The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program has a credit card in the United States, issued by Bank of America. It’s a card that I have, as someone who has Flying Blue Platinum status. A few days ago, we learned about some changes coming to the product, which are entirely positive.
I’d like to provide an update, as the new version of this card is now open for applicants, and there’s even a limited time welcome offer to celebrate this.
In this post:
What’s changing about the Air France-KLM credit card
Over the coming weeks, we’re seeing some major changes to Flying Blue’s credit card in the United States.
For one, in March 2026 we’re going to see the card converted from a Mastercard to a Visa — specifically, it’ll go from being the Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard to being the Air France KLM Visa Signature Card. The transition should be seamless, so existing cardmembers should automatically receive a new version of the card, with a new card number.
More immediately, for applications effective immediately, plus for existing cardmembers, we’re seeing some improvements to the benefits of the card. It’s maintaining the same $89 annual fee it previously had, with a couple of major changes.
First, the card has a new bonus category of earning 3x miles on dining. This complements the previous rewards structure of 3x miles on Air France, KLM, and SkyTeam bookings, plus 1.5x miles on all other everyday spending.
On top of that, we’re seeing new anniversary rewards on the card. As before, the card offers 5,000 anniversary bonus miles after $50 in annual purchases, in addition to 20XPs each card anniversary just for having the card. With these updates, it’s also possible to earn 80 XPs for annual purchases of at least $15,000, and an enhanced offer of an additional 60 XPs for annual purchases of at least $25,000.
In other words, in total cardmembers are now able to earn 160 XPs if they spend $25,000 on the card in anniversary year.
For those interested in applying for the card, it has a limited time welcome offer of 70,000 miles plus 100 XPs after spending $3,000 within the first 90 days.
I’m very happy to see these changes to the card!
I find the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program to be super useful, which is why I have Platinum status in the program. It’s fantastic to see Flying Blue actually make it more compelling to use the card for spending.
If I can earn 160 XPs per year by spending $25,000 on the card, all while earning a minimum of 1.5x miles, I’d consider that to be a worthwhile opportunity. For context on XPs, that’s the metric by which you earn status with the Flying Blue program:
- 100 XPs gets you Silver status
- You then need 180 additional XPs to earn Gold status
- You then need 300 additional XPs to earn Platinum status
The clock resets as you work your way up the tiers. In other words, if you’re starting from scratch, you’d need a total of 580 XPs to earn Platinum status, but you’d have more than a year, since the tiers keep resetting. Meanwhile if you already have Platinum status, you only need 300 XPs to requalify for the status.
So by spending $25,000 on the card per year, that’ll get me over half way to Platinum status. Personally, I didn’t find it worthwhile to put spending on the card before, so I’m very happy to see this. I also find the annual fee on the card easy to justify, since the 5,000 miles go a long way to offsetting the $89 annual fee.
Kudos to Flying Blue on these changes. If I had any wish, it’s that it would be awesome if there were even more opportunities to earn XPs for spending on the card. The folks at Flying Blue are savvy and understand the US market really well, so you’d think they’d embrace credit card spending as much as possible.
Bottom line
The Air France-KLM credit card in the United States is seeing some updates. For one, the card is transitioning from being a Mastercard to a Visa, which is the smallest change, as I see it. On top of that, the card now earns 3x miles on dining, and it’s also possible to earn up to 160 XPs on the card per year, by spending $25,000.
When you consider that the annual fee is staying the same, I’d consider these to be entirely positive changes. At least for me, Flying Blue will accomplish its goal — I’ll be switching some spending to the card!
What do you make of these Air France-KLM Flying Blue credit card changes?
Does anyone know if I can apply for the new card before my current AF KLM elite mastercard is converted and receive the welcome bonus?
I wonder the opportunity cost of charging the $25000 to another card. I also think there is a drawback of making it too easy to earn status much like with the hotels because of issues that such companies tend to not do well such as lounge overcrowing.
Switching from Mastercard to Visa is no small change if you shop at Costco.
Thanks Ben, I just applied with your link.
Does anyone know if Delta basic economy earns 2xp within the US?
Yes, it does .
Will BofA still be the issuer?
Good Evening , Everyone, I'm new to Airfrance/KLM Alliance moving away from One world Alliance, so I'm not 100% how the Tier points works still in the learning. I deflated learned that if you have a regular economy ticket and then pay for upgrade travel on Business class you don't get XP for the business class. That was little shock but it's taking time learning. This because of my Dyslexia so hard to understand all...
Good Evening , Everyone, I'm new to Airfrance/KLM Alliance moving away from One world Alliance, so I'm not 100% how the Tier points works still in the learning. I deflated learned that if you have a regular economy ticket and then pay for upgrade travel on Business class you don't get XP for the business class. That was little shock but it's taking time learning. This because of my Dyslexia so hard to understand all the rules, especially how XP points are given for short haul to long haul.
One final question as I live in UK are we able to apply for Flying Blue credit card or is this for USA members and European.
I appreciate if someone could share some other tips too that I'm not aware.
At least you still got the economy points. If you buy a business class ticket on Air Europa, you may well get ZERO miles/tier points.
I mean zero Flying Blue miles/TPs. You'd earn as normal on the Air Europa scheme.
The card is available to US residents only.
I hope these positive changes will also push AFKL to offer some perks on their Belgian MasterCard!
Perks are paid for by interchange fees, so there is no reason why this should impact the Belgian MC
You can also convert the fb's you get when spending 25k on the card. 2000 fb will get you 1 xp.
What does FBs stand for?
The switch to Visa is good news for Costco shoppers. Now I'm just waiting for the 70K miles sign-up bonus to return.
I dunno-at least flying from west coast I have found it hard over the last year to get flights for under 130k to Europe/North Africa. For years it would be 55-60k, for multiple tickets, easy peasy. Hope this new trend I am experiencing stops for me.
I hate losing the Simply Miles (Mastercard) opportunities.
Mastercard World Elite offers better everyday discounts, but Visa has better travel protections in general.
Capital One Venture earns 2x on everything and transfers to Flying Blue.
Delta isn't known for recognizing Flying Blue Status much.
This should make it easier to earn Gold status I'd think.
Free checked bag(s). Priority check-in. Seat selection. Exit row. Not much but something.
Flying Blue Platinums now get Comfort+ at ticketing.
How on earth is this a good news? This will just mint more credit card elites at the expense of actual frequent flyer. Someone who does one longhaul roundtrip in J has no place being a Platinum. AFKL is already struggling hard to deliver soft benefits to existing customer base, lounges are a zoo... This is absolutely terrible and yet another reason to move away from AFKL.
With the change, how many *new* Platinum members will be added? AF and KLM operate approximately 12,000 flights to the US each year. So, if these individuals take one long-haul round-trip as you say, exactly what effect would the number of *new* Platinums have on the AF/KLM system as a whole? I'm Platinum, all earned via flying, and I'm not worried about it.
@Lee it doesn't work like that though, I doubt the new US platinum members will be queuing for entry into the KL Schengen lounge before flying to Stavanger on a Tuesday in mid-March. However, when it comes to the run up to a bank of flights to Southern Europe in the summer they may be the difference between finding a seat and having to wait around the miserable bar area.
Maybe it was hyperbole, but how can this get you to platinum status with one J flight? Even the longest RT J flight only nets you 76 XP, which combined with the 160 XP from this still wouldn’t even get you to gold.
I do see your general point, but in France/Europe there have already been (for many years) FB Amex cards that similarly help you get status. This FB Mastercard (soon Visa) is only...
Maybe it was hyperbole, but how can this get you to platinum status with one J flight? Even the longest RT J flight only nets you 76 XP, which combined with the 160 XP from this still wouldn’t even get you to gold.
I do see your general point, but in France/Europe there have already been (for many years) FB Amex cards that similarly help you get status. This FB Mastercard (soon Visa) is only an American card, and most FB lounges are in Europe. It may result in more overcrowding at FB lounges in the US, but in Europe we’ve already been feeling the impact of people buying status for a while now.
@Red Dragon - Well, feeders are often involved. For example, EU-HKG RT in J me over 100 XP. Okay, maybe 30 XP left to Platinum to be fair :)
Same applies to lounges - just because you're travelling to/from the US doesn't mean you use a different lounge. There is no such thing as US-specific lounge. Presumably people applying for AFKL credit card are flying AFKL every now and then ;)
I mean I see your point, but the lounges in CDG (my home airport) are far from overcrowded at the moment. They can handle a ton more capacity, so I don't see this becoming a very big issue. Flights to the US are only a small portion of overall flights every day in/out of CDG.
As for getting to Platinum, you need 300 XPs to re-qualify each year, but if you're starting from scratch you...
I mean I see your point, but the lounges in CDG (my home airport) are far from overcrowded at the moment. They can handle a ton more capacity, so I don't see this becoming a very big issue. Flights to the US are only a small portion of overall flights every day in/out of CDG.
As for getting to Platinum, you need 300 XPs to re-qualify each year, but if you're starting from scratch you need 580 XP (100 XP to get Silver, then 180 to get Gold, then 300 to get Platinum). So it's not really getting you anywhere close to Platinum status unless you already have at least Gold status, in which case the person using this card to maintain it would have already had status and been filling up the lounge anyway.
Maybe it was hyperbole, but how can this get you to platinum status with one J flight? Even the longest RT J flight only nets you 76 XP, which combined with the 160 XP from this still wouldn’t even get you to gold.
I do see your general point, but in France/Europe there have already been (for many years) FB Amex cards that similarly help you get status. This FB Mastercard (soon Visa) is only...
Maybe it was hyperbole, but how can this get you to platinum status with one J flight? Even the longest RT J flight only nets you 76 XP, which combined with the 160 XP from this still wouldn’t even get you to gold.
I do see your general point, but in France/Europe there have already been (for many years) FB Amex cards that similarly help you get status. This FB Mastercard (soon Visa) is only an American card, and most FB lounges are in Europe. It may result in more overcrowding at FB lounges in the US, but in Europe we’ve already been feeling the impact of people buying status for a while now.
If you do the Bilt status match, do you have to spend the same amount to get Plat?
You still need the same number of XPs to go from Gold to Platinum. That requirement doesn't go away.
I see these as positive changes… unless they raise the annual fee.
What an interesting change, it’s now an AF/KLM chase freedom unlimited, albeit with an annual fee.
If it's not for you, it's not for you.
The most valuable loyalty programs are those not inflated by credit card bonuses where the benefit for few does not kill the value for most.
The benefits of silver status are pretty feeble.
That’s a fair point, but that’s also pretty true across all three major alliances, especially SkyTeam members.
The free baggage is a huge value add on short haul, checking in a suitcase can literally cost more than the flight ticket.
Free bag, premium seat selection at check-in, and priority check-in are all quite nice benefits afaik.
Air france's 1st check bag cost is $70 which is waived of you're silver. The agents at cdg will absolutely weigh your carry on AND personal bag combo and you will likely exceed the weight allowance if you are in economy or economy + unless you are on a very leisurely trip or you bought the economy tix with checked bags included. First & business class on the other hand, they'll just wave you through as if you're carrying air in your bags.
Would the XPs earned from $25k in spend be credited this year or next anniversary?
Next card anniversary after the change.
If you spend $25,000 in 2026 after new cards arrive and your anniversary date is after the cards arrive, then will that generate the new XP benefits in 2026?
What matters is that you've spend the $25k during your BofA *cardmember* year. If you do, then you would receive the 160 XPs at FB within one to two billing cycles after your BofA *cardmember* anniversary. Whenever that occurs, it will be at some point in your FB *membership* year. If you product-change into the card, your BofA *cardmember* anniversary date is reset to the date of conversation and you'll wait an entire year for the XPs to hit. I hope this helps.
Or will spending $25,000 beginning January 21st qualify if the anniversary date is in 2026?
Please refer to my other two responses. It's live now and it's with respect to your cardmember year. So, if you have heretofore spent $13k in your current cardmember year and it renews (say) at the end of February, you have until the end of February to spend another $12k. And, you'd receive the 160 XPs as described.
The new benefits are LIVE right now in the Mastercard's terms and conditions. Publication under the Mastercard's terms and conditions suggests it will be applicable now and not simply after conversion. And, a plain language reading also suggests any renewal as of right now will qualify. Lastly, someone who has received an email from BofA says that the language of the email suggests the new renewal XP scheme would apply to all renewals from this...
The new benefits are LIVE right now in the Mastercard's terms and conditions. Publication under the Mastercard's terms and conditions suggests it will be applicable now and not simply after conversion. And, a plain language reading also suggests any renewal as of right now will qualify. Lastly, someone who has received an email from BofA says that the language of the email suggests the new renewal XP scheme would apply to all renewals from this point on. We shall see.
That would be awesome if 2025 spend will count towards these new benefits to earn the XP's by reaching $25,000. My renewal is coming up soon so keeping figures crossed!!
VFTW says that the new benefits kick in for existing cardholders in March. I have found nothing in the currently posted terms and conditions for the current *Mastercard* version that states this. Out of an abundance of caution, save a copy of these terms and conditions. If you are not awarded XPs based on these terms and conditions, protest. If necessary, threaten a regulatory complaint.
Good news for US members, bad news for their core market
The US members are primarily going to be booking flights from the US. I'm not sure how much appetite there is right now for their core market to fly to the US.
As for short-haul, the US credit card crowd will be connecting to AMS/CDG, but it's not like AFKL short-haul J is something anyone would buy without a long-haul connection (especially given what AF is downgrading the catering to on most routes for the next few months: a couple of sandwiches).
It doesn't matter where one flies, they will still occupy the same lounges etc. The biggest risk here is that this makes it super easy for CC holders to get Platinum, which is almost entirely about soft benefits. AFKL is already struggling with too many plats diluting these benefits and now they're just gonna mint more.
It is good news about the extra XPs by spending, and as a VISA it will now be accepted at Costco, so earning 1.5 miles there. As the new card will be mailed around March 20th, I wonder if the spending to achieve the bonus XPs thresholds will start counting from that date, or it will be regular anniversary spending counting also the money already spent until March 20th.
The Visa/Costco tie up is not a now thing. I wished the Costco relationship was with MC. But alas...
It would be nice if it was UXP for those of us requalifying ULTI. Help, Ben Lipsey!
Any Xps earned will also be UXPs for Ultimate
This probably isn't good news for the value of miles in a programme without a chart and with recent history of brutal overnight devaluations. Another reason to stay away from building balances on FB.
100+180+300=580
In the article you said 480 XP to Platinum if you start from scratch - am I missing something?
Yes, it's 580XP from scratch. I wonder if Ben was thinking about the 100XP from $15k of spend.
In the past, there have been 100XP SUBs offered on this card: it wouldn't surprise me if there's a 100XP offer for the relaunched card in the near future.
@ Neal -- Sorry, that should've said 580, not 480! Fixed now.
Hi Ben,
I already have the Mastercard version since 11 months ago. Can i apply using your link and get approved for the new Visa version as well? If so would I qualify for the bonus Xps?
I'm wondering the same. Can anyone shed light on this?