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4 ways to book Icelandair flights with points and miles
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
March 26, 2026 • 7 min read
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Quick summary
Icelandair is a popular option for transatlantic travel, especially for those interested in stopovers in Iceland, but it is not part of a major airline alliance.
You can redeem points for Icelandair flights through its own Saga Club program, as well as select U.S. airline loyalty programs and credit card travel portals.
Saga Club points can be used flexibly, including for partial payment and covering taxes and fees, but are difficult for most U.S. travelers to earn.
JetBlue and Atmos Rewards points are also options for booking Icelandair flights.
What to consider
Saga Club does not accept transfers from major U.S. points programs, limiting options for most U.S.-based travelers.
Award pricing through JetBlue and Atmos Rewards is dynamic or starts at published rates, but actual rates may vary based on route and date.
Booking through a credit card travel portal typically yields a fixed value per point, with some exceptions offering higher redemption rates.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of redemption values and step-by-step guidance for maximizing points when booking Icelandair flights.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
Icelandair is a popular carrier for visiting Iceland because its hub, Keflavik Airport (KEF), is about 31 miles from Reykjavik. Icelandair is well known for its low fares, and many travelers use the airline to travel between the U.S. and Europe while taking advantage of a stopover in Iceland.
However, if you're looking at how to use points and miles to fly Icelandair, you'll quickly discover the airline isn't part of a major airline alliance. Although the airline has interline and codeshare agreements with many airlines — including Emirates, Southwest Airlines and Turkish Airlines — you can't currently redeem rewards from most of these airlines' loyalty programs for Icelandair flights.
However, you do have a few options if you want to redeem points or miles for Icelandair flights. So, let's dive in.
Redeem Icelandair Saga Club points
Icelandair has its own loyalty program called Icelandair Saga Club. The bad news for infrequent Icelandair flyers, though, is that you can't transfer any of the major U.S. transferable rewards to Saga Club. As such, most U.S.-based travelers will have trouble earning a significant balance of Saga points.
Luckily, you don't need to have enough Saga points to cover your entire Icelandair flight booking. You can use any amount of Saga points you wish to book a seat on any scheduled Icelandair flight. You can even redeem Saga points to cover the taxes and fees on Icelandair flights.
For example, on a sample $651.53 round-trip booking, I used the carrier's slider tool to select various combinations of points and cash.
ICELANDAIR
I could redeem 136,224 points to cover my entire booking, giving me a value of 0.48 cents per point.
ICELANDAIR
Or, I could redeem a mixture of points and cash for the booking.
ICELANDAIR
You won't get outsize value when redeeming Saga points for Icelandair flights. However, it's a nice option if you want to pay using a combination of points and cash and you have a few extra points in your Saga Club account.
Redeem Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards points
Alternatively, you can book through Alaska Airlines to redeem Atmos Rewards points for Icelandair flights. While Atmos Rewards still publishes a partner award chart, the rates listed are only starting rates for nonstop award flights.
ALASKA AIRLINES
However, I found award rates for nonstop Icelandair flights do begin at the listed starting rates. For example, I could redeem 27,500 points and $139 for a one-way Icelandair flight from Seattle to Reykjavik. The distance between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and KEF is 3,622 miles. However, the Alaska-operated flight on the same route is less expensive on the date I checked, and one Icelandair-operated award option is much more expensive than the other.
ALASKA AIRLINES
Meanwhile, flying 2,413 miles from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to KEF on an Icelandair-operated flight starts at 22,500 points plus $139.
ALASKA AIRLINES
Atmos Rewards points can be difficult to earn, as the only major transferable currencies that can be transferred to the program are Marriott Bonvoy points and Bilt Points. However, you could snag one of the following Atmos Rewards credit card welcome offers if you're interested in earning points on your purchases:
Atmos™ Rewards Ascent Visa Signature® credit card: Earn up to 80,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare: Earn 60,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. Earn an additional 20,000 bonus points after spending a total of $5,000 on purchases, also in the first 90 days from account opening.
Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® credit card: Earn 100,000 bonus points and a 25,000-point Global Companion Award after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening.
Atmos™ Rewards Visa Signature® Business Card: Earn 70,000 bonus points and a $99 Companion Fare (plus taxes and fees from $23) after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening.
You can also redeem JetBlue TrueBlue points for Icelandair flights. The pricing is dynamic, so you'll need to search for award flights on your specific route and travel date to see how many points you'll need to redeem.
For example, I found one-way award flights from Boston to Reykjavik starting at 17,000 points plus $102.
JETBLUE
And I found one-way award flights from Seattle to Reykjavik starting at 32,000 points plus $102 in economy and 104,000 points plus $102 in business class.
JETBLUE
JetBlue TrueBlue points are relatively easy to earn, as you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards points and Wells Fargo Rewards points to the program. You can also earn points with cobranded JetBlue credit cards.
You can book Icelandair flights with points or miles through the travel portals of most major programs with transferable currencies. However, you'll usually only get 1 cent per point or mile when redeeming your points or miles for flights booked through these portals.
This being said, you can get more than 1 cent per point if you find an Icelandair flight eligible for Chase Points Boost. In that case, Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see ) cardmembers can get up to 2 cents per point, depending on the specific redemption, when redeeming through Chase Travel℠ (see your rewards program agreement for full details). Likewise, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see ) and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see ) cardmembers can get up to 1.75 cents per point, depending on the specific redemption, when redeeming through Chase Travel (see your rewards program agreement for full details).
Even though Icelandair doesn't belong to a major airline alliance, you can still redeem points and miles for its flights. Your best-value options for redeeming points or miles for your Icelandair flight are Atmos Rewards points or JetBlue TrueBlue points.
However, as discussed above, you have several other options. Especially given Icelandair's often-low fares, you may find it feasible to book at a paid rate and save your points and miles for hotels or a future trip.
