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Move over, Delta: Why Air France-KLM's Flying Blue program has become my favorite SkyTeam loyalty program
Ben Smithson is a senior writer for TPG and is based in London. Originally from Australia and a qualified lawyer with a financial services background, he has almost a decade of experience writing about a broad range of travel and loyalty topics.
September 3, 2024 • 10 min read
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Quick summary
Focusing on one loyalty program per airline alliance can help travelers maximize rewards and elite status benefits.
Air France-KLM's Flying Blue program stands out in the SkyTeam alliance for its broad transfer partnerships and frequent transfer bonuses.
Flying Blue offers standardized saver-level award pricing for flights between the U.S. and Europe, with business-class redemptions often available for 50,000 miles one-way.
The program features monthly Promo Rewards with discounted award tickets and reasonable partner redemption rates, plus strong onboard products.
What to consider
Some offers and transfer bonuses mentioned may no longer be available.
Saver-level award pricing is subject to availability and can be limited during peak travel periods.
Promo Rewards are only bookable within the month of release and now allow changes or cancellations for a set fee plus any fare difference.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of SkyTeam loyalty programs and practical strategies for maximizing value with Flying Blue, including examples of award redemptions and surcharges.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Even if you travel on many different airlines, it makes sense to focus on just one loyalty program in each of the Big Three airline alliances: OneWorld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam.
By focusing on one program per alliance, you can earn rewards faster by funneling everything into one program, as your points and miles won't be spread across multiple programs within the same alliance. If you credit enough flights, you might earn elite status in the program, making your travel more comfortable, convenient and rewarding.
Since Delta Air Lines' SkyMiles program operates using dynamic pricing, which regularly charges unreasonably high award pricing on long-haul flights, this SkyTeam member is no longer part of my points and miles strategy. Though SkyMiles are easy to earn, I haven't collected or redeemed any since before the coronavirus pandemic.
I was previously a big fan of Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program, especially for its unique All Nippon Airways redemption to Japan and the regular award sales, during which the price of seats across its network is reduced by up to 50%.
Many of these programs offer cards that feature generous welcome bonuses. Here's just a sample of the travel rewards credit cards that earn these transferable points that can be converted to Flying Blue points at a 1:1 rate:
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $12,000 on purchases in your first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you're eligible for as high as 300,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
In addition to partnering with every major credit card currency, Flying Blue has seen various card issuers offer a slew of transfer bonusesover the last 12 months.
American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards have offered 25% bonuses in the last 12 months, while Citi ThankYou Rewards offered a 25% bonus in July 2023.
If you collect any of the above transferable currencies, there's a good chance there will be another transfer bonus to Flying Blue over the next 12 months, allowing you to easily increase your Flying Blue mileage balance.
It makes it possible to fly in business class to Europe for 50,000 miles
AIR FRANCE
Flying Blue prices awards for flights operated by Air France and KLM dynamically, which means prices are expensive on peak travel dates, my biggest complaint about the program.
However, the program has now standardized saver-level pricing for all one-way flights between the U.S. and Europe as follows, regardless of origin or destination, meaning you can connect at no extra cost:
You might think that because saver-level pricing is only available when demand is at its lowest, you can only find these prices in the dead of winter when flying to Europe is not nearly as attractive. However, I have been consistently impressed with the widespread availability of 50,000-mile seats to Europe in 2024, including for flights to Paris during the Olympic Games.
Every month, Flying Blue releases Promo Rewards, which offer discounts of various amounts (usually 25%) on an array of routes to and from Europe.
You can only book these deeply discounted award tickets within the same month they're released, though the period for travel is usually the following six months. Previously, they were more restrictive than standard Flying Blue award tickets — and couldn't be changed or canceled. However, the program recently improved this policy so that Promo Rewards can be changed or canceled for a 70 euro (about $76) fee, plus any fare difference.
The Promo Rewards regularly include economy flights from various North American airports for 15,000 miles each way, a terrific price to fly across the Atlantic. While not as common, business-class flights to Europe can also be found from time to time for under 40,000 miles. I've previously booked this incredible deal to fly on Air France from Miami International Airport (MIA) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) via Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).
Promo Rewards is a great excuse to explore a new European destination when one of these great award prices pops up.
Who can resist a 15,000-mile redemption to France?
As a SkyTeam member, you can redeem Flying Blue miles on a wide range of partner airlines with impressive starting rates.
Flying Blue also partners with the following airlines outside the SkyTeam alliance:
AirBaltic
Air Corsica
Air Mauritius
Aircalin
Bangkok Airways
Chalair Aviation
China Southern Airlines
Copa Airlines
Etihad Airways
Gol Airlines
Japan Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Oman Air
Qantas
Twin Jet
WestJet
Winair
Provided you can find availability, you can redeem as few as 17,500 Flying Blue miles each way to fly Delta from the continental U.S. to Hawaii. The Delta SkyMiles program will likely charge you much more than this for the same flights.
Flying Blue may charge slightly more miles than what Virgin Atlantic Flying Club will charge in points for Virgin-operated flights to and from the U.K., as Flying Blue doesn't have a peak and off-peak calendar. However, Flying Blue doesn't impose the high carrier-imposed surcharges Virgin Atlantic Flying Club does; therefore, it is a much better deal to book Virgin flights through Flying Blue, especially in premium cabins.
For example, I'd be very happy to pay 64,000 Flying Blue miles versus 47,500 Virgin points for the same Virgin Atlantic business-class flight from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to LHR if I'm saving almost $800 in surcharges.
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AIRFRANCE.COM
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VIRGINATLANTIC.COM
I'm heading to Taiwan to visit a friend in 2025 and was looking for a comfortable way to fly home. I was amazed to find a 14-hour flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) in China Airlines' highly rated Airbus A350 business class for just 66,000 Flying Blue miles plus $210.80 in taxes and fees.
If you redeem a lot of Flying Blue miles, chances are you may find yourself on an Air France or KLM aircraft. I've flown both of these airlines numerous times.
Air France's new business-class product, installed on some Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, has bulkhead seats with extra space that feel more like first class and are among the best business-class seats in the world. This makes those 50,000-mile business-class redemptions all the more valuable.
I have flown KLM's premium economy product and rate it as one of the world's best, along with Emirates, thanks to the business-class-caliber food, attention to detail and polished service.
Bottom line
Flying Blue isn't a perfect program. During peak periods, the prices charged for flights operated by Air France and KLM can be comically high. No matter how good the product is, I'm never going to pay 200,000 miles to fly to Europe one-way.
However, as other programs have devalued and become less valuable, Flying Blue has retained its place as a useful and lucrative loyalty program. Compared to other airline loyalty programs, Flying Blue miles are easy to earn with credit card transfer partners, and the frequent transfer bonuses make it easy to pick up bonus miles at no extra cost.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
