Opportunity to Buy LifeMiles at ~1.1 Cents Each with Latest Triple Miles Promo

I have written a lot about my love for Avianca LifeMiles, one of my favorite programs for redeeming points on Star Alliance international business and first class flights. One of the great things about LifeMiles is how easy the miles can come by. They often run sales where you can purchase miles outright at a deep discount, or even get a subscription to get monthly miles. LifeMiles is also now a transfer partner with both American Express Membership Rewards and Citi Thank You.

Like many loyalty programs, LifeMiles gives its members the ability to double or triple miles they earned from flying by purchasing a boost. For the most part, this is usually a fancy way for them to sell you miles before or after your flight. However, LifeMiles is running a promotion for tripling miles that might be worth looking at.

Until December 27, 2018, Avianca is offering one extra bonus mile for every mile “tripled”. Additionally, they are also offering a 48% discount to triple miles earned from flying or Avianca credit card spend.

It sounds rather complicated, but here is how it essentially works:

• Let’s say you flew 1,000 miles with Avianca in the month of November (your “principal”)
• You can “triple” those miles, basically buying 2,000 miles at a 48% discount (1.71 cents each)
• You get an extra mile for every principal mile you triple, so you end up with a total of 3,000 new miles 
• At the end of the day, this amounts to buying 3,000 miles for $34.20 (1.14 cents each)

I flew Avianca on a cheap Business Class ticket to Brazil last month. I ended up earning 7,959 miles for my flights in the month of November, and this is what my purchase page looked like.

I decided to take advantage of this deal. The “tripling” of the miles posted immediately, while and the bonus miles posted within 24 hours.

In summary, I was able to add a total of 23,877 new miles to my account at a cost of $272.03. this comes to a rate of ~1.14 cents per mile. I paid with my American Express Platinum Card, which earns 5 point so per dollar on airline spending. This means I earned 1,360 MR points, which can themselves be transferred to Avianca LifeMiles.

Now, this deal could be even better if you have an Avianca co-branded credit card. Credit card holders get an additional 15% discount, effectively buying miles at 0.97 cents each.

Many people who take advantage of LifeMiles have never actually flown with Avianca or credited flying miles to their account. As such, the number of people who can take advantage of this promo may be rather limited. However, if you have some flying activity, this is a great chance to buy miles at ~1.1 cents each. This is a far better price than any of their sales!

The promotion runs until December 27, 2018. The bonus miles will post up to 5 business days after the purchase.