One interesting quirk with the new Avios scheme we never expected

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My main article today summarises all of the Avios changes that took place yesterday.

Everything is as we expected. Except one thing.

As you will know if you followed my articles on the changes, Iberia is introducing its own reward pricing chart with its own peak and off-peak dates. It looks like this:

What I didn’t expect is this:

ba.com is using the Iberia pricing chart to price Iberia rewards.

Here is the proof from ba.com:

rsz_iberia_avios

This flight – if priced using the British Airways chart used for BA and all other partner airlines – should cost 120,000 Avios. However, ba.com is pricing it using the Iberia pricing chart and applying the Iberia off-peak calendar.

You should still not book this flight on ba.com.

If you move 68,000 Avios to Iberia Plus and book it that way, the tax will fall from £323 to £137. However, not everyone can move Avios into Iberia Plus because a) your Iberia account must be open for 90 days before you can transfer and b) you must have earned 1 Avios point in the account.

If you can’t fulfil both of the criteria above, booking via ba.com will be your only option. I can see a lot of people heading down to Madrid in the near future ….

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: