Vueling Says Adiós to Avios, Here’s What You Need to Know

Mr Plane Guy
2 days ago
4 min read

Vueling Says Adiós to Avios, Here’s What You Need to Know

By Mr Plane Guy, Travel Blogger, Flight & Travel Expert

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click and buy, I might earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps cover my own excess baggage habits, thank you for the support.

This one slipped out quietly, but it’s a meaningful change if you collect Avios and occasionally fly Vueling.

Vueling, IAG’s Barcelona-based low-cost carrier and sister airline to British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, has confirmed changes to its Vueling Club loyalty programme.

The headline change? For many travellers, Avios won’t be earned at all at least not straight away.

Vueling says the programme is evolving “for the better”. Whether it feels that way will depend on how often (and how much) you fly.

Not sure about avios? Have a look at my Plane Guide to Avios: How Avios Actually Work

What’s Actually Changing?

Under the new Vueling Club rules (launching imminently):

You will not earn any Avios until you either:
- Take 3 Vueling flights, or
- Spend €200 (excluding taxes and fees) in a membership year
Once you hit that threshold, you unlock Smart tier
At that point, Vueling awards a one-off 500 Avios bonus, roughly compensating for the Avios you’d have earned earlier

Miss the threshold and you earn zero Avios. No backdating. No partial credit.

There is one small safety net: If you’ve taken any Vueling flight since January 2025, you’ll be grandfathered into Smart tier for 2026, meaning Avios earning continues, for now.

Status Is Now Spend-Based (Not Flight-Based)

Another big shift: status is now driven by spend, not how often you fly.

€1 spent (after taxes and fees) = 1 tier point

That translates into:

Smart: €200 spend or 3 flights (Avios earning begins)
Plus: €1,000 spend
Premium: €4,000 spend

Premium does come with tangible perks, seat selection, overhead baggage, priority boarding, fast track, but spending €4,000 excluding taxes on a low-cost airline is a stretch for most leisure travellers.

And if work is paying? You probably don’t care about those benefits anyway.

The Awkward Bit

What’s noticeably missing is any meaningful crossover with Iberia status.

Aer Lingus elites receive limited benefits when flying BA. You might reasonably expect Vueling Premium members to receive something comparable with Iberia, but currently, they don’t.

Inside IAG, that feels like a missed opportunity.

Why This Matters for UK Travellers

For most UK readers, Vueling is an occasional airline, Barcelona weekends, Spanish city breaks, summer hops.

Under this new structure, many of those trips will now earn no Avios at all unless you plan ahead and hit the threshold.

We’ve already seen US airlines reduce mileage earning on entry-level fares. So the obvious question is:

Could this logic eventually reach BA or Iberia hand-baggage-only tickets?

There’s no suggestion that’s happening, but the direction of travel is worth watching.

Flying Vueling Soon?

If you are flying Vueling, a couple of useful reads before you go:

Premium Backpacks for Vueling Flights

A structured travel backpack. Case Luggage’s range of premium backpacks (Samsonite, TUMI, Victorinox) are ideal for Vueling, organised, comfortable, and compliant with cabin bag rules.

→ Hands-free boarding, zero gate anxiety.

Lightweight backpack suitable for Vueling cabin baggage rules

👉 Cabin Max Metz 30L Backpack perfect for flying Vueling

Ideal as a personal item
Comfortable, flexible, and fits under the seat
Great for city breaks and short-haul flights

What size bag fits under the seat on TUI?

A bag that fits under the seat should measure no larger than 40 x 30 x 20 cm.

Plane Tip: Don’t forget the little comforts. I never board without my noise-cancelling earbuds and travel adapter with USB-C ports both from Amazon, both worth every penny on long-haul flights. You should also get a airplane bluetooth adaptor

Final Boarding Call

This change won’t matter to frequent Vueling flyers who hit the spend threshold, but for occasional travellers, Avios are no longer automatic. If you fly once or twice a year, you’ll now need to plan deliberately or accept that your trip may earn nothing at all.

The bigger takeaway isn’t just about Vueling. This looks like an IAG airline quietly testing a threshold-first loyalty model. If it works, don’t be surprised to see similar logic appear elsewhere.

Plane honest: Avios are becoming something you have to earn on purpose, not something you pick up by accident.

Over to you: Should airlines still award Avios on basic, hand-baggage-only fares or is this the future?

Plane honest answers only

Plane Extras

The PLANE Smart Way to Take Off

Here are my go-to travel extras that help keep this blog (and me) airborne.

🅿️ Airport Parking Compare prices and save up to 75% at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and more with Compare Parking Prices UK →

🍸 Lounge Access Why wait at the gate when you could sip a pre-flight prosecco?

Get 30% off a Priority Pass membership → and access 1800+ lounges worldwide.

🌍 Travel Insurance Don’t fly without cover. Coverwise (by AXA) offers annual European cover from £10.20, including medical consultations and pre-existing conditions.

🎒 Plane Essentials My must-pack travel gear, from cabin-size backpacks to neck pillows that actually work. Shop my curated Amazon Storefront →

📱Stay Connected Avoid roaming shock. Airlo eSIMs → give you instant data in 180+ destinations, no SIM swap required.

💳 Boost Your Avios Earn faster and fly farther with my Amex Gold referral →

or track reward seats via Reward Flight Finder →.