Flying Blue Stopover: How to Add a Free Stopover on Award Tickets

Flying Blue Stopover at a Glance

• A Flying Blue Stopover lets you spend at least 24 hours in a connecting city on an eligible reward ticket.
• Flying Blue describes the stopover as complimentary, so an eligible itinerary can include the longer stop without an additional mileage charge for the stop itself.
• Stopovers can involve flights operated by Air France, KLM, or eligible Flying Blue airline partners.
• You currently need to contact Flying Blue customer service to arrange the stopover.
• Search award availability for every flight before calling.
• Taxes and carrier surcharges can still change even when the stopover does not require additional miles.
• Flying Blue reward tickets can be paid with Miles or eligible Cash & Miles combinations.

A normal connection gets you from one flight to another. A Flying Blue Stopover can turn that connection into part of the holiday. Instead of spending two hours at Paris Charles de Gaulle before continuing to your final destination, you could spend several days in Paris and then continue the journey on the same eligible reward itinerary.

Flying Blue officially allows complimentary stopovers of 24 hours or longer on qualifying reward tickets.

The benefit sounds simple, but the booking process requires more preparation than an ordinary Flying Blue award. You need to find award seats first, check that the routing makes sense, then contact Flying Blue to price and issue the complete itinerary. Here is how to do it.

What Is a Flying Blue Stopover?

A stopover is an extended connection between two flights. For the Flying Blue Stopover, the break must be at least 24 hours. Flying Blue says eligible stopovers can be included during a connection between flights operated by Air France, KLM, or its airline partners.

Consider this itinerary:

• New York to Paris to Rome

Without a stopover, you might spend two hours in Paris before continuing to Rome.

With a stopover, you could instead fly:

• New York to Paris, stay three days, then Paris to Rome

You get time to visit Paris while still continuing toward Rome as part of the eligible reward itinerary. This differs from simply booking two unrelated award tickets.

Flightpoints has a broader guide explaining how stopovers work on award tickets. That guide covers the general rules across loyalty programs. Here, the focus is specifically on using Flying Blue’s benefit correctly.

Is a Flying Blue Stopover Really Free?

Flying Blue calls the stopover complimentary. That means the stop itself does not necessarily require a second award simply because you stay in the connecting city for more than 24 hours.

However, “free” does not mean your total booking has no cash cost. Flying Blue reward tickets remain subject to airport taxes, security taxes, carrier surcharges, and other applicable charges. Those costs are paid separately from the mileage requirement.

Adding another flight or changing where taxes are assessed can therefore change the cash amount. This is why you should compare the complete itinerary rather than looking only at miles.

Before confirming, enter the award price and cash charges into the Flightpoints Points Value Calculator. It can help you see whether the total redemption still gives you good value.

Where Can You Add a Flying Blue Stopover?

Paris and Amsterdam are the most obvious possibilities because they are the major hubs of Air France and KLM.

For example:

• New York to Paris to Rome
• Toronto to Amsterdam to Copenhagen
• Dubai to Paris to Montreal
• Chicago to Amsterdam to Barcelona

But the benefit is not officially limited only to Paris and Amsterdam. Flying Blue states that eligible stopovers can occur during connections involving Air France, KLM, or Flying Blue airline partners.

That opens the possibility of partner-airline stopovers as well. The important word is eligible. Finding two separate award seats does not automatically guarantee that Flying Blue will combine them into one stopover itinerary at the mileage price you expect.

You should have Flying Blue price the complete trip before moving any transferable points.

How to Find a Flying Blue Stopover

The easiest approach is to search the itinerary in two parts.

Suppose you want:

Los Angeles to Paris, four-day stopover, then Paris to Dubai

Search:

1. Los Angeles to Paris on the date you want to leave.
2. Paris to Dubai four days later.

You need suitable award availability on both flights.

Write down:

• Dates
• Flight numbers
• Operating airlines
• Cabins
• Departure and arrival airports
• Mileage prices you see
• Taxes and fees

Do not expect the online booking engine to automatically turn those two flights into a complimentary stopover. Flying Blue’s current guidance directs members to contact customer service to arrange a stopover.

Before calling, use Flightpoints to check live award availability across Flying Blue and other supported loyalty programs. This is especially useful when you are trying to line up two premium-cabin flights on different dates.

How to Book a Flying Blue Stopover

Once you have found both flights, log in to your Flying Blue account and contact Flying Blue customer service. Flying Blue specifically tells members to use the number shown under its Contact Us section to arrange complimentary stopovers.

When you reach an agent, make the request clear. Say that you want to book a Flying Blue reward ticket with a stopover, then give the flights one at a time.

For example:

Flight 1: Los Angeles to Paris, Air France, October 5, business class.

Stopover: Paris from October 6 to October 10.

Flight 2: Paris to Dubai, Air France, October 10, business class.

Then ask the agent to confirm:

• Total Flying Blue miles
• Taxes
• Carrier surcharges
• Cabin on each segment
• Fare type
• Change conditions
• Cancellation conditions

Do not complete the ticket until the entire itinerary has been priced. If the first agent cannot see the routing you found, double-check the award seats before assuming the itinerary is impossible.

Search Each Segment Before Calling

Calling Flying Blue without knowing which flights are available makes the process much harder. Award availability can disappear quickly, particularly in business class. Search each segment before calling and keep backup dates ready.

A useful preparation table might look like this:

If your preferred second flight disappears while you are speaking with the agent, you can immediately give them the backup. Flightpoints’ Flying Blue Award Availability guide explains how to search reward seats and why available cash tickets do not necessarily mean award inventory exists.

What Changed for Flying Blue Reward Tickets in 2026?

There is an important change to keep in mind. From September 8, 2026, Flying Blue introduced three reward fare options for flights operated and marketed by Air France and KLM:

• Light
• Standard
• Flex

Flying Blue says the different fares come with different inclusions and mileage prices. This matters when booking a Flying Blue Stopover because the underlying reward-ticket conditions still apply.

Flying Blue specifically states that adding a stopover does not replace the normal change and refund rules attached to your reward ticket. So do not focus only on getting the lowest mileage requirement. If your plans may change, compare the conditions of the available reward fares before booking.

A slightly higher mileage price can sometimes make sense when it provides flexibility you genuinely need.

Can You Use Cash & Miles With a Stopover?

Yes. Flying Blue says trips that include an eligible stopover can be paid using Miles or Cash & Miles. Taxes and surcharges remain payable separately in an eligible currency. Cash & Miles can be useful if your Flying Blue balance is slightly short.

Flying Blue currently allows eligible reward tickets to have up to 25% of the mileage portion paid with cash. However, do not assume Cash & Miles gives better value. Compare the additional cash amount against simply transferring more points or buying the ticket another way. Use the Flightpoints Points or Cash Calculator before committing.

Can You Add a Stopover on Partner Awards?

Flying Blue’s official stopover guidance includes airline partners, not only Air France and KLM. This can make the benefit much more interesting.

For instance, you may find a Flying Blue partner award where the natural routing already connects through an airline hub. Turning that connection into a longer visit can give you another destination without automatically requiring a completely separate itinerary.

Partner awards can still have different pricing behavior from Air France and KLM flights. So treat partner stopovers as something to price individually. Search each segment first, then ask Flying Blue what the combined itinerary will cost before transferring points.

Can You Use a Flying Blue Promo Reward With a Stopover?

This is an area where you should be careful. Flying Blue Promo Rewards offer discounted reward pricing on selected routes. New offers are normally released monthly and are subject to availability. Flying Blue currently advertises discounts of up to 25%.

However, Flying Blue’s customer-service page says Promo Reward tickets are booked online. A stopover, on the other hand, is arranged through customer service. Because those booking processes do not line up neatly, do not assume that a Promo Reward price can automatically be preserved when adding a stopover.

Find the flights first, then ask Flying Blue whether the promotional pricing can be applied to the itinerary you want.

Compare the Stopover Against Two Separate Awards

A complimentary stopover sounds better than booking two tickets, but compare both options.

Suppose you want:

New York to Paris, then Paris to Rome

Check:

• Option A: One Flying Blue reward with a Paris stopover.
• Option B: New York to Paris as one award, then Paris to Rome as a separate award.

Why bother comparing?

Separate awards may give you more flexibility if you later need to change one portion of the trip. The combined stopover itinerary may save miles, but it may also have different fare or change conditions.

The best option depends on your dates and priorities. You can check broader Flying Blue redemption ideas in the Flightpoints Flying Blue Sweet Spots guide. It also covers when Flying Blue can provide strong value beyond a simple nonstop redemption.

Do Not Transfer Points Until Flying Blue Can Price the Trip

This is one of the most important rules. Flying Blue has several credit card transfer partners, which makes it relatively easy for many travelers to build a balance. But transferable points are most valuable while they are still flexible.

If you transfer points first and then discover Flying Blue cannot ticket your planned stopover at the expected price, you may be left with miles in a program you did not intend to use.

A better order is:

1. Search both flight segments.
2. Record the exact flights.
3. Contact Flying Blue.
4. Ask the agent to confirm the stopover pricing.
5. Confirm taxes and ticket rules.
6. Transfer points only when you are ready to complete the booking.

Use Flightpoints to search availability before making the transfer. That gives you a clearer picture of whether another loyalty program might also offer a better way to book the same trip.

Conclusion

A Flying Blue Stopover can turn an ordinary connecting award into a much more interesting trip. Instead of rushing through Paris, Amsterdam, or another eligible connection point, you can spend at least 24 hours there before continuing to your final destination.

Flying Blue describes the stopover as complimentary on eligible reward itineraries, including qualifying Air France, KLM, and partner flights. The main limitation is booking.

You currently need to contact Flying Blue customer service, so the best strategy is to do your searching first. Find award seats for every segment, save the flight numbers, prepare backups, and ask the agent to price the whole itinerary before transferring points.

Start your search on Flightpoints, compare the complete mileage and cash cost, then use the Points Value Calculator to decide whether the stopover gives you better value than booking the flights separately. A free stopover is most valuable when it adds a city you genuinely want to visit without making the rest of your award unnecessarily expensive or complicated.

FAQs

Q. Is a Flying Blue Stopover free?
A: Flying Blue describes eligible stopovers as complimentary. The stopover itself may not require additional miles, but taxes and carrier surcharges can still apply or change.

Q. How long does a Flying Blue Stopover need to be?
A: Flying Blue states that a complimentary stopover must last at least 24 hours.

Q. Can I book a Flying Blue Stopover online?
A: Flying Blue currently directs members to contact customer service to arrange the stopover. Search your desired award flights online first, then call with the exact flight details.

Q. Can I stop in Amsterdam or Paris on a Flying Blue award?
A: Yes, eligible connecting itineraries can include stopovers, making Paris and Amsterdam natural options for Air France and KLM awards. Availability and ticket pricing still need to be confirmed.

Q. Can Flying Blue partner awards include stopovers?
A: Yes. Flying Blue’s official guidance says stopovers can be included during eligible connections between flights operated by Air France, KLM, or airline partners.

Q. Should I transfer credit card points before calling Flying Blue?
A: It is safer to confirm the flights and stopover pricing first. Award availability can change, and transferred points may not be reversible. Search the segments, have Flying Blue confirm the itinerary, then transfer when you are ready to ticket.