The most efficient way for someone to earn Iberia Avios is through credit card spending with transferable points.
Iberia refers to its airline miles as Avios, so when you see Avios referenced through this post, just know that Avios is the airline currency Iberia uses.
Iberia does have an appealing credit card that offers you the ability to earn 3 Avios on purchases with Iberia, British Airways, and Aer Lingus and to earn 1 Avios on all other purchases. However, the earn rates from Amex, Chase, and Marriott will yield a better return over the long run.
Iberia Visa Signature® Credit Card
Chase is the co-branded partner with Iberia on its Iberia Visa Signature® card. This partnership really packs a punch.
The Iberia Visa Signature® card earns 3 Avios points for every $1 spent on Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL purchases. For all other purchases, the card earns 1 Avios point for every $1 spent.
In order to unlock the larger welcome bonus tiers, a sizable portion of your spend will need to diverted to this card.
Given that a sizable spending amount would be needed to maximize your benefits with the Iberia, other card options may be a better fit.
American Express Credit Cards
American Express allows you to earn Avios via a Membership Rewards points transfer. As an Iberia Plus member, you can reduce the cost of Iberia flights by as much as 50% when booking directly with Iberia using your Avios.
A big benefit of being an American Express cardholder is that Amex partners with many valuable airlines, many of which regularly offer bonus miles when transferring Amex points to airline partners. This allows you flexibility when trying to redeem an award flight since you have multiple airlines to choose from.
With that said, here are the personal and business credit cards that will put you on the path to your next award flight:
Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)
| Credit Card | Key Benefits & Info |
|---|
New 100k Welcome Offer
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Learn More (at Amex's secure site) | - Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings, which requires a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Audible, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The New York Times. Enrollment required.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax.
- American Express has expanded The Centurion® Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. There are even more places your Platinum Card® can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one select qualifying airline.
- $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only.
- $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $25 back each month on the Equinox+ digital fitness app, or eligible Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
- $179 CLEAR® Credit: Use your Card and get up to $179 back per year on your CLEAR® membership.
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $695
- Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.
$2,200
Must Reads: For more info on the Amex Platinum, see our thoughts on the cards incredible benefits and perks, which includes travel insurance coverage, and so much more. Check out our full review to see why it’s one of the best travel credit cards. |
American Express® Gold Card
Learn More (at Amex's secure site) | - Rose Gold is here to stay. Card Members can choose between a Gold or Rose Gold Card.
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X).
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® Points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year.
- $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $250
- Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here.
$1,320
Must Reads: For more info on the Amex Gold Card, see our guides on its benefits and perks, as well as our full review. |
If you’re a business owner, see our list of the best Amex business credit cards.
Chase Credit Cards
Chase and Amex constantly compete for the top transferable point program spot. Both programs offer both a ton of different credit card products and valuable airline and hotel partners.
With respect to the Iberia Plus program, Iberia is one of Chase Ultimate Rewards’ airline partners. This means that if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer those points directly to Iberia. The point transfers are 1:1, so 1 Chase Ultimate Rewards point is equal to 1 Iberia Avios (mile).
The reason that this partnership is valuable is because Chase Ultimate Rewards points are much easier to earn versus earning Avios with your Iberia Visa Signature® credit card spend.
The Ultimate Rewards program is unique, relative to Amex, in that Hyatt is a hotel partner. As many people know, this partnership leads to receiving a ton of value with Chase points.
All in all, Chase is a solid program that rewards members who know the program’s best transfer partners.
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| Credit Card | Benefits & Info |
|---|
Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Learn More (at Chase's secure site) | - Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself BackSM, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $95
$1,600
Must Reads: For more info on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, see our thoughts on its benefits and travel insurance coverage, which includes primary car rental insurance. Take a look at our full review to see why it’s one of our favorite cards. |
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Learn More (at Chase's secure site) | - Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on air travel and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
- With Pay Yourself BackSM, your points are worth 50% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority PassTM Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more
- Excellent (740-850)
- Annual Fee: $550
$1,000
Must Reads: For more on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, see our thoughts on its benefits, global airport lounge access, and travel insurance protection. Take a look here for our full review. |
Business owner? Check out our list of recommended Chase credit cards.
Marriott Credit Cards
The Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program has seen quite a few changes recently, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest with the program.
Marriott Bonvoy has 40+ airline transfer partners in all, which is staggering compared to Chase and Amex.
However, what is important to note and what can be frustrating, not all transfer times are created equal. What this means is that when you transfer Marriott points to one its airline partners, the time it take for the points to leave your Marriott account and show up in your airline loyalty account is not the same.
In some cases, the transfer times to airlines are 1 day (Flying Blue). In other case, the transfer times to airlines take 10 days (Asiana Airlines).
One benefit of the Marriott Bonvoy program is the bonus structure.
For every 60,000 Marriott points that are transferred to an airline partner, you’ll receive a 5,000-point bonus in the form of airline miles. Since most of the Marriott to airline transfer ratios are 3:1, this means that 60,000 Marriott points become 25,000 Avios with the 5,000-point bonus (60,000 / 3 = 20,000 + 5,000 = 25,000).
| Credit Card | Benefits & Info |
|---|
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
Learn More (at Chase's secure site) | - Earn 3 Free Nights (each night valued up to 50,000 points) after qualifying purchases.
- New Benefit! Earn 3X Bonvoy points per $1 on the first $6,000 spent in combined purchases each year on grocery stores, gas stations, and dining.
- New Benefit! Earn 1 Elite Night Credit towards Elite Status for every $5,000 you spend.
- 1 Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
- Earn up to 17X total Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card.
- 2X Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Receive 15 Elite Night Credits annually, automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year, and path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each calendar year.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $95
$1,050 |
New 100k Welcome Offer
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
Learn More (at Amex's secure site) | - Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points and 1 Free Night Award after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.
- Enjoy up to $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program.
- Earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program. 3 points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines. 2 points on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel. Certain hotels have resort fees.
- Enjoy unlimited airport lounge visits when you enroll in Priority Pass™ Select membership.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Good to Excellent (670-850)
- Annual Fee: $450
- Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card, click here.
$700 |
Other Hotel Partner Credit Cards
If you’re not a Marriott Bonvoy member, you may be interested in transferring your points from other hotel programs like Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt.
Unfortunately, other hotel loyalty programs might not offer as good of a transfer ratio as the one listed above through Marriott. This means that when transferring hotel points into airline miles, you won’t be getting as many miles as you could with other programs or other transfer avenues.
We would recommend transferring other hotel program points to Iberia if you’re topping off your Iberia Plus account for an award flight. Otherwise, you’ll find better ways to use your Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt points in other ways.
