Transfer bonuses are a great way to get even more value for your credit card points when you transfer them to an airline partner. And now it's Citi's turn to give you some extra miles when transferring Citi ThankYou points from cards like the Citi Premier® Card to Air France and KLM's Flying Blue program.
Citi recently rolled out a new 25% bonus on transfers to Air France/KLM Flying Blue, a great mileage program to get from the U.S. to Europe using fewer points. It runs through June 17, so you've got just over a month to make use of this bonus.
Not sure where to start? Read our guide on Citi transfer partners and how it works!
Air Franc/KLM doesn't top the list of our favorite Citi transfer partners, but transferring these points is almost always the best way to use Citi ThankYou points for even more value – especially when there's a bonus like this one. In fact, transfer bonuses to Air France have become fairly routine: Amex has an identical 25% bonus running through May 22 while another one from Chase just ended.
Transfer bonuses like these are always worth your attention – think of it as an easy way to get some free airline miles. But no matter how appealing a 25% bonus might be, you should never transfer credit card points willy nilly. This is a one-way street: Once you send your credit card points to an airline account, you can't get them back. That means you'll want to have a purpose for these points before you send them to Air France or any one of Citi's other travel partners.
Fortunately, there are some great ways to put this bonus to use…
Best Ways to Use This Bonus
We'll never turn down some free Flying Blue miles.
This is the combined mileage program for Air France and KLM, and it's one of the best ways to book flights with SkyTeam airlines including Delta, Korean Air, and Air France or KLM, of course.
Fly Air France or KLM to Europe
With low rates and fairly solid availability to actually book these flights with your miles, this is one of the best ways to book business class to Europe.
Whether you want to get to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), or connect almost anywhere flying business class to Europe, Flying Blue charges just 55,000 to 58,000 miles each way. With this transfer bonus, you’d need as low as just 44,000 Citi points to make it happen.
You can also book economy awards to Europe using Air France and KLM miles – including one-way trips from several U.S. cities for less than 20,000 miles. But Flying Blue also passes on some hefty cash surcharges on award tickets that make it less appealing for economy prices, while it can easily be worth paying $200 or so for a one-way business class ticket for Europe.
Finding flights at these low rates may require some flexibility, as you won't find them on every single date. Luckily, Air France and KLM allow you to easily scroll through up to a month's worth of flights to find the best deals. Flying Blue typically tacks on about $200 for a one-way business class award to Europe – and about $380 or more for the way back. That's a small price to pay for $6,000-plus flights.
It’s a great ride across the Atlantic Ocean whether you’re flying with Air France or KLM.
Read our full Air France business class review!
Occasionally, though, the deals get even better.
Book Discounted Promo Rewards
Every month, Flying Blue unleashes a set of discounted routes it calls Promo Rewards. And the airlines' latest monthly promo is a doozy, offering deeply discounted economy, premium economy, and business class rates to Europe from a handful of U.S. cities.
Just beware: You'll have to act fast, as availability at these rates is flying fast (or has already disappeared) – especially if you want to fly business class. But even in economy, the deals are amazing: With fares as low as 11,250 miles each way, it could easily be worth paying $100 or so in taxes and fees to pull off a trip to Europe this summer or fall.
For travel through October 2023, you can book:
Economy to Europe
- Boston (BOS) starting at 11,250 Flying Blue Miles
- Chicago (ORD) starting at 12,750 Flying Blue Miles
- Washington, D.C. – Dulles (IAD) starting at 12,750 Flying Blue Miles
- Miami (MIA) starting at 12,750 Flying Blue Miles
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) starting at 15,000 Flying Blue Miles
- Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) starting at 15,000 Flying Blue Miles
- Atlanta (ATL) starting at 15,750 Miles Flying Blue Miles
- Austin (AUS) starting at 18,375 Flying Blue Miles
- Los Angeles (LAX) starting at 20,250 Flying Blue Miles
Premium Economy to Europe
- Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) starting at 30,000 Flying Blue Miles
- Washington, D.C. – Dulles starting at 22,500 Flying Blue Miles
- Newark (EWR) starting at 22,500 Flying Blue Miles
Business Class to Europe
- Newark (EWR) to Paris (CDG) starting at 41,250 Flying Blue Miles
- Houston-Intercontinental (IAH) starting at 48,750 Flying Blue Miles
- Washington, D.C. – Dulles (IAD) starting at 52,500 Flying Blue Miles
- Atlanta (ATL) starting at 52,500 Flying Blue Miles
- Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) starting at 52,500 Flying Blue Miles
No matter which route or cabin you choose, this 25% bonus just makes these flights even cheaper.
Fly to Taipei in Business Class
One of the best ways to get to Taiwan – or connect elsewhere in Southeast Asia – is in China Airlines' spiffy business class seats. And using Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles is the best way to make it happen.
Whether you fly from San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), or all the way from New York City (JFK), you can get to Taipei (TPE) for just 87,500 Flying Blue miles.
Factor in this 25% transfer bonus, and you'll need to transfer just 70,000 Citi points. Not bad for a 15-plus hour flight in seats like these, right?
Bottom Line
Transfer bonuses like this one are great – it means you need fewer points to book your next getaway. And a 25% bonus when transferring Citi points to Air France/KLM Flying Blue is a great one.
Just make sure you have a plan to take advantage of this bonus before transferring your points. Then transfer those points before this bonus ends in a month on June 17.