Buy Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles with a 70% Bonus

The Air France KLM Flying Blue loyalty program is popular for its monthly Promo Rewards in select markets on Air France and KLM flights, unique redemptions on partner airlines , and more.
Flying Blue has just launched a new promotion for purchasing miles, which can be a great opportunity to buy Flying Blue miles and redeem them for higher value. 

Buy Flying Blue Miles with a 70% Discount
From now until June 10, 2024 ,  Flying Blue members can buy miles and get up to a 70% bonus  on their purchase.  
This time, the maximum bonus applies as long as you purchase at least 2,000 miles:

70% bonus when you buy at least 2,000 miles

The standard rate is 3.05 cents per mile (USD), before any discounts or bonuses. That’s a very expensive rate for acquiring miles, and it’d rarely make sense to buy Flying Blue miles without a promotion in play.
However, during a 70% bonus event, you’re effectively purchasing points for 1.79 cents per mile (USD),   which is equivalent to about 2.42 cents per mile (CAD).
That’s above our current valuation of Flying Blue miles at 1.5 cents per point (USD) / 2 cents per point (CAD); however, it’s certainly possible to still get outsized value if you have a specific redemption in mind.
Note that the offer in your account may differ from this offer. Login to your account to find out the specific offer available to you.
How many Flying Blue miles can you buy?
Flying Blue members without elite status are limited to purchasing 100,000 miles per calendar year, before counting any promotional bonus. There’s no limit as to how many miles members with elite status can buy; however, they’re limited to a maximum bonus of 210,000 miles with this promotion.
If you were to max out this current promotion as a non-elite member, it’ll cost $3,050 USD (~$4,116 CAD) for 170,000 Flying Blue miles.

Which credit card should you use to buy Flying Blue miles?
Flying Blue sells its points through an external vendor, Points.com. Purchases made through Points.com don’t count as a travel purchase as you aren’t buying directly through the airlines.
Instead, you should use any card with a high base earning rate, or perhaps one on which you’re working on meeting the minimum spend requirement .
Importantly, since Points.com is a Canadian-based company that’s obligated to levy GST/HST on purchases by Canadian residents, it’s best to pay with a US credit card with a US billing address to avoid the added tax amounts, which would dilute the value of your purchase.
KLM 787 business class
Should You Buy Flying Blue Miles with a 70% Bonus?
Buying points can be very useful when you’re short on points for booking a flight and need to top up your account on a somewhat urgent basis.
Additionally, for premium cabin award tickets where cash rates are expensive, buying points and then redeeming for an award ticket can offer a significant discount.
Flying Blue Promo Rewards
Flying Blue’s rotating Promo Rewards routinely offer up some fairly interesting deals.
For example, in May 2024, flights between Quebec City and Europe are bookable at a 25% discount off the usual price in economy.
With Promo Rewards like these, you can book a transatlantic economy flight to Europe for only 15,000 miles.

Let’s say you were interested in a Quebec City–Europe round-trip redemption in economy for one passenger. That’d cost 30,000 miles under the Promo Rewards deal, which is 25% of the usual cost, plus a moderate amount of  taxes and fees .
By leveraging the current 70% bonus promotion, you could buy 30,600 miles for around $549 (USD), or about $750 (CAD). 
Even after factoring in Flying Blue’s surcharges, the total out-of-pocket expense is a neat discount compared to the price you’d pay in cash for transatlantic flights out of Quebec City.
Plus, with Promo Rewards, you’ll find good availability in economy if you’re travelling as a family or group.
Keep an eye out for future Promo Rewards like these, which rotate monthly, as there’s always some value to be captured if the deals align with your upcoming trips. 
Air France A350 business class
Booking an Aspirational Flight
Even without Promo Rewards, Flying Blue can offer some convenient routing options at reasonable price points when travelling in business class.
For example, KLM operates one of the only direct transatlantic flights out of Edmonton, and it’s priced at 50,000 Flying Blue miles for the one-way journey to Amsterdam, or 100,000 miles for a round-trip.

If you’re eyeing the quickest route to Europe as an Edmontonian, buying 102,000 Flying Blue miles for $1,830 USD   (~$2,469 CAD) brings the business class flight much closer within reach when compared to paying cash.

The same principle applies to Air France and KLM’s other North American routes, including Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City, all of which cost as few as 50,000 Flying Blue miles for a one-way flight in business class. 




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6 Unique Redemptions with Air France KLM Flying Blue







Other Ways to Earn Flying Blue Miles
Before deciding to acquire Flying Blue miles with a 70% bonus, keep in mind that there are other slower, but cheaper, ways to get Flying Blue miles, which may be worth considering if you aren’t in a rush to book.
Canadian Credit Cards
There are plenty of ways to earn Flying Blue through credit cards we have in Canada.
American Express Membership Rewards can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:0.75 ratio. Any of the Membership Rewards cards would be a good choice, with the high annual fees representing an opportunity to effectively “buy” miles.




American Express MR Cards for Flying Blue Redemptions






Credit Card
Best Offer
Value












American Express Platinum Card

American Express Platinum Card


100,000 MR points

$799 annual fee


100,000 MR points
$1,361


Apply Now











Business Platinum Card from American Express

Business Platinum Card from American Express


120,000 MR points

$799 annual fee


120,000 MR points
$1,574


Apply Now











American Express Business Gold Rewards Card

American Express Business Gold Rewards Card


75,000 MR points

$199 annual fee


75,000 MR points
$1,561


Apply Now











American Express Gold Rewards Card

American Express Gold Rewards Card


70,000 MR points

$250 annual fee


70,000 MR points
$1,676


Apply Now











American Express Business Edge Card

American Express Business Edge Card


Up to 77,000 MR points

$99 annual fee


Up to 77,000 MR points
$1,419


Apply Now








Brim Financial also offers the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard , with which you can earn Flying Blue miles on your daily purchases. Currently, the card offers a juicy welcome bonus of up to 60,000 Flying Blue miles.




Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard®










Apply Now

Learn More
First-Year Value: $768




Earn  10,000 Flying Blue miles upon first purchase
Plus, earn 10,000 Flying Blue miles when you spend $5,000
And, earn 10,000 more Flying Blue miles when you spend another $10,000
And, earn 30,000 Flying Blue miles when you renew your card for a second year
Get 60 XP in the first year, plus 30 XP in subsequent years
Earn 5 Flying Blue miles per euro spent on Air France KLM flights
Earn 2 Flying Blue miles per dollar spent on food and drink
Earn 1 Flying Blue mile per dollar spent everywhere else
Minimum income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
Annual fee: $132





US Credit Cards
In addition to the cards issued by Amex Canada, the major US credit cards offer a multitude of ways to rack up Flying Blue miles.
Amex US Membership Rewards , Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards , Citi ThankYou Rewards , and Capital One Miles can all be transferred to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio. With ample welcome bonuses across the board, you can earn points with each of the four major issuers and pool them into a single Flying Blue account.
Additionally, Bank of America issues the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard in the US. The card currently offers 50,000 Flying Blue miles in exchange for an $89 (USD) annual fee.
With Bank of America, you’ll need to visit a branch to apply if you’re using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy points can be transferred to Flying Blue at a 3:1 ratio, with a bonus of 5,000 miles when transferred in chunks of 60,000 Bonvoy points.
Using our present valuation of 0.8 cents per point (CAD) , we’d value 60,000 Bonvoy points at $480 (CAD). When transferred to Flying Blue, this is equivalent to buying 25,000 miles at 1.92 cents per mile (CAD).
That’s quite a bit higher than the current promotional cost to buy miles outright at 2.42 cents per point (CAD). However, buying miles directly from Flying Blue could actually be the better choice, since you can redeem Bonvoy points for great value at aspirational hotels.
Previous Promotions
As you weigh whether this promotion is a good opportunity for you to meet your travel goals, here’s a snapshot of Air France KLM Flying Blue’s previous offers on mileage sales, covering all promotions during the past year:
Bonus Cents per point (USD) Start Date End Date Up to 70% more purchased miles 1.79 April 4, 2024 April 25, 2024 Up to 50% off purchased miles 1.525 February 6, 2024 February 29, 2024 Up to 100% more purchased miles 1.525 December 1, 2023 December 21, 2023 Up to 100% more purchased miles 1.525 October 23, 2023 November 7, 2023 Up to 100% more purchased miles 1.525 September 7, 2023 September 27, 2023 Up to 100% more purchased miles 1.525 May 22, 2023 June 11, 2023 Up to 100% more purchased miles 1.525 April 17, 2023 April 30, 2023 Up to 100% more purchased miles 1.525 February 7, 2023 February 27, 2023

Conclusion
Buying Flying Blue miles during one of the program’s bonus events can be an attractive strategy if you’re eyeing a transatlantic reward flight with Air France, KLM, or one of their SkyTeam partners.
This current 70% bonus promotion is a bit lower than the program’s recent promotional bonuses and discounts, and we’ve seen it go as high as a 120% bonus before. If you’re interested in the 70% bonus, be sure to take action before the deal ends on June 10, 2024.
However, if you don’t have a specific use of Flying Blue miles in mind, then it’d be better to gradually collect transferable points like Amex Membership Rewards instead, and convert them to Flying Blue miles when it’s time to book. 
The post Buy Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles with a 70% Bonus appeared first on Prince of Travel by Ricky Zhang .