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Icelandair is a popular carrier for visiting Iceland because its hub is Keflavík Airport (KEF), an airport located about 31 miles outside of Reykjavík. Icelandair is known for its cheap flights, and many travelers use the airline to travel between the US 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 that the airline is not part of a major airline alliance. Although the airline has interline and codeshare agreements with Emirates, Turkish Airlines and JetBlue, you cannot currently redeem awards from these airlines’ loyalty programs for Iceland Air flights.

In short, you can’t redeem many types of points and miles to fly on Icelandair flights.

But you have a few options, so let’s dive in.

Related: See Us Fly Icelandair 2 Different Ways: Business Class vs. Economy

Redeem Icelandair Saga Club Points

Icelandair has its own loyalty program called Icelandair Saga Club. The bad news for frequent Iceland Air flyers, however, is that none of the major US transferable point currencies work with Saga Club. So, although you can earn Saga Points on Expedia bookings, JetBlue flights, Alaska Airlines flights, Hertz car rentals and more, most US-based travelers will have a hard time getting a significant balance of Saga Points.

Fortunately, you don’t need to have enough Saga Points to cover your entire Iceland Air flight booking. You can use as many Saga Points as you wish to book any seat on any scheduled Icelandair flight. You can also redeem Saga Points to cover taxes and fees on Icelandair flights.

For example, on a sample $593.50 round-trip booking, I used the carrier’s slider tool to select different combinations of points and cash.

I could redeem 137,337 points to cover my entire booking, a redemption that would give me 0.43 cents in value per point.

Or, I can redeem 57,781 points and pay $343.80 for a $593.50 round-trip booking.

You won’t get outsized value when redeeming Saga points for Icelandair flights, but it’s a great option if you want to pay using a combination of points and cash and have a few extra points in your account.

Related: How to get to Iceland on points and miles

Redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles

Alternatively, you can Redeem Alaska Miles for Icelandair flights. However, according to Alaska’s partner page for Icelandair, the program has temporarily suspended business-class award bookings on Icelandair-operated flights “due to a high booking failure rate.” Since Icelandair eliminated its premium economy product in 2018, economy class is your only option when redeeming Alaska miles for Icelandair flights.

While Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan still publishes partner award charts, the rates listed are introductory rates for nonstop award flights only.

However, I found award rates for nonstop Iceland Air flights to follow the introductory rates listed. For example, I can redeem 27,500 miles and $137 for a one-way Iceland Air flight from Seattle to Reykjavik. The distance between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and KEF is 3,622 miles.

If I depart a few days earlier and connect in Portland, Oregon, I can redeem 22,500 miles and pay the same $137 in taxes and fees.

Meanwhile, a 2,413-mile flight from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to KEF will cost 22,500 miles plus $137.

Interestingly, I can add an onward flight to Dublin without paying any extra miles. However, I will need to pay $192 in taxes and fees for this one-stop award.

Finally, due to Mileage Plan’s friendly stopover policies, I was even able to book a weeklong stopover for the same number of miles. However, I will need to pay slightly more taxes and fees.

Earning Alaska miles can be difficult because the only major transferable currencies that transfer to mileage plans are Marriott Bonvoy and Built Rewards. However, you can sometimes snag a good welcome offer on this Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card Or Alaska Airlines Visa® Business CardBoth of which allow you to earn Alaska miles on your purchases.

Related: This is the best time to visit Iceland

Redeem through credit card travel portal

You can also book Icelandair flights with points or miles through most major travel portals. Transferred Points Currencies. However, you will typically get only 1 cent per point or mile when redeeming your points or miles for flights booked through this portal. The primary exceptions where you can get more value when redeeming points or miles through a credit card portal are:

If you have a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you can come out ahead by purchasing a paid Iceland Air flight with your card. By doing this, you can earn miles on your credit card purchases. Then, within 90 days of your purchase, log into your Capital One account and redeem points to cover your most recent travel purchase. You’ll only get 1 cent per point when covering recent travel purchases, but at least you’ll earn miles when you pay for your flight with your card.

Related: How to Use Hotel Points in Iceland

Bottom line

Although Icelandair is not affiliated with 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 Alaska Miles or booking with you through the Chase travel portal. Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Business Preferred.

However, as discussed above, you have many other options. Especially considering the often low fares for Icelandair flights, you may find it possible to book a paid rate and save your points and miles for hotels or future trips.