Can you combine miles in a Flying Blue family account?

Combining miles as a family with Flying Blue

This is a question I get very often. The answer: Flying Blue does not have a family account or miles pooling feature. Each member has an individual account and you cannot directly combine miles. But there are smart alternatives.

Alternative 1: book for others with your miles

This is the most important solution. With your own Flying Blue miles you can book award tickets for anyone you want - your partner, children, friends. The person does not even need to have a Flying Blue account.

In practice, this works almost the same as a family account: one of you saves the miles and books for the entire family.

Alternative 2: combine Amex Membership Rewards

If you both have an American Express card, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to the same Flying Blue account:

• Partner A transfers MR points to Partner A's FB account
• Partner B also transfers MR points to Partner A's FB account

Note the conversion ratio: 1,000 MR points = 800 Flying Blue miles. This is not 1-to-1, but combining still makes it very effective. This way you indirectly bundle your savings.

Alternative 3: both get a Flying Blue Amex

If you both get a Flying Blue American Express, you earn Flying Blue miles directly (no conversion loss). One partner links the card to their own FB account, the other does the same. Then the one with the most miles books award tickets for the entire family.

Alternative 4: Miles Transfer (expensive)

Flying Blue offers a Miles Transfer feature that lets you transfer miles from one account to another. But note: there is a significant fee attached. In most cases this is not worth it, unless you are just a few thousand miles short.

My advice for families

• Choose one primary saver: collect as many miles as possible in one account
• Book everything from that account: award tickets for the whole family
• Both get a Flying Blue Amex: earn miles without conversion loss
• Save XP separately: status (XP) is always individual and non-transferable