For the next week, Iberia is selling Avios at a 50% discount to all members, allowing you to scoop up the currency for as little as €1.2 cents ($1.29c) per Avios. Iberia Plus allows you to purchase up to 200,000 points in a year, but with this offer, the ceiling is temporarily raised to 300,000 instead. Let’s find out more and see if you should buy Avios right now.
Buy with Iberia, spend anywhere
Avios is the loyalty currency of the International Airlines Group (IAG), which includes British Airways, Aer Linus, Vueling, and Iberia. Qatar Airways recently switched to using Avios as well, making it one of the most valuable currencies to have a balance with. Additionally, you can redeem miles will all of the above carriers, plus all oneworld members around the globe.
Iberia Plus’ offer lasts until 12:00 AM on 25th May and gives you 50% more Avios on all purchases over 2,000 points. If you have specific redemption tickets in mind, buying miles now could be a great way to lock in future travel and top up your balance. However, buying and waiting leaves you open to airline devaluations, which are becoming all too common these days.
Photo: Airbus
Depending on how many miles you buy, prices vary from €1.8 cents each ($1.94c) at 2,000 miles to as little as €1.2c ($1.29c) each when you buy 200,000. Buying anything over 45,000 Avios is good value in this sale.
Watch out for currencies as well. Iberia historically charges much more for USD miles than Euro ones. Try to buy in Euros if possible; as AwardWallet notes, prices are 19% higher in dollars.
What can you use the Avios for?
Iberia Plus uses the same distance-based award system as British Airways, allowing you to find several sweet spots among redemptions. The best deal is one-way transatlantic flights in business class from the East Coast to Europe, which comes in at 42,500 Avios. Considering British Airways sells its premium economy for this price (albeit with far fewer taxes), this is a great way to use points.
If you buy 200,000 points (300,000 in total) for €3,600 ($3,876) today, you could purchase three roundtrips from the East Coast (+ Chicago) to Europe. Similar awards can be pieced together for three to China, Japan, and the West Coast under this deal.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
Another great place to find value is with American Airlines, which doesn’t charge huge “fuel surcharges” on tickets. You can roundtrip tickets between short-haul cities for just 11,000 miles, usually a considerable saving from cash tickets if booked last minute. However, availability does vary, so check in advance.
Book Qsuites
High on the list for all travel enthusiasts, Qatar Airways’ decision to use Avios means that you can now easily redeem them for flights worldwide. While not the cheapest redemption with Iberia Plus, you can still find some great deals from Europe to Doha, and with Qsuite onboard, you’ll be treated to arguably the best business class in the world as well.
Will you be buying miles with Iberia Plus? Let us know in the comments!
Source: AwardWallet
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Iberia Plus
- Participating Airlines:
- Iberia
- Owner:
- IAG
- Region:
- Europe
- Coutries:
- Spain
- Established Date:
- 1991-00-00
