New: Add a Free Stopover on Flying Blue Award Tickets

Everyone loves a good stopover. Whether you’re making the most of a layover or spending a few extra days getting from one city to another, stopovers can help you maximize your time away from home. Airlines know this, which is why so many of them offer the ability to add stopovers to your itinerary. Now Flying Blue, the loyalty program of both Air France and KLM, has joined the fray. Let’s take a look.

Flying Blue Adding Free Stopovers

There are quite a few airlines that allow you to add stopovers to your tickets. Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan allows for a free stopover on nearly all one-way tickets, while Air Canada’s Aeroplan charges you just 5,000 miles to build one in. And while United MileagePlus doesn’t offer a free stopover per se, it does include a free flight on round-trip award tickets by way of its Excursionist Perk.

That means Flying Blue is in good company, as it announced a little over a month ago that it would begin allowing travelers to include a free stopover on its award tickets. Now, as first reported by Inside Flyer, the ability to add a stopover has gone live.

In order to take advantage of this new offering you’ll need to call in (800-375-8723), though hopefully the ability to do so online will be added in the future. That being said, it took Air Canada nearly 3 years to build this feature into its website — so maybe don’t get your hopes up too high. Also, be aware that results have been mixed when it comes to booking successfully; evidently, the process is so new that many customer service representatives haven’t had training for it yet.

Although this feature is only available on award tickets, it’s easy to earn Flying Blue miles thanks to its many partnerships with flexible point currencies, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy points. With the exception of Marriott Bonvoy, all of these points transfer over to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, meaning 1 flexible point becomes 1 Flying Blue mile. Marriott Bonvoy points, meanwhile, transfer over at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Hot Tip: Score other cheap flights with Air France-KLM Flying Blue Promo Rewards — discounted award flights that rotate monthly!

Final Thoughts

As it stands, we’ve now got stopover options from the main airline alliances: SkyTeam, Oneworld, and Star Alliance. This newest addition is great news for travelers, especially since Flying Blue miles are so easy to earn. While the current process leaves a lot to be desired, hopefully, it will become a little simpler as more agents become used to the change.