Flying Blue Family, the new Flying Blue service launched in April 2022, offers the possibility of combining Miles in a single account. Many loyalty programs offer this family account option. We think of Aeroplan with its Family Sharing, British Airways Executive Club and its Family and Friends account or Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
However, this service offers an exciting advantage: a 25% discount on reward tickets for children aged 2 to 11 travelling with an adult. This is true regardless of the class of service (economy, premium economy or business).
For the past few weeks, we have seen many flight tickets between Canada and France available for as little as 15,000 miles one-way for an adult (or only 11,250 miles for a child aged 2 to 11).
For example, here is a flight for an adult and a child from 2 to 11 years old at the end of June 2023:
The rate is :
This is unprecedented! And what makes the Flying Blue program the best program in Canada for transatlantic family flights! There are even flights available at this price to some North African destinations served by Air France: Algiers (Algeria), Casablanca (Morocco) and Tunis (Tunisia).
We used our Flying Blue Miles in 2021 to visit family in France with Air France (and would have liked to take advantage of this benefit at the time):
Especially since when you use your Flying Blue Miles to book a flight with Air France-KLM, the first piece of luggage is included (which is no longer the case for the basic fare with most transatlantic airlines).
The primary method of earning Flying Blue miles in Canada is through American Express Membership Rewards cards. You can transfer your Membership Rewards into Flying Blue Miles at a ratio of 1,000 Membership Rewards points = 750 Flying Blue Miles.
Here are the Membership Rewards cards from American Express with great offers right now:
So, with a credit card like the American Express Cobalt® Card, you can earn the equivalent of up to 3.75 Flying Blue Miles per dollar of purchases:
There are many other American Express Membership Rewards credit cards from which you can convert your points to Flying Blue Miles.
The second method of earning Flying Blue miles in Canada is through Marriott Bonvoy Amex credit cards. You can transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points into airline miles including Flying Blue Miles at the ratio of 3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 Mile.
And if you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you’ll earn 5,000 bonus Miles. Thus, 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 25,000 Flying Blue Miles.
The two Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards available in Canada are:
This Flying Blue Family account feature offering a 25% discount for children aged 2 to 11 is a real sweetspot, especially in combination with the low fares offered by Air France KLM on transatlantic flights in economy class.
Families – and we are thinking of all French expatriates – now have a choice program to cross the Atlantic at a lower cost!
If you are a member aged 18 or over, you can create your Flying Blue Family through ‘My profile’ on the Air France or KLM website. There, you can invite other members to join your Flying Blue Family. A Flying Blue Family can consist of eight people maximum; one extra adult and six children. The member who creates the Flying Blue Family will become the Family’s leader.
You can join a Flying Blue Family as soon as you receive an invitation from a Flying Blue Family leader. Once you accept the invitation, you become a member of the Flying Blue Family. You can only join one Flying Blue Family at a time, and you will be part of a Flying Blue Family for a minimum of six months.
The Flying Blue Family leader is the only person who can transfer Miles from the Flying Blue Family members’ accounts. The Flying Blue Family leader can transfer Miles partially or in full. After each transfer, all Flying Blue Family Miles will be valid for two years. Miles transfers are final, and you will be notified by email if your Miles have been transferred.
Savings are here:
