Iberia Airlines Airbus A330 Premium Economy Class Review [ORD to MAD]

Airline: Iberia Airlines
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Flight #: 342
Route: Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD)
Date: November 6, 2024
Duration: 8 hours, 15 minutes
Cabin and Layout: Premium economy, 2-3-2 configuration
Seat: 14J and 14L
Cost: 51,000 British Airways Avios plus $229.40 in taxes (per person round-trip)

The majority of my trips start with finding a flight deal, and this one was no different.

My girlfriend and I found a flight deal from Chicago (ORD) to Madrid (MAD) for my 31st birthday at an outstanding price. The deal was originally for a seat in economy. However, I looked into it more and found it wasn’t much more expensive to fly in premium economy, so we decided to splurge to be more comfortable.

Madrid wasn’t our final destination, as we jumped on a quick flight over to Ibiza (IBZ) for a fantastic off-season stay.

Overall, it was a great flight experience for our first time flying on Iberia, and we were pleased that we spent a bit more on our flight. Here’s how it went.

Booking Iberia Airlines Premium Economy

I booked these tickets by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points I earned with my Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card (which is my sole credit card these days) to British Airways Executive Club. As British Airways and Iberia are both part of the Oneworld alliance, I was able to book the Iberia flight through BA. The points transferred at a 1:1 ratio, and I received them in about 2 days.

BEST BEGINNER CARD

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

60,000 bonus points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.49% - 27.49% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

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Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 5x points on select Peloton purchases over $150 (through March 31, 2025)
• 5x points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025)

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
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• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.49% - 27.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

The 2 round-trip premium economy seats cost me 102,000 Avios and $458 in taxes. It’s not a bad price for 16 hours total to have the extra comfort and to have designated overhead space. I used my Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay for the taxes as I wanted to have travel insurance coverage during the trip.

The cash price of the 2 tickets was $2,400. This means I received 1.9 cents per Avios, far above the 1.25 cents per point we currently value Avios at. However, since I actually paid for the tickets with Chase Ultimate Rewards points, it’s also necessary to look at them from that perspective. Since we currently value Chase points at 2 cents per point, this redemption was slightly below the Upgraded Points valuation.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Check-In

We arrived at Terminal 3 (home of American Airlines and Iberia Airlines) plenty early and could each check 1 bag for free flying in premium economy. There were partitioned lines for economy, premium economy, and business class. It took us about 5 minutes to check our bags and get our boarding passes.

We killed time by getting a drink at a piano bar, as there were no lounges in Terminal 3 we could access with my Priority Pass membership. This was a bummer for my girlfriend, as she regularly visits United Club lounges as a benefit of her United Club℠ Infinite Card.

Boarding

After we cleared security, it was quite a walk to the K16/18 gates. Thankfully, we arrived plenty early to get our steps in.

However, we were incredibly confused when we got to our gate. Our gate was K16, and we were boarding group 2 but couldn’t find it. We asked the desk agent, who told us we were at the right gate. We walked to the right side and peered over to see a small sign for boarding groups 1 and 2. It was a cramped and unpleasant experience waiting to get on the plane.

After about 30 minutes and chatting with new friends, we made it to the front of the line, where the agents quickly took a facial recognition photo.

On Board Iberia Airlines’ Airbus A330-300

We boarded from the front of the plane, which is always a difficult experience — it’s not always fun to see the comfort of business class before making your way to the back of the plane. However, as we walked by the business class seats, I smirked. I felt the seats looked well-worn and had limited space compared to other business class seats.

While the aisles of the A330-300 seemed to go on forever, the premium economy cabin had a 2-3-2 configuration and 21 seats.

After passing business class, we found our seats 14J and 14L. We purposely chose the last row so we could recline our seats without feeling guilty or having anyone bump the back of our seats. With over 7 inches of room to recline, it felt similar to a La-Z-Boy. It was a great choice, as the seat had significant room to recline before hitting the partition.

When we arrived at our seats, we tossed our 2 medium-sized backpacks into the overhead compartment, which had plenty of space.

At our seats, there were several items to help us get cozy. We were given a plush pillow, a large blanket, a small amenity kit, and noise-canceling headphones. When I wasn’t watching shows, I had my Bose headphones on, which were much better for sound quality.

The amenity kit had an eye mask, socks, earplugs, and a toothbrush to make the ride to Spain a bit easier. I didn’t use the socks, as I swear by my compression socks as one of my must-have travel accessories.

The seat itself was a great ride. The best part was the significant room between us and the row in front of us. Standard economy has roughly 30 to 32 inches, while premium economy has 37 inches. Those extra few inches definitely make a difference for a comfortable 8-hour flight, making the higher price completely worth it. However, the seat didn’t have as much padding as I would’ve liked.

Both my girlfriend and I had access to universal power outlets and USB-A ports between our seats toward the floor.

The only true complaint I had about the seat was the flimsy tray that pulled out from the armrest. When I was working on my laptop, putting any pressure on it caused it to bend and make the laptop slide. This was an annoyance, and I ended up just putting it away and putting the pillow on my lap as my desk.

We both purchased the 4-hour Wi-Fi package on the flight for €13.49 (around $14), and the connectivity was quite good. We found this was plenty of time to keep us entertained and productive.

Food and Beverages

Within the first hour after takeoff, we were served dinner. We had 3 choices: short rib, vegetarian lasagna, or chicken. I went with the short rib, and it was solid. My girlfriend went with the lasagna and said it was pretty good. The dessert was a carrot cake, which we found quite good. This was enough to tide us over for the entire flight.

The flight had 2 drink services with wine, juices, and coffee. The flight attendants even brought candy.

What I found interesting is that we didn’t receive a menu on our outbound flight, but we did on the way home.

Inflight Entertainment

The seatback had an easy-to-use 12-inch touchscreen with high-definition resolution. I didn’t use it much, as I spent most of the flight on my laptop or sleeping. Compared to other inflight entertainment systems, this was easy to use, and the picture was great.

I was able to control the screen from the connected remote on the right side of the seat, but I didn’t use it much, as the screen was quite responsive.

Lavatory

The standard, no-frills lavatory was shared with those sitting in economy.

Service

The flight attendants on this trip were outstanding: friendly, professional, and super attentive from start to finish. As soon as we boarded, they greeted everyone with warm smiles and helped with luggage, making the whole process so much easier.

During the flight, they quickly assisted with anything we needed, whether it was extra snacks or answering questions about connecting flights. Even during a bit of turbulence, they stayed calm and reassuring, which helped some nervous passengers.

Arrival

Roughly 30 minutes before we arrived, a video appeared on the screen to walk both EU and non-EU residents through the process of going through customs at the Madrid Airport. This was super helpful, as the Madrid Airport is deceptively huge. I felt like we walked for nearly 30 minutes before getting to where we needed to go.

Once we cleared customs, we had a few hours to kill before our next flight to Ibiza. Unfortunately, we had to collect our luggage and do the entire check-in process again for our last flight. After we went through security, we popped over to a Priority Pass lounge, freshened up, and finished our journey.

Final Thoughts

I’m a big proponent of using miles over cash, even if the redemption value isn’t perfect. In this case, I redeemed my Chase Ultimate Rewards for below 2 cents per point. While not the ideal situation, we had a great flight, and it cost us much less than if we had paid fully in cash — so it’s a win in my book.

It was a pleasant hop over to Spain for our first time riding on Iberia Airlines. I’m glad we selected premium economy, as the business class cabin looked dated and didn’t look like it would be worth the additional Avios.