The Air France-KLM Flying Blue frequent flyer programme is relatively obscure in Singapore, certainly less of a household name than KrisFlyer or Asia Miles. However, it can offer some good value redemptions, and I’ve recently started getting more invested in the programme.
Flying Blue has now launched a month-long 20% transfer bonus, which could come in useful with year-end travel on the horizon.
Flying Blue offering 20% transfer bonus
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| Flying Blue Transfer Bonus |
From 1-31 October 2024, Flying Blue is offering a uncapped 20% transfer bonus for conversions from the following programmes (Singapore-relevant ones in bold):
- Barclays Arrivalยฎ Premier World Elite Mastercardยฎ
- Cathay United Bank Reward Point Program
- CIMB Member Rewards
- China CITIC Bank Point Program
- CTBC Loyalty Reward Program
- HSBC Hong Kong RewardCash Programme
- HSBC Singapore Rewards Programme
- HSBC UK Reward Programme
- HSBC US Rewards for Miles
- Inbursa
- Kbank Points
- OCBC Stack Rewards
- Ping An E-Wallet
- Ramp Rewards
- Standard Chartered 360ห Rewards
Unfortunately, even though Citibank Singapore and HeyMax offer transfers to Flying Blue, they’re excluded from this campaign.
One nice thing about this transfer bonus is that base and bonus miles will be awarded together, per the regular timeline. This allows you to enjoy the upsized amount immediately, instead of having to wait like.
Transfers from HSBC
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| 25,000 HSBC points | 10,000 miles 12,000 miles |
If you’re transferring HSBC points, a minimum transfer block of 10,000 miles (pre-bonus) applies, but subsequent conversions beyond this amount can be as small as 2 miles.
Transfers are processed instantly, with fees waived till 31 January 2025.
Transfers from OCBC
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| 1,000 90ยฐN Miles | 1,000 miles 1,200 miles |
| 1,000 VOYAGE Miles | 1,000 miles 1,200 miles |
| 10,000 OCBC$ | 10,000 miles 12,000 miles |
If you’re transferring 90ยฐN Miles and VOYAGE Miles, a minimum transfer block of 1,000 miles (pre-bonus) applies, but subsequent conversions beyond this amount can be as small as 100 miles.
If you’re transferring OCBC$, a minimum transfer block of 10,000 miles (pre-bonus) applies, but subsequent conversions beyond this amount can be as small as 1,000 miles.
Transfers are processed instantly, and a S$25 admin fee applies.
What can you do with Flying Blue miles?
The most important thing to know about Flying Blue is that they do not have published award charts.
This means you need to be extra careful about transferring miles speculatively, because there’s no guarantee that the prices you observe today will be the same a few months down the road.
You can search for awards even with a zero miles balance, so you can verify the space exists before transferring miles and booking it (remember, transfers are instant from both HSBC and OCBC).
Assuming you plan to earn and burn โ which you should โ here’s some potential sweet spots.
Travel on Air France and KLM
For flights on Air France and KLM, you can look at the Rewards Map feature, which shows at a glance the award prices from a given starting point and cabin.
Some of these look like sensational deals. Business Class to Amsterdam and Paris for 70,000-75,000 miles? Yes please!
But peer a little closer, and you’ll see that the prices are “starting from”. There’s no guarantee you’ll actually be able to secure that price especially during peak periods.
Here’s an example from November 2023. Notice how it’s possible to find those 75,000 miles awards on certain days, but it can go as high as 700,000 miles (!) on others.
Of course, if you’re able to book those 75,000 miles awards then by all means, knock yourself out. With Business Saver space to Europe practically non-existent on KrisFlyer towards year-end, this could be a very good backup solution.
Other awards worth considering include:
- Singapore to Europe (Business): 70,000-75,000 miles
- Singapore to Bali (Business): 20,000 miles
If you’re booking travel outside of Singapore, be on the look out for the monthly Flying Blue promo rewards, which consists of discounted awards for travel over the next six months to and from Amsterdam and Paris.
Travel on partner airlines
Air France and KLM are part of the SkyTeam alliance, although they also have non-SkyTeam partners such as Etihad and Qantas.
Award prices here are fixed, although again there’s no award chart to refer to; you’ll have to run searches and see what comes up.
My most recent success was a pair of Etihad Airways Business Class tickets to Madrid and back, which cost 181,000 miles + US$410 per person. Even with the fuel surcharges, I think that’s a decent price considering that KrisFlyer would have cost 206,000 miles (and then I’d still need to book a separate ticket on to Madrid).
Some suggestions include:
- China Airlines
- Singapore <> Taipei (Economy): 14,500 miles
- Singapore <> Taipei (Business): 28,500 miles
- Korean Air
- Singapore <> Seoul (Economy): 24,000 miles
- Singapore <> Seoul (Business): 59,500 miles
What else should you know about Flying Blue?
- Flying Blue awards can be changed or cancelled for a EUR 50 fee
- Fuel surcharges are not absorbed by the programme
- Flying Blue miles expire after 24 months of inactivity
With regards to expiry, performing selected accrual or redemption activities (such as crediting a flight to the programme or making a purchase with a co-brand card) will extend the entire balance for a further 24 months.
That said, because of the unpublished prices of Flying Blue awards, you should not be holding on to miles for so long that expiry becomes a concern.
Conclusion
From now till 31 October 2024, Flying Blue is offering an uncapped 20% bonus on points transfers from HSBC and OCBC.
This programme can offer good value awards to Europe, though the lack of an award chart means you’re never guaranteed to find good pricing. I’d recommend browsing first and seeing if there’s anything of interest, then transferring points.
