Iberia launches ‘Part Pay with Avios’ – and it’s rubbish

From July 2nd, Iberia is letting you use Avios to pay for part of the cost of a cash ticket.  “All your Avios count and they also discount” is the catchy slogan they are using.

British Airways launched a similar ‘part pay with Avios’ scheme last year.  I wasn’t very excited about that – although it is better than it was at launch after tweaking – and I am even less excited about this.

I was a little excited when I got the email.  I was promised the ability to save 25% of my flight cost using my Avios points, which could have been substantial for a long-haul flight.

In truth, you can’t.

I did a test booking from Madrid to Buenos Aires for late September.  The economy ticket came out at €1,137.  The maximum discount offered to me was €113 – for a cost of 25,950 Avios.

This is a terrible deal.  €113 is £89.  That works out at 0.35p per Avios.

This is shocking.  Remember that it is almost impossible to get less than 0.5p per Avios point even if you use all of your points for hotel bookings, car hire, champagne, sports tickets, Eurostar tickets or one of the hundreds of other random things that avios.com can sell you.

I then tried a short-haul flight from Madrid to London.  On a €217 flight the maximum discount was €30.  That would cost me 5,575 Avios.  This is a slightly better result as you get 0.43p per Avios.  I still wouldn’t go near it though.

For some reason this deal is also only available on flights that start in Spain.  If you try to book London to Madrid then you are not offered the discount.  It is also not available on BA flights, only Iberia, Iberia Express and Vueling.

If you want to know, full details can be found on the Iberia website here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.