Flying Blue continues to be a go-to program for points and miles travelers. While the program no longer uses an award chart, the number of Flying Blue miles for Prague and cities in Europe is predictable. What’s also great about the program is that it’s easy to earn the miles you need.
A notable downside when redeeming Flying Blue miles are the surcharges. In the case of flights to Europe, these charges will be in the hundreds of dollars. It’s certainly not as bad as when flying Lufthansa, however, you should keep these fees in mind as it’s cash out of pocket.
Best Credit Cards to Earn Flying Blue Miles
As mentioned earlier, it’s easy to earn Flying Blue miles. The reason is that Flying Blue partners with American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott. This means that you can transfer points directly from these programs to your Flying Blue account.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred are the 2 Chase cards to check out. Reserve cardmembers earn 3x points on dining and travel while Preferred cardmembers earn 2x points on dining and travel. If you have a business, the Ink Business Preferred earns 3x points on travel.
On the Citi front, the Citi Prestige and Citi Premier are your cards. The Prestige earns 5x on airfare and dining. As a Premier cardmember, you’ll earn 3x on gas and travel. Another great Citi card to have is the Citi Double Cash. Pair this card with the Prestige/Premier to be able to convert your cashback into ThankYou points.
American Express has a number of cards but none are more rewarding than the Amex Gold Card. This card earns 4x on dining and US grocery stores. Alternate Amex cards to consider are the Amex Green Card and Amex Platinum Card. Green cardmembers earn 3x on dining and travel, and Platinum cardmembers earn 5x on airfare.
Capital One closes things out on credit cards. The Capital One Venture Rewards earns 2x miles on every purchase. Business owners will want to check out the Capital One Spark Miles for Business. This card also earns 2x miles per transaction.
Other Ways to Earn Flying Blue Miles to Travel Business Class:
Transferring points from the programs mentioned above will be the most efficient way to earn Flying Blue miles. Other ways to earn miles include flying on Air France/KLM flights, shopping through Flying Blue’s shopping portal, and using Flying Blue’s hotel and transportation partners.
Capital One, Citi, and American Express all offer transfer bonuses to Flying Blue. In the past, the bonuses have ranged from 20-30%. If you can earn points in all of these programs plus take advantage of a transfer bonus, you will easily have enough miles for your next flight to Prague.
Flying Blue Promo Awards
Promo Awards are one of the many areas where Flying Blue shines. Not only is it easy to earn Flying Blues that can easily be redeemed, but Flying Blue also offers monthly discounts. And it’s not just discounted economy award flights. Business class flights are also part of the discount.
Each month, Flying Blue releases 25-50% discounted award tickets on Air France or KLM flights. As an example, Air France business class between the US and cities like Budapest and Prague require 53,000 Flying Blue miles. Add in the discount and you’re looking at 26,500-39,750 Flying Blue miles for business class.
Basic Flying Blue Redemption Rules
Before booking flights with Flying Miles, let’s highlight its program rules. There are not many rules, however, you’ll want to keep these in mind as you start the award booking process:
- Dynamic award pricing is used
- Award tickets can be put on hold without miles in your account
- Fuel surcharges are passed on which means higher taxes and fees
How to Use Flying Blue Miles for Prague
SkyTeam alliance airline partners are the ones you will use for this redemption. Delta Air Lines is the only US-based SkyTeam member. Other members that are commonly used by award travelers included Air France, KLM, and Korean Air. Unlike the Star Alliance, the SkyTeam alliance is not well-represented with European partners.
With 53,000 Flying Blue miles plus ~$500, you can book an Air France or KLM one-way business class flight to Europe. Not all cities price out at 53,000 miles including the home airports of Air France and KLM. You’ll want to fly to cities like Budapest, Dublin, Prague, or Munich in order to fly using 53,000 miles.
Conclusion on How to Use Flying Blue Miles to Fly to Prague:
Flying Blue is sometimes overlooked due to the lack of an award chart and fuel surcharges. To me, the program blends convenience with solid value. Flying Blue does pass on fuel surcharges, however, you can book round-trip business class to Europe with a reasonable number of miles and cash.
What about you? How do you use Flying Blue miles? Please let me know in the comments below or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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