Icelandair is a well-liked service for visiting Iceland as a result of its hub is Keflavik Airport (KEF), an airport situated about 31 miles outdoors of Reykjavik. Icelandair is well-known for its cheap flights, and plenty of vacationers use the airline to journey between the U.S. and Europe whereas additionally profiting from a stopover in Iceland.
Nevertheless, for those who’re how one can use factors and miles to fly Icelandair, you will rapidly uncover the airline is not a part of a significant airline alliance. Though the airline has interline and codeshare agreements with Emirates, Turkish Airways and JetBlue, you may’t at the moment redeem rewards from these airways’ loyalty packages for Icelandair flights.
Briefly, you may’t redeem many kinds of factors and miles to fly on Icelandair flights.
However you do have just a few choices, so let’s dive in.
Associated: Watch us fly Icelandair 2 other ways: Enterprise class versus economic system
Redeem Icelandair Saga Membership factors
Icelandair has its personal loyalty program referred to as Icelandair Saga Membership. The dangerous information for rare Icelandair flyers, although, is that not one of the main U.S. transferable factors currencies work with Saga Membership. So, though you may earn Saga factors on Expedia bookings, JetBlue flights, Alaska Airways flights, Hertz automobile leases and extra, most U.S.-based vacationers may have bother incomes a big steadiness of Saga factors.
Fortunately, you do not have to have sufficient Saga factors to cowl your total Icelandair flight reserving. You should use no matter quantity of Saga factors you want to e book any seat on any scheduled Icelandair flight. You’ll be able to even redeem Saga factors to cowl the taxes and charges on Icelandair flights.
For instance, on a pattern $593.50 round-trip reserving, I used the service’s slider instrument to pick numerous combos of factors and money.
I may redeem 137,337 factors to cowl my total reserving, a redemption that will give me 0.43 cents per level in worth.
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Or, I may redeem 57,781 factors and pay $343.80 for the $593.50 round-trip reserving.
You will not get outsize worth when redeeming Saga factors for Icelandair flights, however it’s a pleasant choice to have if you wish to pay utilizing a mix of factors and money and you’ve got just a few additional factors in your account.
Associated: Easy methods to get to Iceland on factors and miles
Redeem Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles
Alternatively, you may redeem Alaska miles for Icelandair flights. Nevertheless, in accordance with Alaska’s associate web page for Icelandair, this system has briefly suspended business-class award bookings on Icelandair-operated flights “attributable to a excessive price of reserving failures.” Since Icelandair eliminated its premium economic system product in 2018, economic system class is your solely choice when redeeming Alaska miles for Icelandair flights.
Whereas Alaska Airways Mileage Plan nonetheless publishes a associate award chart, the charges listed are solely beginning charges for nonstop award flights.
Nevertheless, I discovered award charges for nonstop Icelandair flights observe the listed beginning charges. For instance, I may redeem 27,500 miles and $137 for a one-way Icelandair flight from Seattle to Reykjavik. The space between Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) and KEF is 3,622 miles.
If I departed just a few days earlier and linked in Portland, Oregon, I may redeem 22,500 miles and pay the identical $137 in taxes and charges.
In the meantime, flying 2,413 miles from Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) to KEF would value 22,500 miles plus $137.
Curiously, I may add a flight onward to Dublin with out paying any further miles. Nevertheless, I would must pay $192 in taxes and charges for this one-stop award.
Lastly, attributable to Mileage Plan’s pleasant stopover insurance policies, I may even e book a weeklong stopover for a similar variety of miles. Nevertheless, I would must pay barely larger taxes and charges.
Alaska miles may be tough to earn because the solely main transferable currencies that switch to Mileage Plan are Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards. Nevertheless, you may typically snag a great welcome supply on the Alaska Airways Visa Signature® bank card or the Alaska Airways Visa® Enterprise card, each of which allow you to earn Alaska miles in your purchases.
Associated: These are the perfect occasions to go to Iceland
Redeem by a bank card journey portal
You too can e book Icelandair flights with factors or miles by the journey portals of most main transferable factors currencies. Nevertheless, you will normally solely get 1 cent per level or mile when redeeming your factors or miles for flights booked by these portals. The first exceptions the place you will get extra worth when redeeming factors or miles by a bank card portal are:
When you have the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card or the Capital One Enterprise Rewards Credit score Card, chances are you’ll come out forward by buying a paid Icelandair flight together with your card. By doing so, you will earn miles in your bank card buy. Then, inside 90 days of your buy, log into your Capital One account and redeem factors to cowl your current journey buy. You will solely get 1 cent per level when masking current journey purchases, however no less than you will earn miles if you pay on your flight together with your card.
Associated: Easy methods to use resort factors in Iceland
Backside line
Although Icelandair would not belong to a significant airline alliance, you may nonetheless redeem factors and miles for its flights. Your greatest worth choices to redeem factors or miles on your Icelandair flight are Alaska miles or reserving by the Chase Journey portal together with your Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Most popular or Ink Enterprise Most popular.
Nevertheless, as mentioned above, you could have a number of different choices. Particularly contemplating the usually low fares for Icelandair flights, chances are you’ll discover it possible to e book a paid price and save your factors and miles for resorts or a future journey.
