Iberia changes announced – earning status could be almost as easy as it is now under BA!

Iberia has announced changes to Iberia Plus this afternoon.

As expected, it will be easier to earn status by crediting British Airways flights to Club Iberia Plus than British Airways Club.

You will also earn elite points when you spend with non-flying partners, up to 30% of your status requirement.

Importantly, you will get bonus elite points on British Airways flights credited to Club Iberia Plus.

My maths shows that, for business class flyers, you could earn status as easily in Club Iberia Plus as you can currently earn it in British Airways Executive Club.

IMPORTANT: We have written this article based on information supplied by Iberia but, with so much to digest and some in Spanish, errors could have occurred.

How will Club Iberia Plus work?

In theory it is a similar system to the new BA one.

However, it is NOT linked directly to spend.

€1 of net spend =1 elite point BUT there will be bonuses on top based on your travel class.

This applies to spend on Iberia, British Airways and American Airlines. Other oneworld partner airlines are treated differently as I explain below.

What are the new Club Iberia Plus tiers?

This is what will happen:

• Plata – equivalent to British Airways Bronze – 3,500 elite points or 20 segments

• Oro – equivalent to British Airways Silver – 7,500 elite points or 40 segments

• Platino – equivalent to British Airways Gold – 20,000 elite points or 90 segments

• Platino Prime – also equivalent to BA Gold – 30,000 elite points

The Infinita and Infinita Prime levels remain but I am ignoring those given the spend requirement.

Note that Platino is actually only 19,000 elite points because, when you hit 18,000 points, you receive 1,000 bonus elite points. For simplicity I have used 20,000 elite points throughout this article.

Platino and Platino Prime will come with upgrade vouchers as an extra benefit.

IMPORTANT: Qualification by segments is ONLY available on Iberia and Iberia Express-coded flights. It does NOT include British Airways or even Vueling flights.

‘Travel class’ bonuses look decent

Whilst British Airways Club is offering short term tier bonuses, these will be a permanent part of the new Iberia scheme.

You get, when flying Iberia:

• 75 to 150 bonus elite points per segment based on short haul economy ticket type
• 175 to 275 bonus elite points per segment based on short haul business ticket type
• 150 to 250 bonus elite points per segment based on long haul economy ticket type
• 275 to 325 bonus elite points per segment based on long haul premium economy ticket type
• 350 to 600 bonus elite points per segment based on long haul business ticket type and route

Iberia gave an example of someone flying 10 return trips to Bilbao from Madrid in flexible business at €270 return (€243 base fare).

In theory this earns you 2,430 elite points towards status.

However, the ‘class of travel’ bonus is substantial. You’d get an extra 550 elite points per return trip, giving you a total of 7,930 elite points for the 10 trips.

This means that you can earn British Airways Silver equivalent for €2,720 of spend – in this example – vs around £10,000 of spending if you were a BA flyer.

Don’t fly in flexible business class? It’s still not a bad deal.

Iberia gave an example of someone taking four ‘Optima’ economy flights to Paris Orly at €300 return.

€1,200 of gross spend means €1,080 of net spend. This would earn 1,080 elite points BUT you also get a bonus of 600, for a total of 1,680.

Important: British Airways flights earn bonuses

You will earn the following bonus elite points when crediting a British Airways flight to Club Iberia Plus:

• Short-haul – 75 elite points in economy, 175 elite points in business

• Long-haul (3,000+ miles) – 150 elite points in economy, 275 elite points in premium economy, 350 elite points in business, 450 elite points in first class

Important: oneworld flights will earn at an attractive flat rate

Unlike British Airways Club, which is giving you elite points on oneworld partners at a % of miles flown, Club Iberia Plus will earn at a flat rate.

Take a look at this:

If you fly business class to Bangkok from London on Qatar Airways, you would earn 5,000 elite points.

This is just about enough for BA Silver equivalent (Iberia Oro) status if you earn the maximum 30% of elite points that can come from partners. Oro is 7,500 tier points but reduces to 5,250 if you earn 22,500 Avios from partners.

You can earn status points via partner earnings

When you earn Avios with Iberia non-airline partners, you will ALSO earn elite points.

The rate will be 10:1.

Note that these do NOT replace the Avios you earned. You will receive Avios AND elite points on partner transactions.

You CANNOT convert American Express Membership Rewards points into status points. However, points earned from the Iberia shopping portal DO count.

You can earn 30% of the points needed for status via this method.

The following are EXCLUDED as ways of earning status points from partners:

• Avios transfers and gifts
• Transfers of currencies from other loyalty programmes to Iberia Plus Avios (this includes American Express Membership Rewards, looking at the small print)
• Avios transferred or merged from accounts in British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus, Finnair or Qatar Airways programmes
• Welcome bonus rewards (e.g. when signing up for a new credit card)
• Promotional Avios collected with Iberia Plus bonus rewards
• Avios collected as prizes in competitions and draws, whether for winning or participating
• Complimentary Avios and compensation for incidents
• Avios collected on flights

Conclusion

These spend thresholds, given the reduced purchasing power of the Spanish market, are at the very top end of expectations. I understand they were only set at this level under pressure from British Airways.

What Iberia has done in response is effectively reduce the thresholds by 30% by allowing you to earn elite points from partners.

The threshold has been reduced even further by offering permanent bonus points on all flights on BA, American Airlines and Iberia and generous earning rates on other oneworld partners.

It’s a shame that Membership Rewards transfers do not count as this would be an easy win for UK members. However, earning 22,500 Avios per year from the Iberia estore (to earn you the maxmium 2,250 elite points towards Oro / BA Silver equivalent) should be possible.

Here’s an example.

You pay £350 return for a BA Club Europe flight of which £275 is base fare.

• In British Airways Club, you earn 275 base elite points towards the 7,500 required for Silver – you need 37 (!) trips to earn a Silver card

• In Club Iberia Plus, you earn 330 base elite points (£275 = €330) plus 350 bonus elite points for a total of 680 points towards the 7,500 required for Silver (or 5,250 if you earn the maximum 2,250 elite points allowed from partners) – you need as few as 8 trips to earn the equivalent of a Silver card

In fact, the maths would actually be the same as it is now in many cases if you are flying business class:

Here’s a short haul comparison:

• A Club Europe return flight to Frankfurt currently earns 80 tier points in Executive Club, so BA Silver requires eight returns

• Under the new Iberia system, you also need eight return Club Europe flights to Frankfurt, assuming each is £350 return (£275 / €330 net) and you earn the maximum allowed number of elite points from non-flying partners

Here’s a long haul comparison:

• A return Qatar Airways business class flight to Bangkok currently earns 560 tier points in Executive Club, out of the 600 you need for Silver

• Under the new Iberia system, a return Qatar Airways business class flight to Bangkok earns 5,000 tier points in Club Iberia Plus, out of the 5,250 you need for Oro (Silver) status, assuming you earn the maximum number of elite points from non-flying partners

Perhaps Club Iberia Plus will be a happy home for many HfP readers?

More to follow as we get the full details.

You can find out more on the Iberia website here.

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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:

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.

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.

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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.