Fly to Amsterdam with fares as low as $398

From colorful houses to world-class art to bicycle-friendly streets, Amsterdam has so much to offer. Now, you can experience Amsterdam without spending a ton on airfare as round-trip flights to the city are starting at $398.

Multiple airlines are offering cheap fares to Amsterdam from various U.S. cities. The travel dates for these fares generally fall from January to March and October to November.

These discounted fares to Amsterdam will probably only last a couple of days, so we recommend locking down these cheap flights to the European city as soon as possible.

Deal basics

Airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Icelandair, United Airlines and TAP.
Routes: From Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Chicago, Los Angeles; New York; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon; Washington and other cities to Amsterdam.
How to book: Use Google Flights to find your best dates and then book directly with the airline of your choice.
Travel dates: Generally from January to March and from October to November.
Book by: The next one to two days.

Thanks to Scott's Cheap Flights for finding this deal. At $49 a year, the site's Premium membership provides discounts of up to 90% and includes a 14-day free trial. The Elite membership also flags premium, business-class and first-class deals.

Sample flights

While you'll find some of the cheapest available flights to Amsterdam from some of the larger U.S. cities like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, there is also ample availability from many smaller cities across the U.S.

Here are some options that stood out to us:

• TAP: Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), starting at $398 (includes a layover in Lisbon, Portugal).
• Icelandair: Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to AMS, starting at $407 (includes a layover in Reykjavik).
• Icelandair: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to AMS, starting at $434 (includes a layover in Reykjavik).
• TAP: Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to AMS, starting at $451 (includes a layover in Lisbon).
• Delta: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to AMS, starting at $476.
• United: South Bend International Airport (SBN) to AMS, starting at $571 (includes a layover in Chicago).
• Delta: Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY) to AMS, starting at $575 (includes a layover in Atlanta).

We suggest searching for your ideal dates with Google Flights, then booking your flights directly on the airline's website. Direct airline bookings are more dependable if a flight experiences a cancellation, delay or booking change.

If you're flying to Amsterdam from JFK, Delta offers the cheapest available flights at $476. Delta offers two options for a trip taking place between Nov. 22 and Nov. 29 — one flight departs at 4:30 p.m. and the other at 7:30 p.m.

Delta also has two return flight options from Amsterdam, one leaving AMS at 9:55 a.m. and the other at 11 a.m.

These bargain offers to Amsterdam only extend to basic economy fares. Delta's basic economy does not allow passengers to make ticket changes, receive refunds or select seats. Passengers are allowed to bring one carry-on bag on their flight. If you're a Delta SkyMiles member, you cannot earn miles with a basic economy flight.

Keep in mind that there can be discrepancies between the prices advertised on Google Flights and those on airlines' websites due to the availability of third-party booking sites. In this case, Google lists the price of a round-trip flight between New York and Amsterdam as $447 because of the option to book a slightly cheaper fare on a third-party booking site. However, the fare on Delta's site is still a significant bargain and a more reliable way to book flights compared to third-party options.

Even though basic economy has no perks and can feel inconvenient for longer flights, the fares are still hard to beat. The $472 price tag for a flight between New York and Amsterdam is considered to be low; flights on this route typically cost anywhere from $700 to $1,500, according to Google Flights.

Delta also gives you the option to upgrade to its Main cabin for an additional $150, which would allow you to select seats and earn miles for your trip.

Maximize your purchase

Be sure to use a card that earns bonus points on airfare purchases, like The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

If you want to sail through Amsterdam's canals or visit the city's many art museums, then this deal is for you. There's really no better time to book your trip thanks to these super-low fares.

Even though these fares only extend to basic economy, which can be uncomfortable for longer flights, prices like these to one of Europe's more popular tourist destinations do not come often. Book these tickets as soon as you can.