Amex Membership Rewards has just rolled out its newest airline points transfer bonus, which I’m sure many members will find to be valuable. I’d consider this to be more useful than the 30% transfer bonus to Marriott Bonvoy.
In this post:
Amex offering 20% Flying Blue transfer bonus
Between October 1 and October 31, 2025, you can receive a 20% bonus when you transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
This promotion is being offered on Amex’s end (in the United States), and is hard coded into the transfer ratio, meaning you should see the bonus at the time that you make the transfer. You can take advantage of this offer an unlimited number of times, though you’re limited to transferring 999,999 points per transaction (not that this is a limit that will impact many people).
There are lots of fantastic cards for earning Amex Membership Rewards points, so this is an awesome opportunity. Transfers from Amex to Flying Blue are generally instant.
Should you transfer Amex points to Flying Blue?
Air France-KLM Flying Blue is a valuable SkyTeam frequent flyer program. The program has attractive award pricing on Air France and KLM, offering many of the best ways to cross the Atlantic (though business class award availability has been more limited, in recent times).
On top of that, Air France and KLM make more award seats available to members of the Flying Blue program than to members of partner programs. So even when Flying Blue’s pricing isn’t the best, there are situations where it could make sense to book through Flying Blue (though with all of the Delta SkyMiles devaluations we’ve seen, typically you will find the best pricing through Flying Blue).
There’s always value in having a stash of Flying Blue miles if you think you’ll be traveling transatlantic in the coming months. I redeem through Flying Blue every year (usually multiple times per year), and consistently get value. I find it to be one of the most useful frequent flyer programs for redeeming points.
The only other consideration here is that all major transferable points currencies partner with Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and we see transfer bonuses with some frequency. So I’d be strategic with which program you transfer points from, especially based on how you’d otherwise redeem them.
Bottom line
Amex Membership Rewards is offering a 20% bonus on points transfers to Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
I’m always conflicted when it comes to transferring points during bonuses like this. On one hand, a lot of the value from transferable points comes from the flexibility you have of being able to transfer them to any program once you actually have a specific redemption in mind. That’s the best way to protect yourself from devaluations.
At the same time, you’re going to get the most value if you can transfer points while there’s also a bonus, since your points can be stretched a lot further.
Do you plan on transferring Amex points to Flying Blue with a 20% bonus?
Just remember that FlyingBlue has the most absurd award point program on the planet. There are miles you get by flying and CC spend, called 'flight miles', that you can use to book award tickets. They are only good for 24 months, and can only be extended by Flying KLM or a partner, with crediting the miles to FlyingBlue, or by using the credit card. So NEVER close your KLM CC ! I made that...
Just remember that FlyingBlue has the most absurd award point program on the planet. There are miles you get by flying and CC spend, called 'flight miles', that you can use to book award tickets. They are only good for 24 months, and can only be extended by Flying KLM or a partner, with crediting the miles to FlyingBlue, or by using the credit card. So NEVER close your KLM CC ! I made that mistake, and now I might have to take a mileage run on Delta to extend my KLM miles. Ridiculous! The other lot is called 'Commercial Miles' (points from banks transferred to Flying Blue). They are also valid for only two years. I still have not figured out after three gibberish answers from KLM if/how 'commercial miles' can ever be used for flight awards.
Chase just had a 20% transfer bonus last month to Flying Blue so am good with my FB miles but this is good to know.