Update: The offer mentioned below has expired and is no longer available.
While there’s no shortage of ways to earn a large number of points and miles quickly via credit cards, sometimes it does make sense to strategically purchase miles for an upcoming redemption if it gives you added flexibility or puts you over the threshold needed for a specific award.
If you are considering purchasing points or miles, we strongly recommend doing so when the airline or hotel program is running a purchase promotion. This will help you to either earn more points for your purchase or reduce the cash cost to purchase a certain number of points.
Right now, the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program is offering such a promotion — here are all the details you need to know and how you can leverage it to your advantage.
Purchase Flying Blue Miles With up to a 100% Bonus
Through May 15, 2022, you can receive up to a 100% bonus when purchasing Flying Blue miles. Your bonus will increase as you purchase more miles, according to the structure below:
- Purchase 4,000 to 10,000 miles and get a 50% bonus
- Purchase 12,000 to 22,000 miles and get a 70% bonus
- Purchase 24,000 to 100,000 miles and get a 100% bonus
Miles can be purchased in 2,000-mile increments, and the standard price for each Flying Blue mile is about 3 cents apiece. However, with the 100% bonus, that price effectively drops to ∼1.5 cents per mile.
Those with Flying Blue elite status can purchase up to 300,000 miles per transaction before the 100% bonus, while non-elite members can purchase up to 100,000 miles.
Given that, if you’re a non-elite member looking to max out the promotion, it would cost you $3,050 to purchase 200,000 miles.
Why You May Want To Purchase Flying Blue Miles
Air France’s new business class on the Airbus A350. Image Credit: Air France
An obvious reason to purchase Flying Blue miles is to put you over the threshold needed to book a certain award ticket. In this case, a rather nominal fee can be the difference between your ability to book an award ticket or having to pay cash for your flight. Remember, though, that virtually every major transferable point currency transfers to the Flying Blue program.
Another great reason to purchase points is that it effectively allows you to purchase a discounted premium cabin ticket.
Consider the following example: a business class flight with Air France between New York (JFK) and Paris (CDG) might set you back around $2,500, depending on the time of year you travel. However, if there’s Saver-level award availability around the time you’re hoping to fly, you could book this ticket for 53,000 Flying Blue miles, plus about $200 in taxes and fees.
With this 100% promotion, it would cost you about $854 to purchase the miles needed for this award. When you add in the taxes and fees for the award ticket, your total out-of-pocket cost is roughly $1,021 — a savings of nearly $1,500 compared with the typical cash fare!
Hot Tip: Learn more about how to buy airline miles and hotel points in our step-by-step guide.
Final Thoughts
It doesn’t always make sense to purchase points — especially if you don’t have an immediate use for them or already have large balances of points burning a hole in your pocket. That said, if you’re strategic about it, you can easily use promotions such as these to save yourself hundreds — or even thousands — compared to those paying cash for their tickets.
Featured Image Credit:
Air France
