FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - NYC to Spain September/October 2013
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Old Mar 10, 2013 | 7:02 pm
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AirD0c
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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Originally Posted by jccmu
I'm looking to go to NYC to Spain roundtrip for me and my wife in September/October 2013 and can be flexible in my travel dates. Planning on going for a week/maybe a little bit more and am indifferent between flying into Madrid/Barcelona or any other major Spanish airport serviced by the NYC area. Would like to fly round trip business if possible but would do economy both ways if it was a much better deal. Also do not mind paying cash and then upgrading with points if there is a good deal to be had.

I have 100k ultimate rewards points, 50k membership rewards points, 70k united points, 25k delta points, and 125k starwood. I would be willing to do a credit card sign-up to get extra points.

I saw the avios conversion bonus at Amex but know that a lot of those redemption come with hefty fees. What airlines are my best bet to look at/best day of week for the tickets? Any tips/tricks you can recommend for this type of redemption?

Thank you so much for your help.
You can redeem BA Avios on Iberia to avoid fees. Haven't done it myself and doesn't seem very straightforward but apparently possible. See this TPG post:
http://thepointsguy.com/2012/11/maxi...airways-avios/

Otherwise I would probably use United points. You have enough for economy or you could transfer an additional 30k UR for biz. I think UA flies direct to Madrid from EWR. Or you could fly LH via Frankfurt or Munich; Tap via lisbon etc.
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