Avianca LifeMiles raised award costs to Asia with no notice: Here's what you need to know
The Avianca LifeMiles loyalty program is arguably one of the most under-appreciated programs in the industry. The program has been known to have information technology issues and notoriously poor customer service, but makes up for it with some unique sweet spot redemptions.
The combination of these valuable sweet spots and the ability to earn LifeMiles via transfers from various transferable points programs, including American Express Membership Rewards (1:1 transfer ratio), Brex Rewards (1:1 transfer ratio), Capital One miles (1:1 transfer ratio), Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1 transfer ratio) and Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 transfer ratio, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every increment of 60,000 points you transfer) make LifeMiles an appealing loyalty program.
One popular Avianca LifeMiles sweet spot has been flying between the U.S. and Asia in lie-flat business class for as little as 75,000 LifeMiles one-way on Star Alliance partners. But, as first noted by Thrifty Traveler, it seems like some LifeMiles sweet spots were recently devalued with no notice. Let's take a look at what happened.
Related: Can't find award availability with Avianca LifeMiles? Don't give up until you try this trick
Devaluation breakdown
In short: most, if not all, awards between the U.S. and Asia currently cost more LifeMiles than before. After years of inexpensive award rates in both economy and business class, LifeMiles has seemingly increased award rates by as much as 30% on redemptions between the U.S. and Asia.
Previously, you could fly one-way from New York to Taipei for 35,000 LifeMiles in economy class and 75,000 LifeMiles in business class. Now, you'll need to redeem 45,000 LifeMiles to fly in economy class and 90,000 LifeMiles in business class.
Likewise, you could previously fly one-way from Los Angeles to Tokyo on ANA for 35,000 LifeMiles in economy class and 75,000 LifeMiles in business class. This is now bookable for 40,000 LifeMiles in economy class and 85,000 LifeMiles in business class.
You'll see the same new pricing for a United-operated flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo.
And, as expected, you'll see the same pricing on Singapore Airlines' fifth-freedom route from Los Angeles to Tokyo.
Related: Here's why you need a healthy stash of Avianca LifeMiles
Bottom line
This is an unfortunate devaluation for those looking to redeem Avianca LifeMiles to fly between the U.S and Asia. With these changes, you may want to consider other programs. To give you an idea of where to start, check out our guides on the best ways to travel to Japan with points and miles and how to get to Singapore using points and miles.
It is worth noting that the award charts are still unchanged on Avianca's website, so we're hopeful this higher award pricing is a glitch. We've reached out to an Avianca spokesperson for comment and will update the story once we receive a statement.