25% Fewer Miles to Europe From 6 US Cities

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Do you live near Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New York (JFK), or Washington, DC?  The new Flying Blue Promo Awards could be a good deal for a discounted trip on KLM or Air France to Europe!

And even if you’ve never flown on KLM or Air France, you might have points that transfer to the program.  Because you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou points, and Starwood points to Flying Blue, at a 1:1 ratio!

Plus, when you use Flying Blue Promo Awards, you’ll typically pay fewer miles or points for a round-trip flight to Europe than you would with airlines like Delta or United Airlines.

I’ll show you which dates you can travel with these discounted tickets.  And share some ideas about earning more Flying Blue miles, saving money on flights within Europe, and more!

Flying Blue Promo Awards – Here’s the Deal

Link:   Flying Blue Promo Awards

Link:   Flying Blue Frequent Flyer Program

Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program for Air France and KLM.  And each month, they offer discounted award tickets booked with Flying Blue miles.

And starting tomorrow, October 1, 2016, you can save 25% on award flights from these US cities:

• Atlanta (Business Class)
• Chicago (Business Class)
• Detroit (Business Class)
• Houston (Business Class)
• New York (JFK) (Business Class)
• Washington, DC (coach and Business Class)

You can travel between December 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016, if you depart from Atlanta or Detroit, or if you’re flying Business Class from Washington, DC.  And from December 1, 2016, to January 31, 2017, if you depart from Chicago, Houston, or New York (JFK).

For coach tickets out of Washington, DC, you’ll need to fly between January 1, 2017, and January 31, 2017.

There’s NO discount on the taxes and fees, which vary depending on the route.  And you’ll need to click through the Flying Blue Promo Awards site to get the deal.

You’ll also have to book your flight on Air France or KLM to get the discount with Flying Blue miles. You can NOT fly on other SkyTeam Alliance airlines like Delta or Korean Air.  And you must use Flying Blue miles to book your ticket!

Remember, to get this deal you’ll have to book your flight by October 30, 2016.

Should You Book With This Deal?

When you use Flying Blue miles, you’ll often pay fewer miles or points than you would with airlines like American Airlines.  But I’m happier when you can save 50% on award flights with Flying Blue Promo Awards. 😉

Plus, the taxes and fees depend on your routing.

For example, you can fly round-trip in Business Class from Chicago to London leaving December 5, 2016, and returning December 10, 2016, for 93,750 Flying Blue miles and ~$621 in fees.  Normally, it costs 125,000 Flying Blue miles.  And if you paid cash, this flight would cost ~$7,508!

On United Airlines, the same route would cost 115,000 United Airlines miles and ~$298 in taxes and fees.  Or 140,000 United Airlines miles if you book on Star Alliance partners like Lufthansa.

So you’ll pay an extra ~$323 in fees with the Flying Blue promo awards, which isn’t cheap.  But you’ll save up to 46,250 miles, so this is still a good deal!

Just remember to always do the math to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Using Flying Blue Promo Awards to Travel Beyond Europe!

Your trip doesn’t have to end in Paris or Amsterdam (the hub destinations service by Air France and KLM).  Because you can connect to other cities in Europe, near Asia, and even the Middle East for the same number of miles!

So you could fly to destinations like Tel Aviv or Morocco for the same discounted rates!

Discounted Award Tickets Within Europe

You can also save from 20% to 40% on certain intra-European flights with this month’s European Flying Blue Promo Awards.  This could be useful for folks who want to stop in multiple European cities.

But, if you have British Airways Avios points or Chase Ultimate Rewards points (because you can transfer those to British Airways Avios points), you can book one-way award flights under 650 miles within Europe for just 4,500 British Airways Avios points.

Or do a quick search for cheap flights on Europe’s budget airlines, before booking an award flight within Europe.

What If Your City Isn’t Included?

If you don’t live in a sale city, you can use your miles to get there on these airlines:

Southwest – If you need more Southwest points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Southwest.  Plus, if you have the Southwest Companion Pass, a friend can fly with you for (almost) free! British Airways – If you’re a short flight away from these cities, you can save miles by using British Airways Avios points to book an award flight on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines for 7,500 British Airways Avios points. Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards points, and Starwood points transfer to British Airways.  Or sign-up for the Chase British Airways Visa Signature® Card.

Or look for a cheap paid flight!

Need More Flying Blue Miles?

Link:   AMEX EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card

Link:   Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express

Link:   The Platinum Card® from American Express

Link:   Citi Prestige Card

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

Link:   Citi ThankYou Premier Card

Link:   Chase Sapphire Reserve

Link:   Chase Sapphire Preferred

Link:   Chase Ink Plus

If you need more miles, you can transfer to Flying Blue from 4 flexible point programs!

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase recently added Flying Blue to the list of Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners.  So you can now transfer Ultimate Rewards points earned from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Ink Plus, or Chase Ink Bold (no longer available) to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.

Or you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited, or Ink Business Cash Credit Card, if you also have 1 of the other 4 cards.

AMEX Membership Rewards

You can transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.

And you’ll earn AMEX Membership Rewards points with cards like the AMEX Platinum, The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz, AMEX Premier Rewards Gold, or AMEX EveryDay Preferred.

And sometimes there are transfer bonuses between American Express Membership Rewards and Flying Blue too!

Citi ThankYou Points

Citi ThankYou points also transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.  You can earn Citi ThankYou points with cards like:

• Citi Prestige
• Citi ThankYou Premier Card
• Citi Chairman (no longer offered)

Starwood Preferred Guest

You can also transfer points earned from the AMEX Starwood personal and the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.

And if you transfer 20,000 Starwood points, you’ll get a 5,000 mile bonus for a total of 25,000 Flying Blue miles.

Note:   Starwood points can take up to 4 weeks to transfer to Flying Blue.  Although in my experience it’s taken from 2 to 12 days.  So you plan on booking, your exact award ticket might disappear while waiting for the points to transfer!

Bottom Line

With this month’s Flying Blue Promo Awards, you can fly from cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Chicago, to Europe and beyond on KLM and Air France at a 25% discount.

To get the discount, you must book through the Flying Blue Promo Awards site by October 30, 2016.

Discounted flights are valid for travel from December 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.  And certain cities include travel from January 1, 2017, to January 31, 2017.

You can also travel on from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and near Asia for the same number of miles with Flying Blue awards.

This sale isn’t as good as previous sales, which have offered up to 50% off award tickets.  And Flying Blue charges taxes and fees.  But you’ll still save miles compared to booking with other airlines!

And because Flying Blue is an airline partner of all 4 transferable points programs, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards, AMEX Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Starwood points to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio.  So it’s easy to get Flying Blue miles for your trip.