How to book with Flying Blue

As school starts up again, now's the time to think about upcoming expenses for the and cards you could open to earn welcome offers. September to February is when I think about all sorts of taxes and insurance that come due (quarterly taxes, property taxes, home insurance, etc), and I'll typically open cards during this time to take advantage of that spend.

What I'm booking

Sadly this was a trip we couldn't take due to the LA Fires. However, I was able to cancel and receive all my points back (an undervalued benefit of points bookings). But see how I did it.

Air France business class! I'm excited to fly Air France for the first time on a trip to Morocco. Air France has great connectivity and can provide excellent value on "married segments". Married segments are a strategy used by award programs to release space or provide a discount on a connecting itinerary, but not on a direct flight. For example, the cheapest rate you'll find in Air France business class from LAX to CDG is 50,000 Flying Blue points. If I add in a connection to somewhere else, the price may stay the same or even drop!

In this case, I used 50,000 Flying Blue points and $232 in taxes and fees per person to get us all the way from LAX to CDG to RAK (Marrakech), a cash value of $11,663 for two! I transferred these points from American Express Membership Rewards.

To transfer, open your account and click on "Rewards & Benefits" then "Earn and Redeem". On the drop down menu click "Transfer Points" and then Air France KLM to begin the process! Transfers are usually instant when you confirm, so make sure you've found award space before you transfer.

Tip: How to book it

Air France and KLM are members of a single loyalty program called Flying Blue, which is an incredibly useful and generous program. Flying Blue is a transfer partner of every major bank! That means when you earn points on any of the transferable credit cards, you can transfer them to Flying Blue. Additionally, Flying Blue has regular transfer bonuses and promos where you can get outsized deals on bookings. And lastly, Flying Blue charges 25% fewer points for kids under 12, making it a great way to save for a whole family.

Flying Blue has a "secret" calendar which makes it easy to search. Go to Airfrance.us and click on "Book with Miles". Put in your origin and destination, and leave the date field blank. You can search an entire year of dates in a few minutes! (Slovenia anyone?) You can see the point amount varies widely by day, so I like to find the best rates well in advance for my bookings.

Credit Cards: An elevated offer

When I'm looking to open new cards for big expenses, I'm looking for the best possible welcome offers. Though this one has a heavy lift (which I'm unsure we could make), this card is a fantastic proposition for those who can!

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus is currently offering 200,000 points for $30,000 of spend in 3 months. This card earns 2x points on all spend, so you'd end up with at least 260,000 points once completing the offer. By itself, this card is a cash back card, however when paired with a Venture Rewards-earning card (Venture, Venture X, Venture X Business, Spark Miles for Business), this card earns points. Previously, Capital One has offered a 20% transfer bonus to Flying Blue, meaning your 260,000 points would turn into 312,000 Flying Blue points. That's enough to take 6 people to Morocco in business! While transfer bonuses come and go, these are excellent opportunities to book your trips for fewer points.

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