Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

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

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

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.

  • Swifty says:

    That guy on here who does Matt’s planet on yt. Went Bogota. Think he said it was a bit rubbish. Was a good museum and that was all he found to do. Hi Matt btw. Love yr channel.

    • Richie says:

      There’s more than one museum in Bogota.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      I’m sure if he had done some research before he went he’d have found loads of things to do!

      Amazes me when people book expensive flights to far away places then ask “what’s there to do there?”

    • Charlie says:

      Bogota is an amazing city with loads of things to do.

      • Rhys says:

        I will report back!

        • The Original Nick. says:

          I’ve flown IB J plenty of times as you know Rhys. I can’t fault the service or seat. Red eye and daytime are all good. Spanish wine is good too. I do also like the padded cover that’s rolled up ready to cover your seat for more comfort. UIO – MAD in November was our last flight which was excellent. Woke up 1 hour before landing for breakfast and then hit the lounge for a shower not having to leave 4S for our connecting flight to LHR.

        • Stuart Graham says:

          Go to Theatron one night in Bogota – it’s like a village and lots of fun. Take the cable car up montserrate. Centre of old town Bogota is interesting.
          Cartagena is lovely – we rented a big traditional house with a cook and a butler and they bought the best local produce each morning and cooked it to restaurant quality. You can also hire a boat to take you around the islands.
          Pereira also very good – lots of small villages and towns, thermal baths, waterfalls, Valle de Cocoro

          You will have an amazing time. I also flew with Iberia and was impressed with their service

    • QFFlyer says:

      I watched that video, I do like his channel. But yes his review of the in flight service didn’t have me rushing to book IB, but I’d be more than happy to visit Bogota or the islands in the region that he has.

      • zapato1060 says:

        Seen so many reviews of IB A350 and the experience is always classified into two categories, if you get a good or bad crew.

  • GRAEME says:

    Can you book open jaw on Iberia using your 2-4-1 Amex voucher? eg. Madrid to BA, then Rio to Madrid?

    • Reeferman says:

      Yes – I booked a 2-4-1 open jaw last year: out to BA and back from Sao Paulo

  • cin4 says:

    Which routes will the new seat be on? I’m flying to Costa Rica and Panama in Feb and Mar.

    • The Original Nick. says:

      How are you getting from Costa Rica to Panama? Just interested as I’ve got Costa Rica booked for Christmas so I have options to go other places.

    • e14 says:

      Neither of those two

  • cin4 says:

    Bogota is an amazing city. 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/

  • chris says:

    We had some amazing fine dining in Bogota but my god did I suffer from Soroche

    we were there twice with a Cartagena segue in between and I was wiped out both times. I’m young(ish) and fit(ish)

    I got by with basic pidgin Spanish throughout

    • QFFlyer says:

      I felt that when visiting Cuzco, the altitude almost made me feel a bit high, can’t think of a better way to describe it – was quite a pleasant feeling. Climbing steps and whatnot soon got old though, and that was when I was in my mid 20s…

  • Tim says:

    Hi Rob, if you have time try and get out to the Amazon or cloud forests for bird watching. i was in Amazon (Peru) back in June and our local guides said Colombia has much richer diversity of bird life.

    • QFFlyer says:

      That’s good to know – I visited the Amazon from Peru (Iquitos) and the wildlife we saw was fascinating, as was just being in the rainforest itself. Stayed in an Amazon lodge which only had generator power for a few hours a day, zero phone signal or internet connectivity, it was great!

    • Cat says:

      I can confirm – the wildlife and birdlife in Colombia was absolutely incredible!

      I stayed in Reserva Natural El Dorado just outside Santa Marta, then Tayrona NP where I stayed in the gorgeous ecohabs there, then I flew to Cali and spent a few nights in La Minga Ecolodge, and Doña Dora. After that I spent a few nights at Tinamu birding, then had a city break in Medellin, then went whale watching in Nuqui (I saw 15 humpback in 2 days), then I finished off the trip lazing at the beach in Capurgana (and almost got stranded, due to hurricanes!).

      It was an incredible few weeks, and the birds were just stunning!

  • Stuart says:

    Bogota is amazing, althought the altitude can cause some issues. Plenty to do, including some great golf, where the altitude strightens up the ball flight and makes it go a lot further!

    • meta says:

      Hence why you don’t do strenuous activities for the first two days and don’t climb Monserrate the first day. Plus more than 2L of water/tea per day. Never had issues once I understood this and followed it through. Many people don’t.

      • cin3 says:

        Only the most decrepit experience issues even ignoring that advice. It’s really not that high at all.

        Also, the best advice is just to drink coca.

  • Zoe says:

    It all sounds great but I think having watched Narcos on Netflix my husband will say its not safe.

    • NorthernLass says:

      Lol, @Zoe, same here! Mine would be convinced that we’d be kidnapped by some Escobar type. He’s pulling a face about going to Mexico later this year and it will be our third visit!

      • NorthernLass says:

        *Previous visits were completely trouble free …

        • meta says:

          You can be kidnapped in the US just as easily. Plenty of Netflix shows about drug dealers and innocent people being caught up.

          • NorthernLass says:

            I don’t feel particularly safe in the US, you would just hope for good healthcare and law enforcement response if the worst happened!

    • cin4 says:

      I’ve spent several months in Colombia, I feel a lot safer than in lots of the US.

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.