Originally Posted by SaltyPaprika

Just to add to this post, we've used our companion voucher with Iberia for MAD-SCL, EZE-MAD. 102K Avios plus £440 in taxes for 2 business class seats. A huge saving compared to BA.

We booked separate IB flights down to MAD, which at £75 pp each way was a bit of a no-brainer. If you try to add these into the overall CV booking, you're getting stung for additional avios and taxes. I don't think it's worth it, and you might as well fly BA.

HOWEVER..... Last night we called BA to book our next trip with IB; Madrid - Costa Rica over the Xmas periood. What was really interesting is the agent told me that Iberia release their award seats 4-5 days ahead of BA, and they can book past the 355 days on their system. No £35 fees charges for booking over the phone for that date in the future.

So we've got MAD-SJO on Dec 24th, flying home on Jan 7th - a date that's not accessible as of today on BA.com date picker.

Something to keep in mind if you're chasing Madrid to Tokyo (or any other lucrative IB route).... call them up as they can see beyond the 355 days!