Save on Star Alliance awards – buy LifeMiles with a 150% bonus

LifeMiles is the mileage program of Colombia-based airline Avianca. But even if you aren't interested in flying Avianca — or traveling to Colombia — it's worth getting to know LifeMiles. That's because the program has made itself known as a wholesaler of cheap Star Alliance miles and award tickets, as well as offering regular sales of airline miles.

From now through Feb. 25, 2021, you can purchase LifeMiles with a 150% bonus, dropping the price to a solid 1.32 cents per mile.

With prices this low, members can use the promotion to score super cheap Star Alliance awards on carriers like Lufthansa, United and Turkish Airlines. For example, a one-way business class ticket to Europe costs just $832 before taxes and fees with this promotion.

That said, Avianca filed for bankruptcy last May, so there are some things to keep in mind if you're thinking of buying miles during this promotion. Here, we'll walk you through everything you need to know.

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Should you buy LifeMiles right now?

Before we get into the deal, let's discuss the risks of buying LifeMiles right now. Avianca — the airline attached to LifeMiles — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May of 2020. LifeMiles operates as a separate company from Avianca and isn't included in this bankruptcy filing.

Chapter 11 means that the company can continue to operate as it goes through the bankruptcy process. The airline has stated that it plans to "right-size" and resume flights, so we're confident that the airline will make it through bankruptcy without going belly-up.

That said, if Avianca does go out of business or is forced to liquidate completely, LifeMiles members could lose the ability to redeem miles on Star Alliance flights. Thankfully travelers would be unlikely to actually lose their miles in this case, but having much more limited redemption options would massively devalue LifeMiles.

Additionally, we don't recommend buying miles without an immediate plan to use them. The world is still in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and despite travel slowly starting to resume, there's no telling when international travel will completely recover.

Even if you do book a ticket now for future travel, you could be forced to cancel your trip if there's a second wave of the pandemic or if the country you're traveling to keeps its borders closed. Make sure to keep the LifeMiles program's change and cancellation policies in mind before you book your ticket — otherwise, you could be met with surprise fees if you have to cancel.

Long story short: only purchase LifeMiles if you're confident in the future of Avianca and are comfortable with the risks of booking travel during the coronavirus outbreak. Otherwise, steer clear and save your money for the next buy miles promotion.

Related: What does Avianca’s bankruptcy filing mean for the LifeMiles program?

Buying LifeMiles at 1.32 cents per mile

Buying miles is easy: head over to the LifeMiles buy miles page, sign in and select how many points you'd like to purchase. You can purchase up to 200,000 miles per year, equal to 500,000 miles with the 150% bonus.

This time around, any number of miles is eligible for the full bonus for targeted members — even if you buy the minimum amount of 1,000 LifeMiles (equal to 2,500 with the bonus).

That said, it's worth noting that only a portion of the miles you purchase are available immediately. The full bonus will be credited to your account within "a few hours" of purchase.

As with most programs, the standard rate for buying LifeMiles is pricey. However, this offer drops the cost down to as little as 1.32 cents per mile. That's a solid deal compared to TPG's valuation of 1.7 cents per mile.

While you'll normally need to buy a significant number of miles to get the top bonus, that's not the case with this promotion. That makes the bonus chart pretty easy to understand:

• Buy 1,000 – 200,000 miles, get a 150% bonus (1.32 cents each)

Related: Get up to a 100% bonus when you buy points and miles

Why buy LifeMiles?

Although LifeMiles has a reputation for less-than-reliable IT and phone support, the program has made some notable improvements to its online booking process. It has some nice features — including mixed-cabin ticketing on award flights.

In fact, LifeMiles lands at number one on our list of most undervalued airline loyalty programs due to the number of hidden gems in the program coupled with low taxes and fees. One of the best benefits of LifeMiles is that it doesn't pass along carrier surcharges, making it an excellent way to book Lufthansa first class for cheap.

Taxes and fees on LifeMiles awards from the U.S. to Germany only cost $25 out of pocket. Other programs can charge more than $500 one-way in taxes and fees.

Related: 3 reasons your family needs LifeMiles for domestic travel

Things to consider before buying Lifemiles

Be aware that LifeMiles usually expire 12 months after the most recent mileage accrual. Other transactions, including redemption transactions, don't extend the validity of the miles. However, earning miles from a cobranded LifeMiles credit card or having Avianca elite status will extend the validity of miles by 24 months.

Points and miles are a poor long-term investment, since devaluations can be announced at any time — even during a pandemic. So, it's never a good idea to buy miles without having a planned use for them. If possible, it's best to search and confirm award availability before buying miles and then redeeming the purchased miles as soon as they hit your account.

Related: Another airline bailout may mean devalued airline miles — can we stop it?

Avianca sweet spots

With all of that said, here are some great sweet spots in the LifeMiles program and how cheap you can score these awards with the targeted 200% bonus.

One-way domestic United flights from $86

LifeMiles offers excellent redemption rates on domestic United Airlines flights. Short-haul tickets start at just 6,500 miles, meaning that you can buy them for just under $86 when buying miles at 1.32 cents apiece.

One-way transcontinental lie-flat United business-class for $330

Fly on United's 787-10 from Newark (EWR) to Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) for just $330 when you use 25,000 LifeMiles to book a transcontinental ticket in United Polaris — as long as you can find saver-level award availability.

One-way to Europe in Lufthansa business class from $832

Fly one-way to Europe in business with Austrian, Lufthansa, SWISS or another Star Alliance partner for just $832 when you purchase 63,000 LifeMiles at 1.32 cents apiece.

One-way to Europe in Lufthansa first class for $1,148

Lufthansa first class is one of the best premium products in the sky, and you can book it for just $1,148 when you purchase 87,000 LifeMiles. Keep in mind that you can only book these tickets two weeks out from the date of departure.

Related: Everything you need to know about Avianca LifeMiles

Other ways to earn LifeMiles

Other ways to pick up more LifeMiles include Avianca's "Club LifeMiles" monthly subscription plan. And if you need to top off your account, remember that LifeMiles is also a transfer partner of four major transferable currencies:

• American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 ratio, instant transfer time)
• Capital One (2:1.5 ratio, instant transfer time)
• Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1 ratio, instant transfer time)
• Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 with a 5,000-mile bonus for transferring 60,000 points, under 24-hour transfer time)

There's also the Avianca Vuela Visa® Card is currently offering a 40,000-mile bonus after your first purchase in the first 90 days of account opening and the Avianca Vida Visa® Card is currently offering a 20,000-mile bonus after your first purchase in the first 90 days of account opening.

Related: A guide to earning transferable points and why they’re so valuable

Earn more by paying with a travel credit card

Avianca has traditionally processed mileage purchases directly, which means that you should earn bonus points on credit cards that are great for airfare. This includes The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare purchased directly from the airline or via Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), as well as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which offers 3x Ultimate Rewards points on most travel purchases — including past purchases of LifeMiles from TPG staff.

That said, you may want to make a small test purchase with your travel credit card of choice to see how the purchase codes. If it codes as travel and you earn bonus points, purchase the rest of your miles with the same card. Otherwise, use a credit card that earns bonus points on non-bonused spending, like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, which earns 2x points per dollar spent on all purchases (up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1x).

Benji Stawski and JT Genter contributed to this post

This is The Points Guy’s permanent page about Avianca's “buy miles” promotions, so you can bookmark it and check back regularly for the latest offer. Keep in mind you may see some reader comments referring to older deals below.