Tips for booking your first award ticket with Flying Blue

Booking your first award ticket - step by step

Booking a flight with miles feels complicated at first, but once you know the basics it is surprisingly simple. Here is my complete approach for booking the best deal.

Step 1: check Promo Rewards first

Before looking at regular award tickets, always check Promo Rewards on flyingblue.com. Every month Flying Blue offers flights with a discount of 25% to 50% on the normal number of miles. This is by far the best way to spend your miles. The destinations change monthly, so be flexible.

Step 2: search via the website, not the app

The flyingblue.com website shows more availability than the KLM or Air France app. Always use the calendar view to find the cheapest days. The difference between the most expensive and cheapest day can be tens of thousands of miles.

Step 3: be flexible with dates

Award availability varies enormously per day. Tips for finding the best availability:

• Book early: 6-11 months in advance for popular routes
• Or book late: 2-3 weeks before departure, last-minute awards sometimes appear
• Avoid school holidays: that is when availability is worst
• Weekdays are cheaper than weekends

Step 4: consider one-way tickets

With Flying Blue, one-way tickets cost exactly half of a return. This gives you maximum flexibility: combine an outbound trip with miles and a return trip with a cash ticket (or vice versa). This way you can choose the best option per leg.

Step 5: look at multi-city options

A handy trick: book a multi-city ticket. For example, Amsterdam - Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur - Amsterdam often costs the same miles as a simple return Amsterdam - Bangkok. You get an extra destination for the same price.

Watch out: taxes and surcharges

An award ticket is not free. You always pay airport taxes and fuel surcharges in euros. On some routes (especially with Air France) these surcharges can be significant - sometimes 200-400 euros on a return to the US. Therefore always compare the total price (miles + cash) with a regular ticket. Sometimes a cheap cash flight is a better deal.

Don't forget

Award tickets can usually be changed and cancelled (for a small fee). So you are not locked in if your plans change.

Tip: not enough miles yet? With a Flying Blue Amex Gold (1 mile per euro) or Platinum (1.5 miles per euro) you quickly build up a balance with everyday spending. The current welcome bonus is up to 120,000 miles.