Good long-haul Avios bargains with Iberia and their new spend chart – save £380 tax AND Avios

I wrote yesterday about how, for three weeks or so until British Airways brings in its new Avios pricing, some British Airways redemptions will be cheaper if booked via Iberia Plus.

There are also some excellent deals to be had if you are willing to fly on Iberia from Madrid rather than British Airways from London for your long-haul redemptions.

Here is the Avios redemption table for Iberia when redeemed via Iberia Plus which came into effect from April 1st:

And here is the current British Airways Executive Club redemption chart, which applies to both BA and Iberia until April 28th:

Let’s take a look at New York as a typical Iberia long-haul route which is also served by British Airways.  New York is Zone 5.

This is what a return business class redemption costs today:

British Airways flight from London: 80,000 Avios + £515 (this pricing jumps after April 28th)

Iberia flight from Madrid: 68,000 Avios + £134 (€183) at off-peak; 100,000 Avios + £134 (€183) at peak

On an off-peak data, you can save 12,000 Avios and £381 in charges by getting yourself to Madrid (for cash or Avios) to connect.

Taking Los Angeles as another example, a business class Iberia reward will be 85,000 or 125,000 Avios depending on season.  Today, British Airways asks 100,000 Avios so you save 15,000 Avios on off-peak Iberia dates – and the taxes will be £381 less. Would you buy a ticket to Madrid in order to save £381 and 15,000 Avios per person?

Remember that – after April 28th – the differences in pricing will get even wider.  New York using BAEC will cost 120,000 Avios on a peak date and 100,000 off peak.

Iberia will be 100,000 or 68,000.  BA and Iberia also have DIFFERENT peak dates.  October and February half-terms in the UK are peak for BA but off-peak for Iberia, meaning you save (120,000 – 68,000) 52,000 Avios per person.

Remember that Iberia is starting flights from Manchester (in September) and Edinburgh (already launched) to Madrid this year which will give those in the regions an easy option for connecting.  Remember that your flight to Madrid from the UK must be on a separate ticket from your long-haul flight if you are to avoid long-haul business class Air Passenger Duty.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.