Flying Blue, loyalty program of Air France KLM, is a program that allows you to book Air France KLM flights, SkyTeam flights and partner flights.
The best way to maximize your Chase Ultimate Rewards is on economy flights with these redemptions. One, US to Israel. Two, US to Caribbean and Mexico. Three, North America to Hawaii. Four, US to South America. Five, US to French Polynesia. Six, US to Australia and New Caledonia.
Business class point requirements along with the taxes and fees usually put business class redemptions at a disadvantage relative to other programs.
While Flying Blue is great for economy redemptions, I would keep in mind these items when booking award travel through their program:
- Fuel surcharges are passed on and vary by airline
- No published award chart but the program uses a miles price calculator
- One-way awards are allowed
- Stopovers are only allowed on round-trip travel
You can book Flying Blue and SkyTeam Alliance flights by transferring your Chase Ultimate Rewards directly to your Flying Blue account. Simply login to your Ultimate Rewards account, select “Use Points,” select “Transfer to Travel Partners,” select “Transfer Points” to the right of Flying Blue, and transfer the points necessary for your redemption.
Now that we have a basic overview of the Air France KLM Flying Blue program, below are redemptions to consider.
1. US to Israel and North Africa
Flying Blue prices flights from the US to Israel, as though Israel is part of Europe, at 25,000 miles one-way. Delta flies nonstop from New York to Tel Aviv, although I was unable to find award availability all year for both economy and business class.
For business class, I came across a ton of phantom award space. The key here is to make sure to click all the way through to selecting your flight to confirm award availability.
Flying Blue prices flights from the US to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and the Canary Islands, as though these countries are part of Europe. There are no direct routes from the US on a SkyTeam partner so you’ll be routed through Europe or the Middle East.
2. US to Caribbean & Mexico
Flying Blue prices flights from the US to Mexico, Aruba, and Bonaire at 12,500 one-way, which is the same price as US domestic flights.
Here are a few routes that Delta has service between:
Cancun <> Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Salt Lake City
Cozumel <> Atlanta
Puerto Vallarta <> Atlanta, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City
Cabo <> Atlanta, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City
Aruba <> Atlanta, New York
Bonaire <> Atlanta
Flying Blue prices the remainder of the Caribbean, including the US Virgin Islands, at 15,000 one-way.
Here are several routes that Delta has service between:
Puerto Rico <> Atlanta, New York
Punta Cana <> Atlanta, New York
Dominican Republic <> Atlanta, New York
Cuba <> Atlanta, Miami, New York
Jamaica <> Atlanta, Detroit, New York
3. North America to Hawaii
Flying Blue prices North America to Hawaii at 15,000 one-way. Business award space to Hawaii is sparse to non-existent. I came across a ton of phantom award availability searching for business class so make sure you click all the way through to the selection of your flight to confirm award availability.
Delta has service between:
Honolulu <> Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle
Kona <> Los Angeles, Seattle
Lihue <> Los Angeles, Seattle
Maui <> Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Seattle
4. US to South America
Flying Blue prices flights from North America to Northern South America at 17,500 miles one-way. 35,000 miles round-trip with low taxes and fees to fly 6+ hours each way is incredible.
Delta has service between:
Peru <> Atlanta
Colombia <> Atlanta
Ecuador <> Atlanta
Flying Blue prices flights from North America to Southern South America at 25,000 miles one-way. 50,000 miles with low taxes and fees for 9+ hours each way is a redemption to seriously consider.
Non-stop flights that you can book include:
Buenos Aires <> Miami, New York – Aerolínas Argentinas
Buenos Aires <> Atlanta – Delta
Sao Paulo <> Atlanta, Detroit, New York, Orlando – Delta
Santiago <> Atlanta – Delta
5. US to French Polynesia
Flying Blue prices flights from North America to French Polynesia at 30,000 miles one-way. Availability for both economy and business class is extremely sparse throughout the year. I was able to find more availability on the Los Angeles > Tahiti route compared to Tahiti > Los Angeles route.
Air France and Air Tahiti Nui have service between:
Los Angeles <> Tahiti
6. US to Australia & New Caledonia
Flying Blue prices flights from North America to New Caledonia (French island in the South Pacific) at 30,000 miles one-way and flights to Australia at 50,000 miles one-way. I’ll just let that sink in.
Credit Cards to Book Air France KLM Flights
One of the best cards to use for travel protection the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It earns 3x Chase points and is great to use to book Air France KLM flights. If you’re looking for airport lounge access check out the Amex Platinum (Learn More Here). In addition to lounge access it earns 5x points on flights booked with the airline.
Business owners should consider using the Chase Ink Business Preferred. It earns 3x Chase points on travel expenses. The Amex Business Platinum (Learn More Here) is the card to use for airport lounge access and to earn 5x points on flights booked directly with the airline.
Conclusion
The combination of aggressive economy award requirements with low taxes and faxes make this program a great way to book Air France KLM metal and their partner redemptions. Flights to Israel, Hawaii and French Polynesia really caught my attention as I was working my way through the booking process.
How do you book Air France KLM flights? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
Disclaimer: If you click and/or sign up for a credit card through certain links on this site or any of my related social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click-through. The editorial content on this page and the user comments are not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.
