I've accumulated quite a few miles with my Air France card over the past few years, and I'm wondering how to convert them for an actual free flight. Do I need to wait for a special promotion or can I use them anytime? Are there any pitfalls I should know about?
The most important thing: don't wait for a promo to use your miles, because point fares stay pretty much stable all year round with Air France. You go on the site, you go to the "Book with Miles" section (in your Flying Blue account), you enter your destination and you see directly how much it costs. It works 24/7, no need to wait for a special date. The classic trap everyone falls into is thinking you need exceptional promos for it to be worth it, so they keep their miles waiting... and yeah, they never end up using them.
Free flights vary depending on distance. A short-haul like Paris-London costs around 25,000 miles in low season, more expensive in peak season. A long-haul is easily double or more. Heads up: there are administrative fees on top (airport taxes, fuel surcharge, it's not huge but it's never zero). You also need to check that your miles aren't expiring - they have an expiry date if you don't use them within 36 months of your last account activity.
Last thing: miles don't always combine with discounts, so a flight that's already cheap in euros won't necessarily be worth it in miles. Play around with the search engine, compare the two pricing options (euros vs miles) on several routes before you decide. And honestly, intercontinental flights in miles - that's where you actually save compared to the regular price.
Points-based fares do stay stable, that's true, but watch out for the big catch: Air France charges booking fees and airport taxes even on free flights, so you're still gonna end up paying about 50-100 bucks depending on where you're going. It's less than a paid flight obviously, but it's good to know before you burn through all your miles. Also, miles have an expiration date (like 3-4 years of inactivity), so you're not in a huge rush or anything, but don't sit on them too long if you want to use them.
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