Iceland
My all-time favourite destination in Europe is the gorgeous island of Iceland. Iceland contains natural beauty everywhere, it is one of the most fascinating countries in the world – there’s no place like it. I was fortunate to spend a few weeks in Iceland a few years ago and cannot wait to return this spring to explore more.
Flying to Iceland is a bit tricky and involves being very flexible with your dates and travel plans as not every single day has award availability and some airlines do not fly daily to Iceland.
Flying to Iceland on an Award Ticket
A few years ago, flights were very limited to Iceland and you could only fly either on European low-cost airlines or on Icelandair – so you couldn’t really use your miles to fly to Iceland. Thankfully, the beauty of Iceland has captivated the world and more and more airlines are launching flights to the capital city of Reykjavik.
Most major airlines now fly (or will fly starting this summer) to Iceland and therefore it should be easier than ever to fly to the captivating country on an award ticket. I’ve outlined below the routes and airlines on which you can redeem your miles on.
Icelandair
Icelandair
The flag carrier of the country is Icelandair. The carrier operates flights to most major North American and European cities, not only that, Icelandair also flies to a number of cities which aren’t necessarily considered major.
The only limitation is that the only way to book flights on Icelandair using miles is through Alaska Airlines as no other major airline partners with Icelandair.
To/From North America
Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines all operate flights to Iceland from their main hubs. You can redeem any Star Alliance, oneworld, or SkyTeam miles for these flights as long as there is availability. To find availability, I recommend using the United website for Star Alliance options, the American Airlines website for oneworld options, and the Delta website for SkyTeam options.
- Air Canada: Montreal, Toronto
- how to book: Aeroplan, United Airlines
- American Airlines: Dallas
- how to book: American Airlines, British Airways
- Delta Air Lines: New York, Minneapolis
- how to book: Delta Air Lines, Air France/KLM
- United Airlines: Newark
- how to book: Aeroplan, Miles & More, United Airlines
To/From Europe
Most major European airlines fly to Iceland and therefore it is easier than ever before to reach Iceland in just a matter of 3 hours from most places in Europe. Unlike North American routes, there is much more award space on European flights to Iceland.
- Austrian Airlines: Vienna
- how to book: Aeroplan, Miles & More, United Airlines
- British Airways: London (Heathrow and City)
- how to book: American Airlines, British Airways
- Eurowings: Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart
- how to book: Miles & More, United Airlines
- Finnair: Helsinki
- how to book: American Airlines, British Airways
- Iberia: Madrid
- how to book: American Airlines, British Airways
- Lufthansa: Frankfurt, Munich
- how to book: Aeroplan, Miles & More, United Airlines
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines: Copenhagen, Oslo
- how to book: Aeroplan, Miles & More, United Airlines
Booking Flights to Iceland
In order to find award space to Iceland, I recommend searching each flight separately (that is, find your “gateway” to Iceland and then the connecting flights). For example, if I live in San Francisco and want to fly to Iceland, based on the information above, I could fly through either Montreal, Toronto, or Newark on Star Alliance or through Dallas on oneworld.
I would first search those flights to Iceland and once I find award space, I’d search for connecting flights which would get me to the Iceland gateway city. Keep in mind that some flights to Iceland have strange departure times and therefore you may need to overnight in the gateway city before being able to catch your connecting flight.
As far as flights on Icelandair, the best way to find award space is on Alaska Airlines’ website. You can only book Icelandair flights using Alaska Airlines miles and therefore you should check directly on that website. If you find award space to Iceland on Icelandair, you can connect from any North American city to that flight.. but only on Alaska Airlines. For example, if I live in Portland and there is award space from Seattle to Iceland, I could fly from Portland to Seattle on Alaska Airlines.
In Conclusion
Iceland is beyond gorgeous and it is absolutely worth every single mile to visit. With that being said, please keep in mind that not every airline operates a flight to Iceland every day and therefore award availability is limited – plus it is a popular destination.
My suggestion would be to collect points such as AMEX Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, as those transfer to all of the above mentioned ways to book flights to Iceland.
It isn’t impossible to get to Iceland using miles and points – you just have to be flexible and creative. Happy booking!