It's a new month, and there's a brand new way to use some Chase Ultimate Rewards points from cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or your Chase Sapphire Reserve® for even more value.
On April 1, rolled out a 25% bonus on transfers to Air France/KLM Flying Blue, a great mileage program to get from the U.S. to Europe using fewer points. This transfer bonus runs through May 15, so you've got plenty of time to scheme a way to put it to use.
Not sure where to start? Read our guide on Chase transfer partners and how to make it happen!
Using transfer partners like Air France/KLM is one of the best ways to use Chase points for even more value. And these transfer bonuses make it even better – think of it as a way to get some free airline miles.
We typically see Chase roll out a big transfer bonus to Air France/KLM once a year, and it's back. Yet Chase hasn't been as generous with rolling out these bonuses as other banks like American Express and even Capital One, so it's nice to see this bonus to Flying Blue.
No matter how appealing a 25% bonus might be, you should never transfer credit card points willy nilly. This is a one-way street: Once you send your credit card points to an airline account, you can't get them back. That means you'll want to have a purpose for these miles.
Fortunately, there are some great ways to put this bonus to use…
Best Ways to Use This Bonus
We'll never turn down some free Flying Blue miles.
This is the combined mileage program for Air France and KLM, and it's one of the best ways to book flights with SkyTeam airlines including Delta, Korean Air, and Air France or KLM, of course.
Whether you want to get to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), or connect almost anywhere in Europe, you can regularly fly business class to Europe for just 55,000 to 58,000 miles each way. With this transfer bonus, you’d need as low as just 44,000 Amex points to make it happen. With low rates and fairly solid availability to actually book these flights with your miles, this is one of the best ways to book business class.
We occasionally see even cheaper award rates thanks to Flying Blue Promo Rewards, monthly specials with lower prices.
Finding flights at these low rates may require some flexibility, as you won't find them one very single date. Luckily, Air France and KLM allow you to easily scroll through up to a month's worth of flights to find the best deals. Flying Blue typically tacks on about $200 for a one-way business class award to Europe – and about $380 or more for the way back. That's a small price to pay for $6,000-plus flights.
It’s a great ride across the Atlantic ocean whether you’re flying with Air France or KLM.
Read our full Air France business class review!
You can also book economy awards to Europe using Air France and KLM miles – including one-way trips from several U.S. cities for less than 20,000 miles. But Flying Blue also passes on some hefty cash surcharges on award tickets that make it less appealing for economy prices, while it can easily be worth paying $228 or so for a one-way business class ticket for Europe.
But that doesn't mean booking economy is always a no-go with Flying Blue miles. The airlines' latest set of monthly Promo Rewards offers 25% off economy award rates to Europe through September from a handful of U.S. cities, including:
- Austin (AUS)
- Boston (BOS)
- Denver (DEN)
- Detroit (DTW)
- Houston-Intercontinental (IAH)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)
- Salt Lake City (SLC)
- Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD)
From Atlanta, you can get a 50% discount on award rates. That brings down one-way fares to almost anywhere in Europe as low as 10,500 miles!
Bottom Line
Transfer bonuses like this one are great – it means you need fewer points to book your next getaway. And a 25% bonus when transferring Chase points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue is a great one.
Just be sure to use it by May 15 when this promotion expires.
Lead photo courtesy of Chris Lundberg via Flickr