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SkyTeam Members Air France and KLM Extend Flying Blue Award Calendar

Feb. 06, 2017
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3 min read
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SkyTeam Members Air France and KLM Extend Flying Blue Award Calendar
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The mileage program of Air France and KLM — known as Flying Blue — can offer great value if you know how to use it. The program offers discounted Promo Awards each month on its own selected routes, and as a part of SkyTeam it has access to flights on partners like Delta and Korean Air, along with a few non-alliance partners such as Japan Airlines.

However, one quirk of the program has long been that it only opened its award calendar approximately 10 months out, meaning you couldn't book a Flying Blue award flight any earlier than 10 months before departure.

Not only is this unusual compared to most other frequent flyer programs — which generally open their award calendars closer to one year out — but Air France and KLM were in fact releasing their award seats to partners before the 10-month timeframe. So you could book Air France and KLM award flights 11 or 12 months ahead of time, but not with Flying Blue miles. Instead, you'd have to use Delta SkyMiles or another SkyTeam currency.

While this never affected Promo Awards since those specials are usually for flights that are only a few months out, it could easily affect how much award space a Flying Blue member would have access to, since early award seats could be snapped up via redemptions in other award programs before they even reached Flying Blue members.

But it appears Flying Blue has finally changed this policy, as its award calendar is now allowing award seats to be searched for and booked up to 360 days in advance.

Flying Blue now shows award space nearly one year out.

This is great news for Flying Blue members, though not such great news for customers of other SkyTeam partners since they'll no longer have advance access to Air France and KLM space. But Flying Blue is a transfer partner of all four major flexible loyalty programs — Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and SPG — so it's extremely easy to turn points into Flying Blue miles. You can also credit flights from any SkyTeam partner to Flying Blue and pick up miles that way.

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A word of warning: You'll want to keep a sharp eye out for fuel surcharges when redeeming Flying Blue miles, though they're usually not quite as egregious as fuel surcharges in other programs. Check out our post "The Top Uses of Flying Blue Miles" for more details and a great list of possible redemptions.

H/T: Live and Let's Fly

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  • Intro Offer

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  • Annual Fee

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  • Recommended Credit

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Why We Chose It

There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)

Pros

  • 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
  • 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

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 $6,000 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.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.