Business Class to Europe for 17,000 Points!

Spanish airline Iberia is running a half price points (Avios) promotion right now, wherein if you fly selected routes one-way in Business Class between Madrid and the East Coast (New York, Boston) or Chicago for just 17,000 miles on any off-peak date. I originally posted about this in the Facebook group, not sure how much interest there would be right now – but there was enough to want to break it down in a post.

How the Iberia Half-Off Award Promo Works

As detailed on the Iberia Promotion page, you need to book between August 24th and August 30th, 2020 for travel  between September 1st, 2020 and March 15th, 2021. It’s valid for members living in the USA and Spain.

Any flight operated by Iberia, Iberia Regional Air Nostrum and Iberia Express is included; LEVEL flights and Vueling flights are not.

While the post title is “Business Class to Europe for 17,000 Points” you can actually book anything you want half price, in any class of service (Iberia offers economy, premium economy, and business class).

But I’m focused on the “sweet spot” which is an off-peak flight between – in either direction – New York, Chicago, or Boston and Madrid. Normally, that costs just 34,000 Iberia Avios each way which is already the cheapest way to fly Business Class to Europe. With this deal you can cut that in half.

How to Search Iberia Avios Awards

First, reference this page which lists peak dates, so you know to avoid them.

Then, click here to go to the Avios search page and login to your Avios account.

When you find a date that says 34,000 in Business Class (remember, it must be an Iberia metal flight), you’ve got one. It will confusingly show 34,000 Avios in the flight selection screen if you don’t already have 17,000 Avios in your account (I don’t).

But if you are like me and lack the Avios in your account and look lower, it will show the true price were you to purchase Avios (not that we will!).

How to get Iberia Avios

Simple (ish).

The easiest way is a direct and nearly instant transfer from a transferable point. We see from that page that both American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer 1:1 and instantly.

You could also open an Iberia credit card.  However, while the bonus offer of 50,000 bonus Avios after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months and an additional 50,000 bonus Avios if you spend $20,000 total within your first year isn’t bad, you wouldn’t get the points in time for this offer.

If you already have Avios held with British Airways or Aer Lingus you can freely transfer using Avios.com.

However, your Iberia account will need to have been open for at least 90 days before you can transfer points in from another Avios program.

Like I said, simple (ish).

Iberia and Coronavirus Waiver Policy

The biggest (sadface) in this deal is the various coronavirus travel restrictions and the overall uncertainty around whether or not you will actually get to travel by March 15th, 2021.

First off, note that if you transfer points from Amex or Chase, they will be stuck in Iberia Avios should you have to cancel (or Iberia cancels). You could still transfer to BA or Aer Lingus in that case, but not back to the credit card.

As well, if you book by August 31st, which you would for this promo, you’d be covered by their waiver which says: Customers who are flying to a destination with entry restrictions or mandatory quarantine and who bought their tickets between 25 July and 31 August can change them free of charge to travel by 30 June 2021.

Note that it doesn’t cover your own decision to change plans outside of restrictions imposed by governments. You need to change by 15 days before departure. And they don’t specify but I would *guess* you’d need the same award availability and not just any open seat to make the change. And you’ll have to deal with Iberia. 

That should be all you need to know, but if you have any questions, fire away in the comments!

Will you book this deal?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.

You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.