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Amex 15% transfer bonus to Avianca LifeMiles
American Express not only has a great list of transfer partners, it also frequently incentivizes transfers to those partners with bonuses. Until 03/15/24, you can enjoy a 15% transfer bonus to Avianca Lifemiles. I have used Lifemiles many times in the past and the transfers have always been instantaneous – you can find the link here that has the offer – my Amex account still doesn’t have the offer.
Unfamiliar with Avianca’s Lifemiles program…you’re probably not alone
Avianca became an Amex transfer parter in 2018 and provides excellent access points to Star Alliance award inventory. You can also use them on AeroMexico and Iberia.
Should you transfer?
Personally, I would take advantage of this if you know that there is a trip that you want to take. If not…I wouldn’t transfer your very valuable Amex points to Avianca simply to get a 15% bonus.
Here’s a look at Avianca’s award chart
Sweet Spots include:
- US to Europe in Business Class for 63k
- US to Europe in First Class for 87k
- US to North Asia in Biz for 75k
- US to North Asia in First for 90k
Mixed Cabin trips are where its at!
As I noted above, one of the sweet spots is booking First Class between Europe and the US for 87k miles. However, Avianca gives its loyalists a break when their entire itinerary isn’t in the same cabin. Here’s a look at an itinerary from Paris via Munich to Los Angeles in Lufthansa First Class. Since the first leg is in economy the price is knocked down to just 83,200. 
I put the taxes and fees on my American Express Platinum card to earn 5x points
It’s a great benefit of the charge card and can quickly accumulate points when booking direct with the airline.
Learn more about the American Express Platinum card
Avianca updated and improved their booking website in 2020
Up until recently, Avianca had a clunk booking engine that would crash when used in Chrome. Now…they’ve created a fantastic new search facility that I almost always use in Smart Search.
Analysis
If you’re looking to make an award redemption in the near future…this could be a great time to make use of the program and achieve your travel aspirations at lower prices! If not..I wouldn’t pull the trigger.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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