Flying Blue – the joint loyalty program of Air France and KLM – offers one of the best workarounds to fly Delta (and other SkyTeam partners) for fewer miles. But an unannounced Christmas Day price hike has soured some of our favorite sweet spots.
Short Delta flights got hit the hardest, seeing award rate increases of up to 100% overnight while longer Delta flights (think the U.S. to Hawaii, Caribbean, and even Europe or Asia) saw far milder increases. But the damage spread to other airlines, including some flights within Mexico operated by Aeromexico that have now doubled in price.
To be perfectly clear: This isn’t a total bloodbath. You still might save booking Delta through Flying Blue as compared to what the airline would charge you in SkyMiles – or, better yet, turn to Virgin Atlantic and book those same short Delta flights for even less now.
Still, devaluations like this are becoming increasingly common … and doing it around Christmas makes it sting even more. Air France and KLM hardly the first airlines to sneak negative changes over the holidays.
Over the Fourth of July this year, British Airways further axed any remaining value for using Avios to fly American and Alaska Airlines. And a few years back, Virgin Atlantic rang in the New Year by drastically raising rates to fly Delta One to far-flung destinations in Asia and Australia.
So what’s the damage like this time around?
Before this price hike, you could often book Delta’s shortest flights for 6,500 Flying Blue miles one way – and thanks to Flying Blue’s constantly shifting award rates, sometimes even less.
But those rock-bottom prices are now toast. Delta’s shortest routes like Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) now cost a minimum of 10,000 miles each way – a 54% increase overnight.
You’ll find that exact same pricing on other short routes, like these flights from Boston (BOS) to a pair of New York City airports.
This isn’t isolated to Delta, either. You’ll find the same price increase on other Flying Blue partners like Aeromexico.
Before these changes, this route from Mexico City (MEX) to Cancun (CUN) could often be booked for just 5,000 miles each way. Now, the lowest price you’ll see is 10,000 miles for the exact same flight.
But the good news is that longer routes like this nonstop flight between Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Fort Myers, Florida (RSW) were spared from the worst of these changes. Earlier this week, you could book this route for as few as 15,500 miles each way in economy.
Now, the cheapest price you’ll see is 16,000 miles for the some one-way flight. If it holds, that’s a very modest, 500-mile increase.
The same goes for these nearly six-hour flights down to a Caribbean hotspot like Aruba (AUA). Previously, you could book this roundtrip for 36,000 miles in economy. After this Christmas Day price hike, it’ll cost you 38,000 miles for the same roundtrip – 2,000 miles more than before. Meh.
What to Do Instead
So where does this all leave us? Right back with an old favorite!
Virgin Atlantic offers some of the best pricing on short Delta awards, second only to Flying Blue … or at least that used to be the case. Now, you’ll generally be better off using Virgin Atlantic to book most Delta flights under 1,000 miles. And since Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue both partner with all the major transferable credit card points programs, you probably already have a choice between the two.
Those same Delta flights between Minneapolis and Chicago – where Flying Blue is now charging 10,000 miles each way – can still be booked for just 7,500 Virgin Atlantic points.
Even some longer flights, like this one between Atlanta (ATL) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), are now a better deal through Virgin. After this recent price increase, Flying Blue is charging 13,000 miles for a one-way in economy.
Meanwhile with Virgin, you’ll only need 11,000 Flying Club points for the exact same Delta flight.
Comparing prices between the both Flying Blue and Virgin the next time you go to book your Delta flights could help you save a thousand points each way. If you’re able to take advantage of the regular transfer bonuses to either of these programs, the math could tilt even more in either direction.
Bottom Line
Air France and KLM’s Flying Blue loyalty program left travelers with an unwanted Christmas surprise: Higher partner award pricing.
Under the new pricing, short flights with SkyTeam partners like Delta now cost a minimum of 10,000 miles one way in economy. The good news is that longer flights escaped with just a slight hike, meaning there’s still plenty of value … at least for now.
