Just wanted to give a quick update on activating an Iberia account. I've signed up in January 2015 but never really found the time to initiate the account until last week when I found an award flight I needed. Hailo didn't work for me and all the other free signup bonuses didn't seem too reliable and quick enough.

So last week I bought a ferry ticket through directferries.co.uk (make sure it's the UK website) for the shortest and cheapest ferry I could find, Schinoussa - Iraklia in Greece for about $8.63. You might be able to find a cheaper one but I didn't have the patience to keep looking. I bought the ticket Thursday night with travel for Saturday morning and the miles posted today, Sunday afternoon. It's not free, what most probably are looking for but $8 for a 2 day account activation seems pretty good to me.