Avianca Lifemiles Improves Business Class Award Pricing on Some Star Alliance Routes, But It May Not Last Long

We have a love-hate relationship with Avianca’s Lifemiles program.

It’s typically great for reasonably priced redemptions and low taxes and surcharges. However, it’s a deeply unpredictable program, as it is prone to no-notice (and frequent) rate changes, and it’s not exactly known for being easy to deal with.

Today, that unpredictability has worked in our favor, as the program has lowered rates on numerous premium-cabin redemptions for Star Alliance carriers.

As is always the case with Lifemiles, we don’t know what’ll happen next, or when, so if you’ve been looking to lock in a redemption, right now is the time to do it.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Lifemiles Lowers Rates on Some Star Alliance Partner Premium Flights

The team at Thrifty Traveler discovered that Avianca Lifemiles has lowered award rates on several Star Alliance partner routes for long-haul international flights, primarily between the U.S. and Europe.

How much rates have decreased depends largely on the route, but we’re seeing healthy improvements in rates across several carriers.

Take, for example, a business class flight between New York (JFK) and Zurich (ZRH) operated by SWISS. The previous rate to book this flight was 63,500 Lifemiles each way. It’s now dropped to just 54,010.

Here’s a look at some other business class flights and their new (and possibly very temporary) rates:

• Chicago (ORD) to Taipei (TPE) on EVA Air for 90,000 Lifemiles one-way (down from 100,000)
• Los Angeles (LAX) to Taipei (TPE) on EVA Air for 83,200 Lifemiles one-way (down from at least 90,000)
• New York (JFK) to Warsaw (WAW), Poland, on LOT Polish for 59,500 Lifemiles one-way (down from 69,000)
• Newark (EWR), New Jersey, to London (LHR) on United Airlines for 76,910 Lifemiles one-way (down from 92,400)
• Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Vienna (VIE) on Austrian Airlines for 68,600 Lifemiles one-way (down from 89,800)

There are numerous examples of these rate decreases on additional routes operated by other Star Alliance carriers, including Brussels Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, and more. Note, too, that economy rates have decreased on many routes. Finally, be aware that there are even some price increases to contend with.

While you’ll have the displeasure of dealing with Avianca’s website, it’s worth taking the time to find flights you’ve been hoping to book, because if you find one of the newly discounted fares, it’s a very solid redemption.

Remember, too, that it’s very easy to earn Avianca Lifemiles, given that the program has transfer relationships with several major transferable programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Wells Fargo Rewards.

Even better, there’s an ongoing 15% transfer bonus from American Express to Lifemiles until July 15, which could make some of these awards cost even less.

Final Thoughts

The Avianca Lifemiles program continues to be as unpredictable as ever, but this time it’s worked out in all of our favor. Rates have decreased on numerous Star Alliance partner flights in both the economy and business class cabins.

However, there’s no telling how long these rate decreases could last, and it’s possible they’ll be back to normal (or worse) in just a couple of days, so if you’ve been trying to book a business class flight on Star Alliance carriers, consider this your sign to do that as soon as possible.