How to redeem Flying Blue miles and maximize the Chase Ultimate Rewards 25% transfer bonus
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.
Part of maximizing the value of your points and miles is knowing how to take advantage of transfer bonuses. Every now and then, rewards programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Bilt Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards will offer bonuses for transferring points to partner hotel and airline programs, juicing the value of the transfer for a limited time.
Chase Ultimate Rewards is offering a particularly enticing transfer offer right now: a 25% bonus on points transferred to Flying Blue through May 31.
Here's what you need to know.
Related: Credit card transfer bonuses — 25% bonus to Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue and more
Flying Blue program basics
Flying Blue is the loyalty program for partner airlines Air France and KLM. With primary hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) respectively, Air France and KLM (under their joint group Air France-KLM) are easy options for flights to and within Europe.
However, you're not just limited to flights across the pond. Air France and KLM are part of the SkyTeam alliance — which means your Flying Blue points can stretch to cover flights from airlines including:
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- China Airlines
- China Eastern Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Kenya Airways
- Korean Air
- Middle East Airlines
- Saudia
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Xiamen Airlines
Flights can be booked directly on the KLM or Air France website.
Flying Blue uses a dynamic pricing model, which means there's no set award chart. However, its award redemptions — primarily for economy seats — can still be quite favorable.
And if you're flying with a child, the program offers a 25% discount on award tickets for children between the ages of 2 and 11. (However, note that this discount only works for award flights operated on KLM and Air France — not partner awards.)
When booking a flight for multiple passengers, the total number of miles needed is listed, but on the next page, you can break down the fare cost per passenger by selecting "View trip details and ticket conditions." Note that the 25% discount also does not work on top of the program's already reduced Promo Rewards.
Additionally, Flying Blue also offers a free stopover program, allowing you to spend extra time — up to 12 months — in a layover city. This works on most award tickets, including partner awards. However, these awards can't be booked online; you must call Flying Blue directly to book your flight.
Flying Blue transfer bonus
Typically, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. However, with the current 25% bonus that runs through the end of the month, for every 1,000 Ultimate Reward points you transfer, you'll receive 1,250 Flying Blue miles.
But remember to always check on reward availability before transferring points to Flying Blue (or any other partner program). Once points are transferred from Chase, they can not be transferred back. With partner transfers, it's a one-way street — once miles are in your Flying Blue account, they are there to stay.
Additionally, while in TPG's experience points typically transfer instantly from Chase to Flying Blue, bear in mind that it could always take longer for the transfer to go through.
How to leverage the Chase Ultimate Rewards-Flying Blue transfer bonus
Like anything else in the points and miles world, flexibility is key when it comes to award flights. But with many partner airlines and over a dozen nonalliance partners, opportunities abound when it comes to redeeming your Flying Blue miles. Let's look at some of our favorites:
Take advantage of monthly Promo Rewards
Flying Blue runs monthly Promo Rewards — announced on the first of every month — allowing you to snag incredible flight deals with miles. Typically, these promotions offer discounted awards between select North American and European cities during a set time frame. And while not every seat is available, availability is typically quite generous, especially if you book right away.
For the May Promo Rewards, you can book a flight from eight different U.S. cities (Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.) to Europe for just 18,750 miles one-way in economy through Oct. 31. The promotion also includes discounted flights from Montreal and St. Martin in business class.
With this promotion, we were able to find flights between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Dubrovnik Ruder Boskovic Airport (DBV) for just 18,750 miles at the end of September. With the 25% transfer bonus offer in play, that'll cost you just 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points one-way — an absolute steal for this flight.
Fly to Northern Africa
Although the program doesn't offer an award chart, flights to Northern Africa are typically priced similarly to those to Europe. For example, in September, we were able to find flights from BOS to Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK) for just 25,000 miles one-way. With the 25% transfer bonus, you're looking at just 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per passenger.
Book on a partner airline to Europe
While there are many partner opportunities, as we mentioned, you also have plenty of non-KLM and Air France options for redeeming your Flying Blue miles, such as Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic. And in fact, there's a decent chance that booking through Flying Blue will cost fewer miles than booking directly with the airline itself.
For example, at the time of writing, you could use your Flying Blue miles to fly Delta between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) for just 28,000 Flying Blue miles (plus $33 in taxes and fees).
Taking into consideration the 25% transfer bonus, that's 22,400 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per passenger (although Chase requires you to transfer in 1,000-point increments).
When comparing the cost against booking with Delta directly, the same flight on the same day requires 46,000 Delta SkyMiles (plus $6 in taxes and fees).
How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points
If you want to earn more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the following Chase credit cards could make a great addition to your wallet:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees): Earn 125,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
According to TPG's May 2025 valuations, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 2.05 cents each when maximized with travel partners.
Related: How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for maximum value
Bottom line
If you're looking to travel over the next year and have Chase Ultimate Rewards points in your back pocket, transferring your points to Flying Blue opens up a wide array of opportunities. And with the 25% bonus offer, your points can go even further, allowing you to truly fly on a deal. And since the promotion doesn't end until May 31, you still have time to increase your Chase Ultimate Rewards balance to take full advantage of this offer.
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| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
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- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
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Cons
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- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
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- See Rates & Fees