Air France-KLM Flying Blue is a decent program as it has a large number of partners. However, now they have given us no notice of devaluation on partner awards. The mileage has increased by up to 100%. I recently updated the flying blue partners and the mileage needed for them, and this devaluation changes some of the awards.
Update: This has been corrected; check details here.
What is devalued?
- All flights within a country are devalued (few exceptions are there) and increased by 100%. Check the examples below.
- Some inter-country flights are also devalued, specifically within Asia (particularly to/from Kuala Lumpur) and within Europe.
- The minimum flying blue miles for a partner award for an economy award appears to be 10K miles and 20K for business class.
- There are exceptions, though; some routes in Indonesia still show old pricing.
- Some International routes have also increased, however, not significantly.
New:
Old:
New:
Old:
What has not devalued?
- Based on the specific routes checked, partner long-haul flights appear not to have been devalued. However, some have increased, but not significantly.
- However, it is still unknown whether long-haul flights will not be devalued.
Thoughts
- This is the third devaluation I have experienced this year. The first was Turkish Airlines, then United Miles, and now Flying Blue.
- Even though Air France-KLM have dynamic awards, their partner award is fixed.
- Someone who just bought flying miles or transferred them via credit card to use them for a partner award would find that the miles are not worth the same.
- Any changes to fixed awards should not be unannounced; at least, some notice period should be there. The Turkish airlines did well when they devalued earlier this year by giving a notice period. However, that was a much more brutal devaluation.
