Flying Blue discounted redemptions for November and December launched

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

(If you got in on the recent amazing £999 business class deal on Air France / KLM to Japan, these are the sort of deals where you should be looking to redeem the Flying Blue miles you will earn.)

Frankly, this list is pretty poor if you are looking for business class seats.

The Flying Blue promo awards website is here.

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

Madrid to Santa Cruz on Air Europa – 50% off at 100,000 miles return

Europe to Panama City – 50% off at 75,000 miles return

Europe to Beijing – 25% off at 150,000 miles return

Europe to Chengdu – 50% off at 100,000 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.

Outside business class, there are a couple of deals to the USA which may be worth a look if you are planning a Christmas shopping trip.  New York in economy is reduced by 25% to 37,500 miles whilst Washington DC is reduced by 50% to 50,000 miles in Air France Premium Economy.

You need to book by 30th September for flights in November or December.

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.