Every Friday, we Post a reader’s success or failure story. Last week we wrote a success story about a reader who used a tool to save $700 on flights he had already booked. This week, we shared a mistake story from Manu Kohli, who lost more than 100,000 Avianca Lifemiles after failing to understand a small, but critical, detail of the program’s expiration policy.
What happened?
“Avianca Lifemiles They are quite valuable for booking travel on United Airlines, so I spent a lot of time and resources accumulating Avianca miles,” he wrote. “I didn’t always have a redemption in mind, so to keep my miles from expiring, I periodically transferred 1,000 miles from my American Express card to the Lifemiles program. After a series of high-value trade-ins, I had just over 100,000 Avianca miles left, which TPG values at around $1,400.”
In fact, TPG’s May 2026 report ratings set the value of 100,000 Lifemiles to $1,400.
However, this is where the costly misunderstanding occurred. “Considering that I had recently redeemed my miles, I did not initiate the usual 1,000 mile transfer from Amex as I assumed that redeeming Lifemiles would be considered a qualifying activity to keep my miles balance active. Unfortunately, this was not the case. After 12 months, my entire 100,000 Lifemiles balance was set to 0 since, unlike most airline miles programs, Avianca does not consider the exchange as a qualified activity, only mileage accumulation,” he wrote.
Manu admits: “It is the traveler’s responsibility to ensure they read the terms and conditions of their miles program to ensure they do not lose their valuable miles.” But this is still an expensive lesson to learn the hard way.
Related: When do travel rewards expire? A Guide to Expiration Policies for Popular Loyalty Programs
why did it happen
As Manu learned too late, Avianca Lifemiles has a mileage expiration policy that is a little different than most other programs.
Lifemiles generally expire 12 months after your last earning transaction. However, Avianca elite members and cardholders who earn miles through an Avianca credit card get a longer expiration window of 24 months. As long as you earn Lifemiles at least once every 12 months (or 24 months if you’re eligible for a longer expiration window), none of your Lifemiles will expire. Even a small qualifying income-generating activity, like transferring rewards or purchasing miles, can reset the expiration clock.
As Manu pointed out, your miles expired because Lifemiles expire based on the date of your last earning activity. This is unusual because many airline and hotel loyalty programs reset expiration clocks by earning or redeeming rewards. With Lifemiles, redeeming miles does not reset the expiration clock; only the accumulation of new miles does.
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Related: What happens to your points and miles after you die?
How to avoid this
Some loyalty programs will notify you before your rewards expire, but many will not, and some even make it difficult to determine exactly when your rewards will expire.
Avianca Lifemiles clearly displays the expiration date of your miles when you log in to your account.
However, I highly recommend using a tool like AwardWallet to track your loyalty balances. Full disclosure: My husband works for AwardWallet, although we used the service long before he joined the company. AwardWallet displays when your rewards expire on your dashboard and also sends email alerts when rewards or other benefits, such as free night certificates, are about to expire.
If your rewards expire before you can use them, consider if there is a way to extend their validity. In Manu’s case, he could have transferred another 1,000 transferable rewards. Alternatively, you could have obtained and spent on the Avianca Lifemiles American Express® Card either Avianca Lifemiles American Express® Elite Card.
The information for the Avianca Lifemiles American Express Card and the Avianca Lifemiles American Express Elite Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
But especially if your points or miles don’t expire for a few months, you may be able to extend their validity by earning through a rewards program at restaurants or online shopping portal. Or, like I did with my expiring Choice Privileges points, you may be able to extend the expiration date of your rewards by buy points or miles.
Related: How to prevent your points and miles from expiring
In a nutshell
Points and miles have real value, but only when you redeem them. And to redeem them, they must be current. As such, it’s important to know when your rewards expire and if you can extend their validity through specific activities.
If you have your own story to share with other TPG readers, please fill out our error story form either success story form. (For ongoing issues where you believe you are owed compensation due to circumstances beyond your control, please contact the TPG Ombudsman, Michelle Couch Friedmanin ombudsman@thepointsguy.com.)
And if you’ve also had miles expire or have a favorite way to keep your miles from expiring, feel free to comment below.
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