Cyber Week deal: Buy LifeMiles with a 170% bonus

Avianca LifeMiles has launched a new sale, and it’s the largest one we’ve seen this year. 

From now till 3 December 2022, 2 p.m SGT, LifeMiles members can buy miles with up to a 160% bonus. If you’re a reader of One Mile at a Time (i.e. anyone), you can register to receive a further 10% for a total bonus of 170%.

You should note that LifeMiles carried out an unannounced devaluation in September 2022, which increased the cost of Business and First Class awards from Singapore to the USA from 78,000 and 99,000 miles to 90,000 and 120,000 miles. 

That’s another reason why you should never buy LifeMiles speculatively- only buy them if you intend to burn them straight away!

Get a 170% bonus on LifeMiles purchases

Promo Registration

Registration is now open for the LifeMiles 170% bonus sale, which can be done via the link above. Once registered, members will earn bonuses tiered as follows:

• Buy 1,000-20,000 miles: 150% bonus
• Buy 21,000-50,000 miles: 160% bonus
• Buy 51,000-200,000 miles: 170% bonus

The bonus miles will be credited instantly upon purchase, and members can buy up to 200,000 miles (pre-bonus) per account, per calendar year. 

A 170% bonus works out to paying 1.22 US cents per mile, the lowest we’ve seen this year. 

What can you do with LifeMiles?

In late September 2022, LifeMiles carried out an unannounced devaluation of its award charts, which saw an increase in the cost of awards between Asia and the USA (old award chart | new award chart).

The impact for those of us in Singapore is summarised below:

Business Class awards to the USA now cost 90,000 miles instead of 78,000 miles (an increase of US$146 based on current sale prices), and First Class awards to the USA now cost 120,000 miles instead of 99,000 miles (an increase of US$256). 

LifeMiles does not pass on fuel surcharges for redemptions, so you’ll only pay airport taxes. 

A few important things to note about LifeMiles: 

• Don’t buy them speculatively
  • Only buy LifeMiles if you have a confirmed trip in mind and have found award space on LifeMiles (you don’t need any miles in your account to search)
• Singapore Airlines First and Business Class space will be restricted
  • You can’t redeem Singapore Airlines First or Suites Class through LifeMiles (rare exceptions apply, and should not be taken as the norm). Business Class will only be available on certain regional routes
• LifeMiles may not see the same award space as other Star Alliance partners
  • Just because you see something on Aeroplan or United doesn’t necessarily mean it will appear on LifeMiles. Always check availability via LifeMiles
• All changes and cancellations must be done through the Avianca call centre
  • Changes to LifeMiles tickets cannot be done online, so you’ll need to use Skype to call and the experience can be hit and miss (some agents are excellent, others barely understand English). It costs between US$100-200 to cancel an award ticket, depending on your origin and destination
• LifeMiles tickets can be redeemed for anyone you choose
  • You can put anyone’s name on a ticket
• LifeMiles expire after 12 months of account inactivity
  • Earning or redeeming at least one mile extends the validity of the entire balance by a further 12 months

The LifeMiles website is notoriously temperamental (documented here), but a much easier way to look for awards is to use the Seats.Aero tool (formerly known as Awards PNR). This amazing little website shows a full listing of all award space available on LifeMiles, saving you from having to guess and check.

Seats Aero

While there are a handful of limitations, it makes your LifeMiles experience so much less stressful. 

An easy tool for finding Star Alliance award space

What card should I use for LifeMiles purchases?

LifeMiles purchases are processed directly by Avianca in USD, meaning that they code as foreign currency airfare spend. You’ll want to use one of the following cards to maximize the miles you earn:

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd	Min S$1K, max S$2K FCY spend per s. month
DBS Woman’s World Card Apply	4 mpd	Max S$2K per c. month
UOB Lady’s Card Apply	4 mpd*	Max S$1K per c. month
UOB Lady’s Solitaire Apply	4 mpd*	Max S$3K per c. month
HSBC Revolution Apply	4 mpd	Max S$1K per c. month
SCB Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd	Min. S$2K spend per s. month
DBS Altitude AMEX or Visa Apply	3 mpd	Max S$5K per c. month
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month *Must declare travel as quarterly 10X category

Since the Citi Rewards doesn’t award 4 mpd for airfare transactions, pairing it with the Amaze isn’t an option. You can, however, pair the UOB Lady’s Card (with travel as your 10X category) with Amaze to earn 4 mpd with zero FCY fees. 

While this won’t necessarily earn you the most miles on your purchase, you could also use LifeMiles transactions to hit the minimum spend for the following sign-up offers:

• Citibank: S$400 cash with min. S$500 spend in 30 days
• CIMB: S$350 cash with min. S$988 spend in 60 days

Conclusion

LifeMiles is now offering the biggest sale we’ve seen in 2022, with a 170% bonus for registered members. This represents a cost of 1.22 US cents per mile, and could potentially save you big on First and Business Class flights- provided you can find award space!

That said, I currently do not have any LifeMiles, nor do I intend to buy them. While I appreciate the ability to redeem awards without fuel surcharges, I’m still well-stocked with KrisFlyer miles, plus I don’t think highly of FFPs that carry out unannounced devaluations.