Avios is a well known points currency, used by a variety of frequent flyer programs, including British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Finnair Plus, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, and Aer Lingus AerClub.
The Avios currency gives you quite a bit of flexibility, since you can transfer the rewards between the participating loyalty schemes. So it’s worth understanding the sweet spots of each program, so you can decide under what circumstances you should redeem rewards through there, rather than transferring them to another “flavor” of Avios.
I’ve written about the best uses of British Airways Executive Club Avios, Aer Lingus AerClub Avios, Finnair Plus Avios, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios, and in this post I wanted to take a closer look at the best uses of Iberia Plus Avios.
In this post:
How to earn Iberia Plus Avios
Even if you’re not an Iberia frequent flyer, there are plenty of ways to rack up Iberia Plus Avios:
- In the United States, you can pick up the Iberia Visa Signature® Card (review), which has a great welcome offer and valuable perks
- Iberia Plus partners with some major transferable points currencies, including Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Iberia Plus sometimes sells Avios at a discount, which could represent a good deal
- You can transfer Avios between the various currencies, so you can accrue these points through transfers from programs like British Airways Executive Club
Basics of redeeming Iberia Plus Avios
Let me cut to the chase — generally I think Iberia Plus Avios are most valuable if you actually want to redeem for travel on Iberia. While there are some niche redemption opportunities on other airlines, in general I think you’ll get more value and will have less of a headache transferring your Avios to British Airways Executive Club, and booking that way.
Before we look at redemption options, let me cover a couple of basics of Iberia Plus Avios:
- Iberia Plus Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity, so you need to earn or redeem Avios in that timeframe to keep them active
- Iberia Plus lets you change or cancel an award up to 24 hours before departure for travel on Iberia, for a fee of €25; within that timeframe, award tickets can’t be changed or canceled for a refund, and furthermore, partner awards can’t be changed or canceled at all
Let’s take a closer look at redemption options.
Redeeming Iberia Plus Avios on Iberia
If you’re redeeming Iberia Plus Avios for travel on Iberia, award pricing follows a distance based award chart, with pricing being per segment. The pricing varies whether you’re traveling peak or off-peak, and you can find the calendar for that here.
Below is the Iberia Plus off-peak award chart for travel on Iberia.
Below is the Iberia Plus peak award chart for travel on Iberia.
If you want to redeem for travel on Iberia, I’d argue that Iberia Plus program is the way to book:
- Short haul redemptions are really reasonably priced, whether in economy or business class
- Being able to fly a 3,001-4,000 mile segment in business class for 34,000 Avios is an exceptional deal, as this covers routes like Boston, New York, and Washington, to Madrid
- Being able to fly a 4,001-5,000 mile segment in business class for 42,500 Avios is also a great value, as this covers many of Iberia’s other long haul routes, like Miami to Madrid
Iberia Plus also has really mild carrier imposed surcharges on award tickets, in contrast to British Airways Executive Club. For example, you can expect that a long haul business class award will have about $100 in carrier imposed surcharges one-way, in addition to government imposed taxes and fees.
I’d consider Iberia Plus’ off-peak transatlantic business class awards to be one of the best award sweet spots out there.
Redeeming Iberia Plus Avios on LEVEL
LEVEL is Iberia’s low cost carrier, which operates some long haul flights from Barcelona. The airline operates flights to destinations like Boston, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Santiago. You can redeem Iberia Plus Avios for travel on LEVEL, and the award chart is also distance based, with peak and off-peak pricing.
Below is the Iberia Plus off-peak award chart for travel on LEVEL.
Below is the Iberia Plus peak award chart for travel on LEVEL.
In some cases this could represent a solid deal, but just keep in mind that LEVEL often has reasonable fares, so you won’t get such outsized value. Still, the Iberia Plus program leaves you best positioned for these redemptions.
Redeeming Iberia Plus Avios on partner airlines
Iberia is part of the oneworld alliance, so it’s possible to redeem Iberia Plus Avios on all oneworld airlines. Historically, Iberia Plus had different award charts for travel on each partner airline, but that’s no longer the case. Instead, Iberia Plus now has the below aligned award chart for travel on most partner airlines, with pricing being per segment.
Honestly, there are very few situations where Iberia Plus partner award pricing is anything to get excited about. In some cases the pricing isn’t terrible, but it’s hardly advantageous compared to what you’ll find through other programs. Within the oneworld alliance, I’d rather redeem through programs like Alaska Mileage Plan, American AAdvantage, and British Airways Executive Club.
Don’t underestimate the Iberia Plus PITA factor
Redeeming Iberia Plus Avios for travel on Iberia is typically pretty straightforward, since you can do so directly through Iberia’s website. However, I’d strongly caution against trying to do anything complicated with Iberia Plus. Furthermore, I’d avoid booking partner awards, because they’re non-refundable, which is quite a ridiculous policy.
Iberia Plus’ phone support leaves a lot to be desired, to put it mildly, so if you need to book by phone or have to make changes, your patience will no doubt be tested. Furthermore, Iberia’s website can be really tricky for booking partner awards, with frequent glitches.
So while I wouldn’t hesitate to book an award on Iberia metal through Iberia Plus, I’d recommend avoiding partner redemptions unless it’s some amazing deal. I find it much easier to book and manage travel through British Airways Executive Club, for example. On top of that, other programs give you a lot more flexibility.
Bottom line
Iberia Plus is Iberia’s frequent flyer program, which uses Avios as its currency. One of the nice things about Avios is how you can transfer the rewards between the various programs, which is why it’s worth understanding the sweet spots of each program.
Personally I think the Iberia Plus program is primarily only worth using if you want to redeem for travel on Iberia, in which case the redemption rates are phenomenal, especially for off-peak premium cabin travel. For partner redemptions I’d recommend avoiding Iberia Plus, not just because of the redemption rates, but because of the hassle factor of booking.
What’s your take on redeeming Avios with the Iberia Plus program?
I have an Iberia award in economy but on the return flight I see that business class has now opened up. Can I get that changed and upgraded to business without having to cancel the outbound flight, which is no longer available?
As a Spanish speaker, I've never had a bad experience with IB customer support *shrug*.
I'm guessing it must be different for English speakers, based on how often I've read something along these lines regarding IB customer service.
In any case, I think Iberia Plus offers extraordinary value, which makes dealing with the occasionally wonky IT more than worth it.
Claro a los guiris no les hacen caso jajaja
Jajaja sí eso parece!
En cualquier caso, tratando con gente en servicio al cliente, con una pequeña dosis de amabilidad y cortesía uno puede llegar lejos. Al menos, ha sido mi experiencia...hace pensar si tal vez los que se quejan de mal servicio no tiendan a hacer lo mismo...
Un saludo.
Just booked 2 people IB MAD-DFW in J for Oct 24. Bottom line is it got done for 42,500 Avios + $164@. The IT PITA problem was very trying. Everything from not charging on any of 4 different cards, then charge appears later but disappears, to PNR created but no tickets issued, to seat selection looping. Each step only got fixed with multiple agent phone calls.
Can you confirm the change policy? I thought the policy you stated was only for Iberia flights. Per the translated T&Cs, "Tickets that contain a route on one of the oneworld airlines and/or bilateral agreements cannot be exchanged or refunded."
@ NateNate -- Sorry, I should have been clearer on that. You're absolutely correct, and I updated the post to reflect that.
FWIW, they will give you a refund if the partner flight has a schedule change, but you will be at the mercy of the PITA factor.
The best value redemption for Iberia Plus is no doubt for the Puente Aereo air bridge between Barcelona and Madrid. 9,000 points round trip year-round, and the ticket is fully flexible - show up and you're on the next available plane - with a fully open return, too. High speed rail is often the better option between this city pair but when you need to fly, this redemption is fantastic.
You forgot to mention that booking partner award bookings turns the fares into non refundable…