Buying-mile promotions
Readers who browse travel blogs regularly will notice that LifeMiles runs mileage promotions very frequently. A 160% bonus is not unusual. At that level, the cost works out to 1.27 US cents per point (cpp).
See the 2026 airline promotion roundup
Is it worth it?
Here is a direct excerpt from my earlier analysis of whether buying Alaska miles is worthwhile:
A common question is whether buying miles to redeem an award ticket is worthwhile. There is no absolute answer. People value long-haul transoceanic business class differently, and their acceptable cost ranges differ. If we only follow exaggerated community headlines such as “free business class,” we may click through and discover that the recommendation was actually to apply for a credit card and use its welcome bonus. That can affect our ability to judge rationally and create unrealistic expectations. Such sensational wording should not be the standard for deciding whether a mileage redemption is worthwhile.
My personal view is that a lie-flat transoceanic business-class award costing less than C$2,000 one way is worth considering. Getting a transpacific business-class ticket for C$1,000 one way is an excellent deal.
Let us look at a few flight examples I just found and see whether this promotion is worthwhile.
Redemption examples
1️⃣ ANA transoceanic business class, Mainland China–Tokyo–Vancouver
Award seats released over the past couple of days are available for readers who need them. There is two-way availability between Tokyo and Vancouver in July and August 2025.
This route is a LifeMiles sweet spot: a Tokyo–Vancouver business-class redemption on its own requires 90,000 miles. Adding a Tokyo–Mainland China segment reduces it to 75,000 miles; choosing economy class for the short segment lowers the cost further.
Shanghai Pudong – Tokyo – Vancouver, all ANA business class: 75,000 LifeMiles plus 31.6 in taxes, for an effective cost of US$985.
Beijing – Tokyo – Vancouver, economy on the short segment and business across the Pacific: 60,000 miles plus 22.3 in taxes, for an effective cost of US$785.
Readers who have studied the blog’s LifeMiles introduction will know that the programme offers a paid service that returns 10% of the miles used for an award ticket, reducing the effective cost further.
2️⃣ ANA first class, Toronto–Chicago–Tokyo
A community member recently redeemed ANA transoceanic first class. The cost was 1186.8 * 1.27 + 71.3 = US$1,578.
3️⃣ Turkish Airlines business class, Istanbul–San Francisco
I subscribed to the LifeMiles+ service, which provides an additional 10% discount when redeeming Star Alliance flights. This flight required 62,100 miles, for a total cost of US$877.
4️⃣ A short-haul economy ticket close to departure
For example, the short-haul Air Canada economy flight from Vancouver to Calgary shown below is reasonably worthwhile when booked close to departure.
The cost of this ticket was US$95.
Summary
Different accounts see different promotion levels. Use the method above to calculate the cost of the award you want, then decide whether it is worthwhile for you. For example, a one-way ANA business-class trip home for under US$800: would you accept that? What about US$950? Your own threshold determines whether this promotion is worth buying.
