Great Deal: Purchase Lifemiles With up to a 135% Bonus
Lifemiles is Colombian-based airline Avianca's mileage program. It's really made itself known by being the wholesaler of cheap Star Alliance miles and award tickets. And now it's back with another offer: Now through May 30, buy miles with up to a 135% bonus. If you were targeted for the full 135% bonus, the bonus drops the price down to 1.47 cents per mile.
Even if you weren't targeted for the 135% bonus, the terms and conditions of the offer seem to indicate that all members can get a 125% bonus. At this bonus level, the price for buying miles is just 1.47 cents per mile — still below TPG's valuation of 1.7 cents per Lifemile.
Here's how the bonus was structured for me:
- Buy 1,000 – 50,000 miles, get a 100% bonus (1.65 cents each)
- Buy 51,000 – 100,000 miles, get a 115% bonus (1.53 cents each)
- Buy 101,000 – 200,000 miles, get a 125% bonus (1.47 cents each)
If you're looking for the absolute cheapest mileage cost, Avianca's "Club Lifemiles" monthly subscription plan still gives members a chance to buy miles as cheap as 1.39 cents per mile.
For a while, Lifemiles were so difficult to actually redeem that we didn't recommend it to readers. Since then, the program has made some notable improvements, but there can still be hassles. That said, the hassles can be worth it for the hidden gems in the program, such as domestic United flights starting at just 7,500 miles one-way. Lifemiles lands #1 on our list of most undervalued airline loyalty programs. Plus, if you need to top off your account, Lifemiles are now a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Points.
One of the best benefits of Lifemiles is that it doesn't pass along fuel surcharges, making it an excellent way of booking Lufthansa first class for cheap. At 1.47 cents per mile and an award cost of 87,000 miles one-way, a Lufthansa first class flight between the US and Germany only costs $1,279. Taxes and fees from the US to Germany only add another $25.
H/T: Loyalty Lobby