Get an Iberia Plus status match for Miles & More and Topbonus members

Finally some good news for airberlin Topbonus members – and an interesting opportunity for any reader with a Lufthansa Miles & More status card.

After airberlin’s filing for insolvency there was a period when Topbonus was frozen with no miles collecting and spending at all.   A few days ago airberlin announced that members can again redeem points – but only for toasters etc!  This is definitely not what you want to do with your miles.

Now Iberia has come, partially, to the rescue.

As this page explains (in German) airberlin Topbonus members can get a status match with Iberia Plus.  More interesting, to stop Lufthansa Miles & More status members feeling left out, they can apply too.

This is far more useful, because you can now get free and immediate oneworld status via Iberia (good for travel on American, Qatar, Qantas, BA, Finnair etc) with your Miles & More card.

The documentation is only in German and Spanish, but luckily I’m German and can translate for you.

If you are a Topbonus or Miles & More member, Iberia Plus will match your status, albeit some people will be downgraded a notch.

This means that Topbonus members will keep some of their oneworld status benefits and Miles & More members will gain them.

Topbonus Ruby and/or Miles & More Frequent Traveller will get Iberia Plus Plata, equivalent to British Airways Bronze / oneworld Ruby:

• priority check-in and boarding
• 1-3 checked bags
• priority baggage
• priority waitlisting
• free seat selection when available
• reduced cost for seats with more legroom
• 25% Avios bonus

This does not come with airport lounge access.  Frequent Traveller status with Miles & More does give lounge access when flying with Swiss, Austrian, Lufthansa and other airlines who use the Miles & More loyalty scheme.

Topbonus Sapphire and Emerald and/or Miles & More Senator or Hon Circle will get Iberia Plus Oro, equivalent to British Airways Silver / oneworld Sapphire:

• all Iberia Plus Plata benefits
• access to Iberia lounges (and indeed all other oneworld lounges)
• 50% – 100% Avios bonus with selected airlines

Whilst Miles & More Senator members may have expected to be matched to Iberia Plus Platino – the equivalent of British Airways Gold – you need to remember that oneworld has different lounge policies.

With oneworld, a mid-tier status such as BA Silver or Iberia Plus Oro gets you global lounge access across the network.  This is not the case with Star Alliance, where mid-tier status (Frequent Traveller with M&M) only gives you lounge access with the airlines which issues your card.  Iberia is not being unreasonably tough in matching Senator with Oro. 

Now, how do I get my status matched?

There’s an application form on the Iberia website that needs to be filled in and emailed to Iberia (ibpcampaign@iberia.es) together with a picture of your Topbonus or Miles & More card.

1,000 bonus Avios

You can pick up some bonus miles by being referred to Iberia Plus by an existing member.  Both the referrer and you will receive 1,000 Avios if you have a friend who is already in Iberia Plus.

The application form is very unclear.   I say this as a native speaker.  The box for the Iberia Plus account number seems to be for the Iberia number of the person who is referring you – even though it says ‘Ihre’ which means your Iberia number.  But if you don’t put your Iberia Plus number in that box, there is nowhere else to add it.

And why does it say ‘Date of Birth’ (Geburtsdatum) at the top right of the form in capital letters?!

There is no small print on the website about whether this offer is only for new Iberia Plus accounts or also existing members.

There is no mention of residency restrictions.

There is no mention about how long your Iberia Plus status will last.

As always with such deals, it is well worth filling in the form if you have Topbonus or Miles & More status – but be prepared for the match not to work due to some small print no-one was told about.  This is Iberia we’re talking about …..

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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.