Avios is a rewards currency used by four frequent flyer programs from carriers Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling. With four rewards schemes to play with – and the ability to interchange Avios between them – there are a ton of ways to collect and spend Avios. It is one of the world’s best frequent flyer programs for earning & redeeming points/miles.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about this exceptional rewards conglomerate.
| Frequent Flyer Programs | Aer Lingus AerClub British Airways Executive Club Iberia Plus Vueling Club |
| Credit Cards | Aer Lingus Visa Signature® Card British Airways Visa Signature® Card Iberia Visa Signature® Card |
| Redemption Options | Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and partner award flights, upgrades, hotel stays, leisure and more (varies by program) |
| Average Avios Value | $0.015 |
BRITISH AIRWAYS VISA SIGNATURE® CARD
The British Airways Visa Signature® Card has an offer for 100,000 bonus Avios. Earn 75,000 Avios after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Earn an additional 25,000 Avios points after spending $20,000 within the first 12 months. We value 100k Avios to be worth around $1,500.
You earn 3 Avios per $1 spent on purchases with British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and LEVEL within your first 18 months from account opening. It’s 2 Avios per $1 spent on hotel accommodations when you book directly with the hotel within your first 18 months. Plus 1 Avios per $1 spent on all other purchases. Read more about this card’s rewards program here.
When you spend $30,000 in a calendar year, you’ll earn a Travel Together Ticket good for two years.
There are no foreign transaction fees with this card and the annual fee is $95.
Collecting Avios
To start collecting Avios, you need to sign up for a frequent flyer program that uses the reward currency: Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus or Vueling Club.
Registration is free, so we recommend you sign up for all four programs. That is, if you decide earning Avios is worth your while.
By joining all Avios programs, you can freely transfer Avios between them. Plus, you’ll have access to more offers and availability for flights, giving you numerous opportunities to earn and burn your Avios.
Collect Avios when you book flights on Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling or with any of their airline partners. Simply enter your frequent flyer member number when you make the reservation.
[Check the websites of each program for updated partner airlines]
Aer Lingus partners:
British Airways partners:
Iberia partners:
- Air Italy
- American Airlines
- Avianca
- British Airways
- Bulgaria Air
- Cathay Pacific
- COPA Airlines
- Czech Airlines
- El AL
- Evelop
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Interjet
- Japan Airlines
- LATAM Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian
- S7 Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
- Ukranie International
- Vueling
Currently, Vueling partners include British Airways and Iberia.
Credit card spending is one of the easiest and quickest ways to rack up on Avios. Three Avios programs have a co-branded rewards card issued by Chase: Aer Lingus Visa Signature® card, British Airways Visa Signature® Card and Iberia Visa Signature® Card.
All three credit cards have similar features:
| Welcome Bonus | Get 50k Avios when you spend $3k in 3 months. Get another 50k Avios when you spend $20k in 1 year. |
| Total Bonus Value | $1,500 |
| Ongoing Rewards | 3x Avios on Avios purchases* 2x Avios on hotel stays 1x Avios on everything else |
| Priority Boarding | Aer Lingus cardholders only |
| 10% Flight Discount** | Iberia cardholders only |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None |
| Annual Fee | $95 |
* Includes Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia purchases.
**When you book your flight on iberia.com/Chase10.
You’ll also get rewarded for spending at least $30,000 on your card within a calendar year. The spend bonus varies, depending on which Avios credit card you have:
- Aer Lingus. 1 economy company ticket valid for 12 months
- British Airways. 1 Travel Together ticket valid for 2 years.
- Iberia. $1,000 discount voucher toward 2 tickets on the same flight.
You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards to your Avios account.
You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Avios at a rate of 60,000 points to 25,000 Avios.
We recommend the following credit cards from Avios transfer partners:
Each Avios program has their own partners and ways of collecting Avios. For more details, visit the carrier’s rewards program site (linked below):
You can also purchase Avios from three of the four Avios programs. Each one has different purchasing rates. Each program also offers limited-time bonuses on Avios purchases. You’ll want to check to see if there are any offers before buying additional Avios.
Spending Avios
Award flights for all Avios programs are distance based. That means longer flights will require more Avios.
Keep in mind, your Avios stay with you as long as you earn, burn, purchase or share
as little as one Avios every 36 months.
Because Aer Lingus and Vueling have fewer partner airlines, we’ll only focus on British Airways and Iberia award flights. In general,
- British Airways is best for short direct flights
- Iberia is best for Oneworld partner roundtrip flights with connections
British Airways and Iberia award charts are almost identical:
*This British Airways Avios reward flight chart is based on the last published information and is for illustrative purposes only. British Airways no longer publishes an award chart publically. To calculate the actual cost of your reward flight, log into British Airways and use their search and book tool.
*This information is for illustrative purposes only. To get the current cost for your Iberia flight, use their flight calculator and book with Avios points.
As you can see in the above charts, it’s a tad bit cheaper to fly British Airways economy during off-peak times. But if you want to fly business class, Iberia costs much less for long-haul flights.
Besides British Airways and Iberia award flights, you can also use your Avios towards flights with partner carriers. Refer below for a quick comparison of the airlines’ partner award charts. For more up-to-date information, please contact the airlines.
Iberia has a different award chart for each of its partners. Below is Iberia’s chart for American Airlines. In general, flights operated by other partners – like Cathay Pacific – have similar Avios pricing.
American Airlines award flights booked via Iberia Plus must be for roundtrip travel. So the pricing you see in the above chart are for roundtrip award tickets. To get the most up-to-date cost for your flight, use the Iberia flight calculator.
You can use also use your Avios for:
- Upgrades
- Hotel stays
- Leisure
British Airways other redemptions:
- Upgrades
- Inflight food
- Hotel stays
- Car rentals
- Experiences
- Wine
- Avios eStore
- Upgrades
- Hotel stays
- Car rentals
- Merchandise
- Leisure
- Services
Vueling Avios can be redeemed for hotel stays, car rentals and experiences at Avios.com.
Avios Tips & Tricks
Based on the information we have at the time of publishing, these are potential sweet spots for using your Avios points on partner airlines via Iberia or British Airways.
| Carrier | Flight Details | Class | Avios |
| American Airlines (via Iberia) | Short roundtrip flights | Economy | 11,000 |
| American Airlines (via Iberia) | Domestic roundtrip (includes Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean) | First | Less than 34,000 |
| American Airlines (via Iberia) | Roundtrip to Western Europe or Northern South America | Business | Less than 100,000 |
| American Airlines or Alaska Airlines (via British Airways) | One-way from the West Coast to Hawaii | Economy | 13,000 |
| Japan Airlines (via British Airways) | One-way within Japan | Economy | 6,000 |
Taxes & fees. Iberia Plus does not charge as much in airport taxes and fuel surcharges as British Airways Executive Club. We recommend moving your Avios to Iberia and booking your award tickets from there.
| Sample Flight | Avios + Taxes & Fees |
| JFK – MAD in Economy | British Airways = 17,000 + $128 Iberia = 17,000 + $70 |
| JFK – MAD in Business | British Airways = 34,000 + $456 Iberia = 34,000 + $80 |
Off peak dates. Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling do not share the same peak and off-peak dates. You’ll want to refer back to these dates for each program when you book award flights.
To receive Avios to your Iberia Plus account, it must be 90 days old and must have accrued at least one Avios. The simplest way to fulfill this rule is to credit your next Oneworld or partner flight, hotel stay or car rental to your Iberia account.
Bottom Line
Don’t disregard Avios because you never fly internationally. With four programs to play with and plenty of partners, Avios is a valuable rewards currency that’s easy to collect, easy to spend and holds decent value.
READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE.
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