American Express Membership Rewards is offering a 25% bonus on transfers to Air France KLM Flying Blue through November 30. You’ll need to log into your American Express account to see the bonus (otherwise it’ll show with the standard 1:1 transfer ratio).
Air France KLM’s Flying Blue is a super useful program because,
- They partner with everyone – Chase, American Express, Citi and Capital One – so you can pool your points from different bank cards in one place.
- They offer members using their own miles much better award availability than is offered to partners. I find I can usually book Air France business class awards when I need to.
- Pricing, despite fuel surcharges, is frequently reasonable – especially when connecting beyond Paris or Amsterdam to destinations beyond in Europe.
Copyright: flaperval / 123RF Stock Photo
A 25% bonus is something American Express has offered before, they even once offered 35% years ago and last year Citi offered 30%. Capital One offered a transfer bonus to Flying Blue this year, too.
It’s better to transfer when there’s a bonus, but in most cases I wouldn’t choose to make a transfer I don’t have an immediate use for. I far prefer the flexibility to choose where to put bank currency later, based on my specific award needs at the time. Points from the major currencies all usually transfer instantly to Air France KLM Flying Blue.
(HT: Points Express)