Best airlines to fly to Spain (on a budget)

Flying to Spain is one of the best and cheapest options when flying into Europe. With a variety of airlines that fly into Spain, including US and international carriers, and many points and miles options as well you can fly to Spain on a budget. Here are the best airlines to fly to Spain on a budget.

You’ll find helpful information on the average cost to fly to Spain, how to save on your flight, what points and miles programs are best if you want to fly for nearly free, and helpful tips to make the most of your trip, too! 

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How much is it to fly to Spain?

Flights to Spain vary depending on the season and your home airport. If you can travel during low season (January-mid-April) you can find some considerable deals for less than $400 roundtrip. Personally, I love traveling to Spain during low season. The weather is still better than where I live (50s in January, anyone?) and there are hardly and crowds. It’s like you have the entire city to yourself.

Average flight prices from major airports:

  • Low Season | $300-450
  • Shoulder Season | $400-600
  • High Season | $550-700

Keep in mind the cheapest flights are often those from major hubs, and usually hubs with a lot of airline competition. The easiest way to get around expensive flights from your home airport to Spain is to take a positioning flight to an airport with a direct flight.

I recommend checking flight prices from your home airport and a few airports that you can easily get to cheaply on a different airline. For example, I could take a Southwest flight to Chicago and then a cheaper flight from Chicago to Spain.

>> Positioning flights are one of the easiest tools to cut you cost on an international flight.

What airlines fly direct to Spain?

With major US carriers and Spain’s own Iberia Airlines flying direct, you have plenty of options into Spain. And if you don’t mind a quick connection in Europe your options are really endless. Even better, Spain tends to be one of the cheapest countries to fly into from major and mid-size US airports when paying cash for your flight.

Almost all nonstop flights from the US will land in either Madrid or Barcelona. But from there you can easily book cheaper flights on a separate reservation to get anywhere in Europe or other Spanish cities.

What US cities have direct flights to Spain?

With the recent interest in Spain, pretty much every major US city now operates a direct flight to either Barcelona and/or Madrid. But keep in mind many of these routes are seasonal, running from around May through September or October.

Travel Tip! Use Flight Connections to find flight routes from your home airport and positioning airports into Spain. You can also see when the route operates to help plan your direct flight, which will likely save you money on your ticket.

You’ll find most US carriers offer direct flights into Barcelona while Iberia Airlines has more direct flights into Madrid.

What is the best airline to fly to Spain?

I’ve flown every airline that operates flights into Spain from the United States and I can tell you that they are all pretty much identical in your economy product. If you like to fly business class United’s Polaris is an amazing product and perfect for a flight to Spain.

Iberia, United, Delta, and American Airlines all operate flights into Barcelona and Madrid. You can also find flights seasonally on AirEuropa, too.

Depending on where you are based, Iberia likely has the most flights to Spain and with their OneWorld partnership with American Airlines the network is just larger to get you there from your home airport.

Keep in mind if you don’t mind an international connection there are more airlines that operate flights to Spain, like British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France. It’s best to use Google Flights to find the option that’s best for you and your budget.

All to say when it comes to Spain I have the mindset of taking whatever airline is offering the best deal since your experience is so similar for the 95% of us in economy. While all airlines have their benefits and drawbacks, you’ll find the flight is so short it doesn’t really make much of a difference on your overall experience getting there.

Want deals to Spain? I use Thrifty Traveler to earn the best deals on flights every year! You'll get amazing flight deals, like under $500 flights to Spain, pretty often. 

>> Get 10% off your first year with code Use code KENDYL10

Finding Cheap flights to Spain

Spain is one of the most common destinations for cheap flights to Europe. (I’ve purchased a $400 flight from Kansas City to Barcelona!) One of the best hacks to saving money on a flight to Spain is to use a flight alert service. You’ll commonly receive flight deals around $300-400 to Barcelona and Madrid which more than pays for your membership.

The most important thing to remember when getting a good deal to Spain is to be flexible with your travel dates. Peak season means peak prices but visiting between November and April will give you the best deals.

You also could be sitting on travel points that could pay for your flight, too. Travel rewards cards can transfer to various airlines that get you amazing deals to Spain, especially if you need to travel during peak season.

If these tips still aren’t getting you a cheap flight into Spain, consider flying into a different European country and taking a “reverse positioning” flight to Spain. You can find the cheapest airport options to fly into using Google’s Explore tool. From there, add your additional expense for your connecting flight and see what’s your cheapest travel option.

Best ways to use points and miles to Spain

If you can’t find a cash deal, don’t have flexible travel dates, want to fly business class, or have to travel during the peak season, using points and miles to Spain is a great option. Points and miles might seem confusing at first but you actually probably already have points you can use for a flight if you have any bank travel credit card.

The easiest tool to find award availability for flights to Spain is using Point.Me. Point.Me aggregates all your flight options with points and miles, including your bank and airline award programs. You’ll be able to see all your points options and a step-by-step process on how to book them.

>> If you’re looking to get into utilizing points and miles to travel the world for nearly free be sure to snag my Beginner’s Guide to Budget Travel Hacking.

Some of my favorite points and miles options to Spain

  • American Airlines from 45,000 miles roundtrip in economy
  • Iberia Airlines from 68,000 miles roundtrip in business
  • Avianca from 60,000 miles roundtrip in economy
  • Flying Blue from 30,000 miles roundtrip in economy

Some of these deals will require you to take a positioning flight but others you can get from your home airport. It’s a good idea to check Point.me just as you would a cash flight on Google Flights to find the best deal. The good news if once you know a travel date and airport Point.me will do all the work for you finding the best deals with the points you have.

As a reminder, you don’t have to have these programs’ points sitting in your account. Oftentimes you can use transfer partners from cards, like the Capital One Venture, to book award travel. This means you probably have travel points you’re sitting on you could use for your flight!

When to book your flight

Though many people claim Tuesday at 3:00 is the right time to book, there isn’t a science to finding and booking the best flight prices. Instead, flexibility gives you the best deal on a flight.

If you’re paying cash one of the best things you can do to get the best deal is to book a non-basic economy ticket direct with the airline. That way if the price goes down you can cancel, rebook, and get the difference back in a flight credit for future travel. 

You can also monitor flight prices using Google Flights, which can also help you track flights for a decent price. Typically for international flights you’ll find a good deal between 5-8 months before your departure.

When paying with points the earlier you book the better your options will be, especially if you travel during peak season.

Tips for flying to Spain

Book your flight directly with the airline and don’t use an ITA. This will save you the headache when something goes wrong, like a flight delay or cancellation, so you can speak directly with the airline instead of calling someone at Expedia or another ITA. 

Use a card with travel insurance. Cards, like the Chase Sapphire, offer great travel insurance that will cover trip delays and sometimes cancellations, too. (It’s also a great way to get around a foreign country without the hassle of transaction fees.)

Consider flying to a different airport. Iberia offers cheap, direct flights to many Spain destinations, like Seville and Valencia. Book a night (on points!) after arriving from your long haul flight and then a separate flight to your final destination.

Register to earn points on your airfare. If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for the airline’s awards program and start earning points and miles on your flight. As a reminder, you can credit your miles to a partner airline. So if you fly Iberia, you can add your American Airlines account number instead and earn miles!

If you can… Be flexible. The more flexible you are with your dates, it’s much more likely you’ll find a flight for less than $500. Even better if you can take a cheap positioning flight to a major airport.

FAQs

Which airline has the most flights to Spain?

Iberia has the most airports and flights into Spain from the United States.

What city is the best to fly into Spain from the United States?

Barcelona and Madrid are both easy cities to fly to from the United States. Consider which city you’d like to spend your trip in. If it’s your first time in Spain, start with Barcelona.

What month is the cheapest to fly to Spain?

You can consistently find deals to Spain from mid-September to mid-April if you have some flexibility and wait for a deal. If not, the winter months see the lowest prices to Spain from mid-January to mid-March.

More Spain Trips + Inspiration

I hope you enjoyed finding the best airlines to fly to Spain! Here is some more Spain inspiration to help in your trip planning:

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