Deal: Montreal-Europe flights for 20,000 points and ≈ $300 roundtrip

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The Flying Blue rewards program offers deals every month. In April, flights from Montreal to Europe on KLM are 50% off, which is only 7,500 Flying Blue points one-way, a ridiculously low price. Taxes/fees are a bit higher with Flying Blue, but when the number of points required is that low, it’s worth it!

You have to know how to count in the world of travel rewards, especially for taxes. I’ll be doing a post just on that very soon.

There aren’t often “deals” to speak of when it comes to travel rewards, because points usually have either a fixed value or a fixed price that is governed by a price chart.

But one notable exception is the “Promo Rewards” sale offered by the Flying Blue program.

Here are all the details, including how to take advantage of it if you don’t have the best points — which are not Flying Blue points — and important lessons (and about those best points and earning points in general).

Contents hide
Overview of the Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal
Details of the Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal
Destinations and dates for the Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal
Summary

 

Overview of the Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal

As with all of our content, we try to start with bullet point overviews for the basics but also to help you understand the relevant background stuff. All the details follow below.

 

Flying Blue deal basics

Here’s what you need to know about the Flying Blue deal:

  • Deal on Montreal-Europe flights
    • On KLM (but some on Air France too)
  • Various destinations (examples at the end of the post)
    • Cork, Ireland
    • Bordeaux, France
    • Paris, France
    • Nice, France
    • Prague, Czechia
    • Vienna, Austria
    • Berlin, Germany
    • Munich, Germany
    • London, United Kingdom
    • Budapest, Hungary
    • Rome, Italy
    • Warsaw, Poland
    • Surely plenty more
  • As part of the “Promo Rewards”
    • Monthly sale offered by the Flying Blue program
    • Rewards program from Air France and KLM (and others)
  • You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points
    • Different transfer rate compared to Aeroplan/Avios
    • 1 to 0.75 for Flying Blue (not 1 to 1)
  • You can also buy points and save up to $1000+ per person with a buddy
    • Depends on the flight’s cash price (like all redemptions with airline points)
    • You’ll save more if you’re traveling as a group of 3+
    • You’ll save a bit less if you’re traveling solo
    • Always less advantageous than credit cards of course

Here are the details of the flight prices with this Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale:

  • It’s 50% off the number of points required normally
    • The minimum prices on their price chart
  • One of the best possible prices for Europe with airline points
  • Tickets for 15,000 Flying Blue points roundtrip
    • That means 20,000 American Express points
    • Taxes/fees of approximately $300 roundtrip
    • So in total, the equivalent of paying ≈ $600
  • So 3 roundtrip flights to Europe for $352 each
    • Another way to look at it: with the best card in Canada
    • If you maxed out the American Express Cobalt Card‘s welcome bonus
    • You got 60,000 Amex points for $156 total
    • That’s enough points for 3 roundtrip flights to Europe with this deal
    • That’s $52 per roundtrip flight and $300 in taxes per roundtrip flight
    • Total price of just $352 per roundtrip!!!
  • Available for one-ways at half the price
    • Like almost all airline programs
    • Allows for a lot more possibilities
  • One free checked bag is included with Flying Blue
  • A discount is offered for children aged 2 to 11
    • 25% fewer points required
    • Always offered with Flying Blue (stackable with Promo Rewards)

Here are the logical details:

  • Limited dates as always of course
    • Reservation before April 30th
    • Flights before September 30th
  • Limited seats as always of course
    • As with ANY lucrative airline program
    • As with ANY airfare deal
  • Only searchable and bookable on the official websites
  • So we can not do what we do for deals with cash
    • We can’t provide direct turnkey links for each date
    • But there is a trick to see 30 days of dates at a time (below)
    • We have put some examples of dates for some destinations

Here’s how to take advantage of the deal step by step (IF you have Amex points):

  • Link your Flying Blue to your Amex account
  • Find availability for your desired flights
  • Compare to cash prices and calculate value
  • Transfer Amex points to Flying Blue
  • Book the flights with Flying Blue points 

Here’s how to take advantage of the deal step by step (IF you don’t have Amex points):

  • Create a Flying Blue account
  • Find availability for your desired flights
  • Compare to cash prices and calculate value
  • Buy Flying Blue points
  • Book the flights with Flying Blue points 
Promo Rewards sale (image credit: Flying Blue)

 

Basics of airline points

I’ll remind you the basis of the airlines points, as they aren’t as well-known. Many people sadly have always used just less lucrative points and absolutely terrible cash back.

Airline points:

  • Are by far the most lucrative for those who want to maximize
    • Maximizing point value means maximizing your free travel
  • Can give you unlimited value and outsized value
    • Means variable value that is independent of the cash price
    • The example by buying points below is great to understand
    • It’s the same principle and calculation if you get your points with cards
  • Can be used on many of the airline’s partner airlines
    • Not just the airlines that use these points

They’re more complicated obviously, but they’re more lucrative. Like anything in life, you can choose more simplicity OR more value!

 

Basics of the American Express Membership Rewards program

Since airline points are the best value, that means the best rewards program is… a bank points program.

Yes, the American Express Membership Rewards program is the best because Amex points can be transferred to 6 airline programs:

  • Aeroplan (Air Canada)
  • Avios (British Airways and more)
  • Flying Blue (Air France, KLM and more)
  • Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific)
  • Guest (Etihad)
  • SkyMiles (Delta)

Amex points can also be used in a few other ways:

  • Transferred to 2 hotel programs (less recommended)
  • With the Amex flight rewards price chart (good for flights that are very expensive in cash)
  • For any travel expense (highly unrecommended)

Many of the best credit cards in Canada are cards that earn Amex points.

Best credit cards for
Amex MR points
American Express® Gold Rewards Card
American Express Gold Rewards Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k/mo for 12 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
Best for: 72,000 pts
+ 4 lounge passes
and $100 travel credit
American Express Cobalt® Card
American Express Cobalt Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $750/mo for 12 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $156
Best for: 60,000 pts
+ 5X earn rate
no increased offer
Platinum Card® from American Express
Platinum Card from American Express
Card:
Bonus: spend $10k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $1600
Card fee: $799
Best for: 80,000 pts
+ unlimited lounges
and $200 travel credit
American Express® Green Card
American Express Green Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $165
Card fee: $0
Best for: 11,000 pts
+ no fees
but way less value
American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
Card: no business required
Bonus: spend $5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
limited time
Rewards: ≈ $1125
Card fee: $199
Best for: 75,000 pts
+ simpler
min. spend structure
American Express Business Edge™ Card
American Express Business Edge Card
Card: no business required
Bonus: spend $5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
limited time
Rewards: ≈ $750
Card fee: $99
Best for: 50,000 pts
+ 3X earn rate
no increased offer
Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Business Platinum Card from American Express
Card: no business required
Bonus: spend $15k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $1801
Card fee: $799
Best for: 98,750 pts
+ unlimited lounges
different min. spend
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.
Best credit cards for
Amex MR points		 WELCOME BONUS
( VALUATION)		 Best
for
American Express Gold Rewards Card
American Express® Gold Rewards Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k/mo for 12 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
72,000 pts
+ 4 lounge passes
and $100 travel credit
American Express Cobalt Card
American Express Cobalt® Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $750/mo for 12 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $156
60,000 pts
+ 5X earn rate
no increased offer
Platinum Card from American Express
Platinum Card® from American Express
Card:
Bonus: spend $10k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $1600
Card fee: $799
80,000 pts
+ unlimited lounges
and $200 travel credit
American Express Green Card
American Express® Green Card
Card:
Bonus: spend $1k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $165
Card fee: $0
11,000 pts
+ no fees
but way less value
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
Card: no business required
Bonus: spend $5k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $1125
Card fee: $199
75,000 pts
+ simpler
min. spend structure
limited time
American Express Business Edge Card
American Express Business Edge™ Card
Card: no business required
Bonus: spend $5k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $750
Card fee: $99
50,000 pts
+ 3X earn rate
no increased offer
limited time
Business Platinum Card from American Express
Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Card: no business required
Bonus: spend $15k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $1801
Card fee: $799
98,750 pts
+ unlimited lounges
different min. spend
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.

 

In short, the best way to maximize Amex points is almost always by transferring to Aeroplan (the best airline program and also the most versatile and easy among the best airline programs). We’ll have ultimate guides to both programs in May, with videos (but you can read an intro to the best redemptions in the meantime).

But these are points with a variable value so there are exceptions! It obviously depends on the cash price! And the cash prices for airfare obviously vary greatly!

One of the main exceptions that is worthwhile with Amex points that is not related to Aeroplan is when the Flying Blue program offers interesting “Promo Rewards”.

 

Basics of the Flying Blue program

The Flying Blue program is best known as the rewards program for 2 major European flag carriers:

  • Air France (France)
  • KLM (Netherlands)

But it’s also the rewards program for 4 other airlines:

  • Transavia (Netherlands and France)
  • Aircalin (New Caledonia)
  • Kenya Airways (Kenya)
  • TAROM (Romania)
Airlines that use Flying Blue (image credit: Flying Blue)

 

Air France, KLM, TAROM, and Kenya Airways are part of the SkyTeam airline alliance, which means you can also use your Flying Blue points on all SkyTeam member airlines (NOT just on those 6 airlines), but it’s not very relevant today for Promo Rewards.

The program isn’t always attractive because there are higher taxes/fees than with others. But depending on the price in cash and other variables, it can still be a good option sometimes.

Especially during Promo Rewards deals that give you 50% off the number of points (or even with the 25% discount sometimes offered).

 

Basics of earning points

Finally, I just want to reiterate that this great deal (that you can’t take advantage of at a low price if you don’t already have Amex points) reinforces the importance of 2 basic concepts about earning points:

  • The importance of getting ahead of the game to always have points ready
    • It’s a shame how people always wait too long
    • When it’s time to book a flight, they obviously don’t have enough points
    • It’s THE most common mistake in terms of earning — by far
    • It’s so easy to get lots of points, but you just have to get a head start
    • If you don’t already have Amex points, you’re missing out on this deal (or you pay more)
    • Every dollar you spend that doesn’t go towards a welcome bonus is wasted forever
  • The importance of always having American Express points specifically
    • For those who want to maximize, Amex points are a must-have
    • With so many options to use them, it gives you plenty of choices
    • The 7 cards above give you plenty
    • Your travel buddy can get all 7 too
    • Include them in your strategy

I want to take this opportunity to go back to another basic thing, because this deal illustrates that other important element. Last summer, the American Express Aeroplan Card and the American Express Gold Rewards Card had almost the same welcome bonus in points and therefore in net value.

The points from the Amex Gold Rewards Card (Amex points) could do everything the Aeroplan Amex Card points could do, but ALSO gave you more flexibility since the points could be transferred to other programs as well. Plus you get 4 free passes to a few Canadian airport lounges per calendar year (so 8 in the first year with the card).

But so many people were so afraid of the theoretical $250 fee of the Amex Gold Rewards Card even though we kept explaining that the card gives you a $100 credit that can easily be cashed out on day 1 and therefore brings the fee down to a net of $150, pretty standard for a good card and not much higher than the Aeroplan Amex Card.

Choosing the Amex Gold Rewards Card instead of the Aeroplan Amex card at this time would have allowed you to take advantage of this deal. That’s okay, there will be other good deals on the card and on flights. But it’s just a reminder of the importance of doing the math right and not overreacting when you see a number (or when you see anything else). Take the time to calmly check the details; it’s not $250, it’s $150 (just barely more than the other’s $120).

Because for an extra $30, at the time we were really recommending the one that gave the most options… but we know that many more people chose the other one because they were scared of the $250 number. It’s always the net value that counts, that’s the most basic thing.

 

Details of the Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal

Here is more information.

Contents hide
Example of prices with the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale
Dates of the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale
Transferring points from Amex to Flying Blue
Buying Flying Blue points
Having more options with the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale
Pro tip to search with Flying Blue

 

Example of prices with the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale

Below I show you examples of destinations and dates (and the tip to see them), but I want to start by telling you how crazy transatlantic flights for only 15,000 Flying Blue points roundtrip are! It’s amazing.

Example of Montreal-Paris flights (image credit: Flying Blue)

 

Even though that’s 20,000 American Express points because of the lower transfer rate, for those same flights, you need 70,000 Aeroplan points — so 70,000 Amex points — with less taxes and fees though (transatlantic flights aren’t really one of the good uses of Aeroplan points, except in business class of course).

Or you need 50,000 Avios points — so 50,000 Amex points — as explained in the article about this last minute opportunity that’s no longer there (and Avios points work just for London specifically at that price, otherwise it’s even more points).

 

Dates of the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale

As always (and the same as the deals we spot for cash fares), the deal is NOW but obviously the available dates can be much further away.

In this case, the promo is valid until September 30th. But you have to book before April 30.

 

Transferring points from Amex to Flying Blue

Hurry up and link your Flying Blue account to your Amex account to transfer your points. 

It’s easy to do online, you can follow the step-by-step process to transfer American Express points to partners.

 

Buying Flying Blue points

If you don’t have Amex points, you can buy Flying Blue points to take advantage of this deal for transatlantic flights for just 15,000 points roundtrip.

(We don’t usually recommend buying points, because it’s so easy to get plenty with credit card welcome bonuses for infinitely less. We explained the basics of buying points during the last promotion to buy Aeroplan points if you want more details, including which card to use to buy points!)

It all depends on the cash price of the flights!

In short, for those who don’t plan ahead (or can’t get credit cards) AND will use the points well, it may be worth it. 

Especially with this deal from the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale stacked with the sale to buy Flying Blue points too.

Right now, there happens to be a promotion to buy Flying Blue points with a bonus of 50%, 70%, or 100% depending on how many you buy. Let’s assume you are traveling with 1 buddy, so you’d hit the 70% bonus.

So it costs US$631 (C$860) to buy 30,000 points (in certain provinces it will be a bit lower due to the government’s stupid taxes on buying points), or C$430 per person.

With the C$326 in taxes for a 15,000 point roundtrip flight from Montreal to Prague for example, it would cost C$756 in total per person.

If you compare that to the cash price for the exact same flights available for 15,000 points, it is C$1700! You’re saving close to $1000 per person (over 50%)!!!

Cash price of a Promo Rewards flight (image credit: KLM)

 

Of course it’s worth buying points if you were going to pay C$1700! Very basic math: either it costs you C$1700 or C$756. Tough choice…

But the cash price for some other flights in this deal is lower. Sometimes a lot lower. So then it’s not as great a deal.

These are airline points, so the most important thing to understand is that THEIR VALUE DEPENDS ON THE CASH PRICE. Always. It’s that simple. 

On the other hand, consider that for the same dates, you could also fly another airline that is cheaper (whether it’s on 1 ticket or with the self-transfer tip).

So compare the cost of buying points with the price you were REALLY going to pay for that flight (not just the price of that exact flight). It’s really that easy.

And if you are traveling as a group of 3 or more, you hit the 100% bonus when you buy Flying Blue points so then it’s an even cheaper price (C$383 for 15,000 points)!

 

Having more options with the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale

If you want more options of flights at lower prices, it’s the same as with cash tickets: consider buying tickets separately.

For example, your preferred return date might not be available from one city, but it could be available from another. Why not visit 2 European destinations during the same trip?

You can buy a one-way to Budapest for example, and buy a one-way return from Berlin. You can easily buy a cheap one-way ticket to travel between those 2 cities, as flights in Europe are rarely more than $100 when by booking in advance (sometimes trains are even cheaper and can be interesting for short routes).

To stay with that same example, Budapest-Berlin is just $54. And being open to this obviously gives you way more date options for this Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale, because being flexible is always the key (whether it’s with points or with cash). Plus you get to visit 2 cities! Talk about a win-win!

Examples of cheap flights between European cities (image credit: Kiwi)

 

Pro tip to search with Flying Blue

Having a calendar view is always great for locating the cheapest dates, but the KLM site doesn’t offer you to show that anywhere. But there’s a pro tip to see it.

You have to fill in the fields in your search EXCEPT for the date. If you don’t put a date, it will automatically show you the calendar view for the whole month!

KLM website (image credit: KLM)

 

As it’s almost always the case, it’s more efficient to search one-way to find the cheapest dates.

We’ll show you a few examples.

 

Destinations and dates for the Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal

Here are some of the destinations we found at the deal price (and the site where to book it, either KLM or Air France). There are certainly more destinations available too.

Contents hide
Cork, Ireland on KLM (15,000 points + $300.95 roundtrip)
Bordeaux, France on KLM (15,000 points + $307.05 roundtrip)
Prague, Czechia on KLM (15,000 points + $326.43 roundtrip)
Bordeaux, France on Air France (15,000 points + $310.61 roundtrip)
Nice, France on Air France (15,000 points + $319.41 roundtrip)
Vienna, Austria on KLM (15,000 points + $342.65 roundtrip)
Nice, France on KLM (15,000 points + $332.45 roundtrip)
Berlin, Germany on KLM (15,000 points + $375.85 roundtrip)
Munich, Germany on KLM (15,000 + $405.25 roundtrip)
London, United Kingdom on KLM (15,000 points + $487.85 roundtrip)
Budapest, Hungary on KLM (7,500 points + $165.95 ONE-WAY)
Warsaw, Poland on KLM (7,500 points + $165.95 ONE-WAY)
Rome, Italy on KLM (8,250 points + $163.95 ONE-WAY)

 

Cork, Ireland on KLM (15,000 points + $300.95 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Cork
May (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Cork – Montréal
September (image credit: KLM)

 

Bordeaux, France on KLM (15,000 points + $307.05 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Bordeaux
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Bordeaux – Montréal
June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

Prague, Czechia on KLM (15,000 points + $326.43 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Prague
May (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Prague – Montréal
September (image credit: KLM)

 

Bordeaux, France on Air France (15,000 points + $310.61 roundtrip) 

  • Montréal – Bordeaux
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

  

  • Bordeaux – Montréal
June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

Nice, France on Air France (15,000 points + $319.41 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Nice
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Nice – Montréal
September (image credit: KLM)

 

Vienna, Austria on KLM (15,000 points + $342.65 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Vienna
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Vienna – Montréal
September (image credit: KLM)

 

Nice, France on KLM (15,000 points + $332.45 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Nice
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Nice – Montréal
September (image credit: KLM)

 

Berlin, Germany on KLM (15,000 points + $375.85 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Berlin
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Berlin – Montréal
June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

Munich, Germany on KLM (15,000 + $405.25 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – Munich
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • Munich – Montréal
June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

London, United Kingdom on KLM (15,000 points + $487.85 roundtrip)

  • Montréal – London
May (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

  • London – Montréal
June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

Budapest, Hungary on KLM (7,500 points + $165.95 ONE-WAY)

  • Montréal – Budapest
May (image credit: KLM)

 

June (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

Warsaw, Poland on KLM (7,500 points + $165.95 ONE-WAY)

  • Montréal – Warsaw
September (image credit: KLM)

 

Rome, Italy on KLM (8,250 points + $163.95 ONE-WAY)

  • Montréal – Rome
May (image credit: KLM)

 

September (image credit: KLM)

 

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Summary

The Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale for the month of April 2023 includes a deal on Montreal-Europe flights, at 50% off in points. This gives you one of the lowest prices ever seen for transatlantic flights with airline points. Even with slightly higher taxes/fees, it’s worth it in many cases if you look at the total equation.

What would you like to know about the Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale? Tell us in the comments below.

 

See the deals we spot: Cheap flights

Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration

Learn pro tricks: Travel tips

Discover free travel: Travel rewards

 

Featured image: Nice, France (photo credit: Nick Page)

 

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Andrew D'Amours

Andrew is the co-founder of Flytrippers. He is passionate about traveling the world but also, as a former management consultant, about the travel industry itself. He shares his experiences to help you save money on travel. As a very cost-conscious traveler, he loves finding deals and getting free travel thanks to travel rewards points... to help him visit every country in the world (current count: 71/193 Countries, 47/50 US States & 9/10 Canadian Provinces).

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