Route news: Iberia launches Edinburgh flights, Singapore Airlines tweaks Manchester

Route news in brief:

Iberia Express to launch Edinburgh to Madrid flights

Iberia Express has added flights from Edinburgh to Madrid for next Summer.

They are not exactly pushing the boat out. There will be a solitary two flights per week (Thursday and Sunday) between 18th June and 14th September.

You can, of course, redeem Avios for Iberia Express flights. An Economy return is 16,500 Avios + £54.75. Business Class is available for cash but I couldn’t see it for redemption – my pre-pandemic review of Iberia Express Business Class is here.

You can also choose to use fewer Avios in return for more cash, which is actually a better deal. 4,100 Avios + £124.75 is the sweet spot, although a cash ticket may be cheaper still if you’re not bothered about flexibility.

The Iberia Express website is here but as of yesterday the flight was not bookable there – it is available on iberia.com.

Singapore Airlines tweaks Manchester flights

Singapore Airlines has an interesting route which goes from Singapore to Manchester and then onwards to Houston.

Whilst many passengers fly the whole route, it is also possible to book either leg as a stand-alone flight, either for cash or for miles in any Star Alliance programme.

From the start of the Summer timetable in late March, two of the five weekly flights will terminate in Manchester and not continue to the US. This should open up extra capacity for good cash deal or redemptions to Singapore from the UK.

In other news, Singapore Airlines will drop the A380 from the Singapore – Frankfurt – New York JFK route, replacing it with a Boeing 777. This means that you will no longer have the chance to fly the iconic new First Class Suite to the US from Europe.

You can check prices and dates on the Singapore Airlines website here.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (March 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

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.

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

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review