Point transfers from Amex Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles currently unavailable
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
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.
Featured image by Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 2X points on all travel and dining, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide, eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
- Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022. That’s 3X points in addition to the 2X points you already earn on travel.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.