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.

  • Martin says:

    Steve H: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

    Yes. I did the reverse of this. MAD-SCL with Iberia then GIG-LHR with BA. Added return over the phone when seats came out.

  • Gordon says:

    Thanks for this article Rob, I will be interested in your report back on Bogota. Colombia seems to have been getting a lot of attention over the last few years.
    I have seen comments on hfp from posters saying how cost effective the county is.
    This is one I want to tick off my list.

    • Cat says:

      It is absolutely stunning! I went for the pristine natural environment, and the incredible wildlife, rather than the big cities, but I will say that I absolutely loved Medellin.

      • RV says:

        Medellin is great. I am from South America myself, and have to say that I was very impressed with how they managed to set themselves up to receive tourists so well!

      • Amy C says:

        Can you get by with some very basic, ropey A’level Spanish or would I need to be more proficient?

        • Gordon says:

          Google translate springs to mind!

        • RV says:

          My experience with Medellin and Cartagena was that English was fine. Most restaurants would have an English menu (in the areas that you’d most likely visit anyway). Uber is inexpensive and will help you getting from A to B safely.

          English was definitely more widely spoken in these two cities than what I’d see in the equivalent places in Brazil for instance (where I’m from).

      • elguiri says:

        Another fan of Medellin and the villages in the wild around there. If you have kids, watch Encanto with them beforehand.

    • david says:

      Avoid Bogota, the traffic is record breaking. Medellin is incredible. Go to the coastal regions like Santa Marta and add short visit to Cartagena. Do not miss Pereira/Valle del Cauca, coffee region including Parque del Cafe (coffee theme park). Head to Salento in Quindio. Rent a finca “villa”. You wont regret going but obvs stick to the usual “non flashy walking streets alone at night” rules thats advised worldwide.

      • Gordon says:

        @david-Thanks for the info.

      • meta says:

        I wouldn’t avoid Bogota as it has some of the best and cheapest restaurants in the world. I just wouldn’t stay more than 2-3 days.

      • cin4 says:

        Bogota is great, just learn to use the transmilenio and traffic is much less of an issue. Great underground punk and techno scenes, excellent fine dining (although twice as expensive as 5 years ago), beautiful nature nearby and some excellent contemporary art and cinema.

        Medellin is also of course lovely but much more gringofied almost as bad as the worst of the north. There are dozens of amazing places to visit in Colombia, it’s a shame most tourists only visit the same five cities or so.

        • meta says:

          Any recommendations for more off-beat places?

          • zapato1060 says:

            @meta, do you mean in Colombia or Bogota? Colombia’s Providencia (to San Andres uglyish sister) for unique Caribbean experience.

          • cin4 says:

            @meta – the whole country is very well-touristed these days but anything outside of Medellin and Bogota sees significantly fewer gringos.

            The coffee region is lovely especially if you want to spend a few days hiking from Salento to Ibaque over Tolima.

            The south including San Augustin, Pasto, Popayan and the beautiful church at Ipiales.

            The Amazon is as good as you get in Peru and Brazil.

            I don’t like the Caribbean cost but some people do, the smaller places like Palomino, Tayrona and near to Venezual are lovely.

            I also really like the countryside around Bucaramanga and the whole length of the Valle de Cauca.

        • zapato1060 says:

          Its not called Transmilleno for nothing. Unless you like your transportation close, stay away. Bogota is a diverse city with many things to do but Medellin just blows it out of the water. I can tell you that because I lived 3-4 years in Bogota.

  • Budva says:

    I’ve booked Ncl-lhr-mad-bogota-Sao Paulo-mad-lgw using a 241 on Iberia. Huge saving on taxes in business. Great points value as well

    • Paul says:

      There will have been no savings on taxes if that itinerary was booked as a single ticket. There may have been a colossal saving on BAs rip off fees. 2 very different things and the tax is usually a fraction of the BA fees

  • Simon CH says:

    Two days ago I booked a return trip from Madrid to Santiago for December this year using my 241 Amex voucher on the Exec Club web site.
    Cost was 102,000 Avios and £391 for both of us.
    I checked BA flights from London, they were 220,000 Avios and £1200 tax, but the dates I wanted were not available in CW.

    Since the Santiago flight leaves at midnight from Madrid and arrives back in to Madrid at 6am approx, connections from and back to London were easy and cost me £71.

    A massive saving of 120k Avios and £800 by going via Madrid !!!
    I Plan on staying at Vino del Mar for ten days in the sunshine.

    • Simon CH says:

      By the way, this is Santiago in Chile.
      Not Santiago in Northern Spain!!

      • NorthernLass says:

        Lol, indeed, you’re unlikely to spend 10 days in the sun in December in Santiago de Compostela!

        • SimonCH says:

          Correct, but I had to put that in as someone would assume I was meaning Santiago De Compostela in Mainland Spain 🤣

    • Steve H says:

      High speed train from Madrid to Malaga under 3 hours and cheap if booked in advance, makes for a sunny stopover.😎

  • Ali says:

    Can a solo traveller use a 2 for 1 voucher on iberia in the same way that you can on BA?

    • Mikeact says:

      Have you not read the article ?

    • Rob says:

      I see you didn’t bother to read the other comments before posting this 🙂

      • Ali says:

        Thank you. It wasn’t a case of not bothering to read the other comments. I had the article open in my browser for a while before posting my question, so the other comments that had been posted in the meantime were not visible to me. A simple ‘yes’ might have been kinder and quicker!!

        • Rob says:

          I would guess that Rhys and I spend two hours per day replying to reader comments and emails, to the detriment of actually growing the business and paying our salaries. This includes weekends, evenings and even Christmas Day in my case. I was doing reader emails an hour before I got married. A bit of time spent digging around before asking something is appreciated by all!

  • AJA says:

    I am not sure but I think San Francisco and Washington are seasonal services ie not all year round.

    It’s a pity Iberia stopped flying to South Africa. They used to fly to Johannesburg from MAD

    • zapato1060 says:

      I think JNB will return. If, Tokyo, who they had cut also returned its likely. Fingers crossed.

  • David Woods says:

    BA website doesn’t recognise Havana as a destination, do we have to book this over the phone?

    • 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.

      • David Woods says:

        Still doesn’t work for me but I will give them a call. Good to see there’s availability as I’m also planning on going at the end of the year, it will also give me time to put a Cuba tour together.

        • RV says:

          How strange!

          There were reports of people struggling to purchase over the phone.

          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.

          Well good luck with your trip!

    • Iain Turner says:

      Watch out – if you visit Cuba you will be ineligible for an ESTA to visit the US, might not be an issue for you, obvs, but worth knowing

  • Cuchlainn says:

    Slight OT ( Iberia ) question :
    Flying FCO-MAD-ACE on IB ( & IBExpress ) this Easter – do I need to complete API on Iberia.com before I travel ?

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

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