Update: The Flight Deal has found additional deals throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East for under $800.
I said I wouldn’t write about mistake fares due to how quickly they disappear, but this is technically an attack fare. Plus, I just binge watched Season 1 – 3 of Oz, so I feel I should do something productive with my time. Basically, Delta is offering incredibly low fares to Europe, not due to a technical glitch, but to piss off United. The Flight Deal is reporting Delta fares as low as $314 round-trip between the following U.S. cities and Moscow and St. Petersburg:
- San Francisco
- Chicago
- Washington D.C.
- Cleveland
- Denver
- Houston
In addition to these fares, Delta is offering fares of $408 – $482 between select U.S. cities and Istanbul:
- San Francisco – $482
- Houston – $482
- Chicago – $408
- Washington D.C. – $408
These fares are valid for travel between January 12 – March 12, and April 20 – May 14. That’s actually pretty generous, except some people will be disappointed that there is a huge gap where Spring Break normally falls. If your dates are flexible, I recommend going in May since the weather will be nice and you’ll still get great deals on hotels. If you have a Barclay Arrival Plus card, you can redeem just 28, 260 – 43,380 miles for airfare. Some of those redemption levels seem higher than the 35,000 – 40,000 miles for an off-peak US Airways or AAdvantage award, but keep in mind that since the Barclay Arrival Plus card pays out 2 miles per $1 spent, you’re doing just half the amount of manufactured spending you’d have to do on an airline credit.
I visited Istanbul two years ago and absolutely loved it. The Old Town area is beautiful and definitely the place to be if you’re interested in seeing historically significant sights. I stayed at the Doubletree in Old Town Istanbul, which was great location-wise, but if I had to go back, I’d definitely pick a local hotel for a slightly more authentic experience.
