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Update: Booking window closed on May 20. If you booked your flights by this date, you can travel through November 1, 2025.
LifeMiles just launched yet another award sale for select routes. Now through May 20, 2025, you can book award tickets for a couple dozen Avianca-operated routes between the U.S. and Central or South America for flights departing by November 1, 2025. LifeMiles advertises this as “up to 30% off with Avianca,” but the award discount varies by route. Advertised award rates start at just 1,970 LifeMiles, but finding an eligible flight may pose a challenge.
Let's look at the details, decipher the terms and conditions, and see if this sale is worth taking advantage of.
Page Contents
LifeMiles Award Sale Key Terms
- Book awards with up to a 30% discount on select Avianca routes, with an additional 5% discount if you have an Avianca credit card.
- The promotion is valid for bookings made through May 20, 2025.
- The travel window is from May 15 through November 1, 2025.
- You can book a maximum of eight tickets per LifeMiles account.
- This promotion is valid for economy bookings on Avianca flights.
- Promotional seat availability is limited.
- No stopover is allowed for this offer.
- There is a minimum stay of one day with the promotion on round-trip tickets.
- This offer can be redeemed online, at an Avianca sales office, or through the Avianca call center. However, non-online bookings will incur a charge between $25 and $80 plus local taxes.
The promotion's full terms and conditions can be found on LifeMiles' webpage.
LifeMiles Award Sale Eligible Routes
Avianca generally runs an award sale each month. There are plenty of route options this month. To give you an idea of what's out there, here are some of the advertised “starting at” one-way prices for non-cardholders:
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Medellin (MDE) from 1,970 LifeMiles
- Houston (IAH) to San Salvador (SAL) from 2,600 LifeMiles
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to San Pedro (SAP) from 3,900 LifeMiles
- Orlando (MCO) to Medellin (MDE) from 3,920 LifeMiles
- Chicago (ORD) to San Salvador (SAL) from 4,500 LifeMiles
- San Francisco (SFO) to San Salvador (SAL) from 5,070 LifeMiles
- Miami (MIA) to Medellin (MDE) from 5,120 LifeMiles
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Bogota (BOG) from 6,030 LifeMiles
- Chicago (ORD) to San Jose (SJO) from 6,370 LifeMiles
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Santa Cruz (VVI) from 7,170 LifeMiles
What's unique about this month's LifeMiles award sale is that business class awards are also discounted. Here are a few select advertised examples:
- Chicago (ORD) to San Jose (SJO): from 19,460 LifeMiles.
- San Francisco (SFO) to Guatemala City (GUA): from 21,700 LifeMiles.
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Managua (MGA): from 22,260 LifeMiles.
- Los Angeles (LAX) to San Salvador (SAL): from 24,270 LifeMiles.
How to book a discounted Avianca award flight
To book, visit the Avianca LifeMiles landing page, log in, and enter your search parameters. At first glance, availability looks fantastic, but the “sale” marker doesn't align with available flights 100% of the time. Thus, finding a date bookable at advertised rates will require a fair amount of patience.
But if you're patient, you can find routes for the cheapest advertised price. Or, even cheaper if you can take advantage of the Club LifeMiles / LifeMiles+ discount.
Assuming you can find a wholly discounted route, you might think the pricing is too good to pass up. However, ensure you compare the three economy fare options. For a variable amount of miles, you can add extra perks like carry-on and checked bags, seat selection, and more.
Ultimately, the dirt cheap rate might be one you'll want to avoid — especially if you plan on bringing bags with you or value check-in at the airport. Otherwise, you'll pay out of pocket for these ancillary costs.
While these award rates sound incredible, check the math to make sure you're getting a good deal. In the case of the example above, you could redeem 1,970 LifeMiles and pay $48.50 out of pocket for a one-way flight between Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Medellin (MDE). Alternatively, you could purchase a revenue fare on that same flight for $128. In this case, you're getting an excellent 4 cents per LifeMile from this discounted award. However, not all options are as lucrative.
Boosting Your Avianca LifeMiles Balance
One of the best aspects of Avianca's program is that LifeMiles are incredibly easy to earn. Avianca partners with several credit card rewards programs, so you can transfer a small sum of bank points to book these awards. Given the short booking window, you'll want to make your transfer soon if this is a promotion you'd like to take advantage of.
The following currencies convert to LifeMiles:
Alternatively, you can earn Avianca LifeMiles directly with one of Avianca's credit cards for U.S.-based applicants. Using either one of these cards is an easy way to earn bonus miles on your flight reservation.
- 3x on all avianca airlines and lifemiles purchases
- 2x on travel and restaurants
- 1x on everything else
- 2x on all avianca airlines and lifemiles purchases
- 2x on groceries and restaurants
- 1x on everything else
Related: All Current Credit Card Transfer Bonuses
Our Take
Through May 20, 2025, you can book Avianca LifeMiles awards for up to 30% off select destinations, which is a fantastic sale if you can find a bookable itinerary that fits your schedule and gives you a good redemption rate.
But before you book anything, make sure the inclusions in your fare are suitable. The cheap rates are intriguing, but they may not permit anything more than one personal item. And remember to consider how fixed your travel plans are due to Avianca's stiff change and cancellation policies.
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