[Rocco]

Given the scale of any modern airline, it is almost comical that they often have IT departments that appear to be designed by children.

I have an existing award reservation on Iberia in Premium Economy for 30K Avios.

As the travel dates approach, Business Class seats have opened up for just 43K.

I chatted with two different humans online to see if I can upgrade the reservation.

The first said I could do it on the website, but that proved to be impossible.

No changes to award reservations are possible online.

I went back to another agent, and he said an upgrade with Avios was impossible.

I don’t mind paying the penalty to cancel my existing reservation and starting over from scratch.

However, they say it will take 7 days to redeposit my Avios.

I can’t gamble that the 2 available Business Class seats will be available a week from now, just two days before travel.

I manage frequent flier accounts for 25+ friends and family, and Iberia is one of the most primitive airlines out there.

With any of the USA airlines, the miles on a cancelled reservation are redeposited instantly.

What possible rationale could there be for taking a full week (or more based on other comments)?