A clever Avios trick to unlock extra Iberia business class seats
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I wrote an article last year pointing out that Iberia has better business class reward availability via its own website than you can book via ba.com.
Coupled with the fact that you pay lower taxes on Iberia redemptions when booked via iberia.com vs ba.com, it is a no-brainer to book your Iberia redemptions on their own website.
Luckily it is fairly easy to do this:
You need to have an ACTIVE Iberia Plus account. This means that it must be 90 days old and have ‘earned’ 1 Avios point. Transferring 1,000 Amex points, or crediting a BA flight, hotel stay, car rental etc is the easiest way to do this.
You can then use ‘Combine My Avios’ on ba.com to move your Avios points over to Iberia to book. The transfer is free and instant.
If you get an error message on ba.com, do the transfer from avios.com. Log into your avios.com account, do ‘Combine My Avios’ from ba.com to avios.com and then do a second transaction from avios.com to iberia.com. This will work 99% of the time.
As I said, Iberia has better business class availability on its own website than it makes available via ba.com. However, there is a little trick you can use to make Iberia’s business class availability even better.
Unlike BA, Iberia applies ‘married segment’ logic to its reward availability. This means that it holds back a proportion of its reward seats for people who are connecting via Madrid and not starting their trip there.
In simple English:
You will often see better Iberia reward availability if you search for a city beyond Madrid.
Here is an example:
New York to Madrid on 25th April – there is no reward availability in Business Class on the two daily Iberia flights (click to enlarge):
However, let’s search for New York to Jerez, via Madrid, on 25th April. Business Class reward seats are suddenly available!
Taking advantage of this is not easy, of course:
It only makes sense when travelling TO Europe. I doubt anyone would want to fly UK to Jerez to Madrid to New York.
It only works if you are travelling with hand baggage since you will probably be getting off the plane in Madrid and picking up a flight back to the UK. If you had checked bags, they would be sent through to Jerez (or wherever) which is not what you want.
You will be paying a few extra Avios for the trip because you need to pay for the leg to Jerez or wherever you choose – although the Iberia website lets you book this into Economy which keeps the cost down.
That said, this is still a clever little trick to keep up your sleeve if award availability looks tight.
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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.
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