How a reader redeemed 52,500 Avios for a £1,500 Iberostar hotel in Majorca
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Back in 2014 we wrote about how to redeem Avios with Spanish hotel group Iberostar.
Whilst not a chain I have ever used, Iberostar runs a large number 4- and 5-star ‘Summer holiday’ properties in Tenerife, Majorca etc. They are also in Bulgaria, Brazil, Cape Verde, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Greece, Hungary, Jamaica, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia.
The company website is here if you want to check it out.
If you thinking about a cash stay at an Iberostar property, we wrote a review of ‘My Iberostar’ which is here.
As per the Iberia website, the earning rate if you stay at an Iberostar hotel is 150 Avios points per night. These Avios must be deposited in an Iberia Plus account, although you can move them across to BA or avios.com via ‘Combine My Avios’.
What is more interesting is that you can redeem your Avios via Iberia Plus for Iberostar properties at the following rates:
Premium Gold and Grand Collection – 12,500 Avios per night
Premium and Classic – 7,500 Avios per night
A HfP reader dropped me a line to share his experiences.
He booked a week in Majorca for August for 52,500 Avios (7 x 7,500 Avios). The cash rate for the same hotel would have been £1,500.
I asked him to tell us how he booked it:
“Essentially, we wanted to go to Majorca during the Summer. For a little while now, I’ve been looking at the Iberostar hotels since you mentioned them. Going on their chart they seem to offer incredible value if you go for ‘room only’ at a Premium / Classic hotel. Breakfast – which being Spain they hardly ever check if you’re actually eligible for – would have added an extra 8,250 Avios per day. For a Gold or Grand property, breakfast adds an extra 13,750 Avios per day!
What we wanted was a decent beach with kids entertainment and solid F&B options. I did some research and Albufera Playa (this is NOT the hotel in the photo above) seemed the best option for us. I based this on tripadvisor reviews, kids entertainment and the equivalent cash cost on say hotels.com.
I called the number given on the iberia.com Iberostar webpage. Not being a Spanish speaker, I braced myself for a Spanish speaking hotline. To be honest, I couldn’t have been more surprised. I first asked if it was OK to speak in English. “Yes, sure” was the answer! A short hold ensued then “Good Morning Iberostar, how may I help you?”
I explained I wanted to use my Avios to redeem for an Iberostar hotel and she couldn’t have been more helpful. She just needed the hotel name, dates. She then checked for availability. The dates I wanted were available. She finally explained that you can cancel until 24 hours before check in. We were then all done. By the time I’d put the phone down the confirmation email had arrived!
Just a final note – I didn’t check availability at other properties but in theory you could get even better value. The Iberostar Portals Nous is more expensive for cash (£3,000 for a week) but it is adults only, for example, so would not have worked for us.”
Remember that you can only book these deals using Avios in Iberia Plus. In order to be able to transfer your Avios into Iberia Plus, your account must be at least 90 days old and have earned 1 Avios point.
The main Iberostar website is here.
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:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
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.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
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.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
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.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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