There is an opportunity to combine two promotions and receive a 32%+ bonus for transferring points from US Amex Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles. This is useful for Star Alliance premium cabin redemptions.
Transfer Amex points to LifeMiles for a huge bonus
Amex Membership Rewards currently offers a variety of transfer bonuses. This is something that we have never seen before. One of these bonuses is a 15% bonus for transferring Amex Membership Rewards points into Avianca LifeMiles.
The transfer ratio is typically 1,000:1,000. However, points can be transferred at a 1,000 to 1,150 ratio until September 30, 2021.
It turns out that it is even better than that. Aside from the offer above, LifeMiles is offering an additional 15% bonus on points transfers via Amex, until September 30, 2021.
LifeMiles sent me this email initially thinking it was promoting the Amexs transfer bonus. The terms clearly state that the 15% bonus is more than the Membership Rewards transfer rate.
Yes, the 15% bonus was added to my 15% transfer bonus. That's 1,000 Amex points converted into 1,150 LifeMiles. LifeMiles then added another 15% bonus for a total 1,323 LifeMiles.
This is pretty amazing! You don't need to register for either offer. There is no limit to how many points can be transferred and no limit on the number of bonus points that you can earn. Although LifeMiles does offer transfer bonuses from time to time, this one is my favorite.
This is a great opportunity. However, LifeMiles can be hard to find. LifeMiles sells miles at a discount which can be great. LifeMiles also has transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards and Capital One.
Are LifeMiles worth the effort?
Avianca is a Star Alliance member, which means that you can redeem LifeMiles for all Star Alliance airlines. This is what makes this program so special. Here are some examples of premium cabin redemption rates. There are no fuel surcharges for any awards.
US to Europe Business Class - 63,000 Miles
First class airfare from the US to Europe costs 87,000 miles
Business class 78,000 mile flight from the US to Southeast Asia
North Asia to the US in first class: 90,000 miles
There may be promotions for redemptions that offer additional value.
Although I would not normally speculatively transfer point, this bonus is one of the best weve seen. This could be a great deal, regardless of whether you are traveling first class on All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa or business class on many other airlines.
All Nippon Airways first-class tickets eligible for LifeMiles
LifeMiles may not have the same Star Alliance partner award availability in some cases. This can be for good or ill. Sometimes, the program does not have the same access to partner awards as other airlines. In other cases, the reverse is true.
It is why I recommend that you do some dummy award searches prior to acquiring miles in any program. This will allow you to get an idea of how award availability matches your needs.
Redeem LifeMiles to Lufthansa Business Class
Avianca is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, additional funding has been received by the airline and the LifeMiles program, which is separately managed and owned. Although I doubt it will happen, you can read this post to find out what happens to airline mile if an airline goes under.
Bottom line
Transfer Amex Membership Rewards points into LifeMiles to receive a 32%+ bonus right now You can stack the 15% Amex bonus to LifeMiles and the additional 15% bonus offered at the LifeMiles finish.
LifeMiles is a great program that I use for Star Alliance premium cabin redemptions. Although I would not normally speculatively transfer points points, I am very tempted by this rate. We are talking about 48,000 Amex Points in Business Class and 66,000 Amex Points in First Class for a transatlantic ticket.
Are you planning to convert Amex points into LifeMiles?
(Tip of a hat to Dans Deals).
