Avianca LifeMiles American Express Card
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Affiliate link, we may earn a commission. Terms, rates, and sign-up bonuses are set by the issuer and can change. See the issuer site and our advertiser disclosure.
Earning Rates
Earning rates
4- 2xflights
Earn 2x LifeMiles per $1 on all Avianca Airlines and LifeMiles purchases (this is the card's top airline-spend multiplier; note that this is 2x, NOT 3x — the Elite tier earns 3x on Avianca/LifeMiles spend, while the $99 Standard card tops out at 2x in this category per the Cardless 'Earn lifemiles with every purchase, and 2 x per dollar with avianca airlines' product copy)
- 2xdining
Earn 2x LifeMiles per $1 on groceries and restaurants (combined 2x bonus category on the Cardless rates page; note that gas is NOT a published 2x category on the Cardless product page — earn copy specifically calls out 'groceries and restaurants', not gas)
- 1xeverything else
Earn 1x LifeMiles per $1 on all other eligible purchases (base 'Everything else' rate)
- 2xdining
Avianca LifeMiles point valuation: ~1.5 cents per mile (the project's standard valuation for the LifeMiles currency); the 40,000-mile welcome bonus is therefore worth roughly $600 at the project valuation, and 2x earn on Avianca and 2x on dining/groceries translate to roughly 3.0¢ / dollar of value at the project's LifeMiles valuation
Perks & memberships
10- Card networkIssued by First Electronic Bank, Member FDIC, on the American Express network and powered by Cardless (a fintech program manager, not a bank); confirmed in the Cardless product-page footer ('Issued by First Electronic Bank, Member FDIC') and the 'With American Express' callout ('Use your avianca lifemiles card with the safety and security of American Express')
- Card networkCard runs on the American Express payment network (verified directly on the Cardless product page: branded throughout as the 'avianca lifemiles American Express Card', with the 'With American Express' card-art callout); it is NOT a Visa or Mastercard product
- Award discount5% redemption discount on Avianca Airlines flights booked with LifeMiles through lifemiles.com (verified on the Cardless product page as 'Get a 5% redemption discount on avianca airlines flights booked through lifemiles.com'); this is a redemption-side discount on Avianca-operated award flights, not a 20% Star Alliance partner discount (the broader 'up to 25% Avianca redemption discount' and 'up to 10% back on Star Alliance redemptions' belong to the Elite tier, not the $99 Standard card)
- Elite statusAutomatic Avianca LifeMiles Silver elite status while you hold an active card; Silver status is granted on enrollment and renews each year that you maintain an active Avianca LifeMiles American Express Card ('Get silver status ... Each year your status will automatically renew if you maintain an active avianca lifemiles card' per the Cardless product page)
- Lounge accessSilver-status travel benefits delivered through Avianca LifeMiles (not as direct card perks): lounge access where Silver applies, premium seat selection, additional checked bags, and priority boarding on Avianca-operated flights (Cardless product page: 'Benefits available from lifemiles with your avianca lifemiles card' followed by Lounge access / Premium seat selection / Additional checked bags / Priority boarding)
- Airline perkPriority boarding on Avianca is delivered via the bundled LifeMiles Silver status rather than as a separate cardholder benefit (so the perk is contingent on Avianca's Silver-tier boarding policy at the gate, not a card-only perk that survives if the Silver tie-in changes)
- Airline perkFree first checked bag on Avianca is delivered via the bundled LifeMiles Silver status's 'Additional checked bags' benefit rather than as a card-direct '$0 first checked bag' perk like the Delta SkyMiles Amex line; the Cardless page does NOT advertise a card-printed free-checked-bag benefit independent of LifeMiles Silver
- Points longevityLifeMiles do not expire for as long as you keep using your card (Cardless product page: 'Miles do not expire for as long as you use your card'); this is a meaningful retention perk because LifeMiles otherwise expire after 24 months of inactivity for non-cardholders
- No foreign feesNo foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside the United States (Cardless product page: 'No foreign transaction fee †'); useful for Avianca's Latin America-heavy route network
- Award discountTarget customer is a U.S.-based Latin America / Star Alliance traveler who wants a U.S.-issued path to top up Avianca LifeMiles balances at a sub-$100 annual fee, with the Silver-status bundle and 5% award discount as the two most differentiated benefits at this tier
Travel & purchase protections
1- American Express benefit programs (Amex Offers, American Express Experiences, Global Assist, Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty, Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance, etc.) are governed by the Cardless / First Electronic Bank Cardholder Agreement linked from the product page rather than by the standard Amex-direct-issued benefits guide; cardholders should verify the specific Amex-network benefits enabled on this product by reading the linked Cardholder Agreement before relying on any benefit that is standard on Amex-direct-issued cards
More benefits & fine print (2)ShowHide
- Best LifeMiles redemption sweet spots (program-level, not card-specific): Star Alliance partner awards in business class (e.g., U.S. to Europe on United, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, TAP, LOT, etc.) at LifeMiles' published Star Alliance partner award chart, plus intra-Latin-America short-haul awards on Avianca itself — both routinely cited by The Points Guy and One Mile at a Time as the strongest use cases for LifeMiles
- Digital wallet support at approval: Cardless lets you add the Avianca LifeMiles card to Apple Pay / Google Wallet immediately on approval ('Add your avianca lifemiles card to your digital wallet as soon as you're approved'), so the physical card is not required to start earning the welcome-bonus spend
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