Iberia Plus Avios redemption devaluation

Some on Flyertalk spotted an upcoming devaluation to the Iberia Plus program about one week ago, which officially came into effect in the last day or two.

You can view the new redemption and upgrade chart on Iberia’s website. Here’s the one for off-peak redemption, with comparison to the old chart.

Distance (miles)	Cabin	Original	New	Change
0–650	Basic	4,500	3,500	-1,000 (-22.2%)
	Comfort	6,750	7,000	+250 (+3.7%)
	Business	9,000	9,750	+750 (+8.3%)
651–1,150	Basic	7,500	6,500	-1,000 (-13.3%)
	Comfort	11,250	12,500	+1,250 (+11.1%)
	Business	15,000	16,500	+1,500 (+10.0%)
1,151–2,000	Basic	10,000	9,500	-500 (-5.0%)
	Comfort	15,000	16,000	+1,000 (+6.7%)
	Business	20,000	22,000	+2,000 (+10.0%)
2,001–3,000	Basic	11,000	10,500	-500 (-4.5%)
	Comfort	16,000	17,000	+1,000 (+6.3%)
	Business	21,250	23,000	+1,750 (+8.2%)
3,001–4,000	Basic	17,000	16,000	-1,000 (-5.9%)
	Comfort	22,000	25,000	+3,000 (+13.6%)
	Premium Economy	25,500	29,500	+4,000 (+15.7%)
	Business	34,000	40,500	+6,500 (+19.1%)
4,001–5,500	Basic	21,250	20,000	-1,250 (-5.9%)
	Comfort	27,750	31,250	+3,500 (+12.6%)
	Premium Economy	31,750	36,750	+5,000 (+15.7%)
	Business	42,500	50,500	+8,000 (+18.8%)
5,501–6,500	Basic	25,500	24,000	-1,500 (-5.9%)
	Comfort	33,250	37,250	+4,000 (+12.0%)
	Premium Economy	38,250	44,000	+5,750 (+15.0%)
	Business	51,000	60,500	+9,500 (+18.6%)
6,501–7,000	Basic	29,750	28,250	-1,500 (-5.0%)
	Comfort	38,750	42,750	+4,000 (+10.3%)
	Premium Economy	44,250	51,000	+6,750 (+15.3%)
	Business	59,500	70,500	+11,000 (+18.5%)
>7,000	Basic	42,500	41,000	-1,500 (-3.5%)
	Comfort	55,250	60,000	+4,750 (+8.6%)
	Premium Economy	63,750	71,000	+7,250 (+11.4%)
	Business	85,000	97,000	+12,000 (+14.1%)

The first change is the introduction of Economy Basic, which is non-refundable and has no baggage allowance. Workaround: if you book the same flight on ba.com instead, you’ll be charged the Basic fare (at least for now) but it remains refundable for a £35 admin fee. If I’m not mistaken Iberia Plus Silver and Oneworld Sapphire passengers are entitled to one checked bag even on hand-baggage-only fares.

While the headline cost in economy class has technically decreased, the former economy redemption now corresponds to the new Economy Comfort, which means we are seeing a price hike in all three cabins.

That said, and I never thought I’d say it one day as a consumer, I somehow think the “devaluation” was long overdue. Even after the change, their redemption chart for long-haul business class is still exceptionally generous:

• Madrid – New York: 40,500 Avios
• Madrid – Buenos Aires: 60,500 Avios

I can hardly think of any other airline offering comparable value. You can also use BA’s credit card voucher to save even more. And if that’s not enough, Iberia’s extensive South American network and the ease of earning Avios make the program even more compelling.

Most importantly, Iberia has retained its redemption chart. As we’ve seen with BA and others, eliminating the chart is often the first step toward a never-ending cycle of devaluations.