Nowadays I don’t seek out airline elite status the same way that I used to in the past. While I still think there’s huge value to earning airline miles, the value of status simply isn’t there in the way that it used to be, at least not consistently — upgrades are tougher to come by, premium cabins are often priced more reasonably in cash, and all the while airlines have (mostly) made status harder to earn.
That being said, in recent years, I’ve started pursuing Air France-KLM Flying Blue elite status, as I think it’s a super fun program. I’ve qualified for Platinum status with Flying Blue for a couple of years now, and would like to go over the basics of elite status in the program, and then share my strategy, especially in light of how the program has changed.
Flying Blue elite status requirements
What does it take to earn elite status in the Flying Blue program? Flying Blue uses “XP” (which stands for “experience points”) as the metric for earning status. That’s the only metric by which you earn status, so there’s no minimum number of segments that you have to fly on Air France-KLM in order to earn status.
The system of qualifying for status works a bit differently than with other programs:
- 100 XPs gets you Flying Blue Silver status
- You then need 180 additional XPs to earn Flying Blue Gold status
- You then need 300 additional XPs to earn Flying Blue Platinum status
However, there’s a bit more nuance to this, which also makes it easier to earn status. For example, you don’t need 580 XPs in a year to earn Platinum status:
- Once you earn 100 XPs in a membership year, you’ll earn Silver status
- Your status will then be reset, and you’ll need to earn 180 XPs over the next 12 months to earn Gold status
- Your status will then be reset, and you’ll need to earn 300 XPs over the next 12 months to earn Platinum status
- Maintaining status on an ongoing basis simply requires 100 XPs for Silver, 180 XPs for Gold, and 300 XPs for Platinum
There are a few other things that I want to point out:
- If you earn Flying Blue Platinum status for 10 years in a row, then you receive Flying Blue Platinum status for life
- Flying Blue offers rollover XPs if you exceed the elite requirements for a particular tier, though you’re limited to 300 rollover XPs at a time, which is the equivalent of extending Platinum status for a year
- Flying Blue also has Ultimate status, which requires 900 UXPs in a year, rather than the 300 required for Platinum; the difference between XPs and UXPs (the “U” stands for Ultimate) is that the latter can only be earned from travel on Air France-KLM, and not from travel on partner airlines
- Flying Blue elite status membership doesn’t follow the calendar year, but rather is based on when you reach a particular threshold, and then you have 12 months to requalify (really it’s through the end of the 12th month)
How to earn XPs in the Flying Blue program
Above I talked about how many XPs you need to earn elite status with Flying Blue. But how do you actually earn XPs in the program? You can earn XPs for travel on Air France and partner airlines, and the earnings structure is actually pretty straightforward.
Below is the chart showing how many XPs you earn per segment on Air France-KLM, or on SkyTeam partner airlines (non-SkyTeam partner airlines can earn you miles, but not XPs). Let me emphasize that there’s no requirement to actually fly Air France-KLM, so you could earn status exclusively through travel on partner airlines, if you wanted to.
It’s definitely easiest to rack up XPs with short haul international flights. Just to give a few examples:
- A roundtrip nonstop Delta business class ticket from Tampa to New York would earn you 12 XPs
- A roundtrip Air France business class ticket from Frankfurt to London via Paris would earn you 60 XPs
- A roundtrip Aeromexico business class ticket from Miami to Lima via Mexico City would earn you 78 XPs
- A roundtrip Aeromexico business class ticket from New York to Sao Paulo via Mexico City would earn you 108 XPs
While flying is of course the primary way to earn XPs, it’s not the only way. Flying Blue awards members with XPs for buying carbon offsets, purchasing sustainable aviation fuel, and donating to charity, and you can generate XPs that way.
Sustainable aviation fuel can typically be purchased in conjunction with a flight ticket, even if you’re booking an award. For example, looking at a New York to Paris business class award, you could purchase sustainable aviation fuel for $899.90, and earn 84 XPs. Generally you can expect XPs will cost around €10 each using this method.
You can make donations to charity completely separate from travel, and you’ll earn one XP for every 2,000 miles donated, and there are lots of charities to choose from.
Personally I’d rather earn one XP for €10 rather than for 2,000 miles, but the benefit of the latter is that it can be done without taking a flight.
You can also earn XPs on Flying Blue’s co-branded credit card in the United States:
- The card often offers up to 100 XPs as part of the welcome bonus, upon completing minimum spending
- The card offers up to 160 XPs annually for having the card and for completing spending; you earn 20 XPs each anniversary year just for having the card, an additional 80 XPs for spending $15,000 on the card each anniversary year, and an additional 60 XPs for spending a total of $25,000 per anniversary year on the card
Flying Blue elite status perks & benefits
So, what are the perks of Flying Blue elite status? Let’s go over the incremental perks offered at each tier.
Flying Blue Silver status offers:
- The ability to earn 6x miles per € spent on airfare
- Priority check-in, baggage drop off, and boarding, on Air France and KLM
- Free selection of standard seats at time of booking
- Some free premium seat options 24 hours before departure
- One free extra checked bag on SkyTeam flights
Flying Blue Gold status incrementally offers:
- The ability to earn 7x miles per € spent on airfare
- SkyTeam Elite Plus status, which offers priority check-in, priority security, priority boarding, extra baggage, lounge access, and much more, whether flying with Air France, KLM, or a SkyTeam partner
- Some free premium seat options 72 hours before departure
Flying Blue Platinum status incrementally offers:
As I see it, there are two perks that are worth calling out. First, in theory being able to redeem miles for Air France first class is a great benefit. I rank Air France as having one of the best first class products in the world (and the ground experience is the best in the world), though you can only redeem miles for it if you have Flying Blue Platinum status or above.
The catch is that these awards are insanely expensive. We’ve seen huge inflation to these costs in recent times, and at this point, you’re going to pay 350,000 miles one-way for transatlantic first class, if there’s availability. That’s a far cry from a year or two ago, when these awards started at 160,000 miles one-way. Then again, Air France has introduced a new first class, and you can even redeem for that.
I’d argue that a more valuable perk of Flying Blue Platinum is now the access to extra business class award availability. I’ve gotten huge value from this, and have been able to book my whole family in business class across the Atlantic on Air France when there otherwise wasn’t award availability. Given how hard award space can be to come by, I consider that to be pretty awesome.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Flying Blue is transfer partners with all major transferable points currencies, and we frequently see transfer bonuses of 25%, which means it’s possible to rack up Flying Blue miles at a favorable rate, if you’re strategic.
My Flying Blue elite status strategy
Over the past couple of years, I’ve gone from having no status with Flying Blue, to having Platinum status. I must admit that it has been fun to learn all about a new program, given how long it has been since I’ve pursued elite status with a program I’m not that familiar with.
Let me also acknowledge that I’ve largely taken some shortcuts here. I hope to maintain this status for years to come, so plan to qualify for this largely through flights on Air France-KLM and SkyTeam partner airlines, generating interesting reviews. So while I’m not suggesting that I earned Flying Blue Platinum status as efficiently as possible, I’ll share my experience nonetheless.
How I earned Flying Blue Gold status
In 2023, Bilt Rewards and Flying Blue expanded their partnership. With this, Bilt Platinum members can receive Flying Blue Gold status. The status is valid for 12 months, and you just need to transfer 10,000 points from Bilt Rewards in order to activate this.
In theory, this isn’t necessarily a one-time match, as this is an ongoing perk, though it could be pulled in the future. Being able to earn Flying Blue Gold status so easily is awesome, as it gives you a pathway to SkyTeam Elite Plus status, and to being able to select the best seats on Air France and KLM.
I took advantage of this back in March 2024, and the Flying Blue Gold status posted within days. That couldn’t have been easier, and it meant that I only needed to earn an additional 300 XPs for Flying Blue Platinum (when I would need 580 XPs if starting from scratch).
Note that if you don’t get Bilt elite status, Flying Blue also often has a paid status match promotion that’s valid in select regions.
How I earned Flying Blue Platinum status
The Flying Blue credit card in the United States often has a welcome offer that includes up to 100 XPs upon completing minimum spending. So I applied for the card after earning Flying Blue Gold status, so that earned me my first 100 of the 300 XPs needed for Flying Blue Platinum status.
So, how did I earn the remaining XPs?
- I earned 86 XPs through flights on partner airlines, primarily on Delta
- I then earned 114 XPs by purchasing sustainable aviation fuel for a one-way Air France business class award flight across the Atlantic, at the cost of $1,213 (though I had an Amex Offers deal, which provided some additional savings)
Let me again emphasize that this is by no means the most efficient way one could earn Flying Blue Platinum status. Going forward, I’ll try to spend $25,000 per year on the Flying Blue credit card, as that will earn me 160 XPs on an ongoing basis, getting me more than half of the way to Platinum status, which I consider to be pretty good. Earning the remaining 140 XPs shouldn’t be too challenging, given that I take a fair number of SkyTeam flights.
Bottom line
I tend to think that Air France-KLM Flying Blue is the most valuable SkyTeam frequent flyer program. It’s one that I use all the time for redemptions, and I also appreciate having Platinum status in the program.
While access to first class awards might sound like the most exciting feature, with the cost inflation we’ve seen, it’s not as exciting as it used to be. Instead, I’m really getting value out of the access to extra business class award availability, plus the general SkyTeam Elite Plus perks.
What do you make of Flying Blue elite status?