As of May 4, 2026, Flying Blue will simplify its mileage expiration rules. From then on, any qualifying points activity (such as booking flights, hotels, car rentals, or shopping with partners) will automatically extend your entire mileage balance by 24 months. The new rule resolves the confusion caused in the past by multiple expiration dates tied to different activity types. All existing miles will also benefit, and the system will automatically apply the most favorable expiration date to your account. Starting May 4, all miles will follow a unified 24-month validity rule, and just one activity will refresh your entire account balance.

This change is especially good for people who like to hoard miles. You can transfer points into Flying Blue during transfer bonus promotions, and when your miles are about to expire, make another transfer to extend the validity directly.

About Air France / KLM

Flying Blue is the loyalty program of Air France and KLM. It was created by merging the loyalty programs of two major, well-known airlines (and Transavia), and is one of the largest mileage programs in Europe. Flying Blue offers many attractive redemptions, not only within Europe but also on transatlantic flights to and from U.S. cities, often with 25% discounts on award tickets. Flying Blue miles are easy to earn because they can be transferred from many major credit card points programs, so understanding this program can also broaden how you use your points.

As a SkyTeam member, Flying Blue miles can also be used to book award flights with partners.

In addition to alliance members, Flying Blue miles can also be used on some non-alliance partners:

  • Air Corsica
  • Air Mauritius
  • Aircalin
  • Bangkok Airways
  • Chalair Aviation
  • China Southern Airlines
  • Copa Airlines
  • Etihad Airways
  • Gol Airlines
  • Japan Airlines
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Oman Air
  • Qantas
  • Twin Jet
  • WestJet
  • Winair
  • airBaltic

Earning miles

For these non-U.S. mileage programs, I recommend focusing on co-branded credit cards and transfers from other credit card points programs, which are faster ways to earn. Earning miles through flying is still more convenient if you mainly accumulate miles with a U.S. airline in the same alliance.

Credit card

Air France and BofA have partnered to launch a co-branded credit card. The welcome bonus is pretty good, and the card also gives 5,000 miles every year, which basically offsets the $89 annual fee. It can also help if you are working toward elite status. If you use Flying Blue miles frequently, then this is a card worth considering.

Apply now

Full review

BofA Air France KLM Credit Card

3x on SkyTeam airfare; 5k bonus miles every year!

  • Welcome bonus: 70,000 miles (spend $2,000 in 3 months)
  • Rewards: 3x on SkyTeam airfare purchases (including Delta and Air France/KLM); 1.5x on all other purchases
  • Redemption: Redeem for SkyTeam award tickets (including Delta, Air France/KLM, etc.)
  • Annual fee: $89
  • Apply now>>

Transfer points to miles

Flying Blue has many partners. AMEX, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, and Wells Fargo all transfer at 1:1. As always, if you have points across several programs, prioritize the more limited ones such as Wells Fargo and Capital One first.

Among hotel partners, only Marriott is really worth considering; the others are not very good in terms of transfer ratios.

Family account

Flying Blue also offers a family account, where you can add up to two adults and six children, and everyone can share miles and use them together. This greatly expands how miles can be used.

Using miles

Flying Blue uses dynamic pricing for Air France and KLM award tickets. That means the number of miles you need can vary a lot depending on the date. Although there is no award chart, you can use the calculator to see the minimum miles required for a specific city pair. Note that this is only the minimum, and the actual award price may be higher.

If you want to find which dates require the fewest miles, there is a trick for viewing Flying Blue's entire monthly award calendar. When searching, leave the time fields blank and choose one passenger. If that does not work, try entering a date far in the future; even after an error, you may still be able to see the calendar.

The results look like this. Some of the outrageous mileage prices are simply the result of dynamic pricing. You really only need to pay attention to the 50,000 and 55,000 level.

For fuel surcharges, Flying Blue passes along fuel and airline surcharges on Air France and KLM flights, as well as partner bookings. Especially in business class, a one-way transatlantic business-class ticket can cost $300 or more.

Best redemptions

First, the overall strategy. Because Flying Blue does not publish an award chart and uses dynamic pricing, it can be hard to extract consistent value from the program. But they run a lot of promotions, and these often stack. For example, there are often extra transfer bonuses of 25% from Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards to Flying Blue. Flying Blue also frequently offers 25% discounts on award tickets for selected routes. Combined, that can be a very good deal. So if two promotions are running at the same time, I recommend checking whether your desired route has award space and booking during that window if it does.

Award tickets for ages 2-11

If you are traveling with a child who is between 2 and 11 years old, Flying Blue offers a 25% discount on award tickets. I do not think I have seen this on other airlines.

Recurring 25% discount routes

Flying Blue regularly releases a large batch of routes with 25% off award pricing, so be sure to check before you travel and see whether your route is included.

Delta within the continental U.S. and to Hawaii

Flying Blue requires only 17,500 miles one-way for an economy award on Delta flights to Hawaii. The main problem, however, is that Flying Blue's website has limited award availability, and most of the time there are no seats.

Short-haul routes between the U.S. and Mexico

Flying Blue places Mexico and the continental U.S. in the same award zone, which means most awards cost only 10,500-17,500 miles, usually tied to flight distance. Routes between Texas airports and Mexico City are the cheapest. You can use Flying Blue miles to book award tickets on SkyTeam partners Delta and Aeromexico.
However, this route is also 17,500 miles on UA, and AA even has 10,000-mile awards. But considering the many ways to earn Flying Blue miles and the 25% bonus, it’s still pretty good.

Continental US and Colombia

The lowest one-way economy award to Bogota, Colombia starts at 17,500 miles. The farther north or west you are in the US, the more miles you’ll need. Prices from the Midwest or Northeast are still reasonable. A nonstop flight from New York (JFK) costs 20,500 miles — pretty good for a 6-hour international flight. Considering the distance, using miles on this route is a solid choice. Taxes and fees are quite reasonable at about $45.

Awards between the US and Europe

With many mileage programs devaluing, Flying Blue is still an excellent option for business class flights to Europe. You can now book business class on Air France or KLM to many European destinations for as little as 50,000 miles one way. That’s a typical price for flights from the East Coast to Western Europe.

Award prices usually rise as the flight gets longer. Still, you can find limited-time deals to some cities, such as Dallas to Budapest.

Flying Blue also partners with Virgin Atlantic, creating plenty of new redemption opportunities, especially in business class. The miles required vary by airport in the US, but flying to Europe costs as little as 56,000 Flying Blue miles one way plus about $200 in taxes and fuel surcharges. Delta business class awards are rare, but if you can find one, it’s still a great deal. Delta charges 375,000 SkyMiles now (dynamic pricing has arrived), while Flying Blue requires 67,500 miles.

Continental US and North Africa

For award pricing, Flying Blue treats North Africa as part of Europe — or at least regions that were formerly French colonies, such as Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. Economy awards from New York to Morocco start at 15,000 miles.

Premium economy and business class are also excellent values, at 30,000 and 55,000 miles respectively. Because some award pricing is slightly dynamic, you may sometimes need to pay more miles. Taxes can also be quite high. Although economy costs very few miles, cash booking is sometimes the better option. Business class is a different story, though — it’s absolutely a sweet spot.

Continental US and Central/Southern Africa

There are several sweet spots in Africa for Flying Blue. You can get a one-way ticket to destinations such as Ghana, Senegal, and Gabon for just 35,000 miles. If you can find space on Delta’s nonstop flight from New York (JFK) to Accra (ACC), you’ll save a huge number of miles compared with Delta’s pricing.

Even flights to Johannesburg won’t burn too many miles, since on some dates they cost just 35,000 miles.

Kenya Airways intra-Africa flights

Flights within Africa are incredibly expensive. A round-trip Kenya Airways ticket from Nairobi to Johannesburg costs more than $850.

You can get the same ticket for just 18,500 Flying Blue miles plus about $100 one way.

UA is another useful program for flights within Africa. That’s because it partners with Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways, two of the continent’s major airlines.

Europe stopovers on award tickets

Flying Blue allows free stopovers on one-way award tickets. It’s one of the few programs that offers free stopovers on one-way award tickets (another is Alaska Mileage Plan). Some other programs, such as Air Canada Aeroplan and Singapore KrisFlyer, allow stopovers for a reasonable fee. The downside with Flying Blue is that the stopover has to be on an Air France or KLM flight. Still, it’s a great perk, since you can extend your stay in Europe before continuing on to Africa. Or spend a few days in Paris or Amsterdam before continuing to another European city.

Summary

When Delta miles have been devalued left and right, and Virgin Atlantic’s taxes are shockingly high, Flying Blue has become one of the best miles to use for SkyTeam awards. It also has plenty of mileage sources, frequent discounted redemptions, and transfer bonuses often pop up, making it a great fit for flights between the US and Europe.

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