PSA: Transferring Flexible Points Doesn’t Extend Validity of Miles Earned from Bank of America Credit Card

This is an issue  I’ve faced today, so I wanted to write a post in case you are dealing with a similar situation. A few years ago, my husband applied for Bank of America Air France/KLM credit card. It was done mainly for the signup bonus, and I had no use for the miles at the time. But I figured with my SIL moving to Michigan, we would figure something out. I have looked at burning  the stash for this route, but using Delta miles was always advantageous due to free cancellation and 15% discount you get with a co-branded Amex Delta card.

So, our Air France miles just sat there doing nothing, and not wanting to pay an annual fee, I went ahead and canceled the card associated with them. I knew that Flying Blue program has a Byzantine set of rules when it comes to expiration. But I was under the impression that as long as none of the miles were earned from flying, I could extend the validity  by simply transferring flexible points. I was wrong.

Our 73k miles were not set to expire until October, but I had 1k  points in my Capital One card and decided to use them to revive my Air France stash for an extra two years. Off topic, but Capital One would not let me transfer exactly 1k points for some reason, and I had to buy a $5 Amazon gift card first. Only then  was I able to perform the transfer. Weird, to say the least.

Anyway, I logged in to my husband’s Air France account and was shocked to find out that only 1k points will expire in two years. The rest of the stash had the same October date.

I started doing research, and came across this Reddit thread 

Apparently, miles earned through Air France credit card (bonus included) are treated as “flying” miles, and the expiration date can only be extended via SkyTeam flight or credit card purchase. Since we no longer posses the latter, it only left us with an option to book a Delta flight. Oh, and because the miles are in my husband’s account, he would have to be the one to fly before the end of October. For some it may not be a big deal, but he is totally out of vacation time. Plus, he isn’t big on travel, and adding extra trips just to extend miles is the last thing he wants to do on a weekend.

I started looking into burning this cursed stash  on Delta flights now. Fortunately, we have plans to send kids and MIL to Michigan next summer, and one-way flight from Fort Myers to Detroit runs at 14k miles. The problem is that we’ve already booked it with Delta currency at 11k miles per person, and got free cancellation. My understanding is that Air France award change/cancellation now costs 70 euros, up from 50. But it’s not like we had a choice. And then I got an idea that we should try applying for BoA Air France credit card instead. This bank banned me awhile back, but my husband was spared.

I didn’t have much hope since he got several denials lately. But it was worth a shot. Plus, the offer is currently increased to 70k miles (non-affiliate link) Approved! I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes. We should get the bonus as it’s been a few years since he got it last, but there are no guarantees. Of course, we are currently working on meeting minimum spend on several credit cards and need this additional burden like a fish needs an umbrella.

But I would much rather do that than burn the miles at suboptimal rate. This will give me an extra few years to come up with a plan. If all goes well, we will burn them on Orlando-Paris flight for 2027 trip to Europe. I had mixed feelings on the city, but my daughter loved it, and made me promise to include it on our next grand tour of the Old Continent. Plus, the fact that there is now a nonstop flight from our neck of the woods is a huge selling point.

If that doesn’t work out, we can always burn them on Delta flights to Michigan, so they won’t go to waste. But I absolutely don’t plan  to cut it this close again. It’s yet another lesson to not hoard your miles, as rules change or sometimes misunderstood. Don’t be like me.

Having extra miles will give me an excuse to splurge on Orlando-Paris premium economy for just my husband, while the rest of the family sits with the peasants where we belong. I won’t tell him until we get there, as he refuses to sit separately. Winning.