The Air France KLM Visa Signature® credit card has an $89 annual fee, is issued by Bank of America in the United States, and is the co-branded card of the Flying Blue program. While I generally prefer to earn transferable points rather than airline miles for my credit card spending, there’s absolutely a strategic use to having this card, and even putting some spending on it.
I’ve had the Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card for years, and it’s part of my overall strategy in earning Flying Blue Platinum status, which offers significant value for my travels, especially when it comes to unlocking transatlantic business class award seats.
This post is my in-depth Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card review. So let’s take a look at all the details, and talk about who should consider applying. Of course the welcome bonus is always a big incentive to apply for the card, but is there long term value?
Link: Learn more about the Air France KLM Visa Signature® credit card
Air France KLM Flying Blue Card summary & key details
Before I get into my Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card review, let me briefly summarize the key details of the card:
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card annual fee: $89
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card welcome offer: 70,000 Flying Blue miles plus 100 XPs after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card rewards: 3x Flying Blue miles on Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam member airlines, 3x miles on dining, and 1.5x miles on all other purchases
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card foreign transaction fees: None
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card elite status earning: Earn 20 XPs on your account anniversary every year without any spend requirement, plus an additional 80 XPs when you spend $15,000, plus an additional 60 XPs when you spend $25,000 (so if you spend $25,000 per anniversary year, you’d earn 160 XPs)
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card annual mileage bonus: 5,000 Flying Blue bonus miles on your account anniversary every year, when you spend at least $50 during the account anniversary year
Beyond that, here are what I consider to be some of the major pros and cons of the Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card:
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card pros include the ability to earn XPs with spending, the good welcome bonus, and the lack of foreign transaction fees
- Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card cons include the fact that you’re earning miles with one specific mileage currency, rather than a flexible rewards currency
Air France KLM Flying Blue Card bonus, eligibility, & fees
One of the major reasons that people consider applying for credit cards is because of the welcome bonus, and trying to decide how to balance that with the annual fee. In order to earn the bonus, it’s also important to understand eligibility requirements on a card. So in this post, I’d like to go over those details for the Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card.
Welcome bonus of 70,000 Flying Blue miles & 100 XPs
The Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card is currently offering a limited time welcome bonus of 70,000 Flying Blue bonus miles plus 100 XPs after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days.
As mentioned above, this is a limited time welcome offer, so it’s better than the usual offer. Personally, I value Flying Blue miles at ~1.3 cents each, so to me, those 70,000 miles are worth around $910. However, that doesn’t factor in the value of the 100 XPs, as that alone is enough for Flying Blue Silver status. I’ll talk more about the general Flying Blue status play with this card a little later on, but that has the potential to be really valuable.
Air France KLM Credit Card eligibility rules
If you’re applying for the Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card, it’s important to understand the eligibility restrictions on the card. The card is issued by Bank of America, and when you pull up the application, you’ll find the following terms:
Limit of one bonus miles offer per new Air France KLM credit card account, and limit of one new account XP bonus per Flying Blue member within any 24-month period, regardless of how many Air France KLM credit card accounts are opened.
That means you’re limited to one bonus on the Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card every 24 months. Beyond that, Bank of America’s most common restrictions on new accounts include the following:
- Bank of America has the 2/3/4 rule, meaning you can open at most two Bank of America cards every two months, at most three Bank of America cards every 12 months, and at most four Bank of America cards every 24 months; this applies only to personal cards, and not business cards
- Bank of America has the 3/12 rule, meaning you may not be approved for a card if you’ve opened three or more new cards with any card issuer in the past 12 months; this applies only to personal cards, and not business cards, and it also doesn’t seem to apply if you have a banking relationship with Bank of America
Assuming you meet those requirements, I find that Bank of America cards are typically quite easy to get approved for.
$89 annual fee & $0 authorized user fee
The Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card has an $89 annual fee. This is among the most reasonable annual fees you’ll find on an airline card that offers a solid number of perks. Best of all, it’s easy to recoup that annual fee thanks to the 5,000 bonus miles the card offers on the account anniversary every year when you spend at least $50 (which I’ll talk more about below).
Note that you can also add authorized users to the card at no extra cost, and of course their spending will help you earn Flying Blue miles, and potentially XPs.
Air France KLM Flying Blue Card points earning structure
Spending on the Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card can be rewarding, both in terms of the points you earn, as well as in terms of the XPs you earn. In this section, let’s take a look at the points earning structure on Flying Blue’s credit card, as it’s actually pretty decent for an airline credit card. Let me emphasize that you should only view this as part of the rewards structure, as the ability to earn XPs is really what makes the spending worthwhile.
Earn 3x Flying Blue miles on SkyTeam spending
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers 3x Flying Blue miles per dollar spent on Air France, KLM, and on SkyTeam member airlines. It’s pretty normal to see an airline offer bonus points for purchases on its own flights, but it’s pretty cool how that also extends to SkyTeam flights.
Based on my valuation of 1.4 cents per Flying Blue mile, that’s like a 4.2% return on spending. There are definitely other cards that may be more lucrative for airfare spending, but one consideration here is how spending can also help you earn XPs.
Earn 3x Flying Blue miles on dining
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers 3x Flying Blue miles per dollar spent on dining globally, with no caps. Dining is of course a popular spending category for many people, and I value this at a 4.2% return on spending. There are many cards offering bonus points on dining, so I’d only spend in this category if earning XPs for spending is also a consideration.
Earn 1.5x Flying Blue miles on everyday spending
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers 1.5x Flying Blue miles per dollar spent on everyday spending, with no caps. I value that at a 1.95% return on spending based on my valuation of Flying Blue miles. It’s nice to see an airline credit card offering more than one mile per dollar spent as a standard. That being said, there are lots of great cards for everyday spending.
No foreign transaction fees
The Air France KLM Credit Card has no foreign transaction fees, so this can be a good option for purchases you make abroad. Of course you’d expect this card not to have foreign transaction fees, given that it’s a card of a foreign airline.
5,000 Flying Blue miles on account anniversary
As a further incentive to spend on the card, the Air France KLM Credit Card offers 5,000 Flying Blue bonus miles on the account anniversary every year when you spend at least $50 on the card. That’s not a big spending requirement at all, and it goes a long way to offsetting the card’s annual fee.
How to redeem Flying Blue miles for best value
Obviously earning miles is only one part of the equation, but it’s also important to talk about the value of a mileage currency, including what you’re earning with the Air France KLM Credit Card.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue is a valuable SkyTeam frequent flyer program, and it’s one of the loyalty programs that I redeem miles through most often. I don’t want to overcomplicate this, as the primary value proposition for me is simple — Flying Blue is the loyalty program I use most often for transatlantic business class award travel.
One-way transatlantic business class awards start at just 60,000 miles. I think the key thing to understand about this card is it can help you earn Flying Blue elite status, and there’s a lot of value to Flying Blue Platinum status:
- Flying Blue Platinum members gets access to more award space, which is an incredibly valuable perk
- With the recent Flying Blue devaluation we saw, Flying Blue Platinum status still allows me to book the “Light” fares while being able to have ticket flexibility, access lounges, select seats, etc.
- Both Flying Blue Gold and Platinum status offer SkyTeam Elite Plus perks, so that gets you benefits across SkyTeam airlines, including lounge access
- Flying Blue Platinum members get access to Air France La Premiere first class awards, though be aware that these awards are outrageously expensive, at 350,000 miles for a one-way award across the Atlantic
Just as an example, pulling up business class award availability between Miami and Paris at this very moment, below are the dates I see with award space at the lowest cost. This is beyond valuable to me, especially given how lacking long haul premium cabin award availability has otherwise become, especially in advance.
Yes, there are some carrier imposed surcharges, but seriously, what other airline am I even going to find award availability on, especially in advance? This is incredibly valuable to me. Given that we often travel as a family, the 25% savings on awards for kids 11 and under is awesome as well.
The other beautiful thing is that Flying Blue partners with the major transferable points currencies, and we even often see transfer bonuses. I always speculatively take advantage of those bonuses, since I know I’ll have a use for Flying Blue miles.
Air France KLM Flying Blue Card elite status earning (XP)
One of the main reasons you’ll actually want to spend money on the Air France KLM Credit Card is because of the opportunities to earn XPs, which is the metric by which you qualify for elite status (I’ll discuss it in more detail below).
Beyond the 100 XPs offered as part of the welcome bonus, you can earn 20 XPs annually just for having the card, plus up to 140 additional XPs for spending on the card. I’ll talk more about elite status below, but let’s go over the basics first.
Earn 20 XPs with Flying Blue annually with no spending
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers 20 XPs annually on the account anniversary just for being a cardmember, with no spending required.
Earn 80 XPs with Flying Blue annually for spending $15,000
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers an additional 80 XPs annually on the account anniversary when you spend $15,000 over the course of an account anniversary year. This is incremental, meaning that if you spend $15,000 during a membership year, you’d get a total of 100 XPs.
Earn 60 XPs with Flying Blue annually for spending $25,000
The Air France KLM Credit Card offers an additional 60 XPs annually on the account anniversary when you spend $25,000 over the course of an account anniversary year. This is incremental, meaning that if you spend $25,000 during a membership year, you’d get a total of 160 XPs.
How earning Flying Blue elite status actually works
For context on XPs, that stands for “experience points,” and it’s the metric by which you earn elite status with Flying Blue:
- 100 XPs gets you Silver status, which you could earn with this bonus
- You then need 180 additional XPs to earn Gold status
- You then need 300 additional XPs to earn Platinum status
It’s important to understand that Flying Blue works a little differently than other programs in terms of how you move up elite ranks. Essentially once you earn enough XPs for a certain elite tier, the XPs needed for that tier are deducted, and you then have another year to qualify for the next tier.
In other words, if you’re starting from scratch, you’d need 580 XPs to earn Platinum status. Meanwhile if you’re an existing Platinum member, you’d only need 300 XPs to requalify. With that in mind, the Air France KLM Credit Card can help you earn up to 160 XPs per year for spending, beyond the welcome offer.
As someone who earns Flying Blue Platinum status, being able to earn 160 XPs per year for credit card spending is a great opportunity, as it gets me more than halfway to qualifying for Platinum status.
Here’s another tip to keep in mind, in case you’re at all involved in the Bilt Rewards ecosystem. Bilt Platinum elite members automatically receive Flying Blue Gold status, so that’s a major shortcut to Platinum status. Because if you start with Gold, you only need 300 XPs to earn Platinum status.
Is the Air France Flying Blue Credit Card worth it?
As far as airline credit cards go, I tend to think that the Air France KLM Credit Card is pretty lucrative. That being said, as I write about all the time, I don’t generally recommend using an airline credit card as your primary card for spending, given that it offers less flexibility than a transferable points card. With that in mind, I see two main uses for this card:
- The card has a great welcome bonus, so if you don’t yet have the card and are eligible, that’s a major reason to consider picking it up
- It’s worth having the card if you’re pursuing Flying Blue elite status, whether you’re just holding onto the card for the 20 XPs annually, or are spending $25,000 per year to earn 160 XPs annually
I think there’s a lot of value to Flying Blue Platinum status — this isn’t just me saying something to sell you a credit card, as it reflects my actual behavior, as someone who earns the status. Personally, I wish this card would offer more incremental opportunities to earn XPs for spending, because it’s hard to justify spending more than $25,000 on the card per year.
After all, there are transferable points cards offering 1.5-2x points per dollar spent, and those can largely be converted into Flying Blue miles at a 1:1 ratio, sometimes even with the opportunity to take advantage of a transfer bonus.
But hey, this card works for me. If you haven’t had the card yet, give it a try, and the bonus is a great incentive to apply. And if you are pursuing Flying Blue elite status, this card will definitely earn a place in your wallet.
Best Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card alternatives
If you’re not interested in going for Flying Blue elite status, and/or if the welcome bonus doesn’t interest you, there are of course lots of other great cards you should consider. In particular, these are cards with relatively reasonable annual fees and great rewards structures, all of which earn points that can be converted into Flying Blue miles:
- The American Express® Gold Card (learn more) has a higher annual fee, but is tough to beat for those who spend a lot on dining, and also offers credits that can help offset the fee
- The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (learn more) has a low annual fee, and is among the best cards for everyday spending
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (learn more) has a reasonable annual fee, and is well-rounded for offering bonus categories, plus excellent travel and rental car coverage
- The Citi Strata Premier® Card (learn more) has an affordable annual fee, and lucrative 3x points categories
Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card FAQs
Bottom line
The Air France KLM Flying Blue Credit Card is one of the more interesting airline credit cards on the market. The card has a great welcome bonus, a reasonable annual fee, and most importantly of all, the card makes it easier to earn Flying Blue elite status.
Personally I greatly value Flying Blue elite status, thanks to all the perks that it offers, particularly around award travel. As a Platinum member I get access to more business class award space, access to first class award seats, and also fewer restrictions on awards.
The Flying Blue Card is worth picking up both for the great welcome bonus, as well as for the ability to earn XPs through spending.
If you want to learn more about the Air France KLM Credit Card, follow this link.
@ FoulOwl -- LaPremier is severely overpriced anyway. Save your miles and fly J three times instead of F once. With much-improved business class seats these days, international first class is often (not always) not worth the additional cost.
Given the greater focus in the blogging world on this path to making La Premiere bookable with miles, I can’t help but wonder how air france will adjust their La Premiere award pricing and availability down the road to maintain the very exclusive experience they insist on maintaining.
I have a feeling a lot of first class points chasers will be left holding the bag in a couple years.
@FoulOwl — I wouldn’t be surprised if, someday, we found out that Air France itself had been quietly nudging the blogosphere to keep discussing this long-shot path to First Class, because beyond that, there really isn’t much propping up the proposition.
The points on offer aren’t even enough for a Business Standard fare, the level you need for lounge access. The XPs don’t get you meaningful status on their own, either. Taken as a whole,...
@FoulOwl — I wouldn’t be surprised if, someday, we found out that Air France itself had been quietly nudging the blogosphere to keep discussing this long-shot path to First Class, because beyond that, there really isn’t much propping up the proposition.
The points on offer aren’t even enough for a Business Standard fare, the level you need for lounge access. The XPs don’t get you meaningful status on their own, either. Taken as a whole, it is one of the weakest SUBs out there.