Award Success: Flying Blue Intra Asia Awards

by Goffe de Boer1

Flying Blue, the frequent flyer program of Air France-KLM is mainly known for the monthly Promo Rewards. Apart from these reward sales, the program also has some bright spots when it comes to redeeming miles. That’s why in this article, I will explain how to book business class award flights within Asia for a small amount of miles.

2 long haul flights in business class for 29,000 miles

Historically Flying Blue was using award regions. A one way business class award within Asia Zone 2 was priced 25,000 miles, whether you’re leaving the zone during your itinerary or not. This way, I booked several Flying Blue awards with a maximum of 3 segments for just 25,000 miles.

luxurious travel, china airlines, business class, seat 15K, review
China Airlines A350 Business Class.

That’s an incredible value, especially when you know that a one way business class award from Jakarta to Seoul was priced 50,000 miles, and nowadays even 57,5000 miles! The surcharges were also extremely reasonable.

Intra-Asia Awards, Flying Blue

Back in 2018, Flying Blue made some major changes in the program. They changed from a zone based redemption table to a more variable award pricing model. However, when searching for award flights, I noticed that the number of miles required for an award ticket within a zone was somehow the same. A Vietnam Airlines flight in business class from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore requires now just 23,000 miles.

Flying Blue, Intra-Asia Award 1

I also noticed that one way business class awards within the former zone Asia 2 with a transit through former zone Asia 1 are now priced 29,000 miles which is still a great value. So you can book a one way award from Hanoi to Denpasar via Osaka, for example. 2 long haul flights in business class for just 29,000 is definitely a sweet spot!

Flying Blue, Intra-Asia Award 4

Rules for booking these sweet spots

You can book these business class awards for 29,000 miles either online or on the phone. There is no additional cost if you book through the Flying Blue call center and you can make a change for € 45,- (about $ 40 USD). You can book these awards from and to the following countries. Hong Kong also was this list too but apparently Flying Blue has made a change.

  • Cambodja
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Malaysia
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam
garuda indonesia, business class, review, boeing 777
Garuda Indonesia Boeing 777 Business Class.

You can travel on the following airlines. Note that apart from SkyTeam partners, Flying Blue also partners with Malaysia Airlines And Japan Airlines. You can book the following airlines online.

  • China Airlines
  • China Eastern
  • Garuda Indonesia
  • China Southern Airlines
  • Japan Airlines
  • KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
  • Korean Air
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Shanghai Airlines
  • Vietnam Airlines
  • Xiamen Airlines

These awards can be booked directly online. I would recommend to use the Air France website to search for award space. This way you directly see the type of aircraft as well as the airport you’re transiting through. I have tried several itineraries and noticed that the best flights can be found between Indonesia and Vietnam with a transfer in Japan, South-Korea or China.

Layover Sightseeing

Leaving the airport for some layover sightseeing between your flights? No Problem! Flying Blue doesn’t allow stopovers on one way awards anymore but layovers are fine. While your departure and arrival point will be in 2 of the countries that I mentioned above, you will transit through either Japan, China, South Korea or Taiwan. I will add more articles in the layover sightseeing guide on this blog soon so stay tuned!

Tokyo, Asakusa
The Asakusa temple complex is one of my favorite places in Tokyo during a layover.

This means that you can build in a layover of maximum 24 hours in one of these countries, in Tokyo for example. If you see award space on a flight but you cannot book it online, you have to call Flying Blue to book your award flights for you.

Flying Blue, Intra-Asia Award 3

Transiting through Mainland China

These intra-Asia awards are perfect for a layover in China. Note that you don’t need a visa to leave the airport as long as you stay in the province during your layover. I already wrote how to visit China on a free transit visa. While Beijing is a bit more difficult to leave the airport, Shanghai works fine with its fast Maglev train!

Flying Blue, Intra-Asia Award 7

My experience with Flying Blue intra-Asia awards

As I mentioned above, I have booked several intra-Asia awards with Flying Blue miles. You can check my reviews for some of the flights I took:

Earning Flying Blue Miles

There are many different ways to earn Flying Blue miles like air travel, credit cards, the Flying Blue Shopping Portal, Hertz car rental and by booking hotel stays through Pointshound.

American Express, Creditcard, Flying Blue, KLM, Miles Sparen

Conclusion

Apart from the monthly Promo Rewards, Flying Blue also has some nice sweet spots in Asia. Although you cannot book a maximum of 3 segments on one award anymore, 2 business class long haul flights for just 29,000 miles is still a great deal. Here some positive points about these awards:

  • SkyTeam has some great business class products in Asia
  • Malaysia Airlines and Japan Airlines can now also be booked online using Flying Blue miles.
  • You can build in a layover
  • The surcharges are reasonable.

What do you think of booking intra-Asia awards with Flying Blue miles? Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments below!

Goffe de Boer

Goffe is the founder and owner of uponboarding.com. He found his passion for travel at a young age and can proudly say that he has explored 85 countries so far. He now shares his knowledge and stories here at uponboarding.com!

View all posts by Goffe de Boer →

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One thought on “Award Success: Flying Blue Intra Asia Awards”

  1. I did several searches between the countries you listed above, but 9 out of 10 the flights are operated by Malaysia Airlines via KUL.

    Reply

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