There have been some recent sales allowing frequent flyer members to rake in miles at prices not seen before. We all know that due to COVID-19, the travel industry has slumped and it will take a while for things to return to pre-COVID-19 levels. That being said, the travel industry has taken steps to inspire and reassure travellers that travelling will continue to be safe even in the face of the pandemic.
The travel industry will also have to play catch up the moment travel resumes, with drastic declines in revenue in the preceding months. One way airlines are attempting to do so is through the selling of miles on their frequent flyer programmes. Now we’re seeing miles being sold at unbeatable prices.
From now until 28 Jun 2020, Alaska Mileage Plan currently has a sale where targeted members can enjoy a 60% bonus on the miles purchased. The previous high was only at 50%. Additionally, members could only purchase up to 60,000 miles pre bonus, but this limit has been raised to 100,000 miles. If you’re targeted for the 60% bonus and you max out this promotion, you’ll be getting 160,000 miles at a cost of 1.72 US cents each!
Alaska Mileage Plan has many partners, and Singapore Airlines is one of them. However, you’ll get better value redeeming First and Business Class seats on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.
Another programme offering a sale on miles from now until 26 Jun 2020 is Lifemiles. The publicly available sale is 150% bonus miles, but readers of OMAAT can register for an even better deal at 155%! For this promotion, you can purchase up to 200,000 miles pre-bonus, and you’ll be walking away with miles at a cost of only 1.29 US cents each! Lifemiles is great for redemptions with Star Alliance carriers.
In the case of Lifemiles, it should be noted that Avianca, the airline tied to the frequent flyer programme, has filed for bankruptcy. That being said, Lifemiles is not owned by Avianca, and as of now isn’t part of the Chapter 11 proceedings. Nonetheless, do exercise caution when purchasing miles from Lifemiles as you’ll never know what might happen to companies heavily reliant on travel as a result of this pandemic.
The bottom line is, do not purchase miles speculatively. Only do so if you have an immediate redemption in mind. Given the current situation where travel restrictions and advisories are in place, it is highly unlikely that you’ll have concrete travel plans in the near future anyway. So while these prices are hard to beat, you might want to sit it out just to give you some peace of mind, just in case devaluations take place down the road, or if redemption of miles with certain travel partners gets curtailed for some reason.