Chase has added two new transfer partners to their Ultimate Rewards program:
- Aer Lingus
- Iberia Plus
Both of these programs run on Avios and it was already possible to transfer to British Airways from Chase and then transfer again to Aer Lingus/Iberia Plus. The only issue was that your Aer Lingus/Iberia Plus accounts needed to have meet the following qualifications:
- Account open for at least 90 days
- Completed some points earning activity
This will make those transfers easier and will also making completing points earning activity easier making it easier to transfer to British Airways and then onto Aer Lingus/Iberia Plus with other programs. Feel free to discuss the sweet spots of both programs in the comments below.
Chase’s list of travel partners now looks like this:
| Chase Travel Partners (All Transfer 1:1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Airlines | ||
| British Airways Executive Club | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
| Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM | Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | Aer Lingus |
| United MileagePlus | Iberia Plus | Emirates |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | ||
| Hotels | ||
| Hyatt Gold Passport | Marriott Rewards | |
| IHG Rewards Club |
Hat tip to dennis77
Appreciate any tips on how to get activity on my Iberia plus account. Thanks!
ditto that request. I’ve seen references to promos on social media & other methods, but I’m having trouble finding a thread on FT
Good news indeed. Took me well over a year to figure out how to get that required qualifying activity in an Iberia account….. (without actually being on the ground in Europe) Without that activity, couldn’t make the transfer of BA avios to Iberia avios. (eventually, something changed and I was able to buy 1k of Iberia points — to have the qualifying activity and thus enable the transfers) This new policy will be infinitely better.
Now, to remember just why I wanted to have Iberia points in the first place. (Seem to recall Daraius at MMS made the case for why we’d want to have the Iberia version of Avios points, after BA neutered their once super cheap one way fares on American stateside….)
Anybody know of a recent guide on best used of Iberia Avios — and how to navigate their quirk filled web site?
I had a somewhat great redemption last month: I needed to go from LCG to TLS. In cash, I had the choice between an ~$150 itinerary with TAP that would have taken me the whole day, with a long wait in LIS, or a $700+ itinerary with Iberia that would have brought me in TLS for lunch. I wasn’t ready to shell out $700+ for an itinerary of less than 500 miles, but yet would have been happy to spend more time with my family in TLS. Turns out that on Iberia avios, the $700+ itinerary only cost 9k avios + $45.48. So, if you have intra-european flights to/from Spain, avios can definitely have a great value. The other thing I like is their avios+cash options where you pay only a portion of your flight in avios, which can be a very good way to get value from a relatively small leftover point balance.
Good to see that Avios are useful for intra-European flights. They are also useful in South America for LAN flights.
The problem is getting to South America using Avios. There’s almost never any reward flights and getting back is even harder, especially during the summer months.
I agree, the Avios are better for LAN flights within South America.
I still haven’t figured out how to book award flights through Aer Lingus AerClub as I get always redirected to the avios.com website. Is there a way to do it?