Why are British Airways Singapore redemptions pricier via Iberia – and are there others?

An interesting quirk with the Iberia Avios redemption chart was picked up in this thread on Flyertalk.  For some reason Singapore, when flying BA, is in a more expensive redemption zone than it is when booked via British Airways Executive Club.

This isn’t meant to happen.

When you book a British Airways flight using Iberia Plus Avios – as many HfP readers may be doing if they earned 90,000 Avios via the recent Iberia promotion – it prices off the same chart as BA flights booked on ba.com.  It also uses the same peak and off-peak dates.

In simple terms, for long-haul flights the Avios and taxes required for a BA redemption should be identical whether you book via Iberia Plus or BA Executive Club.

On short haul, Iberia Plus asks for more in taxes because Reward Flight Saver does not apply.

Here is an example of what happens with Singapore.  Here is a First Class reward flight booked via British Airways Executive Club, as 280,000 Avios (Zone 8). Click to enlarge:

…. and here is EXACTLY the same flight booked via Iberia Plus, showing a cost of 400,000 Avios (Zone 9):

This is almost certainly an error.  It isn’t as if this is a destination where BA cheats with the distances – Cape Town, for example, should be in Zone 7 but British Airways puts it in the cheaper Zone 6.  Iberia agrees and treats Cape Town as Zone 6.

However, I’m interested to know if there are any other destinations where Iberia is charging a different Avios rate to British Airways.  It would obviously be preferable if Iberia was cheaper.  Let us know if you find any.

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.)