Will Premium Reward Seats be Sparse after iberia Avios "Giveaway"?
Jul 3, 2018, 4:25 pm
#1
Original Poster
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Will Premium Reward Seats be Sparse after iberia Avios "Giveaway"?
I have been reading that Iberia intend to honour their great Avios "giveaway" promotion from last weekend. Does that mean it will suddenly become a lot more difficult to find premium Avios rewards? I would expect most people will want to fly at least business with their 90,000 avios - I would.
As a side note it, in my view, this very generous Iberia promotion makes BA look so bad for cancelling the TLV "mistake" flights just weeks ago. I did not book one so I was not impacted. However, there the price difference with in tens of £'s in economy . Yet Iberia can giveaway hundreds of £'s of avios without even having to set foot on a plane.
As a side note it, in my view, this very generous Iberia promotion makes BA look so bad for cancelling the TLV "mistake" flights just weeks ago. I did not book one so I was not impacted. However, there the price difference with in tens of £'s in economy . Yet Iberia can giveaway hundreds of £'s of avios without even having to set foot on a plane.
Jul 3, 2018, 4:31 pm
#3
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I'd love to see the number on how many people took advantage.
Yes, it's unusual in that you have to spend it by December unlike all normal avios which are mostly horded. but given the range of opportunities to spend (Lucky was using a AA transcon as an example) and the fact that travel doesn't need to be completed by December, I don't think we will see a depletion of award space as a result of this.
Yes, it's unusual in that you have to spend it by December unlike all normal avios which are mostly horded. but given the range of opportunities to spend (Lucky was using a AA transcon as an example) and the fact that travel doesn't need to be completed by December, I don't think we will see a depletion of award space as a result of this.
Jul 3, 2018, 4:38 pm
#4
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I'd love to see the number on how many people took advantage.
Yes, it's unusual in that you have to spend it by December unlike all normal avios which are mostly horded. but given the range of opportunities to spend (Lucky was using a AA transcon as an example) and the fact that travel doesn't need to be completed by December, I don't think we will see a depletion of award space as a result of this.
Yes, it's unusual in that you have to spend it by December unlike all normal avios which are mostly horded. but given the range of opportunities to spend (Lucky was using a AA transcon as an example) and the fact that travel doesn't need to be completed by December, I don't think we will see a depletion of award space as a result of this.
To be honest I haven’t looked into it in detail but I think the cancellation conditions are different between Iberia and other OW carriers for the avios redemptions so that may affect which routes and carriers become harder.
Last edited by Woodbinerich; Jul 3, 2018 at 4:49 pm
Jul 3, 2018, 4:40 pm
#5
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Compared to things BA labels as a "mistake" and unilaterally cancels - this looks like a mistake to me. For example someone forgot to include a minimum ticket price of say euro 250 for the avios to be awarded.
Jul 3, 2018, 4:47 pm
#6
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We’re into the realms of speculation here, but agree. I think they decided quite early to suck it up and make the best of it. It might actually turn into a mild win win by the law of unintended consequences as they may end up retaining a significant minority of new customers who are able to be a little pragmatic about the customer service and IT.
Jul 3, 2018, 4:49 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2013
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It might be negligence or stupidity (or ingenuity unknown), but it ain't a mistake.
Jul 3, 2018, 4:49 pm
#8
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in answer ti your original question, no more impact than say the recent fuel charge settlement or the millions of avios given in various promotions all the time.
Jul 3, 2018, 4:57 pm
#9
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I think there are some parallels. At the end of the day both airlines probably put something out into the public domain for customers that didn’t have the right checks and balances. In both cases , customers then went and bought flights as a consequence of the incentives offered.
I do agree that the ‘mistake’ if any from Iberia was most likely along the lines you outlined.
I do agree that the ‘mistake’ if any from Iberia was most likely along the lines you outlined.
Jul 3, 2018, 5:30 pm
#10
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I'm suspicious of the timing next to the BA 2billion Avios payout for the US class action. If Iberia were to generate a ton of Avios right now, and earn a bunch of flight revenue doing it, when would they have to pay the bank of IAG for the Avios? Is it possibly the case that, if a devaluation was down the road, Iberia wouldn't be quite as out of pocket as it might seem they are right now?
And why December the 1st to redeem the points by? That strikes me as surprisingly arbitrary. Is it that, after that, the value of an Avios point will be different?
And why December the 1st to redeem the points by? That strikes me as surprisingly arbitrary. Is it that, after that, the value of an Avios point will be different?
Jul 3, 2018, 9:42 pm
#11
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Jul 4, 2018, 1:25 am
#12
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There were a few bizarre elements here, apart from the deal itself. One was IBs unwillingness to publish even the vaguest rules on their website. The other was the enthusiasm of the marketing team to hit the phones to people like me when we suggested people be wary to tell us all was well, and then to provide selected TandCs to me which were not made available to the public.
There are still plenty of people who will get nothing because they were not in a participating country. IB may claim that, as the offer did not show on the website of those countries, it isn't their problem.
if IB is paying Avios Group £60 per ticket booked, as is likely, I will be expecting Drew Crawley to send me a free Mercedes for my part in helping him trigger every bonus metric in his contract :-)
There are still plenty of people who will get nothing because they were not in a participating country. IB may claim that, as the offer did not show on the website of those countries, it isn't their problem.
if IB is paying Avios Group £60 per ticket booked, as is likely, I will be expecting Drew Crawley to send me a free Mercedes for my part in helping him trigger every bonus metric in his contract :-)
Jul 4, 2018, 2:09 am
#14
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Jul 4, 2018, 2:15 am
#15
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