Why now's the time to consider Avianca's Subscribe-and-Save Club LifeMiles program
Editor's note: This post has been updated with the latest promotion. It was most recently published on Aug. 28, 2019.
In February 2018, Avianca LifeMiles launched a unique buy-miles program called Club LifeMiles. Through a subscribe-and-save type of promotion, members can rack up LifeMiles for as little as 1.35 cents per mile.
Between this low price and LifeMiles' sweet spots, this program allows members to score one-way United awards for as little as $101 all the way up to a first-class flight to Europe with Lufthansa (with no fuel surcharges) for $1,175 in purchased miles. The catch is that you have to subscribe for a full year to get all of the quarterly bonuses necessary to lower the per-mile cost to 1.35 cents each. For reference, that's significantly cheaper than TPG's valuation of LifeMiles at 1.7 cents per mile.
If that wasn't a good enough deal, LifeMiles is running an offer to targeted members to get another 15% mileage bonus for subscribing to Club LifeMiles. If you've been targeted by email you have a deadline of Feb. 10, 2020, to sign up.
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The details can be a bit confusing with this offer, so let's break down how it works. In addition to the standard quarterly bonus, targeted members who take advantage of this offer will get an additional bonus after the second month of subscription. This bonus is calculated as 15% of the annual bonus for that plan.
Let's say that you subscribe to the $126 per month plan to buy 7,000 miles per month. The quarterly bonuses add up to 28,000 miles for a year. And 15% of that annual bonus amount is 4,200 miles, which is the "extra bonus" paid after the second month.
After one year of subscribing to Club LifeMiles at this 7,000 per month rate, you'd collect 84,000 miles from the monthly purchases plus 28,000 from the quarterly bonuses plus 4,200 from this "extra bonus." That's a total of 116,200 LifeMiles for a total cost of $1,512. That computes to 1.3 cents per mile.
The bonuses aren't paid out linearly. The quarterly bonuses are meant to keep members subscribing for the full year. When factoring in both the quarterly bonuses and this special one-time 15% bonus, here's how the accumulated cost and accumulated miles by month add up for the 7,000 LifeMiles per month package option:
| Month | Total payments | Total miles | Cost per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $126 | 7,000 | 1.80 |
2 | $252 | 18,200 | 1.38 |
3 | $378 | 28,000 | 1.35 |
4 | $504 | 35,000 | 1.44 |
5 | $630 | 42,000 | 1.50 |
6 | $756 | 53,200 | 1.42 |
7 | $882 | 60,200 | 1.47 |
8 | $1,008 | 67,200 | 1.50 |
9 | $1,134 | 81,200 | 1.40 |
10 | $1,260 | 88,200 | 1.43 |
11 | $1,386 | 95,200 | 1.46 |
12 | $1,512 | 116,200 | 1.30 |
And for the 5,000 LifeMiles per month option:
| Month | Total payments | Total miles | Cost per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $92 | 5,000 | 1.84 |
2 | $184 | 13,000 | 1.42 |
3 | $276 | 20,000 | 1.38 |
4 | $368 | 25,000 | 1.47 |
5 | $460 | 30,000 | 1.53 |
6 | $552 | 38,000 | 1.45 |
7 | $644 | 43,000 | 1.50 |
8 | $736 | 48,000 | 1.53 |
9 | $828 | 58,000 | 1.43 |
10 | $920 | 63,000 | 1.46 |
11 | $1,012 | 68,000 | 1.49 |
12 | $1,104 | 83,000 | 1.33 |
And here's how the 3,000 miles per month subscription breaks down:
| Month | Total payments | Total miles | Cost per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | $57 | 3,000 | 1.90 |
2 | $114 | 7,800 | 1.46 |
3 | $171 | 12,000 | 1.42 |
4 | $228 | 15,000 | 1.52 |
5 | $285 | 18,000 | 1.58 |
6 | $342 | 22,800 | 1.50 |
7 | $399 | 25,800 | 1.55 |
8 | $456 | 28,800 | 1.58 |
9 | $513 | 34,800 | 1.47 |
10 | $570 | 37,800 | 1.51 |
11 | $627 | 40,800 | 1.54 |
12 | $684 | 49,800 | 1.37 |
Is it a good deal? Well, TPG values LifeMiles at 1.7 cents per mile, so buying miles at 1.3 cents is a solid discount to this valuation.
However, LifeMiles aren't for everyone. You're going to need to know how to use the miles and have a high-value redemption in mind for which you're planning to use the miles. Still, you could get far more than 1.3 cents per mile in value when redeeming for premium cabins like Lufthansa First Class — plus, LifeMiles doesn't pass along fuel surcharges.
Related: Everything you need to know about Avianca LifeMiles
Also, with program devaluations prevalent, points and miles are a bad investment long-term. Subscribing to a plan that takes a full year to pay off is a bit risky. However, LifeMiles has signaled through award sales of up to 31% off that it doesn't seem to think its award chart is currently too cheap.
The other catch with LifeMiles is its spotty IT and customer support. This was bad enough that TPG couldn't recommend LifeMiles for a few years. But, Avianca has made some notable improvements to its online booking system, making it much more usable than before. While there are still periodic issues or missing award availability, it's about as good as you'll find on any other airline reservation system nowadays.
Looking for other ways to top off your LifeMiles account? There are now plenty of options. LifeMiles is a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou Points (1:1), American Express Membership Rewards (1:1) Capital One Miles (2:1.5) and Marriott points.
Featured photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy.
TPG featured card
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