Buy Avios Iberia Plus Points, up to 60k max / ~12.5 euro per 1k

[quokka77]

As per the title:

https://m.groupon.es/deals/ga-avios-iberia-2Buy Avios
Iberia Plus Points, up to 60k max / ~12.5 euro per 1k...

I noticed this on LoyaltyLobby. There is a Flyer Talk thread also. I have bought 10k points (enough for 2 short haul OW economy tickets). Coupons redeemed OK after a few minor teething issues, but still waiting for points to post. Offer ends ~29/12. Google translate is tu amigo.

 

[andye]

I bought 2000 avios at a cost of about $30.

Google translate was my friend and the activation/redemption portal on groupon.es caught me out for a while.

There's some value for short haul eg MEL-SYD is 4500 BA Avios + minimal taxes. Sure you could get very good value with otherwise expensive short-haul regional flights

Transferring to BA is best for short-haul. Keeping in IB can be better for IB long-haul (taxes lower). Note that your IB account needs to be open for 90 days before you can transfer the Avios to BA

 

[Mattg]

Indeed there is some very good value to be had by buying Avios and redeeming for QF short haul (especially J).

I would personally transfer to BA after purchasing, rather than keeping them in an IB account. Through the BA Executive Club program, QF flights of up to 650 miles cost just 4,500 Avios in Y or 9,000 Avios in J.

 

[hedge]

I had a look and the price for a syd-mel-syd is about $450 in J QF.

It's not really worth it to fly Syd-Per-Syd using Avios.

Are there any other sweet spots?

 

[Mattg]

I had a look and the price for a syd-mel-syd is about $450 in J QF.

It's not really worth it to fly Syd-Per-Syd using Avios.

Are there any other sweet spots?

Is that $450 for SYD-MEL return in J? If so, that's a fantastic deal considering it usually costs ~$1,500.

Short-haul is really where it's at with Avios. For longer redemptions such as SYD-PER it's better to use AA or AS miles as these are a fixed price for intra-Australia redemptions. AA is slightly cheaper (17.5K miles one-way in J) and usually has better bonuses, so that's probably your best option.

With BA, the sweet spot is really routes under 650 miles. This includes a few routes between 600 and 650 miles in length that Qantas charges a higher points price for. A couple of examples of these routes that come to mind are CBR-ADL and SYD-HBA.

 

[TKK]

PER-MEL QF J one way 20K + €10 which is effectively €243.81 if you buy through IberiaPluStore for the extra 5 avios per € (was 16 avios per € a few days ago - bringing it down to €217). €250 at today's rate is AUD378. That's about 80% off the $1,899 price advertised on QF website.

 

[hedge]

PER-MEL QF J one way 20K + €10 which is effectively €243.81 if you buy through IberiaPluStore for the extra 5 avios per € (was 16 avios per € a few days ago - bringing it down to €217). €250 at today's rate is AUD378. That's about 80% off the $1,899 price advertised on QF website.

Thanks. For the record, PER-SYD is 75k, so it seems PER-MEL is much better value!

 

[Mattg]

Thanks. For the record, PER-SYD is 75k, so it seems PER-MEL is much better value!

Just had another look at the award chart. Yes, PER-MEL is indeed a sweet spot at 20K one-way in J. But PER-SYD should only be 25K (50K return).

The reason PER-MEL is cheaper is that the flight is (just) under 2,000 miles in length. Based on this logic, CBR-PER, SYD-DRW and the direct MEL-BME should also price at this level as they are just under 2,000 miles as well.

 

[hedge]

Just had another look at the award chart. Yes, PER-MEL is indeed a sweet spot at 20K one-way in J. But PER-SYD should only be 25K (50K return).

The reason PER-MEL is cheaper is that the flight is (just) under 2,000 miles in length. Based on this logic, CBR-PER, SYD-DRW and the direct MEL-BME should also price at this level as they are just under 2,000 miles as well.

Strange, it comes up as 37.5k per leg. Either way, MEL is a good deal. Shame the IB Plus store isn't working for groupon atm. Any strategies for getting it working? I tried in Chrome and Firefox.

 

[Mattg]

Strange, it comes up as 37.5k per leg. Either way, MEL is a good deal. Shame the IB Plus store isn't working for groupon atm. Any strategies for getting it working? I tried in Chrome and Firefox.

I believe that the Groupon link has expired.

Oops, my mistake. SYD-PER is indeed 37.5k. It was 25k before the devaluation about a year ago. I was looking at an old chart. Prices for routes under 2,000 miles haven't changed though.

 

[hedge]

I believe that the Groupon link has expired.

Oops, my mistake. SYD-PER is indeed 37.5k. It was 25k before the devaluation about a year ago. I was looking at an old chart. Prices for routes under 2,000 miles haven't changed though.

Groupon say the deal is still active for about 3 more days. It seems it was extended.

 

[Mattg]

Groupon say the deal is still active for about 3 more days. It seems it was extended.

It would appear so. The 2,000 Avios option is sold out but the other ones remain.

Try using this link: https://www.groupon.es/deals/ga-avios-iberia-2

Click on "opciones" to choose the number of Avios you want to buy. You'll then be taken to the payment page.

 

[hummel]

Is it true that I need to have an IB account open for 90 days to purchase? Or is that just transferring between BA>IB

 

[Mattg]

Is it true that I need to have an IB account open for 90 days to purchase? Or is that just transferring between BA>IB

Good question... I'm honestly not sure of the answer to that. But I do notice this in the Iberia "Buy and Transfer Avios" T&Cs:

• Purchasers must have had an Iberia Plus card for more than 3 months or have an Avios balance higher than 0.

 

[kamchatsky]

For my BAEC account I always collect points from car rentals (Avis) as well as hotel stays where I don't normally collect points from the hotel programme itself. It works well due to the fact the short haul redemption is great.

I have used my BAEC account to redeem HKG-TPE/KHH which is normally quite expensive if paying in cash on CX/KA. It is only 4500/9000 BA miles on Y/J.

 

[hummel]

Good question... I'm honestly not sure of the answer to that. But I do notice this in the Iberia "Buy and Transfer Avios" T&Cs:

Interesting.. I might just give this promotion a miss in that case.

Unless someone else can confirm...

 

[quokka77]

My account is almost a year old, but has never earned any points. I haven't had anything post yet, but the T and C's state 15 days. No reports of anything posting on FT yet either, as of a few days ago.

 

[hedge]

My order just got refunded. Strange.

 

[quokka77]

First points are posting, for people who took up the offer early. Mine haven't credited yet, but I was a few days behind.

 

[andye]

Mine arrived two days ago. No prob with crediting from two groupon accounts