Published: 9 September 2026
This page is part of our Flying Blue Hub which pulls together all our articles on the loyalty programme of Air France & KLM
Flying Blue Family: How to Pool & Transfer Miles
Flying Blue, the frequent flyer programme of Air France and KLM, allows families to combine their miles, potentially turning several small mileage balances into enough miles to book a reward flight.
A Flying Blue Family account can contain up to eight people – a maximum of two adults and six children. Everyone continues earning miles in their own Flying Blue account, but the designated Family Leader can transfer miles from the other members into their account, free of charge.
This can be particularly useful when some family members fly infrequently, miles are approaching expiry or you’re just short of the miles needed for a reward flight.
However, there are some important restrictions. Transfers are one-way, the Family Leader cannot be changed and, once transferred, the miles effectively belong to the leader. In this guide, we’ll explain how Flying Blue Family works, when it’s useful and the potential pitfalls to consider.
Quick Summary
| Maximum members | 8 |
| Adults | Maximum 2 |
| Children (under 18) | Maximum 6 |
| Family Leader | One adult |
| Cost to join | Free |
| Cost to transfer miles | Free |
| Direction of transfers | Members → Family Leader only |
| Automatic transfers |  |
| Transfer XP | |
| Reverse a transfer | |
| Minimum membership | 6 months |
| Miles after transfer | Valid for 24 months |
How Flying Blue Family works
- Each family member needs their own Flying Blue account.
- One adult creates the Flying Blue Family and becomes the Family Leader.
- The Family Leader invites up to seven other members.
- Once invitations are accepted, the leader can see each member’s mileage balance.
- The Family Leader can then manually transfer miles from individual members into their own account when required.
Miles are not automatically pooled. They remain in each person’s individual account until the Family Leader chooses to transfer them. Transfers are free, but they are one-way and cannot be reversed, so there is usually little reason to move miles until you actually need them.
Once someone joins a Flying Blue Family, they must remain part of that group for at least six months. Transferred miles receive a validity of 24 months from the date of transfer.
How to set up a Flying Blue Family account
- Visit flyingblue.com and log into your account
- Click on view my profile, it will take you to either the Air France or KLM website (it doesn’t matter which)
- Click Flying Blue Family on the left hand menu and then Create your Flying Blue Family
- Each member needs to be added individually and they will be sent an invitation over email which must be accepted before their account becomes part of the family
- Note that members can only be part of one Flying Blue Family and members must have been enrolled in the Flying Blue programme for at least 7 days before miles can be moved into the Family Leader’s account
Don’t transfer miles just because you can
Flying Blue Family isn’t a conventional household account where everyone’s miles automatically sit in one pot. The Family Leader can transfer miles when needed – and those transfers cannot be reversed.
In most cases, it therefore makes sense to leave miles in the individual accounts until you need them for a redemption, they’re approaching expiry, or there’s another specific reason to move them.
Other family related benefits with Flying Blue
Flying Blue isn’t just family-friendly because of Flying Blue Family. Members can also benefit from policies including:
25% off Flying Blue reward tickets for children aged 2–11 when travelling with an adult
Status extensions for parental leave
Miles belonging to members under 18 don’t expire
Is Flying Blue Family right for me?
Ideal when…
- Family members have small, otherwise unusable mileage balances
- The adult partner of the leader has miles about to expire
- Some family members fly Air France/KLM only occasionally
- You are saving collectively towards a family reward trip
- You need to top up an account in order to book a reward flight
Think carefully before transferring miles when…
- You don’t actually need the miles yet
- A child is approaching their 18th birthday
- The Family Leader may need to change in future
- You wouldn’t be comfortable permanently transferring ownership/control of the miles
- You may later want the miles returned to the original member
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do mileage transfers take?
The first transfer can take up to 72 hours to go through so be careful if you are wanting the miles for a reward flight. Subsequent transfers seem to be instantaneous, although Flying Blue does not commit to a timescale here so be cautious if you want to transfer miles to immediately book a reward flight.
Does Flying Blue Family cost anything?
There is no cost to join, and miles are free to transfer
Can I transfer Experience Points (XP) as well as miles?
No, only miles can be transferred. Each member collects their own XP for the purposes of gaining status in the Flying Blue scheme.
What happens if the Family Leader dies?
In the event that the Family Leader passes away, the account is dissolved and all the transferred miles are lost.
What happens when a child turns 18?
When children reach 18, they will automatically get removed from the Flying Blue Family if there are already two adults in the group. Therefore it is important that if you are considering a transfer, do this before the child’s 18th birthday.
Our Take
Flying Blue Family is one of the more useful features of the Flying Blue programme, particularly for households where one or two people fly regularly while everyone else only occasionally travels with Air France or KLM.
Instead of leaving small amounts of miles stranded across several accounts, the Family Leader can consolidate them when they’re actually needed. That could provide the final few thousand miles required for a reward flight without transferring American Express Membership Rewards or Revolut RevPoints – or paying to purchase additional Flying Blue miles.
It’s also potentially useful for adult members with miles approaching expiry, as transferred miles receive another 24 months of validity.
There are, however, good reasons not to transfer everything immediately. Transfers cannot be reversed and the Family Leader cannot subsequently be changed, so the decision over who becomes the leader deserves some thought.
Our approach would therefore be simple: set up Flying Blue Family, but leave everyone’s miles where they are until there’s a reason to move them. Transfer miles when you need them for a reward booking, when an adult’s miles are approaching expiry or, where relevant, before a child reaches 18 and their position within the family changes.
Used that way, Flying Blue Family is an excellent way of preventing small mileage balances from going to waste while making it considerably easier for a household to work towards useful reward flights.
