Best Ways to Book Air France Premium Economy Class with Points and Miles

Air France, the national airline of France, has its hub at one of the busiest airports in Europe: Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG). So, if you’re flying across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to Europe, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be on an Air France-operated flight arriving in Paris. These long-haul flights often exceed 10 hours, depending on which city in the U.S. you’re departing from, which can be a grueling journey for even the most experienced traveler.

To make these long journeys a little more comfortable, you might consider flying in Air France’s premium-economy class. In fact, Air France has the eighth-best premium-economy product of any airline in the world, according to 2025 Skytrax rankings. However, premium-economy tickets on transatlantic routes can be rather expensive compared to economy-class tickets, putting them out of reach for many travelers.

The good news is that Air France premium-economy class tickets can be booked with points and miles in several ways, allowing you to experience this product without paying a high out-of-pocket cost. In this article, we’ll explain the best ways to book Air France premium-economy tickets with points and miles and also detail what you can expect when flying in this class.

What to Expect in Air France Premium-Economy Class

Air France offers premium-economy class service (known as Premium) on nearly all long-haul flights. The following table details each aircraft type Air France uses for these flights, the number of Premium seats on each aircraft and the seat configuration in the Premium cabin:

*Air France has two different versions of the Airbus A350-900, one with 324 seats and another with 292 seats, the latter having fewer Premium seats.

When flying in premium-economy class on any of these aircraft, the Premium cabin will be separated from the other cabins by a divider. You’ll also enjoy more legroom and reclining space than in the economy cabin. Each seat features plenty of storage space, and your headrest, footrest and legrest can be adjusted to your liking. You’ll also have access to a USB charging port and an AC power outlet, so you can keep your devices charged throughout your flight, as well as an adjustable reading light.

Every premium-economy seat on Air France includes a touch-screen entertainment system that gives you access to a wide selection of TV shows, movies, audio and more. All premium-economy passengers will be given a noise-reducing headset to use for the duration of the flight.

Upon boarding, premium-economy passengers will find a water bottle waiting for them at their seat, along with an amenity kit containing a sleep mask, a pair of socks, earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste. Fleece blankets and plush pillows are also available.

Air France Premium passengers receive a dining experience that resembles business class on most other airlines. You’ll receive aperitif biscuits accompanied by a glass of champagne or a drink of your choice upon boarding the plane.

During the flight, you’ll receive a delicious starter as well as your choice of hot dish. Plus, on flights from Paris; Cayenne, French Guiana; Fort-de-France, Martinique; Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe; and Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, entree options are designed by Michelin-starred chef Frédéric Simonin.

After your main course, you’ll enjoy cheese and a delicious dessert (such as vanilla chou craquelin or Paris-Brest). Finally, you’ll be treated to coffee, tea or a French digestif.

Premium passengers can also request complimentary hot or cold beverages from the in-flight staff at any time, including wines from a list curated by renowned sommelier Xavier Thuizat. Depending on the time of your flight, you can also ask for a complimentary box of sweet and savory treats, such as cereal bars and mini sandwiches.

Air France Premium tickets give you access to SkyPriority, a suite of benefits to make your experience in the airport more comfortable. These include:

• Priority check-in and baggage drop-off
• Priority boarding
• Priority baggage claim

In the Premium cabin, you’ll be allowed two pieces of hand baggage and one small carry-on (with a maximum combined weight of 26.4 pounds). You’re also allowed two checked bags (with a maximum weight of 50 pounds each).

It’s worth noting that Flying Blue Silver and Gold members are entitled to one additional piece of checked baggage, and Platinum and Ultimate members are entitled to two additional pieces of checked baggage.

Best Programs Through Which You Can Book Air France Premium-Economy Class

Since Air France is a member of SkyTeam alliance, you can book premium-economy award flights through several partner frequent flyer programs. Below, we’ll look at some of the best programs through which to book these award flights, as well as the credit card programs that transfer points to each.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

In most cases, the best program through which to book Air France premium-economy award flights is Air France’s own Flying Blue program, which is shared with KLM. This program typically offers ample premium-economy award availability on transatlantic routes and good value per mile.

For instance, we found a round-trip Air France premium-economy itinerary between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Paris-Charles De Gaulle (CDG) for 80,000 Flying Blue miles and about $455 in taxes and fees.

If you were to book these same flights with cash instead of miles through the Air France website, they would cost you about $2,416.

So, accounting for the high taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 2.5 cents per mile, which is good for a premium-economy award.

One of the best features of the Flying Blue program is that it’s a 1:1 transfer partner with every major U.S. credit card rewards program, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points and Wells Fargo Rewards. This makes it relatively easy to earn Flying Blue miles if you have a rewards credit card from any of these issuers.

Delta SkyMiles

Another program through which you can book Air France premium-economy award flights on transatlantic routes is Delta SkyMiles, which is popular among U.S.-based travelers and offers decent value. For example, we found a round-trip Air France premium-economy award itinerary between New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Paris-Charles De Gaulle (CDG) for 124,000 miles and about $195 in taxes and fees.

If you booked the same flights with cash through the Air France website, it would cost you about $1,911.

So, factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 1.4 cents per mile, which is reasonable.

The Delta SkyMiles program is also a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, which makes it easy to earn miles if you have an eligible American Express credit card. Plus, there are several excellent Delta SkyMiles co-branded credit cards that allow you to accumulate miles quickly.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Another program worth considering for Air France premium-economy award flights is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Unfortunately, there’s typically very limited availability on most routes, and we weren’t able to find a premium-economy award flight on any routes between Europe and North America. It’s also important to note that these redemptions can be intermittent, so if nothing shows up try again later.

We did, however, find a round-trip Air France premium-economy award flight itinerary between Saint-Denis, Reunion Island (RUN) and Paris-Charles De Gaulle (CDG) for just 60,000 Virgin points and about $371 in taxes and fees. This is a good route on which to book a premium-economy ticket, as the flight duration is over 11 hours in both directions.

If you were to book the same flights with cash through the Air France website at the Premium Flex rate, they would cost about $2,418.

Factoring in the taxes and fees you’d have to pay for the award flight, this redemption would give you a value of about 3.4 cents per point, which is great.

Plus, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is a 1:1 transfer partner with most major U.S. credit card rewards programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points and Wells Fargo Rewards, so it’s easy to earn Virgin points if you have a credit card from any of these issuers.

The Bottom Line

Air France offers an impressive premium-economy product on nearly all of its long-haul flights. Premium passengers receive SkyPriority preferential treatment at the airport, including priority check-in and boarding. They’ll also receive a dining experience on the plane that’s similar to most other airlines’ business-class offerings. This includes receiving champagne upon boarding and being served complimentary meals designed by Michelin-starred chefs on certain routes (including all long-haul flights departing from Paris).

If you want to book an Air France premium-economy ticket with points and miles, the best way to do so is usually through Air France’s own Flying Blue program. This program offers wide award flight availability at favorable rates and is also a transfer partner of every major U.S. credit card rewards program.

You can also book Air France premium-economy award flights on transatlantic routes through the Delta SkyMiles program, which is used by many U.S.-based travelers, or through the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which is a transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs. However, it’s almost impossible to find award flights on Air France routes across the Atlantic through Virgin.