New Avios opportunities with Sixt and Iberia Express

There are two recent Iberia partnerships worth knowing about. 

You will need an Iberia Plus account to earn Avios points with these, but they can be quickly transferred across to an avios.com or British Airways Executive Club account using the ‘Combine My Avios’ feature online.  The only condition is that your Iberia Plus account must have been open for at least 90 days before you can transfer in or out of it.  I have already joined up.

Iberia Express is the new low-cost airline formed by Iberia to compete with Ryanair etc, and has been the cause of the recent industrial action by Iberia staff.  Iberia Express flights earning NOTHING if credited to BAEC, but they do earn in Iberia Plus at the same rate as standard Iberia flights.

Current overseas destinations are Dublin, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Riga, Naples and Mykonos, all from its Madrid hub.  (I understand that you WILL earn Avios in BAEC if you book an Iberia Express flight under its BA or Iberia codeshare via ba.com or iberia.com but you will not earn anything in BAEC if you book it directly via Iberia Express’s website.)

Sixt is now a car rental partner with Iberia which is handy as it is not a BAEC partner.  (Here is my previous overview of car rental earning opportunites to gain Avios, although Europcar is no longer a BMI partner.)  Until 31st August you earn double Avios points with Sixt when credited to Iberia Plus.  Standard rates are 300 per day for a Standard or Tiny car and 400 for a Compact or larger (less 50% if booked on a corporate rate code), with a maximum of four days. 

During this promotion, the maximum earning is therefore 3,200 miles (400 x 2 x 4 days).

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)