How to get Avianca LifeMiles status

Neither path to Avianca LifeMiles Silver is free — both run through a credit card with an annual fee, and both cards are US products. The cheaper of the two is the Avianca LifeMiles American Express Card, which carries a $99 annual fee and confers Silver status the moment the card is active, renewing automatically each year as long as you keep the card open.

The other route is the Avianca LifeMiles American Express Elite Card, a step up at $249 a year. It grants the same complimentary Silver status, plus a LifeMiles+ subscription thrown in. If all you want is Silver, the cheaper card gets you there for $150 less a year; the Elite card only makes sense if the LifeMiles+ subscription and its other perks are worth that difference to you on their own. Either way, status keeps renewing automatically while you hold the card — there's no separate spend threshold or mileage requirement to maintain it.