Point transfers from Amex Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles currently unavailable
Things are not looking good for the Avianca LifeMiles program at the moment.
The TPG team has discovered Friday morning that point transfers from the American Express Membership Rewards program to Avianca LifeMiles are unavailable. Points usually transfer instantly at a 1:1 ratio.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Per a message on Amex's website, the suspension of transfers is only temporary. However, some may speculate that this is tied to the airline's struggling financial position.
Avianca — the airline attached to LifeMiles — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May of this year. LifeMiles operates as a separate company from Avianca and isn't included in this bankruptcy filings. However, if the airline ends up going out of business or is forced to liquidate, LifeMiles members could lose the ability to redeem miles on Star Alliance flights.
At this point, it appears that transfers from Capital One and Citi ThankYou Rewards are still possible.
In the meantime, if you urgently need to redeem Amex points for Star Alliance flights, you can do so through programs like Air Canada Aeroplan or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.
We reached out to American Express for comment and received the following statement from a spokesperson:
"The Membership Rewards to Avianca points transfer capability is temporarily unavailable due to a technical issue. We are working to get this back up and running soon."
Hopefully this will be resolved quickly, and we'll update this article as more information becomes available.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 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 |
Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a 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.
- Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
- 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
- Top rated mobile app