How Santiago shows up the oddities of Avios reward pricing – with taxes from £59 to £625

Avios reward pricing is all over the place. It is complex enough when just looking at British Airways flights and the various combinations of cash and points, but when you factor in Iberia and partner airlines it gets even crazier.

I thought that Santiago in Chile was a good example because it is served by British Airways, Iberia and LATAM. I’ve not looked at options with Qatar Airways because it is a bit of a diversion to go via Doha given the alternatives.

Even if you DON’T want to go to Chile, keep reading because the same principles apply to other Iberia routes.

Option 1:  Fly British Airways direct from London to Santiago

Santiago is better value than it should be, sitting in Zone 8 of the (unpublished) British Airways reward chart. The flight is 7,228 miles and it should technically be in Zone 9 and priced the same as Sydney! 

I have selected the ‘most Avios, least cash’ option as this is clearly the best for someone using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher.

For a return flight in Club World / business class you will need, for one person:

• 220,000 Avios + £625 off-peak

• 240,000 Avios + £625 peak

Due to a ba.com bug you will currently see a lower taxes figure of around £580. The correct figure, using Reward Flight Saver, should be £625.

Option 2:  Fly Iberia direct from Madrid to Santiago, booked on ba.com or iberia.com

Even though you should book this flight on ba.com, to make cancellation easier if necessary, it still prices off the Iberia Avios reward chart because it is an Iberia flight.  Santiago is in Zone 7 of the Iberia Avios reward chart.  Iberia is also being generous here, because the flight is 6,649 miles and it should technically be in Zone 8.

You pay (again, I take the ‘most Avios’ version which is best for someone using an Amex 2-4-1 voucher):

• 102,000 Avios + £190 off-peak (see screenshot below)

• 150,000 Avios + £190 peak

You also need to add in the cost of getting to/from Madrid on a separate ticket.  You make substantial savings (£253) on Air Passenger Duty by taking a separate economy flight to Spain. Because Santiago is over 5,500 miles it falls into the highest UK APD band.

The total savings, as you can see, are ludicrous when flying on Iberia.

TWO people could fly Business Class, from Madrid to Santiago, using a British Airways American Express companion voucher for just 102,000 Avios + £380 return off-peak.

Option 3:  Fly LATAM direct from Madrid to Santiago, booked on ba.com

Finally, here is an option with a partner airline.  LATAM is no longer a member of the oneworld alliance but retains codeshare and frequent flyer partnerships with British Airways and Iberia.

This is what you pay to fly with LATAM.  Remember that, as a partner airline, all dates are priced as peak dates:

• 278,500 Avios + £59.70

You also need to add in the cost of getting to/from Madrid on a separate ticket.

If the Avios cost looks high, it is because there was a huge LATAM devaluation last year.

I can’t show you a screenshot because, at the moment, LATAM redemptions between Madrid and Santiago are not bookable on ba.com. It is bookable at iberia.com, although business class reward seats are VERY hard to find.

Do not book this ticket on the Iberia website if you can help it because partner airline redemptions booked via Club Iberia Plus cannot be cancelled. Book via ba.com and you can cancel for a full refund for the usual £35 fee.

Which option is best?

As I said earlier, this article isn’t really about Santiago.  It is more about highlighting the huge differences in taxes and charges if you can fly with Iberia or a partner airline.

In this particular example, it is a no-brainer to take Iberia from Madrid. Whilst LATAM has lower taxes, the additional Avios required means that it is poor value overall. This is especially true if you have a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 companion voucher for Iberia.

British Airways is bad value on this route. However much you may prefer a direct flight from London, the lure (assuming two travellers with a 2-4-1 voucher) of paying 102,000 Avios + £380 between you from Madrid vs 220,000 Avios + £1,250 from London is probably too strong to resist.

In fact, the Iberia option is so cheap that I’d be tempted to keep my 2-4-1 voucher for another day and pay the full price for two people of 204,000 Avios + £380 ….

In a sister article to this, coming soon, we’ll show you how you can save on redemptions on some oneworld partners by booking them via Qatar Airways Privilege Club or Finnair Plus instead of British Airways Club.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

---

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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.