How to use Flying Blue miles on Delta flights
Most SkyMiles members never look at Flying Blue. That is exactly why the trick works. Delta releases award seats to its SkyTeam partners. Flying Blue books those same Delta seats with its own miles, often for far fewer points than SkyMiles wants. The catch: you book on airfrance.com or klm.com, prices only show after login, and not every Delta flight is on the menu. This guide covers the whole play. How to search, what awards really cost, where the Delta One angle comes from, and when SkyMiles wins.
Can you use Flying Blue miles on Delta?
Yes. Flying Blue miles can be redeemed for award tickets on flights marketed and operated by Delta Air Lines (the flight number starts with DL). You search and book on airfrance.com or klm.com with the "Book with Miles" option, or through Flying Blue Customer Service. The number of miles required is dynamic: it varies with destination, travel dates and seat availability. Economy, Premium Select and Delta One (Business) are all bookable when Delta releases partner award space.
Quick facts
- The short answer, and the one rule that matters
- How to book a Delta flight with Flying Blue miles
- What Delta awards cost in Flying Blue miles
- The Delta One angle
- Can you transfer Flying Blue miles to SkyMiles?
- Do Delta award tickets earn miles or XP?
- When SkyMiles is the better choice
- Frequently asked questions
The short answer, and the one rule that matters
Flying Blue and Delta SkyMiles are both SkyTeam programs, and that membership does the heavy lifting. Your Flying Blue miles book Delta award seats. Your paid Delta flights can credit miles and XP to Flying Blue. What SkyTeam does not give you is a bridge between the two currencies. Miles never move between the programs, in either direction.
One rule decides what you can book. The official Flying Blue spend page limits redemptions to flights marketed and operated by Delta Air Lines. Look for the DL code on the flight number. A KLM-marketed flight operated by Delta does not qualify, and neither does a Delta-marketed flight on another carrier. The earning side is looser: DL-marketed flights operated by any SkyTeam partner earn miles and XP.
How to book a Delta flight with Flying Blue miles
There is no Delta award search on delta.com for Flying Blue members. The booking runs entirely through Air France or KLM:
- Log in first. Go to airfrance.com or klm.com and sign in with your Flying Blue account. This is not optional: the "Book with Miles" option asks you to log in before it shows any miles prices. We tested this logged out in July 2026 and the search refuses to quote miles until you sign in.
- Toggle "Book with Miles". In the booking widget, switch on Book with Miles (on klm.com it sits directly under the search fields).
- Search your route. Delta-operated options appear alongside Air France and KLM flights where partner award space exists. Domestic US city pairs typically show Delta metal only.
- Compare the miles price plus taxes. Pricing is dynamic. Check a few nearby dates: the same route can swing heavily from one day to the next.
- Book and check the confirmation. The ticket is issued by Air France-KLM against your Flying Blue account. Changes and cancellations run through Flying Blue, not through Delta.
What Delta awards cost in Flying Blue miles
Flying Blue does not publish a fixed award chart for Delta flights. The official line is that miles required "will vary based on your destination, travel dates, and seat availability", and that matches what you see in practice: dynamic pricing on both sides of the Atlantic, with the lowest prices where partner award space is wide open.
Two things keep the comparison honest:
- Always price the same seat in both programs. Our partner airlines guide documents the pattern: Flying Blue often prices Delta awards 20-40% below what SkyMiles asks for the same route. That is a pattern, not a law. On flash-sale dates SkyMiles can flip it. Five minutes of checking both sites settles it per booking.
- Watch the monthly Promo Rewards. Flying Blue discounts a rotating set of award routes by 25-50% every month. When a Promo Reward overlaps a route Delta also flies, the workaround gets even cheaper. See the Promo Rewards guide.
Flying Blue vs SkyMiles for the same Delta seat
| Question | Flying Blue | SkyMiles |
|---|---|---|
| Award chart | Dynamic, no published chart | Dynamic, no published chart |
| Which Delta flights | DL marketed and operated only | All Delta flights and partners |
| Typical price when partner space is open | Often 20-40% lower | Higher outside flash sales |
| Top-up from US credit cards | Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bilt at 1:1 | Amex only |
| Risk to watch | Phantom availability | Price swings |
The Delta One angle
There is a reason "Flying Blue Delta One deal" is a search term. SkyMiles prices its own Delta One cabin dynamically, often at eye-watering levels. Flying Blue prices the same seat off its own scale whenever Delta releases partner business-class space. When that happens, the gap between the two programs can be dramatic. That is why points communities treat Flying Blue as the standard workaround for Delta One awards.
The honest constraint is availability, not price. Delta decides how much Delta One space reaches partners. On premium transatlantic routes that can be little or none for long stretches. The play is a patience game. Search flexible dates, watch for space (tools and alerts help, see our award availability guide), and book fast when it appears. When Delta One space does reach Flying Blue, it is often one of the strongest redemptions in the whole program. That earns it a place next to our other Flying Blue sweet spots.
Can you transfer Flying Blue miles to SkyMiles?
No, and it does not work in reverse either. There is no mechanism to move miles between Flying Blue and Delta SkyMiles, SkyTeam membership notwithstanding. What people usually mean when they ask this is covered by two real mechanics:
- Spending across programs: you keep your miles where they are and book the other airline's flights with them. Flying Blue miles book Delta flights (this guide), and SkyMiles books Air France and KLM flights.
- Feeding Flying Blue from credit cards: in the US, Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, Capital One and Bilt all transfer into Flying Blue at 1:1. That is the supply line for this whole strategy, and our transfer partners guide compares speeds and bonuses.
Do Delta award tickets earn miles or XP?
No. The official Flying Blue earning page for Delta excludes reward tickets: award flights earn no miles and no XP, regardless of cabin.
Paid Delta tickets are the other side of that coin, and they are surprisingly generous. Any Delta-marketed flight with an eligible booking class earns Flying Blue miles and XP when you add your Flying Blue number. Domestic US hops count too. Delta domestic First Class even credits at the Business rate. If you fly Delta regularly and care about Flying Blue status, read the Delta section of our partner airlines guide and the SkyTeam chapter of the earn XP fast guide.
When SkyMiles is the better choice
A guide that only sells the workaround would be lying by omission. Book with SkyMiles instead when:
- A SkyMiles flash sale beats the partner price. Delta runs aggressive SkyMiles deals on its own metal, and on those dates SkyMiles can be the cheaper program. Price both, every time.
- You need the flight, not the deal. Booking directly with the operating carrier avoids the partner-availability layer entirely: no phantom space, and irregular operations are handled by the airline actually flying you.
- The itinerary mixes Delta with non-SkyTeam partners. Flying Blue books DL-marketed, DL-operated flights. Delta itineraries built around joint-venture or codeshare segments often price only in SkyMiles.
- Flexibility rules matter to you. Changes and refunds follow the program you booked with. Compare Flying Blue's award change conditions with SkyMiles' before locking in tight connections.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Flying Blue miles to book a Delta flight?
Yes. Flights marketed and operated by Delta (DL flight numbers) are bookable with Flying Blue miles on airfrance.com or klm.com via "Book with Miles", or through Flying Blue Customer Service. Economy, Premium Select and Delta One are all bookable when Delta releases partner award space.
How many miles does a Delta flight cost with Flying Blue?
There is no fixed chart: pricing is dynamic and depends on destination, dates and availability. The reliable pattern is that Flying Blue often undercuts SkyMiles for the same Delta seat, sometimes sharply, but flash sales can reverse it. Log in, price the exact flight in both programs, and let the numbers decide.
Can I transfer miles between Flying Blue and Delta SkyMiles?
No, in neither direction. The two programs share the SkyTeam alliance but not their currencies. You spend Flying Blue miles on Delta flights directly, and you top up Flying Blue from US credit card points (Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Bilt at 1:1), never from SkyMiles.
Why can I not find a Delta flight with miles on airfrance.com?
Three usual reasons: you are not logged in (miles prices only show after sign-in), the flight is not both marketed and operated by Delta (codeshares do not qualify), or Delta simply has not released partner award space on that date. If a seat shows but fails at checkout, you have met the community-reported phantom availability problem: try nearby dates and always confirm a booking works before transferring points.
Do Delta flights booked with Flying Blue miles earn XP?
No. Reward tickets are excluded from earning on the official Flying Blue Delta page: no miles, no XP. Paid Delta flights with your Flying Blue number attached do earn both, which is a separate strategy covered in our earn XP fast guide.
Is Flying Blue or SkyMiles better for Delta One awards?
When Delta releases Delta One partner space, Flying Blue is frequently the cheaper way to book it, which is why the workaround is a points-community staple. When there is no partner space, SkyMiles is the only game in town. The practical answer: check Flying Blue first, fall back to SkyMiles, and never assume either side wins without pricing both.
Sources and transparency
Last verified: 10 July 2026. Booking rules, earning exclusions and the login requirement were checked directly on the official pages listed below.
- Flying Blue: Spend Miles with Delta Air Lines - the official redemption rules (DL marketed + operated, booking flow, dynamic pricing)
- Flying Blue: Earn Miles with Delta Air Lines - earning scheme and the reward-ticket exclusion
- KLM: Book a flight - the Book with Miles search (login required for miles prices)
- SkyTeam Alliance - alliance membership of Delta, Air France and KLM