Four Avios-earning hotel partners you can credit to Iberia but not British Airways Executive Club

It is now over seven years since Avios was launched and the British Airways and Iberia loyalty schemes given the same ‘currency’.  Whilst efforts have been made to unify the different partners who work with each programme, it has been a slow process.  It was only fairly recently that Iberia started working exclusively with Avis as its car hire partner, for example.

There are four hotel groups who work with Iberia Plus but not with British Airways Executive Club.  This means that you might not be aware that you can actually earn Avios when staying with these four hotel chains.

To earn Avios at these Iberia partner hotels, you need to open an Iberia Plus Avios account at iberia.com and give that number to the hotel.  British Airways Executive Club numbers are not accepted.  This would be INSTEAD of earning hotel points with these companies.

Once the Avios arrive in your Iberia Plus account, you can transfer them to BA using the ‘Combine My Avios’ feature online.  Note that Iberia accounts must be 90 days old before you can use ‘Combine My Avios’.

Full details of all Iberia hotel partners can be found here.

WorldHotels

You may not have heard of WorldHotels, which is an independent marketing group for 320 upscale hotels, spread across 45 countries. These are hotels which do not want to formally join a branded chain but still want to be able to offer their guests loyalty benefits and to benefit from global marketing campaigns.

You can find our more about WorldHotels here and more about their Iberia Avios partnership here.

The standard earning rate is 1000 Avios per stay.

Until 31st March 2019, you can earn double or triple Avios – 2000 or 3000 Avios per stay – on bookings of 2+ nights.  These need to be made under the ‘Double Reward’ or ‘Triple Reward’ rate package.

NH Hotels

NH Hotels is one of those niche European hotel chains that is rarely seen in the UK (although there is one in London) but crops up quite frequently on the continent.

As well as the main NH Hotels brand, the group also includes the nhow chain.

The standard earning rate with NH Hotels and nhow is shown here at iberia.com.  You earn between 200 and 450 Avios per night depending on the quality of the hotel.  You can also redeem Avios for NH Hotels properties – see the iberia.com page for details.  The rates are not cheap, however.

Melia Hotels and Resorts

Melia brands include Gran Melia, Melia, ME, Paradius, INNSiDE, Tryp and Sol.  As well as being the biggest hotel group in Spain, the company has a decent presence elsewhere with 350 hotels in 40 countries.  In the UK you have:

ME London, the Norman Foster designed hotel on the Strand which has a good reputation.  Think of a hotel like The Trafalgar nearby or a more sophisticated W.

Melia White House, a surprisingly pleasant art deco era hotel near Regents Park where we had our 2016 and 2017 HFP Christmas parties

INNSiDE Manchester, the first UK outpost for Melia’s four-star business brand.  I reviewed INNSiDE Manchester and was impressed. 

It has also recently taken over management of a hotel in Kensington which is about to be refurbished.  We’ve also reviewed the INNSiDE New York NoMad here, the Gran Fenix in Madrid here and the impressive Gran Melia Palacio de los Duques in Madrid here.  Reader Nick reviewed the historic Rome property here when he won a Melia-sponsored competition on HfP a couple of years ago.

If you have an American Express Platinum charge card, you will receive free Gold status in MeliaRewards.  

You will earn a flat 3 Avios per €1 spent.  This includes all spending, including food and drink.  Full details are on this page of the Iberia website.

As well as Iberia Plus, you can also credit Melia stays to Vueling Club which means, in effect, you can also credit to a Flybe or Aer Lingus Avios account – basically any account number starting in 3081.  You earn the same three Avios per €1 spent.

(EDIT: comments below suggest that Melia can now deposit Avios directly into BA accounts too. This makes sense, as existing points can now be transferred to the Executive Club.  Melia is not listed as a BA hotel partner on ba.com however.)

Iberostar

Iberostar offers resorts and urban hotels around the Mediteranean, in destinations such as Andalusia, Majorca and the Canary Islands, as well as Tunisia, Greece, Montenegro, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Cuba and Jamaica.

Full details are on the Iberia website here – you will earn ‘up to’ 150 Avios per night at Iberostar hotels.

If you want to learn about the My Iberostar loyalty programme, you can read our review here.

Conclusion

As well as the ‘official’ British Airways Avios-earning hotel partners listed here, there are other options open to you with WorldHotels, NH Hotels, Melia and Iberostar.  Your options for earning Avios on every hotel stay are broader than you think.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.