NOTE: This post is from 2018, and the information below may now be outdated!
Almost two weeks ago, American Express Membership Rewards added Avianca Lifemiles as a transfer partner at a 1:1 ratio. I was very excited about this new transfer partner when it was announced given the various good values and lack of fuel surcharges. When I wrote that post, I purposely left out specifying the amex to lifemiles transfer time, since I knew new additions can sometimes be challenging from a technical standpoint. Other bloggers declared transfers to be instant, and most posts still say that today.
Well, the reality is that the Amex to Lifemiles transfer time is completely unknown. When you submit a transfer with Amex you’re given a message that states transfers are “usually” immediate, but that we should allow up to 48 hours for them to complete. Frankly, that seems fair. Many transfers take up to a couple of days, so that’s not a big deal…it’s just better to know it in advance so you can plan your trip.
So what’s the problem then? Well, I have yet to find anyone that completed a successful transfer from Amex to Lifemiles.
Here are a few data points I quickly collected:
- I submitted a transfer request today 11/19/18 at around 12:20pm. More than an hour later and the points are not there. I should have researched first, because…
- Flyertalk user ali7204 says “It has been almost one week when I initiated a transfer, still waiting to appear on LM side. AMEX said, transfer was accepted the very same day.”
- In response to ali7204, Flyertalk user stevenshev says “Same issue. Opened an MR case as it’s supposed to be limited to 48 hours. Annoying.”
- A friend submitted a transfer request the day the news was announced on November 7, 2018 and is still waiting for the transfer.
- Various comments on blogger posts stating their points have not come through yet.
At this point I would advise my readers to avoid transferring their valuable Amex points to lifemiles until such time that American Express has worked out whatever IT issues they’re having. Otherwise you’ll end up like me, having points stuck somewhere in the interwebs with neither side taking responsibility (you don’t want to deal with Lifemiles on the phone if it can be avoided). The last thing you want is to find the perfect award space, initiate a transfer, then no longer have points in either Amex or Lifemiles to book your trip.
Frankly, this makes Amex look very bad in my eyes. I wouldn’t trust a new transfer partner from them going forward until there are several successful transfer reports first.
Update: It appears as of 11/20/18, new transfers are finally working, though are still not instant. I’ve received feedback that some transfers prior to this date did eventually come through, but many still have not. I would continue to wait for a bit while all the kinks are worked out unless you really need them and are willing to take the risk.
Thanks for the heads up. Was planning on transfering some for a trip. I guess I’ll have to use AP for now unfortunately.
Thanks for quoting me on FT. My transfer still lost somewhere between Amex and Avianca. Got a called from MR team after escalating it and I was told to deal with Avianca lol. Will give it a try in engaging Avianca once I am on my death bed and waiting to die
This is basically what I’ve heard of everyone that initiated a transfer early on! Can’t believe Amex can’t get this stuff sorted out. In any case, thanks for your input on FT and here!
Same thing to me with Citi. Though I have transferred many times before and it was always instant. This time it is lost. Citi confirms sent, Avianca says they don’t have it. Both say I have to wait TWO WEEKS before I can do anything. Was for a ticket next week.
I just did a transfer from Amex to Lifemiles and the points showed up within 5 minutes of the transfer initiated after I logged out and back into my Lifemiles account.