4 Smart Ways to Book Icelandair Flights With Points

Icelandair’s expanding partnerships and ongoing tweaks to its Saga Club loyalty program are quietly creating new opportunities for U.S. travelers to reach Iceland and Europe using points and miles rather than cash fares.

Redeem Icelandair Saga Points for Icelandair Flights

Icelandair’s own loyalty currency, Saga Points, remains the most direct way to book Icelandair flights with rewards. Publicly available information on the carrier’s website shows that members can use Saga Points to pay for Icelandair-operated flights either in full or in combination with cash, across economy and Saga Premium cabins on most international routes.

Saga Points can be earned when flying on Icelandair, through select partner airlines and via non-airline partners such as hotels, car rentals and retail offers. Recent program materials highlight that members also earn Tier Credits alongside Saga Points, which determine elite status and associated benefits like priority services and extra baggage on paid and award tickets.

For redemption, travelers need to log into their Saga Club account and search Icelandair’s booking engine while selecting Saga Points as the payment method. Dynamic pricing practices mean award levels fluctuate with demand and cash fares, so reports indicate that flexible travel dates often unlock lower points prices, particularly on shoulder-season flights between North America and Reykjavik.

Because Icelandair positions Saga Club as a full-service frequent flyer program, members can also use points to cover taxes, fees and some ancillary services on itineraries. However, published terms emphasize that Icelandair may adjust earning and redemption rules with limited notice, so regular travelers are watching for ongoing updates as the carrier modernizes its loyalty technology.

Use JetBlue TrueBlue Points on Icelandair-operated Flights

A newer path for booking Icelandair with points has come through its partnership with JetBlue. Award travel coverage in 2025 highlighted that JetBlue TrueBlue members can redeem points for Icelandair-operated flights on selected routes, particularly between major East Coast gateways and Reykjavik, and onward into Icelandair’s European network.

Analyses of recent redemptions indicate that one-way economy flights from cities such as New York, Boston or Washington to Iceland can start from the mid-teens in thousands of TrueBlue points plus taxes and fees, while Saga Premium redemptions price considerably higher but can still deliver outsized value compared to buying business class with cash. Because JetBlue uses a revenue-linked model for many awards, the number of points required tends to track the prevailing fare rather than a fixed chart.

To access Icelandair availability, TrueBlue members must search and book directly through JetBlue’s channels and filter for Iceland-bound itineraries that specify Icelandair as the operating carrier. Published guidance stresses that partner inventory is limited, and that not every Icelandair flight sold by JetBlue will be available at an award level, so travelers often benefit from searching multiple dates or alternate U.S. departure cities.

Industry observers note that the JetBlue–Icelandair tie-up has been particularly attractive for travelers based in smaller U.S. markets that connect to East Coast JetBlue hubs, creating a one-stop, all-points itinerary to Reykjavik without needing to engage with Icelandair’s own loyalty program at all.

Leverage Alaska’s Atmos Rewards for Icelandair Itineraries

Another option sits with Alaska Airlines, which maintains a longstanding codeshare and loyalty agreement with Icelandair. Company filings and partner pages show that members of Alaska’s rebranded Atmos Rewards program can earn points on eligible Icelandair flights and book joint itineraries across the two networks.

Historically, Alaska miles could be used to book Icelandair-operated flights as full partner awards. Over time, booking policies have evolved, and publicly available partner information now focuses on earning points and purchasing tickets through Alaska’s channels rather than on a detailed, published Icelandair award chart. Travel discussion forums tracking the partnership in recent years describe intermittent periods when Icelandair awards were difficult or impossible to confirm, followed by adjustments in how Alaska presents these options.

Today, travelers aiming to use Alaska points toward travel that includes Icelandair typically look for itineraries sold by Alaska on a shared route, such as connections from U.S. cities into Icelandair’s Reykjavik hub. In practice, that can mean using Atmos Rewards points to cover the Alaska-operated legs while paying cash for an Icelandair segment, or monitoring Alaska’s booking platform for itineraries where an Icelandair flight appears within a broader rewards ticket.

Because Alaska’s loyalty offering has undergone visible changes, including the Atmos rebrand and updated partner earn structures, frequent flyers are watching closely for future refinements that might restore clearer redemption paths onto Icelandair metal. For now, this avenue tends to reward flexible travelers willing to mix cash and points and verify the exact operating carrier and benefits on each segment.

Tap Transferable Bank and Hotel Points for Partner Bookings

A fourth strategy involves using transferable credit card or hotel points to access partners that can, in turn, issue award tickets on Icelandair or on connecting flights that link seamlessly with Icelandair services. Over the past two years, several major U.S. banks have broadened their airline transfer lists, giving cardholders greater flexibility to route points into programs such as Alaska’s Atmos Rewards or other partner schemes that align with Iceland-bound travel.

Reference materials from mileage experts show that many transferable currencies maintain 1:1 or similar transfer ratios into key airline programs, while some hotel programs offer 3:1 transfers that can be used to top off an airline balance when a traveler is just short of an award. These transfers are often irreversible, which has encouraged travelers to first confirm that suitable partner itineraries are available before moving points.

In practice, a traveler might use a bank’s rewards portal to transfer points into JetBlue TrueBlue to secure an Icelandair-operated segment, or into Alaska’s Atmos Rewards to book a transcontinental leg that pairs with a separately purchased Icelandair flight from an Alaska hub. Some loyalty analysts have also pointed to indirect routings via European or North American partners that connect into Icelandair’s Reykjavik hub, effectively allowing bank points to fund most of the journey even if the final Icelandair segment is cash.

Because transfer ratios, partner lists and promotional transfer bonuses can change with little warning, travelers looking to reach Iceland with points are advised by industry coverage to monitor program updates carefully and to compare the effective cents-per-point value of each option against Icelandair’s cash fares. When flight prices are elevated during peak Northern Lights or summer seasons, these partner and transferable strategies can deliver substantial savings while keeping itineraries relatively streamlined.