How to Transfer Avios Between British Airways, Iberia Accounts

Last month, Chase introduced a co-branded Iberia credit card, which sparked a series of questions from those travelers unfamiliar with the airline and how to use its points. Iberia is a Spanish carrier whose loyalty program is called Iberia Plus. The program uses Avios as its redeemable currency. You might have heard of Avios before—British Airways Executive Club uses the same currency. But did you know that Avios can be transferred between programs? Let’s take a look at when it’s possible to transfer British Avios to Iberia and vice versa.

Prepare Your Accounts for Transferability

You have to make sure both of your accounts meet certain criteria before you can freely move the points around.

First of all, the Iberia account must have been opened for at least 90 days before you can transfer Avios. So, if you haven’t registered for both programs, I recommend doing so today. You never know when you need to make a transfer, and the sooner your accounts turn 90 days old, the better.

Secondly, both accounts must have had some point-earning activity in them. You can earn points by flying oneworld partners, transferring some hotel points or converting flexible points from two programs: Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards. Both programs transfer 1-to-1, and sometimes you can take advantage of special conversion promos that result in more Avios.

Reasons to Transfer Avios Between Programs

1. You don’t have enough points in either program for a booking, but once you combine the miles, they’re enough for a redemption.
2. You want to keep your miles from expiring. British Airways and Iberia Avios don’t expire for 36 months, but if you haven’t had activity in one of the programs recently, move them to the one with more time left to use the miles.
3. Iberia lets you redeem mixed-class awards, and BA does not. So, if you need to book a multi-leg trip with the short leg in economy and the long leg in business, it’s possible with the Iberia Plus program, as long as there’s availability.
4. Iberia imposes less taxes on some awards, so it’s best to shop around. For instance, you can save a bunch on taxes by using the mixed-class trick on BA- and Iberia-operated flights.

How to Transfer Avios Between Accounts

If you have Avios in your British Airways account and need to move them over to Iberia, or vice versa, follow the steps. Please note that this isn’t the only way to make a point transfer, but this is the easiest.

Log in to your British Airways account and click on your name in the top right corner. You will see your member dashboard. Then on the left, click on “Manage My Account” and then on “Combine My Avios.”

There’s no limit to the number of miles you can move or to the frequency of transfers. Scroll to the bottom and click on “Combine My Avios.” Fill in your Iberia member number and PIN and continue. Once your accounts are connected, you can initiate a transfer. As you can see, I don’t have any miles in my BA account, but I can make a transfer in either direction by using this form.

Select which way you want to transfer Avios, and a blank box will appear asking you to enter the number of miles you want to transfer. You can put as few as 1 Avio, no problem. Then review your transfer and confirm on the next page.

In Conclusion

Being able to combine your miles between two different programs is rare, and you might as well take advantage of the possibility if you have Avios scattered around. You could accumulate enough for a trip or avoid overpaying for fuel surcharges. Whatever the reasons are, make sure to create both accounts and earn some miles in each before you need to make a transfer.

Have you combined your Iberia and British Airways Avios for a trip before? What was the reason you did it?