Credit Hilton hotel stays to Iberia instead of British Airways? A warning

During August we’re going to be running a few more ‘educational’ articles than usual, to help new readers get up to speed with some of the tricks of our trade.

One of the things that makes this hobby so fascinating is the ability to arbitrage.  The aim is to collect miles and points as cheaply as possible and then use them for the maximum possible ‘pence per point’ reward.

There are also arbitrages inside individual programmes you can exploit.  For historical reasons, stretching back to before Avios points were introduced, Hilton Honors has different earnings rates for British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus.

When you stay at a Hilton Family property, you have two options.  You can take either ‘points and miles’ (10 Hilton Honors points per $1 plus some airline miles) or ‘points and points’ (10 Hilton Honors points plus an additional 5 Hilton Honors points per $1).

The rates for receiving airline miles under the ‘points and miles’ option can be found here.

If you click on European airline partners, you will see the following rates:

British Airways Executive Club – 1 Avios point per $1

Iberia Plus – 15 Avios points per $10

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that – if there are no specific BA or Iberia promos running – you should be crediting your Avios points from Hilton stays to Iberia Plus and then moving them across to British Airways Executive Club via ‘Combine My Avios’.  You will be earning 50% more Avios!

Except ….

There is a catch in the Iberia Plus earning rates.

You are capped at earning 1,000 Avios points per stay if you take Iberia miles.  The British Airways cap is 10,000 Avios.

You won’t find this cap mentioned on the airline partners page I linked above. 

You won’t find this cap mentioned on the Hilton page at iberia.com 

However, tucked away in the terms and conditions of the Hilton Honors programme is this paragraph:

Members may only accrue up to 10,000 airline miles per stay (or the equivalent currency of the airline Marketing Partner), except with respect to Home2 Suites by Hilton® and Tru by Hilton™ which limits accrual to 100 airlines miles per stay (or the equivalent currency of the airline Marketing Partner) and except with respect to the following airline carriers: Aeromexico – up to 20,000 Premier Points; AIR MILES Canada – up to 1,000 reward miles; El Al Israel Airlines – up to 250 airline Points; Iberia – up to 1,000 airline Points; LAN – up to 20,000 kilometers; Virgin Atlantic Airways – up to 20,000 miles; and Air New Zealand- up to 30,000 Airpoints dollars.

This means you need to bear these numbers in mind:

For Hilton bills of up to $1000, you should go with Iberia Plus (15 per $10 rather than 1 per $1 with BA)

For Hilton bills above $1000, you should go with British Airways Executive Club (the 1 per $1 means you will earn more than the 1,000 Avios cap imposed by Iberia Plus)

You learn something new every day …..!  It would be helpful if Hilton had this information on its airline partners page, rather than tucked away in the terms and conditions where it won’t be read.  One of our readers spent $2,400 and lost out on 1,200 Avios because he had gone with Iberia Plus.

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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.