The scenario
this solves
You've found the redemption. The dates work, the seats are bookable, and you're close — just not quite there. Two real examples from our own Award Redemption Benchmarks page show how common this is: a Flying Blue Promo Award in Business Class from Geneva or Zürich to New York starts from 37,500 miles one-way, and a Miles & More First Class redemption on the same route runs 91,000-130,000 miles one-way at dynamic pricing. Land a few thousand miles short of either and the instinct is to keep flying until the balance catches up. It doesn't have to be that way — both programmes offer legitimate ways to buy or earn the difference directly, and some of them are considerably cheaper than others.
Topping up a genuine shortfall is usually good value. Buying an entire redemption's miles from a standing start almost never is — compare the all-in cost against the cash fare before committing either way.
Closing a
Flying Blue gap
Ranked by cost per mile, cheapest first.
#1 — Revolut RevPoints
If you already hold Revolut Metal or Ultra, this is the cheapest way to close a Flying Blue gap: RevPoints transfer at a flat 1:1 ratio, free and instant. Metal earns 1 RevPoint per CHF 2 spent, Ultra earns 1 per CHF 1 — meaning some of the miles you need may already be sitting in your Revolut account without you noticing. It's not worth opening a new Revolut plan purely for this; the full breakdown of the Revolut + Amex setup, including earn rates and when the plan fee pays for itself, is in our dual-card guide.
#2 — Subscribe to Miles
Flying Blue's own monthly subscription is the cheapest way to buy miles outright, with no Revolut account required. Four tiers, billed monthly with a 3-month minimum commitment and a 14-day cooling-off period; miles land within about 72 hours of your first payment.
| Tier | Price/month | Miles/month | Per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | €28 | 2,000 | ~1.4 cents |
| Smart | €65 | 5,000 | ~1.3 cents |
| Advanced | €120 | 10,000 | ~1.2 cents |
| Complete | €187 | 17,000 | ~1.1 cents |
#3 — Amex Membership Rewards transfer
Swiss Amex Platinum cardholders can transfer Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue at a 2:1 ratio — 2 MR points for 1 mile. There's no bonus running on this transfer as of this update; check your own Amex account before transferring, since Amex does periodically run bonus promotions on airline transfers elsewhere, though none is confirmed for Swiss cardholders right now. Full setup details are in the Revolut + Amex guide.
#4 — Flying Blue Shopping portal
Routing online purchases through Flying Blue's shopping portal earns miles on top of whatever you're already buying — rates vary by retailer and change with seasonal promotions, so treat the figures below as indicative rather than fixed: up to roughly 4.4 miles per euro at some retailers, 1.8-2.2 miles per euro at others, plus a welcome bonus on a first purchase through the portal. Confirm the live rate for your retailer before buying.
- Buying Flying Blue miles as a one-off, outside the Subscribe to Miles programme, is consistently the worst per-mile rate of the options above
- It only makes sense to close the very last few thousand miles of a gap you can't otherwise reach in time — not as a primary top-up method
Meilenguru's recommendation
The card that feeds Flying Blue day-to-day
The methods above are for closing a one-off gap. For ongoing earning, the Viseca Flying Blue World Mastercard is the only Swiss card that earns Flying Blue miles directly — no transfer, no dilution.
- 5,000 Flying Blue miles welcome bonus, credited straight to your account
- 1.5 mi/CHF 2 on Air France/KLM, 1 mi/CHF 2 elsewhere
- Miles don't expire, as long as the card sees monthly use
CHF 230/year. Full terms and the current welcome offer at card.viseca.ch.
Closing a
Miles & More gap
Ranked by cost per mile — no new credit card required for any of these.
#1 — Magazine subscriptions
The best-kept secret in the game: publishers periodically bundle miles with a subscription, and the per-mile cost regularly beats every other route on this list. Two examples current at time of writing — BILDplus at €3.98 for one month = 600 miles (~0.66 cents/mile), and WELT am Sonntag + WELTplus Premium at €155.94 for six months = 15,000 miles (~1.04 cents/mile). These deals rotate constantly, sometimes weekly — check the offer actually showing before buying, since the specific publisher and rate change often.
#2 — Bundle&Go
Miles & More's own miles-purchase feature, bought directly from your account. At bonus-free base rates it runs from roughly 1.7 to 2.4 cents/mile depending on bundle size — full pricing table and a worked example against a real cash fare are in our dedicated Bundle&Go review.
- Miles & More is currently running a 50% bonus on Bundle&Go, which would bring the largest bundle down to roughly 1.17-1.18 cents/mile
- This offer is targeted to selected members on their first bundle purchase — it does not appear for every account, so confirm it's actually showing in yours before counting on the discount
#3 — Redirect spend you're already making
The Miles & More shopping portal and select partners pay elevated rates on purchases you'd likely make anyway: up to roughly 7 miles/€ on Amazon (higher during promotions), 4 miles/€ via Booking.com (versus 1 mile/€ standard), and up to 9 miles/€ via Sixt, plus a welcome bonus of up to 10,000 miles on some Avis rentals. Confirm the live rate before booking — these move with seasonal campaigns.
#4 — Payback-linked subscriptions
A more niche fourth route: subscriptions linked through Payback occasionally convert to Miles & More at roughly 1.03 cents/point. Worth a look if you're already collecting Payback, but not a primary strategy on its own — availability and rates rotate like the magazine deals above.
Which method
fits your gap
- Small, one-time gap (a few thousand miles): free transfers you already have access to — Revolut RevPoints for Flying Blue, or a magazine subscription deal for Miles & More — usually beat buying outright
- Large gap, recurring collector: Subscribe to Miles or Bundle&Go with an active bonus are built for this — predictable, no flying required, but always check the live rate first
- Mostly EUR spend: Amex → Flying Blue and Bundle&Go are both billed in euros, so EUR-heavy spenders avoid the foreign-transaction fee that CHF-only cards pick up
- Buying an entire redemption from zero: run the cash fare first — it's frequently cheaper than buying every mile needed, on both programmes
None of these methods are mutually exclusive — a real gap is often closed by stacking two or three of them, not picking one. If you're not sure which combination gets you there cheapest for your specific redemption, that's exactly what a consultation is for.
Let's find the cheapest way to close it.
Bundle&Go, a subscription, a transfer, or a different route entirely — in 30 minutes we'll work out the cheapest path to the seat you've already found.
Book a session — CHF 79 →What's the fastest way to close a small Flying Blue miles gap? +
Revolut RevPoints, if you already hold Metal or Ultra — the transfer to Flying Blue is 1:1, free, and instant. For anyone without a Revolut plan already, Flying Blue's own Subscribe to Miles is the next-fastest option, with miles landing within about 72 hours of your first payment.
Does Miles & More have a bonus on buying miles right now? +
As of September 2026, Miles & More is running a 50% bonus on Bundle&Go through September 30 — but it's targeted to selected members on their first bundle purchase, not shown to every account. Check your own account under Bundle&Go before assuming the offer applies to you.
Is buying miles ever cheaper than paying cash for the flight? +
Usually only when you're topping up a shortfall on miles you already have, not buying an entire redemption from scratch. Buying every mile for a long-haul business or first class redemption from zero typically costs more than the cash fare for the same route.
Do I need a credit card to top up a Miles & More balance? +
No. Magazine subscriptions, Bundle&Go, and the Miles & More shopping portal all add miles without opening a new card — useful if you already hold a card you're happy with and just need to close a specific gap.
Which is cheaper per mile to top up — Flying Blue or Miles & More? +
Flying Blue's Subscribe to Miles goes as low as roughly 1.1 euro cents per mile at its top tier. Miles & More's magazine-subscription route can undercut that in isolated deals, but those rotate constantly — Bundle&Go without an active bonus runs closer to 1.7-2.4 cents per mile. Compare the current live rate on each before deciding, since both move.