Several weeks ago, the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program announced plans to improve its mileage expiration policy, in a way that most members will certainly appreciate. This change is now live, so members should see their accounts properly updated to reflect this.
Flying Blue updates 24-month mileage expiration policy
Prior to today (through May 3, 2026), the mileage expiration policy for Air France-KLM Flying Blue was as follows:
- Miles expired after 24 months of inactivity (though this didn’t apply to Flying Blue elite members, for as long as they maintained their status)
- Only select activity could reset the expiration of miles, including crediting a flight to the program, or earning miles with a co-branded card
- Other mileage earning activity, like moving over points from a transferable points currency, wouldn’t reset the expiration of miles
This policy has finally changed. As of today (May 4, 2026), Flying Blue is using the same 24-month mileage expiration policy for all miles earned. In other words, all miles have one expiration date, and any activity that involves earning miles resets that expiration. These new rules apply to miles earned both before and after that date, and accounts should be updated to now show the correct expiration date.
For what it’s worth, this is the first time that Flying Blue has meaningfully updated its mileage expiration policy since 2017. At that time, we saw the period of inactivity before miles expire increase from 20 months to 24 months.
This is a sensible policy change from Flying Blue
I’m very happy to see Flying Blue update its policy, since it means that you can now extend the expiration of your miles simply by moving over a small number of points from a transferable currency. This new policy isn’t only more generous, but it’s also just more straightforward, as I know the old policy confused a lot of people.
It’s nice to see positive changes from a program, without a catch. For that matter, I’ll add that I think a two-year mileage expiration policy is perfectly fair. Personally, I don’t care much if programs have miles that don’t expire, since ultimately I’d rather they invest more in other areas, for engaged members (keeping in mind that every perk comes with a tradeoff and opportunity cost).
Bottom line
The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program has improved its mileage expiration policy. Effective immediately (as of May 4, 2026), all Flying Blue miles no longer expire as long as there’s some earning activity every 24 months.
Under the old policy, only select earning activity (including crediting flights and spending on a Flying Blue credit card) could extend the expiration of miles, while miles earned through other means couldn’t be used to extend the expiration of miles.
What do you make of this Flying Blue mileage expiration policy change?
