Avianca LifeMiles is the quirky mileage program of the Colombian airline with wonky and shoddy customer service yet low mileage rates, making it one of the best ways to book flights on any Star Alliance airline – particularly flying business and first class. But some of those sweet spots just went a bit sour.
One Mile at a Time flagged some nasty overnight award rate increases on many LifeMiles redemptions to Europe, Asia, and beyond. What's worse, LifeMiles seems to have introduced some kind of distance-based pricing that results in higher award rates on many longer flights – though, oddly, not in all cabins.
A few increases that sting include:
- Economy flights to Europe on partners like Lufthansa, United, and SWISS increased from the previous rate of 30,000 miles each way to 35,000 miles on shorter flights from the East Coast … to as much as 43,000 miles on longer flights.
- Business class flights to Europe on those same carriers jumped from 63,000 miles each way to 70,000 miles each way – a relatively mild, 11% increase.
- First class redemptions like Lufthansa First Class between the U.S. and Germany shot up from a flat 87,000 miles to as much as 142,000 miles each way – a brutal increase of more than 63%.
- Premium cabin awards to Japan like ANA First Class have shot up by 33% or more, too.
We're still sifting through examples to see just how far this devaluation goes, but it's a big one – and it hurts.
Despite its many pitfalls, travelers have turned to LifeMiles because it offers an unparalleled mix of affordable award rates without hefty fees and surcharges on top. Plus, they've gotten easier to earn over the years: LifeMiles is now an Amex transfer partner, Capital One transfer partner, and Citi transfer partner, and a Wells Fargo transfer partner. That means a stash of points from cards like the *amex gold* or the *venture x* could get you all the miles you need.
Now, many of the best redemptions will cost you far more points. And this is part of a much broader trend: From Virgin Atlantic finally gutting 50,000-point Delta One flights to Europe to big increases using ANA Mileage Club and Turkish Miles & Smiles and yet another hike using British Airways Avios to fly American or Alaska within the states, airlines have been raising award rates like crazy lately.
Read more: Sick of Your Points & Miles Losing Value? Blame the Banks
Just a few days ago, this Turkish Airlines business class flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Istanbul (IST) would have cost 63,000 miles. Today, it'll cost you 70,000 miles. And even back in economy, 43,000 miles each way is a substantial increase.
But the biggest hit of all is for booking Lufthansa first class. LifeMiles was a go-to for years, charging just 87,000 miles each way to book those last-minute seats to Frankfurt (FRA) or Munich (MUC). That's increased substantially – and the damage is even greater on longer flights.
Flying Lufthansa First from Boston (BOS) to Frankfurt (FRA) will now cost 130,000 miles each way.
Yet from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), that jumps to 136,000 miles each way. You'll see an economy seat sees a slight increase, too … but not in Lufthansa business class: That stays steady at 70,000 miles each way.
And starting all the way from San Francisco (SFO), you'll now have to fork over 142,000 LifeMiles for Lufthansa first class to Germany. That's a 63% hike overnight.
And the pain extends across the Pacific Ocean. An ANA First Class seat just jumped from 90,000 miles each way to 120,000 SkyMiles – a 33% hike. It's currently unclear whether ANA business class rates increased as well.
It's been worth putting up with the pain of dealing with LifeMiles for some absurdly good deals. But after many of these increases, redeeming points through Air Canada Aeroplan for these same flights instead is a much better way to go.
Yet some other great redemptions remain unchanged – at least so far. For example, you can still book Air New Zealand business class for 80,000 LifeMiles each way between Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) and Auckland (AKL).
But if you can count on one thing with LifeMiles, it's quirky loopholes and one-off deals to book select routes for less than advertised. That hasn't changed.
For example, you can still book SWISS business class from New York City (JFK) to Geneva (GVA) for just 60,000 miles each way … never mind the fact that the nonstop flight from New York to Zurich (ZRH) now costs 70,000 miles each way. Economy on this same route to Geneva is cheaper than the rest, too.
One of the best LifeMiles sweet spots of all – and among the best ways to get to Europe in business class, period – has been booking New York City (JFK) to Lisbon (LIS) in TAP Air Portugal business class for just 35,000 miles. That's just 5,000 miles more than an economy seat. Even the flight departing from nearby in Newark (EWR) and the return flight from Lisbon back to New York priced out for nearly double the miles.
Unfortunately, there's not a lick of bookable award space to determine whether this stellar redemption escaped unscathed or not.
But some new opportunities have cropped up. While almost every other business class flight across the pond now runs you 70,000 miles each way, you can currently book United Polaris business class from Newark (EWR) to London-Heathrow (LHR) for just 45,000 miles. At 22,500 miles each way, economy is drastically cheaper on that same route, too.
And one fixture of redeeming LifeMiles remains in place: You can still shave a few thousand miles off the final price with a mixed-cabin award, like booking one segment in business class and the second in economy. So while a nonstop Lufthansa first class ticket from Boston (BOS) to Munich (MUC) will cost you 130,000 miles now, tacking on a connection all the way to Athens (ATH) in business class is actually cheaper: 127,800 miles apiece.
Bottom Line
This is just the latest major devaluation we've seen with frequent flyer programs in the last few months. And it's not pretty.
LifeMiles have been one of the best ways to book Star Alliance flights around the globe, particularly for a business or first class seat. It was worth putting up with the programs many shortcomings and quirks to book those top-dollar redemptions for fewer points while saving cash on taxes and fees, too.
While an 11% hike to transatlantic business class awards could be much worse, other increases are pretty awful. And we're still digging in to see just how far this devaluation goes: It could be even more painful.