Carissa served in the U.S. Air Force where she developed her love for travel and new cultures. She started her own blog and eventually joined The Points Guy. Since then, she’s contributed to Business ...
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Update: The offer mentioned below has expired and is no longer available.
If you aren’t familiar with Avianca LifeMiles, you should be.
Although the airline can be difficult to deal with — and its customer service leaves much to be desired — redeeming LifeMiles for reward redemptions can offer some really excellent value.
Even better, Avianca has launched another one of its award sales, further discounting its already solid rates on flights to and from Japan. Let’s take a look at the details.
Offer Details
This is a limited-time sale, so if you’re wanting to take advantage, you should book quickly:
- Valid for redemptions through December 9, 2022
- Tickets can be for future dates; they only need to be booked by December 9, 2022
- Discounts range between 5% and 40%
Sample Economy Class Routes
There are few different discounts available on the sale page, but here are some examples:
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Regular Cost in Miles | Discounted Price in Miles | % Off | |
Chicago (ORD) – Tokyo (HND) | 47,000 | 32,900 | 30% |
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (HND) | 47,000 | 28,200 | 40% |
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (NRT) | 40,000 | 38,000 | 5% |
Sample Business Class Routes
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Regular Cost in Miles | Discounted Price in Miles | % Off | |
Houston (IAH) – Tokyo (NRT) | 90,000 | 63,000 | 30% |
Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo (NRT) | 85,000 | 59,500 | 30% |
New York (JFK) – Tokyo (HND) | 90,000 | 63,000 | 30% |
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Tokyo (HND) | 90,000 | 63,000 | 30% |
Earning LifeMiles
If any of these flights appeal to you, there are plenty of ways for you to boost your stash of LifeMiles. Avianca partners with multiple flexible points currencies, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards. Each of these programs transfers over to LifeMiles at a 1:1 ratio, which means 1 point will become 1 mile.
Hot Tip: Through December 7, 2022, Amex points include a 15% transfer bonus!
Is It Worth It?
Are you already planning on traveling to Japan? If so, transferring over (or buying) LifeMiles and using them for a reward redemption can be a great deal. Let’s check out an example.
As a member of Star Alliance, Avianca has access to award availability from airlines such as United, Lufthansa, SWISS, ANA, and Air Canada. These discounts will apply for either United or ANA, which brings up 1 very intriguing prospect.
In 2019, ANA launched — with little notice — its newest business class product dubbed “The Room,” which is often lauded as the world’s best business class. Since ANA is also a part of Star Alliance, this means you can conceivably snag yourself a seat in The Room for 59,500 miles one-way from Los Angeles to Tokyo. Even better, stack this with Amex’s transfer promotion and you’ll end up paying just 53,000 miles. That’s incredible!
Now, as we mentioned above, you’ll need to book this sale by December 9, 2022. Your travel dates, however, can be at any point in the future.
If you do decide to hop onto this deal, you’ll be getting an astronomical redemption value for your points.
How good is it? The cash cost for this ticket often runs around $4,000. In the example above, you’ve got a one-way ticket on ANA. Redeeming 53,000 miles for this $3,990 ticket gives you a redemption value of 7.52 cents per point!
Hot Tip: You can also purchase miles for your flights — with a good purchase bonus, the total cost to buy your points can cost less than the flight itself, saving you thousands of dollars.
Final Thoughts
This is a decent sale with some excellent options if you’ve got upcoming travel. As a transfer partner of several different currencies, LifeMiles are easy to earn. With discounts as high as 40%, you have plenty of choice and plenty of savings for routes. If you’re looking to take advantage of this, book quickly — the sale ends on December 9, 2022.
Featured Image Credit: ANA
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About Carissa Rawson
Carissa served in the U.S. Air Force where she developed her love for travel and new cultures. She started her own blog and eventually joined The Points Guy. Since then, she’s contributed to Business Insider, Forbes, and more.
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UP's Bonus Valuation
This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.