Avianca Lifemiles Devalues Awards Again — Here’s What Travelers Need To Know

Avianca Lifemiles has quietly raised award prices again — and if this feels familiar, it should.

This latest round of changes marks the third devaluation in just over a year, continuing a trend that’s slowly chipping away at one of the most useful airline programs for booking partner flights.

So what actually changed this time? Let’s take a closer look.

Lifemiles Devaluation: What Changed This Time?

As first reported by Thrifty Traveler, Avianca Lifemiles has once again increased award pricing across a range of routes, especially those operated by Star Alliance partners like United Airlines and Lufthansa.

Like we’ve seen before, this isn’t a clean, straightforward update. There’s no published chart, and pricing changes appear unevenly depending on the route, airline, and even how you search. Still, a few patterns have emerged.

For partner flights — historically the best way to redeem Lifemiles — prices are trending higher across the board, though not always in a predictable way.

Some business-class awards that used to cost around 55,000 miles, such as flights from New York (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) on SWISS, are now showing just over 63,000 miles each way.

At the same time, other routes from U.S. to Europe can price significantly higher depending on the route, timing, or seemingly no clear reason at all. It’s not unusual to see similar business-class awards creeping closer to the upper-80,000 to 90,000-mile range, even within the same region.

For example, flights on Brussels Airlines from Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Brussels (BRU) can price out at a steep 92,400 miles in business class on certain dates, while dropping much lower on others. That kind of swing really highlights just how inconsistent pricing has become.

Economy pricing is creeping up too, with many routes now landing around 48,000 miles instead of the long-standing 40,000 baseline.

Meanwhile, flights on Avianca itself haven’t seen quite the same across-the-board increases. In some cases, “Avianca metal” is still pricing more reasonably — especially within the Americas.

Adding to the frustration, pricing is still inconsistent. The same flight can sometimes show different mileage rates depending on how you search — a long-standing quirk of Lifemiles that hasn’t gone away.

Why This Matters for Travelers

This devaluation matters because, for years now, the real value of Lifemiles came from booking premium seats on partner airlines — not necessarily flying Avianca. That’s why so many travelers were willing to deal with its clunky website and occasional booking issues.

With partner award pricing continuing to climb, the main reason people turned to Lifemiles in the first place is starting to slip away. At the same time, the program’s biggest frustrations — like inconsistent pricing and a sometimes unreliable search experience — haven’t improved. Now, travelers are getting less value with no real trade-off. And the customer service isn’t likely to improve, either.

But that’s not the only challenge. Unfortunately, finding a good deal now often means doing a bit more legwork. You may need to sift through different dates, routes, and even slightly tweaked itineraries to find pricing that makes sense — and even then, the same route can price differently from one search to the next.

In other words, it’s becoming harder to justify going out of your way to use Lifemiles when other programs offer a much simpler (and more economical) booking experience.

Final Thoughts

Lifemiles has quietly rolled out yet another devaluation, raising award prices across many popular routes— especially on partner airlines.

While there are still some decent deals if you’re flexible, the program isn’t quite the standout it once was. With higher prices and the same quirks, many travelers may find better value — and less frustration — by booking through other programs.