Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

How a reader redeemed 52,500 Avios for a £1,500 Iberostar hotel in Majorca

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Back in 2014 we wrote about how to redeem Avios with Spanish hotel group Iberostar.

Whilst not a chain I have ever used, Iberostar runs a large number 4- and 5-star ‘Summer holiday’ properties in Tenerife, Majorca etc.  They are also in Bulgaria, Brazil, Cape Verde, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Greece, Hungary, Jamaica, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia.

The company website is here if you want to check it out.

If you thinking about a cash stay at an Iberostar property, we wrote a review of ‘My Iberostar’ which is here.

As per the Iberia website, the earning rate if you stay at an Iberostar hotel is 150 Avios points per night.  These Avios must be deposited in an Iberia Plus account, although you can move them across to BA or avios.com via ‘Combine My Avios’.

What is more interesting is that you can redeem your Avios via Iberia Plus for Iberostar properties at the following rates:

Premium Gold and Grand Collection – 12,500 Avios per night

Premium and Classic – 7,500 Avios per night

A HfP reader dropped me a line to share his experiences.

He booked a week in Majorca for August for 52,500 Avios (7 x 7,500 Avios).  The cash rate for the same hotel would have been £1,500.

I asked him to tell us how he booked it:

“Essentially, we wanted to go to Majorca during the Summer.  For a little while now, I’ve been looking at the Iberostar hotels since you mentioned them.  Going on their chart they seem to offer incredible value if you go for ‘room only’ at a Premium / Classic hotel. Breakfast – which being Spain they hardly ever check if you’re actually eligible for – would have added an extra 8,250 Avios per day.  For a Gold or Grand property, breakfast adds an extra 13,750 Avios per day!

What we wanted was a decent beach with kids entertainment and solid F&B options.  I did some research and Albufera Playa (this is NOT the hotel in the photo above) seemed the best option for us.  I based this on tripadvisor reviews, kids entertainment and the equivalent cash cost on say hotels.com.

I called the number given on the iberia.com Iberostar webpage. Not being a Spanish speaker, I braced myself for a Spanish speaking hotline.  To be honest, I couldn’t have been more surprised. I first asked if it was OK to speak in English. “Yes, sure” was the answer! A short hold ensued then “Good Morning Iberostar, how may I help you?”

I explained I wanted to use my Avios to redeem for an Iberostar hotel and she couldn’t have been more helpful. She just needed the hotel name, dates. She then checked for availability. The dates I wanted were available.  She finally explained that you can cancel until 24 hours before check in.  We were then all done. By the time I’d put the phone down the confirmation email had arrived!

Just a final note – I didn’t check availability at other properties but in theory you could get even better value.  The Iberostar Portals Nous is more expensive for cash (£3,000 for a week) but it is adults only, for example, so would not have worked for us.”

Remember that you can only book these deals using Avios in Iberia Plus.  In order to be able to transfer your Avios into Iberia Plus, your account must be at least 90 days old and have earned 1 Avios point.

The main Iberostar website is here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

25,000 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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, 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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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

40,000 points sign-up bonus 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.

Category

Iberia and Iberia Plus

Comments (43)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Rich says:
    1 Mar1 March 10:19

    You can also cut the effective rate of the hotel by taking the telly off the wall when you leave and flogging it on eBay. Or paying with a stolen credit card. Don’t like those pesky safe charges? Just punch the duty manager in the face and say you’re not paying. You might even be able to get his wallet while he’s knocked out.

    • Waribai says:
      1 Mar1 March 10:31

      Easy tiger, I think the point about safes is a fair one as very few chain hotels charge for this. On the other hand I know of relatively few hotels which allow you to leave with the telly.

      • Mrtibbs1999 says:
        1 Mar1 March 12:33

        I think they all do if you render the management unconscious!

  • Matt says:
    1 Mar1 March 11:34

    OT and I’m new to the hobby,. I’m looking at my first Asia trip with Turkish Airlines on their round trip offer, and may I ask a couple of very basic questions.

    1 – Is a good first city to visit in Asia for a week or two – thinking perhaps Tokyo / Beijign / Jakarta. My interests are mainly architectural / cultural.
    2 – Is it worth taking a 6-7 hr or 2 hr stopover in istanbul – is 2hrs short enough that I may miss the connection, or is 6 hrs enough for a quick shufti around the City perhaps on one of the Turkish Airlines tours?
    3 – Planning to fly semi/flexible economy, which (I think) gives me 100% miles, as part of the plan to reach Star Gold via Asiana fairly quickly.

    I guess I also need to read up about Visas 🙂

    Cheers

    • Genghis says:
      1 Mar1 March 11:53

      Hi Matt and welcome.
      1) Tokyo is great. I lived in Japan for two years. Accommodation is pricy but food is great. Avoid Jakarta. Not been to Beijing but I’m going to September and from what I’ve read looks like a great place to visit.
      2) 2 hour connection should be sufficient but there are reports about Turkish connections really difficult. Perhaps others can offer some advice.
      3) If flying economy and you’re sure of your dates, I wouldn’t pay good money for a semi flexible ticket (for extra miles) when discounted economy will be so much cheaper.
      4) Visa summary – Pricy for China – around GBP150 a person, Japan no visa required, Indonesia is visa on arrival.
      Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions once your itinerary is more solid.

      • Waribai says:
        1 Mar1 March 12:07

        Yes, price is a large factor in Tokyo but air b’nb have changed that somewhat. Never tried it but it seems to be hassle free in Tokyo. If you are a traditional architecture buff you will see little originality in Tokyo compared with Beijing. Much of the ‘traditional’ in Japan is from China.
        However for me, the buzz, ease, minimal scams and overall cleanliness would make Tokyo a winner.
        I like Jakarta as it is a ‘one off’ but it’s definitely not a walking city and not really a destination for a ‘first timer’ to Asia.

        You could always do Beijing as a 72 hours stopover on the way to Tokyo then no need for a visa.

        • Matt says:
          1 Mar1 March 12:33

          Thanks, both.

          This first trip I’m keepnig it simple. I’m happy to pay a bit extra for the miles because I can offset the more rapid Star Gold status against the fees on the Amex Platinum it could save me wrt Lounge Access.

          This time I’ll do the straight roiund trip rather than juggling bookigns and stopovers.

          Since I enjoy dancing, a week in Buenos Aires plus a holiday at a Tango school also beckons.

    • Clive says:
      1 Mar1 March 23:49

      Matt

      I would look at Thailand as you have the cultural and also the beaches. if you want to stay on the cultural trail you also have Sukothai and Ayutthaya so plenty to see and do.

      If you do a 2 hr stop then stay at the airport. traffic is horrendous.

      No Visa required for Thailand

      Enjoy

  • Genghis says:
    1 Mar1 March 11:48

    OT – received an email from Curve. Shipping late March.

  • Mrtibbs1999 says:
    1 Mar1 March 12:51

    What board basis would this book into at an all inclusive only property? Would you need to pay for the food and drink, or would it default to the only board basis sold – All inclusive?

    • trickster says:
      1 Mar1 March 13:10

      My guess is that the only rate available will be the AI one:

      60,000 per night for GRAND COLLECTION / PREMIUM GOLD
      34,000 per night for PREMIUM / CLASSIC

      From the link Rob posted above.

  • Johnnycl says:
    1 Mar1 March 22:33

    I’ve had good feedback from Appleyard Flower recipients last year…so long as I get the same this Sunday too… 🙂

  • Talay says:
    2 Mar2 March 08:13

    Back to the original topic !

    From their website, they state: “The above rates apply to a standard double room for two people on a room-only basis. Enquire for children.”

    Is there a charge for kids and what sort of room are you getting which can accommodate multiple kids plus parents ? From my experience, Spanish tourist hotel rooms for multiple occupancy tend to be one bed for 4 people with 2 sleeping on the couch !

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