Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.
The monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards offers some of the best award flight prices to Europe and beyond. This month, the deals are extra special because you can combine the exceptionally low prices with a limited-time 25% Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer bonus to Flying Blue. Through the end of November, you can book round-trip flights to Europe for travel through April 30, 2024, starting at only 12,000 Chase points — and with a little legwork you may even find cheaper prices.
This comes on the heels of Flying Blue adjusting its standard saver level award prices, according to One Mile at a Time. Not every flight is cheaper under the new price structure but many are, including business-class awards between Europe and the U.S. that have dropped to 50,000 miles each way for non-promo awards.
CNBC Select breaks down how you can best take advantage of these deals to grab a great flight on the cheap.
Flying Blue Promo Rewards for November
These deals are valid for bookings made through November 30, 2023 and for travel through April 30, 2024. Some of the best deals include flights to/from Europe and:
- New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Seattle in economy for 15,000 miles plus taxes and fees each way
- Dallas in premium economy for 26,250 miles plus taxes and fees each way
- Raleigh-Durham in business class for 37,500 miles plus taxes and fees each way
You can transfer many different types of travel rewards to Flying Blue, but right now the best deal is with Chase Ultimate Rewards because it currently has a 25% transfer bonus for Flying Blue. Chase points transfer in 1,000-point increments, and when you factor in the transfer bonus, you can book one-way awards to and from Europe with the following point amounts:
- 12,000 Chase points for economy
- 21,000 Chase points for premium economy
- 30,000 Chase points for business class
If you don't see a deal you want, it's worth searching for unadvertised discounts, which may be available and even offer lower prices. CNBC Select found one-way economy awards for 13,500 miles (11,000 Chase points with the transfer bonus).
You can also book a free stopover on these award flights. For example, if you're flying New York to Rome via Paris, you can add in a visit to Paris at no extra cost. Keep in mind, you may have to book over the phone to take advantage of this option.
Best ways to earn rewards for the next deal
Earning transferable credit card rewards is the easiest way for most people to book these types of awards. Unfortunately, if you don't already have enough travel rewards to book these deals, you won't be able to earn the points you need before these offers expire. But you can set yourself up to be ready when the next opportunity comes around, and there's no shortage of options for earning Flying Blue points because all of the major credit card travel rewards programs partner with Flying Blue, including:
Currently, one of the best personal card offers for earning Chase points is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees). Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. If you qualify for a small business credit card (which may be easier than you realize), the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card (see rates and fees) both have amazing limited-time bonus offers. While these are cash-back business cards, if you have a card that allows Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfers, you can pool your rewards and transfer them to Flying Blue and other travel partners.
Capital One miles also transfer to Flying Blue and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the best rewards credit cards for earning these miles. This card has a lucrative welcome bonus you can earn, and cardholders earn a minimum of 2X miles on every purchase. This makes it one of the most rewarding credit cards for everyday purchases.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for beginners or heavy travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer worth at least $750 in travel
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fee
None
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Bottom line
Through November 30, 2023, you can book discounted awards with Air France and KLM through their Flying Blue program. You can also receive a 25% bonus on Chase points transfers to Flying Blue over the same time. By combining these two offers, you can fly to Europe for as little as 11,000 Chase points one-way in economy or 30,000 Chase points in business class.
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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
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