Iberia updated its award chart last week, increasing the number of Avios you have to redeem to book flights with points.
We subsequently updated the Best Uses of Avios post and mentioned the devaluation there, but we wanted to highlight this change in a separate post too as it brought about a change to one of the best value deals for crossing the Atlantic in business class.
That sweet spot was the ability to fly from select east coast airports to Madrid for only 34,000 Avios in business class. That was a fantastic deal which was fewer points than you’d be able to redeem for travel in a premium cabin across the Atlantic with nearly any other airline.
As a result of the recent changes, this is Iberia’s new award chart:
| Distance (in miles) | Economy Off-Peak/Peak | Premium Economy Off-Peak/Peak | Business Off-Peak/Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-650Â | 3,500 / 4,750 | 9,750 / 11,500 | |
| 651-1150 | 6,500 / 8,000 | 16,500 / 18,250 | |
| 1151-2000 | 9,500/ 10,750 | 22,000 / 24,000 | |
| 2001-3000 | 10,500 / 12,000 | 23,000 / 31,000 | |
| 3001-4000 | 16,000 / 19,500 | 29,500 / 40,250 | 40,500 / 59,000 |
| 4001-5500 | 20,000 / 24,250 | 36,750 / 50,500 | 50,500 / 74,000 |
| 5501-6500 | 24,000 / 29,250 | 44,000 / 60,50060 | 60,500 / 88,000 |
| 6501-7000 | 28,250 / 34,250 | 51,000 / 70,500 | 70,500 / 103,500 |
| 7001+ | 41,000 / 49,250 | 71,000 / 97,000 | 97,000 / 140,000 |
That business class option falls in the 3,000-4,000 miles range, so what once required 34,000 Avios now requires 40,500 Avios if flying during an off-peak period. That’s still a decent redemption option though, so this devaluation has downgraded its sweet spot status from cloyingly sweet (as Food Network judges like to describe things) to being an ‘I’d-prefer-a-teeny-bit-more-sugar-but-it’ll-do’ sweet spot.
At the time of publishing this post, American Express is offering a 30% transfer bonus to several Avios programs which includes Iberia. That means you’d only need to transfer 32,000 Membership Rewards to end up with enough for a 40,500 Avios flight, although that would’ve only required 27,000 Membership Rewards in the past, so it’s obviously not wonderful news that prices have increased.
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I don’t know how true this is, because I honestly can’t really be bothered to check, but folks on Reddit are saying that for next (2026) year, IB is releasing only 1 J on North America – Spain routes at these prices, which, to me, would be a bigger deal if true than a paltry 6k miles change.
I feel like I’ve been noticing this currently. I’ve been watching the schedule release daily and I’m seeing consistently 1 or none available in business. I didn’t know if someone has beaten me to the award each day, but really felt that only 1 was being released (I’m looking for 2 ORD-MAD). Big bummer if you can’t count on 2 per day anymore. This was a fantastic price and consistency if booked early.
We have also been checking, albeit for different route (LAX-MAD). Haven’t found anything for two straight months with >1 seat. We did snag 2 ORD-MAD in early April 2026 once we struck out with LAX, but we literally found only one day.
I spot checked DFW-MAD, it still has 2 Js
Its been many many years since their last devaluation so it was coming. Still incredible price for a great seat, especially the A350s to BOG.
Still one of the best ways to cross the Atlantic.Prices dirt cheap compared to almost everyone else.Plus they always release two J seats on every flight at schedule opening.I dont love the changes but still a great deal if you live near one of the hub cities
No plans on updating their award chart for partner flights right? I know the cancellation policy is bad but their prices can be the best sometimes.
I’ve been scarred from a bad experience trying to get a refund from IB. In my case, there was a schedule change to a partner flight so I was eligible for a refund, but their phone support was horrible.
My solution was to mass email the IAG/IB executive team — I never got a response from them, but the miles were refunded right after that.
Depressing how often this is move is the only way to get through customer service roadblocks at a frustratingly high number of businesses. Don’t really feel bad about it though because ultimately the C Suite made the business decision to make the first few layers of customer service broadly useless.