Big discounts on Avios redemptions on Iberia – book by 31 October

Iberia Plus has launched a new promotion offering aggressive discounts on Avios redemptions on a number of Iberia routes. These include both European (although not to/from the UK) and long-haul.

Buenos Aires is the stand-out deal. This is available for just 30,000 Avios, return, in Economy if you can find seats at the ‘Blue’ level. This compares to a standard price of 60,000 Avios.

(Note that if you cannot find seats at Blue saver level, it is not such a good deal. A standard Economy redemption is 60,000 Avios in this sale – reduced from 90,000 – which is the same as the 60,000 Avios required at ba.com – albeit you have better availability and lower taxes.)

The same deal is also available to Panama and San Jose de Costa Rica.

Madrid to Dakar is just 10,000 Avios return if you can find a Blue ‘saver’ award and 20,000 Avios return in Economy otherwise.

European flights, from Madrid to Brussels, Nice, Lyon, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Bologna, Copenhagen, Oporto, Copenhagen, Marseille, Brussels and Vienna cost from 8,000 Avios return at Blue level and 16,000 in Economy (this is less interesting).

There are also internal Spanish flights available, although again the discounts are hardly huge unless you find Blue class availability. Madrid to Barcelona, Bilbao, La Coruna, Oviedo, Vigo and a few other destinations cost 4,000 Avios return in Blue class and 8,000 if you can only find fully priced Economy returns.

(Note that both Blue and Economy book into the Economy cabin. Blue is a deep discounted Economy redemption that Iberia uses to fill more lightly loaded services.)

Unfortunately, none of these deals are available in Business Class.

You must book at iberia.com by 31 October for travel by 20th December.

Taxes are also very low

Iberia has lower taxes than British Airways. Even Iberia flights booked on ba.com using BA Avios have substantially higher taxes than the same Iberia flight booked on iberia.com.

As an example, Buenos Aires return incurs taxes and charges of €189. If you could nab a return ticket in Blue class for a pre-Christmas break for 30,000 Avios plus €189 then I think you’d consider that a decent deal.

Remember, these are Iberia Plus deals ONLY

You can ONLY book these flights on the Iberia website.

You can ONLY book these flights using Avios in Iberia Plus.

If you don’t already have an Iberia Plus account then you are stuffed, unfortunately (although I have suggested many times that everyone should have one, specifically for promotions like this.) Even if you open an Iberia Plus account today, you cannot transfer Avios across from BA or avios.com until it has been open for 90 days.

I assume you could buy the Avios you need if you opened a new Iberia Plus account, but I cannot be 100% sure if a newly opened account is immediately able to purchase Avios points.

You cannot add a connecting BA flight to the same ticket

You don’t want to, because it would trigger long-haul Air Passenger Duty.

Your connecting flight to/from Madrid should be booked separately. If using Avios, it is 20,000 return in Economy from the UK.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2025)

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

Get 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

30,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 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.