New Avios routes to Madrid from Edinburgh and Manchester with Iberia

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Iberia, BA’s sister airline, has announced a number of new UK routes.

The first to arrive will be a service from Edinburgh to Madrid. This will launch in late March with the start of the Summer timetable. It will initially operate four times a week but will increase to six flights per week over the Summer.

In September, Iberia is launching Manchester to Madrid. This will operate four times per week.

Iberia A350

Gatwick is also welcoming Iberia next year, in the form of its low(er) cost Iberia Express subsidiary. There will be two flights per day to Gatwick starting in March.

The existing Heathrow services will continue as before, with up to eight Iberia services to Madrid each day plus a further five BA flights.

Tickets for the Edinburgh services are available for purchase at iberia.com or iberiaexpress.com although I cannot see any Avios seats loaded yet.

One upside for readers near Edinburgh and Manchester will be the ability to book Iberia long-haul redemptions more easily. Iberia now has fully flat seats in business class and its taxes and charges on long-haul redemptions are usually £300 or so lower than BA.

Flying to the US via Madrid may take a couple of hours longer than flying via Heathrow but the cost saving will easily make up for it – as long as you book the UK to Madrid leg separately to avoid long-haul Air Passenger Duty.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (June 2022)

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.

Until 18th July 2022 there is an astonishing special offer on these cards. You get 50,000 Avios on the Avios Plus Mastercard and 10,000 Avios on the free Avios Mastercard. You can apply here. We strongly recommend getting the Avios Plus card whilst this offer is running.

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

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

50,000 Avios for signing up (A CRAZY SPECIAL OFFER!) and an upgrade voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

10,000 Avios for signing up (SPECIAL OFFER) and an upgrade voucher for spending £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable card perk – the 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on Amex Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 Membership Rewards points until 19th July 2022. This card is free for the first year.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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 10,000 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.