Dead set on flying Delta Air Lines but seeing sky-high flight prices and even SkyMiles rates through the roof? There's a better way to book those exact same Delta flights for far fewer points now.
For years, using points from Delta's partner Virgin Atlantic was our go-to method to book for less – Virgin charged a fraction of the miles as Delta itself, whether you wanted to fly economy within the U.S., out to the Hawaiian islands, or book a lie-flat seat abroad. But Virgin Atlantic has repeatedly raised award rates for Delta flights over the years, including recently gutting the holy grail: Delta One flights to Europe for 50,000 points are no more.
So now it's time to turn to a different Delta partner to book instead: Air France/KLM's Flying Blue miles.
Booking with Flying Blue miles is now almost always the cheapest way to book any Delta flight, saving you thousands of miles compared to using Virgin or Delta SkyMiles. It's even the best way to book Delta One business class to Europe – it'll cost a fraction of the 400,000 SkyMiles Delta and half the taxes and fees Virgin Atlantic now passes on.
Best of all, Flying Blue miles are some of the easiest to earn as they're a transfer partner of every major bank: American Express, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo. So if you're earning points on top travel credit cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*, *venture x*, or the *amex gold*, you can easily turn them into Flying Blue miles. Better yet, these banks frequently offer 25% transfer bonuses to Flying Blue, meaning you need even fewer points to book.
Whether you want to fly Delta economy within the U.S., out to the Hawaiian Islands, or … really anywhere in the world, Flying Blue miles are arguably the best option to get there for less. Here's how.
Read more: Save Points When Booking Flights, Transfer Them to an Airline Partner
Domestic Flights From 15K Miles Each Way (Or Less)
Unless you snag a dirt-cheap Delta SkyMiles flash sale, Flying Blue should be the first place you turn for many domestic Delta flights now.
For example, you can book this Delta flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) all the way to Fort Myers, Florida (RSW) in economy for as few as 15,000 miles each way, or 30,000 miles roundtrip.
This is cheaper than what Virgin now charges: 16,500 points each way.
Even ultra-short flights can be cheaper using Flying Blue miles. This flight from Minneapolis to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) would cost 7,500 points each way through Virgin Atlantic, for example. And a first class seat would cost 21,000 Virgin points on these same flights.
Flying Blue award rates fluctuate seemingly based on the season, so you may see slightly higher rates if you're looking to travel during the peak times. That means you might see cheaper rates booking these domestic flights through Delta directly using SkyMiles. It's always worth checking both.
But there's a reason to book through Flying Blue instead: Every award ticket gets you a main cabin fare, with the ability to pick your seat for free. That's not the case with Delta, where the cheapest SkyMiles tickets will always be in basic economy.
As you get beyond the mainland U.S., the savings by booking through Air France/KLM Flying Blue multiply.
Hawaii From 55K Miles Roundtrip
The real value with Flying Blue miles is in booking longer nonstop Delta flights – especially out to the Hawaiian Islands.
Whether you head for Honolulu (HNL) or fly nonstop to other islands like Maui (OGG) or Kauai (LIH), you can book Delta flights to Hawaii from the West Coast for as low as 17,500 miles each way – give or take a few thousand miles, as Flying Blue award rates tend to fluctuate.
Booking roundtrip flights to Hawaii from Seattle (SEA) for 37,000 Flying Blue miles will save you a bit compared to the 44,000 points you'd pay booking these exact same flights through Virgin Atlantic. Exactly how many miles you'll need to book flights to Hawaii will vary by a few thousand miles depending on whether you depart from Los Angeles (LAX) or Seattle – and which island you fly to.
The airline also tacks on about $53 in taxes and fees.
But the longer the flight, the more you'll save booking Delta through Flying Blue. From Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), you can find nonstop flights to Honolulu (HNL) and back for as low as 55,000 Flying Blue miles roundtrip and about $60 in taxes and fees.
After Virgin increased award rates for most Delta flights last year, those same nonstop flights from Minneapolis to Honolulu now cost 70,000 miles roundtrip.
But to really see how good of a deal Flying Blue is, you have to look at what Delta is charging in SkyMiles: a whopping 102,000 SkyMiles roundtrip. That's right: You can book the exact same flight to Hawaii for nearly half the points.
When you consider that Flying Blue award tickets book into main cabin, meaning you get the option to select your seat for free, it’s a no brainer.
Read more:
Savings Down to the Caribbean & Mexico
In need of a warm weather getaway? Delta has an extensive network of nonstop flights to the Caribbean and Mexico. Outside of a Delta SkyMiles flash sale, using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles almost always offers the lowest award rates.
So while Delta is asking for 60,000 SkyMiles and about $90 in change for its new route from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Aruba (AUA) this winter just for basic economy…
… you can book those exact same flights for just 36,000 Flying Blue miles! Again, you're always booking into main cabin when using Flying Blue miles, making this an even better deal.
Here's what Delta is charging in cash, too. Even with the slightly higher taxes and fees on this route, you can still come out far ahead booking these Delta flights with Flying Blue miles.
The same goes for flights to Mexico, like a trip from New York City (JFK) to Cancún (CUN). For this trip in January, you could book for:
- 60,000-plus Delta SkyMiles – or even more to avoid basic economy
- 37,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
- Or, through Flying Blue…
Fly to Europe for Less
Virgin hasn’t touched its award rates flying Delta economy to Europe – at least yet. It’ll still just cost just 30,000 points each way, or 60,000 Virgin points roundtrip for all nonstop routes, plus taxes and fees.
Flying Blue, on the other hand, doesn't publish an award chart for these Delta rates, so it's harder to pin down. So while you might find higher rates than what Virgin is charging, you can also find roundtripflights to Europe as low as 41,000 miles, depending on where you're flying from.
The longer the flight distance, the more Flying Blue miles it will generally cost you – the best deal you'll typically find flying to Europe from the West Coast will be closer to 70,000 miles roundtrip. Taxes and fees vary based on where you’re flying, too.
Thrifty Tip: While you can book these flights one-way for half the miles, booking roundtrip will help you save on taxes and fees!
But time it right with a transfer bonus like the recent 25% transfer bonus from Chase and you could fly Delta roundtrip to Europe for even fewer points by transferring them to Flying Blue!
Get points and miles deals like this in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
Japan From 68K Miles RT
Long-haul flights to Asia, too, can be a deal booking through Flying Blue when cash prices are high.
Just 66,000 Flying Blue miles (or less with a transfer bonus!) and about $99 in taxes and fees could get you to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) and back from the West Coast in Delta economy.
Meanwhile, you'd need at least 100,000 Delta SkyMiles to book that exact same main cabin economy ticket on the same flight. While Flying Blue will cost you a bit more in taxes and fees, that's easily worth the 34,000 miles you're saving.
Delta One to Europe From 64K Miles Each Way
Economy is great, but one of the most sought after seats for many travelers is Delta One business class. And Flying Blue miles are undoubtedly the best for booking those seats all the way to Europe now, too.
Once a sweet spot for booking Delta One for fewer points, Virgin Atlantic recently raised award rates and added a cash surcharge of more than $1,000 on each and every Delta business class redemption to Europe. Air France/KLM Flying Blue, meanwhile, still charges low cash fees on top of your miles.
While finding availability on any of Delta's nonstop routes from Europe can be a challenge, we recently alerted our Thrifty Traveler Premium members to multiple deals flying Delta One from New York (JFK) to London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) for just 63,5000 miles one-way.
That's right: Taxes & fees are just $10 one-way or around $333 roundtrip – drastically lower than the $1,000-plus in fees you'd pay to fly Delta One to Europe each way using Virgin points. And you'll pay even lower fees when flying to other cities in Europe, like Amsterdam or Dublin.
Read next: The Best Ways to Book Delta One Business Class for Fewer Points
How to Book Delta Flights With Flying Blue Miles
The savings are undeniable. But how do you actually search for and book Delta flights through Flying Blue?
It's fairly straightforward, but there are a few quirks to finding the lowest award rates – how many miles you'll need for a given flight.
To start, you'll need to create a free Flying Blue account. You can search for flights through AirFrance.com or KLM.com … but don't head there straightaway. Instead, it's easiest to confirm award availability through Virgin Atlantic first, then search those exact dates on either Air France or KLM's site.
While the award rates aren't as good as they once were, Virgin's site offers a powerful price calendar with a five-week look at flights. That can help you find award availability on the nonstop Delta flights you want. Find a date that works through Virgin? Go over and plug it in with Air France and book for even less!
So start by going to Virgin Atlantic's site and toggle over to “Reward Flights.” Enter your departure and arrival airports and desired date. It's easiest to search one way at a time.
If the flights you want are available to book with points through Virgin Atlantic, they should also be available to book with Flying Blue miles.
Next, log in on Air France or KLM's site, click the tab “Book with miles,” and “Continue.” Select your desired cabin and search for the exact dates where you found availability on Virgin's website.
Unlike Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue doesn't publish an award chart – the cheat sheet for how many points you need to book a flight from point A to point B. Award rates can be all over the map.
But in almost every case now, you should be able to book for fewer Air France/KLM miles than what either Virgin Atlantic or Delta are charging.
Read our guide to booking award tickets with Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles!
How to Earn Air France/KLM Flying Blue Miles
Flying Blue miles are some of the easiest airline miles to earn – you can transfer points from all the major transferable points programs.
This means if you're earning Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Venture Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou® Points, or Wells Fargo Rewards, you can instantly transfer those points to Flying Blue miles at an even 1:1 ratio. Earning points on rent with Bilt Rewards? You can transfer those points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue as well.
Here are some of our favorite credit cards that earn points which can be converted to Flying Blue miles.
If you're just starting out with points and miles, we consider the *chase sapphire preferred* the best travel rewards credit card for beginners.bonus_miles_full
And with 3x points per dollar spent for dining and 2x points for travel purchases, it's really easy to rack up a ton of Chase points that can be instantly transferred to Flying Blue miles.
Learn more about the *csp*.
We can’t say enough good things about the *venture x*. It’s the bank’s first premium card, so it's loaded with benefits such as access to Capital One Loungesand Priority Pass lounges, a $300 Capital One Travel credit, up to $100 in credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (credit increasing to $120 effective Oct. 1, 2024), great travel and rental car insurance protection, and more. The annual fee clocks in at $395 a year, but the benefits can easily outweigh that.
The best part is that you can currently earn75,000 Venture Miles after spending $4,000in the first three months. Considering you earn at least 2x for every dollar you spend on the Venture X Card,you’ll earn a total of at least 83,000 Venture Miles, which can be transferred instantly to 83,000 Flying Blue miles. That alone is enough to fly business class to Europe from anywhere in the U.S.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
The*amex gold card* is currently offering a 60,000-point welcome bonus after spending $6,000 in the first six months, plus a statement credit for 20% back (up to $100) on eligible restaurant spending in the first six months. But you might be able to do even better with a targeted offer to earn 75,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first three months via CardMatchor an even bigger offer by applying through areferral link.
Beyond that bonus, this card is easily one of the best all-around travel cards on the market thanks largely to an unbeatable 4x return on up to $50,000 in spending at restaurants worldwide and 4x points on up to $25,000 a year spent at U.S. supermarkets – and 1x points after that.
Learn more about the *amex gold*
The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card is another great way to earn points that can be transferred to Flying Blue miles. You’ll earn 3x points at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations and for travel booked with the card. Plus, there is a bonus of 75,000 ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 within the first three months.
Learn more about the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).
Of course, you can also earn Flying Blue miles by crediting flights flown on Air France, KLM, or any other SkyTeam partner airline, such as Delta, to your Flying Blue frequent flyer account. But we think it's easiest and more practical to rack up a ton of Flying Blue miles by transferring credit card points.
Bottom Line
Air France/KLM Flying Blue is one of the best frequent flyer programs out there with low award rates and easy-to-earn points. And now, it's the best way to book most Delta flights, too.
We'd been telling travelers for years to save their SkyMiles and book Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic instead. But after several devaluations over the last year or so, Flying Blue is now almost always a much better deal.
So when flight prices are high or Delta is charging a boatload of SkyMiles for a flight, turn to your stash of transferrable credit card points and see if you can book those same flights for fewer points using Air France/KLM Flying Blue instead.
