(EXPIRED) 31K business class Vancouver to Europe, NYC to Paris for 8.5K one-way in economy

Air France / KLM Flying Blue Promo Awards are out and there are a couple of very good values, especially when considering the Current Point Transfer Bonus of 30% from Citi ThankYou points to Flying Blue. That makes some routes especially attractive, such as New York to Paris (Orly) for about 8,500 Citi ThankYou points.

The Deal

• Flying Blue Promo Awards are up for booking by August 30th for travel from September 30th to November 29, 2018
• Direct link to this promotion

Key Terms

• Available for one-way and roundtrip tickets
• Valid for reservations made on airfrance.com and klm.com, not via call centres or ticket offices
• Travel dates may vary depending on the destination, and restrictions may apply
• Tickets can’t be modified, cancelled or refunded
• Stopovers are not allowed on Promo rewards
• Subject to availability, applicable taxes, fees and carrier-imposed international surcharges
• See full terms on promo page

Quick Thoughts

Some of the promo awards aren’t a bad deal this time around, though the business class options are more interesting for our neighbors to the north. Here are some routes on sale to and from North America:

• 50% off KLM business class to/from Edmonton
• 50% off Air France economy to/from New York JFK (only via Paris Orly)
• 25% off Air France economy to/from Boston
• 25% off Air France or KLM business class to/from Vancouver
• 25% off Air France or  KLM economy to/from Vancouver
• 25% off KLM business class to/from Calgary

Of course, there are routes between other regions available as well. Availability doesn’t look bad. Here’s New York to Paris in November:

There are plenty of days with flights for 11,000 miles and $86.83 one way.

Citi happens to be offering a 30% transfer bonus (which you’ll find listed on our Current point transfer bonuses resource page) that runs through August 29th. With the bonus, that’s the equivalent of paying just 8,500 Citi ThankYou points (though note that you need to transfer in increments of 1,000 — so you’d have to transfer 9K for a one-way or you could transfer 17K for a round trip).

That isn’t a phenomenal deal as it is low season and round trip flights from New York occasionally pop up for $300-$400, but if you know your dates now and prices are high, it’s not a bad redemption to lock in if you’re looking to save some points and fly in economy class.

An even better deal for west coasters might be in positioning to Vancouver. I picked a random European destination and looked up one-way business class from Vancouver to Budapest. The results came up with a good number of days available for 39,750 miles one-way.

Assuming you’re transferring from Citi, you’d need just 31,000 Citi ThankYou points and $260 for a one-way flight from Vancouver to Amsterdam to Budapest in business class. That’s not a bad deal at all.

Those piecing together larger round-the-world trips will want to check out other regions. See the link to the promo page under “The Deal” above and then you can filter by region.

H/T: Miles to Memories

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