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Icelandair is the flag carrier of Iceland, headquartered near the capital city Reykjavik. As of December 2020, the airline operated services to 34 cities in 16 countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Icelandair is a popular choice for flights between the United States and Europe, thanks to its free stopovers in Iceland and low cash fares.
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Saga Club is the Icelandair frequent flyer program. While it lacks major airline and credit card partners, there’s still some value to be had in Saga Club, if you know where to look. Keep reading for everything you need to know about Icelandair Saga Club.
| Hubs | Reykjavik |
| Alliance | None |
| Transfer Partners | Hilton Honors, Radisson Rewards |
| Cobranded Credit Card | Icelandair Premium Mastercard from FNBO |
| Redemption Options | Flights, upgrades, leg room, onboard purchases, hotel stays, car rentals, gift certificates, donations |
Saga Club Elite Status
When you join Saga Club, you’ll automatically become a Saga Blue member. Move up status tiers when you collect enough Tier Credits – by flying with Icelandair, Air Iceland Connect, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue – within a 12-month period.
| STATUS TIER | TIER CREDITS REQUIRED |
| Saga Blue | None |
| Saga Silver | 40,000 |
| Saga Gold | 80,000 |
Once you unlock a tier, you’ll have that status for the next 12 months. Status benefits include:
| BLUE | SILVER | GOLD | |
| Earn Saga Points | X | X | X |
| Tier Credit bonus | 10% | 20% | |
| Upgrade between classes | X | X | |
| Airport lounges | X | X | |
| Saga Premium check-in | X | X | |
| Priority on waiting list | X | X | |
| Baggage benefits | X | X | |
| Spouse card | X | X | |
| Limousine service | X | ||
| Parking at Keflavik Airport | X | ||
| On-board WiFi | X | ||
| Fast track through security | X | ||
| Priority phone number | X |
Earning Saga Points
Earn Saga Points for:
- Flights with Icelandair and partner airlines
- Onboard purchases with Icelandair and partner airlines
- Icelandair Hotel and Hotel Edda stays
- Hotel stays booked through Icelandair’s Voyage or Icelandair’s Booking.com hotel search
- Car rentals booked through Rentalcars.com, Hertz or Sixt
- Car rentals booked through Icelandair’s Voyage car rental search
- Booking activities through Icelandair’s activity search
- Using the Gray Line Iceland shuttle service between Keflavik Airport and Reykjavik
- Transferring from other award programs, e.g. JetBlue, using Points.com
As we mentioned earlier, partner airlines include Air Iceland Connect, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue.
Earn Saga Points faster with the Icelandair Premium Mastercard from First National Bank of Omaha. As a cardmember, you get Saga Points on everyday purchases, like gas and groceries. For Icelandair purchases, you earn double the amount of Saga Points.
The card also features no foreign transaction fees, a low annual fee of $39 and a 10,000-point welcome bonus with your first purchase.
Earning Sage Points With Transfer Partners
One of the easiest ways to earn Saga Points as an American, besides having the Icelandair Premium Mastercard, is to transfer your Hilton Honors or Radisson Rewards points, both at a 10 to 1 ratio.
If you hold any of the credit cards below, you can quickly rack up on points that can transfer to your Saga Club account:
| LOYALTY PROGRAM | CREDIT CARDS |
| Hilton Honors | Hilton Honors American Express Card Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card |
| Radisson Rewards | Radisson Rewards Visa Card Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Card |
Here are suggested cards for earning points from transfer partners:
HILTON HONORS AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card has an offer for up to 130,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points. Earn 80k points when you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, earn 50k more points when you spend $5,000 in the first 6 months. Our valuation puts the 130k combined points at around $780 in value ($0.006 per point).
This Hilton credit card earns 7 Hilton Honors points per $1 spent directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton Honors portfolio of brands. U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas station spending earns 5 Hilton Honors points per dollar. All other purchases will earn 3 Hilton Honors points per dollar.
Other features include no foreign transaction fees and free Hilton Honors Silver Status. This card has no annual fee. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
HILTON HONORS AMERICAN EXPRESS SURPASS® CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has an offer for up to 180,000 Hilton Honors bonus points. You earn 130k points when $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months and another 50k points when you spend $10,000 within the first 6 months. The total 180k bonus points are worth around $1,080 per our valuation.
Earn 12 points per $1 spent on a hotel or resort within the Hilton Portfolio. This chain of hotels consists of over 5,000 locations. Earn 6 points per $1 on purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations. All other purchases will earn 3 points per $1.
Other benefits include complimentary Gold Status and a Weekend Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
The card has an annual fee of $95 (See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply).
HILTON HONORS AMERICAN EXPRESS ASPIRE CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card offers a 150,000 Hilton Honors bonus points. You can find the bonus offer directly through the American Express website.
Cardholders are rewarded with 1 weekend night reward with the new card and every year after renewal. Additionally, you can earn 1 more night after spending $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year.
This card earns 14X Hilton Honors bonus points at participating hotels or resorts within the Hilton Portfolio; 7X Hilton Honors bonus points for flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, car rentals booked directly from select car rental companies, U.S. restaurants; and 3X Hilton Honors bonus points on all other eligible purchases.
The premium card does also offer another generous benefit – access to over 1,300 VIP lounges with the Priority Pass Select for you and up to 2 guests per visit.
The annual fee for this premium card is $450. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
All information about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
Redeeming Saga Points
Saga Points expire after 36 months of inactivity. To keep your account active, make sure to earn or burn points at least every three years.
Use your Saga Points for:
- Icelandair, Air Iceland Connect and Alaska Airlines flights
- Icelandair upgrades
- More legroom on board Icelandair flights
- Onboard purchases
- Hotel bookings
- Car rental bookings
- Gift certificates for Icelandair flights
- Special Children Travel fund
Redeem Saga Points via Points.com for gift certificates with major retailers like Amazon and Target. Or, gift or share your points with friends and family. Keep in mind, there is a booking fee for all transactions.
Saga Club Tips & Tricks
- One-way awards are available.
- Saga Club does not charge any change fees on Saga and Economy Comfort class tickets.
- Best value awards are on flights to Iceland from smaller airports in North America that would require a connection to a hub.
- Take advantage of Alaska Airlines stopover rules and book multi-day stopovers on award tickets.
Bottom Line
Icelandair isn’t part of an airline alliance, nor does Saga Club have credit card transfer partners. But you still might consider joining if you have the Icelandair Premium Mastercard, regularly fly Alaska Airlines, or if you earn Hilton Honors or Radisson Rewards points. Just be sure you’ll make good use of your Saga Points. Otherwise, it probably makes more sense to join Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan instead.
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