Updates:
-This recurring promotion is now valid for travel on Air France as well as KLM!
-New valid US and Canadian cities have been added.
-Currently, booking on KLM depends on the city as to when travel must take place, but ranges between now and 10/31/09 and travel on Air France must be completed by 07/31/09
Originally posted on 01/01/09:
Starwood AMEX Linky (Free for first year, Earn 10,000 Starpoints With First Purchase, and 30,000 more Starpoints with your first $15,000 in purchases) The US Mint should be able to help you there…
AMEX Gold Charge Card Linky (Free for first year, Earn 10,000 AMEX MR Bonus Points after you spend $500.) AMEX MR points transfer to Flying Blue miles at 1:1.
20,000 Starwood Starpoints transfer into 25,000 Flying Blue (Air France and KLM’s joint loyalty program) miles.
That is all you will need to have to get to Israel or any other “European” destination through 10/31/09!
S.B.S. previously made an excellent 8 page PDF examining every way of getting to Israel via Starpoints.
In that article he pointed ways of getting to Israel for 40,000 Starpoints or less (Via transferring Starpoints to JAL, British Airways, LAN, or Flying Blue)
Through 10/31/09 there is a promo award to/from many cities in North America and Europe Zones 1, 2, or 3.
The promo award cost between North America and “Europe” in flying blue miles is:
Coach: 12,500 miles one way, 25,000 miles round trip.
Business: 25,000 miles one-way, 50,000 miles round trip.
For travel on KLM tickets the valid dates vary by city, so check the promo award page for the details.
For travel on Air France tickets must be booked by 07/29/09, and travel must be completed by 07/31/09.
Valid North American cities for origin or destination on Air France:
-Philadelphia
-Washington D.C.
Valid North American cities for origin or destination on KLM:
-Atlanta
-Calgary
-Chicago
-Dallas
-Detroit
-Houston
-Los Angeles
-Montreal
-NYC/JFK
-S. Francisco
-Washington D.C.
This is how Flying Blue defines Europe:
Europe 1: Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, and Switzerland
Europe 2: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden
Europe 3: Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Libya, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Western Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia
As Flying Blue considers Israel to be part of Europe (zone 3), it qualifies as a valid origin or destination.
The promo awards can only be flown with KLM via Amsterdam or with Air France via Paris, they are not valid on Skyteam partners such as Continental or Delta (although nonstop travel to Israel on those carriers is allowed on the regular 40,000 Starpoints/50,000 Flying Blue miles award to Europe zone 3 in coach or 80,000 flying blue miles in business.)
Flying Blue Promo Awards Linky
Unfortunately, you cannot search online for mileage availability on Flying Blue unless you have the required miles in your account.
A stopover in Amsterdam or Paris is allowed and will make finding mileage availability easier.
The best bet for checking availability will be by calling Flying Blue at 1-800-375-8723
HT: SBS