Air France-KLM Flying Blue is in my opinion the most useful SkyTeam frequent flyer program for redeeming miles, and for that matter, one of the most valuable frequent flyer programs for transatlantic business class awards.
In this post, I’d like to take a big picture look at where I see value with Flying Blue, and why it’s a program that I redeem a lot of miles through.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles are easy to earn
One major aspect in assessing the value of a frequent flyer program is how easy miles are to earn with the currency. For those of us in the United States with access to transferable points currencies, Air France-KLM Flying Blue is probably the easiest points currency to rack up:
Given the frequency with which I redeem through Flying Blue, I always think it’s worth making a speculative transfer when there’s a bonus, so that I have enough Flying Blue miles for my next redemption. For my mental accounting purposes, I basically reduce the cost of my Flying Blue redemptions to reflect that I typically acquire them with a 25% bonus.
Flying Blue is great for Air France & KLM business class awards
Flying Blue is one of the most useful frequent flyer programs for booking transatlantic business class awards:
- Flying Blue has access to more Air France and KLM business class award space than partner programs; while the program doesn’t have as much availability as in the past, there are still lots of opportunities (and if you have Flying Blue Platinum or Ultimate status, you also get access to more award seats, which is awesome)
- Saver level award pricing on Air France and KLM is incredibly attractive, and starts at 60,000 miles one-way, and children up to the age of 11 receive a 25% award discount
- Air France and KLM have among the best business class products across the Atlantic, on balance better and more consistent than what you’ll find with the other major airline groups (Lufthansa Group and IAG); in particular, Air France’s 777 business class, Air France’s A350 business class, and KLM’s 777 business class, are all excellent
- Flying Blue allows stopovers on one-way awards, though you do have to book by phone; having a stopover in Amsterdam or Paris prior to continuing to your final destination is pretty awesome
- Flying Blue does have carrier imposed surcharges on awards, and they’ve creeped up over time, and often cost $300+ one-way for business class; I’m not a fan of this, but at least that’s better than the $800+ surcharges that you’ll find on some other carriers
- Flying Blue also publishes monthly Promo Rewards, offering discounts on award tickets, which can stretch your miles even further
Just to give an example, when booking in advance from New York to Paris, I see business class award availability many days for just 60,000 Flying Blue miles one-way (factoring in the pretty consistent 25% transfer bonuses we see, that’s like paying 48,000 transferable points).
You’re obviously not going to always find reasonably priced award availability, but I can’t think of another set of two airlines across the Atlantic that release so much space so consistently, without any sort of a status or credit card requirement (given that this is the direction airlines are moving). The above flights don’t just have one or two seats, but the first flight has six award seats, and the second flight has seven award seats.
Pricing is also often quite reasonable when connecting beyond Europe, like to Africa, the Middle East, and India, though it’s not necessarily my favorite use of Flying Blue miles (unless you value the stopover in Europe enroute to another destination).
Search & booking Flying Blue awards is easy
Another great thing about Flying Blue is that the process of redeeming miles is pretty seamless:
- Transferable points currencies generally convert into Flying Blue miles instantly
- You can book Flying Blue awards directly on the websites of Air France or KLM, and there are no restrictions on who you can redeem for
- The process of searching award availability is easy, and I like the hidden Flying Blue award calendar (just don’t enter a date when you search, and you’ll see availability for months at a time)
- Flying Blue’s change and cancelation fees aren’t unreasonable (though aren’t cheap either), as either of those things can be done for a fee of €70
- Flying Blue has a good mileage expiration policy; miles expire after 24 months of inactivity, and any mileage earning or redemption activity can reset that expiration
In comparison to some other non-US frequent flyer programs, I’d say Flying Blue has a pretty good booking process, plus fair policies.
Flying Blue is valuable for SkyTeam and other partner awards
The SkyTeam alliance simply isn’t as valuable as oneworld or Star Alliance when it comes to partner airline award redemptions. This is true in terms of reciprocal availability, the number of products you have access to, etc. Unfortunately nowadays most Delta SkyMiles partner awards represent a terrible value, at least if they touch the United States.
The good news is that Flying Blue’s partner award costs are in many cases quite a good deal. While there’s no published award chart, pricing is consistently among the most reasonable that you’ll find with any program.
Let me give some examples of valuable SkyTeam redemptions that are available. You could fly China Airlines business class between Phoenix (PHX) and Taipei (TPE) for 72,000 Flying Blue miles…
…or you could fly Vietnam Airlines business class between Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) and San Francisco (SFO) for 93,000 Flying Blue miles…
…or you would fly Garuda Indonesia business class between Jakarta (CGK) and Tokyo (HND) for 36,500 Flying Blue miles…
…or you would fly Shanghai Airlines business class between Budapest (BUD) and Shanghai (PVG) for 70,500 Flying Blue miles (this route definitely intrigues me)…
…or you would fly Virgin Atlantic business class between New York (JFK) and London (LHR) for 66,500 Flying Blue miles. Note that while Virgin Atlantic Flying Club sometimes has lower redemption rates for Virgin Atlantic flights, in some cases you’ll find more attractive pricing through Flying Club, including in situations where Virgin Atlantic’s lowest award costs aren’t available.
I also appreciate Flying Blue’s non-SkyTeam partner airlines, like being able to redeem for Qantas business class, Etihad business class, etc.
Furthermore, Flying Blue is one of the few SkyTeam frequent flyer programs that allows first class redemptions on some partners, as you can redeem Flying Blue miles for first class travel on China Eastern, Garuda Indonesia, and Xiamen Air. The redemptions are typically not a great deal, but at least they’re an option!
Flying Blue is definitely most useful for Air France and KLM redemptions, but there are also plenty of cases where the program positions you well for partner awards.
Bottom line
When it comes to redeeming miles, I consider Air France-KLM Flying Blue to be the most valuable SkyTeam program, and an essential option for those looking to redeem miles for business class across the Atlantic.
Flying Blue has access to the most Air France and KLM business class award seats across the Atlantic, and those airlines are most consistent about making these award seats available in advance, even for large parties (though admittedly availability isn’t as good as it used to be).
Personally, I book several awards through Flying Blue every year, so I always make a point of transferring points to the program when there’s a transfer bonus, which improves the value of redemptions even further. There are also many cases where Flying Blue has lucrative redemption rates on partners.
So while I don’t think Flying Blue is quite as useful as Air Canada Aeroplan in terms of the breadth of partnerships and redemption options, it’s pretty unbeatable across the Atlantic, and in my opinion one of the most useful award programs, along with programs like American AAdvantage, Avianca Lifemiles, etc.
Anyone else appreciate Flying Blue for the great transatlantic and partner award options?
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