• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Award Bookings • Flying Blue • Tips  >  Pros and Cons of the Illogical New Flying Blue Program
Award BookingsFlying BlueTips

Pros and Cons of the Illogical New Flying Blue Program

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 5, 2018June 5, 2018 13 Comments

A new pricing scheme kicked in for Air France/KLM Flying Blue award redemptions on June 1st. Figuring it out has been like trying to figure out the writing of Faulkner. But I’ve been able to make a few general observations.

Pros

Cheaper Awards in Some Cases

The most popular redemption I make for Award Expert clients using Flying Blue points is between the USA and Europe. In some cases, prices have dropped. Previously, saver rates were a flat 62,500 miles each way. Now, “saver” business class seats seem to range from 51K to 68K. That makes award redemptions to Europe even more valuable than before.

Remember, “Europe” includes Morocco and Israel for Flying Blue, a great way to get all the way to the Middle East or Northern Africa for cheap.

Odd Married Segment Logic

Flying Blue is doing exactly what I recently observed with Delta SkyMiles redemptions: what seems to be an odd use of married segment fare logic. Take for example the example above. What if you just wanted to travel as far as Paris?

Same day, same flight, 2K more. That’s just odd. There are other more draconian examples, but we see that on many routes around the world, including on partner flights.

The potential for hidden city or throw-away ticketing is excellent in the new program. Remember, however, that once you skip a segment all remaining segments are cancelled. You’ll never book a round-trip if you intend to skip part of the outbound journey. Checking luggage is also difficult.

Cons

Odd Married Segment Logic

This odd married segment logic is also a huge hindrance in some cases, like if you want to go to Paris and check bags in the example above. Check out these other examples:

JFK to Paris is 91,500 miles for a one-way in economy (ouch):

New York to Singapore via Paris? 8K miles less, same flight/same day from New York to Paris.

What about New York to London? That will set you back 150K, so almost double the price for the CDG-LHR segment:

How about from the West Coast?

San Francisco to Amsterdam is only 26K miles one-way on October 3rd:

But if you connect to London, the fare drops to 21,500 miles. Same flight to Amsterdam…

There’s just no sense to it from a redemption perspective (where married segment logic has traditionally been limited and unlike revenue tickets, the point is to limit liability, not entice passengers to take extra flights).

Promo Awards

Perhaps you’ve heard about the great deal: Chicago to Paris for 22K r/t and even less with the current 25% transfer bonus from American Express to Flying Blue.

That’s great…if you want to go Paris. Traditionally, Flying Blue Promo Awards included a connecting flight to wherever you wished to go in Europe, subject of course to award availability. That’s gone now — the Promo awards will get you only to Pairs on Air France or Amsterdam on KLM. That’s a shame, though if the deal is good enough it still may make sense.

CONCLUSION

I’m still “learning” the ins and outs of the new Flying Blue program. As I unearth more tricks, I will certainly bring them to your attention.

Previous Article Analyzing Three Recent Changes at Hyatt
Next Article United Mobile App Tells You Exactly Why Your Flight Is Delayed

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Flying Blue Special Edition Promo Awards

    Spectacular Deal: Flying Blue Special Edition Promo Awards

    October 16, 2019
  • Air France First Class Award Changes

    Air France First Class Awards: Sensible Or Foolish?

    October 10, 2019
  • Flying Blue Transfer Bonus 2019

    Final Hours For Lucrative Flying Blue Transfer Bonus

    April 29, 2019

13 Comments

  1. Sexy_kitten7 Reply
    June 5, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    I think the married segment examples make perfect sense. You pay a premium for nonstop over connecting. I suspect they are pegging the award cost to the cash price similar to UA and DL. Btw, does anyone know how they do that in practice?

    • Richard Reply
      June 5, 2018 at 5:07 pm

      Except the London example blows that logic up. Just bizarre.

      • Sexy_kitten7 Reply
        June 5, 2018 at 9:52 pm

        I don’t think so. Which example are you referring to?

        • Matthew Reply
          June 5, 2018 at 11:13 pm

          I think he means the New York to London via Paris for 150K — a huge premium to connect in Paris.

          • Sexy_kitten7
            June 6, 2018 at 10:57 am

            Oh I see. I just read the text, not the screenshot.

  2. waldy Reply
    June 5, 2018 at 6:57 pm

    I observed something similar as well and transferred a few points from Amex MR to Flying Blue.
    But the sad part seems to be that the transfers are not instantaneous anymore 🙁
    SO basically I can book because my miles havent arrived yet.

    • Matthew Reply
      June 5, 2018 at 7:27 pm

      Take advantage of the free 72-hour holds (available only if you make the reservation over the telephone).

  3. Sam Reply
    June 6, 2018 at 1:01 am

    So does the new FB have big YQ On TATL awards?

    • Matthew Reply
      June 6, 2018 at 1:23 am

      Same as before. Sweet-spot is Delta, which has no fuel surcharges for one-way trips to Europe departing from North America or r/t journeys departing from North America. Also no fuel surcharges for Asia or South America.

      Air France/KLM fuel surcharges remain moderate. China Airlines, Aeroflot not appearing right now. High surcharges on Middle East Airlines and Air Europa.

  4. Paolo Reply
    June 6, 2018 at 6:05 am

    Hah! No, not Faulkner so much as Proust.
    They really screwed this up. Even AF loyalists have been anxious over the strikes and the already implemented changes to FB ( XP and all); the last thing AF would have wanted is more confusion/uncertainty, but that’s exactly the outcome of the award changes.
    OK, there could be a bargain in there somewhere ( sure, it’s great for anyone looking for a CDG-ORD in Y over the next 2 months ( @11,000 o/w). But that’s not a bread and butter route…and the other offerings range from luke-warm to insane ( and are pretty much without rhyme nor reason).
    They’ve stuffed this up…at at very bad time for the airline.

  5. Josh Reply
    June 6, 2018 at 10:35 am

    The worst bit is that you could upgrade from economy to business in a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam and atill only get the XP for economy as that was your oroginal booking class and they do not consider upgrades for the XP. It is just plain stupid.

  6. Simone Comparini Reply
    June 26, 2018 at 5:09 am

    Hello everyone, I’m Platinum since 6 years, I give You a rough idea of my new Flying Blue BAD experience: as Italian citizen I needed with the old program 70.000 miles to renew the platinum status. With Alitalia from Roma to Buenos Aires/return it was about 14k miles, based on economy ticket H fare basis, it’s like saying that in 5 trips/year I had renewed my status (including some domestic flights). Today, flying economy class no matter the fare basis, for return trip to Buenos Aires I get 24XP points, but now I need 300XP points to renew the platinum status!!! You don’t need to be a master at Harvard business school to understand that they fcked me…… and like me I’m sure most of frequent travellers have been penalized. I was aiming to get to lifetime platinum and now I have a mountain in from of me to climb.

  7. Pingback: Air France Returns To Dallas (Great Deal Using Miles) | Good Planes

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • World’s Most Powerful Flight Attendant Condemns Supreme Court Abortion Ruling June 25, 2022
  • Alaska Airlines Will Offer Free Abortion Flights To Employees June 25, 2022
  • A Visit To Poema Del Mar Aquarium In Las Palmas, Gran Canaria June 25, 2022
  • United Airlines Abortion Dobbs
    United Airlines Strikes A Neutral Tone On Landmark Supreme Court Abortion Decision June 24, 2022

Categories

Popular Posts

  • Delta Korean Air First Class Mistake Fare
    Delta Considers $2,700 A Mistake Fare… June 18, 2022
  • United Airlines Honolulu Diversion
    Update: United Airlines 787-9 Diverts To Honolulu Due To Disruptive Passenger June 16, 2022
  • Delta Pilots Open Letter
    Delta Air Lines Pilots Offer Direct Appeal To Customers June 18, 2022
  • Flaunting Woman Struts Up and Down The Aisle On My Austrian Flight June 9, 2022

Archives

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Posting....