How To “Combine My Avios” & Earn Easy Avios In Iberia Plus

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Yesterday I published a post explaining why Avios collectors should have an Iberia Plus account even if their primary rewards program is the British Airways Executive Club – the cash and Avios savings can be considerable in the right circumstances.

The issue that faces a lot of people is that they already have a sizeable Avios balance sitting in their British Airways Executive Club (BAEC) account and they don’t want to (or have the time to) build up a separate balance in Iberia Plus just in case an occasion aries when they’s be better off booking a reward flight through Iberia rather than through BA.

Luckily there’s a solution to this – you can transfer Avios back and forth between BAEC and Iberia Plus (and Avios.com) using the online “Combine My Avios” tool.

Note: There are restrictions to using this tool so make sure you read the whole blog post if you’re not already sure what they are.

Combine My Avios

Using the Combine My Avios tool from the British Airways website is simple.

1) From the menu bar at the top of the BA.com homepage select Executive Club and then click on “Manage My Account” from the drop down menu

2) When the Manage My Account page opens up scroll down to the bottom where you should see “Combine My Avios”

3) Clicking on the Combine My Avios link opens up the page that explains what is is you can do and, at the bottom is the link to start the process rolling.

4) This is the page on which you link your BAEC account with your Iberia Plus account.

5) Once you’ve added your Iberia Plus details you’re given the option to transfer Avios between your two accounts….in either direction:

Once you’ve selected how many Avios you wish to transfer (and in which direction) the process is instantaneous and the Avios get moved from one account to the other right then and there.

The Issue

As I mentioned yesterday, transferring Avios from a BAEC account to Iberia Plus isn’t completely straightforward – there are a few hoops you have to jump through before you can do this.

• You cannot transfer Avios from the British Airways Executive Club or from Avios.com into an Iberia Plus account that is less than 90 day old – so open an account right now to get the clock started.

• You cannot transfer Avios from the British Airways Executive Club or from Avios.com into an Iberia Plus account that hasn’t yet had a transaction pass through it.

The transaction needed to activate your Iberia Plus account can be as simple as a transfer of points from American Express membership rewards (both US and UK membership rewards allow you to do this) or, if you’d rather not do that,  you can use any number of other sources to credit a few miles to your new Iberia Plus Account.

Earning Easy Avios In Iberia Plus

Here are a few of the easiest ways to earn some Avios in your Iberia Plus account:

• Credit a short, inconsequential, flight from an Iberia partner airline (all the oneWorld airlines for example) to Iberia Plus.

• Keep and eye out for Iberia Plus promotions which offer small numbers of Avios for filling out questionnaires or for signing up to receive promotional emails (you can cancel as soon as the Avios hit your account).

• Credit a hotel stay to Iberia Plus. Iberia Plus partners with a number of hotel chains which will credit your Iberia Plus account with Avios when you stay at their properties. Most of the big chains partner with Iberia Plus (Starwood, IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Accor etc…) so, if you have a night booked at any one of their properties, make sure you add you Iberia Plus number to your reservation.

• Credit a rental car to Iberia Plus. Avis and Budget are the two biggest rental car companies that offer Iberia Plus  Avios when you rent a car from them – if you have a reservation on the horizon, add your Iberia Plus number to it to make sure you earn the Avios needed to activate your account.

• Just like British Airways and all the major US airlines, Iberia has a shopping portal which allows you to earn Avios for purchases made with a whole host of popular online retailers.

• Iberia Plus has a number of shopping partners but most won’t be of any use to anyone outside Spain. Still, Madrid Duty Fee is an Iberia Plus partner so, if you’re passing through, present your Iberia Plus number when paying for your items, they’ll credit your account with some Avios.

• Iberia Plus has a number of “leisure partners” and, while most probably won’t be of interest, the Iberia Plus partnership with London’s LoveTheatre.com could be an excellent way for UK-based Avios collectors to get their accounts activated for not a lot of effort or outlay.

Bottom Line

Iberia Plus can be a very useful tool to miles and points collectors and the ability to move Avios freely between BAEC and Iberia Plus can be key to grabbing great deals when they appear.

Make sure you sign up for an Iberia Plus account – it’s free and takes a few minutes – and then make sure you have some activity going through your account (regardless of how small the transaction is) as soon as you can.

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