Iberia’s A350 test flights from London Heathrow are now bookable
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A few weeks we wrote about the new A350-900 long-haul aircraft, with an improved business class seat, that are coming into service with Iberia this year.
To get the crew familiar with the aircraft before they start long-haul operation, the new aircraft are going to be tested on the Heathrow to Madrid route.
From 20th July to 3rd August and from 17th August to 31st August, an A350 is due to fly IB3166 and IB3167:
IB3167 (BA522 as a codeshare) leaves Heathrow at 18.50, landing in Madrid at 22.15
IB3166 (BA7058 as a codeshare) leaves Madrid at 15.55, landing in Heathrow at 17.20
Oddly, only the Madrid outbound flight has been updated to an A350-900 so far. The return flight from London still shows a long-haul A340 but that must change because it is the same plane. On ba.com, both flights still show as an A340.
You clearly need an element of faith if you are going to book one of these! I would be very wary of booking one for non-refundable cash rather than refundable Avios.
I have booked myself on one to give it a go. Remember that, whilst you will get a flat bed business class seat, you only pay the standard Avios cost of 30,000 Avios return.
Here is a handy tip which I have covered before – Iberia has better Avios availability for its own flights on iberia.com than can be booked via ba.com. If there are no Avios seats in business class on IB3166 or IB3167 showing on ba.com, use Combine My Avios to send your points over to an Iberia Plus account and book from there.
Remember that you can only use Combine My Avios with Iberia Plus if your Iberia account is 90 days old and has earned at least one Avios.
PS. If you book your return flight on Iberia Plus with Avios you will be offered an interesting ‘part cash, part Avios’ deal. I was offered the chance to pay 15,000 Avios or 3,000 Avios + £105. This means I was basically ‘buying’ 12,000 Avios for £105, which is just 0.875p each.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)
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
Get 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
30,000 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
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
50,000 points when you sign-up 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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