LifeMiles devalues awards without notice

Like the economy, nothing is constant in the points world. One of the favorites of award enthusiasts, Lifmiles, recently did a major devaluation without notice. Points Guy mentions it is limited to flights from US to Asia but because of the no notice devaluation, no one knows when the other routes might be devalued.

Lifemiles is the points currency of Colombia's Avianca airlines, which is a Star Alliance partner. You can book awards on other Star Alliance carriers like United, Lufthansa, Air Canada, ANA, Air India using it and without hefty surcharges, but the program devalued flights to Asia overnight and they are no longer the great deal they were.

As an example, flights between USA and India used to cost 42,500 miles in Economy and 78,000 miles in Business one way, but now they cost 47,000 miles in Economy and 90,000 miles in Business. That is an increase of 11% in Economy and 15% in Business awards.

Lifemiles increased award prices to Asia without notice


Lifemiles often sells its miles on sale for 1.32 - 1.4c a mile. So, whereas earlier a Business class award to India might have cost around ~$1200 when booked with purchased points, now it would cost around ~$1350 which is a bummer.

With Lifemiles devaluation, and the recent Aeroplan devaluation of US to Asia routes, Oneworld looks more and more appealing with American Airlines' 70,000 miles offer for Qatar Q-suites as a standout.

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