Complete guide to earning and redeeming Avianca Lifemiles

While navigating a foreign airline's frequent flyer program may seem daunting, your savings on award travel can be significant. This is particularly true for Colombian airline Avianca and its unique Lifemiles frequent flyer program.Avianca Lifemiles offers useful Star Alliance redemption opportunities and generally does not pass along carrier-imposed fuel surcharges. However, repeated pricing changes and occasional booking glitches mean you should confirm the award you want before transferring points or miles and that the program is generally better suited to intermediate and advanced points and miles enthusiasts.Here's what you need to know about earning and redeeming Avianca Lifemiles, elite status and the program's most useful sweet spots.How to earn Avianca LifemilesZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUYYou can earn Lifemiles by flying Avianca, Star Alliance airlines (such as United Airlines, Lufthansa and Air Canada) and other carriers like Iberia and Gol Airlines. You can also earn on Avianca-coded flights operated by Clic Air, although Clic is not a general stand-alone award partner.On Avianca-operated flights, redeemable earnings are based on eligible spending and the fare type. Current...