All About my Air France/KLM Flying Blue Stash

Between my husband and me, we have almost 800,000 miles and points in various currencies (bank points, airline miles and hotel points). How did we get these miles, and what trips are we booking with them? Last week, I wrote about my stash of British Airways and Iberia Avios. This week, let’s do a deeper dive into Flying Blue miles. Note: If you’re new to miles and points, read Beginner’s Guide: 7 Steps to Free Travel with Miles and Points.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue Program

Flying Blue is the loyalty program shared by Air France and KLM airlines. I own ~190,000 Flying Blue miles.

How We Earned These Miles

My husband and I have both owned the Bank of America Air France/KLM Flying Blue Mastercard in the past to earn the signup bonuses (current bonus is 70k miles). However, most of my current stash came from transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Flying Blue when there was a 20% transfer bonus. I had intended to use the miles to fly home from Asia, but I was tricked with phantom award space (see this post). So, now these miles are waiting for a future redemption.

Things to Know About Flying Blue

• You can transfer miles from most flexible bank currencies (Amex, Bilt, Chase, Capital One, Citi) to Flying Blue
• Flying Blue miles can be used seamlessly across Air France and KLM without having to transfer miles from one airline to another
• Use miles on Air France and KLM plus 38 partner airlines including members of the SkyTeam alliance
• Kids ages 2-11 get 25% discount on award price
• Saver awards from USA to Europe start at 60k miles for business class, although recent data points show that saver award availability is less common than in prior years
• Every month, Flying Blue announces promo awards valid for specific dates for up to 50% off
• Flight schedules are available to book 359 days in advance
• The cost to change an award flight or cancel and redeposit miles is 70 Euros per ticket

How We’ve Used Flying Blue Miles in the Past

My family of 6 flew on Air France from DFW to Paris in business class seats (for the first time!) in 2022 using miles. The following year, we used Flying Blue miles to fly business class to Venice and back home (see this post). Last year, I used Flying Blue miles to book me and my daughter on business class flights on partner airline China Airlines from Ontario, CA to Hong Kong.

How I Plan to Spend my Current Flying Blue Miles Stash

My family is planning to return to Europe in 2026, so I will definitely burn my miles on award flights this year when the booking window opens. Ideally, I’d love to find 3 saver business class award seats for 180k total. But realistically, based on award availability lately, I may have to settle for higher-priced business award prices or premium economy seats.

In the future, I’m tempted to use Flying Blue miles to fly to French Polynesia (Bora Bora). Air France has decent award availability in Premium Economy seats from LAX to Papeete for 50,000 miles each way.