Save 40% on Avios flights from the UK to Madrid
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Iberia, BA’s sister airline, is offering a 40% saving on Avios redemption seats to Madrid for the next five months.
This offer is only available when you book via Iberia Plus. You need to have an active Iberia Plus account which is more than 90 days old, as you cannot otherwise transfer Avios from BA or avios.com.
This is why I recommend that EVERY HfP reader should have an Iberia Plus account.
You might think that you don’t need one, but an offer like this will suddenly turn up and you find that you cannot take part due to the ’90 day’ rule. Get over to the Iberia website and sign up now.
Here are the rules:
You can only book Iberia flights to Madrid, not the BA ones
It is available on all Iberia departures from the UK to Madrid
You must book by 21st October for travel by 16th March 2016
You cannot travel between 18th December and 7th January 2016
As Iberia does not have ‘Reward Flight Saver’ you will be paying slightly higher taxes than a British Airways redemption – but the saving in Avios easily outweighs this.
The discounted prices are, on off peak dates:
Blue Class (economy) – 7,800 Avios + £58 return
Economy (available when Blue is sold out) – 11,700 Avios + £58
Business – 15,300 Avios + £71
For comparison, an off-peak redemption on BA would cost 13,000 Avios + £35 in EuroTraveller and 25,500 Avios + £50 in Club Europe.
Remember that BA and Iberia have different peak and off-peak charts – February half-term is peak for BA but off-peak for Iberia. Just to make things more complicated ….
Iberia is running similar offers from other European cities and has also reduced the cost of domestic connections in Spain as well. With Winter drawing in, a weekend in Madrid may be just the ticket – Business Class is especially good value.
Remember that some Iberia flights, usually around 6pm departures from Heathrow, are operated by long-haul A330 and A340 aircraft for cargo reasons. Redeem for those in Business Class and you get a flat bed for your flight to Madrid. I did such a flight which I reviewed here.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)
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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
Get 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
30,000 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review
Capital on Tap Pro Visa
10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review
There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
British Airways American Express Accelerating Business
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
50,000 points when you sign-up 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.
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