Flying Blue Launches Miles Subscription: Buy Miles Starting at 1.1 Cents

Airlines are becoming increasingly creative when it comes to selling miles. Some programs offer “multipliers” to increase already earned miles. Miles&More bundles miles with other “benefits” to avoid them being classified as currency.

Now, Flying Blue has introduced another option. Similar to British Airways and Avianca, the frequent flyer program of Air France & KLM now offers a miles subscription. Signing up isn’t unattractive either—the prices are better than regular mile purchases, and the subscription can be cancelled at any time.

Those who frequently need Flying Blue miles can get them here for as low as 1.1 cents per mile. Others shouldn’t get too excited, as although Flying Blue offers some fair redemption options, true sweet spots for redemption are rare.

The New Miles Subscription at Flying Blue

Flying Blue offers (in cooperation with Points.com) four different monthly packages for purchasing miles. The price per mile is shown in brackets below:

• 2,000 miles per month for €28 per month (1.4 cpm)
• 5,000 miles per month for €65 per month (1.3 cpm)
• 10,000 miles per month for €120 per month (1.2 cpm)
• 17,000 miles per month for €187 per month (1.1 cpm)

The subscription can be cancelled at any time, with no minimum contract duration.

After signing up, the first credit should appear within 72 hours. Fees are deducted, and miles are credited on a monthly basis.

Mile Expiration at Flying Blue

Miles purchased under this subscription are valid for at least 36 months for German accounts, while others have a minimum validity of 24 months. For status holders, miles never expire.

As long as the subscription is active, the validity of the miles is extended monthly to a full 24 or 36 months. It’s important to note that Flying Blue distinguishes between two types of miles:

• Flight Miles: Miles from flights. If you take at least one flight every 24 months, the validity is extended by another 24 months.
• Commercial Miles: Miles from car rental partners, purchased miles, Amex transfers, etc. These miles can be extended by purchasing or donating at least one mile every 24 months.

Is the Miles Subscription Worth It?

As always, we can’t make the decision for you but we can offer some guidance. Currently, the miles subscription is more appealing than recent miles purchase offers, where prices ranged between 1.25 and 1.4 euro cents per mile, making them worth it only in certain cases.

Here are some examples of Flying Blue redemptions (prices are one-way):

• Business Class:
  • KLM: Berlin → AMS → San Francisco for 50,000 miles + €358 (with an night in AMS)
  • Air France: Toronto → CDG → Frankfurt for 50,000 miles + €254
  • KLM: Inverness → AMS → Montreal for 57,500 miles + €261
  • Air France: Tokyo → CDG → Hamburg for 70,000 miles + €191
  • Air France: Amsterdam → CDG → Osaka for 70,000 miles + €273
  • Vietnam Airlines: Frankfurt → SGN → Sydney for 133,000 miles + €356
• Premium Economy Class:
  • KLM: Rome → AMS → Dubai for 35,000 miles + €118
  • KLM: Rome → AMS → Rio de Janeiro for 40,000 miles + €167
  • KLM: Mount Kilimanjaro → AMS → Copenhagen for 40,000 miles + €171
  • Air France: Budapest → CDG → Ho-Chi-Minh-City for 40,000 miles + €200
  • Air France: Amsterdam → CDG → Antananarivo for 40,000 miles + €247
  • Air France: Madrid → CDG → Hong Kong for 44,000 miles + €158
  • Air France: Rome → CDG → Ouagadougou for 44,000 miles + €171
  • Air France: Budapest → CDG → Mauritius for 44,000 miles + €198
  • Air France: Rome → CDG → Panama City for 47,500 miles + €172
  • Air France: Dublin → CDG → Tokyo for 51,000 miles + €153
• Economy Class:
  • Air France: Belgrade → AMS → CDG → Toronto for 20,000 miles + €143
  • Air France: Osaka → CDG → Zurich for 25,000 miles + €102
  • KLM: Oslo → AMS → Johannesburg for 25,000 miles + €159
  • SAS: Stavanger → Bergen for 1,700 miles + €18

If you pay 1.1 cents per mile, you’d effectively be paying €961 for a business class one-way from Tokyo to Europe. That’s an acceptable price, but not much more than that. Especially as award flights can cost multiples of this amount during peak season.

Source: LoyaltyLobby

Cover Picture: Ditmar Lange