• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Iberia  >  Iberia Bungled My Avios Balance, Risk It or Leave It?
Iberia

Iberia Bungled My Avios Balance, Risk It or Leave It?

Kyle Stewart Posted onMarch 31, 2019September 14, 2021 15 Comments

As part of Iberia’s excellent Avios promotion, I earned 90,000 Avios for less than $400. However, despite following the promotion, I have a negative balance and a booked trip. I can’t decide if I should leave it negative or risk my booked trip by trying to make my account right?


If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.


If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.

Iberia’s Great Avios Promotion

Iberia, the Spanish national airline owned by IAG (parent company of Vueling, British Airways and Aer Lingus), utilizes Avios like their IAG partners within their own program rules and redemption chart.

Last fall they offered a promotion allowing participants to earn 9,000 bonus Avios for any flight booked (during a specific period) up to 90,000 Avios in total. The promotion failed to include a minimum purchase price, roundtrips or requiring the passenger to fly the purchased tickets.

After the word got out, the program validity period was truncated but h0nored as written with one new detail – an ominous threat that transferring points out would leave Iberia Avios accounts negative after their December expiration period.

My Reservations

While others found tremendous value in Business class tickets from Chicago to Madrid for around 64,000 Avios, I had trouble finding space on days that worked for me. Where I did find great value, was using the points to fly to Mexico from Miami utilizing some wide open American award space, and 500-mile upgrades to move to First.

I had made a total of six roundtrips, two separate family vacations for myself, my wife and my daughter. In all, the promotion saved me about $900 when compared to paid tickets after considering taxes, fees and the cost to acquire the points initially.

Our paradise found in Mérida.
Our paradise found in Mérida.

Problems at the Last Moment

I had forgotten to book the last set of tickets until the last possible day to spend them. Still worse, I recalled it just 10 minutes before it would have been midnight in Madrid on the expiration day to book it.

No sweat, I have booked maybe 100 British Airways Avios bookings in the past and have yet to find a day that the route doesn’t have at least three coach seats on American. I confirmed as much quickly on American’s website as the Iberia page loaded.

I found the space on Iberia’s website as well but then ran into some trouble with Iberia’s technology or lack therein – this isn’t the first time. Without boring readers to tears, I wasn’t able to book for more passengers than just myself unless they were added as companions to my account. The only problem, the website wouldn’t allow me to add companions.

Iberia second passenger issues
Iberia second passenger issues
Iberia beneficiary website issues
Iberia beneficiary website issues

Time was running out and I wasn’t about to let the points expire. I resisted the temptation to transfer them to my British Airways Avios account and instead called in.

I played by the rules 100%.

Booked, But Weeks Later Iberia Takes 78,000 Avios from My Account

Despite the website challenges and those of booking with a representative from Iberia over the phone, ultimately the tickets were issued, the correct number of Avios were deducted from my account we were set.

Iberia Mérida Avios redemption
Iberia Mérida Avios redemption

I immediately checked for the confirmation email and took a screenshot of the deduction from my account. I was left with zero Avios as I should have been. However, weeks later I was notified by Award Wallet (a must-have frequent flyer tool) that my Iberia Avios account was inexplicably -78,000 Avios.

I had transferred 12,000 points in to complete the reservations (two at 51,000) so it appears that they drew all of the 90,000 originally credited out of my account despite having the tickets issued and the first set already flown. This was later corrected to just -39,000 as the previous tickets were clearly already validated.

Revised to negative 39k
Revised to negative 39k

Will I Have An Issue At The Airport If I Do Nothing?

At most carriers, this is an obvious and simple mistake to fix. But at Iberia, I don’t trust them to get this right. Their website has been spotty, phone support has been poor – even argumentative at times, why would I trust them? What would stop an agent from deciding that the calculation was correct despite my evidence of a valid booking and cancel my trip on the spot?

If I leave it, however, I could have an issue at the airport on the day of my flight. In the past, we have encountered issues with tickets at the airport for any number of reasons. Whether credit card transactions didn’t clear before currency fluctuations short paid for the ticket, we failed to start the trip in the correct location, or Korean Air’s lounge vigilante – we would rather not have a problem on the day of travel.

That being said, the ticket still shows as valid on Iberia’s system, they haven’t refunded the taxes we paid on the three tickets ($250 in total) and we are flying a partner carrier (American) who won’t even pull up our Iberia accounts.

What would you do? Would you try to correct the record and avoid an incident at the airport? Do you think it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie?

Previous Article The Power of Points Is Freedom, Not Just Savings
Next Article Affordable Trans-Atlantic Fares Will Remain Despite WOW Air Failure

About Author

Kyle Stewart

Kyle is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers "Travel Personalized." He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter. Email: sherpa@thetripsherpa.com

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

Related Posts

  • hilton diamond status

    What You Need To Know About Hilton Honors Diamond Status

    January 16, 2023
  • do marriott points expire

    Do Marriott Points Expire? (Bonvoy)

    January 15, 2023
  • Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants Punched

    Cyber Monday: Spirit Airlines Double Points + 500 Free

    November 28, 2022

15 Comments

  1. Debit Reply
    March 31, 2019 at 11:16 am

    How is your spanish?

    • Kyle Stewart Reply
      March 31, 2019 at 12:03 pm

      About 5th grade level, 80% proficiency.

      • Patrick Reply
        March 31, 2019 at 1:39 pm

        FYI: 5th grade is about 40%proficiency, maps to A2 in European classifications.

  2. HoKo Reply
    March 31, 2019 at 11:29 am

    I am in the exact same situation. I’m going to leave it alone and hope things go smoothly at the airport. When is your flight?

    • Kyle Stewart Reply
      March 31, 2019 at 12:02 pm

      Soon. I’ll probably update after the trip or on Facebook.com/tripsherpa.

  3. JoeMart Reply
    March 31, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    I admire your restraint in not ending the argument with a frequent Almodovar films expression :” Ostia! Pero os habeis vuelto gilipollas tío?”

  4. Patrick Reply
    March 31, 2019 at 1:43 pm

    A few things:

    – Spain does not have a national carrier. This matters.

    – Iberia has wretched technology, just a hair better than BA.

    – The only thing worse than Iberia’s technology is their customer service. If you call from the US, you’ll waste hours talking with some call center in Miami or El Salvador. Not worth it.

    I’d just risk it. And refuse to ever speak Spanish, as you may get a better call center.

    YMMV

  5. Paolo Reply
    March 31, 2019 at 1:46 pm

    Trust Iberia? You’re kidding? This is the airline that tried to bump me from confirmed seat in J back to Y, at checkin for a MAD-JFK, on the basis that “ this ticket is only a points one”. SHAMBOLIC and creepy airline, never trust anything they say.

    • Matthew Reply
      March 31, 2019 at 5:26 pm

      What ended up happening?

      • Paolo Reply
        March 31, 2019 at 11:57 pm

        I pushed back, very firmly , and they gave in, but only after a level of unpleasantness that I don’t enjoy( and presumably by bumping someone else).
        They claimed that because my FF number wasn’t in the reservation, they couldn’t see that I was OWE, otherwise they wouldn’t have bumped me ( ie, anyone who isn’t Emerald is fair game to be downgraded on points tickets?)

        • Alex Reply
          April 1, 2019 at 9:11 am

          Surely, you can’t blame them for this logic: Status > paid ticket > award ticket.

          • Kyle Stewart
            April 1, 2019 at 9:37 am

            If I understood the comment correctly, the traveler had a business class ticket and attempted to downgrade the customer to coach because the seat was paid with miles and not cash. If that’s correct (it’s happened to me before) that’s definitely not ok.

            In regards to your heirarchy, is counter that any business should put it in the order of Paid>Award>Status, at least as a shareholder that’s what I would expect.

  6. Bah Reply
    April 1, 2019 at 8:18 am

    How did you manage to use 500 mile upgrades on these? I can’t get my AA number added onto my IB award bookings.

    • Alex Reply
      April 2, 2019 at 10:33 am

      Sure it is not acceptable, but occasionally J is overbooked and someone has to be downgraded.

      My point is: If this would have happend on any other airline it would have gone down the same way.

      If you value status+miles higher than paid+no status is a matter of how much you value repeat business of your customers. I would think most companies will prioritize status customers, but you can certainly make an argument the other way as well.

    • Patrick Reply
      April 3, 2019 at 6:32 pm

      You are incorrect. That hierarchy is SOP at AA. I’ve been downgraded from first because my ticket cost less than another passenger’s.

      Mileage tickets are the first to go when overbooking occurs.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • United Airlines Cuts Los Angeles – Tokyo Narita Route Ahead Of Haneda Launch February 6, 2023
  • Navigating The Touts Of Petra, Jordan February 6, 2023
  • What Annoys Flight Attendants Most… February 6, 2023
  • Mövenpick Resort Petra Review
    Review: Mövenpick Resort Petra, Jordan February 6, 2023

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Spirit Airlines Captain Runs Out Of Cockpit After Woman Yells “I Hope Y’All Crash And Die!” January 17, 2023
  • Hotel Worker entered room
    Woman Demands $3,000 In Compensation After Hotel Worker Walked Into Her Room At Midnight January 24, 2023
  • United Airlines 2023 Status Extension
    United Airlines Quietly Extends MileagePlus Premier Status…Again January 14, 2023
  • United Airlines Polaris Meal Service: The Sad State Of Affairs January 27, 2023

Archives

February 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728  
« Jan    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.