership that just launched in the fall. The LifeMiles program has a wealth of hidden gems, and one of the biggest benefits for members is the fact that you won't pay fuel surcharges on any Star Alliance awards booked through Avianca. When you add in the fact that many short- and medium-haul United award tickets can be booked for just 7,500 LifeMiles each way, this is a definite concern for a valuable program.
I certainly hope that this is resolved quickly, as Avianca LifeMiles is one of the best ways to redeem Amex points for Star Alliance awards. If you find yourself in need of a LifeMiles award ticket before this functionality is restored, remember that the program does partner with Citi ThankYou Rewards, though unfortunately the program is not currently offering one of its regular bonuses on purchased miles.
We reached out to American Express and received the following statement:
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"Yes, Membership Rewards points transfers to Avianca LifeMiles is temporarily unavailable due to a system migration. We expect this to be back up and running as usual in the coming days. We apologize for the inconvenience."
We'll be sure to update this article once the functionality is restored.
H/T: TPG reader Alex.
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Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees
Best for businesses with high spending
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
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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
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- 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.
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
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- 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
- Top rated mobile app