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WOW Air is offering $99 one way flights to Iceland. These are not mistake fares. These are advertised fares from Boston and Baltimore, which is misleadingly marketed as Washington, DC by WOW Air.

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WOW Air is an Icelandic low cost carrier. It offers flights from Baltimore and Boston to Reykjavik with connections to Europe.

Boston to Reykjavik

The $99 fares from Boston are available mostly on Mondays and Fridays through March 4, 2015 with a one month gap right around Christmas.

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There are widely available return fares are $171, so plenty of roundtrips for $270.

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I used to be interested in these fares on the warmest days possible (October and March, which aren’t that warm), but I think I had it backwards. These fares are probably best used to fly in the dead of winter to see the Northern Lights.

Baltimore to Reykjavik

The $99 fares from Baltimore are most Mondays and Fridays until March 7 with a Christmas hiatus.

The cheapest roundtrips are $278.

Fees

Wow Air’s $99 fares, and all of its tickets, just include a seat and up to 5 kg (11 pounds) in one carry on. Additional weight in your carry on, checked bags, and even seat selection increase the price. Here is the fee page for WOW Air.

From the United States to Iceland, Wow Air charges $38 each way to increase your carry on weight allowance to 12 kg (26 lbs).

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Wow Air charges $48 each way for a checked bag of up to 20 kg (44 lbs).Screen Shot 2015-09-16 at 7.51.01 AM

If I were to book WOW Air, I would book them one way to Iceland, and I would pay $38 extra to be allowed to carry on 12 kg (26 pounds) in one bag. That’s $137 total for a one way ticket to Iceland, and I am a big proponent of one bag travel, so this would be plenty of space and weight for a trip of up to a month.

Then I would fly a low cost carrier from Reykjavik to continental Europe.

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Low Cost Carrier Routes from Reykjavik

I would eventually fly home from continental Europe, either for 20,000 American Airlines miles on an off peak economy award, or in Business Class with United miles.This would mean seeing Iceland and another European country for probably about $300 plus 20,000 miles all in for all the flights. That’s unbeatable.

Best Way to Buy the Ticket

Buy your ticket to Iceland with the Citi Prestige® Card, since it comes with a $250 Air Travel Credit every calendar year that will cover the purchase of this ticket, bag fees, and seat selection fees. If you haven’t used the credit yet, buy this fare with your Prestige, and you will receive an offsetting credit on your next statement: a completely free ticket to Iceland!

Even if you’ve already used your $250 credit for this year, the card offers 3x on all airfare purchases.

See my review of the Citi Prestige Card which explains its many benefits like it annual $250 Air Travel Credit, 40,000 point sign up bonus, access to the American Airlines Admirals Clubs and Priority Pass lounges, 3x points per dollar on air travel and hotels, and a $450 annual fee.

My second choice would be the Barclaycard Arrival Plus™ World Elite MasterCard®. You can make travel purchases with the card and then retroactively remove the charge from your statement by redeeming Arrival miles in your online account. A $99 flight would be 9,900 Arrival miles. Here’s How to Redeem Arrival Miles. The card currently comes with 40,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.

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60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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