Iberia Plus Avios have a pretty straightforward expiration policy. Your Avios will expire after 36 months of inactivity in your account.
What counts as activity? Well, it’s any transaction that involves either earning or redeeming Avios. This could include activities like flying with Iberia or a partner airline, crediting the flight to your Iberia account, and other transactions like using Avios for an award flight or other rewards.
Once you make a qualifying transaction, the clock resets, giving you another 36 months before your Avios are at risk of expiring again.
The Iberia Plus system will also alert you two months before your Avios expire, giving you a heads-up to make a transaction and keep your points active.
One important thing to remember is that transferring points do not reset the 36-month clock, which include transfers from other Avios airlines (British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar Airways) and credit card points (American Express, Bilt Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Chase Ultimate Rewards).
How to Earn Iberia Avios
There are many ways to earn Iberia Plus Avios, including:
Flying on Iberia
Iberia Plus members earn Avios for Iberia flights based on the flight price in Euros, excluding taxes and fees, and your elite status. If you don’t have elite status, you will earn 5 Avios per euro. Elite members earn Avios based on their status: Plata (6 Avios per euro), Oro (7 Avios per euro), and Platinio (8 Avios per euro).
Flights on Partner Airlines
Iberia is part of the Oneworld Alliance, which includes: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines, Fiji Airways (connect member), and Oman Air (future member).
You can also earn Avios when flying Iberia’s other partners: Vueling, LATAM, LEVEL, Binter, and Avianca..
You can credit your flights with these airlines to Iberia Plus. The amount of miles you earn will depend on the partner airline.
Some partners, such as British Airways American Airlines, earn based on your flight price in euros, which is identical to earning on Iberia flights.
Other partners earn based on distance flown and class of service. For these partners, you typically earn 1.5 Avios per mile for first class, 1.25 Avios per mile flown for business class, 1 Avios per mile flown for full fare economy, 0.5 Avios for discount economy, and 0.25 for basic economy.
Iberia Credit Card
The Iberia Visa Signature® Card (review) offers solid rewards for Iberia, British Airways, and Aer Lingus flights, plus the ability to earn a $1,000 flight discount voucher after significant spending. While the card lacks premium travel benefits, it’s an excellent choice for frequent Iberia flyers who want to earn Avios points that can be used across the Oneworld alliance. Welcome Bonus: Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months. Earning Avios: 3x Avios on Iberia, British Airways, and Aer Lingus flight purchases; 2x Avios on hotel accommodations booked directly with the hotel; 1x Avios on all other purchases. Card Benefits: 10% discount on airfare, $1,000 to use toward two tickets on the same flight for each year you make purchases of $30,000 on your card, no foreign transaction fees, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, lost luggage reimbursement, extended warranty. 
Transfer Partners
Iberia Plus is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards (1 to 1), Bilt Rewards (1 to 1), Chase Ultimate Rewards (1 to 1), and Marriott Bonvoy (3 to 1).
There are a lot of great options to earn these rewards. Here are the cards I recommend:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- American Express® Gold Card.
- American Express Platinum Card®.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card.
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.
- Bilt Mastercard®
Hotels
Iberia has several options to earn Avios when staying at hotels:
- Booking.com: Earn 1 Avios per dollar spent.
- IHG One Rewards: Earn 2 Avios per dollar spent instead of IHG points.
- Iberia Flights + Hotel: You can earn rewards when booking a flight and hotel via Iberia.
- Marriott Bonvoy: Earn 2 Avios per dollar spent instead of Marriot Bonvoy points.
- NH Hotel Group: Earn up to 450 Avios per night.
- Meliá Hotels International: Earn up to 3 Avios per euro.
Rental Cars
Iberia has three ways to earn Avios when renting a car:
- Avis: Earn 5 Avios per euro spent.
- Budget: Earn 2 Avios per euro spent.
- Iberia Flight + Car: Earn 1 Avios per euro spent on a flight + rental car travel package with Iberia on top of the Avios would collect for the flight and car rental. Plus, booking a travel package for a flight departing from Spain can earn an additional 1 Avio per euro.
Other Ways to Earn Avios
There are a few other ways to earn Iberia Avios:
- Dining at the airport: You can earn Avios when dining at the airport when eating at a store operated by Areas, which operates over 50 brands such as Starbucks, Burger King, Lavazza, and more. Look for the signs that say “Aquí acumulas Avios” to earn 2 Avios per euro for purchases over 6 euros.
- Surveys: You can Avios by completing surveys via Avios for Thoughts.
- Shopping in Spain: You can earn 3 Avios per dollar spent when shopping in El Corte Inglés at Castellana, Serrano 47 and Serrano 52 in Madrid, Diagonal in Barcelona or Costa Marbella in Puerto Banus.
Redeeming Iberia Avios
Iberia Plus Avios offers exceptional value, particularly for transatlantic flights on Iberia flights. The program’s distance-based award chart provides some of the best redemption rates for business-class travel to Europe, especially during off-peak periods. For instance, you can book one-way business class flights from East Coast cities like Boston, Chicago, or New York to Madrid for just 34,000 Avios during off-peak times.
The program also shines for short-haul redemptions, with competitive pricing for both economy and business class on shorter routes. Iberia’s partnerships within the oneworld alliance expand your options, allowing redemptions on carriers like American Airlines, British Airways, and Qatar Airways.
A standout feature of Iberia Plus is its low carrier-imposed surcharges on award tickets, particularly compared to some partner programs. This can result in significant savings on long-haul premium cabin awards.
For maximum flexibility, Iberia Plus participates in the wider Avios ecosystem. This means you can transfer Avios between Iberia, British Airways Executive Club, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club, often at a 1:1 ratio. This feature allows you to leverage sweet spots across multiple programs.
While partner airline redemptions through Iberia Plus are possible, they may not always offer the best value. It’s often worth comparing rates with other oneworld programs to ensure you’re getting the most from your Avios.
