With all the recent news and changes coming from Delta in just the last couple of days, many Delta members are scurrying to book/find awards before anything else happens. To help with that and to get the best bang for your Skymile buck, I thought I would write a couple of posts highlighting some good ways if you plan on burning your Skymiles. Check out the other Burning Skymiles posts – burning skymiles: getting to australia for only 40,000 miles, and burning skymiles: roundtrip to Morocco for 60,000 miles.
Fly To Iceland This Summer
Enjoy the beauty of Iceland while burning your Skymiles! / Shutterstock
One of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited was Iceland. I cannot wait to go back again and spend some more time exploring that beautiful place, though I did get to hit some of the highlights during my short visit there.
Read more: 24 Hours In Iceland
Strangely enough, there is only one US carrier that flies directly to Iceland and that is Delta. With the other airlines, you will have to transit a European hub (which is a nice thing to do to maximize miles) but with Delta, you can get straight to Iceland to start your summer vacation.
The flight originates from JFK and flies direct to Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik (KEF). It is a seasonal flight that only runs from May 1 – September 27
Required miles With Delta From the US to Iceland
- 30,000 miles one way in coach
- 62,500 miles one way in business
Booking Delta Travel To Iceland
Iceland is a great place to visit for any number of reasons but one of the best reasons to use Skymiles to do it is because the flight is so short! It takes 5.5 hours going and 6 hours coming back which is just about the same time as Delta’s transcontinental flights!
Availability at the lowest prices is not great but there is availability on most dates at various pricing levels. I personally would not consider this a route that I would want to burn the extra miles for business class considering the length of the flight, but that would be up to you and how many miles you want to burn (remember, there are no stopovers on award tickets so you could not stop there and continue on as part of the same award).
Some of the award availability to Iceland on Delta
Do note: Ben from One Mile At A Time wrote yesterday that Delta is subbing in one of their domestic 757 planes from June 4 – August 30 which would reduce the quality of business class on this route – keep that in mind.
The total price for Iceland – 60,000 miles and $40!
The taxes are relatively low – under $50 for a roundtrip ticket – and the miles required are the standard 60,000 miles roundtrip in coach. All in all, I find that to be an excellent use of Skymiles both for the convenience and the value of the country you are visiting.
Maximizing the Trip
Of course, remember that you can book one way awards with Delta as well now! So, one thing you could do is book a one way to Iceland with Delta and then use 10,000 American Airline miles to go anywhere you want in Europe. From there, you could use another mileage to return to the US or go back to Iceland/London and try out the incredible fares offered by WOW Air. 🙂
Read more: Using British Airways to Fly In America and Using American to Fly In Europe
Another great reason to hit Iceland this summer is for the incredible Reykjavik Marathon. It is one of my favorites and it would be a great way to see the city from the ground. The fact that you could get there (from New York) in less time than it would take to fly to Los Angeles should also be a great push in that direction.
I’d rather save the DL miles for other destinations and try out WOW Air.