Case studies / Italy
Florence duomo, terracotta rooftops
Summer 2025 · Flying Blue economy, two travelers · 8 days
Italy IT
Two people to Florence on 20,000 Flying Blue miles each way, booked in a single sitting, with nothing clever about it at all.
- Points used
- 80,000 (two people)
- Cash paid
- ~$400
- Retail value
- ~$2,000
- Value per point
- 2.0¢
How it came together
Not every case study needs to be clever, and this one is here precisely because it isn't. Two people, Dallas to Florence via Paris, 20,000 Flying Blue miles per person each way and about $200 a head in fees. Air France–KLM runs monthly promo awards and prices transatlantic economy sensibly the rest of the time, which makes it the least stressful way to move two people across an ocean on points. We booked it in one sitting and then stopped thinking about it, which has a value of its own.
On the ground it stayed just as plain: a shared Airbnb instead of a hotel award, cash wherever cash was cheap, eight days spent on food and walking. The per-point value here is around two cents, the lowest of the four, and we'd book it again tomorrow. Flying Blue's transatlantic pricing is the dependable floor you fall back on in the months when the calendar refuses to cooperate.
The key move
Using Flying Blue for a straightforward transatlantic redemption at a strong flat rate, accepting a good number today rather than holding points for a great one that may never open.
What we'd repeat
- Watch Flying Blue's monthly promo awards; even off-promo, transatlantic economy prices well.
- Don't force a points hotel. The Airbnb was the better product at the better price, and burning an award night there would have cost us money.
The trip, in order
Day 1
DFW → CDG → FLR
One award, one connection
20,000 Flying Blue miles per person each way, about $100 in fees per leg, booked in a single sitting with no promo window to wait for.
Days 2–7
Tuscany
Airbnb over award night
A shared apartment beat every points hotel on both price and product. The savings stayed in the flights, where retail is punitive.
Day 8
Return
Same rate home
The return priced identically, which is the whole appeal of a flat-rate program when you just want the trip booked.
Case studies