Lets start with the basics. Welcome to FT!

Now Iberia's frequent flyer programme is STILL called Iberia Plus.

What has changed is that it now usses a common millage currency called Avios points.

There are 3 different separate schemes that use this new common currency, Iberia Plus, British Airways Excutive Club, and the scheme that used to be called Airmiles.co.uk.
[Rather confusingly the last one has been renamed to Avios.com, but it is a separate scheme, targeting the UK only.]

All three are still separate schemes, with their own rules and t&c, and different partners, etc. Someone with a UK address could have accounts with each of them, elsewhere in the world only BAEC and IB+.

Now, you can move Avios points (i.e. miles) between accounts in your own name in any of the schemes free of charge. This is done using 'Combine My Avios'.(CMA)

[Also note that you can't transfer status points, only Avios (miles), The schemes are separate for status (and the UK Avios.com scheme has no concept of status anyway).]

But there are some restrictions:
- IB+ accounts need to be 90 days old before you can use them with CMA, they also need to be 'active' accounts, i.e. you can't just open them, you need to credit some hotel points, amex transfer, etc.
- You can't transfer between IB+ and BAEC where the BAEC account is part of a HouseHold account (HHA). Although you could go: IB+ <> Avios.com <> BAEC (HHA) as a work aroung.


However we should first clarify what a BAEC Household account is, and what it is not!

With a normal BAEC account, the member can redeem (spend) their Avios (miles) on themselves, or any friends or family members, colleages, etc, there is NO restriction.

A household account (HHA) is a wrapper, that lets up to 7 people who live at the same address pool their Avios. Each person is still an indivdual member of BAEC, with their own personal total balance, however there is also the 'household balance' - which is just the total of each person added togher. Any member of the HHA can spend up to the total balance of the HHA. And any spending reduces the balance of the houshold account, with the debits from the constituent balances that make up the HHA total being taken prorated to their contribution to the overal ballance.

In return for being able to pool their miles, HHA members can ONLY redeem on members of the HHA account, not for anyone else - you surrender that.

Note that the Avios (miles) are never actually put into a single pot, they just can be used all together by any member of the HHA.

[Any BAEC member can transfer Avios to any other, however there is a fee for this, and it is NOT good value.]

With Iberia Plus, a member can nominate other people who they can spend their miles on, the member does not have to travel.

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As such, my question is do you NEED their miles transfered into a pot in your name, or could you just spend them from their IB+ accounts in their name, with you as the beneficiary? (Assuming you want to spend the Avios from an IB+ account, rather than a BAEC account).

[do you have a real UK address, there is a work around if you have a valid UK address, but it is messy.]