Flying Blue miles are valued at around 1.2 cents each when used to book award flights with Air France-KLM. Miles can also be redeemed for upgrades, baggage, lounge access, and more.
How To Earn Flying Blue Miles
The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program is a direct transfer partner of all major U.S. credit card programs which makes it very easy to earn large amounts of Flying Blue miles through intro bonuses and everyday spending across credit cards.
Read More: Best Credit Cards For Earning Flying Blue Miles
Citi ThankYou Rewards
Citi ThankYou Rewards points can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio meaning that every 1,000 points you transfer will give you 1,000 Flying Blue miles. Do note that you must be a Citi Premier Card holder in order to transfer points to Citi's partners.
You can earn Citi ThankYou points using the following cards:
-
For a limited time, earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
-
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
American Express Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards points can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. This means that every 1,000 AMEX points you transfer will give you 1,000 Flying Blue miles.
American Express offers quite a few Membership Rewards credit cards, but here are the cards with the best offers:
-
Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
-
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
-
Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
-
Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio meaning that every 1,000 Chase points you transfer will give you 1,000 Flying Blue miles.
These are the best credit cards for earning Ultimate Rewards points:
-
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
-
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
-
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy, up to $20,000 spent during the first year. That's up to $300 cash back.
-
Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Capital One Miles
Capital One Venture miles and Spark miles can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio meaning that every 1,000 miles you transfer will give you 1,000 Flying Blue miles.
Here are the best credit card offers for earning Capital One miles:
-
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
-
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
-
Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
Calculator: Calculate Which Credit Cards Will Earn You The Most Flying Blue Miles Based On Your Monthly Spend
How Much Are Flying Blue Miles Worth?
The Point Calculator values Flying Blue miles at 1.2 cents each when redeemed for award flights. This means that 10,000 miles are roughly worth $120 in value.
Flying Blue Miles Value
| Redemption option | Redemption value in cents |
|---|---|
| Award Flights (Research) | 1.2 - 1.5 |
| Award Flights (Average) | 1.2 |
Award Flights
Flying Blue miles can be used to book any available seat on a plane with Air France, KLM, HOP!, Joon, and Transavia. These redemptions are based on the origin, destination, booking class, and date of the flight.
Flying Blue miles can also be used to book award travel on partner airlines through the Flying Blue website. This includes SkyTeam members as well as several partner airlines. If award space is available, partner airlines will appear in the search results alongside Air France and KLM award flights.
The value you get out of your Flying Blue miles will vary, but the average is around 1.2 cents per mile if you're booking flights without any kind of research. Of course, you can get significantly higher value if you're seeking out some of Flying Blue's sweet spots when it comes to redemptions.
Flying Blue Promo Awards
Flying Blue Promo Awards is going to be one of the best ways you can maximize your Flying Blue miles. These promotions offer up to 50% off the cost of award flights in miles.
These promos are displayed as a flight between two destinations with the discount and starting price in Flying Blue miles. It will also display the travel dates that apply to the discount.
If you're looking for great deals, I recommend frequently visiting their promo rewards page.
Flights From The Contiguous U.S. To Hawaii
Probably one of my favorite redemptions is booking flights from the contiguous U.S. to Hawaii using partner airlines Delta and Alaska. Round-trips start as low as 35,000 Flying Blue miles in economy and 86,000 Flying Blue miles in Business class which is extremely cheaper than what most U.S. airlines charge through their own frequent flyer programs.
Example Flights:
- Detroit (DTW) - Honolulu (HNL)
- Atlanta (ATL) - Honolulu (HNL)
- Seattle (SEA) - Honolulu (HNL)
- Los Angeles (LAX) - Honolulu (HNL)
Flights From The Contiguous U.S. To Caribbean
As with Hawaii, you can score some great Flying Blue redemptions flying between the contiguous U.S. and the Caribbean on Delta and Alaska. Round-trips start at 29,000 Flying Blue miles while business class starts at 72,000 Flying Blue miles.
Example Flights:
- New York (JFK) - Aruba (AUA)
- New York (JFK) - Saint Martin (SXM)
- Atlanta (ATL) - Santo Domingo (SDQ)
Flights To Mexico
You can book award flights through Flying Blue for flights to Mexico using Delta, Alaska, and Aeromexico. Round-trip flights start at 29,000 Flying Blue miles while business class starts at 72,000 Flying Blue miles.
Example Flights:
- New York (JFK) - Mexico City (MEX)
- New York (JFK) - Cancun (CUN)
- Los Angeles (LAX) - Mexico City (MEX)
- Detroit (DTW) - Mexico City (MEX)
- Detroit (DTW) - Cancun (CUN)
Seat Upgrades
Flying Blue miles can be used to upgrade your seat on an Air France-KLM flight. Upgrades can be made in advance at least 48 hours or more before the flight.
Upgrades can also be made last minute for all Air France and KLM marketed and operated flights, Delta marketed and operated flights from Amsterdam, and Kenya Airways marketed and operated flights to/from Amsterdam.
If you feel the need to upgrade while on board the Air France or KLM marketed and operated flight, you can do that as well!
Baggage
Flying Blue miles can be used to pay for baggage on Air France, KLM, HOP!, Joon, Aircalin, and Kenya Airways. The cost of miles for a checked bag will depend on the route and airline. The Flying Blue site lists the mile rates for baggage fees.
In-Flight Meals
Flying Blue miles can be used to pay for meals when flying Economy and Premium Economy on long-haul Air France and KLM flights. Most of these meals are under 10,000 Flying Blue miles.
Lounge Access
Flying Blue miles can be used to access Air France, KLM, select SkyTeam, and other partner lounges.
Flying Blue Gold and Platinum members can enjoy free entry for themselves plus 1 guest when flying Air France, KLM, or select SkyTeam partner airlines internationally.
Flying Blue Explorer and Silver members can enjoy lounge access for 6,000 to 8,000 Miles, when traveling on, or connecting to or from an international flight operated by a SkyTeam partner on the same day.
Convert Miles To Dollars
Use the Flying Blue miles Value Calculator to calculate the cash value of Flying Blue miles based on our average redemption values.
| Redemption | Estimated Value |
|---|---|
| Award Flights (Research) | $0 - $0 |
| Award Flights (Average) | $0 |
FAQ
How much are Flying Blue miles worth?
Our calculations put Flying Blue miles at an average value of 1.2 cents each when used towards award flights on Air France, KLM and other airline partners.
What can you use Flying Blue miles for?
Flying Blue miles can be used for award flights with Air France, KLM, and several other partner airlines, seat upgrades, baggage, in-flight meals, and lounge access.
Is it worth buying Flying Blue miles?
It can be worth it to buy Flying Blue miles if you're a few miles short of a redemption. I wouldn't recommend buying a large amount of miles unless you can redeem them for a higher value than what you paid for them.
