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A few weeks ago, the “deal of the year” popped up: up to 90,000 bonus Iberia Avios for booking Iberia flights across a four-day window. With Iberia confirming that passengers didn’t even have to take the flights to collect the miles, most points and miles collectors sought to find and book the cheapest available fares with no intention of flying these flights.
My wife Katie and I are a bit different. Since we were already going to be in the area for the unveiling of the new Airbus A220, we decided we would use these cheap flights to actually check out Spain. Unfortunately, we took too long to plan and the Iberia website crashed on the last day of booking. So, we ended up booking just six legs:
These cheap tickets don’t come with a baggage allowance, but as Oneworld elites, we could get a free checked bag by adding our AAdvantage number. However, Iberia’s website is preventing passengers from changing their frequent flyer number. Instead, our Iberia Plus numbers are hard-coded into the reservation:
Since we live on the road, our bags are too large to be carried on under every airline policy that we’ve checked. Also, we usually carry large liquids such as contact solution and sunscreen that are expensive or tough to find in some of the places we travel to. We were facing a cost of €40 (US$47) for each leg — which meant we were facing a higher cost for our bags to travel on some legs than it cost to travel ourselves:
So, we sought out — and found — a workaround. Oneworld partner Finnair’s website lets passengers modify the details of bookings ticketed with a variety of airlines that use the Amadeus global reservation system. To start, head to Finnair’s homepage, click “Manage Booking” and enter your last name and booking reference number:
Even though this is an Iberia booking, Finnair’s website shows all of the reservation’s details.
By clicking “Update your details,” you’re able to change any or all of the data. After editing, click “Confirm Changes” at the bottom to save. You’ll almost instantaneously get an email from Finnair confirming these changes.
An important note: Despite this email, on all bookings I edited this way, our AAdvantage numbers didn’t show up in the booking when I returned to the Iberia website. However, the hard-coded Iberia Plus number had been removed, and I was able to re-add my AAdvantage number directly into my Iberia bookings:
If you’re also flying Iberia promotion flights and want to swap in another frequent flyer number, this is a way of accomplishing it. Also, if you need to change the booking details on another Oneworld flight, you might want to try Finnair’s website if you’re having trouble doing so otherwise.
Source: thepointsguy.com