Two relatively new changes/promotions recently appeared:
- Avianca LifeMiles changed their award chart
- LifeMiles is offering up to a 135% bonus when purchasing miles (the more miles you purchase, the higher the bonus)
With these two announcements, you can ultimately use your LifeMiles to redeem on partner airline United for as low as 7,500 miles one-way. And if you do not already have miles in this program, the cost to purchase these miles can be as low as $105!!
I am going to give you the brief version of the promotion, but refer you to the blog Mommy Points and MileValue to really get a detailed view of maximizing this offer. No reason to re-hash this promotion as they both already did an excellent job!
LifeMiles Award Chart
LifeMiles has divided up their away chart into three zones from the US:
United States 1, United States 2, and United States 3 zone depends on the state you are flying from/to:
So that means when you fly within the same zone, you can use just 15,000 points one way. Now, if you want to travel further across the country (or to another country), it will require more miles.
Bonus on Purchasing Miles
Through September 30, 2015, you can purchase LifeMiles with up to a 135% bonus. Unfortunately though their terms and conditions state that you must have been a LifeMiles member prior to September 7, 2015. Always a good reason to just have an account with all programs. Assuming you have an account and are interested in this offer, the more miles you purchase the higher the bonus.The minimum purchase amount will give you a 50% bonus with the maximum giving you a 135% bonus. Ultimately, if you go all in, you will be able to purchase miles for as low as 1.4 cents per point.
With each mile costing 1.4 cents per point (assuming you purchase at least 101,000 miles), this means the 7,500 miles to redeem on a domestic flight within the same zone costs just $105. For those looking to redeem for a flight in the near future, I suggest doing the math to see if purchasing miles is cheaper then the current lower ticket price. I do not suggest purchasing miles speculatively as you just never know.
Of course there are options for all over the country that might save you money, so definitely take a look!
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.