Flying Blue Introduces New Family Pooling Option

Air France/KLM Flying Blue has announced the introduction of family pooling to its program. Families can now set up a family group to maximize the miles flown by every single family member. The new program allows 2 adults and up to 6 children to form a family group of up to 8 members.

Amsterdam, Netherlands – April 19, 2015: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France airplanes at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) in the Netherlands.

Flying Blue Family Account Overview

• A Flying Blue family account can have up to 8 members
• The account can have a maximum of 2 adults and 6 children.
• Anyone over 18 can set up a family account and become the “Flying Blue Family Leader.”
• Members can only be a member of one family group at a time.
• The family leader is responsible for maintaining the account and is the only one who can transfer miles.

How to Set Up a Flying Blue Family Account

To set up a Family account, log into your Flying Blue account. Browse to the Flying Blue Family page. Review the requirements and benefits. Then, click the “create your Flying Blue Family” button.

Next, you'll need to add the first name, last name, and Flying Blue number for each family member to send an invite to your family members to join your Family:

Leveraging Your Pooled Miles

Setting up a family account can be a great way to leverage every mile your family earns when taking a flight. This is especially true if you only fly together as a family once or twice a year. Typically all the miles earned by the children would be eventually lost since they do not fly enough to accumulate enough miles for a redemption.

Being able to pool all the family miles rapidly is a great option, especially if you want to take advantage of one of Flying Blue’s monthly Promo Rewards promotions. These typically offer discounts between 25% and 50% on awards. Often there are some great deals to be had — particularly on flights between Europe and North America. However, award space is limited with the promotion, so you need to be able to pool the miles and book your award quickly.

Boosting Your Flying Blue Mileage Balance

If you are still a few miles short of a redemption after pooling your family miles, you have plenty of options. Thankfully Air France/KLM Flying Blue is one of a handful of international carriers that is a transfer partner with almost every major credit card points currency out there. You can transfer all of the following credit card points to Flying Blue:

• American Express Membership Rewards (1:1, instant transfer)
• Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1, instant transfer) — with a 25% transfer bonus through May 15, 2022.
• Citi ThankYou points (1:1, instant transfer) — with a 25% transfer bonus through May 20, 2022.
• Capital One Miles (1:1, instant transfer)
• Marriott Bonvoy points (3:1, 1-3 day transfer time)

Our Take

The introduction of family pooling is welcome news to any program. Every time a loyalty program introduces a facility that allows you to make the most out of every single mile earned by you and your family, it is a bonus, and the program becomes more valuable and worth your loyalty.