One interesting quirk with the new Avios scheme we never expected

My main article today summarises all of the Avios changes that took place yesterday.

Everything is as we expected.  Except one thing.

As you will know if you followed my articles on the changes, Iberia is introducing its own reward pricing chart with its own peak and off-peak dates.  It looks like this:

What I didn’t expect is this:

ba.com is using the Iberia pricing chart to price Iberia rewards.

Here is the proof from ba.com:

This flight – if priced using the British Airways chart used for BA and all other partner airlines – should cost 120,000 Avios.  However, ba.com is pricing it using the Iberia pricing chart and applying the Iberia off-peak calendar.

You should still not book this flight on ba.com.

If you move 68,000 Avios to Iberia Plus and book it that way, the tax will fall from £323 to £137.  However, not everyone can move Avios into Iberia Plus because a) your Iberia account must be open for 90 days before you can transfer and b) you must have earned 1 Avios point in the account.

If you can’t fulfil both of the criteria above, booking via ba.com will be your only option.  I can see a lot of people heading down to Madrid in the near future ….

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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.