WOW Air is running a promotion: $149 each way between New York and Tel Aviv, Israel. Round trip to Israel for less than $300 is amazing. Note that at that price, you can not check a bag or select your seat, but you can add on those things that you need and skip the extras you don’t and still have an incredible price. If they don’t have a flight available for your preferred date in one direction, keep in mind the fact that Flying Blue (the loyalty program of Air France / KLM and a Skyteam carrier) includes Israel in its definition of Europe — meaning that a one-way in economy class costs just 25,000 miles — and you can transfer those points from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi Thank You points, or Starwood Preferred Guest.
The Deal
- Flights from New York to Tel Aviv, Israel for just $149 each way
- Check the WOW Air website to view dates one week at a time.
Key Details
- Price does not include checked bags or seat selection
- Flights available on random dates between October 2017 and March 2018
Quick Thoughts
This is an amazing deal. Keep in mind that it is bare-bones — you would need to be able to travel with just a personal item to get your flight for this price, but even if you pay the rate for one carry-on or checked bag, you’re still well under $400 round trip.
When I flew WOW, I used the travel credit from my Chase Ritz-Carlton card to cover XXL legroom seating and it was perfectly comfortable and spacious — closer to domestic first class than the Ryan Air style that you might have in mind. The travel credit from a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred would also obviously cover the cost of the ticket in this case ($300 annual travel credit) or the $250 annual airline credit from the Citi Prestige would wipe out most of the cost. I don’t believe you could use the incidental credits from any Amex cards on fees here as those only work with your chosen domestic US airline. I similarly believe I’ve read that the travel credit on the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite will not work with a foreign carrier (but if readers have direct experience, please comment). At any rate, there are some options out there to cover the cost of fees. Here are seat selection fees for the example trip I walked through earlier (note that these prices are for a single leg:
Flying Blue one-way
If you can’t find availability for $149 in both directions, keep in mind that Air France / KLM’s Flying Blue includes Israel in its definition of Europe, meaning that you could get a one-way in economy class for just 25,000 miles in economy class — though, as you can see, the taxes alone are almost as much as these WOW AIr tickets.
Bottom line
This is a great deal that surely won’t last. If you’re interested, I suggest booking this one sooner rather than later.
H/T: View from the Wing
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