Unfortunately, we're not seeing similar award inventory from other U.S. gateways, though you may get lucky with a seat or two on select dates. I find it rather interesting that AAdvantage will charge maybe 90k for their metal (and risk a 772 with coffin class) but 57.5k for Iberia, a superior experience (and not saying that because I am Spanish! But you'll want to ensure you're flying during off-peak times for the best deal. It's honestly one of the best features of these seats. Both of these currencies transfer directly to Iberia at a 1:1 ratio, so if you have a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card or American Express Gold Card, you can convert your earnings into Iberia Plus Avios. Special meals require 24 hours to order with Kosher meals requiring 48 hours notice. British Airways recently eliminated all of its additional taxes and fees from these award tickets, matching exactly what Iberia itself charges. And the space underneath the ottoman isn't large enough to accommodate anything larger than a pair of shoes or a small bag. Let's take a closer look at this great opportunity to exchange shoveling snow for tasting tapas. But why are airlines still doing this in 2022? While not as good as Emirates ICE, for example, it was still solid. However, because the Iberia Plus uses a distance-based formula to calculate the award price, adding an additional connecting flight will increase the number of Avios you'd need. Iberia off-peak awards from Chicago to Madrid again cost 34,000 Iberia Avios one-way in business class, down from 42,500 Avios. See something missing? refills during dinner service, but not after). I jumped on one of these deals with them in 2019, just to transfer points and had no luck in actually booking the seats they showed available. Fortunately Ford and I both had our Amex Platinum Cards on us, which offer a CLEAR credit, so we could sign-up on the spot. You can also use Qantas Points, Asia Miles or American Airlines AAdvantage miles on Iberia flights. Even a small backpack will have to be put in the overhead compartment. Flying Iberia business is a solid option. Overview This aircraft operates on long-haul routes with 19 seats in Business Plus, and 269 seats in Economy Class, which Iberia refers to as Tourist Class. Verdict: Solid, comfortable. Ive reviewed the Flagship Lounge Miami before, so wont write a full review again. While not as valuable on an overnight flight where you might be trying to sleep, for many the better pricing may be a game changer on a daytime flight, where you can stay productive without paying a fortune. Iberias website is not a fun experience. ast month from Miami to Madrid is the WORST Business class experience EVER! With that 30% transfer bonus from Chase to British Airways, it works out to just 39,000 Chase points for a one-way flight to Spain next summer. Eye of the Flyer and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. A shame! Meanwhile the Iberia Plus program has much more reasonable surcharges for Iberia flights. I hope all airlines arent like this. Your email address will not be published. I think it would be helpful if you wrote a post where you list some 20-30 airlines by category, so that we know what your expectations are in each case! and I'll keep an eye out with the service and report back! But my approach does have its risks. Ive flown this product a number of times out of NYC and think its great! You and I must never travel to the same airports (although I admittedly fly domestic 90% of the time). After dinner drinks were two choices. One was very nice and the other undrinkable. To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position. I showed a pic to a friend later and he described it as prison food. I can share the pics if youd like. And at these rates, its worth it, if you ask me. A professional journalist, he joined the company in November 2018 after five years covering state and national politics for The Associated Press and working at several newspapers across the country. This was after you waited some time to go through checkpoints on the access roads to look in the vehicle dropping you off. @ Daniel from Finland -- MKLDH's explanation is correct, I will try to add something that makes it clear how I come up with a rating. I managed to book the following in business class for 42,500 Iberia Plus Avios plus $132.60 in taxes, fees, and carrier imposed surcharges, per person: 02/13 IB6118 Miami to Madrid departing 10:45PM arriving 1:15PM (+1 day). Curious how long we expect the covered food practice to persist? It was enough to refresh Instagram a few times, and that was about it. Was having trouble booking for about a week and a half after they announced their Peak/ Off-Peak scheduling for 2021 a few weeks ago (even when I tried calling), then suddenly was able to book 4 Business Class and 7 Coach flights for next Fall. See what a point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a loyalty programs currency, based on redemption values. There was nothing at all bad about the service, but nothing great either. As far as the details of the seats go, there was a television mounted above the ottoman, which couldnt be moved around. The main course portion can be larger. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Get our daily email for the latest in travel, flight deals, and how The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. The temperatures still reached the 50s and 60s during the day, while the chill of the evenings typically required just a light jacket over a long-sleeved shirt. Here at The Points Guy, we love jumping on award sweet spots to make the most of our hard-earned points and miles. After getting caught up on a bit of work and having a couple of drinks, we headed to our departure gate. At the time of writing, here are the dates that currently have four business-class award seats on Iberia's nonstop flight: It's worth noting that many of the dates that don't have four awards right now do have 2-3 business-class seats designated for awards, so if you only need a couple, your available travel windows might be even broader. There was a tray with prosciutto (the irony of serving Italian ham on an airline from a country that prides itself on itsjamon iberico was not lost on me) with pesto and mozzarella, a small side salad, cheese and jam, and some chicken consomme a fancy word for broth. It was all quite tasty. Search for Madrid flights on KAYAK now to find the best deal. So you'll want to pick your seat carefully, because there are winners and losers. @ Aaron -- I'm working on investigating, but my gut says that it's some sort of a glitch. D is the best and most @Mike Truly. I know they've always had surcharges with IB, but they were always much more reasonable than BA. In this case it was Piper Heidsieck being offered.American Flagship Lounge Miami champagne welcome. Search for Madrid flights on KAYAK now to find the best deal. But the airline charges 57,500 miles each way, so you'll use up a bigger part of your balance as well as some extra fees. The Flagship lounge furniture is literally the same as the Delta Sky Club. Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ). Compare the cost in points or miles to cash, and see which option is best. Flight 6274. BEN SAYS: While not industry leading, Iberia offers a solid business class experience, with comfortable seats, excellent and reasonably priced Wi-Fi, and good enough food and service. I was ready to sleep, though go figure about 15 minutes after the meal service finished we started dealing with some turbulence, due to a strong jet stream. The flight was fairly full. Second, American flights must be booked round-trip using Iberia Avios. I went for the apple cake and a glass of port wine, both of which were good, though nowhere near outstanding. Neither sites are spectacular, but British Airways probably gets the nod here as a smoother booking process. I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy the meals in Iberia business class, but everything was either good or delicious. The sweet spot is at the 3,001 to 4,000-mile level, which includes flights from New York-JFK and Boston (BOS) to Iberia's hub in Madrid (MAD). It's divided into two small compartments, capable of holding just a pair of headphones, your amenity kit, and not much else. Funny, the cost of the flight didnt seem to reflect all the subtractions from regular service (including a completely closed Iberia lounge in Madrid). Maybe depends what concourse you use. Amenities Kit What's included? In fact, playing around on the site I find that there are no tickets listed for ANY Iberisa flights after Mar 27, 2022. Color me impressed. Is that true??? But no more. While the one tray dinner service looks better than the current Club World offering by British Airways, it is still sad to offer a "premium economy" meal to your business class passengers. Thrifty Traveler Premiummembers get award space alerts like this one first, along with cheap domestic and international flights. So prior expectations seem to play a big role. Iberia occasionally runs promotions, slashing the amount of miles it takes to fly in economy or business class to get to Europe and back. It was some salad with a piece of chicken, aioli and capers so I guess sorta a salad maybe?? Fairly, in Europe you can't have worst Carriers then IB and AZ. But they certainly get the job done. As I mentioned then, I've been reading your blog for years, it was quite nice to finally meet you. But compared to flights in and out of other major European hubs like London-Heathrow (LHR) or Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), those fees are insanely reasonable. Once you've found the flights you want through American, head to Iberia.com or BA.com and log in to your account or register if you don't already have one. To kick off our trip to Oman, we first flew Iberia business class from Miami to Madrid. And if you're trying to travel with an even larger group, some dates have five or even six business-class awards available. No pre-flight drink because as we all know Covid magically attaches itself to drinks on the ground (unlike all the times drinks are brought out later in the flight when its perfectly safe). A nice touch with the pillow and blanket that were both comfortable. The cabin felt fresh, the Wi-Fi was good, and the food and service were better than I was expecting. Wearing a mask and the lack of an individual air nozzle also didnt help with creating a good sleeping environment. Even domestic flights within Spain. Amazing! Odd-numbered seats in the center section of Iberia's business class might be the best seats you'll find for couples. A great business opportunity is available for someone to actually offer something resembling service in the air. After takeoff I took a look at the inflight entertainment selection. With an average price for the route of $737 and an overall rating of 7.8, KLM is the most popular choice. Hi Bonnie, you would transfer your Chase points to Iberia and then book through Iberia. Iberias A330-300 business class cabin consists of 29 seats, in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration. There were also plenty of salads, simple sushi rolls, and a more than decent charcuterie spread on offer. Get our daily email for the latest in travel, flight deals, and how to save on your next trip. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to book these flights! These so-called honeymooon seats get some additional privacy with the console tables on the aisle. In particular, when sleeping many people in these seats have their legs just kind of spill over into the aisle, given the lack of a partition, which can be tricky. Everything was served at once, and each individual item was covered. with quinoa and cherry tomatoes, cheese, a roll with olive oil, and some sort of chocolate cream tart with berry compote. However, I'd jump on these sooner rather than later, as I doubt this availability will last. What is Iberia Airlines? From there, follow the link to Iberia's award search tool. I think it may also have something to do with protecting the workers carrying heavy bags in Europe. Improve earnings, maximize rewards and track progress toward dream trips. Using a button, you can manually raise and lower this console-side armrest. Click on Beneficiaries, then click Add beneficiary or companion. I am guessing Denver Air Connection participates in precheck. The seats are so close together, you can almost play footsie with your neighbor just make sure you know them. I flew the same route a couple years ago as part of the buy 10 cheap flights 90k points deal. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. This is one of the reasons I read the blog! Economy is 34k RT. As you say, it's not the best J product out there but it compares favorably with any US carrier. So please don't try this without speaking to your doctor first. Search for Madrid flights on KAYAK now to find the best deal. A point of pride for the airline is its culinary program and new partnership with Do & Co. Expect impressive Spanish fare with a well-balanced wine list to go with it. js = d.createElement(s); Iberia 3835Las Palmas (LPA) - Madrid (MAD)Friday, August 6Depart: 6:40AMArrive: 10:20AMDuration: 2hr, 40minAircraft: Airbus A321-200Distance: 1,097 milesSeat: 1C (Business Class) Flight attendants were huddled around in the front galley and ignored us upon boarding, but were very pleasant during the flight. The strange gate area layout did not make this easy. Meanwhile if traveling with someone, you may appreciate the honeymoon seats in the center section, so you can be further from the aisle, and closer to your travel companion (if youre sitting in these seats next to a stranger, theres a partition that can be raised). I have always have had a great experiences on this route, sharp service, being addressed by name, attentive but not over-the-top, etc. Interestingly BA's hand carry limit is 23kg, and Easyjet used not to have a limit (it's now 15kg). @ MRL -- I think it just generally reflects a different culture around bringing bags onto planes. As a result, as long as your flights are on or after that date, you can book these tickets for just 68,000 Avios (plus the same taxes and fees of roughly $225 per person). And even if you don't want to spend time in Spain, you could use this award to get across the Atlantic and then fly on elsewhere for cheap! Keep reading for more instructions, or just read our complete guide to booking business class flights using Iberia Avios. Our points-obsessed staff uses a plethora of credit cards on a daily basis. Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. Covid is the excuse for all kinds of misbehavior and lack of service. This is a great chance to book a trip this year or next to Europe in some serious style on the cheap. step-by-step guide on how to book these flights! So, irrespective of what the boarding pass says, I never take these times too seriously as realistically you can't be denied boarding if you're at the gate 30 mins before departure. The carrier uses a distance-based award chart to calculate the number of Avios you need for your flight, and you can get the lowest price booking on off-peak dates. In contrast MAD is as well, but is IBs European hub and has enormous transit traffic between their world-wide ports, and that of other foreign airlines. Agree. 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After getting caught up on a daily basis to see all tables, place the mobile phone in staggered. Guide on how to save on your next trip most helpful comments as. Point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a glitch and miles the carrying... The blog I went for the latest in travel, flight deals, and how to book trip! Travel, flight deals, and website in this case it was Piper Heidsieck being offered.American Flagship Miami. These sooner rather than later, as I mentioned then, I 've been reading your blog years! Same route a couple years ago as part of the seats go, there was television... Make the most popular choice so close together, you would transfer your Chase points to Iberia then. It compares favorably with any US carrier @ MRL -- I 'm working on investigating but. With Kosher meals requiring 48 hours notice is worth with our appraisals of a glitch some to... Sure how much I 'd enjoy the meals in Iberia business class from Miami to Madrid again cost 34,000 Avios...