In a first for Spain, Iberia and Banco Santander have joined forces to launch an innovative partnership, a new personalised, zero-fee bank account called Santander One Iberia Plus, which is linked to the Iberia Plus loyalty programme.
Santander One Iberia Plus is the first financial product in Spain to award Avios (frequent flyer points that can be redeemed for flights and other travel-related products and services) for a variety of banking transactions, such as salary deposits, direct debits, credit card payments, and taking out insurance or other financial products offered by the bank. Iberia Plus members who open accounts during the launch period will also receive up to 15,000 Avios for having their salaries automatically deposited into them – this is enough Avios for a return flight from Madrid to the Canary Islands or almost any European destination. For taking out an insurance policy they will receive 5,000 Avios, which is enough to rent a car for five days, and for subscribing to a pension plan, they can receive as much as 500,000 Avios, which is enough to fly around the world.
“We are confident that this agreement with Banco Santander will contribute to the reactivation of our respective businesses. We are experiencing an exceptional situation in which we have made a huge effort to guarantee the safety of our customers, but as we return to normality we also need imaginative and innovative solutions, and Banco Santander is the perfect ally to help our customers recover their eagerness to fly,” commented Iberia’s Executive Chairman, Javier Sánchez-Prieto.
Three Levels but Many Benefits
Santander One Iberia Plus has three levels: Basic, Premium, and Elite.
• Basic: 1,000 bonus Avios and 5% discount on Iberia flights.
• Premium: 9,000 bonus Avios - enough for any domestic return in mainland Spain- plus 10% fare discount and 25% extra Avios awarded for flights with Iberia.
• Elite: 15,000 bonus Avios plus 10% discount on Iberia flights, as well as all the benefits enjoyed by Iberia Plus Plata (Silver) level members: extra luggage allowance, priority check-in and boarding, and 25% extra Avios for flights with Iberia.
All customers will automatically become members of the Iberia Plus loyalty programme.
To promote the new Santander One Iberia Plus accounts, customers who sign up to any level and have their salaries automatically deposited will receive 15,000 Avios, which is enough for a return flight from Madrid to the Canary Islands or nearly any European destination (the Avios can also be redeemed for other travel related products such as car hire, hotel stays or even days out
Loyalty
Both partners are aiming to stimulate demand with this initiative by offering attractive new benefits to customers. In Spain, more than eight million people fly with Iberia each year, and Banco Santander boasts approximately the same number of active customers in the country.
The alliance with Banco Santander reinforces Iberia’s strategy for customer loyalty as a path to increasing and stabilising revenues. It significantly enhances the Iberia Plus programme and gives members more options for collecting Avios which can be redeemed for flights or other travel-related goods and services supplied by the programme’s 90 partners.
The Avios currency is managed by IAG Loyalty. IAG Loyalty is the trading name of Avios Group (AGL) Limited, an operating company of International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). IAG Loyalty also manages the Avios loyalty currency for other airlines, including British Airways, Vueling and Aer Lingus.
