This Month Only: Buy Miles for Discounted Award Tickets to Hawaii & Europe

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Via One Mile at a Time, you can get up to a 125% bonus (or more if you’re targeted!) on purchased Avianca miles through February 28, 2017.

Avianca is a member of the Star Alliance, so you can use their miles to book flights on airlines like United Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Air Canada.  And pay fewer miles on certain routes!

I’ll explain the details of this offer.  And help you decide whether it makes sense for you!

Bonus for Buying Avianca Miles

Link:   Avianca Buy Miles Promotion

Through February 28, 2017, you can earn up to a 125% to 135% bonus when you buy Avianca miles.

You can buy a maximum of 200,000 Avianca miles per year, excluding any bonus miles you earn for purchases.

The more miles you buy, the bigger bonus you’ll get:

• 100% bonus for purchasing 1,000 to 50,000 Avianca miles
• 115% bonus for purchasing 51,000 to 100,000 Avianca miles
• 125% bonus for purchasing 101,000 to 200,000 Avianca miles

And some folks have been targeted to get a 135% bonus on purchased miles!  So if you’re interested in the deal, it’s worth checking your email or Avianca account to see if you qualify for the bigger bonus.

Is This a Good Deal?

It would certainly make sense to take advantage of this offer if you need to top off your account for a specific award.

Otherwise, I suggest doing the math to see if buying miles makes sense for your particular situation.

For example, a one-way Business Class ticket from New York (JFK) to London will cost 63,000 Avianca miles.

With this buy miles promotion, you could purchase 32,000 Avianca miles and get a 32,000 miles bonus (100% bonus).  And you’d pay $1,056 for 64,000 Avianca miles (32,000 miles + 32,000 bonus miles).  That’s more than enough for a Business Class ticket to Europe.

Depending on the time of year, and especially if you’re buying a last-minute ticket, you might save a few hundred dollars off the cash price of a ticket.

And don’t forget, buying Avianca miles counts as a travel purchase because you’re buying Avianca miles directly through Avianca.  So you can get extra points using cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, or Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard.

What Can You Do With Avianca Miles?

Link:   Avianca Award Chart

Avianca miles are great for traveling from the US to Central or South America.

You can use your Avianca miles for flights on Star Alliance partners, like United Airlines and Air Canada.  And sometimes it will even cost fewer miles!

For example:

• New York to London one-way in Business Class for 63,000 Avianca miles (7,000 fewer miles than United Airlines charges on partner airlines)
• Toronto to China in First Class one-way for 90,000 Avianca miles (15,000 fewer miles than Air Canada charges)

Plus, Avianca does NOT charge fuel surcharges.

Earn More Avianca Miles

You can earn 40,000 Avianca miles when you sign-up for their Avianca Vuela Card and make a purchase within the first 90 days of opening your account.  The $149 annual fee is NOT waived the first year.

This is great news for folks who have lots of credit cards from banks like Chase and AMEX.  Most of us do not have credit cards issued by Banco Popular.

But I would NOT recommend this card if you’re new to miles & points.  Because banks like Chase, Citi, and American Express have stricter credit card application rules.  So it’s a good idea to apply for their cards first!

Bottom Line

You can get up to a 125% bonus on purchased Avianca miles through February 28, 2017.  The bonus is tiered, so the more miles you buy, the bigger bonus you’ll earn.

And some folks are targeted for a 135% bonus!  So check your email if you’re interested in taking advantage of this deal.

It could make sense for folks who need a few more miles for a certain award ticket.  But as always, I suggest doing the math to see what makes sense for you.