Avianca Lifemiles

Lifemiles is Avianca's program, now styled as avianca Lifemiles. Its home page counts more than 14 million members. Members earn on Avianca and GOL flights and on Star Alliance and other partner airlines. Partner airlines pay a share of the miles flown, set by the fare class. Lifemiles credit and debit cards earn too. Partner stores in Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica pay up to 5 miles per US dollar. Miles buy flights to more than 1,300 places on Avianca, GOL and Star Alliance airlines. They also buy Business Class upgrades on partner flights, travel extras and products from partners.

The program also sells miles by subscription. Lifemiles plus pays a fixed number of miles each month: 500 for USD 20, 2,000 for USD 50, 4,500 for USD 100 and 10,000 for USD 200. Paying with a Lifemiles credit card adds extra miles: up to 1,000, 2,000, 4,500 and 4,500 a month on the four plans. Subscribers also get 10% off award flights, which Avianca shows as a Bogota to Miami award falling from 9,870 to 8,880 miles. Each plan needs a six-month commitment and a credit card.

Elite status runs on a calendar year and has two tests. A member needs qualifying miles and a minimum of miles flown on Avianca itself. Red Plus takes 6,000 qualifying miles and 1,000 flown. Silver takes 12,000 and 3,000. Gold takes 24,000 and 12,000. Diamond takes 45,000 and 22,500, and Magno takes 110,000 qualifying miles, all of them flown on Avianca. The page also lists Cenit above Magno, with no published entry rule.

Not every mile counts the same toward status. Miles flown on Avianca and GOL convert one to one. Miles from Star Alliance flights, cards and merchants count at half. Miles from the subscription, point conversions and purchases also count at half. Bonus miles count at one for every 20, and Iberia flights do not count. The perks scale fast. Red Plus gets one Avianca lounge visit, Gold gets 20, and Diamond and Magno get unlimited visits. The bonus on base miles runs from 10% at Red Plus to 100% at Magno, and Magno holds 18 Business Class upgrades on Americas and international routes.

Elite members can move miles between family accounts at no cost. Members who hold elite status with another program can ask Lifemiles to match it.

The status rules show what Avianca values. The flown-on-Avianca minimum keeps the top tiers tied to its own aircraft, and Magno requires every one of its 110,000 qualifying miles to come from Avianca flying. The half rate on subscription and bought miles lets Lifemiles sell miles widely without selling status at the same price. GOL counts at the full Avianca rate, which treats the Brazilian carrier as part of the home network.