Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles are beloved for how easy they are to earn, their low award rates, amazing workarounds to book Delta and other partners … and last but certainly not least, a rotating list of discounted monthly promo rewards.
Each and every month, Flying Blue offers significant discounts on award redemptions on select routes to and from the airlines' hubs in Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Amsterdam (AMS), often with connections further into Europe, too. A discount of 25% or more can bring a one-way flight from the U.S. to Europe down to just 18,750 miles each way – a solid deal, considering most airlines charge at least 30,000 miles or more for a flight across the pond. Occasionally, they'll even discount business class or premium economy.
So what's not to love? Flying Blue recently increased fees on award tickets by approximately $60 each way in economy class and a whopping $100 each way in business class. That makes the airlines' already sizable surcharges on economy awards even worse: You'll now pay close to $400 (and sometimes more) for a roundtrip to Europe. That makes these monthly promos a lot less appealing.
Here's a look at one of Flying Blue's current promos for a roundtrip flight from San Diego (SAN) to Amsterdam (AMS) for proof. You'll pay just 37,500 miles – no doubt a good deal – but get hit with nearly $400 in taxes and fees.
If you value your points and miles at a flat 1 cent each – an extremely conservative estimate – that means this flight costs you just shy of $800 for the roundtrip. That's a pretty ho-hum redemption and a far cry from the screaming deal these promos once were.
And it gets even worse for business class redemptions. Portland (PDX) is one of the only North American airports on this month's list of business class promo rewards, dropping prices from the usual 60,000-mile one-way rate down to just 45,000 miles in each direction.
On the mileage side, that's about as cheap as business class awards across the Atlantic get. But the cash cost? Yikes!
Not only will this award cost you 90,000 miles, but you'll also be out of pocket $822 for taxes and fees. Once again, if you think of your miles as being worth 1 cent each, that's like paying $1,700 for this roundtrip business class flight.
In fairness, that's still a pretty incredible deal for a lie-flat seat to Europe – especially when that exact same flight is selling for $9,00. Still, it's a much tougher pill to swallow than it was just a few weeks or months ago. If you wouldn't ordinarily consider paying cash for business class, these increased fees are starting to make even the cheapest promo rewards feel out of reach.
Lest you think these higher rates only apply to longer flights from the West Coast to Europe, take a look at this economy class promo reward from Atlanta (ATL) to Amsterdam. You'll find the same 37,500-mile price and $387 in taxes and fees you'll pay from San Diego.
To be perfectly clear: Taxes are unavoidable with award tickets – the total depends on where you're flying to and from, which airline you're flying with, and which mileage program you're using. But these added surcharges are completely at the airline's discretion and are just another way for them to make money off these supposedly “free” tickets.
In the case of Flying Blue, you'll get hit with a total of $217 in extra fees for an economy class award to Europe – a $207 “carrier-imposed international surcharge” and an extra $10 “sustainable aviation fuel contribution.” Worst of all, fees like this typically only go one way – even when (or if) fuel prices drop, they're unlikely to lower fees accordingly. At least not anytime soon …
So that's it? All is lost with these monthly promo rewards? Not exactly.
There are still good deals to be had. But more than ever, it's important to compare the total cost (in miles and cash) against alternative options. It's not uncommon to find flights to Europe in the $300 to $400 range … especially from the East Coast, where the flights are shorter, and there's lots of competition. In those cases, you'd be better off saving your points and miles and just paying cash outright instead.
Where these Flying Blue promo rewards still make a lot of sense is booking one-way flights to round out a trip. Maybe you got a Thrifty Traveler Premium alert for business class flights to Europe, but you're not content with the options to get home.
One-way flights between the U.S. and Europe are notoriously pricey – oftentimes, more than booking a roundtrip. In that case, it can make sense to stomach the higher fees to book a one-way promo reward and save a bunch of cash in the process.
Bottom Line
Flying Blue's list of discounted, monthly promo rewards used to be a surefire way to score a good deal on flights to Europe. With Air France/KLM raising fees on these award tickets to help offset rising jet fuel costs, that's no longer the case.
Now, more than ever, it's important to do the math to determine whether using points and miles really makes sense. In many cases, paying cash outright will lead to a better deal.
