Avianca Airlines just dropped a flash sale on awards tickets from select U.S. cities to Central and South American destinations. The Colombian carrier is offering awards tickets at up to a 30% discount to San Jose, Costa Rica; San Salvador, El Salvador; and Bogota, Colombia. With a couple of routes, you can book one-way fares for as few as 2,200 miles.
You have to act fast to take advantage of this sale, as it only applies to flights booked by April 25. The sale fares apply to travel between now and March 2025. Another thing: To find the sale fares, you must go to the airline’s LifeMiles website — Avianca’s rewards program. Once you log in, you can search for flights from your preferred departure city.
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUYDeal basics
Airline: Avianca Airlines.
Routes: Select routes in Avianca’s network from the U.S. to San Jose, San Salvador and Bogota.
How to book: Browse flights on Avianca’s LifeMiles website, then book directly with the airline.
Travel dates: The travel window for this sale is from April 26, 2024, through March 27, 2025
Sample flights AVIANCA LIFEMILES
As you can see in the screenshot above, the sale allows you to save a substantial amount of miles for trips to these three destinations.
If you haven’t used Avianca’s LifeMiles site, be patient. It’s not the most user-friendly site, and the functionality is clunky. For example, you have to check individual dates to find out how many miles a one-way ticket will cost.
As for the deals themselves, June is a good month to find fares from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose. You can book fares for 8,460 miles and about $69 in taxes each way.
AVIANCA LIFEMILES
August and January have even better fares, with one-way tickets from LA to San Jose available for just 7,610 LifeMiles, plus $50.28 in taxes.
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You can book flights from Los Angeles to El Salvador International Airport (SAL) in San Salvador for just 3,170 miles plus $60 in taxes before the promo discount. This is easily the best bargain in this sale. We found good availability for this rate in July and August, but the lowest fares were mostly gone in other months.
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One of the better deals we found out of New York City was this June itinerary from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to San Salvador for 4,360 miles and $33.20 in taxes.
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Be sure to compare options before you choose the fare you want. Avianca has three different economy options: Basic, Classic and Flex. You may have enough miles that it would be a better deal to upgrade a tier and get the free carry-on and checked bag; you wouldn’t get this with the Basic-level ticket.
AVIANCA LIFEMILESMaximize your purchase
If you don’t have a stash of LifeMiles, there are many ways to get your hands on some, including via Avianca’s partnerships with major transferable points programs. You can currently transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou Rewards to your LifeMiles account at a 1:1 ratio.
If you’re looking to top up your transferable points balances, you can do so by applying for these top offers:
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the card within the first three months of card membership.
Citi Premier® Card: (see rates and fees) Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Bottom line
We always point out that the more flexible your travel schedule is, the better your chance of scoring the best deal. It’s especially true with this sale, as the discounted fares are volatile. Have patience with Avianca’s website and check various months to hopefully maximize your savings.
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