Iberia Visa Signature Credit Card Review: Full Details
Overview of the Iberia Visa Signature Card
The Iberia Visa Signature® Card is an attractive option if you’re interested in accumulating Avios points. You can redeem Avios for flights across the Oneworld alliance—and even transfer them to partners like British Airways or Aer Lingus. As a co-branded airline card, the benefits are pretty standard, but this card might make sense for Avios fans. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐
*Card Ranking Based on the opinions of TPG editors and not influenced by card issuers.
International airline credit card often have fewer benefits than their domestic counterparts. Unlike a co-brand airline card From, say, Delta, the Iberia Visa Signature card doesn’t come with priority boarding or free checked baggage. However, it’s the only co-branded service from Iberia available in the US—and it’s ideal if you’re trying to earn extra Iberia Airlines.
The Iberia Visa Signature Card There’s a $95 annual fee that’s not waived the first year, but the attractive sign-up bonus and some money-saving benefits make up for the cost.
Iberia — and sister airlines British Airways And Lingus Aviation — all earn their own version of Avios, which can be used to book flights around the world. Iberia is also part of the Oneworld Allianceopens the door to thousands of miles redemption possibilities with airlines on every continent. Avios are one of my favorite airline currencies to earn as they can be lucrative for short haul and business class flights to Spain.
Suggestion credit score For Iberia Visa it must be at least 670.
Let’s take a closer look at whether this card deserves a place in your wallet.
Pros and Cons of Iberia Visa
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Iberia Visa Sign Up Bonus
The Iberian Visa currently offering an impressive sign-up bonus of 85,000 Avios after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening an account.
TPG September 2024 valuation peg Avios at 1.4 cents a coin, making those 85,000 Avios worth $1,190.
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An important note: Iberia Visa Signature belongs to Chase’s 5/24 Rule. If you’ve opened more than five credit cards in the past 24 months (from all banks, not just Chase), your application will be automatically denied—even if you have a near-perfect credit score.
Benefits of Iberia Visa
In spite of Iberian Visa lack of common domestic co-branding airline card In addition to benefits like free checked baggage and priority boarding, the airline also offers a number of perks that can help you save significantly.
The downside to the $1,000 voucher is that you have to use it for two tickets, so if you’re traveling alone, you’ll have to find someone else to book tickets with.
Earn Avios on Iberia Visa
With Iberian VisaYou will earn Avios at the following rates:
- 3 Avios per dollar spent on purchases at Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Level
- 2 Avios for every dollar spent on hotel accommodation when purchased directly with the hotel
- 1 Avios per dollar spent on all other purchases
If most of your flights—once travel returns to normal—are on Iberia, British Airways, or Aer Lingus, you’ll earn the most rewards points using this card. You’ll get 3 Avios per dollar spent on purchases with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Level.
However, this isn’t a particularly impressive earning rate. You may decide to get a money-making card instead. Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards points because you can transfer them to Iberia Plus and other points transfer partners.
Redeem Avios on Iberia Visa
Like most frequent flyer programs, you’ll get the best value from Iberian Visa Avios if you use them for flights. However, you can also use Avios for flight upgrades, hotel stays, car rentals, and experiences.
Iberia has close partnerships with British Airways and Aer Lingus, two airlines that also use Avios as their currency. You can transfer your Avios between these airlines, which is a great perk if you like a particular program. Once your points are transferred to British Airways, you can transfer or combine them with Qatar Airways Avios to redeem even more rewards.
As a US-based traveler, one of the best aspects of redeeming with Iberia is the ability to use Avios for short-haul flights on Oneworld Partner Airlinesincluding American Airlines.
Iberia uses a separate distance-based award chart, different from British Airways and Aer Lingus. One of my favorite redemptions is in the sweet spot of the award chart: a one-way business class ticket between New York (JFK) or Chicago (ORD) and Madrid (MAD) for just 34,000 Avios off-peak.
On the downside, Iberia’s website is clunky and not very user-friendly. Additionally, for Iberia’s partners, each has its own distance-based reward chart (most of which are identical), some of which require round-trip bookings.
Related: The best ways to redeem Iberia Avios
Transfer Avios on Iberia Visa
Unlike other miles, you can transfer Iberia Avios to another airline as long as they remain within the same International Airline Group parent company. That includes transferring Avios to British Airways and Aer Lingus on a one-to-one basis if you choose.
This opens up a number of ways you can redeem your Avios across Oneworld partners. For example, you can get value by transferring your Iberia Avios to British Airways to redeem on American Airlines for great value on domestic flights.
TPG Managing Editor for Credit Cards Matt Moffitt likes to use 12,500 Avios to fly Qantas Business Class between Sydney and Melbourne to visit family when he visits Australia and likes that the ticket includes lounge access.
Related: Airlines you can book with Avios
What cards can compete with the Iberia Visa card?
While other co-branded airline cards may be more direct competitors, that’s not the case if you’re looking for Avios specifically. Iberia is a 1:1 transfer partner of both. American Express Membership Rewards And Chase Ultimate Rewards and is a 3:1 Marriott transfer partner, so earning Avios is pretty simple.
- If you prefer a more flexible currency and follow the 5/24 rule, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a solid card option with a $95 annual fee and Ultimate Rewards points. With this card, you’ll earn 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and 1x points everywhere else. For more information, read Full Review of Chase Sapphire Preferred.
- If you like a flexible currency and go beyond the 5/24 rule: The American Express® Gold Card is a worthy competitor to the Chase Sapphire Preferred, although the annual fee is higher at $325 (see prices and fees). This card earns Membership Rewards points: 4 points on dining at restaurants (up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) and at supermarkets in the U.S. (up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points on flights booked directly from the airline or amextravel.com, 2 points per dollar on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked through amextravel.com, and 1 point on all other purchases. For more information, read Full review of Amex Gold.
- If you prefer another airline earn Avios. The British Airways Visa Signature® Card is another airline card that earns Avios. It also earns 3 points per dollar on Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Level, but it has useful benefits like 10% off eligible flights when booked through a special link and reward statement credits. For more information, read Full review of British Airways Visa.
For more options, see best airline cards.
Related: How to transfer British Airways Avios to Iberia
Is the Iberia Visa worth it?
With low annual fees, Iberian Visa Worth it for anyone looking to earn valuable Avios. Other Avios-earning cards have the same annual fee but more benefits, such as British Airways Visa card. However, if you want more flexibility or a better rewards rate, you’ll want to choose a card that can earn transferable rewards.
The last line
The Iberia Visa Signature Card is a solid option if you want to start earning Avios or are already invested in the program. With a valuable sign-up bonus and reasonable perks, it’s worth adding to your wallet if you fly Iberia (or British Airways and Aer Lingus).
However, those who do not use Avios regularly will be better off using a loyalty card. American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards points and transfer them to Iberia Plus when needed.
Apply here: Iberia Visa Signature Card
Related: Best Avios Earning Credit Cards: Which Card Is Right for You?
For Amex Gold card rates and fees, click This.
