Citi is on a tear this week, with a new 25% transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles existing alongside transfer bonuses to Turkish Miles and Smiles and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. While the transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles is a smaller percentage, there are nonetheless some fantastic opportunities to score a terrific deal for flights on Star Alliance airlines without surcharges.
The Deal
- Citi ThankYou Rewards is offering a 25% transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles through 10/18/25
- Direct link to this deal
Key Terms
- Offer is valid for points transfers to lifemiles completed between 12:01 AM ET September 21, 2025 and 11:59 PM ET October 18, 2025.
Quick Thoughts
Avianca Lifemiles has long been one of my favorite award programs, thanks to reasonably priced Star Alliance awards without surcharges. Avianca has devalued its award chart a bit in recent years, but maintains what are theoretically some good value awards. The reason for the qualification is that not all Star Alliance partners are releasing as much award space as they once did, and in some cases, Avianca simply doesn’t display awards that should theoretically be available to them. That can be frustrating when you can’t find the award that you want, though when you do find the award space you need, keep in mind that Lifemiles still offers some terrific deals, particularly for mixed cabin awards.
You can make those deals a bit better yet by subscribing to Lifemiles+ from just $20 a month to get a 10% discount both on Avianca metal and Star Alliance Awards. Subscriptions to their basic tier or higher, which start at $50 a month, include free changes and cancellations up to 72 hours in advance. If you are not a Lifemiles+ Subscriber, keep a close eye on the cancellation penalty shown before the final booking page, as in some cases it can cost two hundred dollars to cancel a Lifemiles award.
Speaking of keeping a close eye on the checkout page, one of the most frustrating things about Avianca Lifemiles is that they do not display full taxes and fees in the initial search results. The same goes for award search tools, which pull the initial search result taxes and fees, though the final taxes and fees can be higher, particularly on mixed partner awards. Making matters even more frustrating is the fact that you cannot see the final taxes and fees until you get to the final checkout page — and in order to get that far, you need to have at least 50% of the miles necessary to book the award already in your account. That makes it hard to see the total taxes and fees before transferring. I always recommend that you look at the taxes and fees being charged for the same award booked via Air Canada Aeroplan and to expect about the same through Avianca Lifemiles, since both programs only charge the actual taxes plus a partner booking fee of about $25 USD. This can be particularly painful for awards departing European countries with high departure taxes, which you will pay through any program, but nonetheless can make for an unpleasant surprise if you were expecting to depart Europe with just $17 in taxes and fees, only to find that the actual amount is more like $200 per passenger (this varies by location).
Also keep in mind that Avianca Lifemiles sometimes sells miles for around 1.3 cents per mile or even less. Some people prefer to buy Lifemiles when they need them and maintain their transferable points for other programs.
Nonetheless, if you familiarize yourself with Lifemiles, the 25% bonus here can help make for some very good deals.
A final word of warning: Know that Avianca Life Miles has a terrible 12-month expiration policy. If you transfer during this bonus, make sure to mark your calendar and make another transfer in the future to keep your miles alive if you are not a Lifemiles+ subscriber (obviously, this only matters if you don’t use your miles within the 12 month period).
Things to know about Avianca Lifemiles
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account).
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Key warnings:
- Availability at LifeMiles.com often doesn't match what you’ll find at United.com or Aeroplan. Phone agents usually do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. While it can be possible to book via E-mail, it is very slow and frustrating. ALWAYS check the LifeMiles site before transferring points.
- LifeMiles expire after 12 months of inactivity. Redeeming Miles does NOT count as activity, but buying miles does.
- LifeMiles is notorious for odd pricing and unannounced devaluations.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo. Also can transfer from Marriott Bonvoy.
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