The Best Ways to Use Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles

Looking for a cheaper way to get to Europe, North Africa, book a Delta flight, or maybe even … a trip all the way to Tahiti or Vietnam? With a stash of Flying Blue miles, you can stamp your ticket – and earning those miles may be much easier than you think.

Air France and KLM share a frequent flyer program called Flying Blue. And you can go far by using Flying Blue miles, including seats in Air France business class or KLM business class. It's one of our favorite ways to book business class and these miles can also be some of the best ways to book flights on Delta, whether you're flying within the continental U.S., over to London, or down to Mexico.

Best of all, Flying Blue miles are some of the easiest miles to earn thanks to transfer partnerships from top travel credit cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*, *venture x*, or the *amex gold*. Better yet, these banks frequently offer 25% transfer bonuses to Flying Blue, meaning you need to transfer even fewer points to book.

While you'll get hit with some higher fees on top of your miles when using Flying Blue miles to fly certain airlines, the low rates you'll pay can make up for it – especially for business class flights across the pond.

 

 

 

Flying Blue Award Chart

The Flying Blue program used to have an award chart to determine how many miles you needed to book a given flight … but they no longer publish such a chart.

Since Flying Blue has dynamic pricing on award tickets, you may find a low rate on an Air France or KLM flight, but you could also see much higher rates when you go to search for dates. For example, you might see a business class flight from North America to Europe for 60,000 miles … but you might also see it for 100,000 miles, 200,000 miles, or more.

For flights on partner airlines, such as Delta or Vietnam Airlines, pricing is more or less standardized, but you'll still see small fluctuations in pricing for partner award tickets on any given day.

The other caveat with these partner-airline redemptions with Flying Blue miles is that, unlike Air France or KLM flights, you can't just book any flight – you'll have to find award availability to book a Delta (or other partner) flight using Flying Blue miles.

 

Taxes & Fees on Flying Blue Award Tickets

The upside of booking with Flying Blue miles is that its low rates are some of the best in the business.

The downside? Flying Blue charges some carrier-imposed surcharges, which result in higher cash costs on award tickets than you'll find when booking with programs that don't pass along these surcharges, such as Delta SkyMiles.

Those fees have increased recently, too. The total will vary depending on your destination and the airline you're flying but expect to pay roughly $150 one-way or $400 roundtrip on economy awards and $350 one-way or $950 roundtrip on business class awards when flying Air France or KLM flights to Europe.

While that can be worth it for typically pricey business class or even premium economy, those high fees make Air France and KLM economy award flights less of a deal than they once were. Some partner awards like Delta flights will have lower taxes and fees, especially compared to other programs like Virgin Atlantic.

 

Specials: Promo Rewards & Child Discounts

Flying Blue Promo Rewards

The best way to book an Air France/KLM award with Flying Blue is to take advantage of its monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards. Each month, Flying Blue puts select routes on sale – usually 25% off, but sometimes up to 50% off normal award rates. The discount is valid for booking throughout the month for a specific travel period, typically five or so months in advance.

 

 

If you scroll down the list, you'll find the long-haul flights including any routes from the U.S. or Canada.

If you see a KLM logo, that generally means that flights to, from, or via Amsterdam (AMS) are on sale. If you see an Air France logo, flights to, from, or via Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) are on sale. But if both airlines fly the route, you'll often find discounted rates on either airline – and it's not just nonstops available: You can typically connect anywhere in Europe at deeply discounted rates, too.

Economy flights can sometimes drop as low as 18,750 miles one-way during these promo rewards sales.

 

 

Business class awards to and from the U.S. aren't always discounted with these Flying Blue promo rewards sales, but we occasionally come across deals like this one that popped up a few years back.  Thrifty Traveler Premium members received an award alert when business class dropped as low as 42,375 Flying Blue miles thanks to a promo rewards discount.

 

 

Better yet, travelers with American Express Membership Rewards could stack this deal with a 25% transfer bonus to Flying Blue available at the time, meaning you could book these seats with just 34,000 points each way.

 

 

Get the next great Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale (plus other award alerts and cheap cash fares) with Thrifty Traveler Premium!

 

25% Discount for Children, Too

Another neat perk when redeeming Flying Blue miles is that you can book kids ages 2 to 11 at a 25% discount when they are traveling with an adult. This means if an award from Boston (BOS) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) costs 60,000 miles each way in business class …

 

 

You'll be able to book yourself and a child in business class for just 105,000 miles one-way total: 60,000 miles for the adult and 45,000 miles for the child.

 

 

Read more on how to book these discounted awards for kids!

 

Flying Blue Sweet Spots

Business Class to Europe for 60K Miles

Even when there aren't any promo rewards, using Flying Blue miles to fly Air France business class or KLM business class to Europe can be one heck of a deal.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue flights between North America and Europe price out as low as 60,000 miles each way. This standardized lowest rate is the same whether you're flying from East Coast cities like New York City (JFK) or longer, West Coast flights from San Francisco (SFO) and other cities.

 

 

 

And you can get these great rates whether you're flying nonstop to Paris or Amsterdam or connecting onward almost anywhere in Europe.

Take this flight from Washington D.C.-Dulles (IAD) to Athens (ATH) via Amsterdam, for instance. It's just 60,000 miles one-way in business class – the same as the nonstop flight to Amsterdam.

 

 

Just keep in mind that Flying Blue's dynamic award pricing means award rates are still all over the map, so you won't see these lowest rates every single day – especially in business class, where you're more likely to see rates closer to 200,000 miles or more.

Thrifty Tip: When searching for award tickets on Air France or KLM, leave your date blank to pull up a calendar you can click through to find the lowest-priced availability. If that doesn't work, try this trick to see a month's worth of availability.

 

 

Air France Premium Economy (or Even Biz Class) to Tahiti for Fewer Miles

Tahiti is an ocean away, so you might think it'll take a boatload of miles to get there, even in a cramped economy. Not so.

Air France's nonstop flight between Los Angeles (LAX) and Tahiti (PPT) costs just 50,000 miles each way in Premium Economy.

 

 

Air France Premium Economy is no slouch either. You'll get more legroom, foot, and leg rests, larger entertainment screens, two free checked bags, priority boarding, and better food service.

A well-timed transfer bonus like the recent 25% bonus from Chase to Flying Blue and you could be flying in those seats for as few as 40,000 points one-way! 

Want to lie flat for that transpacific journey? You can book this same route in Air France's fancy new business class for around 90,000 miles each way. Just beware that finding award availability on this route can be more challenging than others on this list.

 

 

 

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to London from 64K Miles

Want to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class across the pond? Other airlines may charge you fewer miles or less in taxes and fees, but you'll get the best deal overall by booking with Flying Blue miles.

Virgin generally charges fewer points for these but has massive cash fees of up to $1,700 roundtrip. Booking Virgin Atlantic flights with Delta SkyMiles requires minimal taxes and fees (just $6 one-way), but you'll typically need to shell out 300,000-plus SkyMiles for a business class seat after Delta continued its massive devaluation of partner awards.

Using Flying Blue miles is the happy medium, with which you can book business class flights flying Virgin Atlantic for as little as 63,500 miles plus roughly $240 in taxes and fees one way, like this example from Boston (BOS) to London-Heathrow (LHR).

 

 

Flying roundtrip? Taxes and fees jump to around $885 for business class flights to London due to high U.K. departure taxes and surcharges. If you can make it work, you'll save money by just flying over to London on Virgin and then choosing an alternate route on the way home from a different European city.

This deal to book Virgin Atlantic flights using Flying Blue miles works better for flights from the northeastern U.S. since Flying Blue has varying rates for booking Virgin Atlantic flights: The longer the flight, the more miles it'll cost you.

For instance, flights from Seattle (SEA) to London cost 93,000 miles one-way as of publication.

 

 

One quirk with the Flying Blue program is that these rates to fly partner airlines are not set in stone. We've seen these rates fluctuate slightly depending on which day we're conducting the search, so you may see slight variances.

 

Fly Delta One to Europe From 60K Miles

Looking to fly Delta One business class to Europe? You and just about everyone else. These days, Flying Blue miles might be the best way to pull it off.

Once a sweet spot for booking Delta One for fewer points, Virgin Atlantic raised award rates and added a cash surcharge of more than $1,000 on each and every Delta business class redemption to Europe a few years ago. Air France/KLM Flying Blue, meanwhile, still charges low cash fees on top of your miles.

While finding availability on any of Delta's nonstop routes from Europe can be a challenge, we've alerted our Thrifty Traveler Premium members to multiple deals flying Delta One to Europe, like this one from New York (JFK) to Shannon, Ireland (SNN) for just 60,000 miles each way.

 

 

That's right: Taxes & fees are just $33 one-way or around $130 roundtrip for these flights to Ireland – which is drastically lower than the $1,000+ in fees you'd pay to fly Delta One to Europe using Virgin points. While roundtrip fees to places like London or Paris may creep up to $300 or more, it's still the cheapest way to book Delta flights to Europe.

Note: Taxes & fees for Delta flights to Europe are cheapest when your flight originates in the U.S. This means you'll want to book one-way or roundtrip flights, departing from the U.S., to get the best deal. One-way redemptions on Delta flights departing Europe have higher fees when redeeming Flying Blue miles, but it can still be a sweet deal compared to expensive business class cash fares.

 

 

Like Virgin Atlantic flights, the number of Flying Blue miles required to book Delta One flights generally depends on the distance of the flight. The longer the flight, the more miles it'll cost. For example, a flight from Detroit (DTW) to Munich (MUC) costs 81,500 miles each way.

 

 

Read next: The Best Ways to Book Delta One Business Class for Fewer Points

 

Business Class to Northern Africa from 60K Miles

One of the best sweet spots with Flying Blue miles is the fact that it prices flights to Northern Africa roughly the same as for Europe: As low as 60,000 miles one-way.

Most frequent flyer programs put flights to Africa in a different category and charge more, but you'll often find the same low rates to destinations such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, as you do to European cities when using Flying Blue miles.

For instance, you can fly from Minneapolis (MSP) to Marrakech (RAK) for just 60,000 miles each way in business class.

 

 

Or you can fly from Atlanta (ATL) to Tunis (TUN) for 60,000 miles each way in business class.

 

 

Fly Etihad Airways Business Class to the Middle East (& Beyond!)

Etihad Airways has some of the best business class seats flying to the Middle East (and beyond). Thanks to an expanded partnership with Air France/KLM, you can now book these flights with Flying Blue miles.

While booking Etihad flights through American Airlines might be a better deal, AAdvantage miles can be much harder to earn. But if you've got points from any of the major banks, you can easily transfer them to Flying Blue to book the same flights. Just keep in mind you'll pay higher taxes and fees when booking through Air France/KLM.

Booking through Flying Blue, award rates fluctuate slightly for Etihad redemptions. Generally, you can expect to see business class award rates between 80,000 and 90,000 miles between the U.S. and the airline's Abu Dhabi (AUH) hub, depending on the route.

 

 

Banks like Chase and American Express frequently offer transfer bonuses to Flying Blue – another reason this new booking option can be so valuable. Chase recently offered a 25% bonus when transferring points to Flying Blue, which would bring the cost of the Atlanta (ATL) to Abu Dhabi flight above to as low as just 72,000 points each way. 

 

 

Flying Blue charges per segment for these award flights, though. That means you should expect to pay slightly more if you want to connect onward to another destination in the Middle East, India, Africa, or elsewhere.

 

 

Your best bet for finding Etihad flights you can book with Flying Blue miles is to start your search on American's website. If the flights are available to book via American, you're likely to see the same award availability through Air France/KLM, too.

 

Nonstop Flights to Vietnam for 97k Miles in Business Class

There's only one nonstop flight between North America and Vietnam: It's flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) on Vietnam Airlines – and you can sometimes book it for just 96,500 Flying Blue miles each way in business class.

 

 

You'll typically need to plan well in advance to book these seats – think one full year in advance. But if you can plan that far ahead, this is one the best ways to get to Vietnam quickly in a lie-flat seat.

 

Delta Economy For Less … Almost Anywhere in the World

Whether you want to fly Delta economy within the U.S., out to the Hawaiian Islands or really anywhere in the world, Flying Blue miles are arguably the best option to get there for less.

After Virgin Atlantic repeatedly gutted its sweet spot for booking Delta flights, all but the shortest Delta flights are now a better deal booking through Flying Blue than any other program, including Delta's own SkyMiles in many cases.

Especially for nonstop domestic flights that can vary wildly in price, booking through Flying Blue you can get a flight like this one from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) all the way to Fort Myers, Florida (RSW) in Delta economy for as few as 15,000 miles each way, or 30,000 miles roundtrip. 

 

 

Longer flights like those out to the Hawaiian Islands and back can be a steal on the longer routes from the Midwest and East Coast, like this flight from Minneapolis to Honolulu (HNL) for 55,000 Flying Blue miles roundtrip and about $60 in taxes and fees.

 

 

These award flights book into main cabin, too, meaning you get free changes and the option to select your seat, too.

Eyeing a Delta flight across the pond? Time it with a transfer bonus and you could get there for as few as 35,000 points roundtrip booking through Flying Blue.

Beware: Taxes & fees for Delta economy flights to Europe are only low when your flight originates in the U.S. This means you'll want to book one-way or roundtrip flights, departing from the U.S., to get the best deal. One-way redemptions on Delta flights departing Europe have high fees, similar to Air France flights, when redeeming Flying Blue miles.

 

 

Get points and miles deals like this in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium!

Long-haul flights to Asia, too, can be a deal booking through Flying Blue when cash prices are high. Just 68,000 Flying Blue miles (or less with a transfer bonus!) and about $54 in taxes and fees could get you to Tokyo (HND) and back from the West Coast in Delta economy.

 

 

Tips to Book with Flying Blue

You'll need to create a free account and log in to search with either Air France or KLM. To get started, we highly recommend viewing fares on a flexible calendar by using this link.

Just select “Book with Miles,” enter your departure and arrival cities, and choose your cabin, but leave the “Departure date” blank. Then, click “Search Flights.” It's easiest to search for availability for one-way flights separately, then combine them into a roundtrip booking if necessary.

 

 

That'll open up a calendar search tool, which works best for Air France or KLM-operated flights. If that doesn't work, try choosing the last available date on the calendar. That new trick should pull up a month's worth of award rates as well.

It's strange for sure, but once you understand this quirk, the calendar search can be an invaluable tool to help you nail down the cheapest fares.

An important note: The site can be wonky, and the calendar isn't always entirely accurate. Sometimes, the fares on the calendar are no longer available when you click through. Also, the prices on the calendar will be the total for all passengers you're searching for, meaning if you search for two passengers, you'll see double.

 

 

Another drawback is that there isn't a way to filter for nonstop flights in the calendar view, so it will still take a bit of trial and error. Still, once you understand its limitations the calendar search can be an invaluable tool to help you nail down the cheapest fares.

After you find some dates, you'll want to go back and search those exact dates for the total number of passengers traveling to ensure there are enough seats for your party.

Searching for flights operated by partner airlines like Delta or Virgin Atlantic? While you can sometimes use this calendar view to find Delta flights (or other partners) within the Americas or across the Pacific, the calendar function isn't too useful to find partner-airline award flights across the Atlantic.

The calendar search tends to have more accuracy issues with partner airlines, too. It can often help to find the award availability on other sites or award search tools first, then search those exact dates on Air France's site to book partner airlines with Flying Blue miles.

Read more: How to Book Award Tickets With Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles

 

How to Earn Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles

Flying Blue miles are some of the easiest airline miles to earn since you can transfer points from all the major transferable points programs.

This means if you're earning Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Citi ThankYou® Points, you can instantly transfer those points to Flying Blue miles at an even 1:1 ratio. Earning points on rent with Bilt Rewards? You can transfer those points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue as well.

Here are some of our favorite credit cards that earn points which can be converted to Flying Blue miles.

If you're just starting out with points and miles, we consider the *chase sapphire preferred* the best travel rewards credit card for beginners. bonus_miles_full

And with 3x points per dollar spent for dining and 2x points for travel purchases, it's really easy to rack up a ton of Chase points that can be instantly transferred to Flying Blue miles.

 

 

Learn more about the *csp*.

 

We can’t say enough good things about the *venture x*. It’s the bank’s first premium card, so it's loaded with benefits such as access to Capital One Lounge and Landing locations and participating Priority Pass™ lounges, a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, a credit of up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, great travel and rental car insurance protection, and more.

The annual fee clocks in at $395 a year, but the benefits can easily outweigh that.

Welcome Offer Bonus: bonus_miles_full

 

 

Learn more about the *venture x*.

 

The *amex gold card* currently comes with a big welcome offer: bonus_miles_full

Beyond that bonus, this card is easily one of the best all-around travel cards on the market thanks largely to an unbeatable 4x return on up to $50,000 of spending at restaurants worldwide and 4x points on up to $25,000 a year spent at U.S. supermarkets – and 1x points after that.

 

 

Learn more about the *amex gold*

 

The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is another great way to earn points that can be transferred to Flying Blue miles. You’ll earn 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations and for travel booked with the card. Plus, there is a bonus of 70,000 ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 within the first three months.

 

 

Learn more about the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).

 

Of course, you can also earn Flying Blue miles by crediting flights flown on Air France, KLM, or any other SkyTeam partner airline, such as Delta, to your Flying Blue frequent flyer account. But we think it's easiest and more practical to rack up a ton of Flying Blue miles by transferring credit card points.

 

Bottom Line

Flying Blue Miles can get you a lie-flat seat to Europe or beyond for an amazing rate. And if you just want to fly economy, it can be the best way to book Delta flights worldwide.

The fact that you can easily earn Flying Blue miles and the sheer number of sweet spots the program offers make Air France/KLM's Flying Blue program one of the easiest ways to use points and miles for your next trip.