Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Big 40% bonus lets you buy Avios points via Iberia for as low as 1.0p each

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I normally do not recommend buying Avios unless you need to ‘top up’ an account for an immediate redemption. With a few exceptions, buying a large proportion of the miles you need is rarely a good deal.

This is a bit different.  Iberia Plus is currently offering a bonus of 40% on purchases of Avios points. This deal runs until Sunday 29th May, see here for further details.

Note that you need to log-in to see details of the bonus offer. Without logging in, the page just shows the standard pricing.

Iberia A330 350

The deal does not seem to be targetted – I see it on my account but I haven’t received an email about it.

There is no minimum purchase.  Even a 2,000 Avios purchase gets you 800 bonus Avios.

At the top end, you will be paying €1,800 for 140,000 Avios (100,000 + 40%).  Given the weak £, this works out at exactly 1p per Avios, based on £1,393.  You would need to add a 3% foreign exchange fee to this price if your credit card has one.  Smaller quantities would be pricier.

I would not usually be a buyer, even at this price.  1p per Avios is usually my (very conservative) target value when I redeem so I don’t like paying that much to get them.

However, it may well make sense for you if:

you have a specific redemption in mind where you know you will get over 1p per point of value

you value the ‘easy points’ aspect of this offer (no need to visit Tesco, apply for a new credit card etc etc)

You MUST have been an Iberia Plus member for 90 days before you can transfer your bought points across to BA. 

You must also have earned at least one Avios in the account before you can buy points (one easy option is a small Amex Membership Rewards transfer, or credit a flight, hotel stay or Avis rental).

If you have never earned an Avios via Iberia Plus then you are stuck and cannot buy until a transaction has gone through your account – and that won’t happen in time for Sunday.


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:

Nectar American Express

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

American Express Platinum card Amex

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 card

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.)

Comments (103)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Jim says:

    BA now offering the same 40% bonus when buying Avios through BA Exec Club

  • Mud Island Mlungu says:

    Stupid question but would purchasing 100k miles off the BA website on a BA PP card generate the 3 avios per £ return on top of the 100k?

    Thanks

    • Chris says:

      Hi Mud Island Mlungu,

      Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ll get the 3 Avios per £ on a BA PP card. I certainly didn’t when I purchased them this was earlier this year. On reflection I guess I should have gone for Avios + Cash – I’m guessing you would then get the 3Avios per £ rate then?

      • Chris says:

        Sorry should have read “…when I purchased them this WAY…”

      • Chris says:

        Sorry should have read “…when I purchased them this WAY…”

      • Mud Island Mlungu says:

        Thanks Chris.

        Much obliged for your response. 2400 extra avios then. It’s something at least.

    • Thunderbirds says:

      No 1.5 avios as the purchase is not direct through BA

  • mark2 says:

    I wonder what the next ‘Card that will change the world’ will be called?
    And how many of you will fall for it?

  • Neo says:

    Can I transfer my BA avios to Iberia to make it at least 1 miles in Iberia account ?

  • L P says:

    Possibly a stupid question but is this a great value deal if I purchase the Avios with the intention of using them with my Amex 241 voucher

  • Scott says:

    As other posters have pointed out BA are running this. However, they want £1615 for 100K + 40k bonus, as opposed to Iberia who want €1800 (which is about £1400) for the same amount of Avios. The difference becomes less at lower amounts but BA is still looking like poor value compared to Iberia.

  • Scott says:

    As other posters have pointed out BA are running this. However, they want £1615 for 100K + 40k bonus, as opposed to Iberia who want €1800 (which is about £1400) for the same amount of Avios. The difference becomes less at lower amounts but BA is still looking like poor value compared to Iberia.

  • Nigel says:

    Just so happens, as for an earlier reader that this is very frustrating timing for me. Have been actively collecting avios using lots of the tricks for about 6 months and yesterday bought 30,000 for a huge £495 (which I felt bad about then given how expensive it was) and booked 2 first class flights to Rio and 2 business class return flights back which is what I’d been working towards booking. So annoying that this offer comes the day after and it would have saved me £140! It’s just over the 24 hours when I read about it as well!

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.