What is Flying Blue?
Important: Miles and points are very similar and are used interchangeably when referring to them in reward redemption. In this article, I will use miles, as that is the common terminology used on the Flying Blue website.
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What is it?
Flying Blue is the free loyalty program for Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Air France is a major airline based in France, and KLM is based in the Netherlands.
You can use the miles you have gained to book flights with Flying Blue. From the United States to Europe, Flying Blue is one of the best options for earning the miles needed to book a redemption flight.
When booking with Flying Blue, you can find flights overseas for as little as 15,000 miles.
Although the two airlines make up most of the flights, Flying Blue partners with other airlines on certain routes. This includes:
Delta
Aeromexico
Alaska Airlines
Virgin
Japan
Copa
Czech Airways
Etihad Airways
Kenya Airways
and others. See the full list here.
How To Earn Miles
Flying Blue partners.
There are multiple ways to earn miles, but utilizing a travel partner’s credit card is the most common.
Aside from the Flying Blue branded credit card, the partner cards accrue points in their respective travel systems that can be used for reward redemption in the Flying Blue program.
You will notice the terms “Convert” and “Transfer” used in the picture above. This does not mean that you have to go through any complicated process to do so.
Converting and transferring points means you must go into your credit card portal and transfer the points to your Flying Blue account. This process takes less than 5 minutes as long as your accounts are in good standing on both ends.
Reward redemption option from Houston, Texas to Madrid, Spain for 15,000 miles on August 15th.
Each travel credit card offered by partners has its own earning potential. For example, the American Express Gold Card offers 4x points at restaurants and supermarkets. If you spend a combined $500 a month on these two categories, you are eligible to receive 2,000 Membership Points that can be transferred to Flying Blue.
This can add up quickly over time. 2,000 points accrued a month over one year is 24,000 points, which can potentially cover a one-way flight with miles to spare.
Remember, this example used only restaurant and supermarket spending. It did not account for other monthly credit card spending or the sign-up bonus, which ranges from 60,000 to 100,000 points, depending on the time of year.
To see all of the ways to earn Flying Blue Miles, click here.
Promotions
Flying Blue posts its promotional flights here. I recommend you check it out monthly, as you can find great deals.
In addition to Flying Blue offering promotional flights, Chase sometimes offers a bonus on points being transferred.
Personal Story: In 2023, I booked a flight from Austin to Amsterdam for 12,000 Chase Ultimate Reward Points.
The flight was on Flying Blue's promo calendar and was worth 15,000 points. Chase offered a 25% promotion on all points transferred to Flying Blue when booking, which they also offer for other airlines throughout the year.
12,000 + 25% Bonus (3,000 points) = 15,000 points + Taxes.
If you are unfamiliar with how points are valued, one point equals one cent if you redeem for cash back with Chase. 12,000 points convert to $120 cash.
Ultimately, I saved a few hundred dollars using the same number of points to fly from San Antonio to Dallas on a Friday with Southwest Airlines.