One of the best Star Alliance award charts belongs to LifeMiles, which is the frequent flyer programme for Avianca. The programme frequently offers miles bonuses, like the current 150% bonus promotion, and the award chart is spectacular in many ways. I’ve stopped my dependence on Air India’s award chart ever since this award chart came into my life a few years ago.

At the moment, LifeMiles, apart from the 150% bonus sale, is offering a discount on award redemptions in select markets on Star Alliance redemptions. The promotion is valid for redemption bookings made through December 9, 2019, but you can redeem for any available date in the future.

The discount is not across the board, but many city pairs are offered at various discounts in various markets (none touching Indian shores, unfortunately!). For instance,  Newark to London in Business Class is being offered for 48,000 miles, and Hong Kong/Shanghai to Los Angeles are being offered for 64,000 miles in business class. The full list is here.

Buy LifeMiles with a 150% Bonus

Through December 5, 2019, LifeMiles is offering BoardingArea and LiveFromALounge readers an exclusive bonus on top of their usual sale, which means you can receive 150% bonus on purchased miles up to December 5, 2019. It is their best deal so far since they usually give out a 145% bonus on purchased miles to LFAL readers.

Register for LiveFromALounge’s 150% bonus here

Unlike their earlier sales, this time, there is no minimum purchase to get the 150% bonus, which means you could get 150% miles bonus even on purchasing as less as 1,000 miles. This brings the cost to INR 0.94 (1.32 US cents) per mile, which is the lowest prices I’ve ever seen factoring for forex movement when you buy LifeMiles in a promotion. The price quoted is ex-taxes since taxes vary per country. No taxes in India, for instance.

The minimum purchase for this promotion is 1,000 miles, while you need to buy at least 101K miles to get the 145% bonus. So you can purchase the miles for future redemption, or you can use them to top up your account if you are a few thousand miles shy.

Registration for the promotion is open from now through the end of the promotion. You will be able to make a purchase immediately after registration. So head to this page and enter your LifeMiles number. Make sure to into your account and see the increased bonus on your account when you buy miles.

Why should you look at buying LifeMiles?

And with all those miles will get you some fantastic award flights.

Mumbai – Tokyo return in ANA Business Class for 96,000 LifeMiles

You are effectively paying close to INR 0.94/Mile. For 96,000 LifeMiles (INR 90,200), you can fly to Tokyo from Mumbai on All Nippon Airways roundtrip. If you were paying cash, the same flight would’ve cost you close to INR 2,00,000 (USD 2,759). That’s more than 50% saving right there.

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Mumbai – Newark return on United Polaris for 156K LifeMiles

United’s Polaris is one of the better business class products out there if you want to fly direct to the US from India. A round trip in peak season would set you back by INR 5,00,000 or USD 7,059. But you could make the same trip for less than 1/3rd the price if you go the LifeMiles way.

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Some of the best value that you can unlock using LifeMiles is when you fly First Class and premium cabins.

• India to United States Business Class for 78,000 LifeMiles oneway
• India to Europe Business Class for 45,000 LifeMiles oneway
• India to Japan/S. Korea Business Class for 48,000 LifeMiles oneway
• The United States to Europe Business Class for 63,000 LifeMiles oneway
• The United States to Japan/North Asia First Class for 90,000 miles

You can find the full LifeMiles Star Alliance award chart here, updated as of May 2019. And the best part about Avianca LifeMiles redemptions is that there is no extra fuel surcharge or taxes.

Remember, you can purchase a maximum of 200,000 LifeMiles before bonuses every calendar year. Which means if you haven’t bought at all this year, you get to stockpile on 500,000 LifeMiles when you buy 200K. The full T&C of the promotion is here.

You could use the Citi Prestige or the American Express Platinum Charge Card which now offers 3X Membership Rewards on spends abroad. LifeMiles purchases are coded as an airline purchase, so you can also use your Citi PremierMiles to get 10X rewards.

Remember, when using LifeMiles, you won’t be able to access Singapore Airlines premium award space. Also, LifeMiles expire within 12 months unless you keep any activity in your account. In my case, I credit all my Air India flights to LifeMiles.

So, what are you waiting for, Sign up and Buy if you please! Hopefully, some of you can also take advantage of the LifeMiles award sale!