How to use Avios points for free nights at Iberostar hotels and resorts

It’s a little known fact that you can redeem Avios with Iberostar, a Spanish hotel chain that runs a lot of 4 and 5 star summer holiday properties.  Iberostar owns hotels in Mallorca, Tenerife, the Dominican Republic and various other places.

The Iberostar website is here if you want to check out their portfolio.

EDIT: Since this article was published, Iberostar has withdrawn as an Avios partner.  Sorry.

Full details of how you can redeem are on the Iberia website here.

Redemption prices start at 12,500 Avios per night.

To book, you need to call Iberostar on the number provided.  Whilst this is a Spanish number, feedback from readers in the past is that the call centre can handle English perfectly well and is efficient in booking Avios redemptions.

Note the small print:

The tariffs indicated apply to a standard double room for 2 persons. Please ask about children.

Extras and supplements for 3 persons not available.

Type of board subject to availability at the hotel. Hotels in America, Cape Verde, Greece, Morocco and Tunisia mostly offer full-board.

Avios can only be used for stays. Avios cannot be redeemed on other products the establishment might offer.

Cancellations up to 48h before the arrival date do not carry any Avios penalty.

Subsequent cancellations, no-shows and unexpected departures will be penalized at 100% of the Avios.

The cancellation policy looks particularly attractive, given that you can walk away from your booking up to two days before arrival.

Here is an example of pricing.  I priced up the Grand Hotel Portals Nous in Mallorca for two adults from 18th July for seven nights.  Bed and Breakfast costs €3,141 (£2,707) pre-paid or €3,490 (£3,008) if you want flexibility.

For Avios it would cost 35,000 Avios x 7 nights which is 245,000 Avios.  At 1.22p per Avios, based on the flexible price, this is quite a good deal. 

Half Board might be even better value, if you were happy to eat in the resort, since you are only using an additional 5,000 Avios per day.

What is not clear is if there are availability restrictions or not, although the (few) reader reports I’ve had in the past have gone through without trouble.

Your Avios need to be sitting in Iberia Plus to book this.  This article explains how to move your Avios from British Airways Executive Club to Iberia Plus.

The Iberostar website is here if you want to learn more about what they have to offer.   Note that you can also earn Avios via Iberia Plus when you stay at Iberostar hotels (150 Avios per night) even as part of a package holiday.

PS.  If you are planning a cash stay at an Iberostar hotel, read our review of the ‘My Iberostar’ loyalty scheme here.

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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.