-
Morning All,
After our successful trip to Miami and Orlando this year we are planning our next long haul trip.
We would like to explore our options going to Rio De Janeiro in May/June 2026.
Currently the avoid redemptions for tickets seems fairly high even when using a BA 2-4-1 voucher, departing from Heathrow. We would ideally like advice on any work around to bring the avios cost slightly lower.
I have seen posted elsewhere that people often fly from MAD or even DUB into LHR then have their onward flight.
Any tips or suggestions please?
You should absolutely fly on Iberia from/to MAD using your BA 2-4-1. Significantly lower taxes and Avios (even after the recent Iberia devaluation) and I personally like the hard and soft product.
Rio is not a daily destination for Iberia, so may want to also look at Sao Paulo, or if you think you will be spending time in the North East of Brazil, IB is to begin flights to Recife in December. Also GIG is a day flight on the way to Brazil, GRU has both options I think.
If you are just booking MAD-GIG-MAD, easy to do online on ba.com. If you are booking an open-jaw, such as MAD-GIG-MAD-LHR or MAD-GIG//REC-MAD, you’ll need to call BA.
Flights to Madrid need to be on a seperate booking if you want to avoid the APD levied by the UK govt. If you have checked luggage, you will need to check it back in, in Madrid (so go through passport control). That takes a lot of time (Barajas is notoriously slow for luggage delivery), so leave plenty of buffer time or fly the night before.
@harrysjones21 – just to give you an idea, my booking last year with a 2-4-1, 2 pax MAD-BOG-MAD on IB was 105000 Avios and £446.40 Taxes,
Another booking with two BUV’s 2 pax LHR-GIG-LHR, BA was 200000 plus £1,042.58 taxes.
I carried out a dummy booking yesterday on a 2-4-1 and a BUV booking, to the same destination “KUL” and both came back exactly the same Avios and taxes, both less than an hour apart flight time wise, so you can see the savings using IB from MAD, also you can have your luggage checked through on IB to LHR on your return.
There has been a slight devaluation on IB recently, but it is still a good value redemption vs flying from London.
Thanks both for the suggestions.
I have looked at flying IB from MAD for when we wish to fly next year.
However, I cannot see any Club World availability. Only when flying from MAD to LHR to GRU. Is this often the case with this route?
Given the amount of time in the air, we do wish to be in Club World.
Edit for above – “both less than an hour apart flight time wise” was a reference to BOG & GIG, not KUL.
Thanks both for the suggestions.
I have looked at flying IB from MAD for when we wish to fly next year.
However, I cannot see any Club World availability. Only when flying from MAD to LHR to GRU. Is this often the case with this route?
Given the amount of time in the air, we do wish to be in Club World.
I booked -355 days ahead for the IB booking, so can’t answer that, but I would just keep checking.
Brazil is a popular redemption on IB in Business class (side note – “Club World” is what BA calls its own business class cabin), so being flexible helps. Iberia also doesn’t guarantee a minimum of seats available for redemption, so indeed worth keeping an eye on redemptions.
You can also look at redemptions to either Buenos Aires (there’s 3x flights/day, so more seats) or Montevideo (less popular). Both fun destinations for a few days, and you can fly from there to Rio or Sao Paulo (“short” 3 hours flight) and continue your trip in Brazil.
Remember that Iberia seats show from 360 days before , BA are 355 days. So if seats are available on Iberia at 360, phone up BA and they can book using 241 voucher. Alternatively wait and see if they appear at 355 on the BA site.( by which time they may have gone!).
IB availability may already be gone if wanting to travel in May/June ’26. You can use your 241, however, so it’s worth checking for any more seats to appear.
Starting in DUB will cost more avios, not fewer. You can sometimes save on the cash element, but it’s not as advantageous as it used to be.
If all else fails, you can easily connect from MIA and other US cities to Latin America.
IB availability may already be gone if wanting to travel in May/June ’26. You can use your 241, however, so it’s worth checking for any more seats to appear.
Starting in DUB will cost more avios, not fewer. You can sometimes save on the cash element, but it’s not as advantageous as it used to be.
If all else fails, you can easily connect from MIA and other US cities to Latin America.
Have you actually tried “easily” connecting via the USA to Brazil/Argentina/Chile?
It’s incredibly sub optimal, not only for the complications of transiting the USA but adding massively to your journey time, removing the benefits of the small time difference between Europe/SAm and flight schedules that correspondingly keep your body clock in order. Added to that it usually adds considerable cost.
There’s so much incredibly helpful advice here from people’s actual knowledge and/or lived experience but random, un-caveated, not evidence based suggestions risk leading people up the garden path.
Unintentionally, I’m sure, but nevertheless quite unhelpful.
It was quite obviously a suggestion of last resort, @JDB, and I have actually done a similar trip in the distant past quite successfully, and managed to avoid any garden paths. Readers sometimes do opt to use their 241 and avios for part of a journey when it’s not possible to use them the whole way, for example if they’re keen to use an expiring voucher.
But personally I’m sure that the OP will carefully weigh up all options in respect of a such a journey!
Thank you all for the suggestions. They have all been really helpful one way or another.
Does anybody have any hotel recommendations? Ideally we would like to be near a beach, only two adults travelling so no focus on kids activities.
We do not mind having to travel around Rio to see the sights.
We have had a look online but most hotels do not seem to have great reviews and many lack balconies, which we prefer for a sunset drink.
I don’t have specific hotel recommendations as we usually stay with friends, but I will strongly recommend you stay in either Ipanema beach or Leblon (a bit quieter). They are relatively safe areas at all times, lots of great restaurants and shops, and along the beachfront. I would not stay in Copacabana (fine to visit during the day, less safe at night), or Barra (too far out). The supply of nice hotels is unfortunately limited in those areas (in particular in Leblon), so airbnb oftens are better options. The Fairmont Copacabana (which is actually just in between Ipanema and Copacabana) I heard is a solid choice (but on the pricey side).
Thank you all for the suggestions. They have all been really helpful one way or another.
Does anybody have any hotel recommendations? Ideally we would like to be near a beach, only two adults travelling so no focus on kids activities.
We do not mind having to travel around Rio to see the sights.
We have had a look online but most hotels do not seem to have great reviews and many lack balconies, which we prefer for a sunset drink.
Traveling to the main sights (Christ the redeemer, sugarloaf mountain for example) from Copacabana is not too bad, but I would say that if you are staying in the Copacabana beach area, you will find that properties are on the expensive side, due to the cost of real estate in the area.
I booked the PortoBay property for a trip last year, (they also have properties in Spain) but had to cancel unfortunately, the property is reasonably priced, and had good reviews, it has a rooftop pool with a clear view of the beach, and also balconies with table and chairs also with a clear view of the beach.
The price quoted to me for a Suite sea view, March/April in 2014 the average price was BRL 2,375.07 per night, including breakfast, Ex taxes which are 5% government tax and R$ 6,00 Room tax, subscribe to their website for discounts.
Edit- Meant 2024, not 2014, while I am editing, I will add, you will be looking at 200,000 Avios and a little over £1K taxes for LHR T3 to GIG, with BUV’s for two Pax.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
