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WOW Air is finally selling seats on its new Los Angeles to Reykjavik and San Francisco to Reykjavik flights that start in June, 2016. Fares start at $99 one way.

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

The Fares

Iceland: $99 One Way from the West Coast

The Los Angeles flight starts June 16. The San Francisco flight starts June 10. Both have $99 fares on the inaugural flight.

Screen Shot 2016-01-12 at 11.07.50 PMScreen Shot 2016-01-12 at 11.08.19 PMThe rest of the summer they don’t have many $99 fares, but they do offer some in the Fall.Screen Shot 2016-01-12 at 11.09.46 PM

The cheapest returns are several hundred dollars, so I think the play is to book only one way.

Seven other cities have $199 fares with a layover in Reykjavik.

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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 West Coast to Iceland, Wow Air charges $48 each way to increase your carry on weight allowance to 12 kg (26 lbs). From the United States to the rest of Europe, you’ll pay $57 each way.

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Wow Air charges $67 each way for a checked bag of up to 20 kg (44 lbs) from California to Iceland. To the rest of Europe, the charge is $76 each way.

If I were to book WOW Air, I would book them one way to Iceland, and I would pay $48 extra to be allowed to carry on 12 kg (26 pounds) in one bag. That’s $147 total for a one way ticket from California 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

Your top choice should be the Citi Prestige® Card, since it comes with a $250 Air Travel Credit every calendar year that will cover the purchase of this ticket. If you haven’t used the credit yet, buy this fare (and the extras like seat selection and baggage fees) with your Prestige, and you will receive an offsetting credit on your next statement: a completely free ticket one way ticket to Iceland, London, or several other cities.

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, 50,000 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 Citi ThankYou® Premier Card, which offers 3x on all travel and gas purchases and also has no foreign transaction fees. The card comes with 40,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months.Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 3.26.59 PM

 

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

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 Portal 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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