Iberia launches flights to Cuba – a great new Avios redemption option
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BA’s sister airline, Iberia, has announced that it is re-launching flights to Havana in Cuba after a hiatus of a few years. This is an ideal opportunity to visit before the influx of American tourists begins, which will surely change the character of the island forever.
There will be five flights per week from Madrid starting from June 1st.
ba.com was having a problem finding availability yesterday. The flights are showing OK on iberia.com. You should book via Iberia anyway as the taxes will be SUBSTANTIALLY lower – Iberia does not add fuel surcharges to Iberia redemptions if you book via its own website, but ba.com does.
You can move Avios points from British Airways or avios.com to Iberia Plus via ‘Combine My Avios’, as long as your Iberia account is 90 days old and has earned at least 1 Avios point. This can done with an Amex Membership Rewards transfer, crediting a BA flight or even by buying a small number of Avios.
Economy tickets from Madrid to Havana cost 50,000 Avios points return plus £95.40
Business class tickets from Madrid to Havana cost 100,000 Avios points plus £110.40
You should book your connecting flight from the UK to Madrid separately to avoid paying long haul Air Passenger Duty.
As a Zone 6 flight, this trip will actually get CHEAPER for bookings after April 1st if you fly off-peak. Note that this is off-peak on the Iberia calendar and not the BA calendar, so weeks like UK half-term are off-peak! Economy flights will drop to 42,500 Avios return whilst Business Class will fall to 85,000 Avios return. Redemptions on peak dates will stay the same in Economy and increase to 125,000 Avios return in Business.
The route will be flown with an Airbus A330 with the new fully flat business seating.
Don’t forget that you can also get to Havana with Virgin Flying Club miles (a Tesco and Amex Membership Rewards partner) on a direct flight Virgin Atlantic flight from Gatwick – remember that Virgin is currently offering a 30% bonus on Tesco transfers. Virgin has a short guide to Havana on its website. You may be able to mix and match Iberia and Virgin availability to get your preferred dates.
PS. Iberia is also launching flights to Medellin and Cali in Colombia starting on July 3rd.
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:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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 10,500 Avios.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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