Avianca Wants to Separate LifeMiles from the Star Alliance Carrier

Star Alliance Member Avianca, Colombia’s biggest airline, is moving its ≈frequent-flier rewards program into a separate company unit. LifeMiles is growing on average 40 percent a year and now has 5 million members.

Airline rewards programs make money by selling miles to banks or hotels to give to customers, earning interest on the cash before awards are redeemed by customers.

They can also sell points to carriers and retailers and then buy airline seats and other rewards at a discount, pocketing the difference

Source: Travel Agent Central