There has been NO Iberia devaluation. I repeat ….

One upside of only publishing articles in the early morning, instead of dropping them in during the day, is that it gives me more time to reflect on the issue at hand. And, this time, saved me an ‘egg on face’ moment.

The quiet of my holiday was broken on Sunday evening by a tweet from @FreequentFlyr noting apparently strange pricing behaviour over at Iberia Plus.

Let’s jump back a step first though.  Since Avios was launched in November 2011, all three scheme (Iberia Plus, BA Executive Club, avios.com) have used the same pricing chart for awards – this one:

The chart that @FreequentFlyr had spotted was a different one.

What he assumed was that he had stumbled onto a massive, secret, Iberia devaluation – that Iberia had devalued oneworld partner redemptions overnight.

And if Iberia had done that, surely BA would follow?

Every major US frequent flyer site was all over this yesterday speculating that a) BA would follow and therefore b) the end of the glorious 4,500 Avios one-way internal US redemption was dead.

EXCEPT THAT IT ISN’T.  BECAUSE NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

Almost no-one, ever, books oneworld redemptions using Iberia Plus points.  This is why:

You cannot book them online

They are non-refundable and non-cancellable

Anyone with a brain moves their Avios to BA and books via ba.com.  Because, on ba.com, a oneworld redemption:

Can be booked online

Is refundable

Is cancellable

No wonder that no-one actually knew what Iberia’s oneworld pricing chart looked like.

However, this is what it looked like back in 2011 (courtesy of Flyertalk):

I went through old Flyertalk posts last night and I found references to redemptions which confirm these numbers.

Compare the ‘new’ table with the old table, priced in pre-Avios ‘Puntos’.  They are the same except that the Avios table is the old table multiplied by 15, which was the multiplier used with IB points when Avios was launched.

So, to clarify – Iberia has had (for AT LEAST 10 YEARS according to Flyertalk posts I pulled out yesterday) a very unattractive reward chart for oneworld partner airlines.  Because you could only book by phone, and the tickets were not cancellable or refundable, everyone forgot this redemption chart actually existed.  Until yesterday.

I look forward to some interesting articles on the US frequent flyer sites today.  And possibly some articles being quietly deleted.

Move along now, there is nothing to see.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.