Flying Blue 50% Off Promo Awards Announced and a Guide on How to Book Them
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
I find Flying Blue (the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM, and some other Skyteam carriers) to be generous with award availability. They even run "50% off" promo awards all year long, which means you can fly roundtrip from certain North American cities to Europe and beyond for as low as 25,000 in coach and 50,000 in business. Flying Blue is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, so it's a great way to stretch the value of your Amex points. Note: Flying Blue taxes on awards are pretty high – for example a 25,000 roundtrip award to Europe may have $450 in taxes. If you can buy that same ticket for $650, it makes sense to just purchase it and earn miles. However, there are some expensive routes – especially in business class, that can be unbelievable values.
The May/June awards can be booked until June 28, 2011 and are valid for travel May 1- June 30, 2011. One of the great things I learned this past weekend from frequent flyer legend Steve Belkin (beaubo on Flyertalk), is that Israel is included in Europe 3. So in essence, you can transfer 50,000 Amex points to Air France and then book a business class roundtrip award to Tel Aviv- an amazing deal, even if it does require a stop in Paris or Amsterdam. Remember, promo awards are only eligible on Air France and/or KLM flights.
Before you get too excited and start transferring Amex points, make sure your awards are available. To check award availability, create a Flying Blue account and then once you are logged in click the "Show" button to get a drop down menu and then select "Book my award ticket".
$747 in fees is pretty steep, but it's not so bad considering this exact itinerary would cost $5,082 to purchase. So $5,082 - $747 = $4,335 saved for using a measly 50,000 points. Thus, each Amex point saves you 8.7 cents. Granted, you should factor in the fact that you wouldn't earn any miles on the award redemption, but the point is that Amex points can save you a ton of money and allow you to book into business class for half of what you'd pay for coach (I checked and the coach fare for these flights was $1,515 total roundtrip).
Since Delta and Air France are in the same alliance and these are classic awards, I knew this same flight would be bookable using Delta miles as well, so I pulled up delta.com -> Skymiles -> Use miles -> Award ticket reservations and entered in the same search criteria. With no hassle whatsoever, the exact flights popped up, albeit at 120,000 miles for business class because Delta does not consider Israel part of Europe. A 70,000 mile difference is pretty extreme, however, Delta is currently running a 50% transfer bonus on Amex transfers, so you'd only need to transfer 80,000 points.
Delta's fees are much lower; coming in at $181. So let's do the math - if you go the Flying Blue route, you are getting 8.7 cents per point, whereas Delta gives a return of $5,082 - $181 = 6.1 cents per point. Not bad, but I'd still go the Air France route unless I was short on cash and flush with points.
If you don't currently have an American Express card that allows you to earn Membership Rewards points and want to get in on these Promo Awards, I highly recommend the Platinum card. Amex is currently offering 25,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $1,000 within three months and perhaps one of the best aspects of this card is that you can immediately advance yourself up to 60,000 points as long as you've been an Amex customer for at least 6 months (otherwise you have to wait 6 months to advance). That means you could get the card, advance yourself the 25,000-50,000 points needed for a Promo award and once your 25,000 sign-up bonus hits, you'd have a year to earn back the additional amount of points beyond 25,000 that you advanced yourself. The card has a $450 annual fee, but comes with a ton of other benefits like $200 in airline rebates, lounge access on Delta, US Airways, Continental (Until Sept 30), Alaska, Starwood Gold status and many more. If interested, check out my most recent review of the card.
[card card-name='Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express' card-id='22035076' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.