The 8 Best Ways to Redeem Iberia Plus Avios for Max Value
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Along with British Airways and Aer Lingus, Spanish airline Iberia is owned by IAG. Though all 3 of these airlines use Avios as their points currency, the Iberia Plus frequent flyer program is distinct.
Avios is complicated — the points are all “Avios,” but each airline’s version of Avios has its own award ticket availability, options, prices, and booking method. That means the same flight can get 3 different Avios prices and fees, while some flights may be bookable with one airline but not the other.
Now, U.S.-based travelers recently have reason to celebrate: Chase Ultimate Rewards has added direct transfers to Iberia Plus and Aer Lingus AerClub, in addition to previously available British Airways Executive Club transfers. These direct transfers are simple and instant.
We’ve previously showcased the best ways to redeem British Airways Avios as well as Aer Lingus AerClub Avios. Now, let’s find the gems in Iberia Plus Avios!
Table of contents
- Iberia Credit Card Partners
- The 8 Best Ways to Redeem Your Iberia Plus Avios
- Off-Peak Chicago to Madrid in Business Class for 34,000 Avios (Iberia)
- Short Round-Trips/Multi-City Awards That Price Like One-Ways (Iberia and All Oneworld Airlines)
- Short U.S. Trips for 11,000 Avios (American Airlines)
- Off-Peak U.S. East Coast to Madrid in Business Class for 34,000 Avios (Iberia)
- Off-Peak Los Angeles and San Francisco to Madrid in Business Class (Iberia)
- Transcontinental Flagship First Class between San Francisco/Los Angeles and New York (American Airlines)
- Off-Peak Madrid to Shanghai in Business for 51,000 Avios (Iberia)
- Off-Peak Madrid to Tokyo in Business for 59,500 Avios (Iberia)
- Guide to Spending Iberia Plus Avios
- Summary
Table of Contents
- Iberia Credit Card Partners
- The 8 Best Ways to Redeem Your Iberia Plus Avios
- 1. Off-Peak Chicago to Madrid in Business Class for 34,000 Avios (Iberia)
- 2. Short Round-Trips/Multi-City Awards That Price Like One-Ways (Iberia and All Oneworld Airlines)
- 3. Short U.S. Trips for 11,000 Avios (American Airlines)
- 4. Off-Peak U.S. East Coast to Madrid in Business Class for 34,000 Avios (Iberia)
- 5. Off-Peak Los Angeles and San Francisco to Madrid in Business Class (Iberia)
- 6. Transcontinental Flagship First Class between San Francisco/Los Angeles and New York (American Airlines)
- 7. Off-Peak Madrid to Shanghai in Business for 51,000 Avios (Iberia)
- 8. Off-Peak Madrid to Tokyo in Business for 59,500 Avios (Iberia)
- Guide to Spending Iberia Plus Avios
- Summary
Iberia Credit Card Partners
Iberia Visa Signature® Credit Card
Chase has launched the Iberia Visa Signature® Credit Card. You earn 3 Avios per $1 on Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, OpenSkies and LEVEL, and 1 Avios per $1 elsewhere.
Using the card on the Chase Iberia portal, you get a 10% discount on Iberia flights. Also, $30,000 in annual spending earns a $1,000 companion discount voucher.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards
Collecting Chase points by using Chase credit cards is one of the best ways to earn Iberia Plus Avios points, because Chase points are:
- Very easy to earn
- Transferable to Iberia Plus (1:1 ratio)
- Transferable to many other airlines and hotels!
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card - This is our favorite beginners travel rewards card which has a 60,000 point bonus (highest ever) after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. This sign up bonus is worth $750 in travel purchases (flights, hotels, car rentals etc) when you redeem your points through Chase's travel portal, which works like Expedia. The bonus alone could get you multiple round-trip flights or hotel stays. |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® - Consider this premium card if you want to get into a lot of airport lounges. The current sign up bonus is 50,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You'll also get a $300 travel credit per year which wipes away a big chunk of the $450 annual fee. |
| Chase Freedom Unlimited® - A simple, no annual fee card that earns you 3% cash-back on all purchases in your first year (up to $20,000 spent), then 1.5% on all purchases after that. Just know that you won't get any travel benefits or the ability to earn bonus points with this card. |
Recommended Chase Cards (Business)
| Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card - This is our #1 recommended business card and comes with a whopping 80,000 sign up bonus after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. This bonus is worth $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards for travel purchases (flights, hotels etc). Also, if you pay for your cell phone bill with this card, you can get up to $600 in cell phone insurance coverage per year. |
| Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card - earn $500 bonus cash back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening. In addition, get up to 5% cash back on a range of business expenses. A simple, $0 annual fee card. |
The 8 Best Ways to Redeem Your Iberia Plus Avios
1. Off-Peak Chicago to Madrid in Business Class for 34,000 Avios (Iberia)
Going by the tape measure, Chicago to Madrid should price as a higher Band 6 award. Instead it is Band 5 just like the U.S. East Coast. That means you can book this route in business class for only 34,000 Avios one-way.
2. Short Round-Trips/Multi-City Awards That Price Like One-Ways (Iberia and All Oneworld Airlines)
Iberia Plus awards are distance-based for total distance flown, not priced by segment like British Airways Executive Club.
First, this means you won’t be penalized for making connections. And second, you can fit a short round-trip or multi-city destination into an award that would be a one-way in other programs.
3. Short U.S. Trips for 11,000 Avios (American Airlines)
Trips under 600 miles price at 11,000 Avios in economy. You can fly round-trip from New York to Boston in that distance, and many other major U.S. city pairs work the same way.
If you can find award space, you can string together several flights on 1 award:
| Distance in Miles | Economy | Full Fare Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – 600 | 11,000 | 19,250 | 22,000 | 33,000 |
| 601 – 1,000 | 12,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 36,000 |
| 1,001 – 2,000 | 17,000 | 29,750 | 34,000 | 51,000 |
| 2,001 – 4,000 | 23,000 | 40,250 | 46,000 | 69,000 |
| 4,001 – 5,000 | 28,000 | 53,000 | 64,000 | 96,000 |
| 5,001 – 8,000 | 42,000 | 81,500 | 100,000 | 150,000 |
| 8,001 – 12,400 | 65,000 | 123,750 | 150,000 | 225,000 |
| 12,401 – 14,000 | 75,000 | 143,750 | 175,000 | 262,500 |
| 14,001 – 18,000 | 100,000 | 200,000 | 250,000 | 375,000 |
| 18,001 – 25,000 | 120,000 | 225,000 | 270,000 | 405,000 |
| 25,001 – 30,000 | 132,000 | 244,000 | 290,000 | 435,000 |
| 30,001 – 35,000 | 143,000 | 265,750 | 315,000 | 472,500 |
| 35,001 – 40,000 | 166,000 | 299,500 | 350,000 | 525,000 |
| 40,001 – 50,000 | 190,000 | 332,500 | 380,000 | 570,000 |
4. Off-Peak U.S. East Coast to Madrid in Business Class for 34,000 Avios (Iberia)
Most airlines charge a minimum of 30,000 miles one-way to get from the U.S. to Europe in economy.
With Iberia Plus, though, you can get from the U.S. East Coast to Madrid nonstop in business class for just 34,000 Avios one-way.
Routes include year-round service to New York JFK and seasonal Boston service. Miami service is a bit farther, so it prices at 42,500.
Note that onward connections will increase distance traveled and likely increase the Avios required, but can still be a great deal.
5. Off-Peak Los Angeles and San Francisco to Madrid in Business Class (Iberia)
Iberia’s seasonal Madrid-U.S. West Coast flights in 2018 will see San Francisco join Los Angeles to give travelers more options.
Because these flights are longer distance, the off-peak price is 51,000 Avios one-way. It’s not quite the screaming deal of the U.S. East Coast…and make sure you watch out for fuel surcharges on the return.
6. Transcontinental Flagship First Class between San Francisco/Los Angeles and New York (American Airlines)
Flying on American Airlines’ A321 transcontinental first class, known as one of the Flagship First Class products, is the best way to fly from coast to coast in the United States.
For 96,000 Iberia Avios plus around $20 in taxes and fees, you can book round-trip first class on this product!
7. Off-Peak Madrid to Shanghai in Business for 51,000 Avios (Iberia)
Madrid to Shanghai is a Band 7 award, pricing in at 51,000 Avios one-way in business. Quite a solid deal for a long flight!
8. Off-Peak Madrid to Tokyo in Business for 59,500 Avios (Iberia)
Madrid to Tokyo jumps into Band 8 distance, but we still think 59,500 Avios is a good option for a nonstop Europe-Japan flight.
Hot Tip: For more ways to fly to Tokyo, read our post on flying to Japan using points and miles. (We’ve also got a great Ultimate Travel Guide for Tokyo!)
Guide to Spending Iberia Plus Avios
Traditional airline award charts are priced by geographic region (U.S., Europe, etc.)
In contrast, Iberia Plus prices awards on 3 criteria:
- Distance (total distance traveled, rather than adding up segments like British Airways Executive Club)
- Peak or off-peak date
- Fare class
Peak or Off-Peak Dates:
Iberia Plus has peak and off-peak dates published every year. (Check out their peak calendar.)
2019 peak dates are:
- January 1-13
- March 15-16
- March 19
- April 12-13
- April 17-22
- April 26-27
- April 30-May 1
- May 5
- June 19-20
- June 22-September 15
- October 25-26
- October 31-November 4
- December 5-6
- December 8
- December 14-24
- December 27-31
2020 peak dates are:
- January 1-13
- April 2-3
- April 8-13
- April 30-May 1
- May 3
- May 14-15
- May 17
- June 10-11
- June 14
- June 19-September 13
- October 8-9
- October 12
- October 22-23
- October 30-November 2
- December 4-5
- December 8
- December 16-20
- December 23-31
How Much Do Iberia Plus Avios Award Flights Cost?
Iberia Plus has separate award charts for every partner airline; you can view them airline by airline here.
For Iberia, British Airways, and Vueling flights, you can save time by using the Iberia Plus Avios Calculator here.
To give you a sense of the complexity, here are just the tables for Iberia flights:
| Bands | Blue Class | Full Fare Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (0 – 650) | 5,000 | 7,500 | – | 10,000 |
| 2 (651 – 1,151) | 8,250 | 12,500 | – | 16,500 |
| 3 (1,151 – 2,000) | 11,000 | 16,500 | – | 22,000 |
| 4 (2,001 – 3,000) | 12,500 | 18,750 | – | 31,250 |
| 5 (3,001 – 4,000) | 20,000 | 30,000 / 28,000* | 35,000 | 50,000 |
| 6 (4,001 – 5,500) | 25,000 | 37,500 / 35,000* | 43,750 | 62,500 |
| 7 (5,501 – 6,500) | 30,000 | 45,000 / 42,000* | 52,500 | 75,000 |
| 8 (6,501 – 7,000) | 35,000 | 52,500 / 49,000* | 61,250 | 87,500 |
| 9 (over 7,000) | 50,000 | 75,000 / 70,000* | 87,500 | 125,000 |
| Exceptions | – | – | – | – |
| Madrid-Barecelona Shuttle | – | 4.500 | – | 9,000 |
| Madrid-London | 7,500 | 11.250 | – | 15,000 |
| Bands | Blue Class | Full Fare Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (0 – 650) | 4,500 | 6,750 | – | 9,000 |
| 2 (651 – 1,151) | 7,500 | 11,250 | – | 15,000 |
| 3 (1,151 – 2,000) | 10,000 | 15,000 | – | 20,000 |
| 4 (2,001 – 3.000) | 11,000 | 16,000 | – | 21,250 |
| 5 (3,001 – 4,000) | 17,000 | 25,500 / 22,000* | 25,500 | 34,000 |
| 6 (4,001 – 5,500) | 21,250 | 32,000 / 27,750* | 31,750 | 42,500 |
| 7 (5,501 – 6,500) | 25,500 | 38,250 / 33,250* | 38,250 | 51,000 |
| 8 (6,501 – 7,000) | 29,750 | 44,650 / 38,750* | 44,250 | 59,500 |
| 9 (over 7,000) | 42,500 | 63,750 / 55,250* | 63,750 | 85,000 |
| Exceptions | – | – | – | – |
| Madrid-Barcelona Shuttle | – | 4,500 | – | 9,000 |
| Madrid-London | 6,500 | 9,750 | – | 12,750 |
What Airlines Can You Book With Iberia Plus Avios?
The Iberia website has recently added more of its airline partners for online award searches, though there are a few you still need to call in to search and book.
Oneworld partner airlines:
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Finnair
- Japan Airlines (search on britishairways.com)
- LATAM
- Malaysia Airlines (search on britishairways.com)
- Qantas
- Qatar
- Royal Jordanian
- S7
- Sri Lankan
Non-alliance partners:
- Aer Lingus (not an official partner, however you can transfer Avios to British Airways or Aer Lingus)
- Avianca (search on a Star Alliance airline website like united.com)
- Binter
- Interjet
- LEVEL
- Air Italy (search britishairways.com)
- Royal Air Maroc (call Iberia)
- TACA (call Iberia)
- Vueling
Awards on some of these airlines add fuel surcharges — the highest are typically British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordanian, and Qatar.
HOT TIP:Iberia non-Oneworld partner awards are limited by unpublished rules. For instance, you typically must start or end the trip in Spain or have an Iberia flight on the ticket. This means it is not possible to book solely domestic or regional flights on a number of these airlines.
Combining Airlines on Awards
When you mix Iberia and a Oneworld partner airline (or mix 2 Oneworld partner airlines), there is an entirely different award chart that is not subject to peak and off-peak dates (see here).
| Iberia Plus Oneworld Multi-Partner Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance in miles | Economy | Full fare Economy | Business | First |
| 1 – 600 | 11,000 | 19,250 | 22,000 | 33,000 |
| 601 – 1,000 | 12,000 | 21,000 | 24,000 | 36,000 |
| 1,001 – 2,000 | 17,000 | 29,750 | 34,000 | 51,000 |
| 2,001 – 4,000 | 23,000 | 40,250 | 46,000 | 69,000 |
| 4,001 – 5,000 | 28,000 | 53,000 | 64,000 | 96,000 |
| 5,001 – 8,000 | 42,000 | 81,500 | 100,000 | 150,000 |
| 8,001 – 12,400 | 65,000 | 123,750 | 150,000 | 225,000 |
| 12,401 – 14,000 | 75,000 | 143,750 | 175,000 | 262,500 |
| 14,001 – 18,000 | 100,000 | 200,000 | 250,000 | 375,000 |
| 18,001 – 25,000 | 120,000 | 225,000 | 270,000 | 405,000 |
| 25,001 – 30,000 | 132,000 | 244,000 | 290,000 | 435,000 |
| 30,001 – 35,000 | 143,000 | 265,750 | 315,000 | 472,500 |
| 35,001 – 40,000 | 166,000 | 299,500 | 350,000 | 525,000 |
| 40,001 – 50,000 | 190,000 | 332,500 | 380,000 | 570,000 |
Summary
Though Iberia Plus is often overshadowed by British Airways Executive Club, smart travelers can move Avios between programs for the best value.
The ability to take advantage of cheaper U.S. to Europe trans-Atlantic awards using Iberia instead of British Airways is reason alone for U.S. travelers to pay attention to Iberia Plus.
And now, direct point transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Iberia Plus make it easy to earn Avios.
hey thanks for this great post. wondering how to search multi city award tickets? do I have to call? Or search point to point on BA (since can’t book one-way awards with IB) , then call IB to book?
Hi Ron,
Point-to-point on BA is a great way to do that. Be sure to jot down the flight numbers, times, and dates!
So, once I have found award space on American Airlines (in this case Kansas City to Orlando via Chicago)…HOW do I book it using Iberia Avios?
Hey Jeff,
You’ll want to call Iberia’s call center to book your award flight.
https://www.iberia.com/us/iberia-plus-centers/
So I used to book American flights using Avíos and it was outstanding. Last time I did that was March 2019 , however something happen and I can’t do it anymore. I tried to book with Avios last month and even today I searched using Avíos and no matter the date there is no availability for any American flight. I decided to call Iberia and find American flight availability, however he couldn’t make the reservation and told me to call American Airlines. I was wondering if anyone had experience the same lately. Thanks
Hi Aref,
You can definitely still use BA Avios to purchase American Airlines flights. It is true though that, depending on the route you’re looking for and cabin you want to fly, availability can be limited. Are you searching for availability through the American Airlines website or British Airways?
Say Jarrod, curious you side-stepped focus of the original post — and changed it from IBERIA’s iteration of Avios points for reservations on AA. (not BA) It’s been widely reported that the Iberia functionality for this purposes has been DEAD since early this year. Is it working again?
(among the reports of this being DEAD)
https://thriftytraveler.com/iberia-american-airlines-award-bookings/
Hi Escot,
Yes, that’s correct. You currently cannot use Iberia Avios to book with American. However, my previous comment reply stated that you can use Iberia Avios with British Airways flights – which is still the case.
Thanks for reading!
So I have the same issue as Aref. I used Iberia Avios to make a New Orleans-Phoenix round-trip in late January 2019. Since then, I cannot find a single available domestic flight anywhere in the US. I can vary dates and airports as much as I please…no dice.
Should I move my Iberia Avios to BA? Do they have a superior booking system? Iberia’s awards booking system is garbage, and of course, they apparently have no awards flight availability for any flight in the US.
Hi Dainec,
You can use Iberia Avios to book flights with British Airways so there is no need to move them to that program. I find that the British Airways website is better about showing available award space than Iberia so I would recommend making your searches through there.
I am an AA flyer with 34K now and no spend this year – based in Spain. I have some spend this year on Iberia but need 15 flights and 800 elite points to reach Silver.
Anyway, I want to fly Manila on Aug 12th for 6 days a conference. Can I take the flight and credit the miles to either AA or Iberia afterward?
However, should I credit them miles to AA or Iberia? That’s the big question.
Last year in Spain I posted all my IB flights on AA but did not make the Elite Qualifying Dollar spend. If I had put them in IB I would now be Silver on IB Plus – AA refused to send across despite being an ex-platinum with 700K lifetime miles.
There is no simple tool to see what I would earn on Cathy P for either AA or IB for such a flight, especially if I splurge for business class.
Many thanks for any advice!
Hey Carl, you can definitely credit your miles after you’ve taken the flight—just fill out a mileage request on Iberia or American’s website. However, where you should credit the points is up to your personal preference; but if you’re chasing status, Iberia makes sense.
In terms of finding out how many miles you’ll earn: we recommend using a tool like wheretocredit.com to find the earning rate for your fare class, and then doing the math.
Does the 90 day account opened rule apply to transfers from credit cards or is it just transfers amongst the Avios family?
Hello! The 90-day rule is only for British Airways to Iberia (and vice-versa) transfers. You can transfer from credit cards at any time.