March/April Flying Blue Promo Award Cities Announced
Every two months Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France and KLM, announces a list of cities that only require 50% of the normal miles. For example, US to Europe flights in coach are normally 50,000 miles, but promo awards are only 25,000 miles roundtrip. Flying Blue is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express and there's currently a 25% transfer bonus until February 29, 2012, so you can get roundtrips to Europe for 20,000 Amex points in economy or 40,000 points in business class.
So what's the catch? Flying Blue has steep fuel surcharges on their award tickets, so that 20,000 point roundtrip ticket to Europe can have over $900 in fees! Yikes. I priced out a coach award from Atlanta to Paris on Air France and fees were $615. Atlanta to Amsterdam on KLM came to $898! However, 40,000 American Express points and $898 for a roundtrip business class award to Europe (including Tel Aviv) is still a pretty good deal - especially if you were going to pay for business class.
Note: You cannot book these awards using Delta miles. There is no way around these fees and Delta flights are not eligible, so you need to start in one of these cities and take the Air France/KLM flight transatlantic to get the discounted award price.
The March/April awards will be bookable starting February 28, 2012 and will be good for travel March 1 - April 30, 2012. Target cities: KLM awards to Europe via Amsterdam from Chicago and Atlanta. Air France awards via Paris from Houston and Toronto.
Check out this post for more information on booking promo awards. They aren't for everyone, but can be a huge value - especially for last minute travel, which is when Flying Blue opens up a ton of award space.
[card card-name='Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express' card-id='22034414' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app