The Ultimate Guide to Earning and Spending Iberia Avios

How to Register for Iberia Club

Iberia Club is Iberia’s frequent flyer programme. To sign up, simply visit the programme’s registration page, fill out your details, set up your login info, accept the terms and conditions, and complete your registration. The programme is completely free to join.

Joining Iberia Club comes with a host of benefits:

• Mileage Bonuses: Earn Avios for every flight you take with Iberia or its partner airlines. The points can be redeemed for free flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and more.
• Tiered Membership Levels: As you accumulate more Iberia Avios and take more flights, you can move up through different membership levels – each with greater benefits such as increased point earning rates and additional services.

• VIP Lounge Access: Depending on your membership level, you can enjoy access to Iberia's VIP lounges, with a comfortable space to relax before your flight.
• Priority Services: Enjoy priority check-in, boarding, and baggage handling, saving you time and hassle at the airport.
• Exclusive Offers: As a Iberia Club member, you’ll receive exclusive offers and promotions and more opportunities to earn and spend Avios.
• Greater Baggage Allowance: Higher-tier members can benefit from an increased baggage allowance.

How to Collect Avios with Iberia

Here's a detailed look at how you can accumulate Avios with Iberia:

Booking Iberia Flights

The main way to earn Avios is by flying with Iberia. The number of points you earn on flights depends on the ticket fare as well as your status level in the Iberia Club programme. Higher fare classes and elite status levels earn more Avios. This means that if you frequently fly with Iberia or its partners and attain a higher tier status, you’ll accumulate points more quickly. Here’s a breakdown of how many Avios you’ll earn per tier:

Credit Card Partnerships

1. Iberia Visa Signature® Card: Issued by Chase, the Iberia Visa Signature card rewards you with Avios for everyday spending, which you can then use for flights, upgrades, and more. With this card, you rack up three Avios for every dollar you spend on tickets with Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL. Book a hotel directly, and you'll get 2 Avios per dollar spent. For all your other shopping, you'll earn 1 Avios per dollar. Plus, the card greets you with a generous sign-up bonus and a suite of benefits like flight discounts and zero fees on foreign transactions.
2. American Express Membership Rewards Cards: American Express Membership Rewards is a transfer partner of Iberia Club which allows you to earn Avios at a 1:1 transfer ratio. For example, transferring 5,000 Membership Rewards points to Iberia Club gives you 5,000 Avios. Transfers are usually complete within 2 to 3 business days.
3. Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card: Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to Iberia Avios at a 1:1 ratio. This card is particularly beneficial for those who pay consumer rent monthly, as it allows them to earn Avios on these payments.
4. Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards: Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred to Iberia Club at a 3:1 ratio. An added perk is that for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you receive a bonus of 5,000 Avios, resulting in 25,000 Avios in total.
5. HSBC Rewards Credit Cards: Points from HSBC Rewards can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio using the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card or HSBC Premier World Mastercard® Credit Card.

Oneworld Alliance

As a member of the Oneworld alliance, Iberia allows you to earn and redeem Avios on flights with partner airlines such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. Each partner has its own chart for accruing Avios, so the rate at which you earn Avios can vary depending on the airline and the specifics of your flight.

Crediting Non-alliance Partner Airlines

In addition to Oneworld partners, Iberia has partnerships with several non-alliance airlines. You can credit flights from these partners to earn Iberia Avios. The current non-alliance partners include Avianca, Binter Canarias, LEVEL (owned by IAG), and Vueling (also owned by IAG).

Hotel Partnerships

You can earn Avios by staying at partner hotels. This includes earning 1 Avios for every 1€ spent on flight + hotel packages through Iberia, but only for bookings departing from Spain.

Car Rental Agencies

Partner car rental agencies Avis and Budget offer Avios earning opportunities. You can earn Avios by booking your car rental online and providing your Iberia Club card number. Avios will be credited to your account within two weeks after returning the car rental.

How to Spend Avios on Iberia

Spending your hard-earned Avios on Iberia can be as enjoyable as earning them, with a variety of options available:

Ticket Purchases

You can use Avios to buy tickets on Iberia flights. The number of points needed will depend on the destination and the class of travel you choose. Not all seats are available for purchase with Avios, as availability is based on demand and seasonality. It's a good idea to book early and be flexible with your travel dates to get the best chance of securing a seat with Avios.

Seat Upgrades

If you're looking to travel in greater comfort, you can use your points to upgrade from Flexible Economy (fares Y, B, and H) to Business Class. This is subject to seat availability in the Business cabin, and you can request an upgrade at the time of booking or later through your Iberia Club account.

Hotel and Car Rentals

Avios can also go towards booking hotels and car rentals. Through Iberia's partnerships with various hotel chains and car rental agencies, you can directly convert your Avios into hotel stays or car hire days, often at competitive rates.

Shopping and Leisure

Shopping with Avios isn't limited to air travel; you can also use them at a range of partner outlets. These partners allow you to either spend Avios directly or earn more with each purchase across trips built around buying gifts, clothing, or gadgets.

Avios & Money

For those times when you don't have enough Avios for a full reward, the Avios & Money option lets you pay for flights, hotels, car rentals, and other services partly in Avios and partly in cash. This flexible approach can also come with a discount of up to 50% on your bookings, stretching your Avios even further.

Other Avios Partners and Uses

If you've stacked up Avios in your British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia accounts, you're not just limited to using them on the airline where you earned them. You can redeem these points for flights across an extensive network of Oneworld partner airlines, expanding your travel possibilities to the corners of the globe.

Here's a rundown of the current Oneworld alliance partners where you can use your Avios:

• Alaska Airlines.
• American Airlines.
• British Airways.
• Cathay Pacific.
• Finnair.
• Iberia, including Iberia Express and Air Nostrum.
• Japan Airlines.
• Malaysia Airlines.
• Qantas, including QantasLink and Jetconnect.
• Qatar Airways.
• Royal Jordanian.
• Royal Air Maroc.
• SriLankan Airlines.

Wrapping Up

Iberia Avios can pile up faster than you might think as their earning potential extends well beyond the skies. By following the steps in this guide, you'll find yourself on a fast track to a healthy Avios balance. Before you know it, you’ll be redeeming them for your next adventure, upgrade, or a host of other valuable perks.