Flying Blue

In France, there are three Air France KLM American Express bank cards(see details on Milesopedia France). Each offers different welcome bonuses:

• 3,000 Flying Blue Miles for the Air France KLM – American Express Silver Card
• 6,000 Flying Blue Miles for the Air France KLM – American Express Gold Card
• 20,000 Flying Blue Miles for the Air France KLM – American Express Platinum Card

As well as offering welcome bonuses, they offer their holders a range of other benefits, such as :

• earn Flying Blue Miles on every purchase (which is rare in France and Europe);
• extend the validity of Flying Blue Miles with each purchase;
• obtain between 15 XP and 60 XP per year to obtain or renew Flying Blue status more easily.

Benefits	AF KLM Amex Silver Card	AF KLM Amex Gold Card	AF KLM Amex Platinum Card
Annual fee	0 €	180 €	636 €
XP per year	15	30	60
Accumulation	10 € = 10 Miles	10 € = 15 Miles	10 € = 20 Miles
Miles validity extension	Yes	Yes	Yes
Insurance	Standard	Optimal	Maximum
Concierge	No	No	Yes

The second method of earning Flying Blue miles in Canada is through Marriott Bonvoy Amex credit cards. You can transfer your Marriott Bonvoy points into Miles from frequent flyer programs, including Flying Blue, at a 3 Marriott Bonvoy points ratio = 1 Mile.

And if you transfer 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, you’ll earn 5,000 bonus Miles. Thus, 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 25,000 Flying Blue Miles.

The two Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards available in Canada are:

Since October 2022, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard^® has been available in Canada. It allows you to earn Flying Blue Miles directly.

The earning rates of the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard^® are as follows:

In addition to extending the validity of your Flying Blue Miles with each purchase, the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard^® offers you 30 XP per year, making it easier for you to obtain or renew Flying Blue status.

In the United States, in partnership with Bank of America, Air France has launched the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard, which generally offers a welcome bonus of between 25,000 and 50,000 Flying Blue Miles.

With this card, you get :

• 3 X Flying Blue Miles when flying with Air France, KLM and Skyteam airlines such as Delta Airlines
• 1.5 X miles everywhere else
• 5,000 Flying Blue Miles each year upon renewal
• 60 XP the first year (20 XP the following years)
• An additional 40 XP if you spend USD 15,000
• No FX fee

In France, the American Express Membership Rewards program allows you to transfer points to the Flying Blue program (see details of this loyalty program on Milesopedia France). The transfer rate is as follows:

• 5,000 Membership Rewards points = 4,000 Flying Blue Miles

In France, there are many American Express cards affiliated to the Flying Blue program that earn Flying Blue Miles through welcome awards and purchases made with the cards.

There are two other points transfer partners in France:

• Mooncard
• Revolut

In Canada, American Express Membership Rewards cards allow you to transfer your Membership Rewards points into Flying Blue Miles at a ratio of 1,000 Membership Rewards points = 750 Flying Blue Miles.

Here are the American Express Rewards Cards available in Canada:

In the United States, you can transfer points to Flying Blue from these programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards (1:1)
• Capital One (1:1)
• Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1)
• Citibank ThankYou Rewards (1:1)
• Bilt Rewards (1:1)
• Brex Cash (3:2)
• HSBC Rewards (1.25:1)
• Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards (1:1)

The number of Flying Blue Miles you can earn depends on two factors:

• Ticket price in euros
• Status in the Flying Blue program

Purchases taken into account is the price of the ticket, excluding taxes and fuel surcharges. All related expenses also earn miles, such as :

• Seat selection
• Additional baggage allowance
• À la carte menu
• Upgrade

This method of calculation tends to favor full-fare travelers, especially those in premium cabins such as Business and La Première.

In addition to airlines, Flying Blue partners with hotels, car rental agencies and other companies.

One of Flying Blue’s preferred partners is Accor Live Limitless. Thanks to Miles+Points, customers can easily convert their Reward points into Flying Blue Miles, and vice versa.

In addition to Accor, Flying Blue partners with :

You can also earn Flying Blue Miles when you rent a car from one of these agencies:

Flying Blue offers a shopping portal that earns Flying Blue Miles with every purchase from partners such as Apple, Indigo, Nike, Sephora and more.

It works in a similar way to other online shopping portals: you log in to the portal, choose the merchant you’re interested in and click on the corresponding link.

The best way to use Flying Blue Miles is by booking tickets withAir France and Transavia, or any other airline member of theSkyteam alliance:

Unlike other airline programs, Flying Blue has no fixed fare structure. Prices are therefore subject to change depending on dates, seasons and destinations. It’s important to note, however, that the more high-end cabins you travel in, the higher the airport taxes and additional fees you’ll have to pay in cash. These surcharges are unfortunately unavoidable.

For a one-way ticket between Paris and Montreal in Economy cabin with Air France or KLM, for example, fares range from around 20,000 Miles to 113 euros.

For the same one-way trip between Paris and Montreal, but in the Premium Economy cabin, fares range from around 35,000 Miles to 175 euros.

Business cabin flights are sometimes available at fares similar to those in the Premium Economy cabin. For the same dates, we found a one-way ticket between Paris and Montreal in the Business cabin for 37,000 Miles and 307 euros.

For a one-way ticket between Montreal and Los Angeles with WestJet, for example, fares range from around 14,500 Miles to $99.

Want to escape to Hawaii? Thanks to WestJet and Flying Blue Miles, you could fly between Montreal and Honolulu for 17,500 Flying Blue Miles and $112.

The most cost-effective strategy for optimizing the use of your Miles when flying is to explore the opportunities offered by Flying Blue Promo Rewards. These tickets, offered in limited numbers at the beginning of each month, enable you to make substantial savings, ranging from 25% to 50% on the number of Miles normally required to purchase a reward ticket.

For a one-way ticket between Nice and Montreal in the Economy cabin, for example, fares for a Promo Award ticket, when available, can be as low as 7,500 Flying Blue Miles and 150 euros.

After check-in opens, upgrades are available online, at the airport and on board. Advance upgrades are payable in miles, cash or a combination of both.

To find out the number of Miles required for an upgrade, simply consult your online booking on the Air France website and click on the “Upgrade with Miles” option. Although the Flying Blue program has not published a scale for estimating the precise value of Miles when upgrading, the average value is between 0.4 and 0.9 cents, depending on the flights and offers available at the time of booking.

The La Première cabin is Air France‘s most exclusive cabin. To qualify for an upgrade, you must not only have the required number of Miles, but also be a Platinum member of theAir France frequent flyer program.

You can use your Flying Blue Miles for various in-flight options, such as adding extra baggage, when you fly with Air France:

• Additional baggage: From 3,000 Flying Blue Miles
• Seat selection: From 2,000 Flying Blue Miles
• Premium in-flight menu: From 2,700 Flying Blue Miles
• Access to Air France KLM or SkyTeam lounges: From 6,000 Flying Blue Miles

Flying Blue Miles are valid for life, provided that one of the following conditions is met:

• You travel on an eligible flight at least once every 2 years with Air France, KLM or one of our partner airlines.
• You are a Silver, Gold, Platinum or Ultimate member.
• You make a purchase with an eligible partner bank card at least once every two years.

For eligible bank cards, only cards bearing the Flying Blue logo are eligible, such as Air France KLM American Express cards.

The Flying Blue program has five status levels:

• Explorer
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Ultimate

To move up in the Flying Blue program, it is essential to accumulate Experience Points (XP), which are earned by flying on an eligible flight with Air France, KLM, Transavia, SkyTeam member airlines, as well as certain Air France-KLM partner airlines.

To achieve Ultimate status, on the other hand, the scale is somewhat different. Rather than accumulating XP, passengers must accumulate UXP. These can only be earned by flying on flights marketed by Air France and KLM, or by purchasing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Apart from the Platinum and Ultimate statuses, which are mainly aimed at very frequent business travellers, Gold status offers the most attractive benefits, such as :

• Earn 7 Miles for every euro spent
• Access to Skyteam lounges worldwide, with a guest, as well as Eurostar lounges when traveling with Train + Air
• Access to SkyPriority
• Free selection of your standard seat
• Free seating options 72 hours before flight departure
• An additional checked baggage offered on all SkyTeam member airline flights
• Possibility of booking a ticket in Première

Here is the annual number of XP required to obtain each Flying Blue status:

Explorer status is offered to anyone who registers with Flying Blue. After registration, you have 12 months to earn enough XP to move up to the next level. At the end of the 12 months, your XP counter returns to zero. This qualification period begins as soon as you earn your first Miles or your first XP, after you join the Flying Blue program.

• To achieve Silver status, you need to earn 100 XP.
• To achieve Gold status, you need to earn the 100 XP required for Silver status, plus 180 XP.
• To achieve Platinum status, you need to earn the 100 XP required for Silver status, the 180 XP required for Gold status, and 300 XP.
• To achieve Ultimate status, you need to earn 900 UXP in one year.

The statuses are valid for 12 months. If you fail to accumulate the required number of XPs in the year following your award, you will lose your current status and be demoted.

To earn XP, you have to fly. However, the earning varies according to two factors:

• Flight type: Domestic, medium-haul or long-haul (subdivided into 3 categories)
• Travel cabin: Economy, Premium Economy, Business or La Première