Air France and KLM have released the latest Flying Blue Promo Awards. And there are more cities on sale than usual!
If you live near Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Miami, or San Francisco, the new Flying Blue Promo Awards could be a good deal for you. And there are participating cities in Canada & Mexico too!
Even if you’ve never flown on KLM or Air France, you might have points that transfer to the program. Because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou points, and Starwood points to Flying Blue, at a 1:1 ratio!
Travel to Venice Like Emily, or Visit Other European Cities With 25% Off Flying Blue Award Tickets From 10 North American Cities
The deal is good for flights booked by September 30, 2016, for varying travel dates between November 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016.
I’ll show you how to find these discounted tickets. And give you ideas of how to earn more Flying Blue miles, save money on intra-European flights, and more!
Flying Blue Promo Awards – How It Works
Link: Flying Blue Promo Awards
Link: Flying Blue Frequent Flyer Program
Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program for Air France and KLM. And each month, they offer discounted award tickets with Flying Blue miles.
Starting September 1, 2016, you can save 25% on award flights from these North American cities:
- Calgary (Business Class)
- Chicago (Business Class)
- Detroit (Business Class)
- Edmonton (Business Class)
- Houston (coach)
- Mexico City (Business Class)
- Miami (coach)
- Montreal (Business Class)
- San Francisco (coach)
- Vancouver (Business Class)
25% Discount on Air France and KLM Award Flights to Europe on Coach or Business Class Flights
There’s no discount on the taxes and fees, which vary depending on the route. And you need to click through the Flying Blue Promo Awards site to get the deal.
You’ll also have to book your flight on Air France or KLM to get the discount with Flying Blue miles. You can NOT use other SkyTeam Alliance airlines like Delta or Korean Air.
Are the Flying Blue Promo Awards Worth It?
When you use Flying Blue miles, you’ll often pay fewer miles or points than you would with airlines like American Airlines.
With previous promotions, you’ve been able to save 50% on award flights with Flying Blue Promo Awards.
Plus, the taxes and fees depend on your routing.
For example, you can fly round-trip from San Francisco to Dublin for 37,500 Flying Blue miles round-trip and ~$227 in fees. Normally, Flying Blue charges 50,000 miles.
With the Flying Blue Promo Awards, a Round-Trip Award Ticket Between San Francisco and Dublin Will Cost Just 37,500 Flying Blue Miles and ~$234 in Taxes and Fees
On United Airlines, the same ticket would cost 60,000 United Airlines miles and ~$50 in taxes and fees.
So you’ll pay an extra ~$184 in fees with the Flying Blue promo awards, which isn’t cheap. But you’ll save 22,500 miles, so this is still a good deal!
Just remember to always do the math to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
Using Flying Blue Promo Awards to Travel Beyond Europe!
Did you know your trip doesn’t have to end in Paris or Amsterdam (the hub destinations served by Air France and KLM)?
You can connect to other cities in Europe, near Asia, and even the Middle East for the same number of miles. So you could fly to destinations like Tel Aviv, Moscow, or Morocco for the same discounted rate of 37,500 Flying Blue Miles!
Air France and KLM Consider Morocco a Part of Europe. So You Can Fly There for Only 18,750 Miles Each Way With Discounted Flying Blue Promo Awards!
Discounted Award Tickets Within Europe
You can also save from 20% to 40% on certain intra-European flights with this month’s European Flying Blue Promo Awards. This could be useful for folks who want to stop in multiple European cities.
But, if you have British Airways Avios points or Chase Ultimate Rewards points (because you can transfer those to British Airways Avios points), you can book one-way award flights under 650 miles within Europe for just 4,500 British Airways Avios points.
And it’s also worth doing a quick search for cheap flights on Europe’s budget airlines, before booking an award flight within Europe.
What If Your City Isn’t Included?
If you don’t live in a sale city, you can use your miles to get there on these airlines:
Southwest – If you need more Southwest points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Southwest. And if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, a friend can fly with you for (almost) free!
British Airways – If you’re a short flight away from these cities, you can save miles by using British Airways Avios points to book an award flight on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines for 7,500 British Airways Avios points.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards points, and Starwood points transfer to British Airways. Or sign-up for the Chase British Airways card.
Need More Flying Blue Miles?
Link: AMEX EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
Link: Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
Link: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Link: Citi Prestige
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
Link: My Review of the Citi ThankYou Premier
Link: Chase Sapphire Reserve
Link: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Link: Chase Ink Plus
If you need more miles, you can transfer to Flying Blue from 4 flexible point programs!
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase recently added Flying Blue to the list of Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners. So you can now transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available) to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.
Or you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, or Ink Cash, if you also have 1 of the other 4 cards.
AMEX Membership Rewards
You can transfer to AMEX Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.
And you’ll earn AMEX Membership Rewards points with cards like the The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Mercedes-Benz Platinum, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, AMEX EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express, or AMEX EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card.
American Express Membership Rewards Transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 Ratio
Occasionally, there are transfer bonuses between American Express Membership Rewards and Flying Blue too!
Citi ThankYou Points
Citi ThankYou points also transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. You can earn Citi ThankYou points with cards like:
- Citi Prestige
- Citi ThankYou Premier
- Citi Chairman (no longer offered)
Starwood Preferred Guest
You can also transfer points earned from the AMEX Starwood personal and small business cards to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.
One of My Favorite Ways to Use Starwood Points Is Transferring to Airline Partners. That’s Because You’ll Earn a 5,000 Mile Bonus When You Transfer in Increments of 20,000 Starwood Points!
And if you transfer 20,000 Starwood points, you’ll get a 5,000 mile bonus for a total of 25,000 Flying Blue miles.
Note: Starwood points can take up to 4 weeks to transfer to Flying Blue. Although in my experience it’s taken from 2 to 12 days. So you plan on booking, your exact award ticket might disappear while waiting for the points to transfer!
Bottom Line About the Flying Blue Promo Awards
With this month’s Flying Blue Promo Awards, you can fly from cities like Calgary, Detroit, and San Francisco to Europe and beyond on KLM and Air France at a 25% discount.
To get the discount, you must book through the Flying Blue Promo Awards site by September 30, 2016.
Discounted flights from the US are valid for travel from November 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.
This sale isn’t as good as previous sales, which have offered up to 50% off award tickets. And Flying Blue charges taxes and fees. But you’ll still save miles compared to booking with other airlines, and more cities are participating in the promotion than in previous months!
You can also travel from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and near Asia for the same number of miles with Flying Blue awards.
And because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Starwood points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, it’s easy to get Flying Blue miles for your trip.
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