(EXPIRED) Business class to Europe for 33K points in early 2024!

Air France / KLM appears to have an unannounced Promo Reward sale from New York (including both JFK and Newark-EWR) to Europe from just 41,250 miles + ~$220 in taxes & fees one-way in business class — and that pricing is widely available to numerous European cities during much of the first 2-3 months of 2024. Better yet, with the current point transfer bonus from American Express Membership Rewards to Air France / KLM Flying Blue, you could book these flights with just 33,000 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred to Air France / KLM Flying Blue.

The Deal

• Air France / KLM Flying Blue has numerous routes on sale in business class from New York-JFK and New York-EWR to/from Europe from 41,250 miles each way.
• Stack this with the 25% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to use just 33,000 points each way
• Origins: New York-JFK and Newark-EWR
• Destinations: Many, many European cities
• Dates: Widely available in January and February, with some routes available in March.
• Transfer from:
  • Amex Membership Rewards (25% transfer bonus through 9/22/23)
  • Capital One miles
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards
  • Citi Thank You points
  • Bilt Rewards
• Search for awards at airfance.us

Quick Thoughts

If you have interest in heading to Europe in January or February, you’ll find that this deal is pretty widely available on many dates — and in many cases for multiple passengers and even multiple flights on the same date.

For instance, I see three different flights with business class availability on a sample date in January that all have availability for 41,250 miles per passenger from New York to Paris.

And the pricing holds up from both New York-JFK and Newark-EWR to various destinations. I have a number of examples in this post, but I’m seeing the same or similar pricing to tons of European destinations.

Barcelona

Corsica

Thanks to Flying Blue’s variable award pricing, we often find that some connecting itineraries beyond Paris or Amsterdam will price even lower than nonstops to Paris or Amsterdam. However, in this case, I haven’t found any routes that price out lower than 41,250 miles — though there have been plenty at that price and some that are just 2,000 to 4,000 miles more each way.

Belgrade

Brussels

Helsinki

Since Air France / KLM Flying Blue offers variable pricing, it is always possible that you could find a great deal on a flight. However, in this case, I am confident that this is pricing as an unannounced Promo Reward for several reasons:

• 41,250 is exactly 25% off of the normal “starting” price of business class to Europe (55K)
• New York is on the current Promo Rewards list for 25% off of economy awards
• While children get a 25% discount on regular fares, child tickets are not getting a 25% discount on the special 41,250-mile pricing (which is consistent with how things work on Promo Rewards flights).

Air France / KLM Flying Blue offers changes and cancellations for a fee of 50 EUR per passenger. In the past, I thought that Promo Rewards could not be changed but rather only cancelled, but I no longer see that restriction.

Flying Blue does tack on some unfortunate surcharges, though given the low mileage price here I imagine that most won’t find the ~$200 in surcharges to be exorbitant.

Keep in mind that January through March isn’t the ideal time to visit Europe according to Tim’s authoritative resource, though skiiers may find destinations of interest and much of the Mediterranean features relatively mild winters. I once spent about a month in Barcelona between January and February and while it wasn’t beach weather, I wore a light jacket most days and the weather was far more comfortable than it would have been at home.

I should note that this pricing is valid on both Air France and KLM flights in some cases. If you can get a route served  by KLM’s 787, I would highly recommend it. I’d take Air France over KLM’s A330, but the KLM 787 seat was terrific.

I’d also love to connect through Amsterdam as the flagship business class lounge there was a work of art. 

If you’re able to make it work, it is hard to beat 33K points each way for flat-bed business class to and from Europe.

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