New Avianca Cardless Credit Cards Are Out: Should You Bother?

A few weeks ago, Nancy has mentioned that Cardless venture would soon issue two co-branded Avianca credit cards. I went ahead and got on their email list in case I wanted to apply (due to promised 5k extra miles). Well, the cat is out of the bag, so to speak. Let’s take a quick look at both offers:

avianca lifemiles American Express® Card (non-affiliate link)

Earn 40K bonus miles after $3K in the first 90 days

$99 annual fee is not waived

avianca lifemiles American Express® Elite Card (non-affiliate link)

Up to 100K miles bonus: Earn 60K bonus miles after $4.5K spend in first 90 days, plus 40K miles after $25K total spend in the first 12 months

$249 annual fee is not waved

This card also includes Lifemiles+ subscription, a $240 value if you plan to buy it anyway

Don’t ask me why they don’t capitalize “avianca” and “lifemiles” words.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

I have previously called Lifemiles program a “dumpster fire”, and I stand by that. Here are some issues to be aware of if you are thinking about applying:

1. If you book a connecting itinerary and there is a significant schedule change, Lifemiles may cancel your reservation without telling you. My advice is to stick to nonstop flights if possible.
2. Going along with the first point, Lifemiles will not let you know about schedule change.
3. Some partnerships are particularly dicey. I’ve seen many reports of folks redeeming Lifemiles on Turkish, only to show up and discover that their flight wasn’t ticketed.
4. Booking and browser  issues. Some awards can be easily booked online, but some require a follow-up phone call. Occasionally, certain awards disappear for weeks at a time.
5. The call center can be hit or miss, though recent reports suggest improvement in quality.
6. Possibility of Lifemiles program going under, which is not zero. If they go bankrupt, your  award tickets will likely get cancelled as well, since an airline gets paid only after the flight takes place. It has happened before, just Google “Air Berlin.”
7. Steep cancellation fees, at $200 per person on long-haul flights.

That being said… there are good deals to be had. Here is just one example:

Yes, it’s an economy flight and you have to add a $25 non-refundable partner booking fee, but still. I paid 22k miles for our economy flight from NYC to Brussels, which is also a decent value. If you live near Star Alliance hub, you should absolutely pay attention to Avianca program. Redeeming miles on United flights can be a good deal as well, though be aware that United program is currently restricting access to their “saver” space. So, if that’s your main goal in accumulating Lifemiles, think twice.

It goes without saying that there are many better signup deals on the market. If you are eligible for 75k points bonus on Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card (our affiliate link), of course you should pursue that offer instead. Keep in mind that you might be able to get 85k points by going to Chase branch in person.

Something else to keep in mind is that currently you can only hold one Cardless product. That may change at some point, but that’s the rule at the moment. However, if I had to pick, I probably would go with Lifemiles card over Qatar etc. As frustrating as this program is at times, I can’t in good faith call it worthless.

Why I won’t be applying (for now)

There are a couple of reasons. First, according to recent data points on Reddit and blogs, Cardless is fairly strict on approvals for those who had a lot of recent inquiries and newly added accounts. That would be me. So, in all likelihood, I would not be approved anyway. But the bigger reason is the fact that I don’t have any potential use in mind for Lifemiles program in the next few years. That may change at some point, so I will go ahead and apply then. Losing that 5K miles from waiting list isn’t the end of the world.

For grizzled hobbyists, I imagine that the card with $249 annual fee holds some appeal, especially if you buy Lifemiels on a regular basis.  But that’s not our targeted audience. So, my advice is to look elsewhere before you settle for either  Avianca credit card.

New to miles and points travel? Check out Beginner’s Guide: 7 Steps to Free Travel with Miles and Points.