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If you’ve been wanting to take a trip to Europe, now could be a great time to book your flights with miles on Iberia. The Spanish carrier is offering an award sale with 25% off its normal Avios prices on select routes, which means you can fly round-trip between Spain and select Iberia US destinations for as little as 25,500 Avios in economy or 51,000 Avios in business class.
To take advantage of this discount, you must book by January 31, 2018, and travel between February 1 and March 23, 2018, or between April 1 and May 15, 2018. The discount is only valid for direct flights marketed and operated by Iberia, Iberia Express and Air Nostum in all classes of service.
There are some great sweet spots on Iberia’s off-peak award chart, and they’ll be made even sweeter thanks to this sale. Note, however, that we’re not seeing these discounts on all US destinations — only Chicago (ORD) and Boston (BOS) — so this promotion is more restricted than sales of the past.
Flying from either Boston or Chicago to Spain falls within Band 5 of Iberia’s Avios award chart — even though it’s slightly more than 4,000 miles in each direction from Chicago, a footnote on the chart places the city in Band 5. That means it normally costs 17,000 Avios in economy or 34,000 Avios in business class during off-peak dates, but with the 25% discount from this promotion, you can fly between either city and destinations like Madrid (MAD) for 12,750 Avios one-way in economy or 25,500 Avios one-way in business class. Also, Iberia doesn’t charge excessive taxes or surcharges, so you won’t be paying too much out of pocket.
Iberia features lie-flat seats in its transatlantic business class and it’s a decent ride, so this is a great price to get to or from Europe in comfort. The economy cabin is average, though a recent review of the experience by TPG Contributor Lori Zaino notes that the airline has stepped up its game when it comes to food, beverage and in flight entertainment in coach.
Here are some samples of what you can book during this sale:
Boston (BOS) to Madrid (MAD) for 25,500 Avios + $189 round-trip in economy:
Boston (BOS) to Madrid (MAD) for 25,500 Avios + $88 one-way in business:
Chicago (ORD) to Madrid (MAD) for 12,750 Avios + $88 one-way in economy:
Chicago (ORD) to Madrid (MAD) for 51,000 Avios + $236 round-trip in business:
Iberia doesn’t have many award sales like this, so if you’re looking to take advantage, be sure to do so by January 31, 2018. Keep in mind that Amex Membership Rewards transfer to Iberia at a 1:1 ratio, as do Chase Ultimate Rewards since Iberia is now a direct transfer partner. Membership Rewards points can be earned from credit cards like the Platinum Card from American Express and the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, while you can accumulate Ultimate Rewards with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Source: thepointsguy.com