Buying airline points strategically can make a lot of sense, especially for first and business class redemptions, where redeeming points represents a disproportionately good deal.
Iberia Plus has just launched its newest promotion on purchased points, offering up to a 25% bonus. Nowdays we don’t often see promotions on buying Avios from British Airways Executive Club or Iberia Plus. So if you’re interested in an offer like this, now would be the time to take advantage of it. However, I have a hard time getting excited about the price.
In this post:
Promotion on purchased Iberia Plus Avios
Through Monday, August 5, 2024, Iberia Plus is offering a 25% bonus on purchased Avios. With this promotion, you can receive a 25% bonus if you buy anywhere between 2,000 and 200,000 Avios in one transaction.
How much does it cost to purchase Iberia Avios?
With Iberia Plus, the cost to purchase Avios varies based on how many you buy, even without any promotions — the more Avios you buy, the lower the cost per Avios. Furthermore, the cost varies based on where your account is registered. With this 25% bonus offer, you can expect to pay the following to max out this promotion:
- If you bought 250,000 Avios (including the bonus) in USD you’d pay $4,599; that’s a cost of 1.84 cents (in USD) per Avios
- If you bought 250,000 Avios (including the bonus) in EUR you’d pay €4,245, which is $4,591; that’s a cost of 1.84 cents (in USD) per Avios
- If you bought 250,000 Avios (including the bonus) in GBP you’d pay £3,539, which is $4,540; that’s a cost of 1.82 cents (in USD) per Avios
The differences aren’t huge, but you’ll get a slightly better price in GBP than you do in USD or EUR. However, it’s all based on where your account is registered, so it’s not like you have a choice in the matter.
How many Iberia Avios can you purchase?
Iberia Plus lets you purchase up to 200,000 Avios per account per calendar year, before factoring in any bonuses.
Which credit card should you buy Iberia Avios with?
Iberia Plus Avios purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach minimum spending, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.
In this case the best option is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (review), which offers 2x miles and has no foreign transaction fees. Usually the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) or Citi Double Cash® Card (review) would also be good options for maximizing everyday spending, but the cards have foreign transaction fees, so wouldn’t be a good option in this case.
- Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
- $0
- Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
- Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
- Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
- $0
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
- $95
- Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
- $395
- 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
- Access to Amex Offers
- No annual fee
Is buying Iberia Plus Avios worth it?
Generally speaking I’d consider buying Iberia Plus Avios for one of two reasons — you want to redeem them for travel on Iberia, or you want to transfer them to British Airways Executive Club. Redeeming Avios for long haul flights on Iberia is an exceptional value.
For example, you can redeem for a one-way off-peak business class ticket from Chicago or New York to Madrid for just 34,000 Avios. This is an amazing deal, and transatlantic off-peak business class awards are my single favorite use of Iberia Avios.
You could also redeem Iberia Avios on any oneworld partner airline, like American Airlines. This could be a great deal for domestic flights within the United States, for example. However, in general Iberia’s program has more restrictions than British Airways’ program when it comes to those redemptions, which is why I generally recommend transferring Avios to British Airways for free.
Tip: Transfer Avios to British Airways
While there are some good uses of Iberia Avios, you can also transfer Avios between British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus, assuming you’ve had both accounts open for at least 90 days, and the accounts have some activity. Therefore this is potentially a good opportunity to buy British Airways Avios at a discount as well (though just make sure you’re aware of the restrictions on transfers).
Note that you can also transfer Iberia Plus Avios to Aer Lingus AerClub Avios or Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios.
See this post for more on ideas for redeeming Avios.
How much are Iberia Avios worth?
Everyone will value points currencies differently, but personally I value Iberia Plus Avios at ~1.3 cents each. However, I tend to value points pretty conservatively, and there are many ways to get way more value from Iberia Plus Avios than that.
Do Iberia Avios expire?
Iberia Plus Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity. Any account activity that includes earning or redeeming Avios would reset the expiration of your points, so it should be pretty easy to keep them alive.
What other ways can you earn Iberia Avios?
While I think there’s a lot of value to be had with Avios, do keep in mind that there are quite a few ways to earn Avios with US credit cards. Iberia Plus is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards.
On top of that, there are three credit cards issued in the US that earn Avios, and they even have phenomenal welcome bonuses:
- Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card (review)
- British Airways Visa Signature® Card (review)
- Iberia Visa Signature® Card (review)
You can find a detailed comparison of the three cards here.
Bottom line
Iberia Plus is offering a 25% bonus on purchased Avios. Buying Avios for over 1.8 cents each isn’t exactly a great deal, but then again, British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus don’t often have promotions like this nowadays.
There are some unique uses of Iberia Avios, or alternatively you can transfer them to British Airways, assuming you’ve had both accounts open for at least 90 days.
Do you plan on purchasing Iberia Avios with a 25% bonus?
For anyone considering booking an Avianca flight using Iberia Avios, I called about ten times and received confirmation through the webform and social media channels that, contrary to what is stated on the website, although Avianca is a partner airline, you cannot redeem flights operated by Avianca unless there are segments involving Iberia.
Even that doesn't seem to be true though. I tried at least 100 searches, and none showed Avianca flights.
When I asked...
For anyone considering booking an Avianca flight using Iberia Avios, I called about ten times and received confirmation through the webform and social media channels that, contrary to what is stated on the website, although Avianca is a partner airline, you cannot redeem flights operated by Avianca unless there are segments involving Iberia.
Even that doesn't seem to be true though. I tried at least 100 searches, and none showed Avianca flights.
When I asked further, I was told that it "depends on the availability shown on the website," and they stopped responding. This feels like a scam.
Cannot make the IB Avios work... just checked for a VIE-BUE in November and it is EUR 1,830 for the Avios plus fees. The exact same itinerary paid in cash is EUR 1,415. No Business or PE availability, other than in the VIE-MAD segment.
When checking for MAD-BUE, same dates, the difference is smaller, but cash still is a better option.
With a 50% bonus, the difference obviously reduces and Avios are almost as...
Cannot make the IB Avios work... just checked for a VIE-BUE in November and it is EUR 1,830 for the Avios plus fees. The exact same itinerary paid in cash is EUR 1,415. No Business or PE availability, other than in the VIE-MAD segment.
When checking for MAD-BUE, same dates, the difference is smaller, but cash still is a better option.
With a 50% bonus, the difference obviously reduces and Avios are almost as good as cash for this itinerary, but... Avios I need to "manage", cash is mine until it's not. I really don't see the appeal, and I try every time an offer such as this pops up.