World Cup Frenzy- Traveling to Spain on Points

With the world (even the US!) still in a frenzy over everything World Cup, I thought I would provide a quick guide on how to get to Spain from the US/Canada using your points. Spain is an incredible country, so even if you aren’t a football/soccer fan, you should definitely consider a trip.

Listed below are the airlines that fly direct from North America to Spain, including the lowest tier amount of points for coach and business and the airports they fly from (organized by Alliance.)

OneWorld
American- Coach:  60,000  Business: 100,000. Off-peak (Oct 15-May 15)- Coach: 40,000
Madrid: Daily flights from JFK and Miami.
Barcelona: Daily from JFK

Iberia- (Using American points) Coach:  60,000  Business: 100,000. Off-peak (Oct 15-May 15)- Coach: 40,000
Madrid: Flights from JFK, ORD, IAD, MIA,BOS, SJU
Barcelona: JFK, ORD, IAD, MIA, BOS, SJU
Connecting service through Europe with British Airways, Finnair, Malev and Royal Jordanian.

SkyTeam
Delta- There is a three tier award chart, so amounts fluctuate greatly. Coach: 60,000 (though usually 90,000), Business: 100,000 (though usually 200,000).
Madrid- JFK, ATL
Barcelona- JFK, ATL
Malaga- JFK (seasonal)
Air Europa-
Madrid- JFK, MIA
Connecting service through Europe with Air France, KLM, Alitalia, Aeroflot, Czech and Tarom.

Star Alliance
US Airways- Coach: 60,000, Business: 100,000 Offpeak (Jan 15- Feb 28): Coach: 35,000, Business: 60,000
Madrid: PHL
Barcelona: PHL

Continental- Coach: 60,000, Business: 100,000
Madrid: EWR
Barcelona: EWR

United- Coach: 55,000, Business: 105,000
Madrid: IAD (Operated by Aer Lingus)

Air Canada- Coach: 60,000, Business: 85,000
Madrid: YYZ
Barcelona: YYZ, YUL
Connecting service through Europe with Lufthansa, BMI, Brussels, Aegean, Adria, Croatia, EgyptAir, LOT, SAS, Swiss, TAP, Spanair and Turkish.

If you have American Express Membership Rewards points, you can transfer directly to:
Star Alliance (Air Canada, Continental, ANA, Singapore)
OneWorld (Iberia, British Airways, Mexicana)
SkyTeam (Delta, Air France, Alitalia, Aeromexico)

For the Starwood transfer airline partner list, see here.

Tagged as: Spain

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