Travelers love those small but meaningful upgrades—the smooth Fast Track lane when you’re running late, the lounge where you finally exhale before a long-haul flight, or even the cashback that shaves a few euros off your next hotel. Iberia Cards clearly understands this mindset, and its latest announcement leans heavily into that emotional side of travel.

The company has just introduced a revamped lineup of three travel-focused credit cards—Visa Iberia Aire, Visa Iberia Icon+ and the invitation-only Visa Iberia Zenit—each designed to give different types of travelers a more tailored way to earn, spend and unlock perks. The collaboration with Visa España signals a broader shift: credit cards aren’t just financial tools anymore. They’re becoming lifestyle bridges between everyday purchases and memorable travel moments.

And Iberia Cards isn’t a small player testing the waters. With 200,000 customers and nearly 10% of Spain’s travel-sector credit card spending under its umbrella, the company is doubling down on personalization, loyalty and long-term engagement within Spain’s travel ecosystem.

The Three New Cards at a Glance

Visa Iberia Aire

Aire is clearly designed with younger travelers in mind—people who want travel benefits without a premium price tag. For €5 per month, cardholders get a generous entry-level package: Avios accumulation, discounts on flights and experiences, savings on fuel and car rentals, travel insurance and even eSIM benefits. Iberia Cards says that with “normal” usage, many customers could earn enough Avios for up to two round-trip tickets over two years.

It’s essentially a low-commitment gateway into the Iberia loyalty world, and for students, digital nomads or occasional travelers, the math works surprisingly well.

Visa Iberia Icon+

Icon+ steps things up significantly. For €24 per month, travelers get everything from Aire plus perks that start to feel like real travel upgrades: Iberia Club Plata status, more Avios on daily spending and Fast Track at selected airports.

But the standout benefit — and one that sets Icon+ apart in Spain’s credit card landscape — is access to Iberia’s VIP lounges. That perk alone often becomes the deciding factor for frequent travelers juggling tight schedules. According to Bea Larregle, SVP at Visa for Southern Europe, “the goal is to accompany each traveler in their unique way of experiencing a trip,” and Icon+ is clearly built with that idea in mind.

Visa Iberia Zenit

Zenit is the premium, invitation-only tier. If Aire is the gateway and Icon+ is the comfort zone, Zenit is full-on aspirational travel. For €79 per month, cardholders receive Iberia Club Oro status, boosted Avios earnings, premium travel insurance, and high-end concierge service.

It’s aimed at people who travel constantly—or families who treat travel as a core part of their lifestyle. Zenit is Iberia Cards’ statement that Spain has room for a truly premium travel financial product, not just a mid-tier loyalty card.

A Strategy Rooted in Loyalty, Technology and Everyday Spending

Behind the shiny new cards is an equally ambitious strategy. Iberia Cards has been expanding its role within the International Airlines Group (IAG), leveraging the Avios ecosystem, cross-brand promotions, and advanced payment technologies to strengthen customer loyalty far beyond the moment someone steps onto a plane.

“We want to be present in customers’ daily lives, even when they’re not flying,”

Iberia Cards president Víctor Moneo explained. And this is where the cards’ partner network becomes important: discounts and benefits across fuel, entertainment, insurance, travel services, and everyday purchases aren’t just add-ons. They’re engagement hooks.

As director general Francisco Javier Cobo Velasco put it, the model is reciprocal—partners gain consistent brand visibility every time a cardholder pays, while customers get practical benefits they actually use.

Looking ahead, Iberia Cards plans to expand its footprint in BNPL solutions and virtual cards for travel agencies through its partnership with Visa. Both moves fit neatly into global payment trends where seamless, secure, and low-friction digital transactions are increasingly the standard, especially in travel.

Real-world Perspective on Iberia Cards’ Move

Iberia’s new lineup doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Across Europe and globally, airlines are upgrading their co-branded card portfolios to compete with fintechs and lifestyle banks. Lufthansa Miles & More, British Airways Executive Club, and Air France–KLM’s Flying Blue all offer multi-tiered credit cards with growing lifestyle perks. The trend is clear: loyalty programs are becoming everyday ecosystems, not just “earn miles when you fly” systems.

What makes Iberia’s move stand out is the level of segmentation. Aire, Icon+ and Zenit feel distinct — not just versions of the same card with slightly better multipliers. This mirrors global loyalty leaders like American Express, which has long mastered the idea of tiered lifestyle cards that align with different emotional and practical needs.

Reliable industry data from sources like IAG financial reports, Visa Europe insights, and McKinsey’s travel & loyalty trend analyses point to the same conclusion: travelers want flexibility, deeper everyday value, and rewards that feel personal. Iberia Cards is clearly positioning itself to deliver exactly that.

If the company continues leaning into personalization, tech-driven rewards, and lifestyle partnerships, these cards could meaningfully reshape Spain’s travel payments market—and give travelers more of those little upgrades that make every journey feel smoother, smarter, and more rewarding.