If you’ve been watching airline loyalty programs, you know that buying miles is rarely a slam dunk. But when the offer is generous — like discounts or bonus promotions — it becomes worth revisiting. Right now, Flying Blue (the loyalty program of Air France / KLM) is offering a promotion on purchased miles that deserves a second look. Let’s break down what the offer is, how it works, and when (or if) it makes sense for your travel plans.
💡 What the Current Offer Looks Like
Here’s a rough sketch of what’s being offered now in the Flying Blue miles purchase promotion:
- Members can buy miles and receive up to a 45% discount during the promotional window.
- The discount tiers are structured based on how many miles you purchase in one transaction.
- At the deepest discount, you’re effectively paying about 1.68 US cents per Flying Blue mile.
- Different accounts sometimes see different discount levels (some may see smaller discounts, others the maximum).
- The offer is time-limited, so you’ll want to act while it’s live.
Because the base rate for buying Flying Blue miles (without a promotion) tends to be quite high, this discounted rate makes the promotion more compelling — but it still demands careful math.
✈️ Where You Can Redeem Flying Blue Miles
Part of what makes Flying Blue attractive is its broad airline and redemption network. Here’s where you can use your miles:
- Air France & KLM: Naturally, direct flights on their own network are among the most straightforward redemptions.
- SkyTeam partners: Flying Blue lets you fly with many SkyTeam carriers using your miles, giving access to global routes.
- Select non-SkyTeam partners: Occasionally, Flying Blue has unique partnerships that let you redeem miles for flights on outside networks beyond typical alliances.
When redemption availability is good, Flying Blue can offer excellent value — especially for transatlantic business class, intra-Europe flights, or premium flights where cash fares are high.
🧮 Fees, Surcharges & Taxes
No “miles program” is totally free — here are the costs you should expect with Flying Blue redemptions:
- Government taxes & airport fees will always apply, and vary by route.
- Carrier-imposed surcharges (often called “fuel surcharges”) may appear — not always huge, but enough to eat into your value.
- When you purchase miles, the transaction is handled through a third-party (Points.com or similar), so you likely won’t earn bonus category credit card points like “airfare” multipliers on that spend.
- There may be purchase caps or account limits (e.g. how many miles you can buy per year) depending on your membership tier.
Even with those charges, if your redemption yields a high “cents per mile” value, the deal can still be worthwhile.
⏳ Do Flying Blue Miles Expire?
Yes — but the expiry rules are relatively generous:
- Flying Blue miles expire after 24 months of inactivity.
- Any qualifying activity — earning or spending miles — resets that clock.
- Note: when you buy miles or transfer them in, those actions typically do not count as “activity” to extend the life of your existing miles.
- So if you rely solely on purchased miles (and don’t fly or use miles otherwise), your balance could still be at risk of expiration.
🧠 When It Makes Sense to Buy (and When It Doesn’t)
Good reasons to buy miles:
- You’re just shy of the amount needed for a premium cabin redemption (e.g. business class) and don’t want to wait.
- The cash fare is astronomical (e.g. last-minute or peak season), so buying miles plus paying fees still costs much less.
- You have a high-value redemption lined up with confirmed availability.
- You want to “lock in” an award price before demand pushes it higher.
When you should skip or be cautious:
- You don’t have a specific flight in mind — buying miles speculatively is risky.
- The route or date you want has poor award availability (if you can’t book, the miles are useless).
- Your expected “value per mile” for the redemption is lower than the cost you’ll pay.
- You already have many miles and don’t need more, or you prefer earning through credit card transfers, promotions, or flying.
✅ Final Thoughts
This Flying Blue miles purchase promotion — offering up to 45% discount — is one of the better opportunities we’ve seen. If properly leveraged (with a redemption in hand, confirmed availability, and good math), it can unlock premium flights at a fraction of the usual cost.
But it’s not a no-brainer. Always run the numbers, check availability, factor in fees/surcharges, and remember that miles expire if your account sits dormant. If everything lines up, though — it can be a powerful move in your luxury travel toolkit.
pointmetoluxury.com 
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