For retirees, digital nomads, entrepreneurs, and anyone who can travel when the best deals are available
Who This Is (And Isn't) For
This is for you if:
- You're retired and Tuesday in April works as well as Friday in July
- You're a digital nomad who can work from Madrid as easily as Miami
- You're an entrepreneur who controls your own schedule
- You have credit card points sitting idle (Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi)
- You don’t have any miles or points
- You want Business Class comfort without Business Class guilt
- You love the thrill of finding hidden gem deals others overlook
Skip this if:
- You're attending a wedding on June 15th
- School vacation weeks are your only option
- You need specific dates for specific events
- Flexibility is a foreign concept
If you're still reading, you're about to discover how to fly Business Class for 42% to 65% less than everyone else.
The Death of Fixed-Price Awards (And Your Opportunity)
The old award charts are dead. Dynamic pricing and multiple credit card 100,000-mile sign-up bonuses for every college kid in America killed them. But while everyone else mourns, flexible travelers can still feast.
Here's what inflexible travelers typically pay for a Business Class round-trip flight, using New York-Madrid as an example:
- American: 429,000+ miles
- Delta: 840,000+ miles
- United: 299,000+ miles
- Cash: $3,100 to $4,200
Example American Cost for New York to Madrid One-Way on AA.com
Example Delta Cost for New York to Madrid One-Way on Delta.com
Example United Cost for New York to Madrid One-Way on United.com
Here's what you'll pay to Madrid by using the Iberia:
- 81,000 to 102,000 miles round-trip (when you find the right dates)
Not Going to Madrid? No Problem.
Travel beyond Madrid requires a bit more miles and the cost varies (as Iberia Avios is a flight distance program). But it’s also a great value for travel from Madrid all over Europe.
Two Paths to the Same Destination
Path 1:
Transfer Your Existing Points
Already sitting on Amex or Chase points? They transfer to Iberia Avios miles. Capital One points can be transferred to British Airways, which in turn transfers to Iberia.
Your dead points just came alive.
Path 2:
Buy Miles If you Don’t Have Any
(Ideally, When On Sale)
No points? No problem. Anyone can buy them cheaper than you think possible.
The Real Math (With Actual Numbers)
British Airways Avios (miles) can be transferred to Iberia Avios (miles). BA runs sales every couple months, which net as low as 1.64 cents per mile.
With this option in mind, let’s run the numbers…
When Flexible Travelers Can Actually Fly (The Reality)
Here's actual availability for the lowest award rates…
Keep in mind three things first:
- Availability is constantly changing, sometimes for the better, other times not, and
- If you find availability in one direction from your preferred airport, look at another route (mix and match), and
- Remember that Iberia allows you to book flights on its partner American for flights within the U.S.
For One Traveler
For Two Travelers
The Trip Upgrade Process for Flexible Travelers
Baseline: You can travel anytime. Others can't. This is your superpower.
Desires: Business Class comfort without the $4,000 price tag or guilt.
Options: January-May to Europe, 80,500-102,000 miles.
Decision: Buy/transfer miles now or pay 2X to 3X forever.
Implementation: Book flights first, plan around them.
Bottom Line for the Truly Flexible
While your inflexible friends pay $4,000 or burn 400,000 miles for summer travel, you'll fly Business Class for $1,533 to $1,859 in winter or spring.
The question isn't whether you want this deal. The question is whether you're flexible.
This is one of the last great arbitrage options in the miles game. Use it while it exists.
See you up front.