LifeMiles is a great tool for advanced point hackers – especially if you love flying Business and First Class with Singapore Airlines, ANA, United and more.
Despite the loyalty program being part of Colombia’s Avianca, which has no presence in Australia, LifeMiles can be purchased and used for cheap Business and First Class tickets. Avianca is part of Star Alliance, so your miles can be used on over 25 partner airlines.
Admittedly, you’ll need a bit of specialist knowledge to use LifeMiles effectively, and there is definitely a language barrier to overcome with the contact centre if anything goes wrong. But it’s still worth keeping LifeMiles up your sleeve.
Those planning a trip to South America will also find LifeMiles status easier to earn in 2023. That’s because LifeMiles has reduced both the number of flight miles needed to qualify in total, as well as the number of miles required on Avianca’s own flights. We’ve got the full details below.
How do I join Avianca LifeMiles?
Happily, it’s both easy and free to join Avianca LifeMiles, even from Australia.
- Head to the pre-enrolment page on LifeMiles and enter an email and password. Be sure to change the page language to English, if needed. You can do this next to the ‘flag’ icon at the top.
- Tell the program a bit more about yourself, including your name. Note that you need to include a drivers license or passport number, though this isn’t checked.
- Read and accept the T&Cs and Privacy Policy. Click ‘Join LifeMiles’.
- Hoorah! You are now a member of LifeMiles. Make a note of your membership number.
How do I earn LifeMiles?
Most of you reading this won’t be earning LifeMiles in the traditional ways, but we’ll quickly list some:
- Flying with Avianca or other Star Alliance carriers (such as Singapore Airlines), and entering your LifeMiles number in the booking.
- Booking accommodation through LifeMiles Hotels, Booking.com or Marriott Bonvoy.
- Reserving a hire car through Rentalcars.com.
Miles expire after 12 months of being earned – so don’t hoard them! The expiry policy is a soft expiry, meaning that points only expire after 12 months of inactivity. Note that only earning miles counts as an activity for extending the expiry date. Redeeming miles doesn’t. Though the expiry policy is extended to 24 months if you are an elite LifeMiles member.
Buying miles is the way to go
Buying LifeMiles is a far simpler option, indeed. The program often has big bonuses where you can earn a bonus of 200% on top of your purchase – essentially tripling your points haul.
Here’s a quick peek at how much LifeMiles cost (at normal pricing). The price per mile is fixed at 3.3 cents USD for all denominations. That’s quite expensive, and it doesn’t get cheaper if you buy more:
| LifeMiles amount | Usual cost (including fees) |
| 5,000 miles | USD$165 (around $239 AUD) |
| 50,000 miles | USD$1,650 (around $2,390 AUD) |
| 150,000 miles | USD$4,950 (around $7,167 AUD) |
| 300,000 miles | USD$9,900 (around $14,335 AUD) |
But with bonus offers, you can pocket far more points for the same cost. One of the best deals in recent years was a 200% bonus on LifeMiles. If you purchased 150,000 miles for USD$4,950, you’d end up with 450,000 miles in your account. That’s so much better! Remember, purchased miles are still subject to a 12-month expiry.
How do I use LifeMiles?
LifeMiles can be used across more than 25 different airlines, including Avianca and Star Alliance partners. This makes it handy for exploring the globe. Here is the full partner award table, and you can read our complete guide to buying and using LifeMiles in this separate advanced article.
There are some great sweet spots between Australia and Asia. But yes, the miles required are different for the return leg of each region. Go figure!
Using miles between Australia and Asia
| Routes/LifeMiles | Economy | Business | First |
| Australia to North Asia (e.g. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China) | 25,000 miles | 50,000 miles | 62,500 miles |
| North Asia to Australia | 20,000 miles | 40,000 miles | 50,000 miles |
| Australia to South Asia (e.g. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia) | 27,500 miles | 50,000 miles | 75,000 miles |
| South Asia to Australia | 22,500 miles | 40,000 miles | 60,000 miles |
Given North Asia is further away from Australia than South Asia, it doesn’t quite make sense that you will need fewer LifeMiles flying to Tokyo than Singapore. But that’s how the chart works, and how we end up with a sweet spot.
Using miles between Australia and Europe/US
Heading further afield to Europe or the US with Star Alliance carriers? Here’s what you need:
| Routes/LifeMiles | Economy | Business | First |
| Australia to Europe | 62,500 miles | 92,500 miles | 120,000 miles |
| Europe to Australia | 55,000 miles | 85,000 miles | 115,000 miles |
| Australia to the United States | 40,000 miles | 80,000 miles | 105,000 miles |
| The United States to Australia | 40,000 miles | 80,000 miles | 111,000 miles |
As usual, taxes are extra on all flights. It does differ between airlines, but you should expect to fork out under USD$100 per person, each way. There’s also a USD$25 booking fee per reservation, which is non-refundable.
So, is buying LifeMiles on promotion a good idea? Well, the Perth-Tokyo return flights above cost AUD$4,005 in Business Class when quoted in June 2022. Alternatively, you can use 90,000 LifeMiles + USD$134.84 for a return reward ticket.
At the lowest price of 1.1 cents USD per mile (with a 200% bonus), you could buy this ticket for USD$1,124.84 inclusive of the LifeMiles and taxes. That’s about AUD$1,629 as of January 2023 – 59% off the cash ticket price. It’s even better if you throw First Class travel into the mix. Of course, the overall cost will vary depending on what deal you get with buying LifeMiles.
What status tiers does Avianca LifeMiles have?
Avianca has four elite tiers in the LifeMiles program, which can give reciprocal Star Alliance perks with all partner airlines. But you do need to actually fly Avianca a lot to earn those shiny membership cards.
For this reason, we don’t imagine many of our Australian-based readers will be aiming for LifeMiles status. But here’s a quick overview of the perks for those who are interested.
LifeMiles Red Plus
Achieve/Maintain: 6,000 miles (at least 1,000 miles with Avianca)
Star Alliance equivalent: Silver
As the first step on the elite status ladder, you get:
- Priority airport check-in.
- 20% LifeMiles bonus on eligible flights.
- Miles expire after 24 months instead of 12 months.
- Priority phone service.
- Elite membership maternity leave.
LifeMiles Silver
Achieve/Maintain: 12,000 miles (at least 6,000 miles with Avianca)
Star Alliance equivalent: Silver
In addition to Red Plus benefits, some major benefits of Silver status include:
- Courtesy upgrades to Business Class at the airport (selected routes).
- 40% discount on access to Avianca-owned VIP lounges.
- 25% LifeMiles bonus on eligible flights.
- Group B Priority Boarding.
- Priority baggage.
- Additional 1 piece/23kg bag in Economy.
- Same day earlier flights within Colombia.
- Pre-selection of seats.
- Access to Avianca Plus/preferential seats from check-in.
LifeMiles Gold
Achieve/Maintain: 24,000 miles (at least 12,000 miles with Avianca)
Star Alliance equivalent: Gold
As the second-highest tier, Gold members enjoy:
- Courtesy upgrades to Business Class from 48 hrs prior (selected routes).
- Access to Avianca and partner airline/Star Alliance lounges (+1 guest).
- 75% LifeMiles bonus on eligible flights.
- Additional 2x pieces/23kg bag in Economy, and 1x piece/23kg bag in Business Class.
- Access to Avianca Plus/preferential seats from booking.
- Live chat.
LifeMiles Diamond
Achieve/Maintain: 40,000 miles (at least 20,000 miles with Avianca)
Star Alliance equivalent: Gold
Top-level Diamond members have it easier with:
- 2x LifeMiles upgrade certificates.
- Access to Diamond VIP Lounge in Bogotá (+1 guest).
- 100% bonus LifeMiles on eligible flights.
- Group A Priority Boarding.
- Pre-selection of any seat on booking.
- Rollover up to 16,000 LifeMiles.
- LifeMiles redemption fee waiver.
How do I contact LifeMiles?
To change or cancel an award ticket, you need to call LifeMiles customer service. As there is no office in Australia, we recommend calling the US one on +1 800 284 2622. If you want to follow up on a refund, the Bogotá office might be the best to call on +57 1 401 3434.
Finally, if you’re having difficulty fixing your problem over the phone, try emailing the program: [email protected].
Summing up
Avianca LifeMiles is your ticket to cheaper Star Alliance flights. Fancy flying ANA’s new ‘The Suite’ First Class to Europe, or a quick hop across the ditch with Air New Zealand? If reward seats are available, then LifeMiles can make it happen. Just be sure you’re aware of all the quirks of the award chart.
While it’s easy to buy points, we always recommend you wait for a big sale. Buy just what you need for a certain redemption, because those points will expire in 12 months. Lastly, we also suggest you only book flights you’re sure you’ll be able to take. Dealing with flight changes and cancellations won’t be as easy with an international program such as LifeMiles.
