Avianca appears to have significant issues credited purchased or converted miles from partner programs to LifeMiles’ member accounts.
They are instantaneously expired and are unable to be used. I wrote about my experience here, and we have received questions and comments from readers with similar experiences.
You can access LifeMiles here.
The miles I purchased on January 18 were posted to the account and immediately expired on January 1.
Citi to Avianca Conversion:
I transferred 13k citi points to Avianca 8 days ago and my usable balance on Avianca is still 0 miles. I can see that 13k miles arrived from Citi in the transactions section of the Lifemiles website though.
Purchased Miles Won’t Post:
Any update on John’s points posting? I’m sitting here with the same issue. I bought points 9 days ago, and they still haven’t posted. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll wait before disputing it with my credit card.
LifeMiles replied to my email that the purchased miles expired:
According to the message you share with us, we will proceed to escalate your request with the corresponding area for the respective validations, once we receive a reply we will let you know as soon as possible.
Their response when I emailed that I would dispute the transaction on January 31 with the credit card company if the miles were not posted:
Following up on your request, it has been reported to the corresponding area, although we do not have a specific response time, we suggest you wait for a resolution. We will notify you as soon as we receive confirmation.
Conclusion
There is widespread incompetence at Avianca and LifeMiles, and I would recommend anyone who doesn’t need additional headaches stay away from this airline and its frequent flier program.
I made the LifeMiles purchase to find out how the miles post under the updated elite program, only to find myself in this mess.
If Avianca and LifeMiles cannot resolve their issues by January 31, I will dispute the transaction with the card company, and you should do the same. Perhaps getting a high number of credit card disputes gets them to act.