Boo: Lifemiles Devalues Award Chart By Up To 50%
Intro
Lifemiles might not be the most efficient and easy airline program to book with, but it came with some fantastic redemption opportunities. This is especially true after United had just recently devalued their award chart in some areas as well.
Well, as of now, Avianca has devalued its award chart significantly, and its biggest sweet spot has flown out of the window.
The Details
Yesterday, Lifemiles had some great redemptions from the US to Europe. These consisted of:
30K Miles one-way to Europe in Economy
63K Miles one-way to Europe in Business Class
87K Miles one-way to Europe in First Class
However, as of today, these have increased to:
35K Miles one-way to Europe in Economy
70K Miles one-way to Europe in Business Class
130K Miles one-way to Europe in First Class
No matter which partner you decide to book, whether it be Lufthansa, Swiss, or United, as a couple of examples, this award rate stays the same.
Did you think that this was only from the US to Europe? Think again, as the same is applied on ANA heading over to Japan.
Of course, the best way to book ANA is through Virgin Atlantic, but if you planned on redeeming award space on Lifemiles, think again.
A one-way on ANA in Business Class to Japan is now 90,000 miles (up from 67,000 miles), while a First Class award is now 120K miles (up from 90K miles).
Look, I'm not happy about this happening, but I also understand it. Airlines need to make money in some way, especially Avianca.
The Trend
Unfortunately, more and more airlines have begun to devalue their award chart, and I expect this to continue. When I first got into the points and miles utilizing business, there weren't thousands of instagram reels displaying how everyone can book a 6,000$ flight for 50K points.
The market is becoming oversaturated due to the constant opening of credit cards. Thus, this is causing more and more people who ordinarily didn't know how to do this to be able to book flights with points and miles.
Airline miles are just another token economy that has been catching on. In the next 10 years, I would guess that a lot of airlines will turn into what Delta did with their Skymiles program.
Final Thoughts
Avianca Lifemiles has devalued its award chart, and in some areas, this is quite significant. Moreover, I think this is a trend that will keep going up and up due to high demand and low supply (of award seats). Avianca has followed suit with the likes of United and countless other airlines by devaluing its award chart.
LH F is getting harder and harder to book!
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