19 Best Ways to Redeem Flying Blue Miles (Air France/KLM Airlines) for Max Value

BY 

Alex Miller

- January 25, 2017January 4, 2019

1. Use Points  / 
2. Use Airline Points

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Note: Flying Blue will announce new award prices for many routes in June 2018, stay tuned for updates.

Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France, KLM and several partner airlines. With its range of mile earning opportunities and a large group of airline partners, Flying Blue offers strong value to travelers.

Using Flying Blue miles for award flights is relatively simple. Many itineraries can be booked online. Award charts and routing rules are straightforward across member airlines.

Plus, there are great values including monthly Promo Awards for discounts of 20-50%. Let’s find some of the best Flying Blue values!

Best Ways to Earn Flying Blue Miles

Flying Blue miles can be transferred from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi Thank You Rewards (all at a rate of 1:1), from Capital One at a 2:1.5 rate, or from Marriott at a transfer rate of 3:1.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 35,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 on eligible purchases with your new card within the first 3 months. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at US restaurants. Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. $100 Airline Fee Credit: up to $100 in statement credits per year for incidental fees at one selected airline. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $250
The Platinum Card® from American Express How We Get $1,500+ In Value From This Card (Per Year) >	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. Up to $200 Uber Savings Annually. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms. Annual Fee: $550

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

AMEX CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express	Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 0.0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a variable rate, currently 13.49%, 17.49% or 21.49%. Terms. Annual Fee: $0
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express See How To Also Get $1,250+ in Value Per Year >>	Welcome Offer: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points. Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 & an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms. Annual Fee: $450
American Express® Business Gold Card	More Rewards: Get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. These categories include Airfare purchased directly from airlines, U.S. purchases for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio); U.S. purchases made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions; U.S. purchases at gas stations; U.S restaurants or for U.S. shipping. 4X points apply to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. Airline Bonus: Get 25% points back after you use points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel, up to 250,000 points back per calendar year. Pay Over Time Option: A flexible payment option to help manage cash flow on purchases of $100 or more. Terms. Annual Fee: $295
Are you a business owner? For more details, see our American Express business credit cards article or in-depth 2018 business credit cards guide to find the perfect card for your company.

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

CHASE CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card How We Get $1k+ Value From Just 60k Pts >	Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months That's worth $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards. 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide. $0 foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $0 the first year, then $95
Chase Freedom Unlimited®	Earn $150 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months Unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase - it's automatic. 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases & balance transfers, then a variable APR of 17.24 - 25.99%. Annual Fee: $0
Chase Sapphire Reserve®	Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants. Access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select Annual Fee: $450

Recommended Chase Cards (Business)

CHASE CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card We Get $1,600+ of Value Using This Card >>	Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year: Travel, Shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines. Get up to $600 per claim in Cell Phone Protection against covered theft or damage for you (and your employees listed on your monthly cell phone bill) when you pay it with your Chase Ink Business Preferred credit card. Annual Fee: $95
Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card 21 Benefits This Card Offers Biz Owners >>	Earn $500 bonus cash-back after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months Earn 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services Earn 2% cash-back on the first $25,000 (combined) spent at gas stations and restaurants each year 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 15.49% - 21.49% $0 Annual Fee
Are you a business owner? For more detail, see our Chase business credit cards article, or in-depth business credit card guide to make an ideal choice for your situation.

Recommended Citi Cards

CREDIT CARD	CARD INFO
Citi ThankYou® Premier Card	Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Redeemable for $750 in Airfare at ThankYou.com 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Travel, including Gas Stations 2 points per $1 spent on dining/entertainment Annual Fee: $95, waived for first 12 months

Recommended Capital One Cards That Earn Miles (Personal)

Credit Card	Benefits & Info
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card	Earn 20,000 mile sign up bonus (worth $200) once you spend $1,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months Earn 10X miles per $1 spent across thousands of hotels Earn 1.25X Miles on every purchase An excellent beginner card for lower credit scores without ongoing membership fees Annual Fee: $0
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card	Earn 50,000 mile sign up bonus (worth $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Earn 10X miles per $1 spent across thousands of hotels Annual Fee: $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that.

Recommended Capital One Cards That Earn Miles (Business)

Credit Card	Benefits & Info
Capital One® Spark Miles For Business	Limited Time Offer: Earn up to 200,000 miles: Earn a bonus of 50,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months and 150,000 miles when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months of opening your account. Earn 2 miles per $1 on every purchase, every day Redeem miles for travel, cash back, gift cards and more No foreign transaction fees Annual Fee: $0 intro for first year; $95 after that
Capital One® Spark Miles Select For Business	Earn 20,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening Earn 1.5 miles per $1 on every purchase, every day Save on interest with 0% intro APR on purchases for 9 months; 14.74% - 22.74% variable APR after that No annual fee

Marriott-SPG Transfers

You can earn Marriott points and transfer those to Flying Blue at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 Flying Blue miles bonus.

The 19 Best Ways to Redeem Your Flying Blue Miles

1. Save 20-50% With Flying Blue Promo Awards (Air France / KLM)

The best ways to use Flying Blue miles while getting the highest values per point are monthly Promo Awards. Discounts range 20-50% off the miles price!

Promo Awards are bookable for travel within 3 months. You still pay the full fees and any application surcharges.

Each Promo Award specifies the available dates, route, airline (Air France and/or KLM) and class (economy or business). Some Promo Awards are between 2 specific cities, while others are between a city and region.

Example: A US city may offer 50% off to Europe, so one-way economy is only 12,500 miles. Check regularly as these offers come and go. You must book online.

Hot Tip: Even if there is no Promo Award from your home airport, it might be a good deal to buy a Promo Award from another airport and a separate, cheap ticket to get to that airport. This is called a ‘positioning flight’.

2. Israel and North Africa Savings Because They’re in ‘Europe’ Region

Israel, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and the Canary Islands are all part of Europe according to Flying Blue. Most other programs put them in Middle East or Africa regions which are more expensive than Europe when coming from North America.

Coming from the US, Classic Awards are only 50,000 miles round-trip in economy, 100,000 in business.

When these go on Promo Award sale you have huge savings!

In addition to Air France/KLM flights, Delta flies to Israel and Alitalia to North Africa.

The flip side of this is an Israel to Middle East award is quite expensive even if just a short flight.

3. US 48 to Hawaii (Delta and Alaska Airlines)

Using Flying Blue partner airlines Delta and Alaska, a great Flying Blue redemption is for flights from the US 48 to Hawaii. Round-trip is only 30,000 Flying Blue miles in economy and less than $10 in fees.

This is less than US programs charge their own members!

Hot Tip:  If you’re flying Delta, The Platinum Card® from American Express will grant you access to the Delta Sky Club lounge for your flight.

4. US 48 to the Caribbean (Delta and Alaska Airlines)

Like Hawaii, US 48 to the Caribbean on Delta is a good deal at 30,000 miles round-trip in economy. That is a savings of 5,000 miles off what Delta SkyMiles charges for the same flights.

Delta has many Caribbean flights from New York and Atlanta.

5. Caribbean to Hawaii (Delta and Alaska Airlines)

Even cheaper than US to Hawaii is Caribbean to Hawaii, just 25,000 miles round-trip! This is because Flying Blue puts the Caribbean and Hawaii in the same award region.

Hot Tip:  Another way to make hanging out at the airport better is free Boingo WiFi with the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.

6. The Caribbean to Europe (Air France/KLM)

Air France/KLM has many routes between the Caribbean and Europe. Award flights cost the same number of miles as from the US if you want to visit Europe before or after an island adventure.

A one-way economy class award ticket will cost 25,000 Flying Blue miles and a one-way business class award ticket will cost 62,500 miles.

7. US to Mexico (AeroMexico, Delta and Alaska Airlines)

While the Caribbean and Hawaii are in separate regions from the US 48, Mexico is in the same region, making for cheap awards.

Round-trip economy is 25,000 miles, same as a US domestic award. This saves 10,000 miles off most US to Mexico awards!

Hot Tip: Look for routes with AeroMexico’s 787 Dreamliner: New York JFK-Mexico City often has one flight daily with this plane featuring lie-flat seats in business class.

8. Cheap Economy Flights to the South Pacific (Air France, Aircalin, Delta)

US 48 to the South Pacific is only 60,000 miles round-trip in economy. Air France flies Los Angeles to Tahiti.

In addition, you can fly to South Pacific via Japan on Aircalin or via Australia on Delta.

9. Pacific Island Hopping (Aircalin)

Aircalin is a South Pacific airline that connects some of the most remote and beautiful islands in the world.

A great place to start is their nonstop flight from Tokyo Narita to Noumea, New Caledonia. New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands have it all, and all levels of luxury.

Business class is 150,000 miles round-trip, while economy is 60,000 miles.

With the South Pacific, flights are 30,000 miles round-trip in economy, often a great deal for how expensive these tickets can be. Visit Wallis and Fortuna, so small the two islands share only one ATM!

10. Central America Beaches and Jungles (Copa)

Copa is a Star Alliance airline yet partners with Flying Blue. From its hub in Panama City you can reach Central and South America destinations that are often expensive cash tickets.

US to Central America round-trip is just 30,000 miles round-trip in economy. Within Central America, flights are 25,000 round-trip in economy.

11. Europe Domestic Flights

Air France, KLM and its partners such as Alitalia and Czech Airways cover much of Europe. Awards start at just 8,500 miles one-way. Focus on economy because intra-Europe business class is not much different from economy.

Always shop around because Europe flights usually have a high cash component due to taxes, which are passed on for awards. It may be better value on some trips to buy a cash ticket.

12. Visit Corsica, Napoleon’s Home Island (Air France, Air Corsica)

Corsica is a ravishing island blending French and Italian culture, and is the birthplace of Napoleon.

Air France and Air Corsica awards are available to the island’s 4 airports: AJA, BIA, CLY and FSC. You have many options and it is really hard to choose where to go for your Corsica vacation!

Hot Tip:  When visiting tourist attractions, you can often get 2x points when you use your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

13. Into India (Jet Airways)

Flying Blue now partners with India’s Jet Airways so you no longer have to book an award to New Delhi or Mumbai and then add a separate domestic ticket to continue to India’s many wonderful destinations.

Now you can add a Jet Airways segments to your award to India.

US to India is 80,000 miles round-trip in economy. Business is expensive at 200,000 miles.

In contrast, because domestic flights in India are typically cheap, it is not often a good award value to use Flying Blue for purely domestic India award flights.

14. Into Japan (Japan Airlines)

SkyTeam lacks a Japanese partner airline, so it is great that Flying Blue partners with Japan Airlines.

Like using Jet Airways in India, if you are booking a Flying Blue award to Japan, you can fly Japan Airlines all the way or fly another airline and add a Japan Airlines domestic flight in Japan.

The US to Japan award price is the same as India, 80,000 miles round-trip in economy class, while prohibitively expensive at 200,000 miles.

You can read about more ways to fly to Japan using points and miles here.

15. From Maldives to Angkor Wat (Bangkok Airways)

One more interesting non-SkyTeam Asian partner of Flying Blue is Bangkok Airways. They fly to destinations from Maldives to Angkor Wat. Add a Bangkok Airways flight to your Flying Blue award to Southeast Asia.

A one-way trip from Angkor Wat (Siem Reap) to Maldives via Bangkok is 20,000 miles in economy. Business is pricey at 50,000 miles one-way.

16. Visit Africa From Tip to Toe (Air France/KLM and Kenya Airways)

With the colonial legacies of France and Netherlands, Air France and KLM have extensive Africa networks. Add in Nairobi-based Keyna Aiyways and you have one of the most extensive Africa networks in the sky.

Many of these tickets are extremely expensive in cash so use your Flying Blue miles to travel around Africa!

17. Add Victoria Falls to Your South Africa Trip (Comair)

British Airways-owned Comair is a Flying Blue partner so if you have an award to South Africa, add a Comair flight up to Victoria Falls.

At 80,000 miles round-trip in economy from US this is a good value. Business at 200,000 miles is steep.

If you are already in Africa, standalone Comair flights are a better award value using British Airways Executive Club than Flying Blue.

18. Indian Ocean Island Hopping (Air Mauritius)

Air Mauritius is a key Flying Blue partner that gets you to magnificent Indian Ocean islands such as Mauritius, Reunion, and Madagascar.

US to these islands is 80,000 miles round-trip in economy, 200,000 in business.

If you love flying business class, you can sometimes go one island to the other via Paris on Air Mauritius or Air France. Don’t do this in economy!

19. The Remote African Beaches of Cabo Verde (Transavia)

The beaches of the islands of Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) are not easy to reach but oh so beautiful.

Transavia is a subsidiary of Air France/KLM and you can use Flying Blue miles for awards to their destinations around Europe, Morocco and all the way to Praia and Sal in Cape Verde.

Check the Transavia website for Flying Blue award availability.

More Ways To Earn Flying Blue Miles

Citi ThankYou Rewards Credit Cards

Citi ThankYou Rewards also transfer to Flying Blue at the same rates of 1,000 points for 1,000 Flying Blue miles. Transfer take about 48 hours.

Earn ThankYou points with these Citi credit cards:

CREDIT CARD	CARD INFO
Citi ThankYou® Premier Card	Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Redeemable for $750 in Airfare at ThankYou.com 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Travel, including Gas Stations 2 points per $1 spent on dining/entertainment Annual Fee: $95, waived for first 12 months

Hotel-Branded Credit Cards

You can transfer several major hotel program points to Flying Blue miles:

*Must transfer a minimum of 20,000 Honors Points; can then increase in increments of 10,000 points.
**Convert 50,000 miles to receive a 5,000-mile bonus

Marriott Rewards points transfer to Flying Blue at different rates depending how many points you transfer:

Remember how we showed you how to earn miles by transferring them from some of the top hotel loyalty programs? Build those loyalty balances by earning miles with the following credit cards:

See Ways To Earn Lots of Flying Blue Miles for more!

Flying Blue Program

To get started, you simply need to sign up for the loyalty program. Sign up with Flying Blue for free here.

Award Booking Guidelines

Flying Blue allows one-way and round-trip awards.

What Flying Blue calls a ‘multi-destination award’ online is really an open-jaw, meaning you can fly to one destination and return from another. You cannot add additional stops and you must return to your origin.

Most partner airlines can be searched on the Air France website. For others, you can search alternate sites or call Air France for availability.

Hot Tip: Not all partner airlines show on award searches with Air France/KLM. For example, you can use American Airlines’ website to check Alaska Airlines award availability.

Phantom Partner Award Availability

The Air France website is great for searching partners. It has one big flaw: so-called phantom availability on partner airlines.

Sometimes award will show as available but then be possible to book. Either the award is not available or the routing is not possible to book with Flying Blue.

It is always best to call Air France to confirm an award is available PRIOR to transferring miles to Flying Blue.

There are no award holds, however American Express and Chase transfer are instant, so if the agent confirms availability, you can immediately transfer and book the award. There is no phone booking fee.

Classic Awards and Flex Awards

The main types of Flying Blue flight awards are Classic Awards and Flex Awards.

Classic Awards are lower-priced and less available. All partner awards except Kenya Airways and TAROM are Classic Awards.

Flex Awards are higher-priced awards on Air France, KLM, Kenya Airways and TAROM. While Classic Awards may be hard to find, Flex Awards are available for most flights.

Hot Tip: If you must take a specific flight and have enough miles, you can lock in a Flex Award since it is free to change or cancel, then keep checking back to see if a cheaper Classic Award becomes available.

How Much Do Flights Awards Cost?

Flying Blue does not publish full award charts. Instead, check the cost of award flights using the Flying Blue Miles Calculator.

Pricing is by zones and not too complicated. Unlike many other airlines, award prices in miles are the same regardless of airline.

What can differ among airlines is the cash component since some Flying Blue partner airlines assess fuel surcharges and others do not. Always check alternate Flying Blue partner options for your trip.

Example: Taipei-based China Airlines does not have fuel surcharges while Shanghai-based China Eastern and Guangzhou-based China Southern, do. A similar itinerary may cost several hundred dollars more on China Eastern or China Southern.

Flying Blue vs Delta SkyMiles

Air France / KLM and Delta are both SkyTeam members so in many cases you can use either miles for the same trip.

Generally, the differences are:

• Air France First Class can only be booked with Flying Blue miles and only by Flying Blue elites (same for Flex Business Class awards)
• US domestic awards on Delta will have less availability for Flying Blue but often lower prices
• International awards typically cost fewer miles but higher cash on Flying Blue than SkyMiles
• Flying Blue has partners such as Air Mairitius and Aircalin that are not SkyMiles partners
• SkyMiles has partners such as Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia that are not Flying Blue partners
• SkyMiles has award blackout dates on China Airlines, China Southern and Korean Air, while Flying Blue has no partner blackout dates

What are Flying Blue Promo Awards?

Released monthly, Flying Blue Promo Awards are discounts of 20-50% of mileage for award travel.

You must book Promo Awards online. If you call to book you will be charged the full price.

Promo Awards offered for travel between two specific cities or regions. You can travel in either direction, one-way or round-trip.

Each promo award is specified for Air France or KLM or both.

You cannot change, cancel or refund Promo Awards.

Book Upgrade Awards

Upgrade awards are available on Air France, KLM and several partner airlines (Delta, Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Aircalin, China Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Kenya Airways, and Korean Air).

Air France and KLM upgrades are the most flexible. They can be requested online up to 24 hours departure and may also be available at the airport or on board the aircraft.

Partner awards are subject to availability and various restrictions specific to the airline, route and fare class of ticket. Best is to contact Flying Blue at least 72 hours prior to departure for availability and price. See upgrade award terms here.

Check the cost of upgrade awards using the Flying Blue Miles Calculator.

Fees, Changes and Cancellations

There are three different types of awards: Classic, Flex, and Promo.

• Classic Awards have a €45 change or cancel fee.
• Flex Awards are free to change or cancel.
• Promo awards cannot be changed or canceled.

There is no phone booking fee, thankfully. However, Promo Awards must be booked online.

Mileage Expiration Caveat

To keep miles from expiring, you need to credit one flight to your Flying Blue account every 20 months.

You can fly Air France, KLM or any Flying Blue partner airline, however this must be a mileage-earning flight (award flights and certain other types of tickets do not earn miles).

Unlike many other frequent flyer programs, non-flight mileage activity does not prevent expiration.

Conclusion

Flying Blue is a versatile airline frequent flyer program with strong mileage values and a wide range of partners. Flying Blue has some great values like Promo Awards and Israel in the Europe region. It is a contender for best overall SkyTeam mileage program.

Now that you know some of the best ways to use Flying Blue miles, we hope you’ll enjoy your next redemption!