Buy Up To 300,000 Avios At Just 1.35 Cents Each

airplanes on a runway

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Iberia is the latest IAG airline to launch an Avios sale and it’s offering travelers a bonus of up to 50% on Avios purchases made by 30 June 2020. If you’re careful which Iberia website you purchase Avios from, this sale can offer an excellent opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of what may otherwise be a very expensive trip.

Headline Information

  • Buy 2,000+ Avios and get a 50% bonus
  • Promotion valid through 30 June 2020
  • Iberia Plus members can buy a maximum of 200,000 Avios in any one calendar year
  • Bonus Avios do not count towards the annual limit.
  • Only Euros and US Dollars are accepted as payment currency.

Full terms and conditions are on the sale page (link)

Important To Know

Iberia sells Avios in Euros and US Dollars and the currency quoted will depend on which of Iberia’s websites customers use. Buying Avios priced in Euros is considerably cheaper than buying Avios in Dollars so as Iberia doesn’t require a customer to have a Spanish or European based account to buy Avios from its Spanish website, all customers should aim to use Iberia’s Spanish website (which can be viewed in English) to buy Avios.

Additionally, don’t forget that Avios can be transferred from Iberia Plus Avios accounts to British Airways Executive Club Avios accounts with relative ease (as long as the Iberia Plus account is at least 90 days old) so this sale can be used to top up a BA account if your Iberia account is looking sparse.

The Math

Iberia Plus will allow members to buy up to 200,000 Avios in this sale for a net total of up to 300,000 Avios once the bonus Avios are factored in but you don’t need to buy that many Avios to get the best deal – the cost per Avios is the same whether you buy 100,000 or 200,000 Avios.

Buying 200,000 Avios will cost €3,601 which will net the purchaser 300,000 Avios:

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This makes the cost per Avios approximately 1.20 Euro Cents or ~1.35 US Cents

Buying 100,000 Avios will cost €1,800 which will net the purchaser 150,000 Avios…

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…and this too would see the cost of Avios come in at ~1.35 US Cents each.

There’s also good news for anyone who doesn’t actually need a lot of Avios to book the award they have their eye on as the price/Avios doesn’t increase too dramatically when you buy smaller amounts.

The purchase of just 20,000 Avios (for example) costs €385 and will net the purchaser 30,000 Avios:a screenshot of a graph

30,000 Avios at a cost of €385 is approximately 1.28 Euro Cents per Avios which converts to approximately 1.43 US Cents per Avios.

Just to give you an indication of the price difference between Euro and Dollar purchases, here’s how much 200,000 Avios (net 300,000 Avios) costs on Iberia’s US website:

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That’s a cost per Avios of ~1.84 cents which makes the best cost in dollars a staggering 36% more expensive than the best cost in Euros.

Thoughts On This Sale

I don’t value Avios as high as the rate at which they’re currently being sold (I value them at 1.0 cents each) but there will still be times when Avios bought at 1.35 cents each will be excellent value.

The warning I offer with all miles and points sales applies here (as usual) but if you have a short-haul fare that you need to book in the near term, this is a sale you should probably investigate further….and this is why:

On some of the more expensive domestic US routes (e.g. NYC – Washington D.C.) and on short-haul routes in Europe, Asia, and Australia (e.g. Sydney – Melbourne) the cash fares can be incredibly high while the number of Avios needed for the trip remains comparatively low and it’s on routes like these where using Avios can be a big money saver.

In the case of a flight between New York and Washington D.C. (for example), an Economy Class fare would cost just 7,500 Avios + taxes…

a screenshot of a website

…and with Avios purchased at just 1.35 cents each that comes out to a total cost of approximately $107. That’s considerably cheaper than a lot of one-way fares you’ll see quoted for this route.

A Business Class fare between Sydney and Melbourne on Qantas will often cost at least AU$700/US$480 while an award booking will cost just 12,500 Avios + taxes and fees.

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Buying Avios at 1.35 cents each and then booking this award would see a traveler paying $194 for a trip that would otherwise have cost $480. That’s an incredible saving!

Don’t Forget

Iberia uses Points.com to process its Avios sales so there’s no scope to earn extra points/miles from credit cards that offer a bonus on airfare or travel spending.

a credit card with a chip and a chip

If you plan to buy Avios in this sale you should use a credit card that earns you a currency you value highly (I would use my Blue Business Plus card from American Express to earn 2 points/dollar), a credit card on which you’re looking to meet the spending criteria required for a welcome bonus or a good cash back credit card like the Citi Double Cash card (which offers 2% back or 2 ThankYou Points/dollar if you also hold a premium ThankYou credit card).

Bottom Line

There are specific instances where buying Avios at 1.35 cents each will represent a very good deal but no one should be buying Avios without a plan.

If you’re looking to book a trip on which the cash fare is looking high then check to see if awards are available and work out if buying Avios at 1.35 cents each will save you money.

If you don’t have any trips planned then don’t let this deal suck you in – move on and only buy Avios when you have a definite plan for using them.