There are several great ways to spend your Iberia Avios. You could fly business class from Chicago to Madrid from only 34,000 Avios one-way. You could also fly on short roundtrip flights on American Airlines and other OneWorld airlines starting at only 11,000 Avios for economy class.
We will show you in this post the airlines you can fly, how much it will cost, our favorite sweet spots, and things you need to know before you book your award trip.
Iberia Partners: Airlines You Can Fly
You can book flights using Avios on one of Iberia’s OneWorld Alliance partners.
All of the below partners can be booked on Iberia.com except Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, which can be booked by calling 1-800-772-4642.
OneWorld Alliance Airlines
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Alaska Airlines
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American Airlines
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British Airways
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Cathay Pacific
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Finnair
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Iberia
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Japan Airlines
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Malaysia Airlines
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Qantas
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Qatar Airways
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Royal Air Maroc
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Royal Jordanian
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SriLankan Airlines
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You can also redeem Avios on Iberia’s partner airlines.
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Iberia's Other Airline Partners
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Avianca
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Binter
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Interjet
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LEVEL
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Vueling
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Iberia's Off-Peak and Peak Calendar
If you are planning on flying on Iberia, you will need to review Iberia’s Off-Peak and Peak calendar to determine what price you are going to pay. For example, Chicago to Madrid in business class costs 34,000 Avios one-way during off-peak dates and 50,000 Avios during peak dates.
Here are the dates for 2024 and 2025:
Off-Peak & Peak Calendar for 2024
February
- Off-Peak: All dates.
March
- Off-Peak: 1-14, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 24-26.
- Peak: 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, and 27-31.
April
- Off-Peak: 2-25, 28, and 29.
- Peak: 1, 26, 27, and 30.
May
- Off-Peak: 2-4, 6-28, and 31.
- Peak: 1, 5, 29, and 30.
June
- Off-Peak: 1 and 3-20.
- Peak: 2 and 21-30.
July
- Peak: All dates.
August
- Peak: All dates.
September
- Off-Peak: 23-30.
- Peak: 1-22.
October
- Off-Peak: 1-24 and 28-30.
- Peak: 25-27 and 31
November
- Off-Peak: 4-30.
- Peak: 1-3.
December
- Off-Peak: 1-4, 7, 10-18, 25, and 31.
- Peak: 5, 6, 8, 9, 19-24, 26-30.
Off-Peak & Peak Calendar for 2025
January
- Off-Peak: 8-31.
- Peak: 1-7.
February
- Off-Peak: All dates.
March
- Off-Peak: All dates.
April
- Off-Peak: 1-10, 13-15, and 22-29.
- Peak: 11, 12, 16-21, and 30.
May
- Off-Peak: 2, 3, 5-13, 16, 17, and 19-31.
- Peak: 1, 4, 14, 15, and 18.
June
- Off-Peak: 1-17.
- Peak: 18-30.
July
- Peak: All dates.
August
- Peak: All dates.
September
- Off-Peak: 22-30.
- Peak: 1-21.
October
- Off-Peak: 1-23, 28, and 29.
- Peak: 24-27, 30, and 31.
November
- Off-Peak: 3-5, 8, 9, and 11-30.
- Peak: 1, 2, 6, 7, and 10.
December
- Off-Peak: 1-4, 7, 10-18, 25, and 31.
- Peak: 5, 6, 8, 9, 19-24, 26-30.
Award Chart: How Many Avios it Will Cost
Iberia has several different distance-based award charts below, which means the further you fly, the more Avios is required.
Calculating the price of an award can be complicated because Iberia has several award charts and each has its own quirks, which we detail below.
Flights on Iberia
The best value for Iberia Avios is flying on Iberia. Below are the off-peak and peak charts for both award bookings and upgrades, and which cities are in each “Band.”
Iberia Upgrades - Off-Peak Award Chart
You can also use Iberia’s Avios to upgrade your economy ticket.
However, an upgrade to the Business class is available from the Full Economy (fares Y, B, and H) and Premium Economy (W) classes.
Iberia Upgrades - Peak Award Chart
You can also use Iberia’s Avios to upgrade your economy ticket.
However, an upgrade to the Business class is available from the Full Economy (fares Y, B and H) and Premium Economy (W) classes.
Iberia's Bands (Distance of Each City)
Iberia’s distance-based award chart classifies award levels based on “bands.” Below are examples of the “band” levels from Madrid.
Band 1: Alicante, Almeria, Asturias, Badajoz, Barcelona, Bilbao, Granada-Jaen, Ibiza, Jerez, La Coruña, Logroño, Málaga, Melilla, Menorca, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, Salamanca, San Sebastián, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid, Vigo, Algiers, Bordeaux, Casablanca, Geneva, Lisbon, Lourdes, Lyon, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, Oporto, Oran, Perpignan, Rennes, Tangier, Toulouse.
Band 2: Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Tenerife, Marrakech, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Birmingham, Catania, Cork, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Dusseldorf, Munich, Strasbourg, Florence, Frankfurt, Funchal, Genoa, Glasgow, Hamburg, London, Malta, Manchester, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Paris, Prague, Rome, Turin, Venice, Vienna, Zagreb, Zurich.
Band 3: Athens, Bucharest, Budapest, Krakow, Copenhagen, Corfu, Istanbul, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Heraklion, Mykonos, Moscow, Oslo, Reykjavik, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Dakar.
Band 4: Cairo, Lagos, Malabo, Tel Aviv.
Band 5: Boston, Chicago, Luanda, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico).
Band 6: Bogota, Caracas, Cali, San Salvador, Guatemala, Guayaquil, Johannesburg, Havana, Lima, Los Angeles, Medellin, Mexico City, Miami, Panama, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, San Jose (Costa Rica), Santo Domingo, Sao Paulo.
Band 7: Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santiago (Chile).
Band 8: Tokyo, Shanghai.
Flights on OneWorld Airlines
Iberia is part of the Oneworld Alliance, which allows you to earn and redeem points on other Oneworld airlines.
Iberia uses a distance-based chart for its Oneworld partners with the same pricing year-round. The exception to this pricing is British Airways and Japan Airlines.
| Distance (Miles) | Economy | Premium | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 650 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 24,000 |
| 651 to 1,151 | 9,000 | 12,500 | 16,500 | 33,000 |
| 1,152 to 2,000 | 11,000 | 16,500 | 22,000 | 44,000 |
| 2,001 to 3,000 | 13,000 | 25,750 | 38,750 | 51,500 |
| 3,001 to 4,000 | 20,750 | 41,250 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
| 4,001 to 5,500 | 25,750 | 51,500 | 77,250 | 103,000 |
| 5,501 to 6,500 | 31,000 | 62,000 | 92,750 | 123,750 |
| 6,501 to 7,000 | 36,250 | 72,250 | 108,250 | 144,250 |
| 7,001 to 11,770 | 51,500 | 103,000 | 154,500 | 206,000 |
Other Airline Award Charts
For other airlines, here is where you can find their award charts by clicking “See Redemption Table”:
- Iberia Express.
- Iberia Regional Air Nostrum.
- Vueling.
- LEVEL (low-cost long-haul from Barcelona).
- Binter (services primarily small islands).
- Avianca (same as Oneworld Award chart above).
Best Ways to Use Iberia Avios
There are several great ways to use Iberia’s Avios. Below are some of my favorites.
1. Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Juan to Madrid
My favorite use of Avios is flying Iberia business class during the “off-peak” time to Madrid from Boston, Chicago, New York, or San Juan for only 34,000 Avios one-way or 68,000 Avios round-trip.
Most other airlines charge around 70,000 miles one-way, so you can book a round-trip flight for the same cost as a one-way flight!
Taxes and fees for the U.S. to Madrid business class flight are around $135, and Madrid to the U.S. are around $172, for a roundtrip cost around $307.
2. Short Round-Trip Flights on American Airlines and OneWorld
It only costs 11,000 Avios for round-trip flights on OneWorld airlines for flight under 600 miles, and 12,000 Avios for flights between 601 and 1,000 miles.
I frequently use this sweet spot to fly from Lexington (KY) to my family in Charlotte (NC).
By car, the round-trip drive is over 800 miles and takes 13 hours due to the mountains. But by air, it is a very quick 45-minute flight.
American Airlines prices this short flight (and many other short flights) for around $300-500, so being able to redeem 11,000 Avios for it is a great deal.
This other good thing about this sweet spot is that, unlike British Airways’ Avios, the entire trip is priced as a whole rather than individual segments.
Thus, I could fly Lexington-Charlotte-Raleigh for 12,000 Iberia Avios round-trip, whereas it would cost 30,000 British Airways Avios due to the connection in Charlotte (7,500 * 4 segments).
Pro Tip: Sometimes Iberia’s award search does not match the “Saver” award space on AA.com. If this happens, perform an Avios search on BritishAirways.com. If the flight shows that it is available, give Iberia a call at 1-800-772-4642 to book the flight.
3. Los Angeles and "Band 6" Cities to Madrid
The cities in “Band 6” including Los Angeles are also a great deal to book for only 42,500 Avios one-way in Iberia business class during the off-peak time.
On an Avios per hour basis, this award is better than 34,000 business class sweet spot. From Los Angeles, you would spend only about 3,500 Avios per hour versus 3,700 Avios per hour from Chicago (12 hours versus 9 hours flight time).
The “Band 6” cities are: Bogota, Caracas, Cali, San Salvador, Guatemala, Guayaquil, Johannesburg, Havana, Lima, Los Angeles, Medellin, Mexico City, Miami, Panama, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, San Jose (Costa Rica), Santo Domingo, and Sao Paulo.
4. New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco in Lie-Flat Business
You can also book American Airlines’ lie-flat transcontinental business class for only 64,000 Avios.
You can book the same flight with American Airlines miles for 65,000 points, but if you transfer American Express Membership Rewards during a 40% transfer bonus, these routes can be a good value at only 45,714 American Express points.
5. Upgrade to Premium Economy on LEVEL
You can also your Iberia Avios to upgrade from economy to premium economy on Iberia’s ultra-low-cost carrier LEVEL Airlines, who operates out of Barcelona.
An upgrade on the San Francisco to Barcelona route would cost you 12,750 Avios one-way, which is a pretty good deal considering there is about a $400 difference one-way between economy and premium economy.
A couple of benefits of Premium Economy are:
- A seat with 37 inches of legroom with more recline and an adjustable footrest.
- Two free checked bags plus one carry on.
- A 3-course meal, drinks, and a lighter meal before arrival.
6. Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Santiago to Madrid
These three cities are in Band 7, which can be booked during the off-peak time for only 51,000 Avios each way for business class.
The Verdict
Iberia Avios offers great value, but the sweet spots are limited to business or premium economy flights on Iberia to/from Madrid, or short economy class flights on OneWorld airlines.
