‘The Duel by Iberia Plus’ – can you really earn 15,000 Avios?

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I posted last week about a new Iberia promotion that allowed you to earn a whopping 15 Avios points (!).

There was a reason for this, though, as earning 15 points would ‘activate’ your Iberia Plus account. This means you can transfer Avios to/from British Airways and so book Iberia redemptions at the lower levels of taxes charged by Iberia Plus.

The full English version of this promotion has now been launched – ‘The Duel by Iberia Plus’. See here for full details.

Basically, the more Iberia Plus partners you use between now and the end of July, the more bonus Avios you will earn:

150 Avios when you use your card with 4 Partners
750 Avios when you use your card with 5 Partners
1,500 Avios when you use your card with 6 Partners
6,750 Avios when you use your card with 7 Partners
9,000 Avios when you use your card with 8 or 9 Partners
15,000 Avios when you use your card with 10 or more Partners

You have probably already noticed the flaw in this promotion. It is very, very unrewarding unless you can reach at least 7 (different) partners!

What partners are there?

Well, there are 26 hotel chains and car rental companies on the list. A lot of these are local Spanish groups, though. And, of course, you may be losing out in the first place by crediting hotel stays and car rentals to Iberia rather than taking points in the relevant scheme.

(It seems that you can get an easy credit from Melia by buying 1,000 Melia points for €8 and transferring them into 15 Avios!)

Of the Financial partners, only an Amex Membership Rewards transfer is possible for a UK resident.

Of the Shopping partners, only making a purchase at Bicester Village will earn you Avios.

None of the Leisure and Health & Care partners are any use here. There may be a way of buying a cinema ticket online and earning a nominal sum of Avios for it, but again you are spending money which devalues your eventual bonus.

Of the ‘Other’ partners, Sheffield Centre offers 50 Avios if you order their language courses brochure – but its not clear if they will post it abroad.

I can only see this working well if you are doing a large amount of business travel, in Spain probably, and can reach the required number of partners primarily via hotel stays. For the rest of us, I don’t think it is worth the trouble.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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: