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

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

LifeMiles members can get a 15% bonus when transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to the airline program. This new transfer bonus runs through July 15, so you need to send your Amex points over to LifeMiles by then to take advantage of this deal. 

There's just one small quirk – you won't see the bonus in your American Express account. The bonus is on the LifeMiles side, and you'll see it once you transfer over your points. Check out Avianca's official transfer bonus page for more details. 

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 handful of nasty devaluations over the past couple of years – 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 (some) deals to be had – including business class to Europe for as low as 63,000 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.

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 is a solid mileage program for booking Star Alliance airlines like Lufthansa or SWISS to Europe, EVA Air to Asia, or even a domestic hop on United. It combines reasonable 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 the latest price hike, you'll now pay somewhere between 63,000 and 93,000 miles one-way for a business class award to Europe with Avianca LifeMiles. In typical LifeMiles fashion, there's very little rhyme or reason for what exactly a given flight will cost, aside from the airline it's on.

Take this LOT Polish business class flight from New York City (JFK) to Warsaw (WAW), for example. It's pricing out at a reasonable 69,000 miles each way – just 60,000 Amex points with this transfer bonus. 

But if you're departing from Canada, the nearly identical length flight between Toronto (YYZ) and Warsaw is going for just 63,000 miles in business class – or 30,000 miles in economy. With this transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 55,000 Amex points to book a lie-flat seat on the eight-plus-hour flight to Poland. 

Meanwhile, business class flights from New York to Zurich (ZRH) on SWISS now cost 33,280 in economy and 63,530 in business class, each way. 

With a 15% bonus, you'd only need to transfer 29,000 Amex points for a ride in economy, or a little over 55,000 for business class. 

And then there's United. Even before the most recent devaluation, United flights were already priced higher than every other partner airline operating similar routes. Now, it's even worse.

This United Polaris flight from Washington D.C.-Dulles (IAD) to Brussels (BRU) used to cost 80,000 in business class. Today, it'll cost you 92,400 miles. Even back in economy, the price went up, now requiring 48,400 miles – a substantial increase from the old 40,000-mile rate. 

Both of these options are made cheaper by the current 15% transfer bonus – 81,000 Amex points for business class, and 43,000 for economy – but neither is the slam dunk deal they used to be.

One bright spot that remains, despite all the devaluations? 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 roughly 18,000 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 (or so) 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 are 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: Some awards may price differently depending on how you search – be sure to run a “Smart Search” for the best prices. 
• 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.

This transfer bonus from Amex to LifeMiles is available through July 15.