I would make the almost blasphemous argument now that MileagePlus is actually the most compelling program now for TATL awards, albeit with the caveat that you need to be fully bought into their ecosystem and have elite status. That’s sad given I had been considering FlyingBlue more and more given the ease of point accumulation via transferable currencies but this probably kills me on that for now, at least until US carriers do the same thing which is surely coming given the unbundling of cash fares already.
The ability if you have 1K/Global Services and a co-branded card to routinely book economy awards for 29,000ish points and then upgrade to Polaris via PZ or PN inventory without any real taxes or fees unless flying to LHR is essentially impossible to beat. Granted, it requires flexibility in airports for the initial TATL leg but if you’re using a tool like seats.aero you can find some seats to at least one large European airport any day of the week. Again, this is only the case with top tier status and a card but still nothing else matches that pricing. Not to mention that a Global Services member can force upgrade both ways again if separate PNRs with the purchase of a premium cabin creating guaranteed award seats and I can’t think of any other carrier that matches that. You do have to deal with hit and miss UA service and the definite degradation of Polaris lounge food but if the main goal is to sleep on a TATL, I’d argue the bedding makes up for it. This all makes me sound like a real UA apologist when J have a lot of other gripes with them but in terms of pure value, they’re probably the only program I still see value in, provided again you have elite status.
You don't even need to be elite, you just need to have the credit card. United's award availability and rates for cardmembers is to me the most positive story of the year in the points/miles space. I have booked EWR-LAX for 26k in Polaris, LAX-ORD-YYZ for 25k in First, LAX-SFO-LHR for 68k in Polaris. I happen to be elite, but that same availability would have been there if you just had the credit card, just at a slightly higher rate. Prior to the changes this year, these routes were never available at a reasonable rate.
Yah, I hate to say it but I've been reconsidering MileagePlus too. A year ago, I felt like the value just wasn't there at all versus say Aeroplan or FB. Now though... Ok I just got SQ JFK-FRA for 60k on AP but mostly it's 75k TATL now. MP it's 80 with card...but with free cancel. I'm starting to value that free cancellation a lot more - I've had to deal with a lot of flux in the last year, and multiple times I slapped in flights on "maybes"/"just in case"s. Not to mention it helps that their tech is so good, you're not fighting with the web site/app much to do whatever it was you wanted to do.
European style of fare pricing and entitlements are ridiculous. Especially when we’re talking about business/1st class fares. Imagine paying thousands for a premium seat and you can’t even take checked bags or make changes.
And the new paradigm is now in USA, which will implement with even more anti-customer annd extractive measures and policies.
In both of the examples, Light fares for Ultimate members show no change fees, while Standard shows 70 EUR. This has to be a mistake, right?
@ Darin -- Yep, I've confirmed that this is an error, and that should show correctly when these fares launch.
Is this the first order of business for our Ms. Tiffany Funk?
Or she has not joined yet?
These changes would have been, typically, in the funnel well before Tiffany joined.
At least, I really hope so.
I’m not hopping on the silly “how dare she” or “I couldn’t be more excited…” mocking narrative re: Tiffany or Ben. Lucky clearly has a good relationship with her and it’s obviously no one’s fault how a friend chooses to make money in their corporate field.
But it’s pretty naive to assume someone who started in their position 3 months ago had no influence on this decision.
Did the analysis on this start before she arrived? Most likely, yes.
But the fact that it was announced three months after she arrived makes it pretty clear that she, at a minimum, had final say over the final terms, analysis, decision, and communication around the changes.
It would be very strange for someone in charge of an entire program for three months to just say “well… I had nothing to do with this and don’t support it. Don’t blame me” 😉
I hate this since it’s just another value extraction at the expense of consumers but it is still a business to make money and it’s no surprise they’re targeting chase/capital one/citi/amex card members with transferable points who are trying to game the system within the rules of the system. Consumers who probably rarely travel af/klm except when they find a decent deal with their transferable points. If you were a delta customer using delta points, this doesn’t impact you. It’s pretty targeted IMO
I mean… hell. She came from point.me where many of us go to game the system to our advantage. She was probably hired to execute this exact change. She’d have an unrivaled ability to know the price elasticity of those types of transferable point customers
@MaxPower , I agree with all that, but the question is WTF are they still giving N. America better pricing than the other long-haul destinations? Are they really afraid that Ghanaian cardholders will swamp the system with the transferrable points they don't have and make it impossible to buy tickets to/from ACC at any price?
You seem to partial to AF/KLM here. Was it not 50K for TATL J like 3 years ago? Now 75K for standard, so 50% increase (along with similar one in fees), resulting in almost $500 price hike. The competitiveness of the program (at least for regular members) is mostly gone.
Compare with similar ticket via United (for cardmembers): 80K+$228 vs 75K+$608, makes FB miles considerably less valuable then UA miles.
@ BVK -- I agree, a 50% increase is huge (though admittedly 50K was among the lowest costs in the industry, so that percent increase doesn't tell the full story of the competitiveness of current pricing).
Obviously Flying Blue won't be for everyone, and in your situation, there are cases where the program might not make sense. As a Flying Blue Platinum member who usually transfers points to the program whenever there's a 20-25% transfer bonus, I'm still getting excellent value, particularly given the better availability for elite members.
@BVK, he has ties to the new head of Flying Blue, of course he's not going to slam them like he does other programs.
He even published an article titled "There’s A New Head Of Flying Blue, And I Couldn’t Be More Excited!".
@ yoloswag420 -- I'm not sure what part of my coverage you disagree with? I literally put in the headline that this is a devaluation. And it absolutely is a devaluation. Period. This isn't good for members.
Frankly I'd assume Tiffany wasn't the mastermind behind this, because projects like this happen on a very long horizon. To be clear, I haven't talked to her about whether or not that's the case, but that's my assumption, as this is presumably part of a much bigger commercial decision.
"...projects like this happen on a very long horizon."
Yoloswag420 seems a bit naïve on how frequent flyer programs are planned and changes rolled out. This would have been months in the making.
Tiffany was quite literally installed as the head months ago...
But don't let facts get in the way of your feelings @TravelinWilly
@ yoloswag420 -- Right, I'm trying to explain to you that these kinds of projects typically take way more than months to implement. Over time I've had some conversations with airline executives where changes seem fairly straightforward, but they were in the works for years.
@ yoloswag420 @ TravelinWilly -- Indeed, I can't take credit for the work of many, many, smart and dedicated people, over a period of 16+ months, trying to best tackle the challenge of balancing commercial realities with loyalty considerations. These are hugely complex decisions.
But I'm happy to help communicate the changes honestly and transparently, and provide clarity however I can.
It is quite obvious he is being protective of his friend, sorry, but it is what it is
Ben, if a loyalty program is only valuable for top-tier elites on very specific routes, it’s simply not a valuable program overall.
Even best case, you’re paying ~$1,000 in taxes + 150k miles for a return from MIA to Europe. At your own valuation of 1.3 cents per FB mile, that’s $1,950 in miles, or ~$2,950 total value.
Meanwhile, ARN–MIA return on TK can be ~$2.4k cash, and you actually earn miles on top of that.
@ Reyyan -- There are many facets to a loyalty program. I don't think any one program is or isn't useful to everyone/most people, as it all depends on your specific needs.
Regarding your ARN-MIA example, you're absolutely right. But that's only useful if you want to fly roundtrip from ARN to MIA. There's no denying that out of many markets, business class fares are more reasonable than ever before, to the point that they're a good deal using some sort of a "pay with points" redemption, compared to redeeming miles, as frequent flyer programs have been increasingly devalued.
It's over 100k each way for standard if you're going anywhere other than CA/US/MX- more than 200% up. It's egregious.
You can easily transfer to Flying Blue and can quickly earn miles with bank cards. Also, AF/KLM frequently has transfer bonuses (I just used one to add miles to my account). Overall I frankly think the pricing is still reasonable. Of course maybe I'm just sitting on a lot more miles and bank points than most and have the finances to not worry about $1000 or less add on fees. I guess all about your lifestyle and finances.
@Retired Gambler, if you have the finances to not worry about $1k on fees, you can always buy a cash ticket and avoid any stress over award availability!
@throwawayname - you are correct and I do pay cash for hotels and airlines of if I don’t feel I’m getting g value from the millions of points/miles I have across practically every program. Nice problem to have I know but that is my situation so I really don’t freak over program changes - I adapt
I don't think anyone is 'freaking over' these changes. We know that FB isn't what it used to be, and the rationale for the changes isn't totally unhinged- inflation always does its thing and AFKL have been selling lots of miles out to banks etc.
The cumulative effect of the changes is that people do need to adapt as you do, since AFKL become even less attractive for those who fly within Europe (Platinum requires 60 Y cross-border non-basic Y segments and everyone else's points are objectively worth less).
The only bit that's really disappointing
is the communications around the changes - the notice given is less reasonable than it may seem as lots of people are on holiday here in Europe, and portraying a decision to devalue as positive is something that's been done before and universally disliked (to the point of contributing to loyalty managers at VS and BA losing their jobs) so you'd hope for a more candid take.
Don't worry much about Retired Gambler; he talks a big game on here, LALF, and VFTW, while pulling up the ladder behind him. (Perhaps, he's really just 'all hat, no cattle.')
Your assumption is that the value (service and quality) is 1 to 1. I only fly business in AF a few times/year and it has always been much better than ual. Your mileage may vary but better value here probably requires a big asterisk.
To me, Flying Blue becomes a niche program once again.
"The more inclusive entry level award fares will become “Light” fares, and if you want more things included..."
How can an extra level fare be more inclusive, but not have more things included?
Also, are people regretting being so excited about Tiffany being hired at FB?
Award fees are outrageous and with these basic award miles devaluation, goodbye Flying Blue
$609 for J is outrageous? Maybe you can’t afford to travel in a premium class. Sorry but that is money I find in my sofa cushions (made $40,000 today in The stock market)
@Retires Gambler, why don't you just stick to private jets then? Public transport is for the poor.
And this is why we all avoid speculative transfers as much as possible (and why the Bilt ecosystem, which is built around speculative transfers providing outsized value, is flawed).
Did they match Delta etc.? Yes. Can there still be good value booking with FB? Yes. Are we entering a world where it probably makes sense to concentrate on obtaining status with 1-3 FF programs that you want to redeem with the most while still keeping as much of your points currency in transferrable form? Yes.
@ Peter_ -- And if that status is Platinum or Ultimate with FB, you get extra inventory at extra good prices! 😉
Ha. Agree completely. It's not completely unappealing to get, uh, "your" credit card and work towards that.
End of the day, the programs that are going to succeed are going to use their programs to reward high status-level members, and it makes sense that you outlined that above as your first key consideration. You don't owe anything to folks that just want to use your program for a 1-2x a year "slam dunk" business class redemption (and many of us are guilty as charged on that score). And if folks want to take 20% off the price, I think you run some transfer bonuses from time to time.
So the real question for a US-based frequent flyer is what programs you should engage with. Personally I want a program that gets me OWE status because it's the best alliance status (no offense). But is there a place for FB as my secondary high-level status? There could be! (And despite the flaws of the Bilt ecosystem, the most appealing part of it is for sure FB Gold by being Bilt Plat).
The issue for AFKL is that they aren't based in the US and their network depends on European connecting traffic. The pricing of FB awards and the benefits of Gold status used to make for a powerful value proposition not too long ago and all these changes are chipping away at them.
That's not a problem for me- I'm not a fan of Lufthansa but they are very handy and reliable for local travel and I can always use the foreign *A airlines for going further afield- I just hope that AF won't start having to shed routes like BA who've been doing similar things before them.
Peter, that's why I've tried to keep SkyTeam Elite Plus, Star Alliance Gold, and at least oneworld Sapphire, so that when each airline inevitably goes this way, there's still some better treatment for seats, bags, lounges, etc., even if the fare classes go full-on derivative.
As for banks and transfers, some are worth holding, like Amex, Chase, Citi, where the underlying points are not (usually) at risk of disappearing; BILT, we're all hoping they stick around, but 2027 could be brutal. The saying, 'don't hoard points' usually applies to airlines/hotels (specific programs), because of the unfortunately re-occurring devaluations (see Marriott, Hyatt, SkyPesos, even Alaska starting to show some cracks with partner premium availability, etc.)
Overall, I think these developments are the macro-realities (wars, fuel prices, general economic strain, recession, excessive greed by the ownership class against consumers and workers, etc.) Anyhoo, that may be too much for some to digest, but there's 'reasons' for these devaluations. I wish we could have some baseline consumer protections so that they wouldn't bite as much. Maybe that's talk for a different comment section.
I do have to say
Major props to Tiffany for entering the proverbial lion’s den of the Omaat comment section to respond.
I don’t think anyone could ever even fathom a US3 mileage program leader coming to this Wild West place to do the same 🙂
Please don’t mess up my AF J trip coming up where I used transferrable points 😉
I’m super excited about trying the product.
But again. It Speaks positive volumes of you and Lucky’s friendship with you that you came on to respond in this lawless place 😉
Thank you.
FWIW, I don't think it would be very difficult for the AA loyalty program leader to come to the comment section and answer some questions. Their program is leaps and bounds better than AF/KLM, no sarcasm.
Fair
And a direct response To what I said about a US3 mileage leader coming to respond here.
I will say that the better comparison for this article would be the Avios program leader to let all of us know why the fuel surcharges on BA award tickets never seem to correspond with fuel prices 😉
If we're being honest, Delta's (unofficial?) PR team is at OMAAT, VFTW, LALF, Cranky, (and Seeking Alpha) nonstop... *cough* (Tim, am I missing any of the sites?)
Look, many of you know me well enough to know that I'm certainly not going to attempt a "changes you'll like" spin on this (or really anything).
Globally, airfares are up across the board over last year (and the year before that, and the year before that, and the pre-COVID baseline). And increased numbers of leisure travelers (again, above a 2019 baseline) means there is more demand for premium cabins, more crowding in airports and lounges, and overall an aviation capacity that doesn't match the demand growth. That's the environment we -- and every loyalty program -- is operating in.
The tradeoffs that get made against that background are complicated, *and it's our job to make hard decisions* so I don't expect cookies for doing so. A lot of discussion and analysis went into these changes, and while I know they will be read as negative by many, an optimistic part of me hopes that some will also see the thoughtfulness behind the implementation. (though again, no cookies warranted or expected).
Ultimately, we want to offer a program that rewards and inspires members, with plentiful inventory and accessible pricing. Would I love to have a magic wand that let us all have 2012 pricing on 2026 products? Absolutely. I can think of a few other things I'd use it on as well.
So for me, the key considerations are:
- Have we protected elite members and preserved the value of the program for those who spend the most time on our planes and engaged with our program? Yes.
- Are we maintaining industry-leading redemption ability (without going down the road of fully-dynamic revenue-driven pricing)? Yes, no changes here.
- Are we continuing to offer combinations of pricing and benefits that are competitive in both our core markets and the global marketplace? Overall, I think yes, though this always comes down to individual travel and earning patterns.
- Are we communicating openly and proactively about any changes, and giving members the information they need to make informed decisions? I hope so, but if I can improve on this front, I'm listening.
I can understand the increase of mileage required for awards, but the award fees seem outrageous, they should be reduced. Also, i think being elite at any level should have some benefits when booking awards (obviously escalated for the different levels). You can't compensate only your top tier elites and ignore the rest, just my two cents.
Thanks for listening/reading Tiffany
@ Jd @ Julie -- The Silver and Gold benefits continue.
Silvers get their baggage benefits and free seat selection, even on Economy Light fares. Golds continue to have the above, plus lounge access for themselves and a guest even on Business Light.
Yup. And this is one of my issues, in what world is a $3,500 roundtrip ticket “attractive pricing”?
Tiffany, I've been sticking up for you in some other spaces. I don't know you personally, but think it can only be a good thing that someone who deeply understands this community can be in "the room where it happens", even if not every decision is one we like.
That said, you asked "Are we communicating openly and proactively about any changes...?" The headline and first line on the page covering these changes on your website reads: "Three options. One goal: more flexibility for your travels.
Flying Blue is evolving its reward tickets to better align with your travel needs."
You know how insulting it is when programs try to pretend a devaluation is an enhancement and something we should be happy about. This is the kind of language I would hope you could coach your marketing team to avoid.
@Darin, looks like the people doing the comms gaslight themselves and their colleagues before everyone else. There's no need for anyone to be 'listened to', this very blog has been rightly mocking BA et al for similar communication approach.
And AFAIK fuel prices went up the same for the rest of the routes so there's no justification for the price differential between N. America and the other intercontinental routes other than a desire to prioritise credit card points over the frequent flyers that allegedly benefit from these changes and may be travelling anywhere on the network. CUR 85k, MEX/LAX 60k, make it make sense!
If your only consideration and concern is those who spend most time on your planes, then stop selling miles, end all the credit card relationships.
Then you can reward them all you want.
Tiffany,
How do you read the situation in which One books a FB long distance award being a mere EXPLORER in FB, but Gold on Delta ? Will the Skyteam Gold baggage franchise and the lounge access apply ?
I remember being denied, months ago and way before ITA switched, lounge access in CDG because I bought the ticket with FB miles, even though I was an ITA Skyteam Elite Plus.
Thanks +++
You'll be fine as long as you put your Eurobonus number in the reservation. You're not getting any flexibility on a light fare though!
Hi There Tiffany,
Congratulations on your new position and day to day challenges.
Wishing you well.
Now about just one persons overview below with over 30 years in programs.
I Like flying KLM but unfortunately I'm done spending tens of thousands of dollars in your companies program as I had for years.
My Plan is One World and Star Alliance 100% eliminating Flying Blue completely.
At least Virgin has some occasional highly competitive alternative options for value in Upper Class like 40,000 miles from LAX to LHR that I took on an A350
Loved the Virgin Club House @ LHR and I hear it will be even better soon.
These new FB strategies have made the program and unnecessarily complicated and worse what that may likely do with availability at your partners like Virgin and other Sky Team partners and what is and isn't included if awards are available at all now that it will be a sea of customer confusion early on and possibly going forward
Typically when I go to look at point awards they range in Flying Blue from a low if lucky of 130,000 plus approx 400 dollars in taxes from the West Coast to Europe 900,000 one way Departing from San Diego Las Vegas Lax etc
Can you give your fans here 1 solid good reason we should fly KLM to Amsterdam in a 777 200 for massive premium when one can fly BA in a brand new A350 for 57,000 miles in One World?No cancellation fees right up to departure. Their costs have climbed like KLMs and others since 2012 too.Even with 760 dollars in surcharges fees on BA BA still come out the winner with higher fees.Now I can just imagine the tsunami that awaits us in FB new broad based roll outs.
Even before the implemented changes it was a no go most of the time.
Flying home out of London United Polaris for 80,000 miles plus 400 dollars surcharges.No cancellation charges right up to departure.
Yes that where my travel budget is going along with my business travel as well
I perceive your KLM Flying Blue colleagues are out of touch with the Global loyalty programs other than adding unlimited nuisance fees in bundled packages and high gotcha cancellation fees because others do within Europe?You are passionate about travel and knowledgeable as a loyalty program user where would you park your 100k a year budget in travel?
Does FB look/hope for the least educated unaware customer who only flies with LF with blinders on?That said just speaking my truth and whatever you folks do I hope its what they wish for in the end.We as customers still have choices thankfully!Hope I said this respectfully and thank you for your bravery here in OMAAT :);)
@Tiffany Funk, despite my precisely zero engagement with FlyingBlue, I do appreciate that your priorities were to protect elite loyalty members benefits in this devaluation. Additionally I mostly agree that the points outlined at the end of your post are of importance. However the concept of Carrier Imposed Surcharges needs to meet its maker. Especially on award tickets. I would much rather have higher points cost and less cash component to any redemption. I may be in the minority about that point but if the cost of the product is X Points, charge X points not Y points + Z $$$ (€€€ in this case). Obviously taxes and government fees are additional but anything in the carriers control should be in the points cost.
@ Michael SEA -- From an American perspective, you are 100% correct, which is why the US programs charge higher and higher points prices, without much of a cash component. But points are *really* easy to earn here, you almost have to go out of your way not to.
The situation is a bit different in Europe. Miles are accumulated almost exclusively through flying (we're trying to change that, but there isn't as much of a loyalty-lifestyle culture), making them much more "precious" and cash co-pays are standard.
So I don't think you're in the minority as much as this being an example of where there isn't an obviously-best approach for a global program. Which is not to say that I think we have it dialed-in currently either; plenty of room for improvements and optimizations.
Great reply! Too many on here (and other blogs) are just greedy basically wanting something for nothing (or cheaper) without understanding the business dynamics. If they don’t like it find another program but all are adjusting. Personally I like FB and will continue to use their program.
Some comments praise M&M better award availability, but the problem is what kind of award you get for this -- an old and uncomfortable J seat plus unmotivated crew. And huge fees, of course.
AF is on my "to do" list, because apparently they are a good airline. How far will I get with Flying Blue without having a US credit card, this we'll have to see.
The cost of getting FB miles from transferable points (if valued at 1.7c and even with 20% bonus) is ~1.4c. At new (standard) prices this gives ~$3,000 TATL roundtrip, corresponding to ~$3,500 cash ticket. This does not feel like good value, and is another blow to points world.
Aside from Citi (backed by full faith of AA miles 🙂 and to a lesser extent Chase (backed by Hyatt and United, at ~1.5c?), do transferable points from AMEX and CapOne really retain their value now (with Aeroplan partner availability issues and high fees /devaluations of Avios)? Or any good value is now mostly in niche redemptions?
At this point i just hope SK EB remains standalone as long as possible.....there isnt too many programs left where you can actually find value and aspirational....
This will bite them when there is another downrturn.....
I have retreated a lot from EB after Scandinavian Airlines changed to the alliance of unwanted airlines. Once they EB becomes FB I can't really see the value for me any longer, and will probably move entirely to Oneworld and Star Alliance.
Ben and/or Tiffany,
What do you make of the situation in which One books a FB long distance "Light" award being a mere EXPLORER in FB, but Gold on Delta ? Will the Skyteam Gold baggage franchise and the lounge access apply ?
In other words, can One use FB miles to book an FB award, then use the privileges attached to a higher status in another Skyteam program?
I remember being denied, months ago and way before ITA switched to M&M, AF lounge access in CDG because I bought the ticket with FB miles, even though I was an ITA Skyteam Elite Plus.
Thanks +++
@ Pierre -- I *think* that should work (that is the intent) but I'm not 100% certain, especially as you're saying you've had a different experience.
(I also only learned how to use the printer the week before last, so would not say that I am "fully across the systems" as it were). I will find out.
Maybe you can fix the abhorrent Flying Blue IT system where it overrides partner frequent flyer numbers every time you login to manage your flight.
YESSSSS... And after I fixed it some 5 times before flying, it came back at check-in and credited the miles to AF instead of Delta. It almost cost me my Delta Gold renewal.
To their credit, "De-Flyingblueing" and recrediting to Delta was not too difficult.
Tiffany at work now.
This blog is systematically biased when it comes to Flying Blue. Months after months we are served the promo award pitch: "favorite program because it gets so cheap" . Indeed the promo awards are cheaper than the usual 200.000 miles or more (ridiculously much more sometimes) . But we're is the avaibility? On business long distance, sometimes close to none at promo rate (see Bogotá in the current offer). But never a word about that. And here is the marketing pitch now: "this devaluation is a relief because it could have been worst". Well that can be said of any program devaluation. The blog has a very fine angle on many subjects, but in my experience, zero credibility when it comes to Flying Blue.
I remember that a few years ago coverage a certain other European FFP more or less vanished from this website because they had made some no-notice changes to their partner award chart.
It's interesting to note the difference in approach given that, to my knowledge at least, nobody's even attempted to reverse-engineer the FB (distance-based?) algorithm for pricing partner awards.
Can't count the number of times I've seen topics highlighting "great" bonus redemptions on points transfers, only for disappointing devaluations to nearly immediately follow. I've fallen for this more times than I care to admit... but usually I figure out ways to make it work in my favor. However, I trust these headlines less and less, as it's becoming more like the "too good to be true" TV advertisements that our parents fell for time and again. Time for another hobby!
the funniest thing about this is people just really hate "basic fares". if it was instead just "flying blue changes lowest Transatlantic J price from 60k to 75k" i dont even think the coverage would be as negative lol
anyway props to Tiffany for jumping in to comment. puts her ahead of every other loyalty program leader in existence
Tiffany, thank you for engaging and answering our questions.
I second the question on how does this work as a Partner elite, Delta Platinum in my case. What do we get on Basic fares - seat selection? Lounge access? Waived change fees? Checked bags?
And how do we get these benefits? Book under FB frequent flyer number then switch reservation to Partner (Delta) FF number after booking?
For those of us who are EuroBonus loyalists we're watching these changes in horror. Hoping and praying that the programs don't merge. EuroBonus is in my opinion one of the last of a dying breed of airline programs that still view loyalty as a two way street.
Very few devaluations, no fuel surcharges, fixed award prices and generous credit card offers in the home markets. Yes the award availability with SkyTeam isn't as good as it was back when SAS were members of Star Alliance but competed to Flying Blue with dynamic pricing, high fuel surcharges and unbundled fares it's night and day.
Being able to book a multi-carrier business class redemption from Europe to South East Asia for 190K points an Amex 2for1 voucher and around 300 EUR in taxes for two persons is such a blessing. Yes availability is hard to come by, but it's only marginally worse than the nonexistent "saver" availability on Flying Blue.
Hopefully the teams at AFKLM and SAS will work out a solution as Flying Blue in its current form will likely see them lose many customers in Scandinavia should they chose to migrate the programs.