Exclusive Interview: Avianca’s Valeria Yglesias Discusses Big Changes to the LifeMiles Program

Over the past few months, some travelers have featured complaints about changes in the Lifemiles frequent flyer loyalty program. Though a separate legal entity, the program was launched by, and continues to be associated with Avianca Airlines, and became popular even with travelers who never flew on Avianca, because of generous benefits that could be redeemed on other Star Alliance airlines. This caused many savvy travelers to participate in Lifemiles and earning through other Star Alliance airline partners, or even non travel related earnings methods such as store purchases and credit cards. Recent changes in the Lifemiles program have not gone unnoticed, but in the midst of this, longtime executive Valeria Yglesias was announced as the new managing director of Lifemiles. Loren Moss, executive editor of Finance Colombia was able to catch up with Yglesias at the 2025 Vitrina Turistica, the travel industry trade event held every year in Bogotá, Colombia by the trade association ANATO. 

Yglesias was able to provide enlightenment on the changes in the strategy for Avianca and Lifemiles, certainly acknowledging the shift in emphasis, while articulating the benefits of those changes, especially for those LifeMiles passengers that actually frequently fly Avianca, as opposed to taking advantage of the program in markets where the airline may not even have a presence.

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Finance Colombia: We just published an article about you, so, congratulations. I think we published it about a week or two ago. So, it sounds like you’ve been with Avianca and LifeMiles for much of your career, and now you’ve taken on much responsibility.

Valeria Yglesias: Yes, it is a lot of responsibility, but it’s a very exciting year to take LifeMiles because we’re investing a lot, and we’re making a lot of changes to the program, so we have high expectations that the Colombian public is going to take advantage of all that, that we’re going to grow a lot. So, yeah, it’s a big, big responsibility, but exciting, you know? At least, I’m coming here with a lot of good news.

Finance Colombia: Great. Are there any changes now that you are in the top spot? Are there things that you’ve seen kind of maybe moving up through the ranks that, wow, if I could, these are some things I would change? Do you have any ideas of different directions when it comes to the strategy?

Avianca has appointed Valeria Yglesias as Senior VP of Loyalty and Managing Director of LifeMiles.

Valeria Yglesias: Some other things we were already working through when we were announcing this year, but I think there are three important things: One, that the accrual is for everyone right now. I think that it was something that everybody was asking for, that the lowest fares in Avianca didn’t accrue miles- now they’re accruing at least three miles, and they’re accruing more.

If you combine that with lower requisites to get an elite status, it’s like a double whammy, right? Because you’re getting more miles, and you need fewer miles to be an elite. And that you are asking, “What do you see changing?” We want to focus a lot more on that high-value customer of Avianca. We want to treat them better. We want to be a program that’s closer to them. And that also comes together with more benefits, more entries to the VIP lounges. We’re making improvements in the lounges. We just refurbished Medellín.

We’re opening an international lounge, and hopefully some more to come. And we’re going to make some pretty good investments in lounges in Colombia as well. I think the other area where we’re going to focus, that maybe requires more focus, is customer experience. So we have now a group of people that are taking up all the things that have been, you know, these little pain points that people experience here or there, and we’re focusing on fixing them.

Finance Colombia: Good to hear. That’s good to hear because, yes, you know, I remember, and I know that Avianca, of course, has gone through several changes, you know, if we go back before the pandemic. And so it’s got to be, for somebody who spent your career in there, it’s got to be like one of those amusement park rides, because you’re getting whipped around in one direction to another direction, of course.

One of the key strategies that Lifemiles has had for a long time has been to attract. Even if you might have a Star Alliance member, and Avianca, maybe they’re not in Colombia, Avianca might not be their primary airline, but Lifemiles has always had the offer to say, “Look, make us your primary mileage partner.” Is that changing? Is there more of a focus on the actual partnership? Because I know that it’s something that grew up with Avianca, but then you guys brought in a strategic investor a few years back. And so it is kind of, in some respects, an independent entity. How is that strategy evolving when it comes to attracting people, maybe who don’t travel to Colombia, but maybe have in the past had LifeMiles as their primary mileage partner?

Valeria Yglesias: Yeah, our main focus for this year, especially, and long-term strategy as well, is focusing on the customers of Avianca. So it is a change of strategy a little in there. I think before because the company was separated and all that, there was more. The growth in itself was more important, but we’re now focusing on the Avianca passenger.

And we’re making, as I said, a lot of investments in the program, but also a lot of investment, I would say, but a lot of focus is on more redemptions and giving more value. We increased 30% redemptions last year, 2024 versus 2023. But just January and February, we’re up 50% more tickets in Avianca that are being redeemed with miles. We lowered the amount of miles that are needed for Avianca tickets as well. You can start traveling from 1,200 miles, that is nothing. It’s nothing.

Finance Colombia: It’s like here to Costa Rica or something.

Valeria Yglesias: Exactly, and if you have a credit card, and you put all your expenses there, it’s either how much you spend, but one month or a couple of months when you can accrue those miles. So it’s a lot more accessible right now. And yeah, our main focus is the high-value customers of Avianca, treating them well, and giving a lot more value for the program.

Finance Colombia: That makes a lot of sense, and that also probably explains a lot because I see doing my homework, knowing that I was going to meet with you today, and seeing where some of the routes that Avianca doesn’t even participate in were being de-emphasized. I saw some, okay, well, this flight from United to Australia. Well, Avianca, that’s not Avianca’s market.

Valeria Yglesias: Exactly.

Finance Colombia: You know? So maybe that explains why those routes are being de-emphasized. Then I remember, being here for a long time, as someone who just flies a lot, we had when it was segment-based.

Valeria Yglesias: Yes.

Finance Colombia: I can even still remember before the pandemic, it was 50 segments for gold. Because I’m always going between Medellín and Bogotá, and Bogotá to Cartagena or something like that. And it seemed like there was a move away from that, but now you’re saying that even with the new model because it’s kind of adopting not a low-cost airline, but adopting some commercial strategy of low-cost airlines, but now you’re adding back the advantage of accumulating LifeMiles. So LifeMiles is going to be a more strategic advantage than, not say before, like going way back, but like in the last couple of years, as Avianca has readjusted the strategy post-pandemic. Would that be accurate to say?

Valeria Yglesias: I believe so, yeah. So this year we’re working very, very closely with Avianca to give more value to their passengers. That’s our main goal. That’s why we are presenting all the changes to the program. I believe the whole combination that is being put up to the market is very powerful, very powerful. We didn’t change one thing, it’s the entire ecosystem. You earn more miles, you qualify more easily, we’re improving what we’re receiving, the VIP lounge, etc., and you’re able to redeem more.

The amount of inventory that’s being put out for LifeMiles customers is much, much bigger. So that’s the bet, right? We are betting that people are going to recognize we have always been the best value for money, I believe, when you want to redeem, especially if you’re a Colombian. But right now it’s going to be indisputable, because there were little things before, like, “Yeah, but I’m not going to accrue when I’m buying the cheapest fare.” Now you will accrue miles. So, yeah.

Finance Colombia: That’s good to hear.

Valeria Yglesias: It’s going to be a very good year.

Finance Colombia: Yeah, I think that’s good to hear because when you look at, let’s say, the Colombian business traveler, or maybe somebody that’s not Colombian but has business interests in Colombia and flies to Colombia often, it increases the value proposition that Avianca offers: “Why should I fly Avianca when I could fly some other airline?”

Valeria Yglesias: But, you know, it is easy to, well, it’s not easy, but somebody that’s flying international, to get the Gold or the Diamond in Avianca, and then they have the Star Alliance status. So if somebody is based here, I believe it makes much more sense for them to be an elite member of Avianca, and, you know, flying whenever he can with Avianca, and he gets the Star Alliance status. So when he goes outside, he can use the lounges. If he flies with another airline that’s part of Avianca, they can accrue their miles with Avianca as well. And our value in general is a great value for redemptions.

Finance Colombia: Absolutely. Well, much success. We’re going to be keeping an eye on you and the changes that you make. It’s good to meet you. Great always to cover what LifeMiles is doing, what Avianca is doing, and then also, of course, what Star Alliance is doing, and we wish you a lot of success.

Valeria Yglesias: Thank you very much.