Iberia Plus Also Moves to Spend-Based Elite Points in April 2025

After the British Airways Executive Club announced its switch to spend-based Tier Points in December, one question remained unanswered: What would happen to Iberia Plus? The program had many similarities to the Executive Club, including its system for earning status points.

Now we have the answer, and it’s not particularly positive. Iberia Plus is also switching to a spend-based system, just like BA, starting from April 1, 2025. There are some differences in details—at Iberia, the changes will also apply to already booked flights, but the thresholds are slightly lower than BA’s.

However, the overall conclusion remains the same: The program loses almost all its appeal overnight, and frequent flyers are likely to switch en masse to competitors.

Based on the New British Airways Club

Iberia is following British Airways’ lead with these changes. However, in Iberia Plus, members will earn 1 status point per euro spent, while British Airways offers only 1 Tier Point per GBP. The qualification thresholds, however, are taken directly from BA. In other words, achieving status with Iberia Plus is about 16% easier than with British Airways.

The spend-based calculation applies to flights with Iberia, British Airways, and American Airlines. Under this system, e.g. €7,500 in spending on Iberia flights will be required to reach Oneworld Sapphire.

• Iberia Plus Plata (Oneworld Ruby): 3,500 Elite Points
• Iberia Plus Oro (Oneworld Sapphire): 7,500 Elite Points
• Iberia Plus Platino (Oneworld Emerald): 20,000 Elite Points

Things look a bit better with Oneworld partners. Here, distance and travel class (+ticket type) remain the determining factors. Elite Points are awarded according to the following table:

This means that business-class flights with Finnair, Qatar Airways, and others remain somewhat attractive. Two examples:

• Qatar Airways Business Class BER – DOH – BKK and back: 3,700 Elite Points = 49% of Oneworld Sapphire
• Finnair Business Class MUC – HEL – JFK and back: 3,200 Elite Points = 43% of Oneworld Sapphire

Bonus points for flights with Iberia, BA, and American

There will also be bonuses based on flight segments. Again, British Airways serves as a model, having introduced permanent bonuses after receiving criticism. At Iberia, these bonuses will depend not only on the travel class but also on the fare type. For Iberia flights:

For British Airways and American Airlines, the structure appears similar:

Important Restriction: No Bonus Points for Basic Economy

Notably, there will be no bonus points for flights in Basic Economy. This is particularly relevant because status customers are often inclined to book Basic Economy, as they already receive baggage and seat selection benefits (at least with Iberia and American Airlines).

Bonus Rewards: New Thresholds

The Bonus Rewards (milestone rewards for reaching certain point thresholds) were slightly modified:

New thresholds for Bonus Rewards

• 1,250 Elite Points: €20 voucher for extras on Iberia.com
• 2,500 Elite Points: 1,500 extra Avios
• 5,500 Elite Points: 2,500 extra Avios
• 11,000 Elite Points: 4,000 extra Avios
• 15,000 Elite Points: 5,000 extra Avios
• 18,000 Elite Points: New! Double Elite Points on your next flights
  (capped at 1,000 bonus points, making it fairly insignificant)
• 25,000 Elite Points: 10,000 extra Avios
• 40,000 Elite Points: 1 Iberia Plus Oro card to gift to someone

Lifetime Elite Points Also Become Spend-Based

Lifetime Elite Points will also be awarded based on spend in the future. Existing Lifetime Points will be converted in a way that preserves progress. Currently, members who have 80% of the required points for Iberia Plus Infinita status will retain 80% of their progress under the new system—but the last 20% will be significantly harder to earn.

Earning Elite Points with Non-Airline Partners

In the new British Airways Club, Tier Points can also be earned through credit card spending (in some countries) and BA Holidays (flight + hotel packages). Iberia goes even further, seemingly taking inspiration from Oneworld partner American Airlines.

Elite Points can now also be earned with non-airline partners, including hotel bookings with IHG, Marriott, Choice, and others, car rentals with Avis, and purchases at Spanish airports. The conversion rate is 1 Elite Point per 10 Avios earned with these partners.

However, in Central Europe, the partner network is quite limited. Additionally, a maximum of 30% of required status points can be earned from non-airline partners. Even if someone maximizes this, the remaining 70% still won’t be easy to achieve.

Qualification via Segments Remains (and Becomes Slightly Easier)

British Airways initially planned to remove the segment-based qualification but later backtracked.

Iberia is keeping this qualification method and is even making it slightly easier:

• Iberia Plus Plata (Oneworld Ruby): 20 segments (previously 25)
• Iberia Plus Oro (Oneworld Sapphire): 40 segments (previously 50)
• Iberia Plus Platino (Oneworld Emerald): 90 segments (new threshold)

Only flights with IB or I2 flight numbers count, regardless of the operating airline.

New Status Level: Platino Prime

A new status tier, Platino Prime, will be introduced at 30,000 Elite Points per year. This status lasts for two years (+ the end of the qualification period) instead of just one year for Platino. Segment-based qualification is not available for this tier—it requires 30,000 Elite Points within 12 months.

Compared to the regular Platino status (both Oneworld Emerald), Platino Prime offers:

• 9 Avios per € spent (instead of 8)
• 4 upgrade vouchers per year (instead of 2)
• 40,000 Avios as a welcome gift (compared to 22,500 Avios for Platino)

Applies to Already Booked Tickets

With British Airways, existing bookings made before the change are converted fairly into the new system. For instance, a flight that would have previously counted as 50% toward Oneworld Sapphire will be adjusted accordingly.

Not so with Iberia: From April 1, 2025, every flight will be subject to the revenue-based calculation. It’s questionable how this aligns with consumer protection laws.

Conclusion

In some ways, the new Iberia Plus system appears more refined than British Airways’. However, that’s not saying much, and overall, the new Iberia Plus is not an attractive frequent flyer program.

Iberia claims that the program is becoming simpler. In reality, the opposite is true: The calculation of Elite Points has become significantly more complex, as it now involves a points bonus (0 to 600 Elite Points), fare class, and ticket price.

The only real improvement is in segment-based qualification, but for an easy path to Sapphire or Emerald, Royal Jordanian remains the more appealing choice.

Source: Iberia Plus (and the FAQ)

Cover Picture: Iberia A320neo in Hamburg | Ditmar Lange