Air France-KLM Flying Blue is one of the most useful frequent flyer programs for redeeming miles. Not only does the program have great award pricing for travel on Air France-KLM, but it also has lucrative award pricing for travel on partner airlines.
Yesterday I wrote about how Flying Blue seemingly rolled out a significant devaluation to partner award costs on Christmas. There’s now a positive update, as program management has explained that this was a glitch. First let’s talk about what had been changed, and then we’ll talk about the explanation.
In this post:
Flying Blue suddenly increased many partner award costs
On December 25, 2024, Flying Blue increased many award ticket costs on partner airlines. Flying Blue doesn’t publish an award chart for travel on partner airlines and has dynamic award pricing, so there’s no award chart you can reference with consistent pricing. However, this FlyerTalk thread had a lot of data points about the changes.
With this devaluation, the worst changes were for short haul awards, while the increases for long haul awards were minimal (or even non-existent). Just to give some examples:
- An Aeromexico award from Mexico City to Oaxaca had increased in cost from 5,000 miles in economy and 15,000 miles in business class, to 10,000 miles in economy and 20,000 miles in business class
- A Qantas award from Sydney to Melbourne had increased in cost from 5,000 miles in economy and 15,000 miles in business class, to 10,000 miles in economy and 20,000 miles in business class
- A Delta award from Toronto to New York had increased in cost from 7,000 miles in economy and 18,000 miles in business class, to 10,000 miles in economy and 20,000 miles in business class
- A Malaysia award from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok had increased in cost from 6,000 miles in economy and 15,000 miles in business class, to 10,000 miles in economy and 20,000 in business class
- An Etihad award from Abu Dhabi to Seoul had increased in cost from 26,000 miles in economy and 51,500 miles in business class, to 28,000 miles in economy and 55,000 miles in business class
It’s the short haul awards that were being hit the hardest. Many short haul awards previously cost 5,000 miles in economy, but increased in cost to a minimum of 10,000 miles with the devaluation.
As I noted at the time, it seemed like there was some pricing standardization happening with these changes, where short haul awards were consistently costing 10,000 miles in economy or 20,000 miles in business class, while previously there was greater pricing variability between partners.
Flying Blue won’t implement these changes after all
There’s some good news. Ben Lipsey, the Director of Flying Blue, posted on FlyerTalk, explaining that this increased pricing was temporary, and wasn’t intended to be a devaluation. Here’s what he had to say:
Sorry guys, false alarm. We were made aware of some mistake fares on partners (notably 1500/4000 miles for shorthaul Y/J on DL). Being Christmas Day, we didn’t have the active resources in place to fix the root cause so we put in a temporary fix which applied a minimum price on partners. We will do our best to correct the airline partner pricing as soon as possible. Apologies for the inconvenience.
This is great news, and the explanation makes a lot of sense. Award pricing does devalue over time, so what I had found most disappointing was that Flying Blue implemented these changes on Christmas. But now that we have an explanation for what happened, I can totally see how this happened.
Bottom line
On Christmas, the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program drastically increased award costs for travel on many partner airlines. The biggest increase was that short haul awards on many airlines doubled in cost, from 5,000 miles to 10,000 miles.
There’s now a positive update, as this wasn’t intended to be a devaluation, as it turns out. Flying Blue had some mistake award “fares” on partner airlines, and put a temporary block in place by implementing a temporary pricing minimum for awards.
The current Flying Blue leadership does a great job running the program, and I’m happy to see that this change wasn’t intended to happen.
What do you make of this Flying Blue situation?
How does it explain the business class price increases?
Glad to see this was just an honest mistake.
"We were made aware of some mistake fares"
Airline executive way of saying, "we made some mistakes."
Sounds like Flying Blue + December + Mistake Fares is becoming an annual tradition now! Can’t wait to see what comes up next year…
Once all my Flying Blue miles are used I will close my account! I was looking for a single award from Amsterdam to Cape Town on 19Dec25 and it would cost 216500 miles (!) plus 154 euro charges/taxes
That is a peak pre-holiday travel date. Nearly every program will have high dynamic rates or no availability if fixed rates.
Yeah, but the flight I want on the date I want it isn't available for the price I want to pay. Also, I'm super entitled & have zero awareness how points & miles programs work so I rage quit then immediately complain online!
Lol.
I for one am still appreciative of flying blue. I booked a flight from the west coast to Amsterdam for 50k on Air France business class ow for nov 29th. Haven't booked the return flight because I'm not sure where I want to be next xmas but I'm finding 50k return trips as well in dec.
Heard this is related to a mistake fare (as reported on flyertalk), and since its Christmas, they didnt have the resources to fix the extreme low mistake fares (1500 miles in Economy & 4000 miles in Business), so this is a temp solution until its fully fixed
Looks like Flying Blue deserves a big lump of Bonvoy this Christmas.
VFTW quotes an FB official that says there were some errors pricing some awards too low so they put in place minimum award levels across multiple carriers while they fix the problem.
Because it was discovered on a holiday when they had minimal resources, they did a fast and dirty temporary fix but there were no changes to the program over Christmas.
EdBastianer Scrooge pulling a Tim Dunn fluff.
As a platinum AF member I saw in the past 30 years the loyalty program decreasing at each change. This is a permanent change and always in the same way. The company always explain that is an evolution with new offers but the result for the customer is to have less and spend more.
Same goes with customer survey results.
Seems people who answered the survey always want to pay more for less.
I'm one of the few that is ^glad^ to see these FB points increases. Whilst Qantas is NOT a FB alliance member, AF/KL has a redemption agreement with Qantas, which goes back to an interline agreement pre-COVID. before QF began serving PER-CDG non-stop. AF partnered with QF offering nonstop SIN-CDG and HKG-CDG AF flights.
I was 'thrilled' (not) to see that that prior to this announcement, FB clients could redeem SYD-MEL (and VV) for 5,000...
I'm one of the few that is ^glad^ to see these FB points increases. Whilst Qantas is NOT a FB alliance member, AF/KL has a redemption agreement with Qantas, which goes back to an interline agreement pre-COVID. before QF began serving PER-CDG non-stop. AF partnered with QF offering nonstop SIN-CDG and HKG-CDG AF flights.
I was 'thrilled' (not) to see that that prior to this announcement, FB clients could redeem SYD-MEL (and VV) for 5,000 points in Y and 10,000 points in J. However, QF's own Frequent Flyers uniformly had to pay 6-8K for Y, and 20K for J on this route - in their OWN program.
In this case, the FB increase now ensures that QF actually offers a better fare redemption to its OWN members on SYD-MEL, rather than disincentivising them.
Last time I checked to redeem the cash component was 10 euros less than just buying the revenue ticket. You can't compare miles to miles it's not the same. Qantas may have been slightly more than AFKL but the fees are dramatically less.
If only QF and FB points are worth the same.
But that's for @DCS to do the math for you.
'Somebody else is getting a better deal than me! NOT FAIR!!'
QF Platinum here, and I earn from cards and random stuff. But I also buy points from QF and other airlines, and look for where I can get better value for my points, either in number of points, or the cost to buy points for any given award travel. I'm delighted if I see redemptions on QF for fewer points+copay than QF offers, and...
'Somebody else is getting a better deal than me! NOT FAIR!!'
QF Platinum here, and I earn from cards and random stuff. But I also buy points from QF and other airlines, and look for where I can get better value for my points, either in number of points, or the cost to buy points for any given award travel. I'm delighted if I see redemptions on QF for fewer points+copay than QF offers, and if I have points with the other programme, I'll use 'em, but I wouldn't join just to be able to get a flight for fewer points.
QF will screw you over as readily as any FF programme, so I'm clear eyed about how much they value my loyalty, and will go elsewhere when it's a better overall deal, but resenting members of another programme for what they can get is a waste of time and energy.
Miles were expiring on the 26th, was looking on the 24 and found economy for 6500 within East Asia. Got 6800only. So on the 25, tried to book it and needed 10000 and thought it went up because I searched too much. I don’t fly sky team much, mainly star alliance, do fly only for work and this year, accumulated toward Virgin Atlantic instead because of it seems better. Now saying goodbye to FlyingBlue. That...
Miles were expiring on the 26th, was looking on the 24 and found economy for 6500 within East Asia. Got 6800only. So on the 25, tried to book it and needed 10000 and thought it went up because I searched too much. I don’t fly sky team much, mainly star alliance, do fly only for work and this year, accumulated toward Virgin Atlantic instead because of it seems better. Now saying goodbye to FlyingBlue. That multi signing in process annoys me as well when I don’t receive a text right the way.
Article mentions change made on "On December 25, 2025"?
Meant 2024?
Business as usual. Promise one thing, deliver another. Delta/Amex promised lounge access with the Platinum card, took the $600+ annual fee, and then decided they wouldnt provide lounge access after all. It's what they do and have always done.
The SkyClub access limit for the Amex Platinum card was announced more than a year in advance.
@Levi
Not entirely true.
While the access limit was effective 2025. The spend to get exemption started since 2024. So it's not really a year in advance at all.
Looking forward to see the visit limit blow up on Delta and Amex.
It’s the no notice aspect that is very problematic.
Devals are inevitable as with all things, but for prices to go up in a blink of an eye is very uncool.
Yup, don’t you just hate it when international currency markets devalue the dollar without personally notifying you a year in advance…
Or when your local grocery store increases the prices of goods overnight, without giving you any notice?
One possibility...
Maybe this is their way of correcting the error fares of the day prior without reneging on those.
Increase the pricing of equivalent awards for a period of time. Maybe they'll come back down once they're 'whole'.
The other less savory one is that the error fare was a result of fat fingering a planned unannounced price increase.
With amex massive sign-up bonuses this year, I imagine they've been selling tons of miles so decided to raise prices. I imagine Alaska pricing will increase significantly in 2025 as well.
What really is annoying is the lack of any advance warning. That behaviour makes FB miles a currency that only really works for those who transfer credit card points so that they can burn them immediately.
I do value having some Skyteam status, but I'm pleased that I hadn't done the status run I needed in the summer in order to maintain gold and probably won't be making any effort to renew my FB...
What really is annoying is the lack of any advance warning. That behaviour makes FB miles a currency that only really works for those who transfer credit card points so that they can burn them immediately.
I do value having some Skyteam status, but I'm pleased that I hadn't done the status run I needed in the summer in order to maintain gold and probably won't be making any effort to renew my FB silver- I will just take advantage of my ITA match until it expires in Jan 26 and then hopefully be able to match it to something else when they switch to *A.
Short haul inflation does seem to be a trend. Thankfully this is pretty limited to short haul. I took a trip from CLE-LGA 2 weeks ago for 6k + fees. That is now 10k. However, I booked a MCI-LGA ticket a few days ago at 16k + fees. That price has not changed this morning. I've also been eyeing Aeromexico tickets from MEX-JFK. Those were pricing at 13k. They are now 14k. So, a few...
Short haul inflation does seem to be a trend. Thankfully this is pretty limited to short haul. I took a trip from CLE-LGA 2 weeks ago for 6k + fees. That is now 10k. However, I booked a MCI-LGA ticket a few days ago at 16k + fees. That price has not changed this morning. I've also been eyeing Aeromexico tickets from MEX-JFK. Those were pricing at 13k. They are now 14k. So, a few data points to mull over.
I think the issue is that short haul point costs were very low compared to many programs. Only AA, AS, and EY are currently offering 6k or below pricing on some routes. I think Lifemiles has 7.5k, but the fees can make it not that great. So, 10k is not insane. It does make domestic point redemptions undesirable outside of peak travel days with higher prices.
VS are offering some very attractive pricing for short haul AFKL redemptions (I think starting from 4500 miles). Let's see how many weeks (days?) that lasts.
Yes, I think outside the US still has some options.
Inside the US is becoming harder. Because the big 3 airlines have exclusivity agreements with banks, they have been using the international programs to plug holes when they can't give their CC members access to direct transfers. More and more, the international programs are either being arm twisted or are being opportunistic re: US-based airline redemptions. Flying Blue and VS pricing used to be...
Yes, I think outside the US still has some options.
Inside the US is becoming harder. Because the big 3 airlines have exclusivity agreements with banks, they have been using the international programs to plug holes when they can't give their CC members access to direct transfers. More and more, the international programs are either being arm twisted or are being opportunistic re: US-based airline redemptions. Flying Blue and VS pricing used to be great for short haul DL. Avios used to be valuable for AA flights. Lifemiles and Aeroplan still offer some value for US flights, but have bigger booking fees and UA has been throttling access to award space severely.
SAS was 3.8K miles between Brussels and Copenhagen just a few days ago, and now it’s 10K, a 163% increase. Flying Blue is really pushing it. To get that “free” ticket, you’d need to spend €2.5K+, not counting the tax (at 4 miles per euro). Where’s the value in that?!
I agree. Totally sucks that free tickets have become so expensive these days…
Seems to be on par for a Sky Team partner following the lead of DL Skypesoes with VS devaluing its Flying Club program on October 30th and now AF/KL following suit a couple of months later.
Exhibit A in exactly why the treatment of frequent flyer miles as a currency is a horrible idea for any consumer, and also an outright irresponsible thing to advocate for (looking at all of the bloggers out there). It’s a currency whose value is controlled by the sole outlet who accepts it, and there’s nothing you as the holder of the consumer can do about it.
There’s no reason one should ever save miles...
Exhibit A in exactly why the treatment of frequent flyer miles as a currency is a horrible idea for any consumer, and also an outright irresponsible thing to advocate for (looking at all of the bloggers out there). It’s a currency whose value is controlled by the sole outlet who accepts it, and there’s nothing you as the holder of the consumer can do about it.
There’s no reason one should ever save miles over the long run as they will only ever intentionally be devalued. Keep your money in the form of actual, liquid arable currencies for as long as possible, and if you do accumulate miles, use them as quickly as possible before their debtee (the airline who gave them to you) decides to make them be worth less.
@axck, it’s not quite that simple. Sometimes transfer bonuses can be so compelling it makes financial sense to take advantage.
But in general, yeah, best to keep miles with the banks and transfer last minute for redemptions (which is typically what Ben advocates btw).
Choosing to do it on Christmas Day is a real middle finger to all their members, as they hope people are too busy to make a fuss about it online. Classy move isn't it?