New Iberia Routes: Business Class To Madrid (Summer/Fall 2022)
Anyone want to go to Spain? I know I do.
Great wine, great food, what else could you ask for?
Finding biz class award space to Europe can be difficult if you want to visit during the summer, but this is a great opportunity to book two seats on a non-stop flight on two new Iberia routes from Washington, DC or Dallas.
Now, let's get into it!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: IAD/DFW-MAD
Operating airline: Iberia
Class of service: Business class
Dates: June 2022 - October 2022
Seats available: 2
Cabin layout: 1-2-1
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *American AAdvantage: 57,500 miles
- British Airways Executive Club:
- IAD: 34,000 Avios; 50,000 Avios (peak)
- DFW: 42,500 Avios; 62,500 Avios
- *Cathay Asia Miles: 122,000 miles (round-trip only)
- *Iberia Plus:
- IAD: 34,000 Avios (off-peak); 50,000 Avios (peak)
- DFW: 42,500 Avios (off-peak); 62,500 Avios (peak)
- *JAL Mileage Bank:
- IAD: 42,000 miles (one-way); 80,000 miles (round-trip)
- DFW: 60,000 miles (one-way); 85,000 miles (round-trip)
- *Qantas Frequent Flyer:
- IAD: 75,000 points
- DFW: 90,000 points
*Reduced surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- IAD Route
- One-way: ~$122
- Round-trip: ~$279
- DFW Route - Appears to be a mistake that will be fixed
- One-way: ~$730
- Round-trip: ~$1,495
- With full surcharges (from the US):
- One-way: ~$730
- Round-trip: ~$1,495
- Asia Miles
Bank transfer partners:
- American: Bilt, Marriott
- Asia Miles: Amex, Brex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
- British Airways: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Iberia: Amex, Chase, Marriott
- JAL: Marriott
- Qantas: Amex, Brex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Don't forget to let me know if you book and how you did it!
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DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the COVID-19 situation and the resulting travel restrictions could prevent you from traveling. Additionally, please make sure you understand the cancellation/redeposit and change fees required before booking with a particular program.
Travel Restrictions and Requirements
You can find the current entry requirements and restrictions for US travelers, at the following link: Spain.
Flight Experience
The Iberia business class cabin is arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 layout. Each seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access. While they aren't the most private business class seats, they're comfortable and more than enough for a nice flight to Spain.
I flew Iberia between JFK and Madrid in March 2019 and found the crews to be friendly and the food to be good enough. I was particularly impressed by the Spanish reds - of course, I'm no wine expert so I'll let you be the judge of wine quality. Either way, I had fun.
I will note that the experience on Iberia can be inconsistent.
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Available Dates
You can find seats for 2 people in business class on the following dates.
IAD-MAD
June: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30
July: 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28, 30
August: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31
September: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29
October: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29
MAD-IAD
June: 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30
July: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30
August: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31
September: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29
October: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26, 27, 29
Please note that I'm seeing taxes/fees that exceed $700 on the DFW-MAD segment, even when using AA miles. The return segment MAD-DFW shows ~$270 taxes/fees.
Seems like a mistake but I would hold on booking this route until it's fixed.
DFW-MAD
June: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29
July: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30
August: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31
September: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30
October: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29
DFW-MAD
June: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27, 29
July: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29, 30
August: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31
September: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30
October: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28, 29
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If you want to use Iberia Avios, the dates highlighted in red are peak dates.
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Best Ways To Book
Off-Peak with Iberia Avios
If you're flying on off-peak dates, the best way to book is with Iberia Avios. At only 34,000 Avios for a one-way non-stop ticket, it's one of the cheapest biz class awards to Europe. If you have Chase or Amex points, this is easy.
If you have Capital One Miles, you can transfer miles to your BA Executive Club account then move them to your Iberia Plus account as they're both part of the Avios family. To do this, you must have had your BA and Iberia accounts open for at least 90 days. Here's a link to combine your Avios.
You also need some activity in your Iberia account before this will work (transferring Amex or Chase points will take care of that). Make sure the account details on your BA and Iberia accounts match before transferring Avios between them.
Now, if you include a connection on an AA flight, that will make your redemption subject to Iberia's Oneworld partner award chart. You can expect a round-trip rate with an AA connection to jump to at least 100,000 Avios at that point.
Sometimes, you'll be better off booking a separate ticket (cash or award) to position for the Iberia flight. Just remember to leave plenty of time between flights so you don't risk missing the Iberia flight - this is especially important if you need to check a bag.
What About Peak Dates?
Using 50,000 Iberia Avios one-way is still a solid option on peak dates for those who have Chase and Amex points. Again, you could transfer to BA then combine Avios in your Iberia account.
If you have Capital One or Citi points, Asia Miles could be a good option as it doesn't pass on surcharges. You'll have to book a round-trip ticket but 122,000 miles round-trip is solid. As a bonus, the taxes/fees are about half of what you'll pay when booking with AA miles or Iberia Avios. However, if you include a connection on a partner, the rate could change.
American requires 57,500 miles one-way. Please note that the temporary transfer options from Citi ends November 13, 2021 (that's tomorrow). This is an easy option since you can connect on AA and on Oneworld partners within Europe for no extra miles.
From Dallas
If you're booking the DFW route (and the taxes/fees get fixed), Iberia Plus is great at 42,500 Avios one-way on off-peak dates. However, if you're booking peak dates, I'd prefer to use AA miles or Asia Miles.
Regardless of which route you fly, please avoid using British Airways to book. It passes on the surcharges and they are massive. We're talking $1,400 on a round-trip award. Gross.
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How To Book
I think searching with AA is easiest if you want to see your options.
- Go to AA's site
- Select Advanced / Multi-city search (just click this link)
- Select Redeem miles
- Select One way or Round trip
- Enter From & To cities
- Select departure date(s)
- Choose the number of passengers
- Select Class as Business/First
- Click Search
- If you're searching for a nonstop, select Calendar then sort for nonstop.
- Once you know which dates have Finnair space, you can run a search from your home airport if you're not booking nonstop
If you're not booking with American miles, you can run a search with the program you're using once you find a date you want to book.
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Bottom Line
If you haven't been to Madrid, I highly recommend it. While Spain is known for some amazing red wines, you can also find great cocktail bars like Salmon Guru, enjoy plenty of amazing food, and check out some beautiful architecture.
Happy Booking!
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