Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Where can you fly on Iberia with your BA Amex 2-4-1 companion voucher?

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One major Avios change that we’ve seen in the last 12 months was the opening up of Aer Lingus and Iberia Avios flights for American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher redemptions. Full details are here.

I am off to Bogota in two weeks to check out Iberia’s brand-new business class seat. Keep an eye on HfP in early February for that review.

As a prelude to those pieces, I want to show you where you can fly on Iberia using your British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher. It is a follow-up to our October article on where you can fly on Aer Lingus long haul.

Where does Iberia fly?

Where does Iberia fly long-haul?

I want to use this article to look at the Iberia route network. It is NOT an article discussing the costs, in Avios and taxes, of Iberia redemptions.

For Summer 2024, these are the routes that will be operated (E&OE – we had to put this list together ourselves):

From Madrid to the US and Mexico:

  • Madrid – Boston
  • Madrid – Chicago
  • Madrid – Dallas Fort Worth
  • Madrid – Los Angeles
  • Madrid – Miami
  • Madrid – Mexico City
  • Madrid – New York JFK
  • Madrid – San Francisco
  • Madrid – Washington DC

From Madrid to Central and South America and the Caribbean:

  • Madrid – Bogota
  • Madrid – Buenos Aires
  • Madrid – Caracas
  • Madrid – Guatemala City
  • Madrid – Guayaquil
  • Madrid – Havana
  • Madrid – Lima
  • Madrid – Montevideo
  • Madrid – Panama City
  • Madrid – Quito
  • Madrid – Rio de Janeiro
  • Madrid – San Jose (Costa Rica)
  • Madrid – San Juan (Puerto Rico)
  • Madrid – San Salvador
  • Madrid – Santiago de Chile
  • Madrid – Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
  • Madrid – Sao Paulo

From Madrid to Africa and the Middle East:

  • Madrid – Doha
  • Madrid – Cairo (A321 short haul aircraft)
  • Madrid – Dakar (check aircraft type – could be short-haul)
  • Madrid – Tel Aviv (check aircraft type – could be short-haul)

As you can see, Iberia has a very strong presence to the Americas. It opens up a lot of potential 2-4-1 voucher redemptions to cities such as Lima, Quito or Guayaquil which British Airways does not operate.

Japan is returning from winter 2024

Iberia has announced that flights to Tokyo will return for the Winter 2024 flying season, from late October.

You can find out more in this HfP article.

Where does Iberia fly?

How do you connect to Iberia flights from the UK?

Both British Airways and Iberia have a good range of connections to Madrid from across the UK. There are usually more than 10 daily flights from London alone.

If you are looking for Avios seats I would initially search for the long-haul flight on its own and then see what connections can be added later. You don’t want to risk not seeing long-haul availability simply because the most convenient short-haul connecting flight isn’t available.

You will make a substantial saving by booking your UK-Madrid flight on a separate ticket, as this avoids long haul Air Passenger Duty. The downside is that your baggage may not be checked through and Iberia is not obliged to help you if you miss your connection.

Iberia and Iberia Express UK route network to Madrid:

  • London Heathrow
  • London Gatwick
  • Manchester
  • Edinburgh

Some of these may be seasonal.

Don’t forget that, for cargo reasons, Iberia normally operates a long haul aircraft on at least one daily Heathrow flight. You can enjoy the pleasures of a ‘proper’ lie-flat business class seat on the two and a half hour flight to Madrid.

How to use your American Express companion voucher on Iberia flights

Booking an Iberia flight using an Amex companion voucher is exactly the same process as if you were booking a British Airways flight, as it needs to be done from your British Airways Executive Club account.

Make sure you are logged in at ba.com and then select ‘Book a flight with Avios’. You then need to tick the box to use your 2-4-1 companion voucher when entering your preferred destination and dates.

Remember that pricing will be driven by Iberia’s peak and off-peak calendar, even though you are booking on the British Airways website. This is NOT the same as the BA peak and off-peak Avios calendar which is here. It will also use Iberia’s pricing chart which normally matches BA but includes some bargains, such as 68,000 Avios return in Business Class from Madrid to New York off-peak.

Using a 2-4-1 voucher, two people can fly from Madrid to New York in Business Class, off peak, return, for just 68,000 Avios and (for two people) £430 in total. Yes, the taxes and charges are just £215 per person return. You can’t complain about that ….


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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 card

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

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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.

Comments (121)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • The Paw 🐾 says:

    Does the 50% discount for solo travelers apply to Iberia and Aer Lingus redemptions?

    • Rob says:

      I believe so. Oddly no-one ever raised that before.

      • Cat says:

        Yes, it does. I’ve had wonderful solo trips to Colombia and Costa Rica because of this!

        • The Original Nick. says:

          Aer Lingus fly to Costa Rica?

          • Cat says:

            The 50% discount for solo travellers definitely applies to Iberia, as I’ve used it twice on Iberia flights (once to Colombia and once to Costa Rica). I can’t speak from personal experience wrt Aer Lingus redemptions, but I assume the discount also applies to their redemptions.

    • david says:

      100% the 50% applies as I am due April MAD-BOG rtn.

  • Wanderwide says:

    I am based in Medellín and fly this route several times each year because unfortunately Iberia have not yet resumed direct flights from MDE to MAD.
    When I was booking via BA’s site a few days ago, connecting flights from MAD to LHR were listed with both BA and IB; but BA were only showing their own flights – at about twice the cost of IB’s – back from LHR to MAD. When I checked on IB’s site, they were listing flights with both airlines in each direction, but still with the BA flights at around double the cost of their own. I don’t know if this was just another temporary glitch on BA’s part, but it is always worth checking on both sites before making a cash booking for a connecting flight in MAD. I hope you will a safe and enjoyable visit to this wonderful country, Rhys. There is much more to Colombia than drugs and violence.

  • Prat says:

    Only if iberia had direct flights to Asia as well, i would save so much on avios.

    • david says:

      Tokyo (Nov 24) is in Asia, unless recent earthquake has moved its foundations.

  • Cat says:

    San Salvador and Guatemala City are in Central America, Rhys!

  • Olly says:

    One thing the article doesn’t mention but would be useful to add is when redemption flights become available to book – is it on the same time schedule as for BA?

    • The Original Nick. says:

      No. IB have seats available further out.

      • Mikeact says:

        And four guaranteed redemption seats in J per long-haul ?

        • The Original Nick. says:

          Only 2 seats.

          • Mikeact says:

            Thanks..now realise we’ve been lucky with our long hauls out of MAD…half dozen at least and never had a problem with a seperate cheap or Avios ticket out of LHR or LGW..even if that means a few extra hours in a MAD lounge.

  • lumma says:

    Fond memories of my first ever long haul premium flights being Iberia redemptions (out to Chicago, return from New York). Flew to Mexico City last year with them too.

    Seat and Spanish wines are very good – no champagne though
    Service and food are just average.

    • Cat says:

      They have the best anchovy stuffed olives EVER. I’m a little bit obsessed with them.

  • polly says:

    Our worry is the cancellation policy, is it possible to cancel and pay a fee like BA? Have not ever booked IB yet, either direct or via BA.

    • Cat says:

      Hi Polly! When I’ve cancelled, I’ve received Avios, companion vouchers and money (less £35) back fairly quickly.

    • Rob says:

      You’re booking via ba.com so usual fees and policies apply.

  • Steve H says:

    Does anyone know if you can book a combination of BA and Iberia with a 241 voucher ? Fly out BA from LHR and return to MAD ? Perhaps even an open jaw flight ? If so, Can the return flight be added after booking the outbound via the ba call centre ?

    • Noggins says:

      My question too – I’d like to do BA ABZ – MIA and return IB Lima – Madrid (- ABZ).

    • Dale says:

      We have recently done this Steve.

      We booked Madrid to Havana return and called BA to add the return to London from Madrid. However, BA did charge the 35pp change fee as they said they would only have waived it if we had booked this open jaw as one booking.

      I wasn’t in a mood to argue given it’s not actually supposed to be possible to book London-Havana with BA (with or without a voucher apparently because of their transatlantic codeshare and Cuba being subject to US sanctions). I did try twice over the phone!

      However, I’d managed to fiddle the BA online booking system to book Madrid to Havana and saved a small fortune on taxes so was content not to argue about the change fee. We could have paid cash for the return MAD-LHR flight like we did for the outbound but wanted the convenience of having bags checked through and not having to go collect them in the main terminal as both the LHR and Havana flights use the same satellite and collecting bags would have meant another half day Madrid as we have a shortish connection.

      • david says:

        Man! I so want to go Cuba but fly regularly to the US and thats a big no-no.

        • Nick says:

          Not really. One holiday to Cuba is not going to blacklist you with the US authorities. Tui sells package holidays, it’s pretty mainstream for Europeans to go there. And Canadians.

          • zapato1060 says:

            I couldnt enter US with an ESTA again if I have set foot in Cuba. The hassle of a VISA is a possibility though.

          • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

            It might be mainstream for Europeans to visit Cuba but it does impact future visits to the US

            https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta

            “How does Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism impact my travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program?

            The U.S. Department of State designated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST) on January 12, 2021.

            With limited exceptions, a traveler who is found to have visited Cuba on or after this date is not eligible for travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) using an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and must apply for a visa to travel to the United States.

            Additionally, a traveler who at the time of application for an ESTA holds dual nationality with both a VWP country and Cuba is not eligible for travel under the VWP using an ESTA and must apply for a visa to travel to the United States.

            If an ESTA has already been approved and it is later determined that the traveler has been present in Cuba or holds dual nationality with both a VWP country and Cuba, the ESTA will be revoked.

            Ineligibility for an ESTA is not a bar to travel to the United States. Individuals who are not eligible to travel under the VWP may apply for a visa at any U.S. embassy or consulate.

            For additional information about travel eligibility under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act, please visit: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/visa-waiver-program/visa-waiver-program-improvement-and-terrorist-travel-prevention-act-faq

          • Alex says:

            It stops you from getting an ESTA which is a real pain.

        • Londonsteve says:

          Sorry to say, I’m not sure you do want to visit Cuba as a tourist at the moment. The island is experiencing major spasms as a result of convulsions due to economic meltdown in the post-pandemic space. Even finding bottled water as a tourist with hard currency is challenging. Not impossible but you’ll probably have to go to the third hard currency shop before you find stock.

      • Paul says:

        I’d be interested to know how you get Madrid – Havana to come up on the BA site? I’ve tried it but it just doesn’t return anything for Havana or Cuba.

        • RV says:

          There’s a trick: you can type Havana and click search that it will work.

          Alternatively you can use the BA Executive Club app to check flight availability (which I prefer tbh).

          Business return: 85k avios + £220
          Economy return: 42.5k avios + £168

          Madrid-Havana off peak. I was looking at October for reference, but overall good availability.

      • Phil07 says:

        How did you fiddle it for Havana as when i go to book it says they dont fly there

        • RV says:

          I am assuming you are trying to book with Avios right, and via Madrid?

          The BAEC app shows Havana straight away on the dropdown menu so should work for everyone.

      • Steve H says:

        Thanks for the info and confirmation -appreciate it 👍

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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