Europe awards starting at 11,250 miles: This month’s Flying Blue Promo Rewards

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

From paid ticket sales to redemption promotions, there are endless opportunities to book travel at a discount.

However, few sales are as reliable as the Promo Rewards we see each month from Air France-KLM Flying Blue.

These deals regularly appear on the Flying Blue website and offer discounts on flights to and from select cities or region pairs. All discounts are only bookable through the end of the month, and there’s a set travel window.

This month, there are one-way economy flights to various European cities for less than 12,000 miles. This is a fraction of what many competing programs charge for the same award tickets. It can be an excellent deal if you’re looking for a summer or fall trip to Europe.

Deal basics

An Air France Airbus A350 — NICK ELLIS/THE POINTS GUY

Airline: Air France and KLM.
Routes: Economy awards between Europe and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Miami International Airport (MIA), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Business-class awards are available from Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ).
Cost: Varies by the airport, with economy-class awards starting at 11,250 miles.
Travel dates: Travel from June 1 through Nov. 30. You must book by June 30.

Promo Rewards between North America and Europe

The cheapest awards are from Detroit and Newark.

There’s also award space for 12,750 miles from Miami.

As you can see from this calendar search, economy-class award space from Houston to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) is plentiful:

We also found some business-class award space from 41,250 miles from Amsterdam to Toronto:

How to book

Book Flying Blue Promo Rewards like any other Flying Blue award ticket. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Book Promo Rewards tickets on the Air France or KLM website. Log in to your account and click the “Book with Miles” button on the home screen. Then, enter your desired itinerary and click the “Search flights” button.

Now, select the flight you’d like to book and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your booking.

Flight options from DFW to BCN — KLM.COM

If you plan to transfer points to book this award, find award space first and then transfer your points; you never want to transfer points without concrete dates in mind.

If you want to add a free stopover at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) or Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to an eligible itinerary, you’ll need to call Flying Blue to book your itinerary.

Earning Flying Blue miles

Boosting your Flying Blue balance is easy since the program partners with all major transferable points currencies.

You can transfer points at a 1:1 ratio from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards. You can also transfer Marriott points at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Based on our tests, Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase and Citi transfers should post almost instantly. However, that wasn’t the case with our test transfer from Marriott, which took three days to arrive in our Flying Blue account. Because of this, credit card points are your best bet if you hope to book right away, although Flying Blue generally allows three-day holds on award tickets when you call.

Maximize your purchase

Use a card that earns additional points on airfare purchases to pay taxes and fees on your award ticket.

Some of the best cards include The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), the Citi Premier® Card (3 points per dollar on air travel; see rates and fees), the Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on travel), the American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel) and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel).

Bottom line

Few sales are as reliable as the Promo Rewards we see each month from Air France-KLM Flying Blue. Boosting your Flying Blue balance is easy since the program partners with all major transferable points currencies. Book Promo Rewards tickets on the Air France or KLM website.

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Additional reporting by Ehsan Haque, Clint Henderson, Andrew Kunesh and Benji Stawski.