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How I flight hacked a Free flight to Iceland (and earned cash back)

Earlier this year I visited Iceland for the first time (and fell in love – here’s why)! It was an epic mix between a cityscape in Reykjavik and a solo winter road trip in the countryside.

The ‘icing on the cake’ so to speak was getting my flight over for FREE, plus even earning a little bit back! So how did I do it? I flight hacked!

How I flight hacked a FREE flight to Iceland:

I took advantage of a seat sale Wow Air was having at the time, and was able to use yet another credit card hack

Step #1: Find a Seat Sale

I prefer Skyscanner’s search engine because it allows you to search for airfare by MONTH to view the cheapest prices across time if your travel dates are flexible.

In my case, I searched Toronto –> Iceland for the entire month of February and then I was able to identify which dates had the lowest fares. Sometimes it can work out cheaper to buy two individual one-way flights this way instead of return airfare so I would recommend trying both!

Since I found a super cheap single fare, I booked them separately. There were return fares from as little as $80 CAD at the time and as high as $180. For the purpose of this post, I will just show you how I got the single one way ticket for free.

free flight to iceland - the pink backpack travel blog

free flight to iceland - the pink backpack travel blog

Step #2: Book with Cash Back Credit Card

Note: I am only suggesting to use a credit card if you can pay off the balance each month; the whole point of using credit cards for cash back or travel rewards is to reap the benefits, not get charged ridiculous interest rates.

free flight to iceland - the pink backpack travel blog

free flight to iceland - the pink backpack travel blog

Step #3: Reimburse Card Charge with Cash Back Balance

Once I purchased the flight on the cash back credit card, I requested the cash back balance to be applied to the card to pay the balance.

The math: Flight from Toronto to Reykjavik total was $119.99 – cash back balance of $141.56 =  + $21.56.

Essentially, I flight hacked the one way flight for free and came out on top with an additional $21.56 credit applied to the card for future purchases!

Do you use credit card rewards for travel?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Related post:

How to Use Skyscanner to find CHEAP Flights

What are your thoughts?

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Harmony, Momma To Go said:
This is such a great use of your cash back! You must have been making alot of purchases to get that 141 credit though. Great fare either way, but cant beat free!
October 21, 2017 at 8:03 pm
Sherrie said:
That's an awesome hack! Looks like I need to change the credit cards I'm using...
October 18, 2017 at 1:45 pm
Brenna said:
Such a great post!!
October 14, 2017 at 12:14 pm
Crystal said:
I so wish Credit Cards in Australia were more on top of these sorts of things. Still haven't figured out how to hack the Aussie system!
October 14, 2017 at 6:54 am