LifeMiles - Avianca

Avianca S.A. has been the national airline and flag carrier of Colombia since December of 1919 when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. This airline has its headquarters in Bogota, D.C., with its main hub at El Dorado International Airport. Avianca also comprises a group of seven Latin American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one airline using a code-sharing system. Avianca is the largest airline in Colombia and the second largest in Latin America.

Avianca together with its subsidiaries has the most extensive network of destinations in Latin America. It is wholly specializing in air transport. It is listed on the Colombia Stock Exchange. Avianca is the world’s second-oldest airline after KLM and celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2009 when it was announced that it would merge with TACA. It is the oldest airline in the Western Hemisphere. It became an official member of Star Alliance on June 21, 2012.

LifeMiles Program

The LifeMiles program from Avianca Airlines offers its members the opportunity to earn points/miles just by flying with them and their partners. The points that members earn can be used to redeem free (award) flights, cabin upgrades, hotel bookings, and car rentals. This program is free to join and has an Elite level tier system that allows members to work their way up through different levels after earning enough points. LifeMiles makes it easy for members to earn points, as they have many different partner airlines that members can fly with.

Earning LifeMiles Points

One of the awesome things about LifeMiles is that they frequently offer promotions whereby miles can be purchased for 1.5 cents per mile.

These promotions typically come in two forms:

100% bonus on purchased LifeMiles

• You can purchase between 1,000 and 150,000 LifeMiles per the calendar year
• With the 100% bonus, each mile costs 1.5 cents including tax
• LifeMiles seems to offer this promotion a few times per year
• Historically in order to be able to take advantage of this promotion, your LifeMiles account must be open before the promotion begins

100% bonus on shared LifeMiles

• You can share between 1,000 and 50,000-75,000 LifeMiles per the calendar year (depending on which rules you’re going by, as there are inconsistencies)
• With the 100% bonus, each generated mile costs 1.5 cents including tax
• LifeMiles seems to offer this promotion a few times per year

Redeeming Mileage Points

Those who are a member of the LifeMiles program will be able to redeem the miles they accrue for a number of things, including award tickets and upgrades to Business Class on the eligible flights operated by Aviance. When you redeem points with Aviance, you will have the option to choose business 5 different redemption products, including two in Business Cabin and three in Economy Cabin. You can visit the airline’s official website to see exactly how many miles you need to redeem the upgrade or award flight you want. All you have to do is enter the destinations that you are departing from and arriving at, as well as the cabin type.

Some general rules for redeeming mileage points in the LifeMiles program include:

• Miles may be accrued since the beginning of the membership when the member has their LifeMiles account number.
• The number of miles accrued depends on the valid conditions of accumulation of the program at the moment of using the services.
• To ensure the mileage accrual for any applicable transaction, the member must present their LifeMiles number when booking on Avianca.
• The member must keep the flight documents until miles are accumulated in their account.
• Members will be able to track the accumulation of miles in their accounts through the account statements sent monthly to their email address if this was provided or through LifeMiles.com. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure that the miles earned are accrued correctly into their account, for which Avianca may request supporting documents, which may include boarding pass, invoices and other.
• Any complaint about the LifeMiles statement must be reported within twelve (12) months following the transaction. No claims will be received after this period of time. The request for accrual of miles not registered in the member's account, can be made through the Call Center or visiting an information center.
• You can request mileage credit for past transactions that meet the requirements, up to twelve (12) months after the date of the transaction according to the terms and conditions herein, submitting supporting documentation required. LifeMiles reserves the right to verify all documentation submitted for extemporaneous accreditation.

Benefits of Avianca’s LifeMiles Program

You will quickly discover that there are many different advantages to becoming a member of the LifeMiles frequent flyer program, such as that it’s very easy to earn points because of all the different partners that Avianca has. You will also be able to use these points that you accrue for many different things, including free flights, cabin upgrades, hotel bookings, and even car rentals. You can redeem your rewards online, making it very simple to book awards.

Routing Rules

You will find that there aren’t very many routing rules or restrictions with Avianca, except for the fact that no extended stopovers are allowed.

Elite Levels

The LifeMiles members are provided with the opportunity to acquire a special status that has been recognized by the Star Alliance elite program. The program allows you to credit most of the accrued miles from partner flights. However, there is a minimum requirement related to mileage gained when flying with Aviance.

The following elite levels consist of the same benefits as the previous level. Although, they provide useful additional perks.

Silver Level: The members of the level automatically acquire the Star Alliance silver status and 25% LifeMiles bonus. In addition, they get access to the priority check-in lines, baggage handling, and boarding, as well as Avianca VIP lounges. They're also provided with the opportunity to take advantage of Elite call center services and unlimited upgrades. Note that the upgrades can be used only 48 hours before departure.

Gold Level: The members of the level automatically acquire the Star Alliance gold status and 100% LifeMiles bonus. In addition, they get access to the additional lounge and third-party VIP lounges for a guest. The members also can consider taking an additional checked and a cabin bag.

Diamond Level: The members of the level get 4 upgrade certificates that can be used within a calendar year. They also can access to exclusive VIP lounges and take advantage of redemption fee waiver.

Booking Fees and Charges

There are some fees that you might encounter as a LifeMiles member, including a $25 fee both for online and by-phone bookings. There is a $50 fee for redepositing miles and a $150 fee for changing flights.

Redeem on Upgrades

The LifeMiles upgrades are only available when flying with Avianca. Note that you can book them by phone only. Although, you have the opportunity to upgrade any class cash fare. When flying with the partner airlines, you can use the Star Alliance upgrades towards upgrading a Y or B economy class tickets to business ones. You're also able to upgrade C or D business class tickets to first-class tickets. However, upgrades can be requested for two flight segments only. The good news is that this kind of upgrades can be requested online.