(EXPIRED) 8.5K Avios + tax to/from Europe w/ Iberia sale

Iberia is offering a nice deal on award tickets from New York, Chicago and Boston to Madrid, with round trip tickets from just 17,000 Avios plus taxes — or book one-way for just 8,500 Avios plus tax. Iberia doesn’t have the same out-of-control surcharges as British Airways, so this can be a great way to get to Europe cheaply — especially if you took advantage of the recent 40% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Iberia (since expired). Even if you didn’t, remember that Iberia is an Amex transfer partner and Chase transfer partner, or you can alternatively combine Avios from British Airways (or Aer Lingus) if you do not have your Avios in a family pool with BA.

The Deal

• Iberia is offering 50% off on economy class award tickets from Boston, New York, or Chicago to Madrid, with prices from 17,000 Avios round trip (plus taxes)

Key Terms

• Book by December 31, 2018
• Valid for travel from January 14, 2019 to March 31, 2019
• Valid one-way or round trip

Quick Thoughts

To search for availability, do yourself a favor and bookmark the Advanced Avios Search Tool. Then go thank Tiffany at One Mile at a Time for that link.

As noted in the headline, you can book direct flights from Boston, New York, or Chicago to Madrid from just 8,500 Avios each way. On the outbound, that’s 8500 Avios and about $74 in taxes:

On the return, taxes are a bit higher at about $109.76:

This isn’t peak season for visiting Europe, so paying ~$185 in taxes plus 17.000 Avios round trip isn’t an amazing deal, but it’s probably the best deal you’ll find to Europe on miles (and great if you’re looking to fly direct to Madrid) — it likely beats today’s Delta flash sale. Furthermore, keep in mind that Iberia allows you to essentially buy the Avios you need if you’re short. For example, here were the options on that Madrid-to-New York flight (keeping in mind that $109 is the taxes and then the rest is the copay for using fewer Avios):

Unfortunately, the deals this time around are only on economy class travel. The past couple of years, Iberia has run a business class sale around off-peak season that drops the price to 25.5K each way from these cities, though after the summer’s huge 90K promo, I imagine they don’t have so much surplus business class space they are looking to fill.

Overall, these are solid deals if you’re looking to get to Europe this winter. I’ve visited Madrid and Barcelona in January before. I recall both cities being much warmer than home at that time of year, though it wasn’t beach weather. Of course, you can always use a sale like this as a hopping off point to get to other European cities since flights within Europe can be so cheap. If interested in the train, check out the Man in Seat 61 for tips on booking for best values.

H/T: Miles to Memories

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