Deal alert: Fly business class to Spain for as little as 49,000 points round-trip
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We’ve seen a record number of transfer bonuses go live recently, with a total of 17 opportunities that are available at the time of writing. Both American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards are currently offering bonuses for Iberia Plus, which is one of our favorite ways to fly business across the pond for just 34,000 points one-way during off-peak dates.
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With Amex offering a 40% transfer bonus (and Chase offering 30%), this means you could book a round-trip business class flight on Iberia for as few as 49,000 Membership Rewards points or 53,000 Ultimate Rewards points. Taxes and fees will cost you about $220 total.
This deal was originally sent out by Thrifty Traveler Premium, and subscriptions are available for just $7.99 monthly or $49.99 annually. This membership fee can easily pay for themselves since you’ll get notified of cheap flights, award flight sales and business-class deals straight to your email.
Airline: Iberia Airlines.
Routes: BOS/JFK/MIA/ORD to Madrid (MAD).
Cost: As low as 49,000 Membership Rewards points or 53,000 Ultimate Rewards points, plus around $220 in taxes and fees.
Dates: January through May 2022.
Pay with: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5x on airfare), Citi Premier® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on air travel), American Express® Gold Card (3x on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel).
The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
How to book
Let’s quickly walk you through how leveraging these limited-time transfer bonuses can get you a business class steal:
First, we recommend that you sign up for an Iberia Plus account (if you haven’t already). Then, you should double check your dates to confirm the award rates. Here’s an example of a round-trip flight I found from New York (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) for 64,000 Avios.
If you hold any Amex Membership Rewards earning card such as the Amex Platinum or the Amex Gold, here’s what you should see when you try to transfer your points:
If you’re a cardholder of either the Sapphire Reserve or the Sapphire Preferred, this is what you should see when you log onto the Ultimate Rewards portal and select “transfer to travel partners.”
As a reminder, your points transfer to Iberia Plus at a 1:1 ratio for both Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards. Note that Ultimate Rewards points transfer instantly, while Amex Membership Rewards points can take up to 48 hours.
From here, calculate how many points you’ll need thanks to the given transfer bonuses:
| Route | Amex Membership Rewards (40% bonus) | Chase Ultimate Rewards (30% bonus) |
| BOS-MAD | 49,000 points round-trip | 53,000 points round-trip |
| JFK-MAD | 49,000 points round-trip | 53,000 points round-trip |
| MIA-MAD | 61,000 points round-trip | 66,000 points round-trip |
| ORD-MAD | 49,000 points round-trip | 53,000 points round-trip |
Maximize your purchase
Don’t forget to use a card that earns additional points on airfare purchases, such as The Platinum Card from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Premier® Card (3x on air travel), Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on travel), American Express Gold Card (3x on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel).
Featured photo by Sven-Hansche/EyeEm for Getty Images.
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