New: Get a 15% Bonus Transferring Amex Points to Avianca LifeMiles!

LifeMiles is the quirky – but highly useful – mileage program run by the Colombian airline, Avianca. Its website isn't the easiest to use and you'll pay dearly if your plans change, but it can be worth it for rock-bottom award redemptions. And if you've got Amex points, you'll need even fewer of them to book your next flight.

One Mile at a Time was first to point out that through July 31, LifeMiles members can get a 15% bonus when transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to the airline program. Importantly, you won't see this 15% bonus when you log into your Amex account: LifeMiles is handling it on the backend when you transfer points from cards like the *amex gold* or *amex platinum*, kicking in a 15% bonus afterward.

One possible hitch? The terms state that you must be previously registered as a LifeMiles member in order to be eligible for this promotion. If true, that'd mean you wouldn't be able to sign up for a LifeMiles account today and earn a 15% bonus on your transfer. Whether that's the case in practice is anyone's guess, but it's worth keeping in mind.

Not sure how (or why) to transfer your miles? Read our full guide to Amex transfer partners!

Using transfer partners like Avianca is one of the best ways to put your Amex points to use for even more value. These transfer bonuses make it even better – think of it as a way to get some free airline miles. 

Sadly, LifeMiles don't go quite as far as they used to after a couple of nasty devaluations over the last year – the program raised many award rates to Europe, Asia, and beyond by as much as 70%! Thankfully, Avianca rolled back some of these devaluations and there are still deals to be had – including business class to Europe for as low as just 55,000 miles each way.

Just keep in mind: These transfers are a one-way street – once you send points to Avianca, you can't get them back to your Amex account. That's why we typically urge travelers to scope out award availability to ensure the flights they want are bookable before transferring any points.

Fortunately, you've got plenty of options to put this transfer bonus to use.

Read more: Save Your Points When Booking Flights, Transfer Them to an Airline Partner

The Best Ways to Use This Transfer Bonus

Even if you'll never fly Avianca and have no plans to visit Colombia, you should know about LifeMiles.

It's far from perfect, but LifeMiles can be one of the best mileage programs in the world for booking Star Alliance airlines like Lufthansa or SWISS to Europe, EVA Air to Asia, or even a domestic hop on United. It combines low mileage rates with just $50 to $100 in award taxes and fees. That makes it a go-to for travelers looking to book business or first class seats with their points and miles.

Heading to Europe? These days, the airline you're flying is the most important factor in determining what price you'll pay.

After hiking business class award rates to a blanket 80,000 miles each way, Avianca rolled back that increase (a bit) for every airline … except United. That means if you're flying a Star Alliance carrier like SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, or Lufthansa, you can still save big booking with LifeMiles … and this transfer bonus makes those deals even better. 

So long as you avoid United, you'll now generally pay 69,000 miles one-way for a business class award to Europe with Avianca LifeMiles. That's true whether you're hopping on a short overseas flight from the East Coast … or making a longer journey, like this TAP Air Portugal business class fight from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Lisbon (LIS). 

With a 15% bonus, you'd only need to transfer 60,000 Amex points to make it a reality. 

But LifeMiles is full of oddities … in a good way: There are a handful of routes that price out even cheaper. For example, you can head to Switzerland on this SWISS business class route from New York City (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) for just 55,000 miles. Factor in that transfer bonus, and you need just 48,000 Amex points to book!

If you're feeling really fancy, you could even use this bonus to book Lufthansa First Class for fewer points. Take this flight from Houston (IAH) to Frankfurt (FRA) for example: First class can be had for a hefty 128,000 LifeMiles one way. While that's no doubt a hefty sum of miles, you'd “only” need 112,000 Amex Membership Rewards to book with this transfer bonus. 

But the beauty of these LifeMiles deals isn't just the cheap rates. No, they're also outstanding because LifeMiles doesn't pass on a mountain of surcharges and fees. You'll generally pay no more than $50 each way for departures from the U.S. 

And if you're not concerned with flying at the front of the plane and just want to get to your destination for even less, LifeMiles has plenty of solid deals flying economy too:

• LifeMiles generally charges 15,000 miles (or less) for one-way routes flying United Airlines within the U.S.
• Routes to Europe typically cost 40,000 miles each way, though you'll find some still price out closer to 30,000 miles.
• Down to South America, you can book for 30,000 miles each way 

Need more guidance on putting your LifeMiles to use? Read our complete guide to booking the best LifeMiles Sweet Spots!

How to Transfer Your Amex Points

Now that we've covered the “where” and “why,” let's cover the “how” – as in, how you can transfer Amex points to Avianca LifeMiles and get this bonus? It's easy, and it works just like every other Amex transfer partner.

First, you’ll need to log in to your Amex account and navigate to the “Rewards & Benefits” page. Once you’ve done that, select the “Transfer Points” option highlighted below.

From there, scroll down and select Avianca LifeMiles from the list of transfer partners. You'll need to enter your LifeMiles account information if you haven't done so already. Once that's done, you can enter how many Amex points you'd like to transfer to Avianca.

Keep in mind: You won't see the transfer bonus factored into your transfer on Amex's site. It's processed by LifeMiles on the back end and in our experience, the bonus miles posted nearly instantly. 

A Word of Caution on LifeMiles

The LifeMiles program is full of sweet spots … but that comes at a cost. Have I mentioned the quirky nature of this mileage program?

With LifeMiles, you need to know what you're getting into. And there are plenty of pitfalls to be aware of when using this otherwise valuable mileage program.

• A buggy website & IT issues: You may encounter several errors while searching for flights. The website will often “time out,” forcing you to reload or sign out completely and sign back in. You'll need to pack your patience when booking with LifeMiles.
• LifeMiles may not see all award availability: It can be the best program for booking Star Alliance flights … but only if those awards are available. Avianca LifeMiles doesn't always get access to the same award space as other Star Alliance programs, so be sure to confirm the flights you want are bookable through LifeMiles itself before transferring any points.
• Poor customer service: If things go wrong or you want to make any changes to your trip, there is no way to do this online … and trying to work with an Avianca agent over the phone can be a painful experience.
• Hefty change and cancellation fees: All the big U.S. airlines and many foreign airlines have waived cancellation fees to scrap a ticket and get your miles back, but not Avianca. The airline charges as much as $150 for a date change on award tickets and $200 to cancel.
• Miles expire: One of the most important things to keep in mind is that your Avianca LifeMiles do expire. You'll need to accrue some miles at least once every 12 months to keep those miles active.

Bottom Line

Got a trip in mind where LifeMiles could come in handy? Use this 15% bonus when moving Membership Rewards to Avianca LifeMiles to book flights for even fewer points.

Just remember: These transfers are a one-way street, so it's probably not worth taking advantage of this transfer bonus unless you've got a specific redemption in mind. But if you can make use of it, it can be a great way to stretch your points even further.

Don't wait too long, though. This Amex LifeMiles transfer bonus is available through July 31!