Follow the distant call of your Viking ancestors or simply dive into a world like no other, and you’ll find yourself in Iceland. There are so many surprises when it comes to this island of the north that you simply have to see it to believe it.
Yes, there is ice. But, this is only a small fraction of the wonder. Did you know Iceland boasts some of the best mountain-biking in the world? It has 170 geothermal pools that you can explore and the world’s only geothermal cone that you can scuba dive to, if you wish. So, whether you want to embrace the majesty of its famous glacier lagoon or its dazzling Harp Concert Center for some world-class opera, you will find Iceland an experience of a world enchantment, hidden only by the preconceived veil of ice.
Are you ready to pass through that veil?
Planning a trip to Iceland using points & miles
Follow the plan we’ve laid out below, and you’ll find yourself on an Iceland expedition that includes free flights and free hotel stays, a nice bonus that will help you get there much sooner than later.
You’ll be flying to Reykjavík–Keflavík Airport (KEF) airport, which is just outside the capital city of Reykjavík.
Options for flying to Iceland with Points & Miles
Several airlines now offer connections to Iceland. Keep an eye out, as the flight times, or taxes and fees, can increase greatly depending on what airline and partners you are looking at.
Booking with Delta to Iceland with Points & Miles for an Award Ticket
The most straightforward option to flying to Iceland using points and miles might be using Delta. Flying from JFK to KEF will cost 60,000 miles, and around $59 in taxes and fees.
This is a direct flight, and will take between 5-6 hours.
Depending on what season you are trying to fly, Delta also has direct flights to Iceland from their hubs in Detroit (DTW) and MSP (Minneapolis / St. Paul).
As always, it might be worth looking at a positioning flight. For example, the same days booking a trip out of Atlanta (ATL) would cost 128,000 miles on Delta. Instead, you could book a cheap cash ticket (or miles) using another airline between ATL and JFK (or DTW/MSP), and take advantage of the 60,000 round trip ticket on Delta.
Your trip can be booked using the Delta online booking engine, or by calling. Delta usually has pretty poor inventory for low availability, so be prepared to be flexible with the dates you want to fly. Also, Delta searches are sometimes weird about combining domestic legs and international legs. Due to this, we recommend you do your search in 4 parts.
- Home Airport -> JFK
- JFK -> KEF
- KEF -> JFK
- JFK -> Home Airport
Once you’ve found low availability flights for all 4 of those legs, you might have to call Delta to actually do the booking. Just have the flight numbers written down for the flights with low availability you’ve found. Also, know that Delta online doesn’t show the same award availability to everyone. However, as a Delta Skymiles Credit Card member, you should be shown some additional reward availability that someone without the credit card might not see.
You will also get a slight discount on the number of miles needed as a credit card holder as well.
Booking with United to Iceland with Points & Miles for an Award Ticket
For United, your cheapest options are going to be flying out of United’s ORD (Chicago O’Hare airport) or EWR (Newark New Jersey) hubs – which is where their direct flights are from.
As of 2024, pricing for this round trip ticket would come out to ~65,000 miles (or 32,000 each way), with around $58.70 in taxes and fees on the ticket.
On United, booking from your local city could possibly require more miles than going direct from ORD or EWR, but it’s likely to not require as many extra miles as it might with Delta.
Booking with American Airlines to Iceland with Points & Miles for an Award Ticket
Booking with Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Over the years, more and more budget airlines have popped up, and Iceland is a popular destination for them. This means you can book them for a relatively small amount of cash (but be prepared to pay for everything).
Depending on what Chase Sapphire credit card you have, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal to book those flights using points. Just keep in mind that it might not be the best use of your points, but if you’re just looking to spend as little cash as possible, might be another option to consider.
Credit Cards Needed for Booking an Award Ticket to Iceland with Points & Miles
For this itinerary, it’s going to depend on what hub you are near and what time of year. The best option might be to just get the credit card of whatever airline you are flying. With most tickets being in the 60,000 – 70,000 point range of a round trip ticket, the majority of airline credit cards will you get you that with the initial sign up bonus (and if the offer isn’t high enough right now, just wait, and it’s likely a limited time offer will provide that).
You can see possible options for which card to get in the section above, where we go through each airline specifically.
Booking Hotels in Iceland with Points & Miles
Updated info on hotel bookings is coming soon!
Credit Card Application Process
This one should be a relatively simply application process. If you are getting 2 cards with Chase, make sure to not apply for them too close together (and keep in mind the 5/24 rule). If you are doing them from two separate banks, you can likely apply for both on the same day and get the process started immediately.
Cost Comparison for Booking a Trip to Iceland with Points vs Cash
So, how does that compare to what you would pay if you went the traditional route? Let’s see!
- Flight to the Iceland: $950
- 2 nights stay at Radisson: $450
That would bring your grand total to $1400 (and keep on adding if you want to stay more nights, of course!) You can see why more and more people are traveling the Dips and Trips way, huh?
Summary: Iceland Awaits
We’re very excited to provide this simple plan to such an overlooked and yet unforgettable world destination as Iceland. Whether you want to see whales launching from the waters (Iceland is in the top ten in the world for this) or Icelandic, five-gaited majestic horses thundering the plain, you will not be disappointed, nor will the hospitality of the great people of Iceland do anything but warm your heart and keep the amazing memories of this northern retreat hued in gold in your heart for years and years to come.
Sounds like we should work for Iceland tourism, eh? No, we work for you, and we hope you take advantage of our tips for this great journey. If you do, by all means let us know what you loved best about your journey through the veil of ice, other than the unbeatable cost, of course!
Did you know there’s probably more golf played in Iceland than most places in the world? They play 24 hours a day in the summertime and the northern part is warmer than the southern part – Jack Nicklaus