Advertiser disclosure
Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete and current information about any information on any advertiser product, please visit their website. We have business relationships with certain partners mentioned in our communication channels. While we may receive compensation if you sign up to a product or service through our affiliate links, our analyses and content are based on objective evaluation. †Terms and conditions apply.
The Flying Blue loyalty program from Air France–KLM allows Canadian travelers to earn Miles and use them to obtain award tickets, upgrades, items from the Flying Blue Store, or hotel stays. It is one of the most accessible programs in Canada, thanks to its many transfer partners and its co-branded credit card.
Since January 2026, American Express Membership Rewards cards transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio, which significantly increases the program’s appeal for Canadians. Furthermore, as of May 4, 2026, Flying Blue is simplifying its expiration policy: any eligible activity will extend your entire Miles balance by 24 months.
Joining Flying Blue is free. You can create an account directly on the Flying Blue website. Upon registration, you obtain Explorer status, which grants access to the program’s basic features: Miles accumulation and redemption, promotional offers, and preferential rates.
You can enroll your children in the program through Flying Blue Family, which allows Miles to be shared among family members. The referrer can invite up to seven people: 1 additional adult and 6 children.
Flying Blue Family also offers the possibility to accumulate Miles faster to obtain award tickets and upgrades.
Several methods allow you to earn Flying Blue Miles in Canada: subscribing to a credit card, transferring points from a partner program, flying with Air France, KLM, or a member of the SkyTeam alliance, or spending with commercial partners.
Since October 2022, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard® has been available in Canada. Issued by Brim Financial, it allows you to earn Flying Blue Miles directly on every purchase.
In addition to extending the validity of your Miles with each purchase, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard® offers you 30 XP per year, which facilitates obtaining or renewing a Flying Blue status.
In the United States, in partnership with Bank of America, Air France offers the Air France KLM Visa Signature Card (formerly World Elite Mastercard, converted to Visa in March 2026). This card generally offers a welcome bonus of 25,000 to 50,000 Flying Blue Miles, for an annual fee of $89 US.
Since January 3, 2026, American Express Membership Rewards cards allow you to transfer your points to Flying Blue Miles at a ratio of 1,000 Membership Rewards points = 1,000 Flying Blue Miles. This is the fastest method to accumulate a large number of Miles in Canada.
You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points into Flying Blue Miles at a ratio of 3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 Mile. By transferring in increments of 60,000 points, you receive a 5,000-Mile bonus, meaning 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 25,000 Flying Blue Miles.
In the United States, Flying Blue is a transfer partner of all major flexible points programs. Here are the transfer ratios:
Transfers from US programs are generally instantaneous, while transfers from American Express Canada take approximately 2-3 days.
“>Consult the best Flying Blue credit cards in the United States on Milesopedia USA.
You earn Flying Blue Miles by flying with Air France, KLM, and any partner airline or member of the SkyTeam alliance.
On Air France and KLM flights, the number of Miles accumulated depends on the ticket price (excluding taxes and fuel surcharges) and your status in the program:
All ancillary expenses also allow you to earn Miles: seat selection, purchase of an additional baggage allowance, selection of an à la carte menu, and purchase of an upgrade. This method favors travelers paying full-fare tickets, especially those traveling in Business or La Première.
For other SkyTeam member airlines, the number of Miles accumulated depends on the booking class, the distance traveled, and the contract between Air France-KLM and its partners.
In the Economy cabin, you could receive up to 50% of your ticket price in Miles, depending on the partner. In premium cabins, this rate can climb to 150%. Here is an example of the earning chart for international flights operated by Delta Air Lines:
Beyond airlines, Flying Blue partners with hotels, car rental agencies, and various businesses.
Accor Live Limitless is one of Flying Blue’s preferred partners. Thanks to Miles+Points, you can convert your Reward points into Flying Blue Miles, and vice versa. In addition to Accor, Flying Blue partners with Booking.com, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Best Western Rewards, IHG Rewards, World of Hyatt, Radisson Hotel Group, Shangri-La, Choice Privileges, YOTEL, Golden Tulip, Dorint Suisse, and WorldHotels.
You can earn Miles by renting a car from Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, or Thrifty.
Flying Blue offers an online shopping portal offering Miles for every purchase with partners like Apple, Nike, Sephora, and more.
The process is similar to other online shopping portals: log in to the portal, choose the merchant, and click on the corresponding link to finalize your purchase.
The best way to use your Miles is to book flight tickets with Air France, Transavia, or any member airline of the SkyTeam alliance, including Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, ITA Airways, China Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
Unlike other airline programs, Flying Blue uses dynamic pricing. Prices vary according to dates, seasons, and destinations. The more you travel in premium cabins, the higher the airport taxes and additional cash fees will be.
For a one-way trip between Paris and Montreal in the Economy cabin, fares start around 20,000 Miles and 113 euros. In the Premium Economy cabin, expect approximately 35,000 Miles and 175 euros.
It is sometimes possible to find flights in the Business cabin at a fare similar to Premium Economy. Our editorial team found a one-way Paris-Montreal flight in Business for 37,000 Miles and 307 euros. Dynamic pricing can therefore work in your favor if you remain flexible with your dates.
You can also book WestJet flights with your Miles. For example, a one-way Montreal-Los Angeles flight costs about 14,500 Miles and 99 dollars. For Montreal-Honolulu with WestJet, expect approximately 17,500 Flying Blue Miles and 112 dollars.
The most profitable strategy for using your Miles is to take advantage of Flying Blue Promo Rewards. These tickets, offered in limited numbers at the beginning of each month, allow for savings of 25% to 50% on the number of Miles normally required.
For example, a one-way trip between Nice and Montreal in Economy can drop to 7,500 Miles and 150 euros during a promotion. Combined with a 25% transfer bonus from American Express, this strategy significantly reduces the cost of a transatlantic flight.
After check-in opens, upgrades are available online, at the airport, and on board. They are payable in Miles, cash, or a combination of both.
To find out the cost of an upgrade, consult your reservation on the Air France website and click on “Upgrade with Miles.” Although Flying Blue does not publish an official chart, the value of Miles for an upgrade is between 0.4 and 0.9 cents depending on the flight.
The La Première cabin is the most exclusive from Air France. To treat yourself to an upgrade with Miles, you must hold Platinum or Ultimate status in the Flying Blue program. Gold status holders can also purchase an upgrade, but only by paying in cash.
You can use your Flying Blue Miles for various in-flight options with Air France:
Flying Blue allows you to add a free stopover of up to one year on any reward reservation, across all partner airlines. For example, you could fly Toronto-Amsterdam-Nairobi for 95,000 Miles with an extended stopover in Amsterdam. To take advantage of this, you must book by phone through the Flying Blue contact center.
As of May 4, 2026, Flying Blue is simplifying its expiration policy. Any qualifying activity (flight, purchase with a partner, points transfer, car rental, hotel stay) will extend your entire Miles balance by 24 months. Previously, rules varied depending on the source of the Miles, which created confusion.
Miles never expire for Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Ultimate members, nor for holders of a co-branded Flying Blue credit card, children under 18, or Flying Blue Extra subscribers.
The Flying Blue program has five status levels: Explorer, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Ultimate. To move up, you must accumulate Experience Points (XP) by flying with Air France, KLM, Transavia, SkyTeam airlines, and certain partner airlines.
Explorer status is offered upon registration. You then have 12 months to earn enough XP to reach the next status level. At the end of this period, your XP counter resets to zero. Statuses remain valid for 12 months. If you do not accumulate enough XP the following year, you lose your status.
For Ultimate status, the chart is different: rather than accumulating XP, passengers must accumulate UXP by flying on flights marketed by Air France and KLM, or by purchasing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).
XP gain varies according to the type of flight (domestic, medium-haul, or long-haul) and the travel cabin:
Apart from Platinum and Ultimate statuses, reserved for very frequent business travelers, Gold status offers the most interesting benefits:
Subscribing to a co-branded bank card is one of the most advantageous ways to boost your XP. In Canada, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard® offers 30 XP per year. For US residents, the new Air France KLM Visa Signature Card offers 60 XP the first year, 20 XP thereafter, plus 40 XP if you spend $25,000 US.
Consult our best credit cards page to compare all available options in Canada. To receive our weekly analyses, subscribe to our newsletter.
Flying Blue offers several high-value redemption opportunities for Canadians. Here are the sweet spots to know:
Savings are here (if you don’t see the sign-up form, please click here):
You can change your preferences or opt out at any time by clicking on one of the hyperlinks available at the bottom of each newsletter.
If you are already a subscriber and would like to unsubscribe, you can click on the link at the bottom of any of our e-mails.
