Flying Blue discounted redemptions for March and April launched

Flying Blue, the Air France / KLM loyalty scheme, has launched a new batch of discounted redemption routes.

Frankly, this list is pretty poor if you are looking for business class seats but that will not come as a surprise if you follow these deals on a regular basis.

The Flying Blue promo awards website is here.  The new batch of deals must be booked by the end of January for travel in March or April.

Some of the interesting long-haul premium economy and business class deals include:

Europe to Panama City (premium economy) – 50% off at 60,000 miles return

Europe to Lima (premium economy) – 25% off at 105,000 miles return

Europe to Atlanta (premium economy) – 50% off at 50,000 miles return

Europe to Montreal (business) – 50% off at 62,500 miles return

Europe to Toronto (business) – 50% off at 62,500 miles return

Europe to Santo Domingo, Fort de France, Punta Cana (premium economy) – 25% off at 90,000 miles return

Europe to Ho Chi Minh (business) – 50% off at 100,000 miles return

Europe to Seoul (business) – 25% off at 150,000 miles return

Europe to Kuala Lumpur (premium economy) – 25% off at 80,000 miles return

Europe to Djibouti (business) – 50% off at 50,000 miles return

If you know your Avios reward chart by heart, you will have spotted that – even with a massive reduction – not all of these routes offer a great deal, certainly nowhere near 50% less than an Avios ticket. Such is the poor value that Flying Blue now represents.

However, on the upside, taxes are now capped on redemptions. Whilst I cannot access the detailed tax data, as I don’t have an active Flying Blue account, you should find that the numbers look better than the equivalent BA redemption.

When I say that a flight starts in ‘Europe’, it means that your connection to Paris or Amsterdam is included in the miles stated. However, it may make sense to buy a separate ticket for the connection as you would avoid having to pay long-haul Air Passenger Duty in the UK.

Remember that Flying Blue is an American Express Membership Rewards partner if you need to top-up your account.

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How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Air France and KLM do not have a UK Flying Blue credit card.  However, you can earn Flying Blue miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 40,000 Flying Blue miles

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Flying Blue miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Flying Blue mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.