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I just booked a round-trip business class ticket from San Francisco to Tel Aviv during Christmas.
At first, I did not expect multiple award seats from various airlines to be widely available during the holidays.
Perhaps the pandemic’s collateral damage makes travel still largely unpopular, even during traditional peak times.
At any rate, barring any delays and cancellations, I’m thrilled to be flying back to Israel and spending New Year’s Eve there again.
This will be my third trip to the Holy Land and my second NYE there – coincidentally, I was also in Israel for NYE 2013/2014.
What do I have to lose?
This is especially true when Flying Blue has a customer-friendly policy of free cancellations/changes for all tickets booked before March 31st, as long as you cancel before departure (subject to change anytime).
Therefore, my miles and cash are safe in the event that unpredictable changes occur.
Additionally, I believe most of Israel’s population would have been vaccinated by December already, and since I’ve recently completed my 2 Moderna doses, I have never been more confident than now to plan for future travel.
In this blog post, I’ll go over the steps I took from transferring points to booking so you will not have to reinvent the wheel if you want to replicate the process.
How Did I Hear About This Business Class Sale?
I had signed up to get free alerts from Straight To The Points, which sends out email notifications when mistake fares or multiple award seats become available.
However, I recommend signing up for a premium membership if you prefer to be one of the first people to access these premium cabins.
I’m naturally frugal, so my initial instinct is to go free, but I’m contemplating upgrading to premium.
Anyway, upon seeing that business class flights to Israel are available via Flying Blue partners, I quickly logged on to my Flying Blue account and frantically initiated my search.
Knowing I will compete with other points enthusiasts, I already anticipated having slim pickings, particularly during peak season.
Rather than finding incredibly limited alternatives, I was blown away to see multiple award seats from KLM and Virgin Atlantic. Even Delta showed up, which was quite rare.
What is Flying Blue?
Flying Blue is the frequent flier loyalty program of KLM and AirFrance.
Unbeknownst to many, it also has a few other member airlines:
- Air Calin
- Kenya Airways
- Transavia
- TAROM
You can earn Flying Blue Miles by flying with any of its member airlines.
How Do I Earn Flying Blue Miles?
You are probably wondering how the heck I can earn Flying Blue Miles when I haven’t even heard of those carriers.
Do not worry.
Aside from flying directly with Flying Blue, you can also earn their miles in two other ways:
a. Since Air France and KLM are members of Sky Team, you can technically earn Flying Blue Miles whenever you fly with an alliance partner.
Below are the current Sky Team carriers as of February 2021.
b. Transferring points from travel credit cards is arguably the easiest method of accumulating Flying Blue Miles.
Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points are all Flying Blue partners.
Steps in Booking Flying Blue Award Seats
STEP 1:
Before transferring from Chase, American Express, Capital One, or Citi, ensure the seats you want are available on your preferred dates.
First, you would need to create a Flying Blue Account, which should take less than 5 minutes.
STEP 2:
Once done with setting up your account with Flying Blue, keep your login credentials handy as you will need them to check for award space on both Air France’s and KLM’s websites.
STEP 3:
Using your Flying Blue account, initiate your search on AirFrance’s or KLM’s website.
Plug your home airport, destination, and preferred dates.
Then select what is compatible with your schedule and amount of points.
It goes without saying that flexibility is key in finding the lowest-priced award seat in the calendar.
Since Flying Blue generates dynamic pricing, expect significant mileage/price variability across dates and airlines.
It is still quite unclear what drives a price up or down dramatically between carriers.
Let’s look at the image below to illustrate this fact.
As you can see, the difference in miles required on identical routes on the same day is absurd: 72K (the ticket I booked), 265K, and 375K.
STEP 4:
Select your preferred dates and write down the information on a piece of paper.
Afterward, call Flying Blue to put this ticket on hold while you jumpstart your transfer.
Furthermore, calling eliminates the risk of transferring points to Flying Blue prematurely.
Periodically, websites show phantom space that disappears as soon as you are ready to book, so it is suggested that you speak with an agent to confirm availability before transferring points.
While Flying Blue can hold Air France and KLM tickets for up to 72 hours, they can only guarantee a 24-hour hold for partner airlines like Virgin Atlantic.
STEP 5:
Determine which points you prefer to transfer to Flying Blue.
Again, you can transfer the following points currencies to Flying Blue:
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Capital One Rewards
This should not be a significant issue if you only have one currency, such as Chase, to consider.
But if you have at least 3, it can be quite an ordeal to identify which stash you’re willing to let go of.
Understandably, those points took some time to accumulate, so parting ways with them is naturally going to be difficult. Analysis paralysis is real.
Since Chase Ultimate Rewards are relatively easier to accrue compared to American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Points, I decided to go with Chase.
STEP 6:
After the transfer, call again to book your ticket and write down the confirmation codes for your particular flights.
If you fly multiple carriers, each airline will have a different confirmation code, so note them. You will need this information when you call to select seats.
What Seats Did I Pick And Why?
SFO-TLV
While airlines can switch planes (also called equipment) before flights, it is still recommended to go on seatguru.com to preview a particular aircraft’s layout.
All else being equal, you would undoubtedly want the best and newest available product when redeeming points.
Option 1: Virgin Atlantic Upper Class on the 787-9 for both legs: SFO-LHR-TLV
Total Miles: 72,000 and USD 293 in taxes
- SFO-LHR Upper-Class Seat Configuration is 1-1-1
- LHR-TLV Upper-Class Seat Configuration is 1-1-1
Option 2: KLM Business Class
Total Miles: 53,000 and USD 275 in taxes
- SFO-AMS on the 787-10 with 1-2-1 seat configuration (all aisle access) on their World Business cabin.
- AMS-TLV on the 737-10 with the typical European Business Class layout of blocked off middle seat.
What Did I Select?
| Options | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin Atlantic | Both legs are on lie-flat seats with aisle access | Requires 19K more miles Costs $18 more |
| KLM | Cheaper in terms of miles and cost First time to fly KLM | The second leg (TLV-AMS) is on a recliner seat |
After considering all factors, I selected KLM as it is not only cheaper, but the flight also has an 11-hour layover in Amsterdam, which I can use to visit the city during the day.
TLV-SFO
Option 1: Virgin Atlantic on Upper Class with both legs on the 787-9
Total Miles: 72,000 and $327
- TLV-LHR on 787-9 Upper Class with 1-1-1 Seat Configuration (similar to above)
- LHR-SFO on 787-9 Upper Class with 1-1-1 Seat Configuration
Option 2: Virgin Atlantic on Upper Class with one leg on the A350
Total Miles: 72,000 and $332
- TLV-LHR on 787-9 Upper Class with 1-1-1 Seat Configuration
- LHR-LAX on the brand new A350 Upper Class with 1-2-1 Seat Configuration
- LAX-SFO on Delta using regular US domestic business class
What Did I Select?
Even though the 787-9 has fewer seats per row in the Upper-Class cabin, the A350 is significantly wider and newer, with a top-notch well-refined business-class product.
After voraciously reading various reviews contrasting the 787 with the A350, I ultimately decided to fly on the A350 despite it having an additional stopover and thus longer.
Call me insane, but this is too good an opportunity to experience Virgin’s Upper-Class cabins on two of its signature aircraft.
Alternatives to Flying Blue
To compare apples to apples, I logged on to Delta and Virgin Atlantic to determine the points they required for comparable flights.
Here are the results:
Delta: 170,000 and $147.12
Even though 45,000 more miles are required when booking Delta, it considerably costs cheaper on taxes.
Hence, this might be the time to redeem your Delta Sky Pesos. American Express Membership Rewards can transfer to Delta, with a small fee.
By the way, Delta recently devalued their flights to Europe and Asia with a new cost of 120,000 miles one-way on business class.
With this current deal, each way is priced at 85,000! Whether this is a system glitch or an authentic sale, I won’t think twice about using your Delta miles to purchase these tickets.
Virgin Atlantic: 221,000 and $1023.62
One Word: Ridiculous!
Cents Per Point Valuation
I redeemed a total of 125,000 miles and paid about $600 in taxes for this SFO-TLV roundtrip flight.
If I had paid cash for this ticket, it would have roughly cost $7,411.62.
While the taxes were quite steep for my taste, I had no other option since I do not collect Delta Sky Miles.
I was also not interested in transferring 170,000 American Express Membership Rewards points to Delta.
Once transferred, the transfer is irreversible- Delta is the last place I want my AMEX MRs to go.
Since I paid $600 in taxes, the total value of the 125,000 miles is approximately $6800 ($7400 minus $600).
To arrive at the cents per point value of this redemption, we will divide the cash price minus taxes ($6800) over the total miles required (125,000), resulting in a value of 5.44 cents per point.
Anything beyond 2 cents per point is an incredible redemption in my book.
By the way, the $600 I spent on this ticket’s taxes and surcharges was earned entirely from an HSBC bank promotion I recently completed; thereby making this purchase completely free. Score!
How to Earn 125,000 Flying Blue Miles?
Since Flying Blue is partners with Chase, American Express, Citi, and Capital One, you can practically transfer points from any of these programs to Flying Blue.
The table below summarizes some of the best credit cards that transfer directly to Flying Blue.
| Travel Credit Cards | Conversion Rate |
|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | 1 Chase point = 1 Flying Blue Mile |
| Chase Sapphire Reserve® | 1 Chase point = 1 FB Mile |
| Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card | 1 Chase point = 1 FB Mile |
| The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express | 1 Amex point = 1 FB Mile |
| The Platinum Card® from American Express | 1 Amex point = 1 FB Mile |
| American Express® Gold Card | 1 Amex point = 1 FB Mile |
| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | 1 Cap One point = 1 FB Mile |
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | 1 Cap One Point = 1 FB Mile |
| Bilt Rewards Points | 1 Bilt Point = 1 FB Mile |
| Citi Strata Premier℠ Card | 1 Citi Thankyou Point = 1 Mile |
Final Thoughts
Given the unpredictability of travel nowadays because of COVID-19, I would be delighted if these flights actually happen.
I am excited about my first Flying Blue redemption and looking forward to experiencing KLM’s business class and Virgin Atlantic’s Upper-Class cabins.
Above all, I can’t wait to travel again, particularly in a region I adore.
Jerusalem is, without a doubt, one of my favorite ancient cities in the world, and spending a week there is just my idea of a perfect vacation.
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE – Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. The content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
