American tourists can visit Spain without needing to bring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, making it one of the easiest places to go. And because of fierce competition between airlines, Spain is one of the easiest places to fly using points and miles. This makes a win-win situation for any traveler sitting on a stack of travel rewards.

Whether you want to indulge in tapas in Madrid, explore the wonders of Gaudi in Barcelona or anything in between, here are the cheapest ways to travel to Spain using points and miles.

Cheap ways to fly to Spain with points and miles

1. Book through the Chase travel portal for cheap economy fares

Depending on your home airport, you may be surprised to find that it can be cheaper to fly to Spain than some U.S. domestic destinations. When you find such cheap cash fares, there's no need to search for airline award availability. Instead, use Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to take advantage of these attractive prices.

For Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cardholders can redeem points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. Its current sign-up bonus is: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card customers can take advantage of a round-trip deal from Newark to Barcelona for about $350, paying just 27,985 Ultimate Rewards® points for the trip.

Cheap redemption deals can be had through the Chase travel portal even for last-minute trips. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card members can fly from Miami to Madrid for under 40,000 Chase points round-trip in July:

For Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders

Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders can stretch their points even further: Instead of a 25% bonus through the Ultimate Rewards® portal, Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders get a 50% bonus. So, that nearly $350 round-trip airfare only costs 23,321 Ultimate Rewards® points instead of 27,985.

That's a cheaper redemption rate than you're likely to find by booking a traditional airline award.

For those without points to spare, you can still earn award miles by booking cash fares through the Chase travel portal.

2. Transfer Chase or AmEx points to Avios to book nonstop awards

Even if you can't find cheap flights, you may still be able to use Chase or AmEx points to score an affordable redemption. Both British Airways’ and Iberia’s loyalty programs offer reasonable award rates on nonstop flights between the U.S. and Spain. And you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® or American Express Membership Rewards to British Airways or Iberia at a 1:1 rate.

Both Iberia and British Airways price awards based on the flight's distance. So, flights from the East Coast of the U.S. to Spain are going to be the cheapest.

Iberia economy class awards

For example, you can book an award flight during the peak summer season from New York-JFK to Madrid. Iberia's eonomy class (also called Blue) will run you as little as 20,000 Avios each way, whereas the airline's premium economy class will cost you 35,000 Avios one-way.

Travelers can save more by flying during off-peak dates. For instance, you could pay just 17,000 Avios each way in economy or 25,500 Avios each way in premium economy for flights between Boston and Madrid.

Awards can be booked one-way or round-trip for double the miles cost.