Flying to Europe can be quite expensive having economy tickets starting from $1,000, but you won't since you're here reading the article! The quick and simple process is:
First, make sure you have a Flying Blue account. If you don't, sign up for one on the Flying Blue website. Flying Blue is the loyalty program for AirFrance and KLM, with tons of flights from the U.S. to Europe.
Next, find out which credit card program partners with Flying Blue. The programs that transfer at a 1:1 ratio are American Express, Chase, Citi, Capital One, and BIlt.
Once you've confirmed your credit card program partners with Flying Blue, log into your credit card account and navigate to the points transfer page. Enter the number of points you want to transfer and confirm the transaction. *Before doing this step, I would highly recommend searching your flight award availability first!
While most transfer processes are instant, the transfer process can take up to several days to complete. Once the transfer is complete, your Flying Blue Miles will be available to use for flights on Air France or KLM.
To redeem your Flying Blue Miles, log into your Flying Blue account and search for flights on Air France or KLM. The number of miles required for a flight will vary depending on factors such as destination, time of travel, and class of service.
Once you've found the flight you want, select it and complete the booking process using your Flying Blue Miles.
Earning the Points:
It is extremely easy to earn FlyingBlue miles, other than the traditional way of flying with AirFrance or KLM. Credit cards often have intro-bonuses for signing up for their credit cards and meet a spend requirement. Here are just a few credit cards that will easily cover you and a plus one for your next trip to Europe!
Capital One Venture X - 75,000 miles into bonus
American Express Gold - (Limited Time 90,000) 60,000 points intro bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred - 60,000 point intro bonus
Not sure which card to get? Check out a 2 minute-read article here that explains which one you should get based off your spending or traveling habits!
Finding Award Availability:
First, head to AirFrance or KLM website to find the award availability, for this case I will be using AirFrance but they both work the same way.
Once you are at the website, login or sign up and click "Book with Miles"
Enter your destination, in this example, I'll be booking from New York to France. Remember to leave the travel dates open and don't click on any dates to view the whole award calendar.
Once you hit search, move around to the months you want to travel and search for the dates that are available that are 15,000 miles Even though the top of the chart shows more miles than 15,000, there usually are some redemptions.
After selecting your dates for departure, select the date of return that is also 15,000 miles. Your booking should look something like this:
Don't worry! Even though 30,000 points is a crazy deal for a redemption, I did promise only 25,000 points. How you book this flight for only 25,000 points is by waiting for credit card transfer bonuses. There will be times when different credit card offers a 1:1.2 transfer ratio. This will mean you will only need to transfer 25,000 credit card points to receive 30,000 flying blue miles. An example of this is shown below where Capital One miles can transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1.2 ratio.
If you are not in a rush to book, it may be beneficial to wait for these transfer bonuses to maximize your credit card points.
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