Like earning miles? Want to use less of them for the flights you want, pay less taxes and top off your mileage account using clever transfers at amazing rates? Who wouldn’t! If you hold British Airways (Avios) miles, there’s one essential tip to take your earning and redeeming further, and it couldn’t be easier…

a plane on a runway

You Need To Create A (Free) Iberia Plus Account…

Iberia is a partner of British Airways and they share the same mileage program, known as “Avios”. If you have an account open with both British Airways and Iberia you can move your Avios points back and forth at will, cleverly creating and using Avios in the two programs and taking advantage of amazing opportunities you wouldn’t get just with British Airways. Yes, you can turn British Airways Avios into Iberia Avios and vice versa, any time and this is the ONE thing you need to do today, if you haven’t already.

Your Iberia account needs to be open for 90 days, and earned at least 1 point (like a credit card or hotel points transfer) before you can transfer between British Airways and Iberia so DO THIS TODAY so you never miss out on future opportunities…

a seat and a table in a plane

Because Iberia Charges Less Taxes and Fewer Miles…

It’s part due to UK passenger taxes, but it’s also because Iberia collects (slightly) less ridiculous surcharges. If you have an account with both airlines you can move your miles over to Iberia for free, to book flights for less miles and cash. For example, business class from Madrid to New York is only 68,000 miles round trip, compared to a minimum 100,000 miles for British Airways business class from London to New York. Occasionally (like right now) they even run promos where it’s less.

a large building with a statue in front of it

And Because Iberia Often Runs Crazy Points Sales…

Iberia loves to feature regular sales on their Avios (miles).  Right now there is a sale on Avios, as low as 81 cents per point via a Groupon Spain sale. To take advantage: create your Iberia account, login, use the Spanish version of the Iberia website (not the UK version) to get the amazing offer by clicking from Iberia to Groupon and buying the miles. You’ll need your account open for 90 days before you can transfer the points between the programs, but you can book flights with either partner regardless of where your miles are…

a seat in a plane

And Finally Because Iberia Offers More Availability…

Virtually everyone with miles is fed up with how hard it is to find space to ever use them. Considering Iberia or transferring British Airways miles over to Iberia unlocks a whole new set of availability and direct routes. With Spain being so easy to reach, it can be extremely worthwhile to grab a flight over to Madrid or Barcelona for an opportunity to use miles. You’ll save on taxes, you’ll save on Avios (miles) and you may find far better availability or off peak availability on the dates you desire…

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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2 Comments

  1. how can I change my preference to have my AMEX avios credited to the Iberia plus account instead of my BA account, I cant find a way of changing it on my AMEX account.

    sorry if I am missing something obvious lol

  2. Can anyone make a suggestion for earning my first Iberia Plus Avios point, to then allow me to transfer BA points across?

    I’ve searched for ways to get some initial points into the account, but short of getting another credit card or booking a flight to Spain, I’ve hit a brick wall.

    Please help! Thanks!

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