irishguy28

No.

It only makes sense if you actually need the miles, meaning that you are sitting there with a ticket that you want to buy, and the only thing preventing you from doing so is that you don't have enough miles to buy it.

Don't let the advertising "hype" mislead you - there is nearly always some kind of bonus (usually 50% or 75%) available on Flying Blue purchases. They want you to think exactly as you are - "this is a good time to buy miles, there's a bonus!" - but there nearly ALWAYS is some kind of offer.

And besides - don't you think that your Euro/Pound/Dollar is more liquid and convertible (can be spent anywhere, anytime, on anything you like - including on Skyteam flights but on anything else on sale anywhere in the world) than any corresponding amount of Flying Blue miles (which can only be spent where FB lets you, when FB lets you, and only on a small subset of some Skyteam-operated flights, and a few other things, which are charged at outrageous prices)? There is no point losing the flexibility and liquidity of your cash in order to acquire more of these inflexible and illiquid Flying Blue miles - unless you are in need of a small amount to allow you to book a ticket that you currently wish to buy. But now, you can reduce the number of miles you need to redeem by increasing the amount you pay in cash, so even this is less of a reason to find yourself wanting to buy miles.

coolblue21

It looks like it's possible to book an almost direct turnaround in BLL (arrive at 1400, dep 1835) and stay over at AMS instead. No need for entry to Denmark with this route.
Of course, also not recommended in the current situation.

Concerto

I am so glad that irishguy28 articulates so well what I was thinking about purchasing points, which is simply, don't.
Are there not other destinations, or city pairs, that could work well apart from Billund for an XP trip?

offvoice

most Norway and Swedish cities are at a higher price point, and hard to force a double layover anywhere else. LHR-Bergen can be priced at 620€ with double layover but you would have to be in LHR the night before.

That being said, CDG-LHR (if that’s where you are based) can be found at 285€. If you do it 3 times in a day (or over 3 weekends), that’s 750€ for 180 XP. Not as much of a good deal, but definitely “decent” at 4€/xp

That’s not gonna be a nice weekend but could work (considering no hotel to pay or anything)

Dania 1581

Very clear, irishguy28 You're right. Thanks

gkl

FCO-CDG-AMS-TRF return is EUR 313++ in AF O for 180 XP
works also from other places (looked at ATH, MXP), however Norway is also not known for it's open arms these days.

Concerto

Well, that's really good, I could be up for that. Is that bookable directly with AF, or do we have to go the OTA route? I ask, because apparently things didn't work too well with OTA booked tickets during Corona.

How is Italy these days for travel, international and internal? I genuinely don't have any idea, because news outlets seem to be focused elsewhere.

gkl

should be possible through AF, routings with 2 stops at CDG and AMS were offered on their website.
I was in Lombary which was one of the hardest hit areas in Europe 2 weeks ago and everything was fine. you need to wear masks in supermarkets and most/all (?) public indoor areas and desinfect your hands when you enter a restaurant, but there was a sense of a new normality and italian food was great.
I have the impression that the situation in Italy is much better than f.e. in Spain.

Concerto

That's really good to know. Of course, the reality is that it could change again, which makes one reluctant to commit to airline tickets at the moment. But if it works out, this could be good.

flying_blue_white_red

A very good news for all:
According to this thread from offvoice the 6 night stay requirement is now removed .

Overnight Layover in BLL

Concerto

So this could work then. It's a bit tricky, because it's changing all the time and it's hard to keep abreast of it all. Is Norway still imposing quarantine? And for that ticket which begins in Rome, there seems to be a sudden spike of Covid cases there in Rome.

AZ112

I suggest you to look here: https://reopen.europa.eu/it/map/NOR (link in italian, as I suppose that you're italian too)
It seems like some countries still have quaratine of 10 days but italy at the moment have not, as reported here: https://www.fhi.no/en/op/novel-coron...w-transmission

Concerto

No, I'm British actually. But that's totally ok, thanks very much for the links.
At the moment it doesn't look good. Even though arrivals in Norway from Italy appear to not be subject to mandatory quarantine, the flight routing on this offer will involve changes in CDG and AMS, both in countries that will trigger a quarantine on arrival in Norway.

Obviously, I was thinking of trying to use the EUR313 offer from Rome to TRF. But maybe I should try and get something to the UK, where I will actually need to go anyway sooner than later.

mlin32

My recent trip to the US netted 120 XP .

Surprisingly, I got 2 x 30 XP for the return ATL AMS leg in J operated by DL (AF marketed codeshare), although my very original booking was with AF in PE which I had to change due to the testing requirement for France.

canadavid

then it is not surprising as all AF-coded are eligible for double xp whatever the operating carrier.
on the other end, I have a trip scheduled in October which is DL-coded and AF-operated (earns more miles (very cheap business I class) but not double xp)