Table of Contents
Points Miles and Bling (blog) contains referral or affiliate links. The blog receives a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your continued support. Credit Card issuers are not responsible for maintaining or monitoring the accuracy of information on this website. For full details, current product information, and Terms and Conditions, click the link included.
Air France KLM Flying Blue has just launched a miles purchase sale with up to 80% bonus miles or 45% off your miles purchase. This is in line with the typical offers we see from Air France KLM and is one worth considering if you have a specific redemption in mind.
Members can buy Flying Blue miles with a discount of up to 45% when purchasing at least 24,000 miles until September 16, 2026. Depending on your targeted offer, you may also see a 80% bonus. In either case, the purchase translates to 1.68-1.69 cents per point USD, with the 45% discount coming out slightly ahead.
The minimum purchase miles requirement is also different this time: my account was targeted with just 24,000 miles needed, which is the lowest I’ve seen this year and substantially lower than the usual 50,000.
Note: Flying Blue’s tiered pricing took effect yesterday, September 8, 2026, so booking business class, including lounge access and two checked bags, now costs 75,000 miles. The old 60,000-mile price books into “Light” and offers no change/cancel options, along with the reduced inclusions. Elite members will retain benefits including checked bags, lounge access, and free change/cancellations.
However, partner redemptions do not change and there’s actually tremendous value to be had when redeeming Flying Blue for WestJet, Aeromexico, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, and more.
Buy Flying Blue Miles with a 45% discount
Promotion Link to Flying Blue miles purchase
- Buy 4,000–12,000 miles, and get a 50% bonus or 35% discount
- Buy 12,000–24,000 miles, and get a 60% discount or 40% discount
- Buy 24,000+ miles, get a 45% discount
The biggest difference between being targeted for the 80% bonus or the 45% discount is the total number of miles you are allowed to buy. With the 45% bonus, you can buy up to 100,000 miles total. With the 80% bonus, you can effectively buy up to 180,000 bonus miles. If you are a Flying Blue Elite member, you can purchase unlimited miles, although there may be a limit to the number of discounted/miles you can earn during sales promotions.
With a 45% discount, members can buy Flying Blue miles for 1.68 cents per point (CPP) USD. If you receive the 80% bonus instead, members can buy Flying Blue miles for 1.69 cents per point (CPP USD). I value Flying Blue ~1.5 CPP USD, so I would not buy speculatively at either 1.68 or 1.69.
I would buy if I had a specific redemption in mind and award space is available to book right this instant, assuming I need more than 17,000 miles. The last part is key because…
Flying Blue Subscribe to Miles
Flying Blue offers a subscription program, “Subscribe to Miles,” that allows members to purchase miles at a favourable rate monthly. The program includes four subscription tiers:
- Starter: 2,000 miles for $34.20 USD per month
- Smart: 5,000 miles for $79 USD per month
- Advanced: 10,000 miles for $146 USD per month
- Complete: 17,000 miles for $227.80 USD per month
With Complete, the cost per mile comes down to just 1.34 cents per mile, which is much better than the current rate to buy miles. As well, Flying Blue allows you to cancel subscriptions at any time, including before the second installment is due and the miles post immediately to your account.
Therefore, if I needed a top up of 17,000 miles or less, I would go ahead and buy a Complete “Subscribe to Miles” package rather than purchase miles directly.
What to Book with Flying Blue
The highest value way to redeem Flying Blue miles is to use them on international routes in business class. Since Flying Blue just devalued redemptions on Air France/KLM business class, here are a few examples beyond that;
- Transatlantic flights from 45,000 miles one-way on a promo reward (Ottawa-Paris, Paris-Vancouver)
- Aeromexico business class from Mexico City to Buenos Aires for just 55,000 miles one-way, no fuel surcharges
- China Airlines business class from Phoenix to Taipei for 72,500 one-way, minimal fuel surcharges (~$180)
- Garuda Indonesia from Bali to Sydney for 29,500 miles one-way, minimal fuel surcharges (~$113) (hat tip to Sash)
A 6 hour flight in business class for 29,500 miles is a deal, if you ask me
Buy Flying Blue Miles – Credit Cards to Consider
Flying Blue miles purchase transactions are processed by Points.com and will not code as a travel purchase, so it is best to use a card that offers the highest return on standard daily transactions. You can use either a Canadian or U.S. credit card, but a U.S. card will remove any added taxes. If using a Canadian credit card, use one that does not charge foreign transaction fees, such as the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite.
Promotion Link to Flying Blue miles purchase
For those not in a hurry to have Flying Blue miles, a better way to earn them would be through the credit card bonuses offered by Canadian credit cards. The easiest way to rack up miles quickly is via American Express Membership Rewards, which transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue.
Buy Flying Blue Miles – Takeaway
I can’t blindly advise anyone to buy miles during this promotion with miles costing 1.68-1.69 CPP. That said, I would buy if I were missing some 24,000 miles for a family trip to Europe and, say, 4 business class seats are available right now. If you are in immediate need of 17,000 miles or less, you are better off subscribing to miles instead at a purchase rate of 1.34 CPP.
While Flying Blue recently devalued Air France and KLM business class awards, its miles remain the easiest currency to earn in Canada for booking them. That said, partner redemptions are actually my favourite use of Flying Blue miles, and the recent changes didn’t affect those awards.
