Can I earn Avios and British Airways tier points if I fly with Iberia?

In this article we’ll look at how you can earn Avios and British Airways tier points by flying with Iberia.

It is possible to earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points on Iberia.  Of course, Iberia has Iberia Plus, its own frequent flyer program, which also uses the Avios reward currency but there is no good reason for crediting your Iberia flight to Iberia Plus if you have an active British Airways account.

When you book or manage your flights with Iberia, you will be able to add your British Airways Executive Club number. Upon completion of your flights you will automatically be credited the correct Avios.

How many Avios do you earn when flying on Iberia?

Here is the full chart of earning rates, sourced from the partner page of the British Airways website.

Iberia awards Avios based on the price of your ticket and your British Airways Executive Club status rather than the distance you fly:

• Blue members will receive 5 Avios per qualifying € spent
• Bronze members will receive 6 Avios per qualifying € spent
• Silver members will receive 7 Avios per qualifying € spent
• Gold members will receive 8 Avios per qualifying € spent

Flights between Madrid and Barcelona will earn 1 additional Avios per qualifying € spent.

Flights between Spain and Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean (excluding Puerto Rico) and South America will earn 2 additional Avios per qualifying € spent.

If you have a package holiday ticket or a ticket involving multiple airlines where the price per sector is not broken out, you will earn Avios based on a combination of travel class, distance flown and Executive Club status.

When it comes to tier points, you are better off flying with Iberia than British Airways if your trip involves a connection.  This is because tier points are earned per flight, so a connection in Madrid to, say, Mexico City will earn more tier points than taking a direct flight on British Airways from London to Mexico City.

You can work out how many tier points you will earn on the BA tier point calculator here.  Remember to search leg by leg if you are connecting.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.6 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 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 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 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. 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

Huge 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) 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.